Chapter 16
A month later was finals but Odette thought the stress must be getting to her because she kept having dreams of being underwater. This dream started underwater near a shipwreck. A red haired mermaid grabbed a dark haired human. She dragged him to the shore and stared him in wonder before quickly back into the water.
"I want to be part of your world!" She sang out as the human was taken away by his servants. She had a beautiful voice. Behind her were two evil looking eels.
"A mermaid? Is that a good sign?" Odette wondered as she woke up. She sat up in her bed and heard Grim muttering in his sleep. 'The stress must be getting to him too.' Odette thought as she reached over to shake him both awake. "Hey it's morning. We still have one exam left." Odette said as he turned away.
Eventually she got him up, out the door and to class. "I think that was the hardest one." Odette sighed once class was over.
"Really I thought it was easy." Deuce gloated.
"Yeah I breezed through it." Ace smirked.
"I couldn't agree more." Grim chuckled.
"Maybe I should have studied more." Odette sighed.
"Well I'm off to track club see ya later." Deuce said with a wave and leaving.
"Yeah maybe archery will get my mind off these exams." Odette said. "Grim are you going back to the dorm?"
"Yeah see ya later." Grim muttered floating off.
It took a week for the results to come out. That morning it seemed as if everyone was on edge.
"Did you eat my doughnut?" Ace shouted grabbing Grim.
"It's your fault for leaving it unattended." Grim snapped back.
"It's too early for this." Odette sighed.
"I'll make you pay for this." Ace growled reaching for his pen.
"Bring it on!" Grim snarled.
"On second thought it's not worth it." Ace sighed letting go of Grim.
"We usually have to break you two up." Deuce said raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah you're acting kind of strange." Odette said.
"Everyone did unexceptionally well."Crewel said narrowing his eyes at a few students as he handed back the papers at the end of the day.
"I got a 92!" Ace shouted happily.
"I only got an 88." Deuce said.
"Ugh I only got an 82. What about you too?" Grim asked turning towards Odette.
"93." She said turning over her papers to show the guys.
"What!?" They exclaimed staring at the paper then turning back to Odette who just shrugged. "I've always been good with these kind of things. 82 is still good; especially for you Grim."
"Most of my students got over 90s." Crewel informed them.
"Professor Trein said the same thing earlier today." Odette replied.
"It'll make the leader board very interesting." Crewel said. "Class dismissed."
"Let's go check out the leader board!" Grim exclaimed pulling on Odette's sleeve.
"Sure." Odette sighed.
"I bet my name is on it!" Ace bragged leading the way to the board.
"Doesn't it have the top 50 students on it? That's some high goals." Odette said.
The got to the board and the guys scanned the board carefully. "My name is nowhere on the board!" Grim whined.
"The top 30 scores are all perfect scores." Odette pointed out.
"You're right! That's insane!" Deuce exclaimed.
"Oh no!" Grim cried out.
"Well maybe next time your name will be on the board." Odette said patting Grim's head.
Suddenly she felt a rough bump on his head and a sea anemone grew out of his head. "Grim, what's that?"
"I made a contract to make the top 50." Grim confessed.
"You two as well?" She asked side eyeing Ace and Deuce who had also grew sea anemone, they just nodded silently.
"You came to check too?" Jack asked walking up to the group. "What's wrong with the three of you?"
"They made some kind of contract." Odette informed him.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch, it hurts." Grim cried out as the sea anemones back to move.
"It's pulling us this way." Ace explained as the three of them left.
"What was that about?" Jack asked raising an eyebrow.
"I have no idea but something tells me we should follow them." Odette sighed following after them. She turned back to asked "You coming?"
"Why should I?" Jack asked crossing his arms.
"Out of curiosity? Or are you still fried from the tournament and the exams?" She teased.
"Fine but only because it'll be safer for you. Those three probably deserve whatever is happening to them." Jack said following her.
