The return to Maglica was filled with excitement. After a full star cycle of pure work, constantly feeling cold and literally being on their toes as they traversed the village, Class 2 was looking forward to returning to school.
Everyone had shed their outerwear by the time the Peaceful Travels touched down in front of the school, cheering as they jumped over the railing instead of waiting for the crew to lower the bridge. Professors Kozu and Gemma were the ones to greet them, shaking everyone’s hands for a job well done.
“Great work, class. You’re the last ones back; go get some lunch, and then we’ll have some announcements to share during dinner.” Gemma shuffled Class 2 away, leaving Kozu to speak with Adventurers Corey and Shan. Aida saw the two adventurers shake their heads as they spoke to Kozu, their relaxed expressions slowly stiffening.
“Did you forget something on the float, Aida?”
Aida shook her head as she turned forward, hoisting her rucksack more securely over her shoulder. She glanced at Gemma’s face, but her expression was carefully neutral. “How were things here while we were gone?”
Gemma shrugged, walking Aida towards the school. “No new monster attacks reported for the neighboring towns, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Gemma’s voice was suspiciously light. “How did you find the Peaks?”
“I like the village,” Aida said after a brief moment to think. “I think it’s fascinating how they adapted their lifestyles and culture to the environment. I would have expected any sane group of people to decide not to make their homes in such an…unfortunate place.”
“Yes, it’s not an easy place to live,” Gemma agreed. “I’ve always wondered if the Peak dwellers would eventually make their way down the mountain, now that there are more Metal and Earth practitioners who can create ores. But the demand for raw material is still quite high among the more sophisticated artisans. Your mana vitality does seem much improved, though - it seems you took to the mountain air training quite nicely!”
“Thank you! I’m glad to be back at school, though,” Aida said brightly. She took in a deep breath, smiling up at the building. “It will be nice to see everyone again.” She felt a small pit form in her stomach as her mind ran through her roster of ‘everyone’. “Everyone is okay, right?”
“Of course, everybody's alive,” Gemma said smoothly, opening the door for Aida. “Go on and take a break, see your friends.”
Unable to dawdle much longer, Aida slowly made her way to her room to drop off her belongings, hoping that the longer she took the less crowded the dining hall would be.
No luck - even though it was late for lunch, most of the third years were still in the dining hall, socializing with each other and comparing notes as to how their sponsorship weeks had gone. Aida’s stomach dropped as she saw Ezra sitting with Sue at one of the edge tables, along with Caleb and Levi and - Lara?
It didn’t even look like Lara was forcing herself on them…they were all actually looking at her with serious expressions as she spoke softly, slowly nodding along. I guess it makes sense that they’re feeling closer…I bonded with Class 2, after all.
Feeling mildly relieved that her decision to skip lunch was an easy one, Aida was about to turn on her heel when Lara stood up, taking her tray with her. The blue-haired girl nodded to the four of them, her hair rippling like ocean waves as she headed towards the dish drop. Aida reconsidered if she was hungry enough to get lunch. I haven't seen them in a whole star cycle, and Ezra and I said goodbye on good terms before we all left...
“Aida.” Lara nodded at her as she exited the dining hall. Her voice was neutral. She didn’t stick around to make any sort of barbed remark or sideways glance; she just left, followed shortly after by her usual crew of second- and first-year girls, though they didn’t follow Lara’s lead in being cordial, and took the opportunity to throw scathing looks at her. Aida looked after Lara, astonished. I guess Pritchard isn’t the only one who has changed.
Deciding there wasn’t a good reason to skip lunch, Aida entered the dining hall, casually making her way to the ordering counter without looking towards the table the leads were sitting at.
“Aida! I’m glad to see you back safe and sound,” Nolem said warmly. “What can I get for you?”
“Something with a lot of fire, please,” Aida replied, smiling ruefully. “I don’t know how long it will take for me to warm up after a star cycle in the Peaks.”
As Nolem puttered off to assemble Aida’s tray, she took the opportunity to glance around the dining hall. Lily and Vanita were sitting with a few of their Class 3 friends, engaged in animated conversation and laughter, while the leads were visibly down. Dev and Pritchard were with their group at their own table, unsurprisingly - but the other girls in Class 2 were at a neighboring table, so they basically all sat together, and they had the same rambunctious energy as Class 3.
Aida took her tray from Nolem, trying to decide who to sit with before mentally slapping herself. Why is it even a decision? I haven’t seen Sue and friends in a whole week.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
As she headed towards Sue’s table, she hitched a smile on her face, ignoring the trepidation that was bubbling in her. Don’t overthink it. Just say hello. You can always bail before you sit down.
“Hey!” There was a visible hesitation as they looked up at her, with Caleb being the first one to smile.
“You finally made it back. How was your assignment?” His forced cheer in the absence of everyone else’s made Aida balk at sitting down.
“It was good - the mana drain was kind of hard to deal with in the beginning, but Ruth and the other Peak villagers made sure we were comfortable,” Aida said, her voice trailing off as she noticed that everyone else seemed to have shifty eyes - even Sue. “Are…are you guys okay?”
