A Class Escape

Xinyi knocked on the door to the head office, nervous about being late. "Come in," Crowley said from the other side. Entering, Xinyi was greeted by the gentle smile of the headmaster and a woman right next to him. "Ah, Xinyi, good to see you bright and early. Please take a seat."

She does so, glancing over at the woman but keeps her head down. "G-goodmorning." She says, fiddling with her fingers.

Crowley looks at her worriedly. "It's only going to be a few minor tests, Xinyi, nothing too big. I am only worried about your health since you seemed a bit weak after your adventure yesterday. The nurse here is one the best at Night Raven Collage, she will help if she sees something wrong."

She looks up at the nurse before looking down at her hands again. "Okay…" She said quietly.

"Why don't we start with a simple check-up." The nurse said gently. "Then we can move on to the blood work. It shouldn't take too long."

She looked up at Crowley who only nodded gently and held her shoulder. He helped her to a chair and made sure not to leave her side as the nurse got her equipment. He could tell she was frightened by this but it was necessary. If she was going to stay here, they needed to know if anything was wrong with her and how to help.

*****

Rushing to the room, the two boys and monster barely made it in time as the bells rang. The first period was potions and the room showed it. Shelves upon shelves of bottled and raw ingredients lined the walls. In the center of the room was a huge cauldron and their teacher.

"So you're all the fresh faces starting my class today." said the man, smirking at everyone in the class. His hair was multi-colored and everything about him was either white or black. The only source of color was the red tie around his neck.

He looks around the room noting every student. "There are some rare hair colors in the bunch. Not bad. Make sure to take proper care of it." He then takes a stance of authority. "My name is Divus Crewel, feel free to call me Master Crewel."

He then turns away walking to the cauldron. "Now, hurry up and take your seats. It's time for class to begin. Let's start with the basics." His words then turn harshly as he takes out his pointer, taping it in his palm. "There are hundreds of kinds of medical herbs and poisonous herbs and you will learn to distinguish them with your tiny brains. Fungi will come at a later time. Memorize these so you don't go poisoning yourselves with random things lying on the ground." he then smirked again. "Dogs will eat whatever is lying around. Your training will be strict and I better not see any red marks on your tests."

Timidly Deuce raised his hand and the teacher turned towards him. "I see… by the way, what's a 'fungi'?"

Ace didn't pay attention, rubbing his head in distress. "Geh, This is gonna suck. My memory is a pile of dirt."

Grim on the other hand playfully pated Deuce's back. "All that matters when it comes to grass is whether or not it tastes good."

The boys stared at the creature wondering when Xinyi would return and take him.

*****

It was now the second period and Xinyi had yet to return, the two Heartsable students were a bit worried but still kept an eye on the monster. Magical History was something that the three were looking forward to, well at least not Ace and Grim.

"I am the professor of Magical History. I am Trein, this is my familiar, Lucious." The teacher introduced, his stern face and sinister sneer made it hard to say anything against him. "I will be teaching you about the history of magic that you are currently using."

A large black cat with white features meowed on his lap. He looked down at it before resuming his lecture. "Your grade will be determined not solely on your coursework, but on participation and behavior in class, as well. Sleeping is forbidden. Open your textbooks to page fifteen. We will begin with the discovery of Magic Gems in the Dwarfs' Mine during what had been a routine excavation of gemstones."

Lucius meows again looking out at the class. Mr. Trein looks up and glares at the individuals who have fallen asleep. "Knowledge of Magical energy spread throughout the world after this discovery of the century, leading to that year being named the first year of the Magic Age."

Lucius gets up from the professor's lap and goes over to the sleeping students only to startle them awake with a hiss.

In the back of the class, Ace and Grim were barely keeping their eyes open while Deuce was nose-deep in a book. Ace yawns, listening to his friend's ramblings "Oh! The Dwarfs' mine! Oh! Magical energy, huh…"

Grim grones covering his ears as a means to escape. "Ugh... I want an explosive and shinier magic class!"

