Lily skipped into the living room, where Bro was on the couch reading a newspaper.
"Morning, Bro! What are we doing today?" she asked.
"What are we doing? More like what are you and Porter doing?" Bro replied. "Starting today, the two of you are going to school!"
"Aw, what? I get why I have to, but what did Porter do to deserve this?" she complained. "I never dragged him into my pranks! What sort of punishment is this?"
"This has nothing to do with pranks. I think it's time that the two of you got a form of education in a public space," Bro reasoned.
"Porter's pretty smart. I don't think he also needs to go to school with me," Lily shrugged.
"Okay, I'll just take him out, then," he stated.
"...O-On second thought, it would be nice to have someone I know accompany me," she responded with a smile.
By now, Porter also walked into the living room, asking Bro what the plans were for today. His eyes grew wide when he heard he was going to school.
"Why me?" he cried. "I never got involved with any of Lily's pranks!"
"He said it was because he thought... Something-something, education, something-something, public space," Lily repeated.
"Close enough," Bro muttered.
"So, what time does school start?" Porter asked.
"School starts at 8," Bro replied. "That gives you an hour to get there."
"8 o' clock?!" Lily shouted. "That's so early! We don't even have school supplies!"
"I knew you'd bring that up, so I prepared in advance," he added, pulling out two backpacks, one blue and one pink, and handing them to Porter and Lily respectively.
"Truth be told, I accidentally enrolled the two of you in school a week late, so your first day is today. But don't worry, the day should be over before you know it!" Bro said before heading to the car.
The two looked at each other, then followed their older brother outside.
"That's the problem," Lily stated, "the day will be over when school is over! We'll be spending practically our entire day there! It's like working and not getting paid!"
"Actually, we are getting paid- paid in knowledge!" Porter replied with a smile.
"That's if the knowledge stays with you, gum-brain," Lily muttered, glaring at him.
The three climbed into the car and departed for the school. On the way, they were stuck behind a school bus. The name didn't go unnoticed by anyone.
"Fluffvilla High? I hear that place is full of crazy kids and crazier teachers! There's no way even you would be crazy enough to send us there, right, Bro?" Lily chuckled.
"Actually, that 'dump' is exactly where you're going. Sometimes it's best to know where you're going before you say something," Bro retorted.
"Me and my big fat mouth..." she muttered, covering her face.
The car followed the bus for some time until Bro had enough and turned the car into a helicopter.
"Um, Bro? Do you even know where the school is?" Porter asked.
"Of course I do... n-not... I enrolled you online," he answered. "I'll figure it out."
54 Minutes Later
The helicopter finally managed to find the school, which was actually far off from the city. It hovered over the parking lot, just as the bus they passed earlier also arrived.
"Well, here we are!" Bro announced. "Told you I'd figure it out."
The helicopter landed, and the two kids climbed out as everyone else filed out of the bus. Bro started the helicopter's motor and prepared to leave the parking lot.
"See ya, kids! Have fun on your first day!" he shouted before flying away.
The two looked around, observing the group of other kids conversating amongst themselves. It seemed like almost every kid belonged to some group; there were the nerds and geeks, the cool kids, the athletic kids, the rich girls' clique, and the popular ones. They all saw the helicopter fly off and then saw Porter and Lily in front of them.
"So you two are the new guys, huh?" a kid asked. "You sure know to draw attention to yourselves."
"Being fashionably late is so six months ago," a girl from the clique scoffed.
"We got here the same time you did," Porter pointed out.
The girl scoffed again, took out a lollipop and said, "Come on, girls. We're not dealing with a smart mouth at this hour."
By command, the six girl group departed into the school, leaving everyone else to stare at the two, making Porter self-conscious.
"I can't take all these eyes on me!" he screamed, hiding behind Lily. This garnered some chuckles from the athletic kids as they walked inside next.
The nerds, cool kids, and the popular ones walked in after, save for one popular kid, who approached the two.
"Here's a bit of advice," the kid suggested. "Since this is your first day, get your charts from the office. They tell you what classes and subjects you have and what rooms they're in."
"Thanks, but where is the office, anyway?" Porter asked, but the kid interrupted him.
"What do I look like, a map? Figure it out yourself! And don't ask me questions until your popularity gets on my level," they hissed before walking inside.
With a sigh, the two were the last to enter the school. There were no students in sight and the hallways looked like they stretched for an eternity. Having no clue where to go, they walked in a random direction.
"Lily, if we ever become popular one day, let's make an agreement that it won't affect our bond as brother and sister," Porter suggested.
"I don't think we have to worry about that; we're never going to be popular," Lily sighed.
"Ah, don't be like that! I think everyone has a chance to be popular! It's all about how you treat others," he reasoned.
"...You've got a lot of unpopular opinions," Lily said, stopping to look at him.
"Well, I mean-"
"By that, I mean your opinions are what make you unpopular," she interrupted.
