Welcome to Dodo Academy for the Gifted!
Dupre's Manor?
It was Saturday morning, just a day before the Culture Festival began. Grandma's house was very crowded that day, because the Rainbow-Puking Unicorn class students were there, working what left of their festival's preparations.
"If you can't sell those napkins, don't go back here!"
"It's matchsticks, moron." Julius deadpanned, looking away from his own script.
"Oh yeah, I mean muffin—er, masking—no, I mean pudding—" Boris groaned and started to whack his head with his script. "Matchstick! Matchsticks, you scumbag brain! Matchsticks!"
"Man, what's so hard about saying 'matchsticks'? What a noob..." Nightmare rolled his eyes, and then closed his eyes. "Watch me." He took a deep breath, and then frowned at the ceiling dramatically. "Oh...so cold...! If I don't sell any of these matchsticks, Father will be very angry! He'd trade me for a cow...!" he sniffed.
Julius twitched. "That's not in the script...but that's a good improvisation, I guess..." he wondered how the drama tomorrow would go...
Boris scoffed. "That's because you get the easy script! Aargh, Jule, why is this prat acting as the Little Matchstick Girl? So not fair! He's not even a girl! Why not Alice!?"
Julius grunted and slammed his script to the coffee table. "Well, first of all, Nightmare looks pitiful—"
"What...!?" Nightmare twitched.
"—and he's quite dramatic. Secondly, there's a part where the Little Matchstick Girl gets spanked by her Father, which means you, and I don't want YOU, of all people, to spank Alice." Julius ended his explanation.
Boris' right eyebrow quirked, he twitched. "Huh. You're just jealous."
"I. Am. Not." Julius deadpanned.
"Jealous, jealous, you're so jealous of me~" Boris started to sang mockingly while flipping his script, and then groaned. "Oh God, this part is sooo hard! My brain is going to blast!"
"D-D-Don't over d-do it..." Pierce stuttered out worriedly. "Wh-What if...if we take a break?" he suggested.
Nightmare scoffed. "You just glanced at the script for a second—"
"Grrreat idea so far!" Boris grinned widely and threw away his script nonchalantly, then jumped off the sofa. "I'm gonna check Ace and Alice." He skipped to the kitchen.
"WHOA..." Boris' jaw dropped as he saw the big dinner table was entirely covered by so many desserts. Gray was there, sitting by the table, munching cupcake.
There were many kinds of pies, muffins, cupcake, pudding with many flavors and layers and whipped cream, cakes decorated with fruits and cherries, candied apples, cheesecakes, steamed buns, rice cakes, and so many other desserts!
Except...
"Wait a second...!?" Boris skeptically put his hands on hips as his eyes swooped the table once more. "Where are the cookies!?"
"We're on it." Alice quickly answered. She was mixing the dough with her hands. She paused to smack the back of Gray's head. "Dude, stop eating the cakes!"
"If I stop, I'll fall asleep, and then I can't memorize my script." Gray said expressionlessly, yawning.
"What script? You're just playing as the Christmas Tree!" Alice sighed and pulled Gray's chair. "Go to the sofa and just sleep, dude. If you keep eating everything, Julius will kill us!"
Gray grumbled and stood, but then paused and took out a book and handed it to Alice. "Read it."
Alice stared at the book; Humpty Dumpty. She sighed and started to read it out.
"Once upon a time—"
"Zzz..." Gray fell asleep on the floor in instant. Alice twitched and decided to roll him out of the kitchen.
"Chocolate cookies, choco chips, nastar," Ace, looked unusually calmer than usual, mentioned all kinds of cookies while he expertly put in the cleanly-shaped raw cookie dough into Granny Anne's ovem. "Err...what else...?"
"Ginger bread?" Boris suggeted.
"Argh!" Ace flicked his fingers and nodded to Boris. "Yeah, yeah! The ginger bread!"
"We're out of ginger powder." Alice informed as she came back, while sprinkling choco chips onto the cleanly shaped dough, then clapped her hands from flour. "I guess I'll go and buy it. Do you need anything else, bro?"
"Awesome, Al. Let's see...two sacks of flour, five ounce of white butter...Boris," Ace turned at Boris, who was taking off his shirt, "I still think I'm missing something!"