*****

The third period was physical education. All students met on the outside fields liaising with the instructor. "Name's Vargas. I'm in charge of training you bean sprouts up." He said proudly, smiling brightly. "Becoming a great mage starts with your body! Just look at the muscles you can get from eating raw eggs every day! You can't be a mage if you don't have the stamina for it. Start with twenty laps around the track, then one hundred pushups!"

"Eh… I don't dislike exercise but I can't stand this type of teacher." Ace ground, not wanting to listen to the man.

Deuce on the other hand was already stretching and getting ready to move. "I've got confidence in my physical abilities."

"What's so fun about running in circles!? I'm not a freaking hamster!" Grim yelled and tried to run away only to be grabbed by Ace. He may not be happy with this class but he did owe it to Xinyi to keep Grim out of trouble. Though she better be here soon.

*****

It was now Break Time and the trio were taking a break going through the halls. "Our next class is…" Deuce began but was stopped when he saw a figure running towards them.

"H-hey!" Xinyi yelled out to them. "S-sorry for leaving for so long! I hope Grim didn't bother you." She bowed her head in front of them.

The two Heartslabyul students smiled at the girl and were about to reprimand her for being so long. Then they stopped, noticing some patches on her arm. It was mostly hidden by her sleeve but they could see a white bandage on her wrist. 

Ace was the first to speak. "Grim was fine for the most part but what exactly did the Headmaster want? That bandage…"

The girl instantly put the injured arm behind her, trying to hide it. The two got suspicious. "Did he-" Deuce began but was interrupted by her.

"No! Y-you got the wrong idea!" Xinyi yelled but instantly became reserved once more. The boy looked at her expecting an explanation. "T-the headmaster wanted to do some tests for academic purposes. T-they went smoothly but he wanted to do some medical tests just in case."

"Medical test?" Deuce asked. "Are you alright?"

"I-it was just a check-up, nothing to be worried about," Xinyi explained. "S-since there is no medical record of me and t-there is no way to get them from my home, t-the headmaster thought it would be best to do all the tests in one go. I-it is why I took longer than expected."

"I see…" Ace said, trying to lighten the mood with a bright smile. "So anything to note?"

Xinyi shook her head in return, returning the smile. "N-no, m-most of the test won't be done for a while." She then looked between the two. "H-how was school?"

Ace sighed but still held his playful smile. "For being a so-called magic school, sure is barely different to a regular old school. It's kinda boring. Real pain. Not being able to use magic hasn't affected me, at all." he said this both as a complaint and not to trouble her. She had enough to deal with because of her situation. "How about you, Grim?... Hm?" he turned to where the little monster should have been only to find him gone.

"Huh? Grim?" Xinyi asked, looking at Ace and Deuce, not understanding what was happening.

Deuce panicked and looked behind him. "Look out the window! That furball is making a beeline through the courtyard…" He yelled coaching the other's attention.

Faintly they could hear the little beast yelling. "I'm not sitting through boring classes all day! I'm a genius! Even if I don't take any classes here, I can still swoop in with all this big, powerful magic right when I'm needed!"

"He's skipping class on his first day!?" Xinyi yelled, panicked, starting to rush after him. "The Headmaster is gonna be furious…"

Deuce shook his head in shame. "Making a break for it already… He doesn't learn huh?"

Ace only laughed. "Pft, your first day as Supervisor and you already have to report that you lost track of him. So, do you want help catching Grim?" he asked with a mischievous grin.

"Yes, please!" the girl begged, bowing her head.

Ace only continued to grin. "Heck yeah! I want a chocolate croissant."

Deuce started to smile when he realized what was going on. "If you get me an iced latte from the cafeteria, we have a deal."

She looked up at them with tears in her eyes. "As you wish! As you wish!" She was so grateful for their help, running off after Grim with a bit more hope.

Ace froze when he saw her tears but looked over at his friend. "Now then, Deuce, shall we clean up after our little supervisor?" He still has his cocky smile.

Deuce too, has the same smile. "Sure thing, Ace. I'm looking forward to lunch," he said but both boys admitted that the better reward was the smile on the young girl's face. Neither could deny the joy they had to have her smile like that.

"How funny it'll seem to come out among the people that walk with their heads downwards! The antipathies, I think-"

Lewis Carroll Alice's Adventures in Wonderland