As the two talked, they saw a tall kid with green eyes and golden hair holding a backpack over the head of a much shorter kid, struggling to reach it.
"Look! That kid needs help!" Porter gasped. "Maybe if we help him, we might get popular!"
"What is with you wanting to be popular all of a sudden?" Lily questioned, looking concerned.
"Doesn't popularity give you some sort of power? If we get popular, we can protect each other from rude kids! Now come on!" he ordered, running to the two.
Lily, while skeptical at the logic, shrugged and followed him.
"Come on, Zack! Please give me back my backpack!" the kid begged.
"If you want it, you have to earn it, just like everything else in the world," Zack taunted. "Use your legs!"
"Hey! Leave him alone!" Porter shouted.
Zack looked in the direction of Porter and Lily, then chuckled. "Or what? He's not alone for once! I'm doing him a favor!" he laughed. "Besides, you should hurry to your class before you make this ugly!"
"Why don't you hurry to class?" Lily suggested. "You're the one who actually knows where to go! We're still trying to figure out where the office is!"
Zack smirked. "D'aww, the poor babies lost? The office is on the second floor, third door to the left," he stated.
"He's lying! That's where the teacher's lounge is!" the other kid warned.
Zack sighed and dropped the kid's backpack, picking up the kid instead. "Well, I just wanted to have a bit of fun messing with the new guys, but you just had to ruin it. You brought this on yourself," he grumbled, opening his locker. He was about to shove him inside, but he was tackled by Porter. His face slammed against the locker door, creating a bump on his forehead.
"Ugh, you guys are such buzzkills!" he groaned, getting up. "And you... don't think this is over!" he warned Porter before running away.
Meanwhile, Lily helped the kid off the ground, handing him his backpack. "You okay? What did you do?" she asked.
"I'm fine," the kid responded. "Zack always picks on me because I don't have any friends, and I'm not part of any groups either. I'm Percy, by the way."
Lily introduced herself and Porter to him and added they were new to the school. Percy told them he knew who they were, as they were the only two empty seats in the classrooms.
"Classes!" Porter gasped. "We still need to get to the office and get our charts!"
"The office is at the front of the entrance. If you hurry, you can nab them before the first period starts!" Percy encouraged.
With a nod, the two made a break for the office, time being of the essence.
"Of course the office would be close to the entrance, that makes the most sense!" Lily said, frustrated. "Why didn't that other kid help us out?!"
Soon enough, they reached the office and grabbed their charts just as the bell rang.
"Shoot! We're late!" Porter exclaimed. "Let's figure out where our classes are as we run! My first class is English!"
"That's my first class, too!" Lily replied. "Wouldn't it be funny if we had the same classes in order?"
Period #1: English
The two stumbled into the classroom, where everyone including the teacher stared at them.
"Ah, not again!" Porter whimpered, hiding behind Lily.
"Ah, you must be the two students who enrolled online," the teacher said. "Porter and Lily, your seats are in the back, next to Percy."
"In the back with the outcast, where they should be!" a kid shouted, causing the other students to laugh. The teacher glared at the class, immediately silencing them. Porter and Lily quickly shuffled to their seats as Percy waved them over.
"Since we have our entire class now, allow me to reintroduce myself," the teacher stated. "For our new students and anyone who hasn't paid attention since last week, my name is Deedee Lokort, though you may call me Ms. L," she added, writing her name on the whiteboard.
As she wrote, Percy whispered to the two, "Ms. L actually got arrested once before working here."
"What for? Fraud? Embezzlement? Selling snow cones without a license?" Lily asked.
"Trying to send a missile towards Seal Island," Percy answered.
"...You know, after everything me and Porter have seen, I find selling snow cones without a license scarier," she admitted.
"I'm surprised she's even working to begin with," Porter added.
"Alright class, today we'll be discussing the difference between 'it's' and 'its'," Ms. L announced. "To start, 'it's' is a contraction and not to be confused with the possessive 'its'."
"I've got one!" a female student announced, getting up and standing on her desk. "I say 'it's' time this class was over!"
Everyone burst out laughing, except for Ms. L, who shook her head. "Jane, detention," she ordered.
Jane stuck her tongue out at Ms. L before getting off the desk and sashaying out of the room. The class continued to laugh until she disappeared down the hall.
"Every day, I swear..." Ms. L muttered to herself. "Anyway, 'its' is used to assign possession to an object or an entity without a gender," she explained further. "Would anyone care to give me an example?"
"Oh, pick me! I have one!" an enthusiastic student shouted, holding up a paper showing a sentence with the wrong 'its', no less.
"No, no, no," Ms. L responded. "You got the wrong one! I said the possessive 'it's', like a tree and its branches, or an octopus and its eight legs, or..."
