Episode 4: Chapter 36~37
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Lev was back in the white room. She shot up and looked around.
"Jamil?!" she shouted. The black-haired male was collapsed on the ground just a little distance away from her. "Jamil!" She ran over to him and shook his shoulders. "Wake up! Please! Wake up!"
Jamil groaned and forced his eyes open. "What...happened?"
The Ramshackle Prefect laughed in relief. "You're okay! Thank goodness!"
"Lev...?" Jamil muttered, sitting up. "What happened? Where are we?"
"Lelie betrayed you," Lev said softly. "She tried to eat your heart after you Overblotted. I was barely able to stop her."
"Lelie...the demon?" Jamil growled. "I knew something was off about her."
"Then, why did you make a deal with her?"
Jamil didn't say anything, looking at the ground shamefully. Instead, a memory began to form around them. They were inside a large, expensive-looking house. It was styled very similar the Scarabia's dorm house. Two young children stood facing each other, with a pair of adults standing behind one.
One was a young Kalim, the other was a young Jamil. Lev guessed that the people standing behind Jamil were his parents.
"Jamil!" Kalim squealed, running up to the other child. "You're finally here! Let's go play mancala! Today'll be the day I finally beat you!"
The young Jamil frowned. "Again? Seriously Kalim, I'm just gonna beat you every time. Let's play something else."
Jamil's mother gasped in horror and pinched his ear. "Jamil! Watch how you talk to Master Kalim!"
"Ow!" Jamil yelped.
Jamil's father stepped forward. "I'm incredibly sorry, Master Kalim. Thank you so much for deeming our foolish son worthy of your time."
Jamil's parents continued to apologize and thank the young, confused Kalim. The young Jamil glared at the ground, rubbing his sore ear. The image faded away.
"Ah," Lev sighed. "That's why you hate Kalim so much."
Jamil's nose scrunched up in disgust. "My earliest memory is of watching my parents bow their heads in submission to Kalim and his parents. I loathed seeing them like that."
The image appeared again. This time, Kalim was off playing with a large mountain of toys while Jamil's parents were quietly instructing their son.
"Listen, Jamil. Always make sure to keep a three to two losing streak," his father told him. "You can't keep beating Master Kalim."
Jamil opened his mouth to protest, but his mother knelt down and took his small face in her hands.
"You're a very smart boy," she told him, her voice soft. "I'm sure you can image the position we're in...why we must do this...can't you?"
The young Jamil sighed sadly and nodded. "I understand." Once again, the images faded away.
"Was there really nothing you could've done?" Lev asked, wringing her hands together nervously.
"No. Kalim's family is way above my own. That means he's above me, in every possible way. Whether it's grades, athletics, or even just games...I can never surpass Kalim."
Lev pictured the happy, naive boy in her mind. To act even worse at things than him... "That must be rough...no offence to Kalim or anything."
Jamil growled. "It is. To make sure he's apparently always better than me, I have to pretend to be incapable of anything. He and everyone else thinks that he's better than me, but I've just been letting him win every time! If he had half a brain cell, he would've noticed! But, he's so dumb and air-headed!"
"Jamil..." Lev started to say, but Jamil continued to rant.
"And when I heard he became Dorm Leader, I was just about to murder him right then and there," he exclaimed, standing up and beginning to pace. "He didn't know how to do any of the things a Dorm Head is supposed to do, he admitted it himself! But, when I asked the Headmaster about it, he only said it was because Kalim's parents donated a 'generous' amount of money to the school! He said his hands were tied, and that he was sure I understood." He growled again. "They always say that! 'I'm sure you understand'. Yeah, but who's going to try to understand me?!"
Lev grabbed his hand. "Jamil, I understand you. You said it yourself. I understand the sacrifices you've had to make, but think about it. This is just school, and Kalim's a very understanding person. I'm sure if you explain it to him, he'll--"
"No! It's impossible!" Jamil shouted, yanking his hand away. "I'll always have to hand over everything to Kalim! Everything! And, even if he understands, his parents don't. My parents don't. No one else does, so we'll be stuck in this stupid dance of master and servant forever!" His knees gave out and he fell to the ground with a thud. "I just want to be number one...once!"
Lev heard the soft noise of Jamil's frustrated tears hitting the ground. She crawled over to him and wrapped her arms around his shaking frame.
"Jamil...I totally understand," she whispered softly. "But, I don't think that it's a good enough excuse to try and murder Kalim. There are better ways to get others to understand."
"Like what?" Jamil hissed. "Who would I have to do to get people to pay attention to a poor servant like me?"
"Well first, don't make a deal with a demon," Lev stated. "That's just got 'bad idea' written all over it." Jamil groaned. "Just try and talk to someone. I know for a fact that there's plenty of people to want to help you, you just need to speak honestly and ask."
"Like who?"
"Well, you've got me, Kalim, the teachers, and so many others." Jamil looked at her disbelievingly. "Trust me, Jamil. You just need to speak, and someone will listen."
"Jamil!" It sounded like Kalim.
"Oh, that's never happened before," Lev muttered. She stood up and held out her hand. "Well, I suppose that means it's time to go. Ready?"
Jamil gaze darted between her face and hand. "But...my family..."
"Don't worry," Lev told him. "Everything will work out. I just know it."
"You swear it?"
"I swear it."
Jamil sighed and grabbed her hand. "Alright. Let's just get this over with."
