When I got to the dining hall, it was half full of students grabbing their food and sitting at the tables. I grabbed a tray containing a lump covered with brown gravy and seasoned carrots and rice. Meandering towards the tables with all the kids wearing bright red cloaks, I had to squint to find where Farrah was sitting. Eventually, I found her at a crowded table with only one other seat open, and it wasn't next to her, unfortunately. I headed over there anyways, feeling anxiety build in my chest.

"Oh, hey, Rollie! Come join us, please," Farrah said. Seven other people sat at the table. Four girls and three other guys sitting next to each other. All of them were confused that I was invited. One girl gave me a dirty look, and the other three guys analyzed my mohawk as I sat next to them.

"Thank you," I said.

"Farrah, when you said the new kid was joining us, I thought it was a first year," one of the girls said. "My name is Jasmine, by the way. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Jasmine. I'm Rollie, and yes, I am a first-year."

Jasmine recognized me. "That's right! You're the one Professor Shia introduced at the lounge this morning. Wait, so you're from the Nomagi World, right? What's that like?"

"Uh, a lot different. I can tell you that. For one, I don't even know what this food is. It just looks like a round lump covered in gravy." I laughed.

"You mean, they don't have pound loaf?" Farrah asked.

"No. I don't even know what that means."

Farrah's jaw dropped. "You need to try a bite right now! It's a special dumpling made with veggies and protein. It's so peppery and wonderful. You must try a bite!"

"Is it like, steak or meatloaf? Or maybe a burger patty?" I poked the food with my fork, and it wiggled. "Almost looks like jello."

All the kids sitting at the table looked at me as if they had no clue what I was talking about.

"You have never heard of any of that stuff?" I asked the table, and they all shook their head.

"Sounds weird," one guy said.

"This looks weird." I poked the food again.

"Take a bite. You gotta try it. Everyone loves it," Farrah said.

I was planning on eating it anyways, but the encouragement from Farrah was all I needed. I dug my fork in and cut out a chunk. It cut through seamlessly. Putting it in my mouth, it practically melted. It was well seasoned and had the texture of a meatloaf, garlicky, but the gravy was the perfect savory cherry on top.

"Look at that! His face says it all. I knew he'd love it," Farrah said.

"It's pretty good," I said, but I thought it was more than that. It was terrific.

We dug into our food, and the main topic was the hellion attack that happened earlier.

"I wonder how Bradley is doing?" Farrah said.

"Why? He's a Glacien. Who cares," one of the guys at the table said.

I sneered. "Bradley is recovering fine, but he might stay in the medical hall for a few days."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I visited him earlier."

The whole table glanced at each other like I was exceptionally weird, except for Farrah. She wasn't fazed and held eye contact with me.

"Why would you go visit him?" Farrah asked.

"I don't know. Something about the hellion attack really bothered me, and I wanted to make sure he was all right. Just because his cloak is our sport's rival doesn't mean he's not human."

The two guys paused before snickering to each other.

"You guys should shut up," Farrah scolded. "Rollie's right!"

"Sorry, it's just funny that Rollie is saying all of that stuff, but he has never been to a Dragonstryke match yet." The guy turned to me. "Dude, once you come to one of the games, I think you'll understand. When we play against the Aquasos and the Glaciens, the rivalry really seeps in. We don't hang out with them, and they don't hang out with us. And if you're seen fraternizing with them, you may as well just be an enemy." Arthur pointed his fork at me.

That really irritated me.

"Don't listen to Arthur. He's probably just upset because we lost to the Glaciens last year," Farrah said.

Arthur was a tall kid, about my size. He had similar muscle mass too, but he looked like he had a little more. "Yeah, we've lost because I wasn't on the team yet." Arthur chuckled.

"It's not looking too good this year for us this week. Isn't Lucas out sick?" Jasmine said.

"Well, he's not sick right now, but come game time this Saturday, he should be ready to go."

"Is it too late to try out Dragonstryke?" I asked.

The table stared at me with arched brows except for Farrah, and she said, "I don't think so."

"Why is everyone looking at me like that?" I asked.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"You don't just try out Dragonstryke. First-years never make the team. I'm a second year, and I barely get playing time," Arthur said.

"I didn't ask to play for the team, bud. I just said I wanted to try it out. Maybe I could get some practice reps or join the JV squad. Who knows, I might be quite good. In football, it's rare for a freshman to be starting quarterback, but before I left my home, I was," I said.

Arthur burst out laughing. "You sound like a lunatic, you know that? I don't even know what football is, man. You're good at it, though? Good for you. Go back home and play it there, then."

I furrowed my brow. "I want to take a dragon bike out for a ride. What if I'm a natural at it? I can handle a dirt bike like a breeze."

Everyone looked at me as if I was speaking another language.

"Dude, we don't even know what a dirt bike is. It sounds awful, though. You just ride around in mud all day or something?" Arthur cracked up, and his friend joined in.

"Don't let them get to you, Rollie. They can get that way sometimes. I'm really sorry about it," Farrah said.

"If you had to ride a dirt bike, you'd probably crash and burn," I said.

"That's the hilarious thing. I wouldn't want to ride a 'dirty bike' or whatever you call it." Arthur kept cracking up, and his friend joined in with him. The other girls held in laughter.

Farrah frowned and said, "I'm really sorry."

My fists clenched, but I took a deep breath. Their laughter grew louder, adding more fuel to my flame.

"These are the people you hang out with?" I said to Farah and stood up.

"Oh, come on, Rollie, we're just having some fun here. You don't have to leave our table, man," Arthur said.

"Just so you know, I'm going to join the Dragonstryke team, one way or another, and I will do everything in my power to take your spot." I pointed at Arthur, spun around, and stormed off.

