"Open yer books up to page forty seven! We'll be starting on the events just after the king and queen broke up!"

Clover wasn't sure if this man had literally... Any filter at all. That had been a real sensitive topic in the books... Oh well, being a war hero probably excused a bit of bluntness.

"As I'm sure you're all aware, King Asgore declared war on humankind immediately after the demise of the royal children. As I'm sure you're also all aware, this was also shortly before the Royal Guard was officially established!"

Gerson's gaze shifted in Clover's direction. Was that condescension or concern? Clover wanted to say concern, because he really wanted to think the best of the guy with the title of "Hammer of Justice". After he nodded at them, Gerson gave him a wide smile in return before addressing the rest of the class. Concern it was!

"So, we'll be doing a bit of a refresher before we get into anything else! Both for newcomers and forgetful youngins! So, who wants to start us off?"

Nobody raised their hands. That one surprised Clover. Not even Kanako? He'd considered raising his own hand because as far as he was concerned "start us off" should mean reading for the class, which he was pretty certain he could do... But, his poor notions of school had nipped that thought in the bud. Better to keep a lower profile...

"Hah! Nobody? Guess this elder'll have to do!"

Clover raised his hand. "...Excuse me."

Clover internally screamed at himself, why the hell was he doing this?

Cause ya need to get over yourself you big dumb bird.

...The audacity of his conscious thought.

"Oh? Feelin like giving us a piece'a your mind Clover?" Gerson's smile widened a bit more as he asked the question.

"...Yeah, ya could say that. You were askin if somebody would read?"

"Wah ha ha! Sure, why not? Come on up kid!"

Ohhhh you've really done it now Clover.

How many times does it need to be beaten into my skull that the Underground is different? Maybe another fall will short circuit me or something. Percussive maintenance, and what not.

Clover grabbed his book, and took his place next to Gerson. Kanako was smiling a real big smile. Well, she approved of it, and that was good to see. Now, if only he could get 100% of himself to approve of it... Well, when he was hit with concrete evidence of this school being better, he was sure it would shut up. But to get evidence? He needed to take risks. This being the first of many.

...

"With the first captain having been instated, that was when the Royal Guard could truly be recognized as an official organization. From then, it has since grown into a symbol of peace and order within the Underground-"

"Alright kid! You get a gold star for the reading, real good voice! Wah hah! Take a seat." Gerson interrupted Clover on the last sentence of page seventy three... Which, did sort of get under his feathers, but he'd be lying if he said his voice wasn't getting a bit hoarse.

Clover nodded, and took a seat. Sitting down did help to calm the butterflies in his stomach, if only a little, but they'd been dying down overtime already. Every time he looked up and away from the book, he could see everybody's eyes on him. Not in some kind of mockery, no, they were just paying attention. That little nagging voice in his head got a little quieter with each glance up. It... Didn't shut up. Didn't even get close to quiet, but it did get quietER.

He breathed out, and... Smiled... Smiled just a little bit, like, the incline went from zero which was neutral, to five now which is a slight upwards curve. Five out of a hundred eighty. But, it was still a smile. It'd been a really long time since his resting expression had been a smile. He... Kind of liked it. Well, his face hurt a little bit, but it was negligible.

Something about smiling had been bad up on the surface, for... Some reason. But, smile or frown, it never got him in trouble down in the Underground. So what was the problem? He didn't need to steel himself, he didn't need to hide his feelings, he wouldn't get decked in the schnoz for it. Wouldn't be reprimanded, wouldn't even be disapproved of. So... Really, what was the point in hiding any of it?

Clover's smile grew a bit further, this time in disbelief. He needed to reason it out to even ALLOW himself to smile. Clover internally scoffed. Man, his life up on the surface really had been fucked up.

"Now that our volunteers all wrapped up, who's feeling inspired huh? Can anybody tell me what the point of the Royal Guard was exactly?"

A monster in the middle row raised their hand.

"Guuvi, all you!"

"It was... To establish a defense... Against any humans... That might've come into... The Underground... Who had attacked... Prince Asriel..."

"While that was certainly one reason, it's not quite the whole reason!" Gerson smiled and shook his head a little. "Anybody else have any bright ideas, hm?"

This time, a monster in the very back raised their hand. Weird, didn't people usually sit further away from the front to avoid questions?

"Memew, enlighten us!"

"It was to give everybody a sense of hope, right?"

"Bingo kid! After the tragedy that happened just a few weeks ago, the people of the Underground needed assurance! Security! Not just physically, but mentally! They needed to know they'd be safe! The Royal Guard was a way to provide that assurance, and it was a convenient source of jobs. Still is! Heck, they even let kids like you all in sometimes just for job experience."

Gerson glanced to the side for a moment, then he nodded to himself. "Alright! This old fart appreciates you all being such good listeners. I get you're all practically dusting to talk with your friends again now that the breaks over, so last fifteen minutes are all yours! Nobody tell on me to the ol principle! Wah ha ha!"

