Of Numbers and Strange Friendships

Chapter 29

Loki looked like a kid in a candy store as the trio made their way inside. "See the kids in the matching purple t-shirts with the year on them?" Peter asked as they walked up the steps to the main doors. Loki inclined his head. "Those are the seniors. They're all wearing those matching shirts today. They're the ones in charge of all the pranks. Try not to be too hard on them, they're just Midgardian kids and have nowhere near your skill in mischief and pranks. Nor do they have magic to help," Peter warned. He didn't want Loki discouraging their attempts at pranks or looking down on the kids for having fun.

Loki just grinned. "Then I shall just have to help them," he replied. Peter and Wanda could both see the gears in his head working on ideas of what to do to the school and the teachers. But Loki, as ever, was a patient hunter. He would wait and see what the children had come up with on their own before adding his own touches and flair.

And crazy amounts of drama and magic.

The second they walked through the doors, they say three pigs run down the hallway with numbers painted on their sides: 1, 2, 4.

Loki chuckled. "A traditional prank. I assume it is the same on Midgard where there is no number three?" he asked his companions. They both nodded and looked relieved that Loki had chosen to be amused rather than upset at the 'traditional' prank.

"C'mon," Peter told him as the principal walked by, followed by a full mariachi band, and looking annoyed. Loki couldn't help laughing at the harried look on the principal's face. "The seniors asked me for a favor if I actually got you here," he explained and led Loki and Wanda through the halls.

"A favor?" Loki asked, concerned. It was one thing for Peter to owe him a favor. He didn't like the thought of Peter owing favors to others.

"Don't worry, it's nothing harmful. They know we're friends and asked me to make sure you saw something they did if I managed to actually get you here. They didn't think I'd get you to show up," he explained. Loki nodded. That was a reasonable request. He was the god of mischief and chaos after all, of course the seniors would want to see him on their day of pranks. He had a feeling he had a lot of new worshipers for the day.

Loki always appreciated new worshipers.

Peter led the them to the library and opened the big double doors into the huge room of books. Loki wondered what they were doing there, until he saw the statue. He had no idea how the art students had managed, but greeting them in front of the circulation desk was a marble-looking life sized statue of Loki in full regalia, including the helmet, arms spread wide in the classic 'your savior is here' pose. It wasn't real marble of course, but plaster or some such material, decorated to look like marble.

Peter whistled appreciatively. "The art students went above and beyond with that creation," he said. There were students in the purple shirts approaching the statue, and a couple who were standing guard protectively over their creation.

Loki approached the statue, curious to see what the purple-shirts were up to. They were leaving offerings. He couldn't help the emotions that he had that they were actually leaving offerings at the feet of the statue to him. There was a collection of offerings there already. Most of the students weren't rich, so the offerings were simple things, but Loki appreciated every single one of them. There were brownies someone made, snack cakes from the store, different types of candy, an entire chocolate cake, and quite a lot of letters. Loki reached for a brownie and growled softly when one of the purple-shirt guards tried to smack his hand away from the treat.

"Those are offerings, you can't just take them!" the boy scolded. Peter started to step forward to diffuse the situation. It was something the kid had great skill in.