Classes looked the same day after day for an entire week. Cricket would always be the last to show up, he'd say something half-heartedly at the beginning of class as he lazily slumped into the classroom, and he'd just assign them to read their textbooks with little to no instruction on what to do with the information or what they're looking for.
After the week had gone by, Sophie had been completely fed up with her teacher's clear lack of care for his job and the education of his students. As Cricket is leaning back on his chair by the podium, textbook over his head trying to catch some Zs, Sophie decides to take her textbook and lob it at his head. Her textbook hits him dead on, right on the top of his dome, causing him to wake up and let out a large yelp as he falls to the ground. Cricket slowly gathers his bearings, rubbing his forehead right on the spot as he slowly sits up from the ground, slightly teary-eyed from his nap as well as the pain from the textbook she threw. Sophie then decides to go off on her lazy instructor.
"You lazy-ass bum! It's been a freaking week, and you haven't even lifted a finger! I don't know how you got this job, and I hate doing this, but I'm Sophie Castallan, dammit, of House Castallan, and just one word to my parents and you'll be out of a job! So either do your damn job and teach all of us or I'll get you fired!"
She said those words with such fury. She absolutely hates throwing her family name around, despises it in fact, knowing how much power and influence they have in the world, but Sophie is very no-nonsense about her education and can't stand the fact that it seems her instructor at the supposed greatest university the kingdom has to offer doesn't seem to care about anything in the least.
As she finishes going off on him, Cricket slowly begins to stand up. It looks as if he's slowly absorbing the words Sophie said, and after a moment a very sly grin crosses his face as he strokes his chin with his thumb and index finger. He approaches her desk and starts leaning in as he begins talking aloud.
"That's perfect. I've been meaning to get fired. I can't just up and quit, but if I were fired, maybe I could trick the old man! That's... some good thinking on your part. Yes, do it. Get me fired, then I can continue to freeload; everyone wins!"
Cricket has an absolute expression on his face as he says all this. Sophie and the class as a whole are left completely dumbfounded by his behavior. It was obvious he didn't care, but him actively wanting to get fired from a job at the most prestigious university in the kingdom is another shock altogether.
Julien was left completely amused, laughing at his blatant disregard for his job and the over-the-top behavior he's displayed in actively seeking unemployment. Meanwhile, Sophie is left even more angry than before. She had hopes in her heart that somewhere deep down that there beat the heart of an instructor in him, that he wasn't just wasting her time, that there was some deeper meaning to all he'd done so far in this past week. But this hit her like a ton of bricks; this guy is truly just a total cornball who couldn't give a crap about her education and wasted an entire week of her life.
"You're a real scumbag, you know that?"
"Woah... that's uncalled for. But yeah, I guess that's a descriptor you could use for me. Damn, I'm seeming pretty sack-worthy right now, wouldn't you say?"
Sophie looks at him in the eyes angrily. She looks into the pit of his soul. While the evidence would suggest to her that he's just a bum, something within her tells her that there's something to all this. There's no way a guy like this would get hired by a university like Hexvale if it weren't for a reason. After a moment of thinking to herself, she pulls a glove out of her pocket and tosses it towards him, signaling that she challenges him to a magic duel. Cricket looks at the glove that's landed in front of him and gives a chuckle before responding to her challenge.
"You want to duel me? That's cute. Okay, suppose I were to accept; what are the stipulations of your little duel, if I may ask?"
"It's pretty simple. The first one to fall down loses. If I win, you have to actually get off your seemingly useless ass and teach your damn class like you mean it."
"And... if I win?"
"Then... then I'll get you fired, considering you seem to really be into that idea. Do you accept?"
Cricket looks back down at the glove and smirks. After giving it another moment's thought, he picks up the glove, signaling that he accepts the duel. Sophie then responds to his acceptance of the duel.
"Alright, then it's set. I'll see you in the training field this afternoon. Don't disappoint me, Professor Cricket."
"Oh... I won't miss Castallan. Rest assured I'll show up with bells on."
He chuckles as he goes to sit back in his chair. Sophie sits down, mentally preparing to fight the instructor this afternoon. Whispers of excitement spread throughout the classroom; it's incredibly rare for an instructor to accept a duel, so this is must-see viewing for them all.