Twisted Wonderland: A New Dawn

Chapter 11

  "Come on Grim," Prefect said, reaching under the blanket for a cat-shaped lump. "You can't stay there all day."
  Grim yowled. "I'm not going!" He cried, avoiding Prefect's hand. "If you wanna visit that mind-controlling freak, you're going without me!"
  "She's not a freak!" Prefect exclaimed, shoving his hand deeper and grabbed the scruff of Grim's neck, pulling the familiar out. "And you shouldn't call her that. She deserves to be here and treated like everyone else with respect."
  "Yah..." Grim crossed his arms. "When did you become such a worrier about someone else? I thought you wanted to get home."
  "And I thought you wanted to be a great mage," Prefect replied. "If you still want that, you should learn to respect other mages."
  "Alright, fine!" Grim cried, waving his paws in the air. "I'll go with you to visit Rhyme! Just put me down! That hurts!"
  Prefect placed Grim on the floor and the cat shook himself. "You humans sure do like to pick up things smaller than you by the neck," he yowled, combing down the fur on his neck with his claws. "It's so annoying!"
  "Prefect?"
  Turning, Prefect saw the dorm ghosts floating nearby, holding something.
  "We feel terrible for Rhyme," the tallest one said. "So we made a get-well card for her."
  He handed Prefect a piece of blue paper, folded in half to make a card. On the front of the card sat three cut-out ghosts behind the words "Get-Well Soon!"
  "I'll make sure it gets to her," Prefect said, pocketing the card then grabbing his bag. "Come on Grim. We'll visit Rhyme then head to class."
  "Better make it a short visit or we'll have extra homework." Grim mumbled under his breath as he jumped onto Prefect's shoulder.
  The sky overhead was
  "Morning Prefect, Grim." Ace said as he joined the two of them on their way to the school building.
  "Mornin' Ace," Grim replied. "Where's Deuce?"
  "Laying in bed, complaining of a headache," Ace groaned, shaking his head. "Seriously. That's what you get from studying for too long late at night."
  "What was he studying?" Prefect asked. "It's not exams, is it?"
  "Na, he was getting some extra credit in," Ace explained. "Talk about an honor student model! That guys gonna run himself dry before he can graduate."
  "That's just as bad as cramming the night before finals." Prefect replied, grinning at Ace.
  Grim laughed as Ace frowned. "Hey! Not fair!" He cried. "I don't cram! I study extensively!"
  "Same thing," Pefect said. "You wanna come see Rhyme with us?"
  "And risk being controlled?" Ace asked, grinning now. "Sure. I like a challenge."
  "She's not going to control anyone," Prefect said, annoyed. "The Headmage said he took her magepen away when she reached the infirmary."
  "Doesn't mean she can't still cast spells," Riddle said, walking up beside them. "The magepen only helps contain the blot."
  "Housewarden!" Ace cried.
  "Riddle," Prefect said. "Do you know if her spells are more powerful without the magepen?"
  "About the same level," Riddle replied. "I'm on my way to visit her."
  "Did the Headmage tell you what the damage is?" Grim asked.
  Riddle shook his head. "I find it rather out of character for the Headmage to withhold information from me when it comes to my sister..."
  "He could have not told you because it's that bad." Ace suggested.
  "Ace!" Grim exclaimed. "Do you wanna risk getting your head taken off?"
  Ace shrugged. "Riddle's too depressed to cast any spell," he pointed out. "I think I'll be okay this once."
  Prefect looked over at Riddle, who was looking at the ground, his eyes lost in thought.
  "He still blames himself," Trey said softly, appearing behind Ace and Prefect. "Especially since he knows Rhyme got hurt and he didn't see it the other night when she came by."
  "Oh," Ace said, sheepishly. "I guess that would be something to be depressed about."
  Prefect looked at the sidewalk himself. It was, but it was more important to find out if Rhyme had gotten Azul to agree to her demands.
~~~~~
  Out of respect, Prefect let Riddle visit Rhyme first, deferring to class, despite Grim's yowling about promises.
  "We'll have to visit at lunch," Prefect said. "You can bring a tuna can."
  "You're gonna spoil Grim if you keep bribing him with tuna," Ace said. "Anyway, I've gotta run. Professor Crewl's gonna have me doing more homework if I hand my assignment in late. See you two later."
  Prefect and Grim waved as Ace took off down the hall, vanishing around a corner.