"Cypher and its rockets!" Lily exclaimed, grabbing the attention and confusion of everyone in the room. Students muttered "what a Cypher was" and how "she's going to fit right in with the outcast" when Ms. L spoke up. Or at least she would, if the bell hadn't rang at that moment.
"Right... Well, everyone, your homework is on my desk. Take two sheets and move on to your next class," she said, retiring to her desk and watching the students. One by one, they grabbed the papers from her desk, but when Lily tried to grab the papers, she was stopped.
"Hold on a minute, Lily. As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm in participating in my class, I'd appreciate it a lot more if you gave more realistic answers," she suggested.
"But Ms. L, Cypher is real! They're a robot from outer space, and my friend!" Lily protested.
"Well, I'll believe it when I see it," Ms. L replied. "For now, just grab your things and get to your next class."
Lily nodded, grabbed her homework and headed out of the classroom, where Porter and Percy were comparing classes.
"Alright, it seems like you have math, while I have music next," Percy said, looking through Porter's paper. "Looks like our next class together is in fourth period, so I'll see you then!" he added, before handing Porter his chart back and running off.
"What was that all about?" Lily asked.
"We were just seeing what classes we had next. Mind if I take a look at your chart now that we have a bit of time?" Porter requested. Wordlessly, Lily handed him her chart for Porter to study. His eyes grew wide before handing the chart back to her.
"Our classes are all the same!" he declared.
"What? Let me see!" Lily exclaimed, snatching the charts and checking herself.
"Art, social studies, P.E., study hall, we have all of them together! But how?" Lily wondered.
"You don't think Bro somehow made arrangements for us to have all of the same classes together, do you?" Porter asked.
"If he did, he'd do it for your sake," Lily answered with a smirk. "Now come on, we're gonna be late again!"
Period #2: Mathematics
The two reached the classroom before the bell rang, though they were still the last to get inside.
"Classic outcasts," a student muttered.
"Can you at least call us by our name?" Porter complained.
"You really don't want that, outcast," another student replied.
The teacher, who was watching the ordeal, told everyone to settle down so he could start his lesson.
"Mr. Matthew, wouldn't it be easier to bring the new students up to speed than go about on a lesson even you don't know about?" another student asked.
"I-I know what I'm teaching, okay?" Mr. Matthew stammered. "Everything you're studying this semester is all in this book!" he added, holding the book with everyone's curriculum.
"You're holding the book upside-down," Lily pointed out.
"I-I know that!" he coughed, opening the book and flipping through the pages. "Now, our lesson today is..."
He started to sweat and smile awkwardly as he looked at the book and back to his students. Eventually, he closed the book, took a breath and said, "How about we start with some basic addition, huh? Does anyone know what 1 plus 1 is?"
The so-called 'lesson' continued until the bell rang. Mr. Matthew breathed in a sigh of relief and passed out the homework sheets. One student took a look at the paper and was outraged.
"You never taught us this!" they complained.
"W-Well, go through the book! That's what it's there for!" he advised, sweat running down his face.
"Isn't it your job to teach us?" another student asked.
"Sorry, can't hear you!" he replied, running out of the door. The students chatted amongst themselves as they walked out of the classroom, the two siblings being the last to leave.
"I think our next class is on the second floor," Porter said.
As they hurried up the staircase, they froze when they spotted Zack at the top, staring directly at Porter. The three looked at each other before Zack smirked and walked off.
"What was that all about?" Lily asked.
"I think he has something out for me, but what?" Porter answered.
"We'll figure it out later. Let's hurry so we're not the last ones to get to class!" she responded.
Period #3: Science
The two weren't the last to get to the classroom this time; they were the second-to-last. The teacher immediately shut the door as the bell rang. The last student knocked on the door, begging to be let in.
"Come on, Mr. Cobalt! Can't you let me in just this once?" the student asked.
"Judging by your speed, you honestly should've made it. By the way, no running in the halls. Go to the office and think about what you did," he ordered.
As he watched the dejected student leave through the door, he turned to the class and cleared his throat. "Alright class, let's not waste a single moment more and get into the lesson," he stated, grabbing a marker and writing a 27- the symbol for cobalt on the periodic table.
The class let out a groan. "Again? We've been learning about that element since last week!" a student complained.
"And we're going to keep learning about it until we've discovered everything we can about it!" Mr. Cobalt replied, continuing to write. "Now, cobalt is a kind of metal and is number 27 on the periodic table. Should've been number one," he grumbled. "Anyways..."
"Can we learn about something else? Like helium?" a student asked.
Mr. Cobalt looked at the student, visibly annoyed. "What is there to learn?" he asked. "Breathe in too much of it, you die. Next!"
"Well, I know helium is lighter than air," another student replied, "and if someone breathes it in, they sound funny, like a mouse."
"We have a mouse brother! I wonder what he would sound like if he breathed some in!" Lily interrupted, causing everyone to look at her again.
