Kai Porter and the Castle on the Hill

Chapter 3- a shitty start to a shitty holiday

Bonnie (he/him)

He knew it would come off as weird or at least as though he had a crush on Kai if he continued to stare at them from across the dining hall, but he couldn't help it. They looked so dejected. Bonnie didn't know what their father had said to them, but he had a sneaking suspicion. People like that man tended to have that effect on people. His mother taught him as much.

And her! That stuck-up pink little bitch who thought he would do nothing but hurt Kai! As if she would help any more than she thought he did. He guessed if they stuck with those loons she kept around, they'd go from spraypainting abandoned cars in the middle of the woods to shoving scrawny kids' heads into toilets. She'd just be trading one poison for another, and Bonnie knew which of the two was better for Kai to take- Though not just because he was partial to his own brand of delinquency or knew it would give him his best friend back.

He'd go there and invite Kai over to his table if not for Harmony and her... Friends, he thought? They liked her jokes, so she at least had that going for her. Anyways, he had a hunch that he wouldn't be welcome there, to put it mildly.

Might as well check in on the small talk at his own table, if he couldn't make any with the one person here he actually knew.

"Oh, yes, my grandmother visited during the Sojourn... She told us where she hid her jewels. I wouldn't have minded if my parents hadn't used half of it to send me here for the holiday! Lords know we could have used it on a trip to some Summer resort on the coast instead- Y'know, a place actually worth a two months' stay at?" Said a girl with heavy purple glitter eyeshadow, the ends of her mouth turned sharply downwards in a grimace.

"At least you have relatives who'd visit you on the Sojourn!" Said a boy with small green scales around his ears that almost looked like plants sprouting out of his skin.

"How do you have no relatives who would visit you? I mean, you have to have relatives. Even dead ones. Dead relatives visiting you is literally the whole point of the Sojourn." Bonnie interjected.

"A ghost has to have unfinished business to cross the Veil. They can't just float over like it's a trip to the grocery store. How do you not know this? Did you like, miss the lesson in 3rd grade where they covered the Sojourn?" The scaley boy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Bonnie told him testily. "And I don't have relatives who'd visit either- Between the two of us, you're the only one who gave enough shits to study up and figure out why."

The boy shrugged and went back to talking with the heavy-eyed girl about ghosts or the importance of one's heritage and taking pride in it and how it's faded along with proper morals or whatever, a conversation likely caused by Bonnie and a conversation Bonnie didn't care to partake in. He'd be proud of his family if they actually did something to be proud of.

He went back to his ti hoeh koe, its jasper gravel coating crunching between his teeth. The zmei's diet consisted of blood and gemstones, and ti hoeh koe fit the bill pretty well, especially if you replaced the peanut powder coating with some pulverized rock. There were a few other blood dishes on the table and small bowls full of semiprecious gemstones, but not many. Bonnie counted czernina, svartsoppa, black pudding, and biroldo.

He went on like that for another 20 minutes or so, eating amazonite and glancing at Kai and ignoring the other people at his table, until a bald bearded man at the head table got up and clinked his spoon against his crystal goblet. When that failed to catch the attention of a roomful of rowdy teenagers that did not like nor respect him- because of course it wouldn't, what else did he expect?- he unholstered his wand and shot a ball of red sparks at the ceiling. Ah, that certainly got everybody to look at him.

"Finally. My fiancée's kindergarten class is better behaved than you lot." He muttered. A few of the counselors chuckled at his remark.

"Well, now! I must say, it is wonderful to be back at Scholomance! I've no doubt that we can help you children progress into the upstanding young men and women you were always meant to be." He said with a sort of cheerfulness that Bonnie didn't think was at all genuine. Bonnie frowned. Judging from the looks on everybody else's faces, none of them appreciated being called children. "Over the coming two months, we will do many activities together and take classes where we will reflect on the behaviours and mistakes that brought you to this camp. You will change for the better, and we'll help you! However, do not expect to be coddled... We will take whatever measures necessary to keep your fellow campers safe, and that includes searching and confiscating your things. Furthermore, if you misbehave, you will be put on chore detail to make it up to your fellow campers and your counselors, who work hard to keep you safe and make this place good for you. Your stay here can be fun! But only if you work with us, not against us. Do not rebel because you have no reason to. We do what we do with your best interests in mind." Bonnie glared daggers at him. Yeah, right. As if he hadn't heard that before. "Now, onto schedules and rules... We wake up at 6 o'clock. Our meals are at 8 o'clock, 12:30, and 6:30, unless you are a zmeu. Then you will hunt for your own food during breakfast hour, and must provide your own weapons for hunting... Then all of us will spend the rest of the day doing activities, which you chose during the school year before you came here, and you will have an hour of free time each day. Curfew is at 8 o'clock. By then you will be back in your room. Lights out is at 9:30. You will turn in your wands and other magical artifacts at the front office, they will be returned..."

Bonnie sat up. What was that bit about food? Hunting wasn't a problem- Sure, he might be rusty now, but he definitely still knew how to do it- but he... He didn't bring his knives! He didn't even have fangs! His mother took them away! What was he meant to do?!

"Quiet! Quiet." Kai's stepfather said, his voice raised. The zmei in the dining hall at once ceased to voice their worries. "The forests surrounding the castle are well-stocked. You will not go hungry as long as you are competent." A burning, empty pit opened up in Bonnie's stomach. Competent? How about well-equipped?

He looked around the table, searching for something to hide food in. God fucking dammit, why did he leave his bag in his room? Oh, right, because he thought he'd still be fed after tonight!

In his franticness, he neglected to listen to the rest of Mr. Porter-Ranger's speech. Hide food in some napkins? No, they're made of silk and shit, they're not little bits of paper that wouldn't be missed! Counselors would notice they're gone while counting the silverware or whatever and jump up his ass! The last thing he needed was to cement himself as a thief this early into the holiday- he'd still be able to get up to at least some trouble if he didn't!

"...lastly, the fourth corridor on floor three is strictly off-limits. Curfew is at 8 o'clock." He finished. Bonnie finally decided on grabbing a few sticks of ti hoeh koe and slipping the contents of an untouched bowl of amethyst into the pocket of his dress. Eugh, amethyst... It didn't taste all too great, but food was food. He was the last to get up from his table, and he'd just reached the stairs when a counselor stopped him.

"Hold it. What've you got there?" They asked, grabbing his arm.

"Food for tomorrow. And don't touch me." Bonnie muttered, trying to shake them off. They didn't let go.

"You heard the director. You're not allowed to keep food in your room. Just bleed some out of a deer tomorrow."

"I can't-"

"Then learn how to." They snapped, and knocked the ti hoeh koe out of his hands.

"HEY!"

"You can follow the rules the easy way or the hard way. Your choice." They said, shrugging as they walked away. "And pick that up, either now or on chore duty because you didn't want to cooperate." Bonnie's nails dug into his palms, but he remembered why he didn't just hide food in napkins earlier.

Don't give people reasons to jump up your ass- Not now, at least.

He picked up the mess the counselor made. Then, so he wouldn't do something stupid trying to get his anger out later, snapped the ti hoeh koe sticks into several pieces before throwing them into the trash with rather more force than usual.

At least he still had the amethyst in his pocket. It wasn't much, but... It was enough, hopefully for at least until tomorrow.