=~=~=~=~=
Lev groaned and pried her eyes open. "What time is it?"
Grim, who had been sitting on her chest, yelped. "AH! You're awake! What took you?"
The Ramshackle Prefect pushed her only student off her chest and sat up. "Is everyone okay?"
"Peachy!" Floyd chirped, grinning. "All the black smoke went bye-bye after you and Jamil passed out. Plus, the demon's gone too. We've looked all over, but she just went poof."
Grim groaned. "Yeah...I'm gonna be having nightmares about that for weeks."
Welcome to my world.
Kalim, who was sitting above a still-groggy Jamil, began to tear up.
"Jya...Jyamml..." The dorm leader suddenly started bawling. "I'm so gwad you're awaive...You're awaive..."
Jamil sighed tiredly. "Kalim, chill. You're falling apart."
"I-I had no idea," Kalim hiccuped. "I had no idea how you felt this whole time. T-the weight you've b-been carrying...I had no idea!"
"Yup, Sea Snake's been able to make a fool of Baby Otter this whoooole time without saying a word," Floyd sighed with his large grin still plastered across his face.
"How cruel," Azul muttered. "Truly despicable."
Lev shot the group one of her dirty glares. "Shut up. You all are worse at reading the room than Grim is."
Kalim furiously wiped at his tears. "You know what, Jamil? That can all end today. You don't have to hold back because of our parents' status or the master-servant relationship. From now on, let's just be friends and rivals! As equals, we can both aim for the top! No holding back!"
Awww. How sweet Kalim...
Jamil chuckled. "Really? Friends and equals? What a Kalim-like solution." His small smile disappeared. "Very well. Now, let me tell you something, as equals." He took a deep breath. "ABSOLUTELY NOT!"
Everyone flinched. "Eh?!"
"You're thoughtless, stupid, clumsy, infuriatingly carefree and arrogant! Unless I get something out of it, I have no intention of spending another second of time with you!" Jamil snapped, completely unhinged.
Well....I did tell him to talk honestly....
"W-what?!" Kalim exclaimed.
Azul chuckled. "Now, I like this Jamil."
Jamil turned his disinterested glare to the Octavinelle dorm leader. "What do you want? That smirk of yours is creepy."
Azul laughed again and tapped his glasses. "If you'd like to know, I've been very curious about you since we were freshmen. Everything from your grades to how you acted was...interesting. Perfectly in the middle. I had a hunch that it was on purpose, and once I spoke with our dear Ramshackle Prefect it all made sense."
"Oh, really?" Jamil glared harder at Azul.
"Yes. As a matter of fact, playing mancala with you the other day is what really confirmed my suspicions," Azul explained. "Every move you made was done specifically as not to put Floyd in a bad mood."
"What? No way." Floyd laughed. "I'm impressed."
"Indeed," Azul agreed. "It's plain to see that Jamil's abilities are nothing to scoff at. Very impressive." His smirk grew. "To that end, I can see someone such as you fitting in much better with someone like me rather than Kalim. Why don't you transfer to Octavinelle? I'm sure it was benefit the both of us quite handsomely."
"Are you joking?" Jamil growled. "Absolutely not. Why would I ever join forces with someone as shady and as insistent on sticking their nose into other people's business as you? You're sick and weird and so...infuriating!"
Lev felt a bubble of laughter burst inside of her. She couldn't even stop it.
Azul frowned at her. "What's so funny?"
Lev wiped away a few tears of laughter before responding. "I...have waited...so long to say that!" she said between fits of laughter. "Thanks, Jamil!" The whole group stared at her for a moment before joining in on her laughing. All except Azul, who crossed his arms and pouted.
====Time Skip====
???
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Late that night, after everyone had gone to sleep, Grim snuck out of the room he and Lev shared to search the pillows for a certain something.
"Where is it?" he muttered to himself. "I know I smelled it..."
"Looking for this?"
The small monster jumped as a black-haired girl suddenly appeared before him. Her form was a little more solid than before. Her eyes had turned back to their normal blue, although large flecks of gold make them shimmer yellow in the faint light.
"Y-you! You're the one that--"
"Used Jamil and the others?" Lelie finished. "You're correct, but please don't worry. I'm not hungry right now, so I just wanted to drop this off and leave." She held up the black stone that always appeared after a student Overblotted.
Grim saw the stone and almost immediately started drooling. "H-hey! Give that to me!"
Lelie smirked and tossed him the stone. "Sure. Eat up."
The small monster squealed in joy and swallowed the rock in a single bite.
"Mmmmmhmm!" Grim moaned. "This is spicy...but still has a mild richness about it...Mmmm!" He paused. "Oh...I ate it too quick...I want more..."
"Really?" Lelie said with a dramatic gasp. "What if I told you I could get you some more?"
"Can you really do that?!" Lelie nodded. "Yes! I want more!"
"Shhh," the female hushed. "Patience, little one. I'll get you what you want, just be patient, okay?"
"Awww, but I want them now," Grim whined.
Lelie rubbed his head. "Just wait for a bit longer and don't tell anybody, okay? Then, you'll get all the rocks you want."
Grim frowned. "Fine...I guess."
"Good! Now, hurry back to bed," the odd female told him. "We don't want anyone getting worried, do we? Bye~!" She disappeared in a whirl of shadows.
"Bye...I guess," Grim grumbled before dashing back to his room.
Hehehe...this is gonna be fun~