"Nobody was talking to you, outcast!" the first student barked.
"And nobody was talking about helium, and yet here we are!" Mr. Cobalt added. "Now, back to the lesson..."
"Ooh, how about silver?" a different student suggested, Mr. Cobalt declining immediately.
"What about carbon?" another student recommended, to his frustration.
"How about you do krypton? I don't think a lot of people talk about that!" a third student reasoned, capturing the chagrin of the teacher.
"Really? That currency schlock? That's all I ever hear when I'm not in the school! You know how many times people have tried to scam me with their get-rich-quick schemes?" Mr. Cobalt shouted.
"I think you mean crypto-"
"And another thing," he interrupted, "that topic is completely irrelevant for a science class. Now..."
As he continued to write about cobalt, more students started to bombard him with different topics, until Porter suggested, "Why not feldspar?"
Mr. Cobalt looked over at Porter, then narrowed his eyes. "Fine, then. Let's talk about feldspar," he conceded, wiping everything on the whiteboard. As he spoke, the rest of the class gave him a look of gratitude.
"Nice one, big brother," Lily whispered, nudging Porter's arm.
The bell rang eventually, the students all sighing in relief, then groaned in disappointment. They knew that despite the teacher knowing about more than just cobalt, he'd go back to teaching that the next time they saw him.
Homework was passed, featuring cobalt-related questions, no less, and the class left the room. Lily and Porter hurried out of the room, heading to the gymnasium where their next period would start.
Period #4: P.E.
Their timing seemed to be getting better, as more students were also just making their way inside, Jane and Percy being two of them.
"Hey guys! I noticed you two are getting better at arriving to class!" Percy chimed, then sighed. "Shame it had to be this one."
"Why? What's wrong with this class?" Lily asked.
As the last student entered the gymnasium, a big, burly, muscular man wearing a helmet stormed inside and shut the doors.
"Listen up, worms and anyone who has not paid a lick of attention for the past week! My name is Jim Andross and I am not going to take flack from any of you!" he shouted. His voice was intimidatingly loud, enough to scare the students.
"I am going to whip you up into the fastest and strongest you can be, and I do not want to hear your excuses or your whining! Do I make myself clear?" he asked, garnering nervous reactions from everyone.
"Do I make myself clear?!" he screamed, forcing everyone to reply in scattered agreements.
"Push-ups! Get to it!" he ordered. Immediately, the entire class dropped down and did their exercises.
What followed was a nonstop series of sit-ups, burpees, and stretches, all culminating into running several laps around the gymnasium.
"Sheesh, this teacher doesn't mess around!" Lily said, panting.
"I'm surprised he separated the rich girl clique so easily! He's so commanding!" Porter whispered.
"Just don't stop running and don't make eye contact," Percy advised. "I am not cut out for this type of exercise!"
"Ladies, move it! You're running, not crocheting!" Mr. Andross yelled, looking around the room as his students ran before singing, "I don't know what I've been told..."
"...Jim is really, really old!" a female voice sang back. Mr. Andross immediately turned to the source of the voice, which undoubtedly belonged to the class clown.
"Jane! Detention!" he barked. As Jane quickly ran out of the room, another student slowly approached him, a hand on their stomach.
"Mr. Andross, sir? I'm not feeling so good," they admitted.
"I thought I had made it pretty clear that I am not going to take your excuses!" he growled. "Unless you're going to vomit right here and now, get back to running-"
In that moment, the student threw up on Mr. Andross's shoes, eliciting a groan from him.
"Nurse's office," he growled. "Go to the nurse's office and get out of my sight."
The bell rang as the student hurried out. Everyone else quickly followed them out, leaving the teacher to take care of the mess.
Percy, Lily, and Porter ran all the way to the front of the school, as if their legs forced them to get as far away from Mr. Andross as they could.
"Ugh, my legs are killing me!" Lily whined, dropping to the floor. "Any more and I think I would've ended up like that kid..."
"If you think that's crazy, he's also the art teacher!" Percy replied. "Any student would agree he's an absolute nightmare to be near!"
"Speaking of nightmares, I'm pretty sure our next period is art," Porter added.
"Oh no..." Lily whimpered.
"Oh. Well, you two have fun then! We'll meet up at lunch!" Percy chuckled nervously. "Also, word of advice: Don't sit in the back. The tables are lined in rows. Sit near the walls," he suggested before walking off.
"Percy sure knows a lot. I wonder why he's always by himself and not hanging out with the nerds," Porter wondered as he and Lily started to walk to the class.
"Maybe even the nerds didn't want to hang out with him. That type of thing can happen sometimes," Lily reasoned.
Period #5: Art
The two arrived early, though not early enough, as the seats closest to the walls were taken. At this point, they had to pick a seat from the middle, but where?
"Quick, let's get to the back before those seats are taken!" Lily recommended.