"Just so you know, I'm a year older than you! You'll probably never take my spot on my team!" Arthur yelled behind me.

I scanned the dining hall and saw Boris and Chris sitting at the same table from breakfast. I headed straight for them but stopped when I heard my roommate Randolph yell, "Hey, Rollie! Want to sit with us?"

Turning to my left, I saw Tim and Randolph sitting at a table full of other students with one space open. Some of them looked at me as if I belonged in the circus, and then Tim and his friend giggled to each other as they looked at me.

"I'll pass," I yelled back.

I continued towards Chris and Boris. I took a seat and slammed my food tray on the hardwood table.

"Someone's in a good mood," Boris said.

"It's been a long day. I really don't want to hear any sarcasm," I said.

"Sorry, I didn't mean anything rude by that. Just an observation. What's wrong?"

"Is it me, or is everyone in this school a jerk? Even you guys."

"What did we ever do? Why are we jerks?"

"I went to visit Bradley, and he said you guys don't really see him as a friend. You guys just do pranks together."

Boris was offended. "Well, of course, he's our friend. I don't know why he would say something like that. We don't have scheduled hang-out sessions, but we hang out whenever we see each other in public spaces, especially the rec hall. Besides, we were planning on visiting him after dinner today."

Chris nodded as he continued to eat in silence.

"You guys better. It would really mean a lot to him," I said.

"I'm just nervous it's going to be all emotional, and he's going to get into his feelings or something. I can't take all that crap," Boris said.

"No wonder you guys eat alone," I said. "It's like you barely have any compassion. You're more worried about feeling awkward than visiting your friend who got severely injured earlier?"

Boris furrowed his brow. "I'm starting to regret letting you sit at our table."

"Fine, fine, we can change the subject. I'm sorry if I struck a nerve. I've just been having a rough day today. I can't stand my roommates so far, and I can't stand most of the Fyrons I've met."

"Yeah, Fyrons are annoying, but not as annoying as Voltruns, in my opinion," Boris said.

"Although Boris is a little biased. The Winderons and the Voltruns have a very heated rivalry," Chris said.

"You know, I feel inspired to mess around with them somehow. When I talked to Bradley, he told me that you guys would play pranks on people in the rec hall," I said.

"Yeah," Boris said, and he started chuckling. "The three of us have been known to shake things up a little bit."

Chris also laughed, but it was so quiet I could barely hear it.

"Bradley didn't tell me what you guys used to do. Mind filling me in? I might have some ideas for you."

"Yeah, so one of our favorite pranks was attaching a sign that said 'broken door' to a perfectly good door. It forced everyone to go out of one door only out of a set of many," Boris said. He started laughing, and so did Chris.

So far, I wasn't impressed.

"In the rec hall, there is a kitchen, and sometimes some people make treats or desserts, and they share them. It's common to see cookies or brownies on a counter in the main area. One time, the three of us made caramel apples, but instead of apples, we put onions. It was hilarious because we left them out, and no one knew it was us. Usually, you can see people working on things in the kitchen, but Chris wore his hood up, and we made sure no one else came in while he was working. Didn't take very long, either. But the faces they made when they took a bite, it was absolutely..." Boris snorted and couldn't finish his sentence. Finally, he regained his breath. "I just remember This one first-year kid was like, 'Oh, awesome! Caramel apples!' and as soon as he took a bite, he screamed and ran away. It was way too funny."

"That's awesome." My lip curled up. "Have you guys ever done any graffiti or anything?"

"Like, draw on the walls?" Boris asked.

I nodded.

"No, we try not to do that. Or at least, that was Bradley's approach." Boris smirked.

"I think it would be funny to paint a message somewhere. Perhaps on the outside of the rec hall."

Boris and Chris grinned at each other.

"Depends what you wanna say. Got any ideas?" Boris asked.

"Yeah, I have a pretty good idea. The problem is, how are we going to write this? I don't think you have spray paint here, do you?"

They both looked at me, unsure of what I was talking about. It was getting old receiving confused, blank-faced stares over everything. I explained the concept of spray paint, and they all nodded.

"Yeah, there's nothing like that here, but based on what you explained, I have a great idea of what we can do. After we're done with dinner, we'll go to the supplies closet of the Winderon dormitory to grab some ink." Boris rubbed his forehead. "But I think Oscar is working the front desk, and he can be kinda nosey, making sure he knows everyone going into the supplies closet."

"I think we should be good if we go to the Venomaus Dorm. Veronica is working, and I don't think she'll think of anything if she sees me going to the supplies closet to grab some things," Chris said.

"That's what's wonderful about the quiet and unassuming guy. You don't raise any suspicions when you're up to something," Boris said and snickered. "Alright then, we'll go to the Venomaus Dorm, and Rollie and I will wait outside for you. Sound like a plan? We'll do that after Chris, and I pay a visit to Bradley."

A bell chimed through the dining hall, and everyone looked to the professors' room. Principal Pine appeared and stood before the whole hall, clearing his throat. "As you all know, a hellion attack happened on campus today. Unfortunately, the incident is still under investigation, and we don't have any updates on how it happened. The good news is Bradley seems to have healed up just nicely, and he will be back in the classroom in no time. We don't have any Mage Force Officers on campus to patrol late at night. They will be gone by 9 p.m. I'm not going to enforce a curfew because I don't think I need to. If you want to go out past 9, that is your risk. The rec hall will still be open. I know how important it is to see friends and relax after experiencing a crisis, so I'm not going to take away that time from you should you go to the rec hall. Dragonstryke practices will still happen, but all coaches have expressed that they are optional. And that wraps up all of the announcements I have. Have a pleasant evening, and please, do your best to remain careful and stay safe."