As Odette and Jack followed the three stooges, more and more students joined them. They were through the hall of mirrors and into the Octavinelle mirror. They followed the crowd into the Mostro Lounge. "There's got to be nearly 200 students here." Jack whispered looking around at where there were.
"Oh so this is the Mostro Lounge everyone keeps talking about. It's so nice." Odette muttered her mouth agape.
On the small stage in the corner a man stepped on the stage.
'Isn't he is chorus with me?' Odette thought. 'I think his name is Azul Ashengretto. I'm pretty sure he's this dorm's leader.'
"It seems everyone is here. Since you couldn't hold up your end of the deal, you'll be working here until you graduate." Azul explained.
"You stacked the deck in your favor! How were we suppose to make the top 50 if you gave out so many study guides?!" Ace exclaimed.
"That's client confidential, I am a man of integrity. With my study guides you could have got a perfect score." Azul smirked.
"If I had my fire power I could burn up that contract!" Grim snapped.
"So that's how they did so well." Odette sighed putting it together.
"You're whining about losing a bet you never should have taken! If you had studied on your own you wouldn't be in this mess!" Jack shouted drawing everyone's attention to them.
'It seems they've upset Jack and his morals.' Odette thought.
"It seems we have some uninvited guest. This is a staff meeting you must leave immediately. Jade, Floyd." Azul called over his shoulder and two more figures stepped on to the stage.
"Let's give a gentle squeeze." Floyd chuckled with a toothy smile.
"Now, now no need to go that far. We're leaving right now, right." Odette asked turning towards Jack.
"Ace! Deuce! Grim! You're just going to stand there?" Jack snapped.
"He has our magic." Deuce sighed.
"But not mine." Jack growled taking out his pen and sending wave at the twins but it missed making Floyd's grin grow wider.
"You'll have to try better than that." Floyd laughed.
"Come one Jack, let's just get out of here." Odette said pulling on his sleeve.
"As I've stated before you need to leave but please come back once we're open as customers of course." Azul said his expression never changing. "Jade, Floyd please teach our new staff how things are done around here."
Odette and Jack left quickly before the tweels could follow them and headed back to the Ramshackle Dorm. "I can't believe those idiots."Odette snapped as they walked up the stairs to the dorm.
They opened the door to see Crowley. "Ah there you are." He said closing the door behind them.
"Just the person we need to talk to you. There's this guy running a scheme involving study guides." Odette exclaimed.
"I'm aware of it. It seems it gotten out of hand this year." Crowley lamented.
"This year!?" Odette exclaimed.
"Well yes, as a teacher I can't tell a student he can't make a study guide and I can't tell a student he can't 'share' this study guide with his 'friends'." Crowley explained. "We worked out a deal last year and that's how he was able to get the Mostro Lounge approved. The school gets 10% of the profits so I really couldn't afford not to make the deal."
"So he blackmailed you too." Odette said.
"This is where you come in. I need you to stop him." Crowley began.
"Please don't ask the impossible of us." Odette cut him off.
"You know I've been very busy trying to find you a way home so this just slipped my mind. Plus there is your cost of living." Crowley said. "I know you won't let me down." He said as he left the dorm.
"No wonder the students act like this if the teachers do too." Jack sighed. "So how are we going to tackle this?" Jack asked.
"We?" Odette asked.
"If Leona doesn't trust this guy there's a reason and I can't let you walk into the shark's mouth and sleep at night." Jack confessed.
"I think some intel gathering should be your first stop. I have a class with him so that'll make some of this easier." Odette said as she flopped down on the couch. "When do you think they'll release Grim."
"I don't know but I think they should stew in their choices for awhile." Jack said heading for the door.
"Agree!" She shouted after him.
"Well now I know how Grim got an 85." She muttered. 'He is never going to live this down.' She thought as laid down.
Thanks for reading. I will try not to let my early favoritism for this dorm sneak through. This is a Diasomnia love story after all. I want to eventually make a Octavinelle love story but I want to finish this one first. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.