Wildcat

Curtain Call

Time passed and you must have been studying until the late evening. In fact, you were so engrossed in your studies you didn't even notice how Asriel turned on the TV. It was only when a very certain name fell, while Asriel was zapping through the various channels, that you snapped out of your trance.

"Hold on, go back a few channels," you requested, causing Asriel to flinch in surprise. He did not expect you to speak up all of a sudden, but complied with your request.

"... has been confirmed dead on the scene by authorities. The three hour long chase ended in a fatal crash off the roads near the base of Mt. Ebott. No other people were harmed during the chase," the news anchor read off their teleprompter. "A police raid earlier today revealed that von Kaiser planned an attack on the H&D college, a college that made the news earlier this year for being the first college to allow Nekos to enroll. The documentary 'The emperor of madness' will show further details of the life of Johannes von Kaiser. And now, Becky with the weather."

You couldn't believe what you just heard. Von Kaiser has officially been confirmed dead. A wide smile began to spread across your face, as morbid as it may sound. You felt as if you've been liberated from a burden that held you back from unleashing your true potential. Finally you could roam free without being afraid. No longer would you have to jump at the smallest move within the shadows of you peripheral vision.

Asriel simply looked at you with mixed feelings. "I know that guy was supposed to be a terrible person but does that justify celebrating his death? I mean..." he was cut off by you when pulled him into a sudden hug only to release him seconds later and back off with an awkward expression.

"He, he," you chuckled nervously. "Sorry about that. Guess I got a little emotional there."

Asriel couldn't response, despite his best efforts. All that passed his lips were mumbling sounds, a salad of chopped words and the occasional bleat. In addition to that it also looked like someone dumped a bucket of crimson red paint over his head. You feared that he might pass out from all that blood rushing to his face.

"Looks like I'm finally free now. I can't believe von Kaiser is actually dead. If I had the money I'd probably invite you to celebrate with me," you joked but fell quite again when your phone began buzzing. Leo was calling.

"Hey ____, have you heard the news?" Leo sounded quite excited.

"Yeah, I did. Parts of it at least," you replied, unable to hide your own excitement.

"Best news I heard in a long time. Seriously, we can finally go out without being paranoid someone might jump us," Leo sounded ecstatic, "Anyways, I'd love to chat a little more but midterms are starting tomorrow. So, guess I'll talk to you some other day," Leo hung up on you, making you wonder why he called in the first place. But he had a point. Midterms were right around the corner and you should probably get some sleep.

You woke up early the next day and freshened up in the bathroom. This was the week that would decide if your weeks and months of diligent studying paid off or if they were nothing more than a huge waste of time. After strengthening yourself with breakfast, you and Asriel moved on to your classroom where you took your seat. The exams were handed out and with the time limit set, the excruciating process began.

As you were filling out the various answers, you noticed just how quickly the answers came to you. You breezed through the various questions with ease, only struggling at a few questions that proved to be a lot trickier than expected. Even then, you managed to finish in time, handing in your papers with a feeling of confidence. The days that followed felt quite similar. Even if your results were only half as good as you expected them to be, you'd pass with good grades.