Lesson One - A Monster School Fic

Chapter Twenty Three - Makeover

You rested your chin in your hand, watching across the table as Cray stuffed a handful of dirt in his mouth.

"Does that taste good?" you finally asked. "I know you can eat whatever you want, but..."

"Sure!" he chirped through his mouthful of dirt. "'S full of minerals."

"I didn't ask that, I asked if it was good," you specified. "What does that even taste like?"

"Like minerals. And..." Cray chewed thoughtfully for a few moments, swallowed. "...dirt." You just rolled your eyes and went back to your meal.

It was getting to be night, the sky painted with streaks of orange, red, and purple through the windows as the sun crept below the horizon. You were one of the few stragglers still in the dining hall, along with Cray, Morpheus, and the skeleton trio. You still had food in front of you, but you were mainly just stalling until the others were finished. You didn't really want to walk back to your dorm alone.

You weren't sure what it was that had you so jumpy tonight. After all, it wasn't like Jace had hurt you. He hadn't even pushed or tried to sabotage you, like he had before. He'd just managed to draw you as his assignment, and had obviously had to approach you to get it reviewed. Still, he'd spooked you, and you couldn't help but remember the time you'd come across him threatening 303 in the halls.

Finally, Cray pushed back his chair, apparently finished with his bowl of dirt, and you hurriedly shoved the rest of your loaf of bread in your mouth before standing up. "Man, it's late." Morpheus commented, getting up as well. "The sun's almost gone down."

"Yeah," you mumbled around your mouthful, then swallowed. "Do you, like... feel anything when it becomes night? As a phantom?"

"Mainly I feel like if I go outside I won't catch on fire." Morpheus shrugged. "But, no, I don't feel anything particular at nighttime. I just know when you don't sleep." He reached out to ruffle your hair, and you squawked as you ducked away.

"Well, I am sleeping now, so that should make you happy." You tried to muss your hair back into place.

"It does!"

"It makes me happy too," Soot piped up. "It's good for you to get a lot of sleep. You are very young."

"Not that young," you grumbled, glancing over at Cray as he rounded the table to join you. Not to be outdone, Cray also tried to mess up your hair, but you were able to use your height advantage to fend him off. "Speaking of being young, come on, you."

"Hey!" Cray's tail flicked in irritation. "Y'know, in creeper years, I'm actually older than you."

"You're younger, and smaller," Kaden pointed out. "Regardless of comparative age."

Cray pointed an accusatory finger at him. "Stay out of this, you!"

"Alright, alright!" You grabbed him by the shoulders, steering him towards the large doorway into the hall. "Bedtime for baby creeper."

"Hey!!"

As Cray continued to rage, you spied a colorful shape on the floor in the hall in front of you. You slowed a bit, releasing Cray as you did so, and bent down to find a small, plastic bow colored bright purple laying on the wooden floor.

"What is this?" You asked, picking it up and cutting off Cray's complaints. Soot leaned over you to get a better look, and made a sound of recognition.

"Oh, that belongs to Geode!" She exclaimed. "It's one of her hair ornaments." You held it up to the light of one of the torches, and, sure enough, she was right.