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

Prologue Chapter 20: The Prologue Adjourned

The group made their weary way down one of the stone hallways.

Deuce groaned, rubbing his shoulder.
"Ugh... I still can't believe we managed to escape expulsion," he muttered.
"Talk about a close call..."

"You're tellin' ME!" Ace agreed, stretching his arms with a grimace.

The only one who didn't seem particularly tired was Grim.
Practically skipping along in front of them, he was singing tunelessly, stopping to admire his reflection in every shiny object they passed.

"La la laaaan~" he sung, striking a dramatic pose in front of a glass-fronted cabinet.
"Startin' tomorrow, I'm gonna be a student here at Night Raven College!"

Turning, he grinned nastily at Ace and Deuce, paws on his hips.
"Hope you enjoy eatin' my dust, boys! I'm gonna fly up the ranks of this school before you know it!"

Rather than getting mad, though, the two boys just laughed, shaking their heads.

"Oh, really?" Ace teased, grinning back. "Last I checked, you were only HALF a student, furball..."

Sighing, he looked back at Kat.
"Still... What a relief, huh? You gettin' to stay here, I mean..."

"Yeah," she agreed, nodding.
Then she interrupted herself with a huge yawn, covering her mouth with her sleeve.
"Ugh... 'Scuse me."

"So I guess this means we're gonna be classmates, huh?" Deuce added, smiling. "Congratulations-- I'm looking forward to it, Prefect. Grim."

She laughed.
"Aww- thanks, Deuce! But... Well, I just hope this all goes, y'know-- well..."

Deuce laughed too, shaking his head. "Hey-- c'mon, you don't need to worry about that! I mean, the way you went up against that monster without hesitation even though you couldn't use magic already proves you've got plenty of guts."

Stepping closer, he put a hand on her shoulder, grinning with pride.

"With nerves of steel like that, you'll be just fine, Prefect-- even in this school."

She snorted.
"Honestly, I was actually freaking the fuck out on the inside... Everything was just moving so fast, I didn't really have time to stop and think. Probably a good thing, though... And you really don't have to call me that if you don't want to, ya know."

"What? N-No way!" The boy protested, stepping back and shaking his head.
"I mean-- that'd be disrespectful, right?"

"Dude, it's fine," she insisted, waving a hand. "I mean, first off, I only got that title, like, five minutes ago. Besides, we're friends, right?"

"Friends?" Deuce repeated, eyes widening.

She grinned, punching him lightly on the shoulder.
"Yeah! I mean-- what are we SUPPOSED to be after all that? You wanna pretend we don't know each other?"

"N-No," he said, shaking his head. "I-- um-- th-thanks..."

Ace cleared his throat.
"Hey, speaking of disrespectful-- what's the deal with you randomly switching it up and talking like you're some kinda punk, Deucey?"

Deuce jumped guiltily.
"Huh?! Uh-- D-Do I?"
Taking a step back, he straightened his tie, coughing. "I... I don't know... I mean, I think I talk pretty normally, right?"

Ace obviously wasn't convinced, but he shrugged, putting his hands behind his head.
"Meh, okay... Whatever you say, man. Let's just hurry up and get back to the dorm, yeah? We almost just got expelled... The last thing we need is a curfew violation, too."