Author's Note: I own nothing in relation to Yu-Gi-Oh GX.
CHAPTER 17 – ALL WORK AND NO PLAY
Unlike in my previous schools, I quickly came to realize I'm no longer able to resent studying. Yes, preparation for the WRITTEN exam was about as exciting as watching C-SPAN (rimshot), but studying for the practical exam consisted merely of beating fellow students into the ground in Duel Monsters. Late Wednesday evening we received the exam details, explaining who our proctors were, who our practical exam opponents would be, et cetera. A rather pleasant stroke of luck put me with Banner for my written exam, but unfortunately it was noted that practical exam opponents and times would be revealed to us later in the week.
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Alistair 1800 – Jaden 0400
"Go, Buster Blader! Destroy Flame Wingman!" I shouted, finishing up my final duel of the day against Jaden. The armored swordsman charged and slashed right through Jaden's favorite monster, triggering a powerful explosion that wiped out his last 400 Life Points, earning me another victory.
Alistair 1800 – Jaden 0000
Jaden was obviously frustrated (he'd dueled me about 4 or 5 times in the term so far, and his best performance was getting me down to 1100 Life Points), but at least showed excitement over having the toughest competition he'd seen since Zane.
"Well I gotta hand it to you, Alistair," Jaden admitted, "you're an amazing duelist!" I merely smiled at the compliment, removed my deck from my duel disk, and slipped it into my pocket.
"Practice makes perfect," I answered. "I've never seen someone make such efficient use of an Elemental Hero deck."
We idly chattered about decks we had faced in our dueling experience for about an hour afterwards until we were politely interrupted by the ever-so-delightful Chazz Princeton.
"What are you dorks yammering about now?" he inquired in the typical "Chazz" tone of voice. "Don't you losers have studying to do?"
I raised an eyebrow and glared at Chazz. "Don't you?"
"I'm already good enough to blaze through whatever exam opponent they throw at me!" he sneered confidently. I rolled my eyes hard enough that it hurt.
"There is a written portion, you know," I told him. "Did you forget?"
"Yeah right, like THAT'S important," Chazz snorted in response. "Everyone knows most of your grade is based on the dueling exam!"
"Yeah," I agreed. "Sixty percent. Screw off on the written exam and you still fail. Of course this could explain why you're still a Slifer." This was a serious blow to Chazz's ego, and I didn't think he would take it in stride.
"Shut up!" he spat. "I bet I could take you to school in a duel right now!" I rose to my feet and brushed off a few stray pine needles from my coat.
"Maybe later, Chazz. I have studying to do," I answered with sarcasm. He gave me an annoyed glare and stormed off to go about his business. Jaden and I returned to the Slifer Red dorms – I went to study while Jaden likely went to see if Syrus would duel him. I stepped into my room, locked the door so I wouldn't be unexpectedly disturbed by anyone, and took a seat at the desk that sat in the corner of my dorm room near the window.
While I was looking over whatever class notes I had stashed away, I mused about the possibility of promotion. I had never seen the Ra Yellow dorm, and could only assume that it was some sort of middle ground between the cramped spaces of Slifer Red and the overdone extravagance of Obelisk Blue. The thing that really took its toll on my mind was that I knew I would look TERRIBLE in yellow. I figured if anything I wanted to skip Ra altogether and go straight to Obelisk Blue, but the odds of that were probably slim to none. Of course, a promotion automatically meant a new room, which meant good riddance to the atrocity Alexis had created a couple of weeks ago. Although a direct promotion to Obelisk Blue would mean Alexis would have closer proximity, and therefore present that much more of a threat.
Ah, decisions, decisions. I would likely wind up making my choice after I had gotten my results. I glanced over at the calendar I had hung up on the wall next to the bathroom. Banner had said the dorm would be repainted later this week, meaning I was stuck with pink walls for another few days, to my displeasure. I had a few more days until the exam on Friday, and most of my studying would probably be covered in class. You see, like most schools, the week before exams was reserved for review – or sleep, as was the case for Crowler's class.
This was going to be the most boring week ever.
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Monday. Classes went smoothly for the most part, and no attempts were made by Alexis to humiliate me, which was a pleasant surprise. She's biding her time, I'm sure. Atticus was inspired to pay me a visit at lunch with some more of his bright ideas.
"Hey, Alistair!" he greeted me, quickly taking a seat across from me.
"Hello, Atticus," I responded with a touch of skepticism. I was curious as to what ludicrous accusations were going to spout from his mouth today. "What brings you here?"
"Oh, nothing in particular bro," he answered. "Just wanted to drop in to see how you and Lexi were doing!"
I looked up at him with a dark glare, daring him to press the issue. He stupidly took the opportunity to do just that.
"So have you two taken your relationship to the next level?" he asked me, adding in a wink and a nudge. I dropped my fork and hardened my glare enough that I would have thought my pupils pinpointed at him.
"Dude, you might want to see an eye doctor about that," he suggested shortly before I threw him out of the cafeteria and returned to my lunch. I ignored the numerous stares I got from other students as I finished up and made my exit, returning to my dorm to continue my work for the afternoon.
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Tuesday. Guess what I found out today.
JADEN IS ALEXIS'S FIANCE. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. And for you E-lingo people out there, OMG, LMAO, LOL, ROFL, ROFLMAO, and so forth.
