Golden Meme

Uh oh sisters

Idle chatter filled the classroom of the students from the Golden Deer House, mostly talking about what they would study next, and answers for the homework. Claude had just walked in, barely on time, Hilda not too far behind as usual. Lorenz huffed and turned to them both.

"You know, you two have been cutting it quite close as of late, getting to class on time. I hope this doesn't become a common occurrence, especially for two nobles!" He scolded.

"Uh, sorry Lorenz! It's just that my lungs are just so small and delicate that I can't possibly get to class as quickly as you do every day without getting winded. You wouldn't want to see a sweet girl like me be in pain and exhausted, do you?" Hilda asked with an oh so innocent look on her face. Lorenz's eyes shifted down, a little guilty and began to say,

"Well,.... no b-" Hilda was in no mood to hear what "eloquent compliment" he had for her today. Hilda turned her back to Lorenz and waved.

"Anyway, got to go see ya!" She practically bolted to the seat next to Marianne. So much for those delicate lungs.

"You're still not off the hook, you know." Lorenz turned towards Claude. He scoffed at Lorenz, crossing his arms behind his head.

"Relax, Lorenz. I'm still here on time, aren't I? It's not like anyone will ever be upset about me being what, 2 minutes early, compared to 20 minutes early." He objected. "If it were me, I'd be worried about being seen as TOO eager or maybe even desperate," he paused, pretending to think about something and gasped. "Are you trying to impress her because you've got a crush on Teach?" Lorenz at this point was beet red and trying to hush Claude as he was slowly grabbing the attention of the other students.

"Why you-" Lorenz began to say, but the bell and Byleth clapping gathered everyone's attention. He glared at Claude as if telling him they'd finish this later silently, going back to his seat.

"All right, kids. A bit of a change in pace just this once. Today we will talk about diplomatic relations. You know, instead of stabbing each other relentlessly we talk like human beings." This announcement made most of the class groan. All this time they had been learning about boring strategies, but now they had to be taught how to talk? How aggravating. The lesson went on relatively smoothly, teaching the proper etiquette to have while making negotiations. Everyone was bored out of their minds. Hilda was asleep in the back of classroom.  Byleth knew she was losing her audience and decided the best way to get the attention of her students. Forced participation.

"Why don't we have two people do a little reenactment of what we've all just learned?" She asked, hoping to see some hands. Nope.  Not one hand. Byleth cleared her throat, clearly annoyed at the lack of enthusiasm.

"No one? Fine, I guess I'll just have to give everyone bad grades on this unit final then." The entire class began to protest, but no one else decided to come up to the front. Lorenz looked around his fellow classmates and realized this was his chance to show off how much of a refined noble he was.

"If no one else wants to do it and fail, fine. Professor, I'd like to come up and show it how it's done. After all, it is a noble's duty to set an example for the common folk." Lorenz said, already standing up from his desk leaving Byleth not much else of a choice.

She sighed and let Lorenz up to the front of the class. He stood there, his chest puffed out, looking all too confident for Claude's liking, especially after his last remark. That's when the idea hit him.

Claude knew exactly what to do. He had a bit of a smirk on his lips as he slowly raised his hand. Lorenz grimaced a bit, hoping someone else would come volunteer instead. Nothing of the sort happened. Byleth knew that smirk and prepared herself to reap the consequences she sowed as she let Claude come up. Besides, Byleth trusted Claude wouldn't go past his limits and she needed a good story to tell her father during her free time anyways.