Twisted-Wonderland: Our Precious Treasure (Part 2)

(114) TTotSS: Morning Star Discovery!

The carpet flew back to Scarabia Dorm, stopping in front of the treasure vault room. It was probably nearing dinner. The carpet bent, forming a stair as Jonah with Grim on the shoulder climbed down. "Thank you for the magic carpet ride, Senior Kamil," he said, turning around as Kalim opened the door to the vault and gesturing the carpet to go in for the night. "It was amazing."

"I'm glad you guys enjoy it," he said, closing the door. "Hope it cleared your mind a bit. You'll have the whole winter break to relax."

Jonah giggled. "You have a point."

"Kalim!" Both of them turned toward the sound to see Jamil walking toward them. Glancing at Kalim, Jonah noticed the way the corner of his lips lifted and his eyes twinkled like he was getting giddy but holding himself back.

The vice prefect stopped next to the prefect. "You're finally back. Can you come with me for a second? There's something I need to check before dinner."

Kalim nodded at him. "Yeah, sure!" He turned to Grim and Jonah. "Meet you guys at the lounge, 'kay?"

Jonah nodded. "Alright. See you there."

Kalim waved once at them before walking with Jamil, slightly skipping in his first few steps. Wow. Is that how people who fall in love act? It's quite endearing. Patting Grim's head, he turned around walking to the lounge.

-----

"Man... The food looks delicious." Ashoka eyed the food spread in their dinner circle group: kala chana chaat (black chickpea salad), coconut shrimp curry, vegetable rice pulao, dahi vada and garlic naan, chocolate almond bites, and a glass of mango lassi for each student. He gave a thumbs-up to his white-haired senior. "Great job, Mustafa."

Mustafa shrugged proudly. "Well, it's a team effort." He glanced at Chandra whose hand and wiggly fingers were advancing toward the naan bread. He smacked the hand, earning a yelp from his junior. "Not yet."

"But I'm so hungry..." Chandra whined, leaning to his back to Yudhi's shoulder. "Today's training kicked all my energy." Glancing to the lounge entrance, still no sign of Kalim, he pouted. "Where is the prefect anyway?"

Yudhi patted his head. "By the way, did you guys finish packing your stuff?"

"I'll pack my things tomorrow," Ashoka sighed, stretching his arms. "I'm going straight to bed after dinner."

"Same~" Chandra added with a yawn in the end.

On Jonah and Grim's table, the cat was nibbling on the crackers Kalim gave earlier during the magic carpet ride. Jonah had his elbow on his knees and chin on his palm. "You know, if Ramshackle isn't an option, this dorm wouldn't be so bad."

Grim nodded, wiping his lips from the crumbs before eating another one. "Yeah. It's completely paradise and Kalim's a good guy, too."

The chattering slowly dimmed down as someone clapped their hands. Turning to the entrance, they saw Jamil and Kalim walked in. "You're all here, I gather?" Jamil said, gaining everyone's focus. "Before we start dinner, the prefect would like to make an announcement."

Stepping forward, Kalim looked around with his shining red eyes- wait. Something is wrong. Kalim was stiffer than the previous bubbly persona. His gaze was colder than the warm during that carpet ride. And he was frowning too deep.

He let out a long sigh. "Originally I had decided that we of Scarabia would have a training camp from December 1st until 15th, but I realized..." His fingers curled up before shouting. "THAT'S NOT ENOUGH!"

"EH!?"

"Kalim?!" Jamil stepped forward. "The training camp is over, isn't it?"

Kalim wiped his head toward him, glaring at the vice, stopping Jamil in his steps, something that he would NEVER do. "Hmmph! There's no way we can catch on with just a measly two-week camp." He turned to the confused students. "We have to exert twice, no— FIVE times the effort if you don't want to disgrace the name of the dorm! I've sent a letter to your home that we'll be extending this training camp until January 2nd."