Clover blinked in surprise. That was new. Like, entirely new. Nothing like this had happened before in his life as far as he remembered? Well, he didn't have long to mull over it given the room descended into chatter within seconds. Of course, not before a room wide thank you went out to the old monster.

Noelle immediately turned her attention to Clover and smiled. "We totally got interrupted by the bell before! So let me reintroduce myself! My name's Noelle Holiday!"

"Fair enough." Clover shrugged. "M'names Clover. Clover... Cardinal?" Was that his last name? Now that he thought about it, he'd never actually asked what his mom's last name was before. Well, he'd ask after school. He did have a last name from back up on the surface... But he'd kind of already vowed to leave that all behind when he came to the Underground in the first place. Not much point in remembering it now.

"So, you got amnesia just like Kanako?"

"Mhm, got it a week or so before she got better."

"Wow, getting amnesia has gotta be pretty sucky. I couldn't imagine forgetting almost everything about my life! You two have got my sympathies."

"...Yeah." Clover couldn't muster a nod. In all reality, him getting amnesia had probably been one of the luckier things to happen to him in his life...

"So, Snowdin, right? Where do you live? I find it unlikely that we've never met before, maybe just, we never stopped to notice each other?"

"Hey! How long are you two gonna ignore me!?" Kanako butted into the conversation with a pout as she scooted her chair over.

"Hehe... Sorry Kanako." Noelle shrugged cheekily. "Alright then, let me change the question! On a scale of one to ten, how much of a friend do you consider Clover?"

"...What's that supposed to... Waaaaait..." Kanako started hesitantly, before apparently realizing something. "That feels familiar, have you asked me that question before?"

"Yup! It was a whole thing!"

"...Oh, you're totally right! Okay, easy answer, ten out of ten."

"Wow! You answered that one fast, good for you Clover!"

Clover, for his part, just tilted his head in confusion.

"M'sorry, what exactly are you two talkin' bout?"

"Okay, okay, so Kanako has, a lot of friends. Like, a lot, a lot. Almost the entire school. But they're not all like, friend friends, just monsters on good terms with her, you know?"

"...Uhuh." Clover nodded for her to continue.

"So, we came up with a scale for them all! You can't have a few dozen friends all on the same level of friendliness, so obviously we had to order them!"

"...Did'ja HAVE to order them?"

"What was that?"

"...Nevermind, continue."

"One for barely acquaintances, two for chill, three for like, kind of knowing each other, four for being on good terms. Past five, that's when we get to actual friends. So five, you'll talk with them and stuff, six, you actually kind of know them beyond surface level stuff, seven, you hang out with them at school, partner up if you need to, stuff like that. Eight? This is the big leagues, like, actual, actual friends!"

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Clover was just staring at her a little dumbfounded now.

"So, eight, this is like, hanging out sometimes, invited to birthday parties, stuff like that. Nine? Those are real friends, all the benefits of every other tier at all times. Kanako only has a few of those, but apparently, you rank even higher than that! Ten is for BFF's only! For your information Clover, you've joined a very exclusive club! Just me and you right now."

"You know what? Now that you mention it, I definitely remember something like that." Kanako found herself nodding along with her friend, but she paused after a moment. "Did I really have THAT many friends though? Doesn't that seem kind of... Bothersome?"

"...I dunno, maybe?" Noelle shrugged. "You were the one who always wanted to be nice to everyone."

Clover frowned a bit. Now this is what seemed fishy. If Kanako was really that popular for being nice, why hadn't more people tried to talk to her? He hadn't missed how Matt had acted around her either. Maybe she tried to be nice, but came off as... Clover didn't know, obnoxious or something?

...He could see it.

...Not that he thought the same.

"Well, whatever! Uh, hey, Noelle, do you know the teacher you'll be going to for the next class?"

"Yeah! Mrs. Ineanae, why?"

"Okay, great! Clover's new to this school, so he doesn't really know his way around. I mean, I didn't either, but I'm remembering things just by being in here! Clover, doesn't uh... Have the same privilege? So it'd be awesome if you two have the same class next hour, you could lead him over!"

Clover could see where the conversation was going, so he preemptively reached into his bag.

"Sure! Why not?" Noelle agreed with no hesitation. "I mean, he does have Mrs. Ineanae right?"

"Clover? Oh, you're already grabbing it never mind!"

Yup.

Once again, Clover drew out his lightly crinkled piece of paper which happened to hold the room numbers and times for all of his classes. "Yup, I've got Mrs. Ineanae." And with that he folded it back up.

"Awesome! It'd suck if you got lost on the first day, so good thing Noelle is here!" Kanako elbowed Clover, and whereas his first instinct had been to make a joke about how missing class time would be "horrible", his mind caught up to him before he could do as much.

"Yeah, it would." He shrugged and agreed.

...

"So, how did you and Kanako meet again?" Noelle absentmindedly asked as she navigated the halls. Other monsters weren't really that much of an issue, there were maybe a few hundred kids in school at most. Clover could probably find his way all on his own with how small the place was, but a free guide was a free guide.

