Medusa Academy

[Haseo{Terror of Death}]

Allen had scavenged the apple, it was red and a bit deformed, but inside it was perfect. Sweet and juicy and Allen made sure to gnaw out every morsel. Allen placed the core on his tray, and to his surprise, a bag and a carton showed up. “Robert! Thank you.” Allen opened up the bag and took out a donut hole. A small smile appeared on his face as he took a bite out of it. It was warm and inviting. He grabbed the milk to open it. “Don’t drink it. The milk is poisoned. The food is a scam.” Allen released the milk and slowly returned to his donut hole. It was now a fleshy ball of some unknown pale, pulsating substance. “What the hell are you eating?” Billy’s voice haunted him. Billy was decapitated; Allen made sure of that when he dropped the television on Billy’s head. Nevertheless, occasionally he would hear Billy’s voice. A voice that told him things. Bad things. Allen finished the donut hole, never again touching the milk carton. He closed the bag, afraid of whatever else was inside. “I’d like that.” Allen admitted. “If you two are okay with it I’d like to study a little bit. I bombed my last test.” “It’s because you’re a failure. Special people go to Medusa, but you’re still a freak, among all the rest. That’s why your Mommy left. Because you’re a freak. Where’s your Daddy freak? He hates you. You drove away your Mommy now he’s all alone. He couldn’t have a life because of you. Now your friends can’t have a life. Toni’s a girl now. You’re a freak Al. Why don’t you tell them what you did to us? You’re such a bastard, telling them we bully you. You bullied us! We’re the victims!” Allen’s body shivered, but he pretended to ignore it. Billy was dead. Billy’s ghost could do him no harm, even in the darkness, even in the shadows; a ghost was only a hindrance. Allen rubbed his eye for tears he rarely shed anymore and in the process felt his phone vibrate. Allen pulled it out and looked at the message.

Code: Select all

Hey, just checking in on you. I hope you’re enjoying your stay at Medusa. BECAUSE YOU’RE GOING TO DIE THERE. YOU WASTE OF HUMAN LIFE YOU PATHETIC PIECE OF TRASH. WHY DON’T YOU JUST DROP DEAD. DRINK THE MILK. Have a nice day, and remember that I love you. ;)

[GamerKale]

Robert took the phone away from his partner and made him stare him in the eye. "Allen, eat the damn donuts and drink your milk or I will shove them down your throat carton and all. I will not suffer you being four foot nothing for the rest of your life. Nor you collapsing from malnourishment again. And don't try that I've already eaten bit. If you had So-Hee's plate would be emptier."

[Helbaworshipper]

So-Hee relaxed a little more at Robert's presence. More so because she could barely have a conversation with Allen normally. She usually tried to make sure that she didn't go too far in conversations with him. She found the usual chatter was giving her a bit less worry. She nodded in agreement to Robert's idea. "I don't think Zorlo will need it. He always seems to score rather high. I guess he reads a lot faster than me." When Robert had first started doing the kisses on her head, she had blushed and been confused. By now, however, she was starting to get used to how different he was from her partner. "Do you think the combat test will be hard today?"

[GamerKale]

"No, I don't think it's that he reads faster." Robert turned towards Zorlo and thought murderous thoughts. "I think he just cheats." He shrugged as he returned to facing So-Hee. "Probably, but you never know. They might let me have my precious M79, or they could just decide to give up completely and hand me a Hawk, or they could be really silly give me an experimental model to play with." He was of course talking about grenade launchers. Several seconds passed before Robert blinked a few times, refocused on the girl in front of him, and came back from the explosion filled fantasy land. "But it should be good. Like a good challenge now and then, I do."

