CHAPTER 14: YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND IN ME

Earlier today…

Ace had just finished his Mathematics class and was walking down the hall when he was approached by one of his upperclassmen. It was a tall boy with green hair, glasses, and a club marking on his face—Trey Clover, the vice housewarden of Heartslabyul.

"Hey there. Ace, is it?" he asked. "Having a good first day so far?"

"Oh, Trey! Yeah, I guess," Ace greeted. He and Trey ended up walking side-by-side to their next classes. Ace wanted to protest that he wasn't a baby and didn't need to be checked up on, but his frustration was clear for all to see.

"You guess? You're having trouble with teachers already?" Trey teased.

"No, not that, it's just… well, I met that new girl Jill and her pet this morning," Ace confessed. "And boy, is she a piece of work! She called me a two-bit twerp who worships a hot-tempered tyrant! Can you believe that?"

Trey wasn't fooled. "Were you picking on her?"

"Of course not!" Ace lied. "I was just telling her and that cat about Ramshackle and Heartslabyul… I would've explained all the dorms if I wasn't interrupted…"

"Listen, you need to exercise some patience," Trey said. "Even if Jill is just lashing out, she did just fall into an unfamiliar setting. She's going through a hard time, and she's most likely scared out of her wits. Once she gets used to things around here, she'll calm down and hopefully be more pleasant to talk to."

"Patience?" Ace asked. "I don't want to be patient—I shouldn't have to be. Didn't our Queen have a really bad temper herself?"

"It's true, Iracebeth was known for her wrath," Trey admitted. "But there was more to her than that. She had a loving husband and countless devoted followers. And do you remember the story of Alice?"

"Yeah, the little girl who fell into the Queendom of Roses from another world," Ace said dully. That was never one of his favorite stories; he always thought Alice was boring.

"Alice was also confused and terrified," Trey explained. "But the Queen of Hearts befriended the girl, helped her learn about Twisted Wonderland, and even found Alice a way back to her home. So in the spirit of Heartslabyul, I hope that you'll help Jill out next time you see her. Who knows? Maybe she just needs a friend."

"Who'd want to be friends with Jill Bones?" Ace scoffed. "She's a complete weirdo."

Back to present day, in the depths of the mines…

Jill proceeded to sob, curled up in a ball. The other three stared at her, shocked at her episode.

"C'mon, don't cry!" Grim scolded. "Cryin' doesn't solve your problems! You're bein' a baby!"

Jill didn't respond at all, just continuing to weep. In the limited light of the magic pens, Ace could see that her hand was bloody, and her shabby uniform had spots of blood as well.

Deuce knelt down beside her. "Jill, uh… look, it'll be okay!" he said frantically. "We can get that hand looked at!" Jill didn't even acknowledge him.

"Get a grip, will you?" Ace said. "We're wasting time! Just get up—" He grabbed her shoulder, noting the claw marks from Grim's struggle earlier. Ace shook her lightly, and Jill looked up at him fearfully…

…and only then did Ace, Deuce, and Grim realize that something was wrong.

Jill stared right past Ace as though he didn't exist. Her hair was disheveled, and her face was covered with tears, mucus, and saliva as she sobbed. She was crying as loudly as she could, hyperventilating, not even able to catch her breath…

"…You're having a panic attack," Ace said quietly.

"Panic attack? Like, something's attackin' her?" Grim asked.

"No, Grim. A panic attack is when someone gets so scared, they shut down," Deuce explained. "I've heard about this before, but I've never seen one. I-I don't know what to do…"

Ace pulled in a breath, steadying himself, while Trey's earlier words ran through his mind: "Maybe she just needs a friend."

"Let's clean her wound first," Ace whispered to Deuce. "You have any cloth?"

"Let me see…" Deuce pulled out some handkerchiefs from his backpack. "These might help."

Deuce applied a little water magic to a handkerchief and proceeded to clean the wound on Jill's hand. Ace used another handkerchief to wipe Jill's face. Grim, not wanting to be left out, pushed himself under Jill's unwounded hand. The direbeast purred and rubbed his face up against Jill's palm, and she decided to pet him. Her breathing was getting a little slower. It seemed like she was coming back.

"Jill, can you talk?" Ace asked.

"I-I…" Jill whimpered.

"Jill…" Ace thought fast. There had to be a way to help her calm down… then he thought of something. He held up his index finger. "Jill, how many fingers do you see?"

"O-O-One…"

"Okay, good." Ace held up another finger. "Now how many?"

"Two…"

Ace continued this until Jill finally reached ten. The Earthling finally rubbed her face and stood up, breathing deeply. "S-Sorry, guys… I don't know what came over me," she confessed.

"You shouldn't apologize for something like that," Ace said. "You've had a really bad day, haven't you?"

"Y-Yeah," Jill sighed. "Thanks for helping me. I… I didn't think any of you guys liked me."

"Well, maybe we don't like ya… but we don't hate ya," Grim admitted quietly. "We just don't know ya that well. Ya don't really talk about yourself."

"I was really defensive today," Jill said. "But… once we're out of here, I'll open up to you guys as much as I can."

"Not that it matters, since we might be expelled," Deuce reminded the group worriedly. "We need to get out of here and past the monster and ghosts before time runs out."

Ace checked the time. "Fifty minutes to go," he said.

Jill steeled a breath. "Let's go, then," she urged. "I don't want to stay in this musty place a minute longer."

"Hang on, don't you have a plan before you run out?" Ace asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Jill countered. "You guys need to work together."

"Me, work with those guys?!" the three boys demanded.

"You all worked together to pull me out of my panic attack," Jill said. "And you have really strong skills! You tried attacking the monster one at a time, but if you pulled your powers together, you could really pack a wallop!"

"That's true… fine, if that's what it takes," Grim said. "You can follow my lead!"

"Actually," Jill said. "If it's okay by you, you might have to follow my lead. Before those ghosts ambushed us, I laid out stones in the middle of the path so we'd find our way. And while we were chased, I got hurt and my hand was dripping blood on the ground. So I think I made us a good trail back to the Dark Mirror!"

"Are you gonna be okay, though?" Ace asked. "What if you aren't able to handle it?"

"I will," Jill promised. "I'll keep up this time, I know it."

Those strange words that had been echoing in her head… they weren't coincidence. As her emotions cleared and her confidence grew, Jill had a moment of insight—an ace up her sleeve.

The "poetry" was in fact a spell. A spell that could save everyone if need be.