After what seemed like a whole day, but truthfully had only been an hour, Julita was finished dragging Aseem (literally) all over the school for his tour. Throughout the entire ordeal—which is how Aseem saw it, as he felt more discomfited than welcomed—he maintained a laser-focus on his newly established rank. He was beside himself with a legion of worries, plaguing and nipping at his mind like chiggers and mosquitoes do the legs in summertime.

Were my parents aware this would happen to me, he wondered to himself. Always the self-conscious individual, Aseem couldn't dismiss the thought of how everyone currently views him. As if being the smallest boy in his class from kindergarten to now wasn't already horrifying, now there's a dishonorable label applied to his aptitude with magic. It is more than shameful to him this rank: it is downright terrifying. It felt criminal (in his mind) for him to be among nothing but women. Or so he thought.

"Well, Kirtley, here are your living quarters," Julita says with a smirk as she kicks open the door to the room. She dashes inside like she was expecting to catch someone in the act. Doing what though? Only she knows. "…Funny… he's not here right now. Foiled."

Aseem is stupefied. "Wh-Who's not here? And did you say he?"

Those questions made Julita jump and her face became crimsoned from embarrassment. She didn't realize she said that out loud.

"Ngh… nevermind it, Kirtley. Not important," she growls, brushing a curl of hair from her face. "Anyway, you'll find your uniforms for the week in that chifforobe next to the window. All of your hygienic items, like toothpaste, deodorant and body soap are in the top drawer. Underwear and socks are in the second one. Sadly, we don't carry pornographic material."

"What? Who said anything about pornographic stuff? What are you getting at?"

"Pssht! Drop the act, Kirtley!" Julita grabs him by the ear again, and in one swift motion tosses him onto the floor. She places her left foot on his chest, digging the rounded toe of her Mary Jane into it. "You don't have to play all innocent with me. I noticed the way you were staring at me earlier, you lecher. Eyes could've burnt me down to ashes. Tuh."

"Lecher!?" Aseem shrieks, feeling blindsided. "Take that back this instant! Nobody's playing anything with you. I'm honestly confused where this is coming from."

He tries to lift her foot, but she's entirely too strong. With the way she's bearing down, it feels like she has increased her mass.

"Can you please get off of me? I feel like I'm about to pass out."

"Ugh! You're a weakling, Kirtley!" Julita gripes as she removes her foot from his chest, mumbling what are possibly more insults and foreign curses as she does. "You'll never make it here being so soft and timid. Peppermint Academy is not the place for modesty despite the name."

"I resent that remark," Aseem grumbles, rubbing his chest. "I'm not a weakling though. You just caught me by surprise is all."

"Yeah, yeah. That's what they all say," she snarls, extending a hand to help him up. "Look, all I'm trying to impart to you is that if you do something, own up to it. Abandon your damn diffidence and stiffen up that backbone. No woman wants a sniveling little twerp."

"Who said anything about what women want?" Aseem retorts, slightly snickering. "You sound like you're looking for a potential suitor or something."

Julita's face is once again utterly flushed, redder than the plumage of a cardinal. There's no way he sussed out that she's warming up to him already, is there? While she does find him cute with his little chipmunk face, full lips and reddish-orange eyes, there's no way he's figured that out yet. She's done nothing but pick on him since he arrived, and not in the sense of his appearance. Of course, that same teasing may also be a dead giveaway.

He isn't tall like she'd prefer, not at all, but she (interestingly enough) finds that to be part of his charm. He is also lacking in the muscle department, but that's nothing some months of training with Coach Aemilius can't fix. With the right amount of direction and care, he'd be perfect. Not just for her, but for every other girl at the school. With that revelation in mind, Julita resigns herself to the notion that he's best left alone. Can't risk him becoming eye-candy for the others.

He's going to be her personal plaything.

"I'm not looking for anything, Kirtley. I was just merely suggesting that you need to work on yourself. That's all. You can't be down-in-the-dumps right now because you're here for a reason. I can't tell you about it yet, but once you find out, you have to be prepared to handle it. People in your position need to be more assertive."

"Now I'm even more worried," Aseem sighs with exasperation.

"There's no reason to be worried. Everything will be fine."

For the first time ever, Julita embraces Aseem, hugging him tightly. As she inhales his scent, she fails to realize his face has been shoved smack dab into her breasts. Aseem doesn't mind though as he's been waiting for such a moment, despite his hesitation and coyness. He's been fixated since he first laid eyes on her, using the obsession with his rank to try and repel it. While the two are enraptured in their nuzzling, someone steps in the doorway.

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"Awww, look at you lovebirds!" the person cackles loudly. Their voice is unfamiliar to Aseem, but very recognizable to Julita. She immediately releases and shoves him to the floor, feeling a bit of shame.

"What the— ADRYON! Where the hell have you been!?"

"Eh, I left like I always do," he replies, his voice full of privilege. With his hands in his pockets, he walks at a leisurely pace in their direction. Aseem isn't sure if he's always this carefree and proud, or just putting on airs. Either way, it is a bit intimidating. Unbeknownst to him, Adryon was feeling the same. "I took a walk around town. Played games at the arcade. Stopped at the local diner. You know, my usual."

Julita raises and stiffens her shoulders, feeling overwhelmed and furious. She tightens her fists, preparing to knock Adryon into next week.