[Haseo{Terror of Death}]

‘I’m not 4 foot tall… I’m not a little kid. I’m taller than that.’ “Ask him to check you phone.” Allen looked at Robert and nodded, giving up on his phone. It was better if he didn’t have it. Maybe it would vibrate and Robert would get one of those horrid text messages. ‘Maybe I should ask for a phone without texting. Does Robert text me often? Does anyone text me often?’ Allen sighs and looks at the bag of flesh balls. He opens it up and picks up the pulsating figure. Very hesitantly he bites into it. A bit of blood enters his mouth and Allen forcefully swallows it down. “I’m not very hungry Robert, can I just finish this one?” Allen asks, prepping himself to shove the entire ball in his mouth. “Drink the milk. He’s going to make you eat the milk. What a gem. Eating a milk carton. Could you imagine that?” “Go away…” Allen whispered, noting the black buckle shoes. Lucie placed her hands over his and Allen withdrew his hand, grabbing the milk carton. “Robert the milk is poisoned. I don’t want it.” Lucie placed her hands on her chin, giggling as she watched, “Oh boy. Why’d you go and say that? Now you’re gonna get it.” “Shh…” Allen whispered, waving her away. “Please can I watch?” “No… shh…”

[GamerKale]

Robert sighed. Right, drill sergeant doesn't work on him. "Allen." He placed a hand on Allen's chest, "Focus only on breathing. Breathe in," He raised his other hand, "breathe out." Lowered it. He repeated this several times as he said, "Ignore them, they just want to see you fail because they're dead and bitter. Now close your eyes. Good. Keep breathing." Robert deftly opened the milk carton one handed and then pulled a straw out of his coat and put it in the carton. "If you truly don't want the milk, you can have my juice and I'll take the milk. Here, drink." Robert brought the carton up and placed the end of the straw in Allen's mouth.

[Haseo{Terror of Death}]

This was the benefit of Robert. There may have been things he hid from Allen, but Allen knew one thing: Robert wanted him to survive. Allen’s death was the last thing Robert plotted in his mind and that comforted him, even if the sole reason Robert wanted Allen to live was to satisfy his role in life as Provider to Allen’s Receiver. However, Robert never asked for a different partner. At least Allen had never heard word of it. Allen drank from the straw, and surprisingly the milk tasted phenomenal. Allen grabbed the carton, placing his small, frail hands over Robert’s and continued to drink the precious gift he had just received. If this was poison, the following death might be worth it. Allen let his eye flicker open, and with it, Lucie was gone. The donut hole on the tray was a delicious pastry once more, jelly-filled. ‘It was jelly? Do I like jelly?’ “Thank you Robert.” Allen sat; a small smile returned to his face as he picked up the jelly-filled hole and resumed consumption. “So… about this study group…” Allen let himself finish the food; he knew people looked at him angrily when he spoke with a mouth full of food. “We should make it a party.” Allen looks at his friend’s faces to gauge their reaction. His eyes focus on Zorlo. “That way you can come along. The big old head of yours may score higher than me on tests, but how do you play games?” ‘Plus, I’m gonna fail the combat portion of today anyway, so I could use some fun. If I had a more controllable power maybe it wouldn’t be like this. But the last proctor said my powers could be revolutionary.’

[Zorolo]

The voices… oh lord the voices. There were many of them… and they were annoying him. Ambient thoughts. It wasn't until probing Allen's mind (a task that created rather odd and vivid images) and Robert's mind took him away from things that he slammed his book shut. He didn't care what Robert thought of him. After all, most people agreed with the man.

Zorlo adjusted his glasses and looked at his partner. He'd stayed out of her head as much as he could help… not wanting to spend more time fighting over it. After all, he could only skim surface thoughts… which made him wonder what was going on deep inside Allen's mind. "Of course she would. In fact, I think you should all be there. I might teach you a thing or two about learning," the man stated as he adjusted his glasses. "Or if you don't want me to come, I can understand that. The worms that squirm about around me withdraw when I approach. THe fact you three don't is a luxury more than it is required. I merely wish to try and help you lesser fortunates in your endeavors in the jokingly pointless classes here."

[Helbaworshipper]

"You wouldn't be taking them if they were pointless." So-Hee spoke with a smile, picking up his book and holding it in her arm. "And the teacher got annoyed at you reading last week, so she told me to make sure you weren't reading and not paying attention to her lecture." She kept her smile as he moved her chair back. She placed his book in her bag, removing some food from her bag. She started to pick her tray up, passing it to Robert. "They said it was a new flavor. You can give Allen it when he gets hungry later." She began her usual walk to put her tray down and head towards class. It wasn't until after lunch the big test would be.

