Tearha: Deck of Clover

Chapter Forty: Choice, Part Three

Ishumi set her tray of food down on the table. It was the first day of school and she felt she had done a good job of keeping her distance from her class. She had heard rumours of what Class C was like. Delinquents who were rejected from the rest of the cohorts and she was not particularly interested in getting mixed up with people of those kins.

Though she had to admit that through that first day she had seen little evidence of said delinquency. Perhaps her classmates were a little odd, eccentric even, but definitely not incorrigible. Still, she wondered if her quiet personality would be better suited to a more stable environment.

"Hey!" She turned to see a group of her seniors walking over. A leading man asked, "What are you doing sitting there?"

She looked down to her tray of food and back up again. "Eating?"

"Well, go eat somewhere else. Class C don't get to sit here."

She cocked her head at them. "That's really childish, isn't it?"

"What did you say!" he flared. "Look at you! Our junior, yet disrespectful. There's only one of you sitting at this long table when there's a group of us. Shouldn't you let us have these seats and move somewhere else?"

Calmly, she sipped her soup and answered, "I never said you can't sit here. There's more than enough space for all of you and myself."

Her seniors' faces were livid. For a moment, she contemplated diffusing the situation by moving. However a familiar face sat down across her, setting his tray down.

"Hello," Joachim signed.

She unconsciously signed back, "Hello."

In moments, the Orniter siblings took the seats next to them and Lua commented casually, "What a terrible first day. Sik Rehiy is really strict."

"That's because you're so headstrong, sister," her brother chided.

Shjacky, Kingston, Enneya, and Pip took the last four seats, drowning out their seniors with their numbers.

Pip chimed, "I think Sik Rehiy is actually really kind inside."

The banal banter chartered on. Their seniors, outnumbered and frustrated, swore vulgarly at them before walking away. Once they were out of earshot, the table burst into laughter.

*****

She felt something shaking. It might have been the earth. It might have been her body trembling. It might have been her world turning. She felt words appear on her hand.

Wake up.

She held onto those words, clenching her hand around it and felt something solid. Her eyes cracked opened to Joachim looking over, worry etched across his face.

"Not..." she began. "...my best moment." With his help, she sat up and surveyed their situation.

They were at the exit of the flood tunnel, or what was left of it. Most of it had collapsed save for a fair bit of the entrance. Her heart sank the moment she thought of Shjacky and Quinton but solidified quickly to face Joachim.

He asked, "Are okay? Can you move?"

"Yes," he helped her to her feet. Her weapon had been thrown to the ground a short second away and she moved to pick it back up. "How long were we out?"

"Just you," he explained. "And only for a minute."

Behind them, nothing seemed to have followed. Before them, they could see the tip of the east gate, its watchtower peaking over the distant canopy. Once they reached the wall, they would be able to drop the gate and make the final distance to the Forest of the Dead in relative peace.