"Hmm..." Boris hummed while scanning the table again. "Blueberry muffin, eclaire...oh my GOD, Ace! You forgot the donuts!"
Alice gasped, Ace whacked his own head with a frying pan.
"I'm stupid, stupid, I'm so—"
"So we need blueberries and more jam, and more flour with more kinds of toppings, yeah?" Alice was taking a note rapidly. "Boris, untie my apron." She asked, still writing.
"That request is kinda ambiguous, haha!" Boris snickered, but he went and untied her apron anyway. Alice then dashed out of the kitchen.
Boris then watched the brunette was busy again doing everything. Ace was smiling and humming. He wasn't bouncing, he hadn't been yelling, and he hadn't flipped or knocked anything. He looked calm and serious. Ace seemed to really love baking, as if he was born to do it.
"Dude, dude, you won't believe this!" Ace chirped, grinning at the exhibitionist. "Alice said I look very handsome when I bake! Do you think we're gonna married or something?"
Boris twitched, laughing nervously. "Dude...that escalated quickly..."
~.X.~
Alice stared silently at the supermarket, eyes narrowed, one hand clutching the shopping note, the other one holding her hunting net. Einstein stood beside her, eyes narrowed as well, both of them were ready to...
"This is the second time, Einstein." Alice muttered.
"Eep, eep..." Einstein nodded, his tail swayed.
"I'll distract the people, and you take all of those blueberries. Blueberries are expensive. Julius only gave us thirty dollars."
"Eeek!" Einstein chirped, nodding again.
"Alright, here we go."
Alice entered the market, and using her net, she knocked a pyramid of tuna cans.
"Hey! Watch out!" a cashier server shrieked. "Oh crap, who did this!?"
While the crowd were centered to the chaos of tuna cans, Alice nodded to Einstein who quickly jumped in and hid behind towels. The girl slipped through the crowds and using her net, she swooped some sacks of flour and put them into her cart.
"So far so good!" she smirked evilly, then collected sweet toppings for their donuts. Cashew nuts, mint chocolate sprinkle, white chocolate, jams...she was about to check on Einstein's progress when a she saw a boy was handing out a banana to her monkey.
"Oi, monkey, take it, will ya?"
"Eep...eep..." Einstein whimpered. He wanted it...he wanted that banana! That pretty, fragrance, beautiful banana! That delicious oh-so beautiful banana—NO. Einstein stared hard at the bag of blueberries he stole. Alice and her people needed him. He shall not betray her trust—Oh but that's banana, a banana for lord's sake—No, no, NO, Einstein! It's a trap!
"Hey! Don't feed other person's monkey!" Alice scolded theboy. "Einstein, go." She whispered at her monkey, who quickly shrieked and dashed away.
"Hey, wait a sec. You're stealing those blueberries!?"
"Sssh!" the blonde clamped the boy's mouth, and then flinched. "Whoa, wait...You're a girl!?"
"Sssh!" the oddly-looking girl clamped Alice's mouth. "Not so loud! I'm undercover, damn it! If you tell anyone about this, I'll fuckin' kill you!"
Alice shook her head and crossed her heart. The boy-looking girl sighed and let go of her.
"Gotta go. Bye, transgender~" Alice waved nonchalantly and went to follow her monkey.
"What did you just fuckin' call me, prat!?"
Alice paused and stared at the weird girl again. "Uhh, sorry. So you're not a transgender? Okay, my bad..."
"I'm not! I'm a fuckin' girl, damn you!" the girl shrieked angrily and pulled off her northface's hoodie, showing her short-cut purple hair.
"Miss Vivy! We finally found you!" Alice stepped back as a horde of servants came rushing to the girl whose undercover just failed in three seconds. "Master won't be pleased if you walk around by your own, Miss!"
"Oh shut the fuck up!" the girl haughtily stomped, snarling at the butler who spoke just then. "Dad allowed me! Do you want me to tell him that you just disturbed my free-time!?"
"Err...but...I thought, Master just said that—"
"I just called Daddy and he said I could go...go...err...to..."
"Go to play around with me." Alice said, reaching for the girl's arm, smiling like a pro-actress. "We're currently playing, she's helping me out with my shopping."
