Twisted Wonderland

Another Mood Swing

You recline onto one of the cushions, relaxing after the long walk. After getting back, there was another feast for you. Grim immediately plowed through the food.

"I know we gotta stage a prison break as soon as possible," Grim mumbles in between bites. "but man... As much as I hate to admit it, this food is to die for. Or, well, to be Grim-napped for."

Kalim scratches the back of his head. "I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I'm glad you like the food. Have some more! Try this blue cheese made from cow's milk for starters. It's great on a cracker. Here!"

Grim shakes his head. "I'm good on crackers."

"Please, no need to stand on ceremony!" Kalim laughs as he shoves a cracker into Grim's mouth.

Jamil rolls his eyes. "Kalim, don't stuff Grim's mouth so full of food. You'll make him choke."

"Oh, sorry! Please, take your time. There's plenty more where this came from."

Grim swallows the mouthful, glaring at Kalim. "I think you're missin' the point, pal."

"We've still got ice cream left over from yesterday." Kalim adds. "I always like to set out lots of different flavors, and then take a big spoon and scoop out however much sounds good of each one."

Grim tilts his head. "Yeah? You got a whole system for that?"

"Sure do! No matter how full you are, there's always room for dessert, right?" Kalim stands up. "Hold on, I'll go fetch you some."

"Kalim, wait!" Jamil stops the boy before he could go any farther. "I'll get it. You stay seated."

Kalim shrugs. "I don't mind, really! All you have to do is get it out of the freezer, right?"

Jamil folds his arms. "You don't work as a servant, Kalim. At least TRY to remember that you're the heir to the Asim family. If word got out that I allowed you to do this, my parents would never let me hear the end of it."

"You're too serious about servitude, Jamil." Kalim waves him off. "We're just classmates here at Night Raven College. Can't we act like it?"

Jamil sighs. "Fine. Just let me handle the actual scooping. Would you help me carry it out to everyone?"

Kalim smiles broadly. "Easily done!" Kalim looks to you. "Hold on, I'll be right back with dessert!

You watch as the two walk off. Grim continues to chow down on his breakfast. "Y'know, I'm really startin' to get baffled here. The way Kalim was talkin' just now, he wasn't exactly respectin' others' points, but he meant well enough."

You let out a small laugh. "Yeah. You're right about that."

Kalim storms back into the lounge, looking angry. "Well? How long are you going to sit around eating? Do you fancy yourselves royalty?"

Everyone freezes at the sight of Kalim. The boy folds his arms and glares at the gathered students. "Get these dishes washed and put away, on the double! And get ready for afternoon training!"

"We're back to scary Kalim again!" Grim hides behind you as Kalim makes his way towards you.

Kalim stares down at you. "Y/N, you and Grim aren't getting out of this. We'll be doing defense magic training until evening."

You stand up. "But Kalim..."

Kalim quirks an eye at you.

You nervously rub your arm. "I can't use magic. I don't think I can participate even if I wanted to."

Kalim narrows his eyes. "That shouldn't stop you from training. Now enough of these excuses. To the courtyard!"

Kalim walks away from you. You can't seem to understand what's going on. This is going beyond just mood swings. Does he have a multiple personality disorder? No, I don't think that's it either.

Whatever it is, it will have to wait. Right now, you have to figure out how to do defense training without magic.

The door to your room slams close, locking you in. You sigh and sit down on the bed. You can hear the Scarabia students talking outside the door.

"All right, the Ramshackle visitors are secure in their room."

"Let's check in on the other rooms."

"I swear there's been another escape every day. Housewardem Kalim's been very cross about it. It's gotten so bad, he's not even listening to counsel from Vice Housewarden Jamil anymore."

"How long will we have to live like this? I just wanna go home."

"Oh, quit bellyaching. You think I didn't want to spend the holidays with my family, too?"

Their voices fade as they walk down the hall. You check your phone and see the text to Deuce and Ace still hasn't sent. With a groan, you collapse onto the bed.

"Are they gone?" Grim asks.

"Yup. I think they are."

Grim lets out a frustrated groan. "That afternoon training was so brutal, my meal was ready to come up the same way it went down. We already know the headmage ain't gonna be any help here. Which means it's up to us to get ourselves outta this mess."

Grim smirks. "Luckily, you've got my towering intellect over here. I've got a perfect prison break plan ready to go."

You quirk an eye. "Towering intellect, huh?"

Grim chuckles. "I swiped our escape tool this morning. Behold, our ticket to freedom!"

Grim holds a spoon in the air. "We'll use this bad boy to dig our way through the floor, one spoonful at a time!"

You sit up. "You do realize that will take a way too much time and energy?"

"They used to call me Grim the Digger back home." Grim waves you off. "Leave this to me while you stand lookout!"

Grim trots to a spot next to the door and starts digging. Completely forgetting that the floor is covered in tiles.

"Wow, this is goin' smoother than I thought. I think I'm actually onto something here."

You roll your eyes. "Are you though?"

After a few more attempts, Grim sighs. "Okay, I'm gettin' bored of diggin' into the same spot over and over again..."

You laugh and shake your head. "Come on, Grim. Let's just go to sleep."

Grim keeps digging. "No! This will work. I know it!"

"Okay. Have fun doing that." You lay on your side. "I'm going to sleep."

Grim mutters under his breath. "Darn hench-human. Making me do all the work."