Royal Academy (A Zodiac Tale)

Chapter 3 - "To Quote the Scary Lady"

Libra POV

I walked down the hallway triumphantly, twirling the bathroom pass on my finger. It was a piece of gold paper hung to a silver chain that we were supposed to clip to the metal ring on our tunic -- per the school uniform.

I was humming happily that I'd gotten out of OH SO BORING Kingdom Management when I saw someone.

It was one of the girls in my group -- Scorpio. She was lounging on one of the balconies without a care in the world, looking out at the view peacefully.

I felt creeped out.

I immediately went quiet and tried to tiptoe discreetly past her when she turned and stared right at me. 

"Hey, you're the blonde guy," she said.

I froze and turned to her. "Um, yes, I am blonde --"

"Are you gay?"

I stared at her, speechless. ". . . what?"

Her violet eyes scoured mine, and she repeated her question. "Are. You. Gay?"

I continued staring at her in shock, to the point that she went in front of me and snapped her fingers in front of my face.

"W-what?" I spluttered.

She smiled. "You are."

"B-but -- how --"

She shrugged. "I'm good at reading people. I can see that you're gay."

I furrowed my brow at her, feeling kind of insulted that someone I barely knew already knew one of my most guarded secrets. "It's that obvious, isn't it?"

She tapped my nose. "Sarcasm, cupcake. It doesn't suit you."

"I thought you knew my name," I grumbled.

"I did . . . I just don't remember names," Scorpio said with a wink. "I have a nickname for everyone in our group, however."

"Why are you out here?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "Ditching. Study of Kingdoms is boring anyways."

"But you'll get in trouble," I said, confused, even though I did agree with her. I was a year below the girl and Study of Kingdoms was the most boring class. "What's to gain from ditching?"

She spread her arms. "Everything, dollface, everything."

"But wasn't my nickna--"

"Anywho," she returned to the balcony and grinned at me. "Little Miss Tiara seems to have trouble deciding."

I frowned. "Who's Little Miss Tiara?"

Scorpio gestured with her hands carelessly. "You know, the female you."

"The female --"

"Yeah, the female you."

I thought for a moment, then an imaginary lightbulb went off in my head. "Ohh, you mean Cancer."

Scorpio stared at me blankly. "Her name is a disease?"

"What do you want with her?" I asked hurriedly.

She smirked and I felt like I was shrinking down. She was scary -- not like the I can beat you up in a moment and send you crying with my retorts scary -- Aries and Sagittarius scary (more Aries, I think) -- but more like I know all your deepest secrets and I can bury you alive if I wanted scary.

"I just need her to choose," Scorpio said, though she seemed a little uncomfortable. "Tell her she needs to decide quick."

"About what?" I asked suspiciously.