The students all shuffled into the classroom just as the bell signaled the start of the class.

At the front of the room stood the teacher, Ms. Knight, clad in her usual black skirt suit. She made eye contact with each student as they walked into the classroom, intimidating more than a few of them, even with her perfectly neutral facial expression.

“Good morning, everyone,” Ms. Knight announced. Only a few of the students replied in kind, but their (Reina) voices were loud enough to make up for their silent peers. Not that it mattered; Ms. Knight would have continued giving the lesson with a straight face even if the students had said nothing, or even if they’d screamed obscenities at her whilst farting. I don’t know why they ever would do that, but if, in some alternate universe, they did, in fact, do that, Ms. Knight wouldn’t have been perturbed in the slightest.

“For the first lesson, we’ll be covering the official calendar of Planet ULTRA. Who can-?”

Cain’s face contorted into a look of righteous indignation. “The calendar? What nonsense is this? Why are we going over content taught in primary school?”

Ms. Knight flicked a piece of chalk faster than a blink. It shot across the room like a bullet, blasting Cain directly in the center of the forehead, throwing his head back. “No speaking in class without raising your hand.”

Tyger and Lance both leaned in closer to Cain to inspect the impact crater that had opened in Cain’s head. The chalk hadn’t quite left a bullet hole, but it had gotten close. “Holy shit, that was awesome,” Tyger said, careful not to raise his voice (for once in his life).

Lance snapped his fingers in front of Cain’s eyes, which had gone completely white. “Is….he dead?”

Back at the front of the classroom, Ms. Knight continued with the lecture. “Now then, who can tell me the names of all of the months on the ultranian calendar?”

Three hands went up. One belonged to Kiria, one to Reina, and the other to….Bianca.

Ms. Knight was surprised by that last one, and briefly considered choosing her to see if she actually knew the answer, but she decided against it. She knew that, even if Bianca did know, she certainly wasn’t going to use her time to speak to answer the question directly; she’d obviously try to pull some kind of bullshit.

So instead, Ms. Knight went with….”Reina.”

The chameleon girl straightened her back excitedly as she was selected. “Canus, Rabua, Tigus-!”

Ms. Knight held up a finger. “Let me stop you right there. Any particular reason you’re not listing them in order?”

“I forgot!”

Exhaling through her nostrils, Ms. Knight looked to Kiria, who immediately recognized the transference of the spotlight, and gave her answer:

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“Modrala

Ranu

Oduo

Tigus

Rabua

Dranu

Akuo

Orus

Gotua

Monu

Rooduo

Canus

Borua

Ulnai”

Reina and Annabelle both applauded happily upon the successful answer being presented. Cain (who had returned to the land of the living), instead rolled his eyes, still at a complete loss as to why they were going over this material.

“That is correct. Excellent work, Kiria.”

As Ms. Knight turned around to begin writing out all fourteen months on the chalkboard, Zeo reached his hand forward and tapped his fingers against Lance’s shoulders, prompting the latter to turn around in his chair. “Hey, what’s up!”

Lance’s eyebrow arched. “Sup?”

Zeo extended his hand once more. “I’m Zeo. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Lance.”

“Wait a second!” Reina exclaimed. “You guys aren’t related?! I thought you were brothers!”

Sighing, Zeo said, “Reina, you met my brother. His name’s Garo, not Lance. And he’s way older, too.”

Two chalk arrows fired with textbook precision sniped both Reina and Zeo, bringing silence to the classroom once more.

“Now….” Ms. Knight said, flicking specks of chalk dust from her fingers. “Do any of you know what the official Planet ULTRA holidays are?”

Three hands went up once more, although Reina’s was not included, as she was busy being dead. Her hand was now replaced by Cain’s; it seemed that, while he still found the level of material to be insulting to his intelligence, the guy just couldn’t help himself when the opportunity to flex knowledge on someone came by.

Ms. Knight wasn’t in the mood for any of that, however, but she didn’t go for Kiria either. Instead, she decided to bite the bullet and let Bianca answer. “Bianca.”

“I have to pee.”

Ms. Knight jabbed her tongue into the side of her mouth. Her disappointment in that instance was off the charts, but less because of Bianca, and more because she hadn’t expected that blatantly obvious response.

She didn’t even bother acknowledging Bianca or her question, but she didn’t stop the girl from leaving the classroom either. Instead, her eyes returned once again to Kiria, and they brought a sigh along with them. The kind of sigh your mother releases when she’s had her patience worn down by your wild, ruffian younger siblings, and is pleading with you to be the responsible one and not shit your own pants.

“Each month has one central holiday,” Kiria began. As she spoke, Annabelle jotted down each word into her notebook. “Named after that month. Daea Ranu would be the holiday for the month of Ranu, Daea Oduo for the month of Oduo, and so on.

“Each holiday takes place on the fourteenth day of that month, except for Daea Modrala, which is on the first of the month to signify the start of a new year. These holidays are based around a specific theme, and are celebrated in all nations across the world.”

Reina threw her arm skyward once more, jabbing it up every half second in a desperate attempt to capture Ms. Knight’s attention. The teacher humored the motion. “My birthday is on Daea Canus!”

Scowling, Cain grumbled, “What does that matter?”

“Daea Canus is a holiday all about friendship!” she said, paying Cain’s words no heed. “You’re supposed to go hang out with your friends all day, and also make tons of new ones!”

Annabelle’s eyes perked up, and her face shined with a brilliant smile. “Wow, really? That’s such a beautiful idea for a holiday!”

“I know right?!” Reina said. “So everyone! Let’s all be best friends, okay?!”

A chilling voice like gravel and metal grinding together came from the back corner of the room. “No,” Fohrzen said. “Friendship is not my purpose.”

“Aw, c’mon!” Reina pouted. “Don’t be like that!”

The school bell suddenly rang once more, bringing the class to a conclusion, much to the relief of Ms. Knight. “That’s all for today. Read chapter one before next class, and make sure you all bring construction paper and glue. We’ll be making arts and crafts for the next lesson.”

A blood vessel nearly popped in Cain’s head. “WHY IS THIS WHAT WE’RE LEARNING?!”