The sun shone brightly, his figure ran across the pavement of the brought city of District One. Several days had passed since his last meeting with Cassie at the restaurant. Corvus prepared diligently, packing most of his clothes and even calling in a favour from Andrew to host his sister until he finished his education.
His mind grew distant as the doors of the train system shut behind him. Despite not being a particularly popular guy, his phone seemed to have been blowing up with messages as of late. Especially from Andrew. Most were about spreading his name to cute girls on campus, while others were about calling his sister cute.
'If he makes a move on her, I swear he won't even be safe at the River Styx.'
Red bangs, blue eyes and a mischievous smile looked down at him. Her figure was not overbearing, but the uniform complemented her features perfectly. "Ah, do you mind if I take that seat?" Even her voice was as sweet as honey.
"No. Sorry." But Corvus was not particularly fond of sweets.
Her face dropped. A man across the cart offered his seat to the petite idol. But she could not let their interaction end like that. How could any man reject her request?
Roughly thirty minutes pass.
The gates to the academy loom overhead, and many students rush in. But Corvus's eye catches a particular one. Hair that reached down to the base of her spine, shining like radiant sun rays, two gems that captured a dense forest that peered ahead at the massive building composed of many arches. He reached his hand forward toward her, and it was met with another.
"Hey there! My name is Rhya!" Red hair, blue eyes...an overwhelmingly sweet smile.
"Oh... It's you. From the train."
"Yep! You seem new around here. How about I give you a tour?"
His eyes traced the outline of the blond girl, her figure slowly disappearing into the crowd of students. He sighed. "Sure, I guess, I have nothing better to do."
'Nothing better to do?! That's why you are saying yes?? Fine, be like that. You will see the full extent of my powers!' Rhya smirked behind his back. The large fountain gushed water, and made it the perfect place to commence her plans.
"This place is known as Cupid's fountain. They say that if a couple throws a coin in, they will surely get together."
'Yes! Any man being told that by a beautiful girl such as myself would definitely fall prey to my charms!'
Her head snapped at him, her blue eyes shining deeply into his gaze, her smile softening, and a coin left her hand toward the water.
"Gotcha! God, why would you drop that? Don't you know money is precious? And who in their right mind would flip a coin into a fountain, someone could come and steal it at any time. Kids these days." Corvus shook his head, placed the coin back in the palm of her hand and left toward the building's entrance.
Rhya stood motionless, several people gathered around her failure. Murmurs built around her like an echo chamber, but two failures were not enough to stop even her.
"Wait up!" Her cheerful persona returned, more forced than ever. A sticky pink mist built around the general vicinity of their location, following as they walked through each hall. Exploring every individual room that bore any form of use to them. Corvus was particularly interested in the cafeteria, where they offered a free menu. If you listened closely enough, you could hear Corvus exhale joyfully under his breath.
The final room of their expedition had come to stand before them. A hall with two dozen students welcomed them; it was their home room where they would attend roll call every morning.
"Psst. It appears that more than half of the people in this class are newcomers. So at least you won't be alone in that." Rhya had dragged him to the front of the class, where their seats were now designated. Corvus, who had never sat in the front, was now sweating bullets.
'This girl is really troublesome.' He reached into his back, pulling out a bottle of off-brand cola.
"You aren't really gonna drink that, right?" From her handbag, she pulled out two red cans. "Take this." She guzzled down the can in one go. But Corvus was hesitant; he noticed that the air around them had gotten sweeter, intoxicating even.
The door swung shut behind a tall, burly man, his beard stretching down past his stomach, braded like an old Viking from the legends. His textbook struck the wooden stand hard, and his fingers flicked to today's date. "Alright, class, seeing as though we have a few fresh faces, we might as well let the introductions take priority. Alphabetical order... Alright, Arivia, step up."
A tall and slender girl, with features that screamed high class, wandered to the front of the classroom. With a few awkward phrases, she was gone like the wind. A few more students followed the same process until Corvus's turn came up.
Without paying it any mind, he stepped up before the classroom. 'It is a lot more intimidating from this angle.'
"My n-name is Corvus Leeman. I used to w-work as an accountant. M-My old profession w-was an accountant-t. I am g-glad to make your acquaintance!" Dead silence. Not even a cricket.
'Should I just kill myself and restart this day?'
He returned to his seat. He definitely wasn't the same after that. And the rest of the introductions passed by without catching his attention. Even the blond girl from before could not break the spell of his embarrassment.
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The bell dismissed the class; there wouldn't be any more for the rest of the day. To his delight. Cassie had given him a room for free at the academy, in exchange for a few favours she could call at any time. Though debt was something Corvus didn't like being in, sometimes he had to bear losses to get ahead.
'Speaking of debt, I gotta get a job. That apartment won't pay for itself...it was the last thing left behind by father....'