Ylisse High (Fire Emblem: Awakening fanfic)

chemistry

Finally, I'm free of the majority of the weight of my bag! Seriously, that thing seemed to be be getting heavier and heavier... Well, anyway, it's time for secone period... Chemistry!

I rush into an empty seat just as people are starting to enter. There are two seats beside me... Crap, this'll be embarrassing if nobody sits next to me.

A pair of cute blonde girls walk in and sit in front of me, giggling. One of them has pristinely curled locks and is wearing pink all over. The second one has childishly cute pigtails and is wearing a sunny yellow blazer, a cute white skirt with lace, and a pale yellow shirt. Yellow plops into the middle seat and pats her cheeks as if she was getting ready for something bigger than Chemistry. Pink sits at the end of the lab table with significantly more dignity and grace, keeping her posture the entire time.

Yellow turns around and gives me a billion-watt grin.

"Hi! Are you new here? I'm Lissa! This is Maribelle! What's your name?" she fires off, resting her chin in her hands.

"Er... I'm Becca,"is all I could think to say back. Maribelle pouts and tuts.

" Lissa, dear! Manners!" Lissa rolls her eyes secretly at me, making me smile, then sits back down and continues her conversation with Maribelle. Just as I start wondering who the third lab partner is, he arrives.

Chrom!

"Chrom!" Lila squeals just as I'm thinking it. She launches herself at him, hugging him around the abs. Are they...dating?

Suddenly, Chrom looks up and sees me, breaking into a grin.

"Hey! Becca!" I crack into a smile.

"Hey, you remember me! Nice to see we have a class together!" He sits down and we begin talking while waiting for my mystery partners to show.

"So, how've you been settling in?" he asks, taking off his blazer. I notice an odd mark on his shoulder--a tattoo? I decide not to mention it.

"Really well, actually. You gave me confidence!" I say the last bit before realizing how dorky it sounds. Once again, it seems to go over Chrom's head.

"Good to hear! I see you've met my sister, Lissa." So that's what was with the hug... Heh. They're such a cute family!

"Well, do you have any other family I should know of, then?" I tease.

"Well, my sister Emmeryn is the principal..." My jaw drops.

"Wow. I was joking, but... Wow. That it, then?" He chuckles and nods, then starts unpacking his bag.

Just as he starts, a clamor rose outside the class door, getting closer and closer. Two people walk in, argueing passionately about something. There was a girl with mahogany hair cut with precision wearing glasses, a black blazer, a white button-down and the uniform's suggested gray skirt. The other is that guy the redhead body checked at the bustop. He's wearing a navy blazer with so many wrinkles you'd think he'd slept in it, a thin, loose white t shirt and jeans with tears all over them. His wild blonde hair is still held back somewhat by a hairband.

"C'mon, Miriel! Cut me some slack, will ya?!?!" he yells, gesturing wildly and, well, completely unnecessarily.

"I simply cannot accept or believe that one being might have the capacity to make so many blunders," Miriel says, stoic and factual. The boy pauses, apparently to try to understand that.

"Er.... What? If you're gonna fight with me, fight in words I can understand!" Miriel's face almost imperceptibly darkens.

"How low is your IQ that you cannot comprehend that?" Finally, the boy seems to get it.

"Gyaaaugh! Never mind! Anyway, why can't you let the fact that I left my bag at home go?" Miriel whips around, finally at her breaking point.

"I cannot 'let the fact go' because I entrusted you with the bulk of our research papers! Vaike, if you ever do this again, I am not afraid to surgically sew your bag onto you so you never forget!" she says. The weirdest part is that she still sounds relatively calm, even at the whole sewing backpacks onto people bit.

"Uh... You're kidding right...?" Vaike says, gulping.

Miriel doesn't answer.

The two of them continue getting closer until they're at my lab table. It dawns upon me only when they sit down on either side of me, Miriel at my left and Vaike at my right, that they're my new lab partners.

"Umm... Hi. My name is Becca. I'll be your new lab partner!" I say, trying to be upbeat. Chrom almost imperceptibly turns and gives me a thumbs-up, making my enthusiasm genuine. Vaike laughs heartily, obviously having forgotten about the fight already.

"Ha! Ol' Teach will take care of ya, don't you worry!" he says, smacking me on the back like we're old friends. He apparently doesn't quite know how strong he us, because it nearly winds me. Miriel opens a book and begins casually reading it.

"Indeed. You have nothing to fear. Except, perhaps, Vaike leaving your work at home," she says without looking up. Vaike groans, then seems to notice Chrom in front of him.

"Hey! Chrom! It's a good morning whenever you see me!" he says, then laughs at his joke. Just to humor him, Chrom cracks a smile.

"Hey Vaike! Good morning!" Lissa says, blue eyes twinkling. Maribelle just keeps doing...whatever she was doing. I can't see. Before we could get around to any further conversation, the teacher comes in and the class begins.

I must say, it's the most interesting chemistry class I've had in a while. At our table, the three of us worked surprisingly well together, with Miriel doing calculations, Vaike doing the physical heavy lifting, and me recording everything. In front of us, the three regal-seeming students seem to be having a little more trouble with things, with Lissa occasionally pouring the wrong chemical in, Maribelle trying desperately to read the instructions while keeping up, and Chrom breaking things constantly.

Finally, I sort of reach my breaking point. We're finished the experiment, Vaike is trying--and failing--to fight with Miriel, and I really have nothing to do, so I go over to Chrom's table.

"Anything I can help with?" I ask. Lissa and Chrom smile warmly, and I think even Maribelle decompresses a bit.

"Er... Yeah. A lot, if you don't mind, actually," Chrom says, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. I smile and get to work.

Finally, the bell rings, signaling that we can escape and not be in trouble. Students rush out of the class, comparing what they have next. I head out, and just as I pull out the crumpled schedule out of my pocket, I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, thanks for, you know, not letting us blow ourselves up," Chrom says, Maribelle and Lissa behind him.

"Heh. No problem! I'm not in the business of letting people do that." We genuinely laugh, not as a charity case and the prince of the school, but as friends.

"You should eat with us today! I'll introduce you to some of my friends!" His phone buzzes before we can say anything else. "Oh, that Fredrick. See you around, Becca!" he calls, waving.

I smile and get off to my locker.