Shadow Serpents: The Ordinary

Chapter 8: Runaway Ping-Pong Balls

<Clary's POV>

It seemed like a completely normal day, but I was mistaken. As I headed to class, I pondered why Agent Percy had chosen such a name when she could have opted for something less conspicuous like Luna. My thoughts were abruptly interrupted when I collided with someone.

Nick.

"Finally, you've arrived. Nico is losing it in class because Julian splashed water in her face with her own water bottle. It's like World War 3 in there, except the bullets are made of water."

I thought to myself, 'This is going to be entertaining,' as I sent Nick to fetch the cleaner. The classroom was chaotic, drenched in water, with everyone taking cover. Upon my entrance, the commotion subsided, and all eyes were on me. After a minute-long stare-down, Nico shattered the silence with a battle cry and charged at Julian, who was too shocked to react. She tackled him to the ground, furious.

I stood by the door for a moment, observing the scuffle, until Nick returned, hobbling along with the weary-looking cleaning lady. She approached the classroom, half petrified, half concerned for the two on the floor. To ease her burden, Nick and I pulled an enraged Nico off Julian, who sported a cut above his eyebrow and a bleeding nose. Nico, sporting a minor nosebleed, seemed less affected than Julian, but it was clear that if we hadn't intervened, the outcome could have been dire.

We escorted Julian and his 'bodyguards' to the nurse. Nico, having calmed down, received numerous accolades for standing up to Julian. Once she had cleaned up, she approached us and began to speak.

"That felt good."

"Good? That was brilliant."

"Honestly, I thought he would whip your butt, but instead, he got his butt kicked and beaten."

We went to math, and it was literally the best day ever. We're learning the most important lesson of all: fractions.

~ Gym class ~

I entered the gym to find our coach absent, having left a note allowing us to play whatever we wanted. Fun, you might think, but not with the daredevils in our year. Given the chance, they'd wreak havoc. Yet, oddly, today they chose dodgeball: boys vs. girls. Mid-game, a scream, a crash, and a break echoed from the sportswear closet in the gym's corner.

Percy approached the closet door and yanked it open, only to be buried under a cascade of small orange... Ping-Pong balls? Melinda, our classroom's drama queen—sorry, goddess—screamed and fainted onto Nick, who stepped back, letting her collapse onto the ping-pong-covered floor. How tragic. I had to cough to hide my laughter at the poor, lovestruck fool now encircled by friends trying to lift her. Glancing away from the 'scene,' I saw Hannah gripping a bench for support, while Nico was on the floor, rolling with laughter, presumably at Melinda. Seeing Nico, I started laughing and soon clung to Mattheo, who was also chuckling. Amidst this, Nick gave us a huge, confused look as if we'd turned into aliens.

"Why are you laughing at a time of crisis like this?" he asked.

"If we told you, you wouldn't understand," Mateo replied, still laughing.

"I will!"

"Will not."

"Will too."

"Will not."

This continued until...

"Will too, because I am not dumb."

"Well, you are dumb when it comes to most things," they said.

"Compared to Clary, yes. Percy, no," I replied.

"Hey!!!" Percy's shout of protest echoed as he swam in the vast sea of ping pong balls.

When Nick mentioned I was dumb compared to him, warmth flooded my cheeks. I hastily let down my ponytailed hair, hoping to hide my flushed face and that no one had noticed.

I was mistaken. From the corner of my eye, I caught Nico giving me a winky face. This spelled trouble. I yearned to scream into my pillow or dissolve into a puddle of melted chocolate—because why not?—especially when I saw Nico approaching with that sly smirk.

{Nico's POV}

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! YES! YES! YES!

I couldn't believe it. Clarisse Adrienne Natasha Rodriguez had blushed at my brother's comment—that's right, my brother's comment—about her being smarter than him. How adorable she was, trying to conceal it by letting her hair down. So, this is love! How utterly charming. I was going to tease her about this.

And Nick, being Nick, remained oblivious. The fool. He's been smitten with Clary for months now and is a complete disaster at flirting. I've been urging him to act before she's off the market, and this—this was his best attempt? Regardless, it made her blush, and that's what counted. I skipped over to Clary, smirking all the way. I could almost hear her internal groan as I drew near. This was going to be entertaining.

[ A/N i know this chap is extremely boring but i will promise the next one will be somewhat better than this. thanx for reading if you came this far. i really appreciate it. requests are open for pairings etc. pls vote becuz it is a great encouragement for me to finish this book fast. i might update everyday if i can.]