"Wait! Percy said not to sit in the back!" Porter warned.
"Well, where else can we sit? The teacher will obviously notice us if we sit in the front row!"
"As if the teacher won't notice us in the back?"
While they were arguing, the middle row- the row they completely ignored, slowly filled with students, something that Lily realized very quickly.
"Ah, of course we'd miss that!" Lily exclaimed, facepalming.
Porter looked out of the room and saw Mr. Andross marching toward their room.
"He's coming this way!" Porter squealed. "We need to pick a seat now!"
When he looked back, Lily was already in a seat in the back. Panicking, Porter tried to dive under the covered table, but there was something solid behind the coverings. Getting up, he scrambled for the closest seat he could. Just in time too, as Mr. Andross had also entered the room.
"Alright, ladies! Today we are learning about shading!" he shouted. "Shading is crucial in any art piece and is a direct contrast to wherever the light is. Wherever the light points, save for certain circumstances, there is darkness hiding behind it. Understand?"
Nobody answered, not out of fear, but because they were distracted by the comically large bump on Porter's head. Even the teacher was more focused on it than his lesson.
"You," he said, pointing at Porter. "Nurse's office. I can't have you in here looking like that," he ordered in a low voice.
As Porter got up and shuffled out of the room, he could overhear the other students whispering about how Andross went easy on him. Shutting the door, Mr. Andross's shouting resumed through the door. Slowly, he began his walk to the nurse's office, a strange sense of fear creeping up on him. He had been by himself a few times, but not to the point where he felt like something bad was about to happen.
Anxious, he started running until he reached the office. He burst through the door, startling the nurse, Dr. Hartwell.
"Sheesh! You almost gave me a heart attack!" he sighed before regaining his composure and asking, "What seems to be the problem?"
He looked over at the bump on Porter's head and nodded.
"Right. Maybe those ice packs will finally be useful," he muttered to himself.
He reached into the freezer and pulled out one of the many inside and handed it to Porter.
"So, I assume you're one of the two students who got enrolled a week late?" he asked.
"How did you know?" Porter asked back, pressing the ice pack against his head.
"I saw you and another student wandering around, looking for the office... from the office," Dr. Hartwell explained. "That, and throughout the week, literally every student came into my office for one reason or another."
Porter took a look around the room. Besides Dr. Hartwell himself, the office was full of anti-smoking posters, a couple of comfy beds, several cabinets, and that freezer where he got the ice pack from.
"Every student?" Porter asked.
Dr. Hartwell nodded. "Every single one. Some had more serious issues than others. Unfortunately, I'm only legally allowed to give bandages and ice packs," he added with a smirk, to Porter's concern.
Some time passed and the bell still hadn't rang. Porter had also admitted he was feeling better.
"Well, in that case, feel free to head back to class. Unless you want to stay here until it ends," Dr. Hartwell offered.
Porter was about to accept the offer when he realized Lily was still in class with the screaming teacher and decided to decline. He thanked the doctor and left his office, slowly making his way back to art class. By the time he got there, the bell rang, and students fled from the room, screaming.
"I said it before and I'll say it again- this teacher doesn't mess around!" Lily exclaimed, covering her ears. "I think through all the shouting, the only way he'd be worse is if he gave us homework!"
At this point, Percy had reunited with the two, a large stack of paper in his hands.
"Uh, Percy? Filling in homework for several other kids?" Lily asked jokingly.
"This is homework for next week. I like to stay ahead of the game," Percy explained.
"Next week?!" the two siblings yelled in unison. "Isn't this week's homework enough? Is there even a payoff?" Lily asked.
"It will pay off on the last week of school! You should definitely consider picking up next week's homework too!" Percy encouraged.
Porter and Lily looked at each other, knowing full well they were not going to do that.
"Oh yeah, we'll definitely consider it," Lily replied sarcastically. Suddenly, her stomach began to rumble.
"Hungry?" Percy chuckled. "Don't worry, lunch is right after the next period. The food here is actually pretty good, too!"
"Thank goodness! I was also starting to get hungry too!" Porter admitted. "Oh, I doubt the food will be as good as our sister's cooking, though..."
"Speaking of the next period, Porter, what class do we have next?" Lily asked.
Period #6: Music
The two made it to the music room, which was already packed with students with instruments. They felt incredibly out of place.
"Do we just grab an instrument?" Porter asked.
A girl who overheard Porter scoffed. "Are you new here or something? You go to the teacher and she'll set you up with an instrument."
She then looked closer at the two and narrowed her eyes. "Wait a minute! You're the two weird kids who showed up in that helicopter this morning!"
"We wouldn't say we're weird, more like... eccentric," Lily corrected. "I'm Lily, and this is my brother, Porter."
"I don't care what your names are," the girl said. "All I want is for you to know that I overheard you two talking about being popular. You've got a long way to go if you want to be popular. I will say this to start you off- stop saying ridiculous things, like having a mouse brother."
