Academic Betrayal

It had been a few weeks since Samhain, and the end-of-semester tests were drawing near. And though I should have been scheming how to help the triop pass, my thoughts were still on them in the wading pool. It was a thought which frequented my daydreams. The image of their shy faces and exposed bodies that had been seared into my mind sent a pleasurable shiver through my body every time it came to me. The way their goo-covered skin glistened under the mall's fluorescent lights. How I had longed to be in there with them, instead of tumbling through an Eldritch void and dying temporarily.

Those little pink panties pass the test. I hummed to myself, thinking of Rionriv’s curvy figure, as I stared down at the Intermediate Martial Combat handbook.

I wasn’t really reading the tome since I didn’t have any tests to worry about. Also, the majority of the things for the dungeon dive were already set up. This meant I was mostly reviewing the same dozen words as my mind wandered to perversion. But only mostly, since trauma-induced hypervigilance never truly rested.

That was why my hand moved with lightning speed as a blur entered my periphery. Gripping onto the object, which I immediately recognized as my pillow, I looked up from my little corner of the room to see Sharzin and Aesandoral staring at me from the bed. I quickly assessed from her position at the edge of the mattress that Sharzin had thrown the pillow.

“What’s up?” I asked, closing the book with a dramatic, single-handed snap.

It's not like I was reading it anyway. And the flair was nice.

“Food.” She ordered, pointing towards the stairs.

“Sure, go ahead.” I motioned to the door. "Be my guest."

“No.” Sharzin pouted. “You. Food. Get.”

I sighed at this. Yet again, she wanted me to be her personal mall dasher. Ever since Samhain, Sharzin had become positively obsessed with World Eighty-Two cuisine—particularly fast food. Whenever we ended up in the shoppe around mealtime, which had been happening significantly more lately, she insisted on trying different mall treats. Though, as of late, Tennessee Fried Chicken had become her favourite. Almost obsessively so.

“If it’s going to be me getting it, then let’s wait for Ri. That way, I can take everyone's order and not have to make multiple trips.”

Standing, I crossed to my bookshelf and slipped the reading material away before flicking the nearby switch. With a poof of pink sparkles, a Papasan chair replaced the oversized beanbag seat that I had been lounging in. Even though this was usually where Rionriv liked to sit, since she was still out, I figured that I’d enjoy it for a bit.

And, as though my thoughts had summoned her, the downstairs door squeaked open before slamming closed. Heavy, fast steps charged upstairs.

With a glance at the bed, the sight of Aesandoral and Sharzin frozen in terror sent chills up and down my spine. I felt the dam in my mind bow and flex, holding back moments of pain at the sight of their faces. From the dreams I had experienced, I knew the sounds of doors slamming and heavy footsteps were a sign of trouble. All that was missing was the screaming, which I knew was coming.

Uh-oh, Ri’s in a bad mood.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Rionriv stopped at the threshold of the room before beginning her scan. Her face had that familiar look of a raptor on the hunt.

Uh-oh, she’s angry.

“What’s…up?” Aesandoral asked timidly.

Rionriv’s eyes locked with mine and dilated. Her brow furrowed as she stepped towards me, throwing an accusing finger my way.

“What did you do!?” She yelled.

Oh no! She’s angry at me! What did I do? Can she read my pervy mind? No. It can’t be that. Is it the chair? No, probably not. I should probably just ask instead of sitting here.

“Why, whatever do you mean?”

Eeep, that came out more sarcastic than I wanted. Uh-oh, it’s too late now. Blowback in three…two…one—

“What do I mean? What do I mean?!”

She huffed, placing a hand on her hip while running the other through her hair. Scratching her head aggressively, the sorceress growled as lightning arced across her body. Rionriv reached into the bag affixed to her hip, withdrawing a fistful of parchments before throwing them at my chest.

“This, Ishara—” She yelled, “Explain this!”

Grabbing one of the sheets, I quickly examined it. My heart began to race as anxiety filled the vessel that was my soulless body. I knew, immediately, that I was screwed.

Crap! Where did she find these? All the test questions and answers—Sharzin!

I looked up quickly, locking eyes with the rogue. Our gazes met, and, with an instant exchange of looks, she understood that we were both burned. We knew what we needed to do.

