Twisted Wonderland: A New Dawn

Chapter 12

  After stretching and showering off the sweat, Prefect, Grim, Cater, Trey and Epel headed to the cafeteria for lunch, grabbing their trays and sitting down at an empty table.
  "So what were you talking about during PE break?" Epel asked.
  "We think Trey is crushin' on Rhyme." Grim explained.
  "It's just a concern," Trey said. "I don't have strong feelings for her or anything like that."
  "Concern is where the feelings begin to appear," Cater said, shaking his head. "My older sis' are always talkin' about how they're gonna make the guys feel when they go on a date."
  "And you're forced to listen to them?" Trey asked.
  "Listen? They make me roleplay with them!" Cater replied. "Trust me. Even if Rhyme was fine, there would be one thing you'd worry over for her."
  Trey's face turned a slight pink shade and he looked down at his food, adjusting his glasses. "I suppose I hadn't thought of that..." he said.
  Epel looked around the room. "I wonder if anyone else shares Trey's feelings for Rhyme?" He asked. "There are a lot of boys here around her age."
  Prefect looked up from his salad and looked around the cafeteria. Students were mingling, chatting over food, but there wasn't really a feeling of concern coming off anyone.
  "Probably," Grim said, making Prefect turn back. "I mean, she's got enough looks to draw any guy to her!"
  "Are you admitting Rhyme's cuter than you?" Ace asked, joining them at the table.
  "I am not cute!" Grim exclaimed. "People just feel threatened by me!"
  "Sure sure, keep tellin' yourself that." Ace said, grinning.
  Prefect chucked then noticed Epel looking at him. "Is something wrong?" Prefect asked.
  "...Do you like Rhyme?" Epel asked, causing the table to fall silent.
  Prefect was suddenly very glad for the hood he was wearing. "I like her as a person," he said carefully. "She is my dormmate and a freshman so I feel a certain amount of responsibility to her. It's more of a sibling relationship, I think."
  "Makes sense," Cater nodded. "After all, a second Ramshackle Dorm member when there was only one to start with would cultivate a sibling relationship..."
  "And it's not like Prefect would gain anything from being Rhyme's boyfriend," Ace said. "No offence, Prefect."
  He shrugged. It was true, but it could also be turned back around to anyone else. Not much could be gained from being close to Rhyme, except for ties to Riddle.
  "I think you should all drop the idea," Trey said, drawing everyone's eyes over. He stood up and adjusted his glasses. "Rhyme may be the only girl here, but that doesn't mean we should treat her any differently. She's a member of Night Raven College just like the rest of us."
  "Geez Trey," Ace groaned. "We get it."
  "Prefect," Trey said, turning to him. "Weren't you going to visit Rhyme during lunch?"
  "You're right," Prefect said, standing up. "Come on Grim!"
  "But I'm not done yet!" Grim yowled.
  "You go," Ace said. "I'll keep an eye on Grim here."
  Prefect nodded in thanks before heading out of the cafeteria.
~~~~~
  The infirmary was empty, except for the bed where Rhyme lay and Ortho Shroud, who was scanning her ankle.
  As Prefect walked over, Ortho looked up. "Hello Prefect," he said. "Did you come to see Rhyme?"
  "Actually I came by to drop off this card," Prefect said, withdrawing the get-well card. "The ghost of Ramshackle made it."
  "That's really cool of them!" Ortho tilted his head, giving off a "smiling" vibe. "I should have thought of that before I came."
  Scan complete.
  Ortho withdrew his hand from over Rhyme's ankle and turned to Prefect. "The Headmage asked Idia to make a brace for Rhyme," he explained. "So I got to come here and make a scan of her ankle so the brace will fit."
  "What kind of brace?" Prefect asked. "Was the damage that bad?"
  "Yeah..." Ortho said, shaking his head. "She'll have a hard time walking without a brace to stabilize her ankle and it would be better if we got the bones back in their place before they cause further damage."
  "Any idea when the brace will be finished?"
  "I'd say within the week," Ortho said. "My big bro can make it within a day or two but it'll be a few days before he's done fine-tuning it. And then once Rhyme's worn it for a few days, he'll want to make some upgrades or something to it later and so on."
  "Sounds like he's really proud of the things he makes," Prefect said. "Does he upgrade everything he makes?"
  "Yep!" Ortho exclaimed. "Every year, Idia decides that I need some upgrades and implements them. Anyway, I should get this scan to Idia so he can get started. See you around!"
  He waved at Prefect before leaving the room.
  "Prefect?"
  He turned, seeing Rhyme blink awake. "What're you doing here?" She asked.
  "I wanted to drop off this get-well card that the Ramshackle Dorm ghosts made," Prefect said, placing the card on the table next to Rhyme. "They said they felt bad for you."
  "Hmm..." Rhyme mussed, looking at the card. "That's nice of them..."
  "I actually came to ask you about last night," Prefect said. "Did you ask Azul?"
  Rhyme nodded. "Yeah, but he refused," she said. "Something about it was out of his normal clientele."
  Prefect felt his shoulders drop with relief. So her request had been refused. That was good.
  "And you're doing alright about it?" He asked. "You seem to be a fighter when it comes to things you want."
  "Honestly, I'm disappointed," Rhyme said. "But I'm not gonna try to weasel my way into any dorm now. They'd know it's me after all. You know, cause I'll be the only person in this school who wears one shoe properly."
  "So you heard about the brace then?" Prefect asked.
  Rhyme nodded. "Yeah. I wonder what colour it'll be. Maybe I can put a request in."
  Prefect chucked. "Did you know Riddle came to see you?" He asked.
  "Riddle? I thought he would be mad at me." Rhyme asked softly.
  "He stayed with you all through Coach Vargas' double PE," Prefect said. "And I didn't see him at lunch."
  "He's that worried?" Rhyme asked. "I didn't think he actually cared..."
  "Seriously?" Prefect asked. "He tried to talk you out of your plan last night and you think he doesn't care?"
  Rhyme turned her head to the side, hiding her face. "He's the perfect student and child," she muttered. "Why should he worry about a defect like me?"
  Before Prefect could answer, Ace poked his head in. "Prefect, the bell's gonna ring soon," he said, then looked over. "Is Rhyme asleep?"
  Prefect looked over at Rhyme, who remained on her side. "Yeah," he said, turning to Ace. "She's asleep."
  "Well come on!" Ace cried as Prefect walked over. "You don't wanna be late. Trein's gonna hand out extra homework to anyone who's even a few minutes late."
  Prefect looked back at Rhythm, pausing at the doorway. "I don't think you're a defect," he said softly. "And you shouldn't think that about yourself either."
  Rhyme didn't respond as Prefect was dragged away by Ace.