"It's true, though! She wouldn't have said it if it wasn't true!" Porter replied.
"Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it. Just go to the teacher and get an instrument. And don't say anything dumb either," she ordered, waving them both off.
The two looked at each other and walked to the teacher, who was eagerly waiting for them at her desk.
"Ah, you must be the new students here!" the teacher chirped. "I'm Mrs. Aria, and a lot has happened during your week of absence."
Porter groaned. "It feels like that's all we're known for here!"
"No need to worry," Mrs. Aria chimed. "I can bring you up to speed while teaching everyone else. Just let me find you an instrument..."
As she turned around, the two took notice of her tail, which resembled a music note.
"Hey, you're a Whimsician, aren't you?" Porter asked.
Mrs. Aria looked back at him, then looked at her tail. "Why yes, I am! I'm surprised you could tell just from looking! I'll tell you, some students had quite some outlandish guesses."
"Our family happened to visit Whimsical not too long ago. That's how I know!" he explained. "We stayed at this hotel and met the mayor and everything!"
"Oh, Mayor Clef," she giggled. "Any Whimsician would be fortunate to meet him in the flesh. Sometimes he would give everyone on the island a day off work, something I sadly took for granted when I moved here."
"Porter, you definitely can't forget to mention that a criminal tried to destroy Treble Town, but our brothers saved the day!" Lily added.
At that moment, everyone froze and stared at the two. Even Mrs. Aria's face grew dark.
"I'm going to ask you not to say stuff like that in my class," she whispered. "Whimsical is a mostly peaceful country, and it makes us look like we can't defend ourselves."
She turned around and pulled out a flute and saxophone, giving it to Lily and Porter respectively. "I think these instruments will suit you best. Line up over there," she instructed.
The two lined up between the brass and wind section, where they're pretty sure they heard the girl from earlier mutter "Idiots" under her breath.
The lesson started without a hitch. Mrs. Aria is quite skilled at playing instruments as well as singing, which definitely helped make the lesson more lively. The bell rang after some time and the class quickly left the room, likely to get away from the two.
"Ah, lunch! It's about time!" Lily sighed. "If that class went on any longer, I would've eaten the flute!"
It took some time to find the cafeteria, but when they did, everyone else had already been seated with their lunches.
"Look! There's a couple of seats at that table there! If we hurry, we can nab it!" Lily said, grabbing a tray. After being served, they made a break for the table. Unfortunately, one of the students noticed them and scooted in a way where no space was available.
"Come on!" Lily complained. "Can't you move over? There's literally space for two more students!"
The student ignored the two and continued to chat with their friends. Sighing in disappointment, the two continued their search for a table until they spotted two empty seats at the rich girls' clique. Taking a chance, they sat down, where the girls immediately berated them.
"Uh, no," one girl scoffed. "Go sit somewhere else."
"There's nowhere else to sit!" Porter replied. "Can't you help us sit here just this once?" he pleaded.
"Let the outcasts sit with us? Ew, as if!" another girl said, looking disgusted by the thought. "We can't be seen with outcasts at our table! Then the nerds will want to sit with us! And then the teachers will want to sit with us! It'll be a never-ending cycle!"
"Don't teachers have the lounge? Why would they need to sit with the students?" Lily asked.
"They don't make enough and will ask us for advice on how to save their money. Like that's our job?" a third girl answered.
"Fine, fine, we'll move," Porter groaned, getting up and motioning for Lily to do the same. "One of these days, we'll be more than just outcasts!" he promised, making the clique laugh as they walked off.
"This is exactly what I mean! If we were popular, we wouldn't have to worry about where to sit or who gives us respect!" he grumbled.
"I don't think any amount of popularity will get those girls to respect us, sad to say," Lily disagreed.
As they were talking, they ran into Zack.
"Hey guys. I just wanted to say I'm sorry for trying to trick you earlier today. That, and plotting to get revenge on you," he stated, looking at Porter.
The two looked at each other, skeptical, but continued to listen to what he had to say.
"To make it up to you, I want to point out where you can find some seats. Let's see... Have you tried there?" he asked, pointing to a table.
Lily and Porter looked over at the table, which was full, and looked back at Zack, who had a pensive look on his face.
"Okay, maybe not there, how about there?" he offered, pointing to another table. Porter noticed out of the corner of his eye that Zack was doing something, but he couldn't tell what.
"Oh, my bad. There's a table right there!" Zack announced, pointing to a table farther away from every other table in the cafeteria. "And look! There's only one person there! It's almost like this table was made for you guys!"
"Very funny, Zack. Don't mess with me when I'm hungry," Lily growled before heading off to the table, Porter following. The only other person at the table was Percy, eating food from his lunchbox.
"Percy? You're not eating the school lunch?" Porter asked. "I thought you said the food here was good!"