"Who are you!?" the servants quickly took out guns. The girl grimaced angrily, but then, she noticed that the blonde beside her was totally unfazed.
"I'm her new friend." Alice told them with a straight face. "And if you shot me, I'm sure your boss won't be happy to know you've shot a famous writer's daughter, and the young sister of Lorina Liddell."
"Y-You...don't joke around, little brat!"
"Charles, she's not lying." The rich girl deadpanned angrily. "Why do you think would I go with a plain commoner? Now as I've told you, Dad has allowed me to play with her! So scram! If you don't, I'll tell Dad you just pointed guns to my friend!" she hugged Alice's arm.
"Arrgh...fine, Miss..." the servants quickly withdrew and they returned to wear their undercover outfits.
"Now you owe me." Alice smiled, blinking. The purplette twitched. Alice pointed at the cashier. "Please pay my shopping. See, my monkey got caught red-handed."
Einstein was being tackled by the whole market staff.
The purplette sighed and rolled her eyes, before smirking to the blond. "You've got nerves...I like that."
"You're not bad either." Alice snickered.
"Fine, fine, I'll pay." The purplette scoffed and took out her thick wallet from her expensive northface. "The name's Vivaldi."
"I'm Alice."
"Awesome. Now, let's go and play at my house."
"...H-Huh?"
~.X.~
"Eep! Eep! Ooo! Aaa!" Einstein shrieked into the house as he came back with a trolley of ingredients. Julius dropped his calculator, and Pierce hid under the table.
"Where's Alice?" Julius asked as he helped the monkey pulling the trolley into the house.
"Eep! Eep! Aaa!" the monkey was bouncing as he waved a paper frantically. Julius took it and started to read.
"What's wrong? Where's Alice?" Boris asked as he walked out of the kitchen while licking spoon.
"Err...I dunno about this..." Julius murmured, but then the paper was snatched by Grandma Anne, who put on her reading glasses and started to read:
Dear Grandma,
I'm not sure, but...I think I got kidnapped by a rich tomboy.
Her butlers almost shot me with guns, but I think I'm gonna be OK.
Oh, if I'm not back by the sunset, you can call the police, in case I'm dead or something.
Love, Alice
PS: Julius, she paid all of the shoppings. You lucky prat.
The whole living room froze.
~.X.~
"The hell!? How can you beat Nyx so easily? I've been dead for ten times!" Vivaldi protested as she glared at the giant Smart TV. Alice scoffed mockingly.
"Noob." The blonde sneered.
"What did you just said...!?"
"I've beaten Elizabeth. Nyx has nothing against her." Alice rolled her eyes and dropped the stick.
So, Alice and Vivaldi were currently in one of the many expensive rooms in the purplette's Manor. Vivaldi was a very rich tomboy. She even had a swimming pool indoor, and a private golf arena! Her Manor had four stories, and there were so many butlers and maids ready for an order with a flick of her finger.
Alice glanced around calmly, and felt that something was off. The room was decorated with checkered paintings, and it was too luxurious and elegant. She then glanced to Vivaldi, her new pal.
Vivaldi was a tomboy, and she was a daredevil. She didn't care about beauty nor art. Alice was expecting her room to be filled with rock-and-roll stuff, or comic books and maybe a punching bag or something...
"Hey, Viv, is this your room?"
"Nah, it's my bro's. My room's got a table-tennis and billiard pool, so it's kinda bad if I put in a TV. Plus, I have my kung-fu practice there every morning, so Mum think I'd crash the TV. But I've got a bunch of racks full of manga!"
"Hmm, sounds awesome." Alice nodded, impressed. Vivaldi stared at the blonde for a while.
"Wanna check out some of my manga? Wait here, bro. Oh yeah, you should finish my Persona 3 here, while I fetch you some manga and something to eat..." Vivaldi didn't wait her to answer and stood to get to her room.
Alice watched the room again, and her eyes fell on a familiar, elegant shirt and riding pants.
...Why did they seem so familiar? Alice narrowed her eyes, and looked around again, then her eyes were fixed...and froze, on a painting of...
"Vivaldi! Why the hell did you came out from my bloody room!?"
Alice twitched.
That voice...
"Oh shut the fuck up! I was just borrowing your PS2!" she heard Vivaldi yelling back.
