Flashlight… check. Sneakers… check. Garlic chain… hmm, I should probably look into that.
You rummaged around through your belongings, trying to think of what you would be needing for your little "expedition" that night.
Thursday had passed like a blur, the first half of Friday following quickly in its wake. To your relief, Friday classes ended earlier in the day than any other days, leaving you with a whole afternoon of free time. Or homework time, a small part of your brain whispered, but after all, you hadn't been given too much work to do.
Realizing you were lacking obviously an any real ghost-chasing gear, you sighed and sat down on the edge of your bed, watching as Sonia packed away some of her belongings for the weekend. She was going to stay at her parents' house until Sunday evening, like a majority of the students that attended. You, however, weren't so lucky. It would have taken an entire day of travelling to make it back through the doors of your house, and even though you missed your family, you weren't about waste your entire weekend sitting on a plane seat or in a train compartment.
On the bright side, at least you weren't alone. There were at least fifty other students that hung around all through the weekend same as you, living fully at school until the holidays swung around. Your heart had given a happy jump when you learned that most of your new friends were staying as well. Which meant, of course, that Friday evening was a fabulous time for your scheduled ghost bust.
"I'm sorry you have to miss all the excitement tonight," You began, not wanting Sonia to feel out of the loop.
She gave a short, amused laugh. "You guys will do fine without me! And you'd better solve the problem too, while I'm away. I don't want to get back in two days to find creepy writing on the wall, or a skeleton in the closet." She winked at you, zipping up her suitcase and standing up on her feet. "Anyways, I'll be looking forward to getting back on Sunday! I'm so glad to have you as my roommate, and this first week has been really great, even with all the… you know." She wiggled her fingers and made a scary face.
You smiled, thinking the same thing. "Thanks! I hope you have a great time with your family."
The two of you said your goodbyes as Sonia headed out the door. Then you slid off of the bed.
The great thing about weekends was the fact that, since school wasn't technically in session, you finally got to ditch your uniform and wear some casual clothes (whoopee!). You threw a mental party as you stuffed your blazers and skirts away into your drawers. Why did schools have to force you into clothing like this, anyhow? You almost missed your high school days, when it was nearly common to have people show up for morning class in their pajama pants and sweatshirts.
Banishing your stuffy uniform attire to the deepest parts of the wardrobe, you victoriously pulled out and donned a regular cotton t-shirt and your favorite pair of jeans. Much better. You were ready for the weekend.
All of a sudden, a knock sounded from the door. "Heyyy~!" came Alfred's ever-lively voice from outside in the hallway. You pulled open the door and stepped back as he almost fell in on top of you.
"Laurel! Hey ho!" He beamed, catching himself on the doorframe. "I brought you something to get you ready for tonight!" He held out a fist with a white paper bag, printed with familiar golden arches.
"Wow, umm…" You accepted the offering, his contagious smile spreading slightly onto your face. "Where on earth did you get this?" You stared at the bag in your hand, still warm. As far as you knew, there wasn't any McDonalds on campus.
Alfred only laughed, as if that was worth an explanation. "Well, come on! We're going out to the East grounds before the afternoon's over! You can take that with you!" Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed you by the arm and towed you out into the hallway.
"Oi—act like a gentleman, will you?" Arthur appeared behind Alfred, his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance before he turned to you and gave a slight smile.
"Nice sweater," you exclaimed. His usual blazer had been replaced by a red, knitted pullover, complete with a gold stripe and a large 'GRYFFINDOR' spelled out across the chest.
"Why, thank you," he replied as the three of you began walking down the hallway and towards the outer doors. Before you knew it, you were pushing them open and stepping out into the open air.
Outside at last, you blinked in the autumn sunlight and glanced around at the scattered groups of students out on the grounds. This place seemed to be the hub of activity on Friday afternoons, especially with such pleasant weather. The leaves of the trees had just begun to turn gold, and in the sunshine they almost appeared to glow. Alfred led you over to a bench, where several other students had already formed a circle.
"Hi, Kiku! Matt! Gil!" You greeted some of the ones you recognized. "Um, is anyone hungry?" You held up your McDonalds bag. Soon you found yourself sitting down in the grass as part of the group, sharing french-fries and talking about your plans for the weekend.