"When. Are you. Ever. Going to. Take. Your schooling. SERIOUSLY!?" she roars as she pulls her arm back. Instead of the punch we were anticipating however, she slaps the blithesome blowhard with a smack to the ear, which was hard enough to knock him out of his shoes. The poor boy hit the floor with a loud THUD, where Julita resumes chewing him out. "I am sick of you acting like you can come and go as you please! You've been here for two years, Adryon— TWO YEARS! And you're still in the damn ninth grade! If it wasn't for your age, that would look extremely bad!"

Adryon, still trying to remain cool, replies in the most snarky and unbothered way he can, "Julita, Julita, you of all people should know I don't wanna be in this place. I don't even care for magic."

Oh wow, he feels exactly like me. Well, except for that last part, Aseem remarks to himself. The intimidation he was experiencing begins to dissipate, as there is now a bit of common ground he and Adryon can meet on.

"Likewise over here," Aseem chimes in, still laying on the floor. He doesn't know where Julita gets all that strength from, but she definitely can knock the wind out of a person. He's been struggling in vain to get up ever since she shoved him.

"UGH! NOBODY ASKED YOU, KIRTLEY!" Julita leaps onto his chest, hopping up and down, stomping with both feet. Tears saturate his face as he murmurs in his throes, groaning and pondering his existence.

"…why me…?"

Julita ignores his question (which was most likely rhetorical), as well as his eventual pleas for mercy, and continues her attack while Adryon looks on, laughing hysterically.

♢ *** ♢ *** ♢

An hour has come and gone and Aseem is still sprawled out on the floor. Julita left the room immediately once she had expended all of her rage through her stomping fit. In the midst of her tantrum, Adryon had grown bored and eventually laid down on his bed, pulling out his Mana-Com game system to play a game called Declan of Argencia IV.

It was mostly quiet in the boys' dorm, save for the sounds of eight-bit sword slashing, explosions and the synthesized symphony from the game's soundtrack. Tired of the rather awkward silence between them, Aseem attempts to start a conversation.

"So… that Julita… she's something else, huh?"

"Yeah, she is…" Adryon replies dismissively, mechanically mashing buttons. Playing the game has become more rote for him than anything, but it's still the perfect distraction for his current feelings. He is annoyed and not yet okay with the idea of having a roommate. He's also pretty disappointed that he will no longer be the focus of all the girls at the school. Especially when it comes to Zafirah Denoncourt.

"Yeah. So… um… Julita mentioned that you've been here for two years and that you're still in the ninth grade, but she also said something about your age, so how ol—"

"Twelve," Adryon quickly interjects, cutting down Aseem's verbose inquiry. At this point, he's preferring to be taciturn and keep his replies terse. However, he'd much rather they not talk at all.

"Okay then… that's interesting. But wait a minute, if you're twelve, that means you were enrolled at the age of ten…"

"Yeah, it does. Nothing special though."

Aseem leaps from the floor like a grasshopper, ignoring his current pain. Adryon's nonchalant attitude about the circumstances surrounding his enrollment just invoked a wildfire inside of him.

"What!? What do you mean it's nothing special!? Enrollment for Peppermint starts at the age of fifteen! The age I am currently!" He rushes to Adryon's bedside, grabbing him by his collar. "You've gotta be some kind of magical prodigy or something, which leaves me with more questions about this school!"

Adryon shoves his hand away, trying hard not to make prolonged skin contact. "Look, it's no big deal, but if you really must know, I'm not so much a prodigy as I just have an abnormal ability which manifested at a young age. It's magic-based, but it's pretty crappy. I wish I didn't have it."

"Hmmm… hardcore concerned…," Aseem murmurs, his mind quizzically stirring.

"Just don't worry about it. I'll hopefully be outta here soon."

"Don't tell me not to worry about it! This is something I need to know! We are roommates!"

"And we might not be such for long, so knock it off!"

"Hell no! I will not knock it off! You're gonna tell me everything I need to know this instant!"

Adryon grunts. He really didn't foresee today being like this. Not only did he waste all of his péta-coins at the arcade earlier, but now he has a roommate whom he didn't ask for that's pestering him, wanting to know his business. His reluctance to elaborate on something so simple has, unintentionally for him, displayed his immaturity and the fact that he hasn't accepted his new normal yet, akin to Aseem. In truth, Adryon is frightened being at Peppermint. He's incredibly far away from home, and although he's been on campus for two years, still feels lost in this magical world where women are THE hierarchy and not just a part of it.

Times like this are where he would run into his mother's arms, crying his eyes out. For obvious reasons, he can't do that now, so he's elected to be strong despite the bewildering experience looming over him. He can't look like a weakling in front of Aseem or anybody else. With that being said, he's resolving to be a more forthright individual, so he swallows his pride and prepares to tell him everything.

Before he can even eek out a word, however, someone bursts into the room in a blur of yellow, orange and black, tackling Aseem.

"What th—!?" he tries to scream, but is quickly silenced by the rotund young lady straddling him and stuffing her stubby fingers in his mouth.

"Shhh… don't say a word, shug. Just relax."

She removes her fingers and Aseem gags, partially choking.

"What are y—"

He's cut off again as the girl quickly brings her juicy, glossed lips to his, shoving her tongue down his throat.

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