"I've told you, prat! You shouldn't get into my room without my permission!"
"Oh fuck it! That's Dad's room, not yours!"
"That's called privacy you stupid prat!"
SLAM
Blood Dupre froze with the scowl he had, eyes staring straight at Alice Liddell who was sitting in his room, on his expensive white sofa, in front of his Smart TV, playing his PS2, holding his controller, stepping on his expensive carpet, staring back into his green eyes.
"Uh, hey, scarecrow." Alice awkwardly waved.
A vein popped.
"VIVALDIII!" he screamed and turned at his little sister, "Just what the hell is this prat doing in my freaking room!?"
"Don't get blind, idiot, she's playing Persona 3!" Vivaldi yelled back.
"No, no, no, dammit! What the hell is she doing here!? You're bringing random prats again!"
"Not random prats, stupid! My friends! And this time, you're not gonna make her go home!"
Blood scoffed and stomped into his room. "Of course I'm doing it—"
WHOOSH
Vivaldi's round kick was stopped by Blood's hand defense.
Alice twitched.
"Oh, so you dare to attack me, little sister?" Blood skeptically said.
"I'll kick your ass if you get your hands on her!" Vivaldi hissed, and swifted her fist right to defend herself from her brother's straight up kick.
Chikyo-chagi. Alice noted, totally and Vivaldi then started a martial-art fight. Blood was using Taekwondo technique, while Vivaldi's Kung-fu.
Alice just sat down there and watched the two knocking shelves, crashing TV, breaking walls, flipping tables, crushing windows...
"Oh my God..." Alice heard another familiar voice, and she turned to see Elliot March coming out of Blood's bathroom just with a towel wrapping his lower body. "They're at it again—WHOA, Alice!? Wha-What the—What are you—GOD!" Elliot shrieked and tried to cover himself.
Alice snorted, and tossed him a bathrobe which had been hanging on the sofa's arm. Elliot frantically covered himself and blushed madly, clearing his throat.
"Alice, what are you doing here?"
"Vivaldi took me here to play video games."
Elliot sighed and frowned at the Dupre siblings that kept fighting until the room was entirely crashed. The blonde boy then took his cellphone from his bathrobe.
"If they won't stop, this room will be history." He muttered worriedly.
"But that's an epic fight." Alice nodded. "I've never know that rich people can do martial arts!"
Elliot laughed. "Not because we're rich. We learn it for self-defense, to prevent kidnapping and bullying. Ah, hold on a sec..." he cleared his throat, and then said to the phone; "Uhm, Mr. Dupre? Yes, this is me, Elliot...Ahaha, yes, it's been a while, but I'm always playing with your son..."
Alice watched Elliot kept talking to the phone, while Vivaldi and Blood kept kicking each other's gut and destroying the room in the process.
"...So yeah, Vivy and Blood are fighting again...Uh-huh, sir. They just broke that new Smart TV. Yeah...uh-uh."
Elliot then closed his cellphone, and Alice noticed, in that instant, Vivaldi and Blood stopped fighting to take out their cellphones.
They both froze in instant as they saw the Caller ID.
"...Father?"
"D-Dad?"
Alice glanced at Elliot who was smiling innocently as he put on his pants. She glanced back at the siblings.
"No, father, it's Vivy, she's gone to my room again!" Blood yelled.
"Yeah, but he broke his own Smart TV, Dad, I swear!" Vivaldi whined.
"I don't freakin' care! Just stop fighting or I'll cut off your pocket money!" Alice could hear a man's voice yelling through both's cellphone.
Vivaldi and Blood sulked in instant.
"Y-Yes...Father..."
"Okay...Dad..."
Click. Vivaldi and Blood sighed and groaned, then they glared vengefully at Elliot, who was playing Tekken 6 with Alice on PS3.
"Elliot you sneaky bastard!" Blood growled.
"What a fucking snitch!" Vivaldi hissed.
"Oh good, now you're teaming up against me?" Elliot chuckled at them over his shoulders, and then gasped at the smaller monitor; "Hey Alice, you're cheating! You caught me off guard!"
"Focus." Alice simply said.
Blood growled at the sight of the two. Why the heck were those two just sitting in his room as if they owned it!? He then glared at is sister.
