Key of Souls: Twisted Wonderland

Chapter 19: LunchTime Fiasco

Dawn's POV

Me, Ace, and Deuce were now running all over the courtyard trying to catch Grim; while Deuce was using magic, Ace had to use a large net to assist us. Grim was doing everything he can to avoid us, but I was able to give the two males directions on where to go, so Deuce landed a cauldron on Grim and Ace managed to capture him with his net.

I plucked him out and held him in my arms with an iron grip. "No way, no way! No way I'm going back to those boring classes!", Grim complained as he tried to get out of my arms. I looked at him and gave him a stern look. "You be quiet! If you plan to skip out on classes, then you won't become a great wizard.", I scolded him.

"Dammit! You're being extra strict today!", Grim growled.

"Don't forget that we count as one student, so if you get into trouble, then I'll get punished as well.", I reminded him. "Also, I care about you and I want you to do well."

I felt Grim flinch in my arms the moment I said that. "Y-You do?", he asked me and I nodded my head. He let out a long sigh and puffed his cheeks. "Fiiine. I'll go to those boring classes with you.", he reluctantly said and I petted his head.

I turned around and looked at Ace and Deuce. "Thanks for your help guys.", I said with a soft smile.

"No problem! Anything for a free bite!", Ace proudly proclaimed. Deuce smacked him and said, "W-We're just glad to help! Now let's get to our next class." Soon we all started heading to our next class.

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It was finally lunchtime and we all made our way to the cafeteria to get something to eat. "It's finally lunchtime!!! Uwaah! Everything always looks so good here!", Grim cheered with wide eyes as he smelled the fresh scent of food. I was surprised by the large variety of meals they're offering; the diverse offerings of lunches, drinks and desserts were enough to tempt my appetite. "Amazing, they have a buffet style.", I said as I surveyed my options.

"Fluffy omurice! Grilled chicken and bacon egg tarts!!!!!!!!", Grim yelled with excitement at which point I'd put him down and grabbed a tray.

"You're too loud! You're only this excited during lunch...", Ace groaned after hearing Grim's booming voice.

Grim dashed ahead as he jumped impatiently to get his lunch. "Hey, hey. I want some grilled chicken! It's the last one! And omurice, too! Bread with jelly, too! Just take a bunch of everything!", he shouted as he grabbed a plate of grilled chicken and placed it on his tray.

"Grim, please calm down and watch where you're-", I tried to warn him, but the moment he backed up he bumped into someone's leg. "Ah!", he cried. Standing right before him, were two delinquent-looking students who had just gotten their food.

"Aaaaah!? Watch it!", shouted one of the delinquents. "'Cause of you, the egg in my pasta broke."

"Woah, woah, woah~ Breaking the egg is the best part of eating carbonara.", the second delinquent said.

The first delinquent looked at Grim with a menacing glare and shouted, "How do you plan to pay for this?" I quickly ran up in front of Grim to keep him out of the view of the delinquents. "I apologize on his behalf. It was just an accident, so please let me get you a new one.", I offered.

"Dawn...", Grim said with awe.

The delinquent gave me smug smile as he looked at me, which made me flinch a bit. "Then while you're at it, hand over that grilled chicken as consolation and we'll call it even.", he demanded. "Ffgna!? Hell no! This is my chicken!", Grim snapped back as he moved his tray away from the delinquents.

"Ah? Not showing your seniors some respect as freshmen? Come here you little-!", the second delinquent snapped as he reached over to grab Grim.

"Don't you dare touch him!!", I shouted at him and glared at the delinquent as he stepped back in shock. "What's your problem!?", he snapped back, looking like he wanted to hit me.

It was then that Deuce stepped in between me and the delinquent before it got physical. "S-Senpai, settling personal squabbles with magic is prohibited...", he said as he tried to de-escalate the situation.

"Squabble? This is just seniors teaching their juniors proper behaviour!", the delinquent told him. His other friend spread a wide smirk and shouted, "Grit your teeth!"

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The two delinquents unhooked their magical pens and got ready to attack. Deuce motioned me to stand back so I don't get caught in the crosshairs; I felt Ace pull me back further as the fight between the three dragged on. The delinquents blasted different kinds of magic and also did some underhanded tricks to get ahead, however, Deuce had seen through this a made a decisive counterattack. In the end, it was Deuce who came out victorious against these troublemakers.

"Y-You're better than expected...", the first delinquent said.

"My pasta's getting soggy, so I'll let you off easy!", the second delinquent shouted as they ran off. Once they were gone, I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. "I'm glad that's over...", I said with relief.

I saw Grim peeking from behind my leg, making sure the coast was clear. "Hmph!! Those guys were all talk! And never come back!", he proudly taunted. "They're the ones who had a problem...", I stated. Even though Grim was being careless, those two were making a big scene for what happened to their pasta lunch.

"Whatever, let's just eat. After missing breakfast, I'm so hungry I'm gonna pass out...", Ace sighed as he held his stomach, showing how starving he was.

*Growl*

I blushed a bit as I heard my stomach growling, in all the excitement I'd completely forgotten how hungry I am as well. "Come on guys, let's go get some lunch this time.", I said.

Just as we were about to get our food, I noticed Deuce seemed a bit down trotted after that fight against those delinquents. He let out a sigh and said, "We really have no luck. There are so many people trying to get into this prestigious school, but they let in guys like that...". I was going to ask if something was wrong when he noticed me and brushed it off like it was nothing and joined us to get lunch as well.