Alone Again

This is so grody. Right when I went to school, all of these chicks, including Professor Schmutzal of all people, were hitting on me. Lara didn’t act the way she usually does too! What the hell is going on?

“Excuse me, I have to use the outhouse again.” I bounced from the classroom as fast as I could. But like half of them followed me in the hallway. And other girls from other classrooms ran out to meet with the group that was following me too. Holy crap, I’m living the Blues Brothers right now. Sorry girls, Soul Man gotta bounce outta here. 

I activated my lute and played Alone Again by Dokken. Instantly, a light orb came out of my lute and flew right into all of the girls’ faces. It looked like their daze was over, and they went back to class, completely ignoring me. Suddenly another light came from a classroom, and all the guys came out.

“Hey, handsome, how would you like to handle me like your lute?” This one guy came up to me and tried to hold me.

“Yo, sorry, I don’t swing that way.”

Another guy came up to me. “Are you sure? You can swing me any way you want.” Dude, what the hell is going on?

I played the song again, and everyone went away even faster than before. Someone was clearly messing with me.

I played The Clairvoyant by Iron Maiden, and another light shined over me. It made a weird beeline to a hall, and abruptly stopped at a classroom. I saw that the classroom was sparkling. Was someone seriously casting spells at me?

I opened the door, and I saw a group of chicks just brewing this potion and casting this magic out in the air. They stopped immediately after they saw me.

“By Galaka, it’s him!” The girls squealed and hugged me.

“Uh, ladies, what the hell is this?” They stopped hugging me and looked at each other.

“Well, we all adore you, especially after you played the lute at the town center. We couldn’t figure out which one would ask for your hand in marriage after we graduate, so we decided to create a love potion together and give it to you to drink so you can naturally choose who you want.”

“Okay…. That’s pretty creepy….”

“But we accidentally spilled it, and the magic vapor went everywhere!”

“So you made the entire school AND the professors fall in love with me?!” 

They all nodded. One of the girls fixed her glasses and walked up to me. She handed me her handkerchief with her name embroidered on it. Sallia.

“I’m Sallia. Nice to meet you. I wish this wasn’t the way we did things, but you really touched us with your minstrel songs.”

“Yes, yes! I’m Tamelia, and this is Morigan. We apologize profusely for doing this to you.”

“Hi, I’m Morigan. I want to also admit that there was a lady selling trinkets to us, and she taught us how to brew love potions!”

“Hush, Morigan! She told us that the love potion won’t work if you tell him who it came from!” Sallia was dead serious about me.

“Sallia, it doesn’t matter anymore! He found us out, and we apologized. We need to tell him about Gretchel!” Tamelia pulled a piece of paper out. It was a drawing of the lady I met on the public carriage! What the f-

“We met Gretchel while we were shopping at the town center. We all watched you play your beautiful new lute and sway your luscious blonde hair in such a way that we haven’t seen a minstrel do before… Sorry, I was just reminiscing. Anyways, Gretchel asked us if we wanted to marry you, and from the entrancement by your performance, we all said yes. She led us to her house by the center, and taught us how to make this potion.”

“Did she have kids and a guy? I mean, a husband?”

“No, she lived by herself… Why? Are you saying you’d rather be with an old lady than us?”

“Wait, no no, I’m asking ‘cause I sat next to her, and she was flirting with me. Well, I did flirt back, but-”

The three girls started crying and hugging each other. “Leave us to our solitude, you swindle-heart!” Oh crap, I hate misunderstandings.

I walked out of the classroom and I bumped right into Lara. She looked like she was standing close to the door the entire time.

“Who were you talking to?”

“Oh, it’s a crazy story, dude. These girls-”

“So you’d rather be with other girls than me?”

“No, I-” Wait, I thought the potions wore off, and I also casted a spell to block it. Lara stormed off loudly. I felt like I really made her mad.

After school, I tracked her down and talked to her behind some bushes or something. 

“Lara, what’s up? Why did you flip out on me?”

“Oh nothing.”

“Don’t lie. What’s your damage?”

Lara sighed super loudly, and sat down. I sat down too.

“Gal, why don’t you see me? You know, as a woman?” 

Oh shit, it’s this conversation.

“Look, I was reborn as a kid, but I was 25 years old before.”

“That’s perfectly acceptable here, though. Even if you were 30, it would still be okay for me.”

“No, that’s not acceptable to me.” Lara looked super frustrated.

“Why? Why are you living by your own rules? You don’t live in that world anymore, you live here. This is your home now!”

“But I don’t want to live like that. I walk my own way.”

“Why is it unacceptable to you, then? What rules are you living with?”

“So, in my world, a real adult’s like 18. In my country, you’re only allowed to serve in the army when you turn 18. Men only, but I think it’ll change someday. After that, you’re not even allowed to drink alcohol until 21.” 

Lara was surprised to hear all of this. 

“There was a time long ago, when what you asked of me was acceptable. It looked like this time. Most people used swords, bows, and stuff like that. Those times were hundreds of years before my time.”

“What about elves? And orcs? Minotaurs? They would have different standards, right?”

“There were only humans.”

Lara looked at me with this grim feeling.

“That’s so sad. I cherish the diversity of this school, and I wanted to celebrate all of our cultures. Your world must have been so bleak.”

“Kinda, but we had diversity too. Just like this world, humans have different skin tones, and we also live in different parts of the world. There were so many groups of people that listened and played different types of music. We also ate a lot of different types of food too. There was this place that I wanted to visit. They have even stricter laws than my country, but they have incredible history. They are so advanced that they can eat fish without cooking it. They have these machines called the ‘Nintendo Entertainment System’ where you can play a game and live in another world without having to die and be reborn.”

“This reminds me of the Oaken Prophecy, where clairvoyants saw flying chariots and towers that touched the sky in a few hundred years after this year. They said that a hero will be born and teach the people the ways of the other world.”

“Yeah, that sounds like my world. I’m definitely not the guy to teach anything like that though. I’m just here to live my life and rock out.”

“I see. I’m sorry I pushed you so hard. I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable. I’ve had a longing to be with you recently. In my family, my father was 16 when he married my mother when she was 13. They encouraged me to marry you when we were 12. I mean, original Gally. The pressure was too much. I felt as though I was too young, myself. But in this society, adults with no partners are deemed romantically unworthy. It’s refreshing to hear about your story and your beliefs. We’re reaching adulthood soon, though, and my feelings for you will grow stronger. What do you say to that?”

“You’re chillin’, dudette. As long as you’re down to wait ‘til I’m 18, we can talk more about feelings and stuff. Right now, you’re my best friend, to both Gally and Ricky.”

Lara cried hard and she hugged me. I hugged her back and I patted her shoulder blade. 

Romance is tough out here. Either you get married as a kid, or you look like a dork as an adult. There’s not much I can do for Lara, nor myself.