Chapter 23: Ess: Making an Ess by warelander
Ess made her way through the halls of the school. She feels her every step getting heavier and heavier along with her grip tightening on her trusty umbrella
The Banshee Trio tried to talk her out of it and as much as she knew that it was a foolish plan, she really wanted to do it.
Still, all that determination did little to prevent her courage from going down, until it did go down, only to then rise back up again, with each passing moment, as if it was some kind of demented Yo-Yo.
'Maybe I should forget about it...' She thought to herself, finally stopping dead in her tracks.
After all: few had ever dared to do this and Ess wasn't truly sure if she was going to make it out of this with her health and dignity unscathed.
Turning around and moving on with the rest of her day truly did seem like the most appealing option. If only it wasn't for HER haunting Ess' mind.
''Oh, La-Ti-Da~''
Raffina's mocking laughter echoed in Ess' mind, making her blood boil.
''I at least put my butt on the line, no matter the outcome. You meanwhile wuss out without even trying! What a joke!'' Another round of the pink-haired snob's laughter filled Ess' mind, as if unwilling to let her have any peace.
Ess could barely control her anger, almost breaking her umbrella over the thought of her dreaded rival getting to mock her.
''I'm gonna show that jerk! No way I'm letting this chance go to waste! I'll show her, Raina, everyone! They will all adore me for it and he will finally notice me!'' Ess shouted triumphantly, much to the confusion of other students, who went past her and chose to not question what was going on.
Determined to not risk that newfound resolve slip away again, Ess stomped through the halls. This time though, there was no slowing down.
From there on it didn't take long for her to find them, the dreaded bully trio of Schezo, Lawrence, and Carrie.
The three merely stood by a row of lockers, with Lawrence seemingly having some kind of story to tell, while his friends attentively listened. They didn't even notice that someone was approaching them.
''He was clearly trying to trip me, to make me lose the ball. So I-''
''AHA! So we finally meet!'' The three senior students turned their attention to Ess, who was now standing before them with a finger dramatically pointed in their direction.
Ess could feel her heart beat at a rapid pace, now there was no turning back for her anymore. She controlled her breath and collected herself enough to speak up again.
''Whatever foul deed it is you are planning, you can forget it! Essence Tetra is here to put you in your place!'' Ess proudly and bombastically proclaimed. Striking her best anime magic girl pose at the bullies.
'I'm doing it, I'm being a hero!' was all she could think. She never felt this kind of sensation before in her whole life, but it felt good.
In fact, she was so into it, that the bully gang giving her absolutely bewildered looks. Even a blunt ''Is this really happening?'' from Carrie, completely went over the girl's head.
''Kid, we're taking a break.'' Schezo's blunt words swiftly reeled Ess back to reality, as if she got caught by a fishing hook.
''...Huh?'' was all she could meekly utter. Her enthusiasm was thoroughly dashed by this surprising showing of total indifference.
''Do you really think we don't have a life outside of messing with you twerps?'' Lawrence politely asked, almost more rhetorical than anything.
''Fun as it is tormenting y'all, we need our downtime too, even outside our place. Ain't easy to juggle that and classes.'' Carrie threw into the conversation with that distinct tone of her's that managed to sound playful and condescending all at once.
This whole development felt incredibly awkward to Ess. She did not expect them to be so passive.
It felt tempting for her to just leave it be. Turn around, walk away, forget about it, and hope the bullies do so as well. But then there was that other part of her mind, the one that kept telling her to keep going and refused to back off.
'So what if they aren't doing anything right now? You got this far, let them have it!' Clenching her fists, Ess' mind was made up. This was her big moment to be everyone's hero!
''Even so, you will eventually terrorize these halls again and I will not tolerate it any longer!'' With these last words, Ess swung her umbrella in Schezo's direction.
The green-haired brat could feel her heart pound. This was the point of no return, her first real battle.
At least that's what she thought.
In reality, Schezo had caught her umbrella before it could even make contact with his body. Without flinching, the same uninterested look on his face and using only one hand no less, none of which did anything to ease Ess' shock.
''How theatrical.'' Was the only quip to escape his lips. He let go of the umbrella and did nothing to retaliate. All he did was cross his arms and look into Ess' direction, with the same dry look.
Ess really wasn't sure if she felt more intimidated or insulted. There was no way he just shrugged it off like that. It couldn't be.
Unwilling to admit defeat, the Tetra daughter swung again and again and again. No matter what, the outcome was always the same and though Schezo's face did not move an inch, Lawrence and Carrie were more than amused by the spectacularly one-sided battle.
The sound of their laughter swiftly turned frustration into genuine anger. Ess dropped her umbrella in rage and went straight towards Lawrence with both fists swinging, only to be kept walking in place, thanks to him placing a hand on her forehead to keep her at distance.
''Stop laughing! Take me seriously!'' As with before, Ess kept trying wildly swinging her fists, despite failing to move even a single inch.
Unlike Lawrence and Carrie, Schezo was more irritated than amused by the situation and it became obvious that Ess wasn't going to leave by her own choice anytime soon.
''This has gone long enough.'' He proclaimed, getting the attention of his friends and even Ess' whose anger cooled off enough for her to listen.
''One of you, take care of this nuisance, if she wants it so badly.'' He commanded with a stern tone.
''Oh! Can I do it?! I'll get to do my favorite part!'' Carrie gleefully requested, with a grin. Lawrence showed no objections to it.
''She is all yours.'' He complimented his response with a gentleman-y bow.
With that decided, the trio turned their attention back to Ess, who was in the midst of trying to reach her dropped umbrella in a desperate attempt to defend herself. Before she could reach it though, Carrie already managed to get a tight grip of her arm.
And tight was right. Ess found herself totally incapable of slipping out of the older girl's grasp.
All she could do now was to let Carrie drag her to whatever destination she had in mind...
It had only been a couple of minutes, but for Ess, it may as well have been hours.
There she was, dangling high up by her underwear, wedgied to a flagpole high enough to make climbing down on her own a nightmare, but also low enough to give those looking a good view of her humiliating predicament.
Ess didn't even want to know who was watching, she just waited for someone to get her down. The stinging pain and knowledge of how disastrous her plan went, were already enough bad company.
Indeed, plenty of fellow students were watching her below and it was probably for the best that Ess didn't catch onto Raffina sneakily filming the ordeal to immortalize her rival's humiliation.
Most others at the same scene were far more sympathetic to her predicament, including a certain genie girl, who visibly winced at the sight.
'Yeesh. I've gotta cool it with the pranks on her for a bit.' She thought to herself. Admiring Ess for trying to be a hero as did other fellow students. While others berated her for doing the same thing.
Next to her stood Sig, who remained silent, but carried an expression of pity for the girl that would seek his company from time to time.
This did not go unnoticed by her friends, the Banshee Trio, who saw this as a potential silver lining. Surely, her crush not finding any amusement in her embarrassment would surely cheer Ess up.
That is... if they could convince her to leave her room again...