Demons, Witches, and Toads (BoyxBoy)

Worm Rescue

Summer vacation passed far too quickly. Warm summer days seamlessly slipped into one another until the students were finally summoned back to the academy, ready to begin a new semester. Of course, regardless of it being vacation, Mulock had refused to let Wheeler even consider slacking off on his studies.

Wheeler's newly-realized feelings for Mulock hadn't been as awful as he'd expected over the course of the summer. Somehow, acknowledging that it was completely hopeless made it far easier to push those painful emotions to the very back of his mind.

Only a few weeks had passed since the school year had begun, the student's summer tans beginning to fade after spending so many long hours inside the academy walls.

Priscilla sighed heavily, propping her chin up with her hands as they waited for class to begin.

"I wish it was still vacation," she mumbled for about the hundredth time since the semester had started. "To think, instead of being in this gloomy old classroom, I could be outside, still reading about the handsome Count Auberon."

"Oh!" Wheeler exclaimed. "He's the one from those books you were reading over break, right? Uh...A Dangerous Purse?"

"It's thirst, Wheeler," Priscilla corrected. "A Dangerous Thirst. Because he's a vampire." She let out a wistful sigh. "A totally dreamy, intelligent, and utterly gorgeous vampire at that."

Wheeler blinked. "I thought you didn't like men."

"Real men," Priscilla pointed out. "Fictional ones are different. I have no idea why--"

"Students," Professor Milton Slengeborn's voice suddenly rang out, cutting sharply through the room. "Please stop your pestiferous chatter. Class is starting."

The professor's eyes squinted narrowly from behind his spectacles. "Now, before we begin today's lesson, there's something I need to address. This is an extremely serious topic and something I do not take lightly."

The students grew silent, exchanging nervous glances.

"I found a rather offensive message on the chalkboard this morning," Milton continued, adjusting his spectacles in a single, sharp motion. "It referred to me as..." his voice was tight, "Professor Slengeboner."

A few giggles echoed through the room.

"Stop laughing," the professor snapped. "Does this seem like a joke to you? This is a serious offense."

Instead of its intended purpose, Milton's statement simply caused even more laughter.

"I said, stop laughing! This isn't funny!" he screeched. Wheeler had never seen the professor this angry before. "SLENGEBONER IS NOT A JOKE!"

Milton finally collected himself, straightening his jacket. "If you don't take this seriously, I may have to speak to the faculty about canceling the apprenticeship program next semester."

That instantly shut the students up. Most of them had been excitedly waiting for their apprenticeships all year.

"That's what I thought," Milton said sharply, smoothing back his hair. "And trust me, the moment I find the perpetrator, they will be severely punished."

With the room now dead silent, the professor let out a heavy sigh, seemingly calm once more. He removed his wand, giving it a precise flick as circular glass tanks suddenly began to rise up from the students' desks. "Now that the unpleasantries are out of the way," Milton said, his voice cold, "let us begin today's lesson."

Wheeler's eyes grew wide as he peered into the tank, a grin spreading across his face.

Inside, burrowing through the dirt, was a colony of fat green worms. They were small with beady red eyes, yellow dots speckled across their bodies.

"They're so cute!" Wheeler breathed.

"Uuuuh, are you sure about that?" Priscilla replied slowly.

Wheeler pressed his face up against the glass. "Look at their itty bitty faces." He pointed to an especially large worm that was having difficulty squeezing its way through the dirt. "I'm gonna name that one Maxwell."

"These are referred to as blood worms," Milton said from the front of the classroom, writing the name in large letters across the chalkboard. "Their insides are a vital ingredient for nearly every powerful elixir. That's why, to truly understand their anatomy...we'll be dissecting them."

Wheeler nearly fainted at the statement.

Milton began his lecture before the horrific event was to occur, droning on about what elixir types the poor worms could be used for and how exactly they were supposed to cut into them.

Frantically, Wheeler looked to Priscilla. "We have to save them," he whispered.

"What? The worms?" Priscilla asked.

Wheeler nodded anxiously. "We can't just let Maxwell die! He still has so much to live for! Think about all the things he could do in his life!"

They both glanced back to the worm who still hadn't managed to move even a centimeter.

"Alright, fine," Priscilla said with a sigh. "What do we do?"

"Help me get them into my pockets," Wheeler whispered.

As Professor Milton continued on with the lecture, Wheeler and Priscilla frantically began scooping the worms out of the bowl, stuffing them into Wheeler's jacket. Every time the professor looked away, more of the creatures were hectically rescued.

Finally, Wheeler's pockets were so heavy with dirt and worms they seemed just about ready to burst. Despite this, it seemed the creatures were safely secured.

"Okay," Wheeler said quietly. "I'm gonna try and make a break for it."

Nervously, Wheeler slipped from his chair and began to shuffle towards the classroom door, moving slowly to ensure no dirt happened to spill from his pockets.

"Mister Trevil," Milton said sharply as he approached. "Just where do you think you're going?"

"The bathroom, sir!" Wheeler stammered.

The professor's eyes narrowed. "Are you really?" He took a step closer. "Or perhaps this is your attempt to leave early in order to write more phallic renditions of my name?"

"Wha! I would never, sir!" Wheeler gasped. "I just...I just really need to go to the bathroom. It's an emergency. You wouldn't want me to have uh...an accident, would you?"

The class shifted uncomfortably at this statement.

"So um...I'll just....err...be going then," Wheeler anxiously added. The moment he said this he attempted to dash towards the door, but Milton shot in front of him, causing Wheeler to crash into the professor.

Dirt and worms exploded everywhere. A few shrieks rang out around the room, the worms now wiggling about on the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" Wheeler gasped, dropping to his knees as he frantically attempted to scoop them up.

Looking nearly ready to commit a murder, Milton slowly picked one from his hair. "Well, in light of this new disaster, I think we'll have to delay today's lesson so that this...mess," he practically spat the word, "can be properly cleaned up."

So the worms would live another day! A small rush of relief swept over Wheeler. This was quickly cut short however, when Milton glared down at him.

"Now, as for how to deal with you, Mister Trevil," he said, his voice ice cold.

Wheeler swallowed hard. "Yes, sir?"

"Detention."