"Viv, you heard Father, you have a Greek course in fifteen minutes." Blood grumbled, putting on his expensive gloves.
Vivaldi groaned. "Aw, fuck...! I hate it! Tch..." she clicked her tongue and dragged herself to where Alice and Elliot were playing. "Hey, Al, I gotta go for a Greek Course, so, I guess you should go home...sorry."
"No problem!" Alice grinned as she KO-ed Elliot.
Elliot sighed. "You're very good at video games, huh? So you're gonna go home, now?" he stood and shoved his hands into his pocket. "Alright, I'm going home too...Blood, mind giving us a ride?" he tilted his head to the raven-head, who groaned.
"What...? She's going into my car, then!?" Blood grimaced in disgust.
"Actually, I can walk, thank you very much." Alice twitched.
Elliot tsked and held her arm. "No, no, that's not how we treat a young lady...right Blood?" he smiled sweetly at Blood, who pretended to gag and rolled his emerald eyes.
"Fine, fine...Viv! Just what the hell are you doing!? Get to your course!" Blood snapped at his sister who was currently trying Tekken 6.
"Aw shucks!" Vivaldi scoffed and dropped the stick, then frowned at Alice. "We gotta hang out again sometimes later, OK?"
"Oh yeah, why don't you drop by tomorrow at my school? We're having a Culture Festival." Alice grinned proudly.
Blood scoffed mockingly upon hearing this. "That poor school doing a Culture Festival? You've gotta be kidding me!" he rolled his eyes. "So stupid."
"Hey, watch it." Alice hissed, "It's gonna be fun, and stop mocking my school!"she snapped, then sighed. "Elliot, you can come...And don't worry, I'm not singing."
Elliot laughed. "Glad to hear it! Fine, I'll come tomorrow!"
"Dude!" Blood scowled at the blond in disbelief. He then sighed. "Whatever...Let's get outta here."
"Don't forget to come, Viv!" Alice waved at the purplette before finally leaving the half-destroyed room.
~.X.~
"...So Vivaldi's learning Kung-Fu, Scarecrow is a black belt in Taekwondo...what is the martial art you used the other day?"
"Eh? Oh, that's Judo. My okaa-sama is a Japanese, and my otou-sama is an ambassador there. I go there, at my home in Okinawa every weekends to visit my Jii-sama..."
"But not today?"
"No, I excused my self, because I have to help out at my school's Culture Festival..."
Blood's emerald orbs daggered at the two, chatting casually. They were inside his limo, on the way to the prat's house.
Blood was torn. Since when did Elliot and that prat got so friendly—wait, since when they knew each other, anyway? And that prat, Alice Liddell! She's sitting in his expensive limo as if it was nothing! Elliot seemed so friendly to that prat...Blood just felt angry because Elliot had always act mature in front of him. He felt discriminated. It's not like he and Elliot were best friend or anything...
It's just that...what's so special about that girl, Alice, that Elliot acted so friendly and he looked as if he had fun? Sure, Elliot had always been kind and he had always smiled—he was a young prince from Japan, he always acted like a noble in front of Blood.
Oh yeah, of course he would. Elliot and Blood were only friends because of their parents' business.
Blood snorted as he jerked his chin onto the window, frowning.
Being rich was great. He could buy anything.
But not so great...Blood had never experience a true friendship. It was all business. All his...'friends' at school, they were all about business. That's why, despite how he tend to fight with Vivaldi, he was glad that, at least his sister was a 'true' sister.
"Look at those prats, they're like monkeys." He was awaken from his daydream as he heard Alice, giggling. They were nearing her grandma's house. The other RPU students were waving and bouncing on her lawn.
"Haha," Elliot chuckled, "It must feel nice to have many minions."
Alice snickered. "They're not only minions. They're my best friends! I'll introduce you to them tomorrow!" the limo stopped, and the driver came down to open the door. She stepped out and grinned at Elliot, "I can't wait! Don't forget to come, Elliot! Bye!" she then stared at Blood. "Bye, Scarecrow. Thanks for the ride."
"A-Alice, I-I thought you died!" Pierce came running and crying, hugging the girl.