"Oh, it is, but what I forgot to mention is that school lunches cost money," he replied. "By bringing lunch from home, I'm saving a bit of money."
"That's weird. They didn't ask us for any money," Porter said.
"They don't ask you. They take it from your account," he explained.
"...Bro," Porter and Lily exclaimed after realizing it was probably him who put money in their accounts.
Some time passed and the bell rang. At that point, everyone at that table had finished up their lunches and met outside of the cafeteria.
"Porter, you have to admit that food was so good, it might actually rival Amelia's cooking!" Lily admitted.
"A little bit spicier than I would prefer, honestly, but yeah," Porter responded in agreement.
"Now that you've received some nourishment, you think you can handle the next two periods?" Percy asked jokingly.
"Can we handle it? Can we handle it?!" Lily shouted. "Let me tell you something, I'm ready to crush these last two periods and call it a day!"
She looked over at Porter, determination on her face. "What do we have next? History? Chemistry? Quantum theories?"
Period #7: Study Hall
The three arrived at a room reminiscent of a daycare. There were computers, crayon drawings on the walls, foam patterns on the floor and the teacher's desk with the teacher sitting there, deep in her romance novel.
"Did part of this school trade places with a kindergarten class?" Lily joked.
"In study hall, students can do almost anything. Like seriously, almost anything! You can play games on the computers, you can bring snacks in here, you can even leave the class and go to who-knows-where! Just don't disturb the teacher," Percy explained.
"What do you tend to do in this class?" Porter asked.
"You know me- doing as much homework as I can! What, you think I do my homework at home? You're funny," Percy answered. "You should do your homework here too! Not every student has study hall as a class!"
"You don't have to tell us twice!" Lily replied. The three found a table to sit at and started their work. While they were working, Porter started to feel a burning sensation in his mouth.
"I think the lunch is coming back to mess with my senses," he said.
"Now that you mention it, my mouth is starting to feel like it's on fire!" Lily added.
"We have something called incinerator sauce. Did you happen to put some on the food?" Percy asked.
The two shook their heads to his confusion.
"That's weird. I happened to see it all over your food..."
By now, the two started to groan as the burning sensation spread to their stomachs.
"Oh, the agony!" Lily screamed. "My stomach is on fire! Why would they have something like this in a school?!"
"Water! I need water!" Porter gasped.
The two ran out of the room in search of a water fountain, Percy following closely behind and telling them to hold on. Eventually, they found two water fountains and greedily lapped at the water from it.
"Guys, wait! You need milk! Water will only make it…"
Before Percy could finish his sentence, the two screamed as fire spouted out of their mouths.
"...Worse."
As the two coughed and ran through the hallway, they bumped into Zack again, holding two small cartons of milk.
"Hey, outcasts!" he said, holding out the cartons with a wicked smile. "How was lunch?"
The two snatched the cartons and quickly drank, smoke emitting from their mouths.
"You… You did something to our lunches, didn't you?" Porter groaned.
"And if I did?" Zack smirked. "It's not like anyone will believe shrimp like yourself. Anyway, you should head to the nurse's office and hope they can help you. I'll see you later."
After saying that, he walked past the two, bumping against their shoulders.
"One of these days, we'll get popular and show him!" Porter growled.
"So, you're on a mission to get popular, huh?" Percy asked. "I wish the best for you."
"Don't worry, once we get popular, we'll help you get popular as well!" Lily added.
Percy's eyes grew wide as he shook his head. "Oh no, don't, please!"
The two looked at each other, confused and expecting an explanation.
"I know what my place is in this school, and while it may be confusing to you, I'm perfectly fine with where I am. You two are still trying to find your place in this school, and while I can't make you popular, I have some advice to help you be popular," he stated. "Get to know your fellow classmates. There are some who are curious about you."
"Well, which one do we start with?" Lily asked.
"That's for you to find out," he answered. "For now, you should probably head to the nurse's office."
Nauseous, the two thanked Percy and slowly made their way to the nurse's office, where they complained to the nurse about their stomach hurting.
"Ice pack?" Dr. Hartwell offered with a smile.
They looked at him, unamused, and that's when the bell rang.
"And there goes our chance to finish up our homework," Porter sighed. "Thanks, Zack."
"Guess we should head back to study hall, pack up our things and just… head to our next class," Lily muttered.
And that's what they did, albeit very slowly. The bell rang again as they were heading to their last class.
Porter let out a groan. "Let's just get this over with."
Period #8: Social Studies
The two trudged inside of the room, where everyone else had already taken a seat and had been waiting quite a while for them.
"So much for getting better at arriving to class," Lily muttered.
They took a seat, and the teacher spoke up.
"Now that everyone is accounted for, we can finally start the lesson," the teacher announced.
"Ms. Gray, did we really have to wait for these two?" a student asked.
