Last Chance

Despite seeing something’s clearly bothering Lucas, I struggle to figure out how to approach the subject. Still, I should at least try to—

“Hey, Littleroot!”

Petra, Breadhead, and four other intimidating students suddenly crowd around us, backing me and Lucas against a wall.

“I heard you showed Rocco here some serious disrespect,” Petra says. “You do realize I can’t just let you get away with messing with a member of my crew, right?”

My stomach drops.

It’s the village boys all over again—except worse. The things are trained summoners. The things they could do to us are way uglier than anything Owen and the others ever could.

I desperately try to explain myself, but I’m too scared to get the words out.

“N-no, I-I would n-never! I wasn’t trying to! I-it’s not true—”

“Huh? Are you seriously calling my pal here a liar?”

“N-no, b-b-b-but—”

“B-b-b-but—what? Suddenly can’t talk trash if you know there’s gonna be consequences?” Petra sneers. “Don’t let what Wildfoot said go to your head, monster girl. Spending all that time obsessing over monsters doesn’t make you some sort of hero—it makes you a freak.”

I look down at the ground.

“I… I just—”

“Aw, what? Are you gonna cry now?”

I don’t understand… I thought I was finally free from all this. Why is this happening again? I can’t bear to go through this anymore. Please, just—

“Hey! What the hell’s your problem?!” Lucas shouts. “She kicked Rocco’s ass fair and square in a duel he challenged her to, and your response is to bring in a bunch of people to gang up on her?! What kind of cowards—”

Petra grabs Lucas by the collar, lifts him off his feet, and shoves him against the wall.

A crowd has started gathering, but nobody dares step in.

“And you—from the store.” Petra glares. “Of course a wuss like you is hanging around her. You’re perfect for each other. Unless of course, you’d like to prove me wrong?”

Petra smirks. “Come on. Just say the words—I’m raring for a fight, Mister Rank Ten.”

Lucas grits his teeth, his clenched fists trembling with anger, but eventually he looks away.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“L-leave him alone!” I shout. “W-what good does harassing us like this even do?! You guys are acting like—like… like a bunch of big dumb stupid meanies!”

They all glance at each other before breaking into laughter.

While they’re distracted, I quickly pull out my wand and wrap an herb around its tip before hiding it behind my back.

“Meanies, huh?”

Petra drops Lucas and turns toward me, cracking her neck and knuckles as a terrifying grin overtakes her face. “Maybe it’s time this meanie knocks all that fight out of you.”

As Petra steps toward me, I suddenly point behind her and shout, “Woah! What the heck is that?!”

She and her crew all turn their heads, along with much of the crowd.

I raise my wand.

When I developed this spell, I’d hoped this day would never come. The sheer devastation it can wreak is almost too horrible to imagine.

But Petra’s forced my hand.

I have to do it.

I mumble an incantation.

“Pee Pee Magic: Thousand Years Of Shame.”

I whip my wand, sending a precise splash of water across Petra and every member of her crew, soaking each of their crotches.

“What the—”

“Oh my gosh, did they just all pee themselves?! Ewww!” I shout.

The crowd giggles.

“You splashed us with water and you know it!” Breahead shouts.

“Nuh uh! I definitely heard one of you say ‘I can’t hold it anymore!’ and then let loose all over your robes.”

The crowd breaks into laughter.

Petra grabs me by the collar and winds up for a punch. “I am going to kill—”

“What’s all this commotion?!”

Yes! It worked! A teacher came!

“Petra! Drop Littleroot this instant!”

Wait—Coldheart?! She’s the one saving me?!

Coldheart storms toward us. “Need I remind you, fighting outside duels is a punishable offense!”

“She started it!” Petra yells. “She splashed us with water!”

“Nuh uh! They cornered us! Also—they peed!

“WE DID NOT PEE!” Petra screams.

“Enough with this foolish—”

As Coldheart reaches us, she suddenly pinches her nose.

“Ugh, that stinks.”

Breadhead touches his crotch then sniffs his hand.

An orange-haired girl in Petra’s crew smacks him. “Why’d you smell it, moron?! You know what happened!”

Breadhead snaps. “Who’re you calling moron, moron?!”