[Zorolo]

"That droll teacher. All she talks about are pointless things that have no association to my powers or practicality at all. I can't comprehend why I would WANT to listen to her," Zorlo began to rant off as he followed behind So-Hee, giving her enough room that she could ignore him if she so chose. "Anyway, we have that test, don't we?" he asked, thinking on it. "And I stopped caring," he stated with a yawn.

He'd been ignoring the fact she hadn't been sleeping. "Why didn't you ask me for help studying?" he asked suddenly. "After all, you know I know my stuff… even if my explanation is confusing to you, for some reason," he stated, shrugging.

[Helbaworshipper]

"Knowledge without earning it is wrong." She answered turning around lightly for a moment. "Besides, I'm not a fast learner. It'd cut into your studies." She turned around again, walking towards a nearby classroom. She took her usual spot near the middle of the class. She took out her notebook and prepared to listen to the upcoming lecturer. She held her pen over the next blank page, wondering if it was possible that the test might go well today.

[Zorolo]

Zorlo floated himself over to his seat and landed next to her. How was he going to keep his mind busy today. When it wandered… his psionics tended to get out of hand. It was why he kept his mind so busy, in fact. The man adjusted his glasses and smiled at her. "I'm happy to see your ambition, but I don't need to study. I've read through all of the books we're assigned and I've memorized tons of its information. So far, I haven't gotten less than perfect on a test. If you think you'd affect MY study time, you're incorrect. You'd simply brighten my dreary life," he stated with what one would CALL a smile.

[GamerKale]

"Ok, waste not want not I guess." Robert said as he packaged So-Hee's offering. "I'll hammer out the details with her later." On their way to class he turned to Allen. "So, will I be running wild later today or do you want me to take a backseat and just make you big when the time comes?"

[Haseo{Terror of Death}]

‘You don’t run from me, so I have no reason to run from you…’ Allen watched at So-Hee so kindly offered food for Allen. Unfortunately, Allen hated her for this. ‘I’m not a dog or a puppy or anything like that. Robert’s my provider, not my handler. I’m not gonna eat it, no matter what Robert says or does.’ “New Flavor. That means it’s gotta be poisoned. I hope you enjoy the delectable cyanide flavor.” Allen turned around to see if Billy was haunting him. When Billy wasn’t there Allen noticed the table had dispersed and promptly followed Robert. “Sorry about that, I zoned out. I don’t want that food, you can throw it out.” Allen said, pointing at the food Robert held. “Unless you want it. It’s probably tainted. Sorry. You were saying something about class?” “He wants you to embrace your inner monster. He’s going to summon a god of destruction from your feeble mind.” Allen shook off Billy’s voice “Does that count? I mean if it’s cool, I’d love to pass an exam and totally trounce Zorlo. I mean it’s only a little scary. And if it’s just in the room I think it’ll be okay. It won’t be like last time, you can trust me.” Allen shrugged. “What do you think? I don’t know how my performance works with your scores.”

[GamerKale]

"Neither do I. And I'm not really concerned about my scores. But if you want to outshine Zorlo, I'll do whatever I can to help with that." In class Robert half listened while he doodled a variety of different horizons to pass the time.

[Haseo{Terror of Death}]

“Really, you will? Thank you Robert!” Allen could not choose between air pumping his hand and hugging Robert, so he did neither. He merely smiled as he followed Robert into class. Lecture sucks. Allen picked up his pencil and started drawing. He sketched monsters and machines, gods and demons. The person in front of him turned around, “Stop drawing. You suck at it and you’re loud.” Allen looked at the young man, just another face, and another bully. Allen’s eye narrowed and he returned to his drawing. “Pay attention in class.” “Allen where’s your phone?” “Why does Robert have it?” “Are you going to let him control you?” “Shut up…” Allen whispered as more and more people turned to face him. “The milk was poisoned. You’re going to die.” “Why even compete with Zorlo?” “He’s a natural genius, not a FREAK.” Allen dropped the pencil and brought his hands to cover his ears. “S-Stop it! Stop talking! Everybody stop talking!” All eyes were now on Allen as he stood in class. Allen’s legs trembled and he knew he’d made a scene. Their eyes were evil and Allen started sobbing, “I’m not… I was just…” Allen to the door, swinging it open. He looked at Robert, “I’m okay, please don’t follow me.” Allen slammed the door behind him and ran. He ran as hard as he could until his weak body gave out. “Running away from your problems? Why not be a man and face your classmates? You’re a failure of a student, and even worse, you are a failure of a man.” Allen turned to face his faceless father, arms crossed, and somehow appearing disappointed. “P-please just go away…” Allen begged, but his father kept on with his insults.