"It's too bad most of the single ladies aren't staying all week long!" Declared a third year, flipping his long blonde hair over his shoulder. What was his name again? Francis? "We could have gotten away with a little more without all the extra staff hanging around~!"
"It's also too bad that every girl around here knows that you're an ugly, narcissistic stalker," Arthur growled.
"Excuse-moi? And when was the last time a girl showed any interest in you? The 16th century?"
"That's none of your business, you frog face!"
"Kesesesese~!" Gilbert laughed.
"They always argue like this," Alfred whispered into your ear. You raised an eyebrow.
"Incoming pasta-lover!" Francis declared suddenly, looking up.
"Veeeeeeeeeeeeeh~!" The noise grew louder behind you as a small, reddish-haired first year careened into Kiku's side, trapping him in a hug.
"Kiku! Kiku! Lutz is being all grouchy and he won't play soccer with me!"
Kiku got over his initial shock and tried to slowly extricate himself from the student's embrace, his face turning red. He was saved when a young man with short brown hair and a bright smile stood up. "Hey, Feliciano! Why don't you play a game with me instead?"
Feliciano released his Japanese friend. "Toni!" He stood up, bouncing up and down excitedly.
"Here! I've got a soccer ball! Let's have a kicking competition!" Alfred exclaimed, pulling out a ball from his bag.
"That's a football, not a soccer ball." Arthur crossed his arms "Uncultured twit."
"What are you talking about? This is a football!" Alfred pulled out a new ball and punted it at Arthur's face.
Five minutes and a fistfight later, your group had managed to start a game of pass. At first you had just wanted to watch, but Alfred had insisted by pushing you into the circle and kicking the ball over to your feet.
"C'mon! Just give it a kick!" he shouted at you. You paused uncertainly at the round object in front of your toes. Okay then. Here goes nothing.
Hoping desperately that you weren't about to embarrass yourself, you wound your leg back and swung at the ball as hard as you could.
Good news: you were pretty good at kicking things hard and fast.
Bad news: you WEREN'T very good at aiming.
The soccer ball flew up into the air, over your friends, and landed with a solid thunk on the back of someone's head.
Oh… crap.
As soon as everyone turned around and realized what you had done, they stopped talking and paled. As a matter of fact, almost every student in the grounds froze, looking white as ghosts once they saw what had just happened.
Why is everyone acting so weird? You asked yourself, feeling a sense of dread.
The guy you had nailed on the head was extremely tall, and was wearing a mint green sweater with a white scarf wrapped around his neck. The three smaller students by him were shaking like leaves as he slowly turned around and stared at all of us, a smile still on his face. For some reason, you didn't find the smile very reassuring.
Crappity, crap crap…
"Hmm, who does this belong to?" he asked in a thick Russian accent, plucking up the ball from the ground. His voice didn't sound threatening… in fact it sounded pretty pleasant. But something about his smile seriously creeped you out, not to mention the petrified faces of his companions.
"Umm…" you squeaked, fearing for your life as you prepared to raise your hand.
"Aha… that would be mine." Came a familiar British accent from your right.
You stared at Arthur as he stood beside you, visibly sweating, a nervous smile etched across his face.
Everyone seemed to hold their breath, waiting for a reaction from the tall Russian.
His smile held. "You should work on aim next time. That was quite a bad shot, da?" He turned to the smallest person beside him. "Raivis. Take this back where it belongs." The tiny student cringed and nodded as he was handed the ball. Then he scurried over towards your group like lightning.
The entire grounds sighed out of relief as the Russian turned back around. Conversation slowly resumed around you.
"Are you okay?" You heard a small voice beside you, and looked down to see Raivis clutching Alfred's soccer ball.
"Um, yes," you answered, still a bit freaked.
"I-I saw that you were the one who kicked it… I promise I won't tell! But you're really lucky that Ivan was in a good mood…" He was still trembling as he gave you a weak smile. "Here," he handed you the ball. "I-I'd better get back now…"
"Thanks," you said as he darted away. Then you turned to Arthur. "Why did you do that?"
He shifted. "Er—um… It was better me than you. And it was an accident after all."
"That was pretty brave, though. Thanks."
"You're welcome."
As always, thanks for reading and don't forget to review! Special thanks to all of you who already have. ^_^
And remember, kids. Don't go nailing Russia on the head with soccer balls. It can have adverse effects on your health.
kolkolkol