"She already told ya didn't she?"

"Something about how you were visiting because of your mom? But like, you know, was that really everything?"

"...Yeah, we just met and got along well." Clover shrugged.

"Huh, Kanako usually has to coax people into talking with her." She paused as she turned a corner.

"Oh, right, about that... Could you uh, answer a question for me?" Clover half mumbled as he followed her.

"I mean, probably! Oh, by the way, Mrs. Ineanae's room is just ahead."

"Right... So... Kanako has a lot of friends, right?" Clover stopped a little ways away from the door. They had another three minutes, and he wanted to use them.

"Yup! Almost the entire school! Well, not all like nine out of ten friends, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah... So, then, why does everybody avoid her?"

Clover was far from unobservant. It wasn't like the other monsters around the school avoided each other. No, as far as Clover could tell, it was exclusively he and Kanako who got that treatment. To be fair, he himself didn't get treated that way, he was just nearby Kanako. Well, that's what he wanted to think anyways.

It wasn't like anybody outright disliked her... Well, besides Matt, but other then that cat, nobody looked at Kanako with any form of derision, nobody talked about her behind her back, but nobody went out of their way to talk to HER, nobody... interacted with her. Clover just thought she maybe didn't have that many friends, but, apparently not?

But... He was starting to get the feeling that she didn't really have... "Friends".

"Well... Kanako is a very... Outgoing monster." Noelle put it delicately as she could. "She can be a little overbearing sometimes, she's actually been pretty chill today, she's usually way more energetic as I'm sure you know."

Clover tilted his head.

"I love her for it, she's awesome to hang out with! But... For other monsters it can be a bit... Off putting? Kanako tries her hardest, she really does you know? But trying that hard kind of just reinforces the reason that other monsters try to avoid her... I don't think anybody in this entire school really... Hates Kanako, how could they? So If you're worried about something like that... Don't be." Noelle shook her head with a smile, though it lost a bit of its luster moments later.

"Though... Let's just say she doesn't have any... Nine out of ten friends."

Clover frowned. That definitely hadn't been what he was thinking of... But it was at least in a similar vein to his original thought process.

"I mean, it's fine though! She has me! And now she has you!" Noelle elbowed Clover, which hurt more than she probably expected it to. Hollow bones, and what not... Hollow bones and no wings. That felt real unfair to Clover. He put on a brave face though, didn't show any of the pain.

"Oh, would you look at the time?" Noelle spun on her heel and started towards the door. "Come on Clover! Don't wanna be late to any of our classes on the first day back!"

"...Yeah, o'course."

...

This class had a few more students than Clover's second hour. Only a few more, just enough to leave two open seats left when Noelle and he walked in. One in the front, which Noelle immediately took with a smile, and one near the back. That was fine by Clover.

There was, however, of course, a complication. That open seat? Yikes, right next to Susie... She was in this class, and not Kanako? The world was filled with injustice.

She didn't even say anything as Clover sat down, she just glared.

Well... Ain't that just peachy?

On the bright side? Matt was there! Just, Susie was inbetween the two of them. If they were sitting next to each other, maybe they were on good terms? Perhaps he could work something out with the stereotypical bully. Well... As long as she didn't call his outfit stupid again. Fists would fly if she did...

At the front of the class, the teacher, Mrs. Ineanae, some sort of lizard, iguana? Something along those lines, introduced to the class... Geography. What kind of geography would they be doing in the Underground? It was a curious question, but not one that Clover was paying any attention to. His focus was on the other lizard, whose focus was, conveniently, mutual!

Clover cleared his throat, and began to speak in a half whisper. "Look, I'll admit, we didn't get off to the best start. But I'm willin to put past grievances behind me if ya-"

"Would you just shut up?" Susie grunted back at him. "I don't want to hear it from some spoiled brat."

"Scuse me?" Clover was genuinely a little confused at the "spoiled brat" statement. Though, apparently, she'd taken that as a provocation.

"I am not going to apologize to some stuck up rich kid who's had everything in his life handed to him."

Clover's eye twitched. This was going to be his very, very LAST attempt at diplomacy. It was on her to accept it, he would NOT extend another branch.

"I, never asked ya, to apologize." He started off strained, VERY, strained. So strained in fact, that he completely abandoned the whisper. "I was GOING to say I'd be perfectly willing to let bygones be bygones, if you'd do the same."

"Excuse me?" The teacher called from the front. "Is there a problem?"

...Crap.

"No, ma'am. Sorry about that."

"No need to apologize, see that it doesn't happen again Clover." She smiled a little condescendingly... Yeah, that time it was actually condescension. Clover knew which of the three teachers was his least favorite now.

"...Whatever." Susie scoffed lightly.

Clover frowned. Not quite a complete obliteration of his good will, but not really an acceptance of it either.

...Maybe it wouldn't be the last branch.