“Yeah, we’re fine,” Levi said airily. “We had some close calls, but we’re all okay. Just tired.”
An awkward silence followed Levi’s excuse, with Caleb shifting in his chair as he looked between everybody, opening his mouth and closing it several times as he tried to figure out what to say to keep the atmosphere friendly. Ezra’s eyes were downcast, not even trying to invite her to join their table, and Sue just gave Aida a quick, watery smile before poking at her food again - most of which was untouched, though clearly cold now.
Caleb gave an imperceptible, helpless shrug to Aida when she looked at him, and even Levi avoided her gaze, not giving her a cue on what she should do.
“It was good seeing you guys,” Aida said softly, her stomach clenching. She had never thought she'd be iced out by this group of friends. What happened? “I’ll go sit with the others, since it looks like you’re done eating. I’ll talk to you all later.”
Careful to keep her hands steady, Aida reversed course and headed back towards the tables Class 2 were occupying, slipping into an empty seat next to Bella. She absentmindedly scooted over to give Aida more space, passing an unused napkin onto Aida’s tray before returning to a good-natured debate with Shon about the far-reaching effects of certain trees on an ecosystem as they discussed the forests they had started growing in the Peaks.
“What took you so long?” Tera asked, carving her steak into cubes. “If we weren’t all talking we’d have been done eating by now.”
“I was trying to decide if I should skip lunch to prepare for lessons or not,” Aida said blandly.
“You were going to skip Maglica lunch? I guess you really liked my cooking, huh?” Natalie asked mischievously.
“Hey, we’re back at school now, you don’t have to humor her,” Pritchard called over indignantly, bringing a reluctant grin to Aida’s face.
“It’s not about the cooking, it’s about the company,” Abedi said sagely. Natalie eyed him beadily.
“So she considered skipping hanging out with us…explain yourself!” Natalie demanded. “Otherwise you can’t sit with us!”
“I didn’t skip lunch though,” Aida pointed out. “I decided to hang out with you guys instead of study.”
Aida settled into the groove of Class 2’s banter, feeling like she was back in the Peaks.
Despite her classmates’ easy acceptance of her, Aida couldn’t help but feel like an outsider…again. Getting rejected from the main leads’ group was a first for her, though she was certain it wasn’t due to any of her actions. It had only been one week - and they had all seemed decently friendly before leaving the school. She hadn’t had time to offend them since getting back. How could their reception towards me change so quickly?
“Aida, are you done? We’re going to play a game of girls versus boys Flying Needle,” Ruth said, poking Aida’s arm. “We’re going to see how good everyone’s mana control and resistance got after going to the Peaks. You’re more than welcome to join! We need to even out the team.”
“Sure,” Aida said automatically. She enjoyed Flying Needle more than sparring; the objective of the game was to match the opposing team’s mana blast on a dummy, with one point awarded for accurately striking the blast location, and a second point awarded for matching the size of the blast, for a total of two points per attempt. That wasn’t all, though: the opposing team was allowed to sabotage the caster’s attempt by messing with their mana flow. The only restriction to the extent of sabotage was that they couldn’t touch the caster, whether with their elemental manifestations disrupting the body or by physically harassing them. It was a game purely based on mana resistance and penetration.
“Watch out, boys,” Bella said teasingly, flipping her platinum blond hair over her shoulder. “After a full meal, I’m feeling unstoppable.”
Aida followed her classmates out, glancing over at the leads’ table. Sue and Caleb were the only ones remaining, with Caleb leaning towards Sue as he spoke quietly to her, his mass hiding her expression. What’s happening? What happened to them?
Growing increasingly worried, Aida bumped into Dev’s back. “Sorry,” she mumbled.
“Don’t worry,” he said quietly. “They’re probably just tired from their own assignment.”
“Yeah, that’s what Levi said,” Aida mumbled. “But…was it really that bad?”
“Give them some time to rest. I saw Adventurer Kuri on the way in, and she looked exhausted too. If even the Affiliate accompanying them is tired…”
Aida nodded, feeling even more worried. At least none of them are hurt.
“Dev! What are you doing?” Myk barked, poking his head around the corner as he regarded them suspiciously. “Are you fraternizing with the enemy?”
“Of course not,” Dev retorted, raising himself to his full height. “Just making sure our victory over the girls can’t be excused by saying they’re distracted.”
“That’s right!” Myk thrust an accusatory finger at Aida. “Better get your head in the game, Aida. The girls kept saying they lost the previous games because they were down one person, so you’d better not give them another excuse to dismiss our victory.”
They really take this game very seriously. Aida raised her chin. “I would never besmirch my honor by not doing my best in Flying Needle!”
“That’s the spirit!” Tera crowed, snatching Aida away from Dev. “With a full five, we’ll be able to sabotage the boys properly on their turn!”
Aida gave herself over to the competitive spirit, allowing herself to enjoy just being back at school. I’m sure they’ll tell me what happened…at least one of them will…