"I get paid more if every student is here," she explained. "That, and wouldn't you agree that every student deserves to hear my jokes?"
"No!" the entire class answered in unison.
"...I think my jokes are funny," she grumbled. "Anyway, today, we'll be learning about the Glitchview City energy storm."
The entire class stared at Lily, expecting some sort of outlandish statement.
"Well, outcast, got something funny to say?" a student asked, sarcasm in their voice.
"Actually, our brother says he got struck by an energy beam from the storm back when he lived in Glitchview City," she admitted.
"And… that's it?" another student questioned further, expecting something else.
"Yep! That's all! He's perfectly fine!" she chuckled nervously, not wanting to bring up what actually happened to him afterwards. At least, not to the other students.
"Actually, people who get hit by energy from the storm come out a bit… different," Ms. Gray corrected. "That reminds me of when I was a kid, living in Glitchview before the energy storm. Times were simpler, music was simpler, and pop was just ten cents…"
The class let out a collective sigh. "Here we go again," one student murmured.
Ms. Gray continued to drone on about the days of her childhood and several other topics, straying from what she was supposed to teach until the bell rang.
"Oh, look at the time!" she exclaimed, looking at the clock. "Looks like class is over! Enjoy the rest of your day!"
Some students muttered about not learning anything, some cheered about school finally being over for the day, but all hurried out of the classroom. Porter and Lily waited for a moment, seeing the sea of students from beyond the door.
As they waited for the crowd to disappear, Ms. Gray started up a conversation. "Lily, is it true that your brother got struck by Glitchview's energy storm?" she asked.
"Why would I make that up?" Lily replied.
"Well, as I've said before, people who get struck by those beams aren't exactly the same. They may be grumpier or happier, like they're missing an emotion or two."
"Our brother has always been like that, as far as we remember. But he says one of his daydreams are real and is trying to get back at the world, so our family spends time stopping it and defending Seal Island!" Porter added.
Ms. Gray looked at Lily and Porter, then let out a laugh. "Oh, you kids have such wild imaginations! I remember when me and my sister were kids, going on adventures and stopping bad guys. We called ourselves the Monochrome Twins! Those were the days, when times were simpler, music was simpler, and pop was just ten cents…"
By now, the crowd was lessening, so the two snuck out where Percy was just outside of the hall, waiting for them.
"Well, guys, you did it! You survived your first day of school!" he congratulated.
"Please tell me we never have to do that again!" Lily whined.
"Don't worry! We only have 174 days to go!" Percy said, trying to console her.
"...End my suffering," she groaned.
The three walked out to the parking lot, where buses and cars sat to pick up eager students. Close by, a crowd was gathered at the end of the lot.
"What's going on over there?" Percy wondered.
Carefully weaving between the other students, they saw Cypher and Zaire calling out Porter and Lily's names.
"Zaire!" The two shouted, shoving others aside. "What are you doing here?"
Lily paused to look at Cypher and asked what they're doing here.
"Cypher here was giving me directions to the school," Zaire explained. "Gotta say, wouldn't expect a school to be here, of all places!"
The crowd grew closer to him and Cypher, curious about the two creatures before them.
"Are those ears real? Is this what a Cypher is? Are you really the brother to those two outcasts?" several students asked.
"Outcasts? Why are they outcasts? My brother and sister are awesome!" Zaire retorted. "Our family fights bad guys on a regular basis!"
As the crowd murmured in amazement, Percy smirked at the two.
"So, when were you guys going to tell me you do so many cool things?" he asked.
"W-We would've told you when we got popular," Porter stammered. "It would've been less shocking."
"Gathering information… Contradiction detected. Logic questionable," Cypher stated.
"Um, well, look at the time! We should get going, right, Lily?" he said, jumping into Cypher's outstretched arms.
"Yeah, we've got homework to catch up on!" she coughed, grabbing onto Zaire's legs. "Take us home, will 'ya?"
As the two began to lift off from the parking lot, they looked down at Percy waving at them and the crowd of students, some snapping pics from their phones.
The four flew off, unaware that they were also being watched by Ms. L, Mr. Cobalt, and Mrs. Aria from inside the school.
"Those two are some eccentric students," Ms. L admitted.
"I'll be honest, I thought they were trying to worm their way out of my lesson when they said they had a mouse brother," Mr. Cobalt added. "But now that I know they're telling the truth, I will admit it's interesting. Not as interesting as cobalt, obviously."
"Wait, if what they said was true, does that mean their brothers actually saved Treble Town?!" Mrs. Aria asked.
As they were cruising through the skies, Zaire asked how school was.
"Well, throughout the day, the students avoided us, our teachers are dysfunctional, and Porter made his first enemy!" Lily answered.
Porter looked over at her, smiling.
"But you know what? It was still an adventure," she stated, looking back at him.
"An adventure that'll continue tomorrow as well!" Porter added.
"Don't remind me," she grumbled.