Queen Of The Ventils

XXII

"Come on, Krel, it's time for PE," I skipped to the gymnasium. He lagged behind me, nervously fiddling with his shirt sleeves.

Krel had been acting strangely for two weeks now: sweating and flushing pink whenever I accidentally touched him, stuttering whenever we spoke alone, even going so far as to abruptly end the conversation whenever I came up in it. I chalked it up to Douxie, Archie and Nari's unfruitful attempts to find a spell to undo Eclipse's curse.

The more they searched the bookstore, the more they came up empty-handed, which did nothing to fuel the confidence of the others. Every day, when they said they had nothing, Eclipse took the time to reinforce the fact that they would never find a spell for her curse. And every day, it got harder and harder to shut her up.

"Come on, we're gonna be late," I groaned, grabbing his hands and tugging them with me for emphasis. I had grown accustomed to the schedule of human 'high school', and I knew the consequences for being late to arrive to class.

The school alpha, with his eyes like the sky and skin like milk, would descend upon unsuspecting humans and give them the dreaded yellow Detention Slip. Those who received it would disappear, and would never be seen until the next morning. And when they came back, they would tell horrible tales of their traumatic experiences with their punishments, such as Scraping Gum From Under Desks, or Erasing Textbook Answers. Wisely, I had been quick to adapt to the strict laws of Passing Period.

The moment I touched Krel, his face lit up crimson and he yanked his hands back. "I get it, I get it," he snapped. "I will try to go faster."
"Come on, Krel," Toby chimed in from behind us. "There's some kind of special announcement happening right before Gym class. I'm pretty sure it's got something to do with the Spring Fling!"

"TP, the Spring Fling won't happen for another month," a girl with brown hair like dandelion fluff chimed in. "Why would people be worried about it now?"
"Duh," another girl with a mouse-like face chimed in. "The Spring Fling is the most important day in the Arcadia Oaks High school year! If we can't have our prom, then life has no meaning!"

"What is a Spring Fling?" I asked, confused. Both girls instantly froze, and turned to me with mouths wide open. "New Girl, do you mean to tell me you have absolutely no idea what the most amazing day of the year in Arcadia is?!" Mouse Face asked incredulously.
"Um...no?"

"The Spring Fling is basically a really important event here at Arcadia Oaks High," the girl with poofy hair explained before Mouse Face could lose her temper. "It's a dance, and then, at the end of the night, one girl and one boy are crowned Spring Fling King and Queen. Not to brag, but I ended up with the title of Queen last year."

"Yeah, but I was in a close second," Mouse Face countered.
"Anyways, my name's Darci," the fluffy haired girl, who now had a name, extended her hand towards me. "And that's Mary. Stick with us, and we can give you all the tips and tricks to get to the top of the high school pyramid."

"She already has friends," Krel stopped them, putting a hand on my shoulder. The look on his face was a combination of anger and...jealousy? "Who asked you, Karl?" Mary the Mouse Faced glared at him. "I've told you, my name is Krel," he groaned. Apparently, this wasn't the first time Mary had gotten his name wrong. "Whatever, Kevin," she scoffed, before sashaying away with Darci at her side.

Krel stomped off before I could say anything to cool his temper. "Just ignore them," Jim advised, coming up beside Toby and I. "Mary and Darci mean well, but sometimes they can be a bit....intense."

"Yeah," Toby agreed. "One time, I accidentally forgot I had a date with Darci, and she went totally nuts!"
"Tobes, that was last week."
"Exactly! High school women can be bloodthirsty sharks."