Gossip is gold, I tell you. During Tuesday's gym class I met this Harrington fellow. Rather unpleasant person to be around, but he did provide me with that ever-so-interesting tidbit of information, following up with the incessant sobbing and general angst of a heartbroken snob. The cannons were now ready and armed with ammunition for when exams were over and I continued my persistent siege against Alexis. Keeping this magnificent new revelation in the back of my mind, I delightfully started conjuring up scenarios and brilliant new schemes.
Crowler's class was as uneventful as ever, but at least there was no homework to give (except study, if you call that homework). I got a few strange looks from classmates as I scribbled down new ideas I could put into action during the second term, as Atticus and I tried to stifle our laughter with little success. Thankfully, Crowler was too busy in his attempts to keep Jaden awake to notice us.
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Wednesday. Everyone was treated to a PDA message upon waking up, listing the scheduled exam matches that were to take place on Saturday and Sunday. And guess what opponent irony had decided to bestow upon me on Saturday evening?
Yep. Chazz Princeton. Fate was certainly a cruel mistress.
Feeling satisfied with my stored knowledge of non-dueling material, I reverted to "typical lazy teenager" mode and spent the day sleeping, reading, or general wandering. Those who spotted me during my random walks around campus waved or started up bits of conversation – specifically the females, who were under the impression that I was dating Alexis and felt the need to try and draw me away from her. I blame Atticus for this devilry. How the hell did I attain this fanbase anyway? I'm also starting to think that their "Rhein-y Day Lovers" group name was created by the same person who tagged me as the "Silver Slifer".
What would they call me if I got promoted to Ra? Or even Obelisk? To be honest, I didn't really want to think about it. Purging my mind of bothersome thoughts, I gracefully accepted a few duel challenges from my fanbase (how strangely awkward), noting a couple new decks, the most interesting being a Union deck with odd little men on paper airplanes. Who would have known that such an odd combination of monsters could spawn a Union with 3100 attack points? Nonetheless, my Sorcerer of Dark Magic took care of that thing, and it was smooth sailing from then on out.
Surprisingly, I learned that several of these girls possessed my PDA address – a fact which I stumbled across after checking my mail to find a disturbingly large array of love letters. I would undoubtedly be requiring Atticus's help to keep these ravenous women at bay, as soon as possible.
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Thursday. Just found out that the written exam would cover the history of Industrial Illusions, which I mistakenly neglected. So it was back to the library for me, which I found surprisingly empty except for Bastion reading at a nearby table.
"…Is it always this lonely in here?" I asked him, grabbing a nearby chair and pulling it up.
"On most days, yes," he replied, never taking his eyes away from whatever book he was reading. "There may be a few more here tomorrow, with exams looming and everything."
'Hooray for teenage laziness,' I thought to myself as I started to wander the library corridors in search for some relevant material to look over. As I rounded my fourth bookshelf, I slammed into someone, sending them falling to the floor. I grabbed the person's hand before they hit the ground, easily pulling them upright. At that moment I caught sight of who it was and blinked.
"Alistair?"
"Alexis."
"…Come here often?" I narrowed my eyes and brushed past her.
"Not exactly," I quickly responded. "But you know. Exams." I quickly began scanning the shelves, avoiding eye contact. "So when were you going to inform me about your engagement?"
"Excuse me?" she asked, her eyes wide. I grinned knowingly.
"Oh, just something I overheard during tennis lessons the other day…"
"…You've got to be kidding me."
"Do you think Jaden needs help picking out a tux?"
"Now you're starting to sound like Atticus."
"Perhaps a nice deep red would be his color…"
"Would you knock it off?"
"Atticus and I can pick out a band for the reception, and perhaps an elegant arrangement of flowers…"
At that point Alexis was pursuing me throughout the library, a murderous glint in her eyes.
"And a nice wedding cake! And the invitation designs! And who's going to be your bridesmaids?"
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Friday. I guess Alexis doesn't like cake. Or bridesmaids.
"Just hold still, the cuts aren't that deep," the nurse told me. "You boys need to lay off Miss Rhodes… she's a fighter."
I wonder if I can skip the exam due to injury.
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Saturday. The day has arrived at last. It's exam day. And no, I didn't get the day off. Apparently the cuts really weren't that deep.
I had finished the written exam at noon, and my practical exam was at 6:30. Just my luck, I had schoolwork to do when I'd rather be watching The Simpsons. I spent the six-hour hiatus improving my deck, not entirely sure what to plan for. I knew Chazz's deck was a mess, an unorthodox mixture of Ojamas, machines, and dragons, but how he managed to win so many duels with it was truly a mystery to me. I went with a rather vanilla deck structure, throwing in a couple of specialty cards just to be safe, as well as my lovely little Elemental Absorber. Satisfied, I shuffled my deck and took off, getting waves and wishes of luck from the Slifers who had already taken their exams.
Just like everything else this academy held, all the action was in the duel arena. I briskly made my way, spotting Alexis out of the corner of my eye, silently watching me while on her way to the Obelisk dorm. She truly was a strange girl – attacking me one day, stalking me the next.
I entered the arena, seeing Sheppard, Banner, and Crowler in the stands and Chazz at the other end of the ring, smirking confidently. I furrowed my brow and grabbed my duel disk, itching to put this jerk in his place.