|12| Ogres and Cream Puffs

Fiona gazed at her newest acquaintance. Judging from her appearance, she wasn't a very intimidating character. In fact, she was the merriest, most cheerful person she'd ever met. But the human boy had backed off when she'd threatened him. He'd called her Puff Girl.

    "Why do they call you call you Puff?" Fiona questioned.

Naomi's eyebrows shot up. "You wanna know about that?" Without further opposition, she continued, "I had a little fiasco in my first week of MARC. I was on the verge of starvation and begged the meanie cooks to spare some cream puffs. They refused and I used one or two magic tricks to get them. That landed me yard duty for two months!"

    "For stealing snacks?" Fiona didn't support her actions, but two months seemed a bit too extreme a punishment.

    "Hell no! They made me read an apology letter in front of the school assembly for that. Yard duty was for using magic outside an authorized staff's permission."

Warning bells rang in Fiona's head. She used magic every morning and afternoon to brush up on her look. Nobody had told her that that was practically illegal. Now she thought about it, it made sense. MARC dealt with supernaturals who couldn't control their mana. If they were allowed to use magic whenever they pleased, the school would be rowdier than an amusement park on a Saturday. No matter, that was for them. Fiona was in complete control of her powers. Besides, her magic wasn't hurting anyone. She just had to make sure she never got caught.

    "Hold up. You risked a public apology, community service, and an unwanted nickname —for food?" It was a fact that amused Fiona.

Slapping her chest in an exaggerated display of shock, Naomi gasped. "Have you tasted the monster realm's cream puffs? They are to die for."

A chuckle escaped Fiona. "No, I can't say I have."

    "Then you must!"

Grabbing her wrist, Naomi pulled Fiona out of the building, all the way to the dining hall. They rounded the house till they stood behind a bush facing the backyard. Several ogres dressed in chef outfits moved in and out the door. They were loading boxes into a wooden cart. Another ogre stood at the front of the trolley, holding its handles. She would be the one to pull it to its destination.

    "Just on time." Naomi whispered, rubbing her palms and sporting a hilarious evil laugh. "Now listen." She turned to Fiona. "The ogres transfer meals to the Staff Cafeteria before every dining period. Cream puffs are always on the menu, but not for students. It's a once-in-a-blue-moon delicacy." She rolled her eyes. "You're to keep Miss Jiji over there occupied," She pointed at the ogre at the trolley. "while I get the puffs."

Fiona began to protest, but Naomi pushed her out of the bush. "Now go."

Like a lost kitten, she stood in the presence of the large humanoid monster, dazed and unsure of what to do next. The ogre frowned at her. Her skin was forest green, dark, and very wrinkled, though she didn't look old. Her face wasn't too pretty, either. Fiona looked past her. Naomi was stealthily making her way to the cart. If she was caught, they would both get into trouble. The horrific thought of reading an apology letter to the entire school was enough to get Fiona to work.

    "Hello! I just wanted to say—how impressed I am with your superior culinary—Skills! Heh heh." She said the first thing that came into her mind. "Really, there is no one who comes even close to the mighty ogres. In all 50 realms! No one."

The monster's scowl deepened. Fiona had heard that long ago, ogres ate human flesh. She wondered if they still did, but only girls who were distracting them so that someone else could steal their goods. Suddenly, the sound of something dropping broke out, causing her heart to jump and the ogre to attempt to check what happened.

Fiona half screamed to draw her attention back. "I THINK! Ogres should spread their skills. You know, to the far reaches of the galaxy." She spied more chefs coming their way. She didn't know about Naomi, but she wasn't about to be used as a scapegoat if they discovered something was missing.  "Gotta go now. Bye!"

Scurrying, Fiona ran out of the backyard. A hand pulled her by her collar and slammed her into the wall. The fear that had gripped her vanished when she saw it was only her classmate. In her arms, Naomi cradled half a dozen cupcakes, and two juice boxes to go with it.

    "Jackpot." She said, wearing a triumphant grin.

They ate their prize on a narrow roof corridor shielded by gargoyles of goblins. From their position, Fiona had a brilliant view of the school compound. Although all classes and therapy sessions were done for the day, the grounds were still busy, with plenty of staff and students still moving about. Fiona took a bite from her second puff. Naomi hadn't been joking; the pastry was to die for. The insides were filled with a cream Fiona couldn't identify the flavor. It was intensely sweet, yet spicy enough to not give you nausea.

    "Hah. Nothing hits like monster realm cream puffs." Naomi leaned into the roof, rubbing her belly. Resting her head on her arm and crossing her legs, she noisily sipped what remained of her juice using a straw.

The rooftop seemed so detached from the world, Fiona felt like she was in a different realm altogether. Her gaze fell on Naomi. Her cream-puff-obsessed companion had been nothing but nice since they'd met, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was hiding something. Her gut was telling her Naomi wanted something from her, but was waiting for the right time to ask.

    "If you have something to say, say it." Fiona found herself saying. She realized too late how weird she must sound. 

Instead of looking confused, Naomi slowly sat upright, still sucking from her juice box. "Wanna see something cool?" She asked seriously.

Cool? Fiona was okay with cool.