“Enough! Both of you!” Coldheart shouts. “Utterly shameful! It’s the first day and we already have students trying to break the rules!”

Lucas looks over at me. With a sly smirk, I subtly flash him the herb I fired the water through to give it that awful spell.

“Alright, I’ve had enough of this. You six, go change your clothes. I don’t know what rule pissing yourselves breaks, but I’m sure it breaks at least one.”

The crowd laughs.

Mortified, Breadhead protests. “But we didn’t—”

“Move it!” Coldheart snaps.

Petra’s head whips in my direction. “This isn’t over—”

“Ahem.”

Petra turns to find Coldheart staring daggers at her.

“Ugh!” She storms off along with the others.

Coldheart shouts after them. “I’ve got my eye on you! If I catch any of you laying a finger on another student, I’ll have your asses suspended faster than you can blink!”

The crowd continues to laugh.

Coldheart spins. “And what exactly is so funny?! You all sat by and did nothing while your peers threatened another student with violence! Absolutely shameful! I should write up all of you! Go! Now!”

As the crowd scatters, Coldheart turns around.

“And you. Littleroot.”

As she stomps towards me, I close my eye and brace for—

…a checkup?

“You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

Coldheart takes hold of me, turning me this way and that as she checks me for injuries.

“Uh… no. I’m fine. It was just, um, really scary is all.”

She steps back and lets out a sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry you two had to go through that. No student should be made to feel unsafe at this academy. You’re here to learn and better yourselves, not deal with senseless harassment.”

She crosses her arms. “Littleroot.”

“Y-yes?”

“While I don’t normally approve of pranks, it was a clever method of getting a teacher’s attention. Good work.”

“Oh. Uh… thanks?”

What is happening right now?! Am I dreaming? Or is Coldheart actually being… kinda awesome?

“I’ll make sure there’s a school-wide reminder in tomorrow morning’s announcements that students are expected to immediately report any rule-breaking they witness. It’s disgraceful you had to get a teacher’s attention yourself while surrounded by so many bystanders.”

She shakes her head.

“In any case, I’ll walk you two to your destination. Where are you heading?”

“The, uh… workshop.”

She nods, then grabs my hand and starts pulling me along. Lucas follows close behind.

By the time we reach the workshop, Coldheart is still lecturing us. “—so keep to busy routes, avoid being alone, and call for help if you’re in trouble. I’ll keep watch in the cafeteria tonight during dinner hours. They won’t bother you if you eat near me. After that, hopefully they’ll have gotten the message.”

She finally releases my hand.

“Do your best to stay safe…” She pauses. “What? What’s with that look?”

“It’s just… I never realized how cool you were. And that you’re secretly so… nice.”

Coldheart blushes and looks away. “You—what makes you think it’s okay to tease your teachers?”

“I’m being serious! You’d make a really good mom!”

Her face turns bright red. “Enough! I only did what any teacher should! If you’re safe, then I’m leaving!”

She storms off.

“Just stay out of trouble, Littleroot!”

I turn to Lucas. “So… ready to go in?”

“I… uh… yeah.”

As we walk into the massive workshop, a student greets us. “Hey, new faces! Here to join the crafting club?”

Lucas shakes his head. “We’re just, uh, here to use the facilities. I have some personal projects I need to complete, if that’s alright.”

“Totally, go right ahead! Feel free to give us a shout if you need anything and we’ll be more than happy to help.”

“Alright, thanks.”

The student walks off, and Lucas summons his Ruin Machina, in all its glowy cube-y glory. Without wasting a second, he heads over to a bag of supplies he left in a quiet, secluded corner and gets to work.

I summon Pudding to keep me company as I watch. He hops into my arms.

“Squee!”

I’m shocked by the sheer complexity of Lucas’s work. His hands move with incredible speed and precision as he builds attachment after attachment for his summon—all sorts of tools, weapons, and armor—then adds even more pieces on top of those.

It’s all just so fascinating that I can’t help but pepper him with questions throughout the process…

…too many questions, apparently.

“Nora, can you please just stop pestering me for, like, two seconds? I can’t concentrate! You’re already causing me enough problems as is! This work is far too important for you to mess up too.”

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to—”

I freeze.

“I’m… causing you problems?”