  "We'd better get going as well," Grim said. "We've got double PE with Vargas and I don't wanna do extra laps or push-ups just for bein' a few minutes late."
  "Hey Shrimpy and Sealie!" Floyd called out.
  "Oh no..." Grim moaned, deflating.
  "Why the long-face, Sealie?" Floyd asked, walking over. "You bummed about having extra PE?"
  "You have it as well?" Prefect asked.
  "Yeah..." Floyd said. "Azul and Jade aren't lookin' forward to it."
  "I'm not too happy about it anymore myself..." Grim muttered.
  "Aw...don't be sour Sealie," Floyd said. "At least you can stay on a broom for longer than a few seconds without losin' your balance."
  "Excuse me," Jade said, walking over. "I believe we should be continuing on our way to class, Floyd."
  "Aw..." Floyd moaned. "You spoiled my mood, Jade."
  "My humble apologies, but it would be best to arrive at class on time," Jade said. "Good morning Prefect, Grim. Excuse us."
  The twins left, heading down the hall and Grim folded his arms. "Now we've got to have PE with the Leech twins?" He asked. "My moods gone from disappointed to down-right ticked off!"
  "Easy Grim," Prefect said. "Floyd will leave us alone until he's in a better mood and Jade has nothing against us."
  "Yeah..." Grim started. "But it still doesn't stop either of them from giving me those freaky smiles that make my fur stand on end!"
  "Just ignore them," Prefect said. "Come on." He started walking down the same hall, heading towards the outdoor field, Grim catching up and leaping onto his shoulder.
  "I thought you didn't like being treated like a pet?" Prefect asked.
  "Yeah, but you're my hench-person," Grim yowled. "I can use you as a mode of transportation when I feel like it."
~~~~~
  The morning sun warmed the students as they ran laps, did push-ups, and practiced flying on brooms.
  When Coach Vargas blew his whistle for break, Prefect and Grim dropped to the grass, panting. "We've...been doing this...for a long time..." Grim gasped out. "But it's not...makin' a bit of difference!"
  "They say that by the time you graduate, you'll be able to do Coach's entire workout without breaking a sweat," Trey said, walking over. "I'm beginning to wonder if that's just a white lie to ease the pressure."
  "Hey Trey," Prefect said, sitting up. "How's Rhyme doing?"
  Trey shook his head. "Not well. Seems her ankle's gone critical. Last I heard, she might not be able to walk normally on it again."
  "Has anyone from Ignihyde seen her yet?" Prefect asked. "They're more technical than anyone else and might be able to find a solution."
  "Hmmm...good idea," Trey said, adjusting his glasses. "I'll mention it to Riddle later."
  He looked around and Prefect followed his gaze, but couldn't find who Trey was looking for.
  "Riddle's not here," Trey said, turning back to Prefect and Grim. "I suppose he must have gotten special permission to remain by Rhyme's side today."
  "He really cares about his sister, doesn't he?" Grim asked.
  Trey nodded. "I'm concerned though," he admitted. "If Riddle continues to stress over Rhyme, he's going to lose his concentration in class and his marks will suffer."
  "Which could get him kicked out?" Prefect asked. "I thought his grades were above average."
  "It wouldn't get Riddle kicked out, but it would be much harder to rebuild the lost grades," Trey said. "And I'd rather not see him fall behind."
  "You're worried about Rhyme too, aren't you?" Grim asked.
  "Er..." Trey started, his face growing a bit pink. "Of course I am! But as a friend."
  "Oh boy," Prefect said, shaking his head. "I guess this is why girls don't get into Night Rave College often."
  "And what reason would that be?" Cater asked, wandering over.
  "The guys crush on the girls," Prefect said, looking over. "It happened back in my world too."
  Cater laughed, looking at Trey. "I guess even Trey can be swayed by a pretty face." He said.
  "It's nothing like that," Trey protested, then paused to breathe, calming his tone. "I'm simply concerned for Rhyme because she's the only girl here and is in a tough situation being placed in Ramshackle."
  "You definitely weren't saying stuff like that when Prefect and I joined," Grim said, grinning. "Sounds like you're favouring Rhyme."
  Trey sighed. "I guess I won't be able to convince you three otherwise," he said. "Believe what you want, but it won't matter either way."
  "What's going on over here?" Epel asked, walking over, just as Coach Vargas blew his whistle again.
  "I'll tell you over lunch," Prefect promised, standing up. "First, we need to live through another round of laps and insane training."