[Helbaworshipper]

(We'll be skipping to lunch.)

Though class was mostly uneventful, So-Hee had to be absorbed in various combat strategies while at lunch. At the moment, her spoon was put into a cup of applesauce while she was looking at notes she had taken from the latest strategy guide. She had to be ready for the exam. She knew that one mistake would keep Zorlo from going to the front lines. She started to mix the applesauce, knowing in her mind that she might end up leaving half her lunch. It was usual for her stress. And often, extremely annoying to Zorlo because she was always studying. It felt like she was rarely doing anything else.

[GamerKale]

I'm pretty sure that means follow him. "Riveting lecture as always." Robert said in parting and walked out the door after Allen. He ran after him and did a flying kick, attempting to hit Toni or Billy or whoever was bothering him at the moment. He landed on his butt and slid for a couple feet. He looked up at Allen, "Did I get him? Good. Come on, you don't want to have to work harder at the study group, right?"
-----------------------
Robert only carried his own tray, but he made sure Allen got a decent amount of food. He sat down across from So-Hee and watched her obsess over her notes and mostly just sloshing her applesauce around. "So-Hee, So-Hee, earth to So-Hee, you awake?"

[Haseo{Terror of Death}]

Allen looked up, and where his father once stood was empty. Instead, he saw Robert a few feet before him, and the world was normal again. “I’m sure you got him good. Sent him packing I reckon.” Allen picked himself up and dusted his clothes. ‘Why did you follow me? I told you not to… Robert you’re too nice sometimes… way too nice for your own good. He’s just planning on running away from here himself. Why don’t they just let him leave? Why don’t the let any of us leave?’ “Thank you for the help. I really appreciate it.”

Allen looked down at his food. Robert had made sure that Allen picked the food himself, so it had to be healthy. Allen picked up his plain looking lunch, a cheeseburger he had made sure to double and triple check. Even so Allen inspected under the bun, he made sure the burger was without condiments. No bloody ketchup, puss mayonnaise, or otherwise specified mustard. Allen bit into the burger and smiled, letting his feet swing gently. Allen watched as Robert tried for So-Hee’s attention. She’s obviously awake, she just in the zone. Or maybe her food is poisoned? Does she know it’s poisoned? Allen spies the mysterious Applesauce, looking for sulfuric qualities he’d known most applesauce containers to withhold. Fortunately he had not noticed anything out of the ordinary. ‘I wonder if she really reads all those books. Maybe she just pretends to read them so we don’t bother her. But Robert always snaps her out of it. She’s not thinking Robert’s actions through thoroughly.’ Allen sighed and continued on with his burger, chewing it slowly, in case anything was inserted into the meat, prior to its preparation. Allen spied the rest of the cafeteria, keeping vigilant of his oppressors. “Robert, may I have my phone back?” Allen asked as he revealed his empty tray. “I ate all my food this time.” Allen’s, however, juice had remained untouched and unopened. Cranberry juice tasted the best, but often enough it proved to be infected with blood, and unlike his lunch, he could not see the creation of the juice. Just the cans.

[Zorolo]

Zorlo turned So-Hee towards him and rested his head against hers. He didn't have much he could do, but he could do something to help her. He could feel her anguish and exhaustion and began to shift them to himself. "I can take on this pain myself. It'll help you relax," he stated as the bags formed under his eyes and his eye twitched. His focus was shattered and his mind began to move faster than he was used to.

He shifted towards Allen as he felt the ambient thoughts become louder. His eye twitched again before he sunk his head down and covered his ears. Why were the voices so loud now? Was this what So-Hee normally felt like… or was this something else? Something unexpected?