“I, uh—” I stammered, “Sharzin and I—”

“Iz forced me!” Sharzin immediately blurted out, disappearing behind Aesandoral. "He was too persuasive!"

You little Judas!

I was on my own, with nowhere to go—cornered in my own room. So, left with no other option, I explained. Divulging the whole ordeal, the details came to light of how I slipped the questions and answers into their study sessions to seed the thoughts. I rightfully took the brunt of the blame, leaving out how Sharzin helped in this scheme. After all, it appeared she had already decided on her move, and the last thing I wanted was to tear apart their strengthened group dynamic so close to my end-of-semester goals.

The results of this revelation were as anticipated.

"How?" Rionriv grumbled, her expression equal parts ferocity and disappointment. "How could you have done this to us? And just when I—when we had begun to trust you."

"It's just a test," I replied quietly, not wanting to attempt to match the fire in her words. "Y-you just wanted to pass, right?"

"But not like this! I wanted everyone to understand the fundamentals of magic. N-not cheat their way to the end! That's not learning. That's not right!"

"This school is dumb and—"

"Enough, Ishara!" She screamed, her voice becoming thunder that rattled the room. "You promised! Promised we'd graduate, but then you resorted to stealing and cheating. You couldn't find another way to help us pass, so you had to use underhanded techniques to further your goals. It-It-It—"

"Ri," I began, trying to find the words to apologize. "I'm—"

"And you brought Sharzin into it?!" She cut me off. "You made Sharzin steal from the faculty? Made her culpable in your crimes? No, not just Sharzin. By giving us all the answers, you made us all accessories in your crime. We're all subject to punishment for theft and cheating now. If this—if this ever got out, we'd ALL be expelled for YOUR actions. And what's worse, I don't even know if the results of these tests represent our true abilities anymore."

"Ri—" I attempted again.

"NO!" Her words tore books from the walls and scattered disc cases across the floor. "You will listen to me!"

And so I listened. I knew my place and that I had wronged her. This was the least I could do for cheating. For betraying her trust. Even though I already understood her view on the topic and what I had done wrong, I still listened for another fifteen minutes of scolding. I felt myself feeling worse with every minute that passed, the dam shaking in my mind, threatening to burst and spill forth god-knows-what horrid memories of my parents screaming at me in much the same way. But this time, it wasn't because I scuffed a shoe or missed a shot in a game of basketball. It was because I had actually betrayed someone else's trust while looking for the easy way out. I skirted rules and made some questionable decisions on behalf of their triop. That was worse than those painful ancient memories.

But then, as I noticed a waver of emotion in her voice, she said something that struck me to my core. It dug into my heart as much as the trauma dreams did my mind.

“People who break the rules aren’t good people.” Rionriv huffed, throwing the keycard I had made for her at my feet. “And if you’ve lied, cheated, and stolen already, then what line will you cross next? You say you want to make the world a better place—well, I don’t believe you, and I don’t think I could ever trust you because of it. People like you inevitably destroy everything you touch. Good—"

She stifled a sob. "Goodbye, oracle.”

Turning to leave, Rionriv hid her face with a swish of her hair. But as the flowing red strands concealed her, I saw the faintest sliver of a different emotion for an instant. It painted her face with a mosaic of pain. Familiar pain that I knew all too well. The kind that you carry with wounds on your heart and soul instead of your body. She wore the sorrow like a ball and chain.

Oh gods. I thought as she stormed out. Reaching for her, I was already too late. Ri, I'm sorry. I-I fugged up. Maybe Aes and Zin can—

The remaining two jumped from the bed. They eyed me with pitiful glances before chasing after Rionriv, leaving me in my room.

I was alone. Again. I had gone too far, pushed too hard to accomplish a goal that I had set for myself. Had this been only my decision, or was it a fragment of trauma I pulled with me from my past life? The pain my parents brought me, forcing me to overachieve here? To ensure my triop passed with flying colours so I could accomplish something myself. 

And I had no idea what I would do. How to read this moment. How to express what I felt. Or how I was going to fix it. And, as I listened to the downstairs door slam, I wondered if I even could.