Straight-Up Not Having A Good Time At Night Raven College: Chapter 1

Chapter 7: A Tradition Lesson

Panting slightly, Deuce wiped his face with the back of his fist, glaring at the pair of delinquents.

The larger one was on the cafeteria floor, remnants of holographic water clinging around him like a mist.
The redhead was still upright, but obviously shocked, with a pale white face. A few shimmering leaves still stuck in his hair and on his jacket.

The taller one with the bleached hair coughed, struggling upright with a groan.
"N-Not bad for a first-year," he croaked, wobbling slightly.

The redhead shook his head rapidly, the leaves vanishing in small puffs of sparkles.
"L-Look-- we'll let you off the hook this time, but only 'cause I wanna hurry up an' eat my pasta, okay?!" He shrieked, voice cracking slightly.
With that, the two turned tail and ran, stumbling out of the cafeteria door and down the hall.

"Heh! I KNEW they were all bark an' no bite!" Grim scoffed proudly, standing up on his hind legs and crossing his arms.
"You better remember this!" He called after them.

With a heavy sigh, Kat put the tray down on a nearby table.
"You didn't really do much," she told Grim flatly.

She felt like the novelty of magical fights should still be getting to her at this point. Somehow, though, it felt like she was already used to it...
Or over it, more accurately.
"More importantly-- are you okay, Deuce?"

The boy shook his head, turning to face her and straightening his uniform.
"I'm fine," he said, giving her a small, awkward smile.
"How about you?"

"I'm okay," she replied, nodding.
"Wish people would stop touching me like that, though..."
She shook her head, plopping down on the bench and rubbing her face.

Ace wandered over with a groan, leaning on the table.
"Ugh... Now that the fun's over, can we PLEASE get some fuckin' lunch already?" He demanded. "I missed breakfast, and I'm fuckin' starving over here..."

"Oh, look who finally decided to show up," Kat said flatly, giving him a disapproving look.

He scowled back at her, crossing his arms. "Oh, come on-- in case you've forgotten, I wouldn't have been able to help much, either! Besides, Loosey-Deucey took care of it just fine on his own, right?"

'Loosey-Deucey' gave him a sharp look, then shook his head, sighing.
"Seriously though, I can't believe it... I mean, this is an academy that's famous for producing exceptional, influential mages, right? To think that there are such textbook bully types here, too..."

"Yeah-- talk about textbook," Kat agreed, snorting. "I mean-- god, I know this is real life, but haven't they ever read a book or watched a movie before?"

Deuce laughed, throwing his head back. "You're RIGHT!" He agreed, still laughing. "Wow-- hey, I never thought I'd be on the other side of that--"

"Huh?" Ace asked, giving him a weird look.

He coughed, looking awkward as he straightened his tie, tucking his pen back into his pocket.
"N-Nothing... Hey, let's hurry and grab something before all the good stuff's gone, huh?"
With that, he hurried back to the buffet table.

She and Ace exchanged a look, then shrugged at each other.

"I'll save a seat for you guys," she said, waving him away, and he grinned.
"You're the best, Pre-K!" He said, shooting her double finger guns and following Deuce towards the food.

She blinked, then rolled her eyes.
Pre-K...
Prefect Kat.
Very funny.

She felt Grim hopping up on the bench next to her. She slapped her hand down on his paw right when he started reaching towards one of her slices of quiche.
"No," she said flatly. "Mine. Back off."