Minor Altercation
"Alright, that's everything. Your timetables will be sent to you before next week starts. You can use your free time until then to explore and familiarize yourself with the school, interact with your seniors, and make use of the library, it's up to you. Also, while we—the staff—won't interfere with your affairs, if there is a legitimate issue that is outside your scope of abilities to handle, take it up with us. In the end, our job is to guide you, and if something is bothering you, you can talk to us. We can still help you even without credits." He smiled.
"That's all from me. You may all return to your dorms, or wherever you were coming from. And I look forward to your future performances." With that, he turned around and walked behind the stage.
As soon as he was out of sight, the room immediately burst with chatter. Everyone started discussing as they started leaving the auditorium, the back rows quickly emptying out.
Mike sat for a few seconds before shrugging and standing as well. He had a lot to think about, but he'd prefer to do it from the comfort of his room.
No one bothered him on the way out, luckily, but as soon as he stepped out, his ears picked up a disturbance. Well, he didn't need his enhanced senses to notice the disturbance since it was happening pretty close to the entrance.
A bit of a crowd had gathered a bit off to the side of the entrance, and when he turned to see what that was about, his eyes widened a bit.
A small group of students surrounded two other students. Both of them were females with red hair, and he recognized one of them.
'Theresa...' He thought vaguely as he unconsciously listened in on the conversation, not needing to get close to do so.
"... and the fact you managed to get into this Academy is nothing but pure luck. You're better off not even being here. But unfortunately, you are. So if you know what's good for you, just standing by the sidelines, since that's what your type is good at." The taller redhead sneezes, arms crossed. Her friends stood behind her in a loose semicircle. Her hair was tied back neatly, her uniform pristine, with an expression that screamed pride.
Theresa stood in front of her, relaxed... almost too relaxed. But Mike had the feeling she was anything but. However, no one else seemed to notice.
"Luck? That's generous, sis. I was thinking more along the lines of divine intervention." She tilted her head, her expression unbothered, but eyes sharp. "Guess the entrance assessment didn't care about the family tree." At that, the other girl's jaw tightened enough for a muscle to twitch.
"Don't—"
"Oh, but I SHOULD, shouldn't I?" Theresa's tone was light, conversational. Like she was discussing the weather. "Otherwise, you might keep pretending you're not terrified I'll outshine you." She took a step forward, the warmth bleeding out of her. "Which is funny, considering that you had every advantage, and yet, you still needed strings to be pulled to allow for your admission."
Gasps rippled through the small crowd. Her sister's eyes narrowed dangerously, fists clenched.
"Say that again." She growled.
"Sure, which part?" Theresa grinned, infuriating the other girl past her boiling point. She moved forward, her body tensing as the temperature around her started to rise, but before she could take a swing—
There was a flash as several silver chains descended between the two of them, digging into the ground with unnerving force sounding like steel teeth biting through the air. They hung there, taut, stopping just short of either girl's reach.
Both of them froze, their eyes following the chains to their source.
The boy, Kris Fulgur, stood a few steps away, one hand loose at his side, the other aimed at the two of them where the chains had landed. His gaze swept over them briefly, unreadable, before moving away.
He flicked his wrist, and the chains seemed to vanish into nothing as he continued walking towards the main path, the crowd instinctively parting for him.
The silence was heavy.
Theresa exhaled and mumbled just enough for her sister—and Mike—to hear.
"Saved by the bell." Then she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving her sister standing tensely, her body trembling with barely contained fury.
'Well damn.' Mike blinked, and started walking towards his dorm without hesitation. He did not want to be there in case the girl had a meltdown on the spot.
However, he quickly realized that, by heading towards his dorm, he was unintentionally following Theresa, whose stride looked confident, but Mike couldn't help but notice a few inconsistencies. The way her jaw was slightly tense, the rigidity of her shoulders, her slightly elevated breathing and heart rate...
'I guess she isn't as unbothered as she led on.' He thought as he intentionally slowed down his steps to avoid making it look like he was following her.
Soon enough, he reached the dorm entrance just as she reached the elevator, waiting for it to open. Mike hesitated before going over, not wanting to wait for it to descend again. He did notice some people were pointedly waiting for her to get on and leave, but he couldn't be bothered.
Just as the door opened and she stepped in, he also stepped in with her. Her surprise was palpable, but she simply hardened her expression and said nothing.
They stood in silence as the elevator began its slow ascent. Mike kept his gaze forward, hands in his pockets, not particularly interested in conversation.
Halfway up, he caught her glancing at him from the corner of his eye.
"What?" he asked with a raised brow.
Her eyes narrowed. "If you've got something to say, spit it out."
He raised a brow. "I don't."
"Then stop staring."
"I'm literally looking at the wall."
"Sure you are." Her tone dripped with sarcasm, her posture stiffening as if every second in the small space with him was an offense.
The elevator chimed, doors sliding open.
Mike was about to step out, but she suddenly brushed past him with enough force to show it wasn't an accident.
"Hey—" Mike was about to protest, but she kept walking without looking at him.
Mike felt a wave of irritation at this, and he could help himself.
"Hey!" He barked, causing her to pause, then she slowly turned her head to give him a menacing side eye, but he wasn't perturbed.
"Look, I don't care about what happened back there, but just because something unsavory happened to you doesn't give you the right to act like a child throwing a tantrum! Not everyone is out to get you, and if you can't understand that then you're just going to push people away and make yourself alone." He saw her eyes widen and flash with a bit of hurt, but he was too annoyed to care.
He stalked past her, unlocked his door, and entered without another word, shutting it behind him.
He took a deep breath before groaning and covering his face with one hand.
'What the heck was that?' He questioned internally, the harshness of his words now dawning on him.
'Then again, she had no reason to act like that either, and expecting me to let her walk over me like that is pretty dumb... ugh, freaking rich kids.' He shook his head. He felt a bit bad as he wanted to think Theresa was one of the good ones when she helped him earlier, but what just happened messed up her image in his head a little bit.
Still, he listened for a bit. He noticed her just standing by the door for a few seconds, then she walked away. He stayed like that for a while longer until her heard her close her dorm room door, and he let out a breath.
That's when he noticed a faint smell.
He inked a few times and sniffed the air, then he frowned.
It smelled like blood.
He quickly followed the smell and stopped just in front of the door of his roommate.
He hesitated, then he knocked.