Class proceeded normally with only a few hiccups here and there. I had to put in extra effort since I had to learn a lot of stuff from scratch. In any case, we got through the short school day and ended it off with lunch.

This is such a relief. Just a few hours and then we have the rest of the afternoon and so on to relax.

The three of us walked into the cafeteria together (I guess this is a thing now). I tried to look for Elise, but she seemed to have vanished some time ago. It does make sense since she's a ninja. In fact, she's probably doing some investigation to help figure out the whole plan thing we got going on.

Actually, I kind of forgot about the grimoire now that I think about it. Scarlet's probably still freaking out about this, but here I am, mysterious and nonchalant. I better stay on track...

We waited on the line, picking out stuff to put onto our trays. The cafeteria was on ground level, with shiny-tiled flooring and walls recently painted white. There were windows on all sides that made it difficult for me to locate any dark corner to hide in. I saw students of all grades and sorts taking their sweet time choosing, as if there wasn't another person waiting right behind them.

Of course, yours truly respects the time of others. I grabbed my fair share of food in haste, taking the stuff that looked familiar to me (but there were some weird freaky looking foods that I may have accidentally taken with me).

Luckily, we were one of the earlier ones to leave in time, so we managed to pick an easy seat, devoid of chaos, far from the entrance of the cafeteria.

"So..." I said, curiously poking at some sort of blue vegetable. "You guys have any plans after school?"

"Well, I don't have any student council business today, but I was planning on going to the library."

"Erm, well, I might be busy with stuff..."

The lovely angel graced me once more with her sweet voice. And Stu said something, too, I guess.

I took a bite out of the suspicious-looking thing and gave it a good chew. There was definitely a leafy texture, though it had a strange sour aftertaste. Otherwise, it felt like it consisted of mostly water. I rate it a solid 5/10.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

"Oh. I forgot again..." Audi muttered, putting down her fork. "I should probably show you some of the clubs here."

?

After lunch, we headed outside. It was a bit past high noon, and the temperature a little too hot for March weather. We followed the brick trail and the signposts, making it to a strange Colosseum-esque structure. I could roughly make out the sounds of people shouting and... explosions?

"Hey, does anyone feel that or is it just me? Like a 'BOOM' of sorts?"

"Erm, well, I also thought so, too..."

Audi grinned. There was definitely something devious with her look.

"What? Is something like this really getting you scared? Do you need me to hold your hand?"

She took a few steps forward, looking slightly back at us as if she was waiting.

"Yes please."

I said, without any hesitation.

There was a moment of dragged-out silence, and she just gave me this look that I couldn't even describe. I'd love to hold hands with her forever and ever.

"I concur."

Stu raised his hand.

...

"Hey, bud. She was clearly talking to me."

I gave him a full dose of my biggest, meanest, evil aura that I could muster. In my old life, I was so intimidating that no man or woman dared approach me within a three feet distance. On an unrelated note, I keep getting deodorant for Christmas.

"Erm, I'll have you know that I stopped wetting my bed when I turned thirteen! I need this emotional support!"

"Well, I'll have you know that I last wet my bed two days ago! So take that!"

They looked at me like I was a madman.

"...Erm, exsqueeze me?"

"Yeah, wait. Time out. What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I was- uh. Okay, so I may or may not have... b-but it wasn't intentional!"

"... That's not supposed to make it better."

And now, it's time to explain!

Let us turn the clock back two days ago.

Twas a dark and stormy night, where-

"Alright, hold it! We're not going to listen to your stupid story about how you wet yourself!" Audi shouted, her face turning slightly pink. "Stop wasting time! We're going inside! Now!"

New Blessing Acquired!

Forced Flashback Sequence:

Waste time by getting people tied into a long-winded flashback of your choice.

The structure was massive. It could probably fit a few thousand people, and the turf was like a football stadium, but there was clearly an outlined area for whatever sport this is. At the very center, I saw a volleyball game there, so that answers the question.

Two teams of six were competing against each other, tossing around a black sphere instead of a ball. Suddenly, some tall, blonde guy who looked suspiciously handsome spiked the ball, and the enemy team failed to defend it. When it hit the ground, the object violently exploded, scattering dust and smoke all over, knocking back a few players who were too close.

How on earth is this safe?

Audi waved her hand in front of my face, taking me out of my daze.

"Boles, are you familiar with the game of Volleybomb?"