The sound of someone giving instructions became louder as we entered the kitchen.
I think I know that voice...
"Wha? There are so many students here, even though it is winter vacation," Grim pointed at the team of people working. They all wore the same back and gold parachute pants with matching sleeveless hooded jackets. Red accents could be seen on the inner layer and some wore gold accessories.
"Hm? You are..." the familiar voice spoke up again. I looked around to find the source, but Yuu beat me to it.
"Aren't you from the Magical Shift Tournament?" they asked. Sure enough, it was who I thought it was.
"We did speak briefly when I got injured before the tournament. And I'm pretty sure your dorm member manages my sports club," Jamil recapped. "You two...are the Ramshackle Prefect and Grim, right?"
"You have a pretty good memory!" Grim beamed up at him from the ground. "Your name is...um..."
"Jamil," I finished for the cat-racoon monster, "Hiya."
"Oh, you're here too, Viv," Jamil acknowledged me. "Yes, my name is Jamil. Jamil Viper. I'm the vice dorm leader of Scarabia. I've always been good at remembering faces and names, but you two have stood out since the first day of school." He pointed to Yuu.
"Oh, uh," Yuu looked caught off guard. As though they weren't prepared to talk to another student that day.
"Really?" Grim took over for the frazzled person.
"I don't think there is anyone at this school that doesn't know your names," Jamil added on.
I know I don't talk to him much at practice, but does he usually lay the flattery on this thick? It's giving me a bad taste in my mouth. Or maybe that's just nausea from the headache...
"Nyaha! We've made a name for ourselves!" Grim celebrated his apparent fame.
"Sure Grim," Yuu said unenthusiastically. They had a pointed look at Jamil. Their body language was stiff, and they kept looking him up and down.
"By the way, why are you still here during winter vacation?" Jamil asked.
"We've been abandoned," Yuu flatly answered. I knocked their top hat in front of their face.
I changed the answer, "We don't really have a home to go back to, currently."
"The headmaster gave us this important job to manage the fireplace while he's gone," Grim happily boasted. "I'm so serious and responsible! The headmaster couldn't help but rely on us!"
Sure, that's what it is. Not the fact that he is exploiting the fact we are indebted to him for housing and feeding us so he shirks all his duties onto us...
"Is that so? The headmaster, huh?" Jamil's tone changed ever so slightly. He got a small grin and muttered, "This might be useful."
"What was that?" Yuu raised an eyebrow.
"I was just thinking how amazing you must be to be entrusted by the headmaster, that's all," Jamil explained away.
Yuu and I got each other's eyes. We shared the same look. If we've learned one thing while here, it was how to sense when trouble was on the way. After being dragged into multiple life-threatening encounters, call us experts. Grim, on the other hand, had no such instinct apparently as he went to check out what they were cooking.
"It must be fate that brought us here. Would you like to have some of the soup?" Jamil offered us.
"Really? Can we?" Grim let his gluttony take the lead.
"Of course. The food is almost ready. Could you maybe help out?"
I looked at Yuu who shrugged. "I guess it's the least we could do since you're offering to give us some."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"By the way, why are you all still here during winter vacation?" Grim asked as he followed Jamil. The vice dorm leader organized the other food items to be taken back.
They froze and stiffened their bodies. The regular students seemed nervous. It made an eerie silence in the room.
"It's a bit of long story," Jamil started.
"I smell trouble..." Yuu whispered to me. "If there's a long story, I want no part in it."
"All of Scarabia was ordered to stay...by the dorm leader," one of the students explained.
"We can't go home, even if we wanted to," another mentioned.
"Shh! That's enough you two. It's our fault in the first place," Jamil silenced them. Yuu and I kept exchanging glances. I was really rethinking having some of that soup. "Now then the food is getting cold. Let's head back to Scarabia dorm."
"Eh, I'm not sure. We need to do a few more tasks-," I tried to weasel us out of going.
"Scarabia is always as warm as summer. I think you'll enjoy a little tropical weather," Jamil tried to convince me.
Grim was already convinced, "Yahoo! Sounds like paradise! Hurry, let's go!"
Grim was all too eager to follow at Jamil's heels. I snatched him up by the collar and Yuu reminded him, "Wait a second Grim. We still need to get Viv's medicine from the nurse's office. Remember?"
"It won't take long. You can always retrieve it after your meal. And I'm sure our Prefect will be happy to see you," Jamil reasoned. I saw a purple haze pulse out of him in Yuu's direction. It wasn't sparkly or bright like other magic I'd seen, but it still gave off magic vibes. "You'll come, won't you?"
"Yes, gladly!" Yuu quickly responded.
"Wait, Yuu, what do you mean?" I tried to get their attention, but it was locked on Jamil. Their eyes looked funky too. They were a deep crimson with a swirl to it instead of their regular hue.
"We'll go as a dorm, Viv. Don't worry," they answered. Their voice seemed forced.
I backed off. I sheepishly conceded, "A-alright...Prefect..."
"...I'm very happy to invite you, Prefect," Jamil smirked. "Now, off to Scarabia."