"What took you so long?" An impatient person ruins the victory party.
X frowns, how can humans be so arrogant? On the other hand, Lance unconsciously cracks a smile. He is used to this act, and already prepared to dish out a joke or two, but—
"What took them so long?" Prof. Karen walks in front of X's group and faces a displeased Rin. "Maybe it's the fact that these useless bunch behind me actually listens to instructions, which is more than I can say about all of you, who stands in front of me."
Rin's frown deepens, "We made it—"
"It doesn't matter!" Prof. Karen interrupts the girl's pathetic excuse. The instructor starts to have a headache from this persistent girl; Prof. Karen watched all of them, but Rin's shallowness was an eyesore she couldn't bear to watch for too long.
"How many times do I have to say that this class is about teamwork until you get it through your thick skull!" Rin flinches as Prof. Karen shouts at them; all the students grimace at the scene.
The Professor continues to lecture Rin without caring for the reaction around her. "First mistake, you left your comrade behind. Second, you threw one of your comrade back to the bottom without regard to his/her life. Finally, you watch your teammates suffer without giving them a hand at a time where you should have come together to reach your common goal."
Prof. Karen looks at her, then behind Rin to the rest of the students who were also guilty. "Do you think, if this was an actual mission, you would have succeeded because you individually reach the goal? And what about your teammates? Do you all have medical skills, when you leave your doctor to fend for himself and he doesn't survive... would you succeed your mission?"
The students shrink back, everyone absorbing her words like a sponge. Thoughts slowly settling in, as they start to replay and analyze the situation she throws at them in their heads.
"The importance of teammates is the roles play they in the group, the advantage gain from their professional fields, and the invaluable resources they can give you from their own unique experiences! One man cannot fight everything no less an army by himself, so do not underestimate your teammates! Do you understand!"
"Yes, Ma'am!" Everyone replies from the top of their lung.
Prof. Karen smiles in approval. "Then, class dismiss."
The students pour out of the building like their ass was on fire, wanting to get far away from that death trap as fast as humanly possible. Amidst the crowd, X carries a sleeping Dahlia on his back. His hand quickly shoots out and capture his target in a headlock.
"Hey, buddy," X says shamelessly.
Lance, still thinking about what the instructor said, was caught off guard. His response becomes several beat too slow for X's liking.
"If I correctly remember, someone said they would share the 'goods' with their new friend." X explains to the brain-damaged guy.
"You're on break?" Lance asks with a rare serious face.
"Yeah, my next class is not until late in the evening. I have time."
"Let's go," Lance says in excitement.
Not even an hour later, the two idiots are drunk off their asses in their dorms. The "goods" were actually a variety of high-quality wine stolen from the Headmaster's office. Some of their male classmates joined them when they overheard their plan. Meanwhile, Ken being the only sober one didn't mind being Dahlia's babysitter for a moment.
Thirty more minutes later, the party was over and everyone was leaving. The guys practically using each other as support to walk out, others had to be carried out from being totally wasted.
"Thanks for having us," Ken shakes his hand politely, but X can see the calculating glint in his eyes. Unfortunately for Ken, X does not plan to be on the frontline without a good reason, so he better be prepared for a fight if he thinks X will drop his vacation to be used as a political pawn.
"I told you, you wouldn't regret it. Aren't you glad I dragged you into my mess." Lance shamelessly tries to appeal his previous transgression to X in good lighting, but—
"Get lost." X says in a dull voice.
—talking with that shameless bastard is obviously giving X a headache. X slowly massage his temple after the last person left the room.
He takes out a cigarette and lighter from his storage ring, while walking to the balcony. He closes the door softly as he tries not to awake the little girl. He proceeds to lean on the railing and lights the cancer stick. He inhales and exhales the smoke that felt like it was strangling him from inside-out, but ultimately distracts him from worldly thoughts.
Then, he hears the light pitter-patter of footsteps from behind. X calmly asks without looking back, "Do you smoke?"
"No," Lance replies as he walks beside X. He looks at the green scenery before him, it was all fake, an illusion like everything else in this destitute of a world. The sun slowly peeking out behind the giant tree-line, not quite dawn yet.
"Suit yourself," X takes a long drag. They stand there quietly enjoying the other's company for a moment. X finally breaks the ice after extinguishing the cigarette, "What's on your mind?"
"I've been thinking... about what Prof. Karen said..."
"Yeah," X finally looks at Lance for the first time since he came to the balcony. The guy had a sober look, but his face still reddish from the alcohol.
"Won't you create a team with me?"
A team? X never heard this one before. He decides to play along for a moment and says, "Why so serious?"
"The school requires students to create teams for certain events, extracurricular activities, and such for the safety of the students. Obviously, this creates a disadvantage for loners and people who are not good at creating groups. Unless your lucky enough to take one of those temporary group spots."
"And what about you? Do you already have a team?"
Lance shakes his head "No." He leans on the railing with frustration written all over his face. "Ken rarely asks me to join, and that is only to fill-in temporary group spots. He usually have one of the girls to go with him."
"Huh, so it'll only be you and me?" X's body relax. He knew if Ken was on the team, he would have immediately turned the offer down. After all, there is always trouble following the hero.
"Alright, you have my attention. Why don't you tell me more about the academy, while trying to convince me to join?" X says, watching people below them pass by.
"Sounds like a plan," Lance gives a real smile, albeit a shallow one, but a genuine one that he doesn't remember ever showing before.
And for awhile longer, X is able to talk to the real Wingman the novel can never articulate.