(Publishing me here, this chapter title ironically works really well for where I am in writing PNG chapters).
Happy Loki Day, by the way.
Year Three: The Three Programs Collide
Common Lecture Hall - 11:58 AM
Another day, another lecture on The Gift of Fear. They weren't sure what Agent Iyu would give a lecture on since the syllabus didn't have a weekly breakdown and it doesn't help that she shows up to class with no materials. She never has a slideshow. She just expects everyone to sit down, shut up, and listen. And it's worked so far.
As she types on the computer in the front, Daniel, Keith, and James sit in their adjacent seats in the auditorium class where the seats would be one row of chairs and a shared desk with the only entrances and exits would be the sides. Classmates were slowly trickling into the room, some scooting behind them to sit in the middle of the row.
"Uh, Keith?" Daniel calls, turning his seat over to face him.
"What?" Keith murmurs, not looking up from his phone.
"Found your eureka moment."
Keith glances up and looks where Daniel's pointing a pencil. Standing outside of one of the classroom doors is Naomi with Victoria, Merida, Angela, and Orchid. Keith drops his phone on the floor, not even checking or hoping it's not cracked.
"Same," James states, whistling at the beautiful sight at the doorway.
The girls finish laughing at something that happened within their conversation before entering class, smiles still evident on their faces. Merida and Victoria head over to Agent Iyu while Angela and Orchid chat and Naomi walks a few steps ahead of them.
"Why didn't you tell me your friends knew her?" Keith whispers angrily to Daniel, knowing James can hear him too.
"I didn't know they knew her," Daniel responds. "I don't even know her."
Naomi walks past their row and takes a seat in the one behind them. Keith picks up his phone, relieved his screen is fine, but not okay about his eureka moment sitting right behind him. He glances at Daniel, needing help, but he's busy chatting with Angela and Orchid. Useless. He can't believe he's doing this but he turns to James who already has a stupid and alarming grin on his face.
"I got this," James says, which isn't reassuring at all. He turns around in his chair and looks at Naomi which makes her look back. "Sup, I'm James."
"I know," Naomi responds, "Angela's boyfriend."
James smiles proudly. "I'm so glad that's what I'm known as."
Orchid snorts a laugh as Angela walks over to his seat. She leans down and kisses him, breaking it abruptly and purposely. Angela grins before giving him a quick kiss and leaving their row and James with a desperate face as he watches her go. Naomi's smiling and Keith has never wished he could die more than now.
James stops watching Angela and Orchid sit further back before he turns around and continues chatting with Naomi. Keith groans, unwilling to turn back to look at Naomi who's now laughing at whatever dumb thing James said. He glances at Daniel who shrugs.
When Naomi's voice drifts off, Keith thinks that Agent Iyu is about to start class but when he looks up, he glances back and sees Naomi's eyes looking elsewhere. Keith turns around and sees that, of course, the Academy's white knight Xavier Rogers has walked into class and is talking to Daniel, and Naomi's staring.
Keith hates this class solely because Operations kids are here.
"Settle down, class," Agent Iyu says and everyone takes their seats. She walks to the centre of the room once it's quiet. "Okay, as you've noticed this is a mandatory course for all three programs. Operations trainees, you'll be right in the line of fire. Sci-Tech, you'll be experimenting and creating throughout your missions. Communications, you'll be writing reports on it and, more often than not, cleaning up after the other two programs."
-o-
Once the class ends and people start clearing out, Keith figures that he should at least try and start a conversation with Naomi, but she's already talking to Merida, Victoria, and Angela. He tried before even trying. Even James is in the conversation because, of course, he is.
"Your SO gives you White Claws?" Merida yells at James loud enough so her SO hears and takes notes. Agent Iyu glares at her and Victoria from the front of the room as she's talking to a classmate.
"My SO gave me nothing," Angela adds.
"I wish," Merida says. Despite Agent Iyu not giving her a formal first assignment, she's had some tedious tasks like collecting paperwork.
"I had to pick up essays and got shipped to Camp," Naomi says.
"I prayed to Rasputin for your safety," Victoria mutters.
"No wonder she got traumatized and Xavier died," Merida says.
"Quit bringing up that I died," Xavier states, walking up to them. "That's an exaggeration."
"A technicality," James corrects.
"You shut up."
Keith ignores the rest of the conversation and turns to face Daniel since Naomi is probably looking at Xavier with hearts in her eyes. "Of course."
Daniel looks at Naomi before facing Keith again. His reaction confirmed it. "She's looking at him because he's talking and it's polite."
Keith rolls his eyes. There had to be at least a thousand girls at the Academy who stayed up late at night wishing that Xavier Rogers would at least look at them. He's tall, good-looking, and chivalrous to a fault, just like his Star-Spangled father.
"Sneak attack!"
Suddenly, Brody launches himself from a few rows above and jumps Xavier, tackling him to the ground. Naomi jumps and screams a little as nobody else looks surprised. Xavier and Brody start sparring on the ground, laughing. Ashton tried to break it off since Agent Iyu was scowling, but he got pulled into the chaos on the ground.
"Fucking Operations," Victoria states.
She wears a snarky grin with her dark navy lips as she steps over the wrestling boys as if they're a puddle with ease on her way out.
"You gonna deal with that?" Merida asks.
"Nope," Angela says.
Orchid skips down to them. "Brody and I were talking about him doing that during class. He says it's practice for sparring."
"I hate this class," Daniel says.
"I liked that part," Keith says, pointing to the weird fight.
For those who are interested, I have a new WandaVision now out called The Maximoff Anomaly.