"Hey, watch it!" Ace shoved the paranoid boy away and squashed the girl into a bone-breaking hug, "Awww I was so worried! Don't run off with strangers again, you loot! And where's that girl who kidnapped you? I'm gonna crush her—Wait, what the heck!?" Ace grimaced as he noticed Blood inside the limo.
"Why the hell are you here—Alice, why are you going home with that spoiled prat!?" Ace whined.
"Just shut it you bloody prat." Blood scoffed.
Elliot poked his head out and waved at Nightmare. "Hey again, Gottschalk-kun!"
Nightmare smiled and nodded. "Yeah, hey...March, right?"
"Who's that?" Gray asked, while munching a ginger-bread.
Elliot grinned. "Just a friend. I'll see you all tomorrow!"
"Yeah, Elliot—wait, GRAY! I've told you to stop eating them!" Alice smacked Gray's head again.
Blood rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Let's get out of here, driver." He said to his driver, while Elliot waved one last time before closing the door.
The two watched the crowd that gotten further slowly from their sight. Blood could notice Julius was smiling from afar, the other boys seemed to be hugging or yelling at her for making them worried. He growled in a low voice. Alice, that prat, she just smiled, her face was always unfazed...what's so special?
He heard Elliot hummed.
"It looks fun..." Elliot muttered, "...to have a lot of true friends. I'm so jealous of her."
Blood scoffed and looked away.
What did she has and he didn't that made her has those 'true friends'?
Extra:
Interview of Rainbow-Puking Unicorn Class' Members! (Part 1)
Alice: Yoho, Alice Liddell's here! This will be the first interview! Today, we're going to interview my pal, Julius Monrey, the Wallflower of Rainbow-Puking Unicorn! Hey, Jule!"
Julius: ...What.
Alice: Don't be nervous like that! Relax~ But I'm sure a nervous Julius is very cute for any fangirls, huh?
Julius: ...*blush*
Alice: So, Jule, why do you go to Dodo Academy?
Julius: ...I got dropped out of Richford Private School. *looks away*
Alice: Eh? How come? You're smart! Tell us!
Julius: It's because...I was so antisocial and they're all so stupid. I go to school and just sit down at my desk, then stare at a blank book all day until the school is over.
Alice: ...huh?
Julius: Then my teachers got tired of my attitude. But I always got perfect scores in every subject except for Gym, but I was excused from that subject, so they let me off the hook for a year.
Alice: Then what happened?
Julius: ...I didn't write anything on my latest exam, and the principal got very angry. So I said I was bored, because everything was so easy and doing it was so stupid. The old man got a heart attack when I got perfect score on the re-take exam. Then I got dropped out.
Alice: Whoa, you're cool. Okay, next question! When is your birthday, and your blood-type?
Julius: October the 5th. I'm 'A negative'.
Alice: Trivia, everyone! October the 5th is the World Teachers' Day! Kinda fitting, doesn't it? Then, what is your hobby?
Julius: Reading and gaming.
Alice: Oooh! What kind of consoles do you play?
Julius: Pretty much everything. PSVita, PSP, PS2, Wii, PS3, Xbox, GameBoy, Nintendo DS, 3DS—
Alice: ...Dude, I'm so jealous. Okay, what have you been playing recently?
Julius: Pokèmon, Kingdom Hearts II (because Roxas is the man), and I'm in the middle of Assassin's Creed 3.
Alice: Do you like sweet? What's your favorite?
Julius: I don't...really like sweet. But...I guess I like Mocca Cake.
Alice: If I say you're a Tsundere type, what will you say?
Julius: *blush* ...me...? I'm a Tsundere? Uhh...I-I...I don't know how to respond that...*blushes more*
Alice: Okay, last question! What's your favorite Vocaloid song?
Julius: *sighs in relief* Hmm...kinda hard...but I frequently listen to Kokoro sung by Rin Kagamine.
Alice: Nice choice! I like that one too—no one asked, but my favorite is Ai Kotoba by Miku Hatsune.
Julius: *blushes all over again* That's...a very cute choice for you.
Alice: ...Don't. You're making me feel awkward *blush a little*. So yeah! That's all about Julius! First part of interview is done!
Next interview? By your request!
I'm quick-updating this story because I want it to be on the same timeline with New Year's Eve.
*Don't forget, Amusement Asylum is on hold. Notes on my profile.