Twisted Wonderland 2

Dereliction of Duty

Kalim finishes explaining the story of how he got the tickets. "And that's the story. You should join us when we head to the amusement park tomorrow!"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Jamil exclaims. "Some strange guy invites you to come play in a strange place, and you're actually going to GO? That's completely out of the question, and you know it!"

Kalim's shoulders slump. "Aww! But why, Jamil?"

Lilia chuckles. "When you said you had some good news to share, I certainly wasn't expecting an invitation to an amusement park."

"Right?" Cater plays with a strand of his hair. "I was shocked when you said you had tickets to playful Land. That's a huge trending topic right now! Good job, Kalim! If I posted about taking a trip to Playful Land, I'd do major numbers, guaranteed. Personally, I'd love nothing more than to go, but that said..."

"Everything about this offer is suspicious." Jamil states. "It's got more red flags than I can count!"

Cater tilts his head. "Yeah, there's no way a guy as cautious as Jamil would sign off on this."

"Obviously not!" Jamil turns to Kalim, trying to get him to understand. "You just HAPPENED to meet a guy who manages an illusionary amusement park, AND he gave you free tickets? Things that fortuitous don't just happen."

"But it did happen! Isn't that cool?" Kalim smiles. "And I reached out to you and the Pop Music Club since I thought it'd be fun to go together. We can invite the whole dorm, too!"

Jamil folds his arms. "No. You don't even know if he actually works for the park. He could be angling to abduct you. In fact, that could be the whole reason he made contact with your group. Because he knew who you were, Kalim."

Kalim shakes his head. "Nah, it was coincidence! We just accidentally ran into each other."

"Again, that could have easily been orchestrated..." Jamil groans as he runs a hand down his face. "How can someone be so completely and utterly credulous? Anyway, the point is, you're not going and that's final. Neither am I, obviously."

"But it's illusionary! Doesn't that sound fun?" Kalim looks to his club mates. "C'mon, Lilia. Cater. You think so, don't you?"

Cater rubs the back of his neck as he receives a glare from Jamil. "I mean, I'd love to jump on this chance, but..."

"Jamil's objections are entirely rational." Lilia adds.

Jamil smiles to them. "Thank you both for seeing reason. Let this go, Kalim. You have something more pressing to attend to anyway."

"I do? What was that again?"

"Your homework!" Jamil exclaims. "If you forget to do it, not even a good midterm score will help your final grade. This is no time to be goofing off! I'm going to check out some extra reference material from the library. You'd better buckle down and study."

In the Heartslabyul lounge, Ace explains the amusement park to his dorm mates due to Deuce telling everyone and Riddle doesn't seem too pleased.

"I'm sorry, would you care to repeat what you just said?" Riddle stands from his seat, his eyes narrowed. "Because surely you didn't suggest to me that I should join you in skipping school."

Ace rubs the back of his neck. "Well, I... Uhh..."

"It's patently obvious that would never be acceptable!" Riddle shouts. "How did you even dream up this ridiculous notion?"

Ace rolls his eyes. "Aaand there he goes. I KNEW he'd say that." He shoots Deuce a glare. "Why'd you even bring it up with him, Deuce! You gormless nincompoop! I was nice enough to give you a pity invite, and you blew it by blabbing to the strictest guy in the dorm!"