“Yes, Nora! You spent the entire day drawing as much attention to yourself as possible—to us—after I begged you not to! And worse than that, you’re actively putting a target on my back! Why am I getting hounded by Petra’s crew over things you did?!”

“I… I didn’t mean to—”

“I know you don’t mean to! That’s what’s so frustrating! You constantly act without thinking! That’s why you pissed off Rocco and his buddies, that’s why you used fire magic you weren’t ready for, and that’s why you caused an uproar in Beastiology, and—ugh! Why won’t this stupid thing attach?!”

Lucas tries forcing a piece of equipment onto his summon, but it refuses to stick.

“...He doesn’t like it when you attach it that way.”

“What?!”

“He likes it when you touch the glowy spot on the opposite side first. His lights flicker once when he approves of something, but twice when he doesn’t. And if he feels really strongly, he makes noises."

Lucas follows my instructions and the equipment attaches effortlessly.

He sighs. “Nora, how could you possibly know that? I’ve had this summon for years. You’ve seen it, what, twice?”

“I just… pay attention. That’s also how I know how much he loves you. Almost as much as Pudding loves me.”

“Squee!”

I walk over and place Pudding on top of the Ruin Machina before resting my hands against its sides. “You really love when Lucas tinkers with you, right?”

It lets out an otherworldly, high pitched noise as its lights blink.

“See? One blink for approval.”

“That doesn’t—”

“Would it make you happy if Lucas stopped tinkering with you?”

It blinks twice and lets out a low-pitched noise.

“I—”

I give the Ruin Machina a hug and it does a happy little bounce. “Aw, you’re so sweet! I think we’re going to have to start calling you Sugarcube!”

“Nora, I’m not naming my summon.”

“Well I am!” I smile. “What do you say, Sugarcube? Like your new name?”

It lets out another happy noise. Pudding bounces excitedly on top of it, and the two summons begin playing with each other.

…

“Nora… when you said you liked monsters in Beastiology… you actually meant it, didn’t you?”

A pit forms in my stomach again… but this time, I don’t cower.

“…And what if I did mean it, Lucas? You see the potential in giving monsters equipment, right? Other people may not support you, but I do. I think it’s a brilliant idea. So why is it so wrong for me to see the potential in better understanding monsters, so we can learn to work together? Summoners already do it a little, and look how much good it does. Why can’t we apply that more broadly?”

“Nora that’s—it’s not the same! Do you really not realize how much pain and suffering these things have caused? Do you even understand what you’re suggesting?”

“Look at our summons, Lucas! How monstrous are they really?”

“Nora, this is exactly what I was talking about! Why can’t you just think before you speak?! Before you act?! Why do you have to be so immature?! So stubborn?!”

He throws up his hands.

“Why can’t you just try to be more normal sometimes?!”

Please… not you too, Lucas.

I reach out to him. “Lucas…”

He shoves my hand away.

“And why are you always so clingy? We don’t have to constantly be together.”

I clutch my chest.

It hurts. It hurts so bad watching him pull away like this. I just—

“I just… really like spending time with you… It makes me happy.”

“Nora, I—it’s not that I don’t feel the same, but I didn’t come to this academy to form relationships. I have goals here that are more important to me than anything. And I can’t let anybody get in the way of them, including you.”

Tears stream down my cheeks. I hurriedly wipe them away, but more take their place.

“Nora, this isn’t fair. You can’t cause me problems and then make me feel like the bad guy whenever I try to create some distance. What about how I feel?”

“But you’re not a bad guy—what’s why I…”

“...Nora, at some point I’m going to have to draw a line.”

“Please, Lucas.” I sniffle. “Please don't toss me aside. I don’t have anybody else. I can’t lose you.”

“I’m not trying to toss you aside, Nora, I just—I need you to promise me that starting tomorrow you’re really going to try hard to keep a low profile… otherwise—”

“I promise, Lucas! Just give me another chance. I swear I’ll do my best, please!”

“...Alright. I think maybe we should wrap it up for today. It’s been a long day. You can head out first.” He pauses. “Get some rest, Nora.”

“...Okay.”

I grab Pudding and head out the door.

“Squee?”

He nuzzles against me, trying to cheer me up, but not even Pudding can make me feel better right now.

“Squee…”

Please… please just let tomorrow go better.