[Jedi]

The paper in my face almost causes me to spill the coffee, but I'm lucky enough that she doesn't push me with it. Obviously, I can't read it like this, as the words are all blurry this close. And I can't take it while my hands are full. I'll have to set the food down before I can take a look at it.

"Yeah," I answer her as I set the bagged sandwiches on the coffee table before her. Next to it, I also place the coffee cups. "I wasn't sure what you like in your coffee, so I brought these." I retrieve the creamers from my pocket and place them on the table. Some of them had been slightly crunched from shoving them in my pocket, but it doesn't look like any of them ruptured.

Now that my hands are emptied, I can now take the class schedule and read it for myself. As I study it, I take a lot of small sips from my coffee cup. I didn't bother adding creamer. I like it black. More robust... if that's what it means.

"Huh," I say as I finish looking over it. "It seems their placing us in all the same classes except for one period." That makes sense, since a fighter doesn't really need to learn sacrifice's duties, and vice versa. Then an idea hits me. "What if we switched roles? I mean, if you want to take the roll of sacrifice then maybe we can give it a shot. Would we be allowed to do that?" Even if we weren't, I'd still like to give it a try. I'm not use to being in charge, so I wouldn't know what to do.

[Kitsumi]

The girl happily traded the paper for food, tearing open the wrappers on a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel. Taking a rather large bite, she genuinely smiled, possibly for the first time since meeting Komo. "I love breakfast food," she said happily, although the words came out garbled due to the mouthful of food she was currently chewing. She eyed the creamers, reading their labels, before choosing no fewer than five of them to pour into her coffee. "I hate coffee, unless it has a bunch of flavored creamer in it," she informed him. "Any really sweet creamer is usually good - chocolate, raspberry, caramel."

Frowning at his question, she tapped the bottom of the sheet, where a note had been handwritten in elegant cursive:

Rebi - if you attempt to attend the Sacrifice Endurance class instead of Spellcasting, or fail to put forth an acceptable amount of effort into your Spellcasting class, you will fail. Fail this class, and you will be put on probation and possibly expelled. This schedule is not open for negotiation.
-Principal Ilia Lane

"I don't think they're going to let us do that," Rebi said. "But it's fine - I've already been training to be a Sacrifice. When the time comes for me to take my rightful place, I'll be ready. In the meantime, I'll just take the stupid Fighter class."

[Jedi]

Of course, I didn't check the handwriting at the bottom. If I had, maybe I wouldn't have asked such a stupid question. I guess there'll be no helping it. For now, I'll practice at the role of sacrifice. I do wish that Rebi would accept me though. I'm at least trying to make this work.

"So what do you wanna do now?" We were technically on lock down until the classes were over, which should be soon. That being said, I probably shouldn't have left. But I was starving, and taking pills on an empty stomach usually makes me sick. But now that there's less than a couple hours before classes are over, there's not much we can do. Maybe if either of us have anything to occupy the time, it might go by faster. "I brought a deck of cards in my luggage if there's anything you want to play. I also have a sketchbook or two if you want to draw."

[Kitsumi]

Polishing off the rest of the bagel sandwich in a rather less than ladylike manner, Rebi brushed the remaining crumbs off her shirt and sighed. "I guess since there's not really anything else to do, we can play cards." Hesitating a moment, she added, "I don't...really know how to play anything, though. I never really got the chance to play games."

She hadn't had the chance to do a lot of things, actually. She had been groomed for her life as a Sacrifice for as long as she could remember. She had no time to learn silly games. But now, she felt like it was silly to not know how to play any. Especially since it meant that Komo would have to teach her to play something.

[Jedi]

My jaw must've dropped at hearing her say that. How can anyone not know how to play any card games. Surely there must've been some card game she's at least seen someone play. But thinking on that, I decide that I'll teach her how to play a simple game.

"Here," I start as I walk to the room, eager to fetch my cards. "I'll show you how to play twenty-one." It's an easy enough game, just like blackjack. When I get back, I remove the rubber band binding them together and set the deck on the table. "Now you start with two cards faced up." As I explain, I deal the cards to each of us. Hers are an eight of diamonds and a seven of spades. Fifteen in total. Mine being a two of diamonds and a king of clubs. "Face cards like these are worth ten points. Now the object of the game is to get your cards closest to... twenty one. Of course, if you go over, you lose." I'm at twelve, so I have a high chance of winning if I draw, which I do. Six of diamonds, which brings it to eighteen. "If you want to draw another card, you tell the dealer 'hit me.' Sound simple enough?"

[Kitsumi]

"Sure, easy as pie," Rebi said confidently. Honestly, she wasn't sure why people would play such a pointless game. It was all up to chance, and the whole game was basically about counting numbers? But despite herself, she was already feeling her competitive side rising up. Seeing that his total was eighteen - three points higher than hers, she said, "Hit me."

When her card was revealed as a Queen - worth ten points, putting her over twenty-one - she cursed aloud. "Deal again," she ordered, brows furrowing in concentration. This time she would be sure to beat him.

[Jedi]

I'm surprised to feel a bit of a rush. It's more from her reaction than the game itself. Right away, I go to reshuffle the cards back into themselves, then deal them out to us. She got two aces, a rare hand, where as mine add up to nineteen. I'll definitely have to explain the aces. "Now these cards, they're a bit tricky. Since they're lower than two, they can equal one. However, they're also higher than the face cards, so they can also equal eleven. It's all up to you. You obviously can't have them both be eleven, unless you want to lose automatically." I have nineteen, so I don't want to draw, especially with two of the aces gone.

[Kitsumi]

Staring at the pair of aces, Rebi tried not to look as confused as she felt. "Wait, so can I say that one of them is eleven and one of them is one?" She thought that was how this worked. Regardless of his answer, she knew she needed at least another card to beat him. "Hit me," she said, her gaze intensifying as she looked at him.

For the moment, she had forgotten how much she wanted to hate him. Instead of seeing him as the boy who had dashed her dreams and stolen her title as Sacrifice, she saw him simply as the boy who was teaching her how to play cards. The boy whose ass was about to get handed to him, if she had her say in the matter.

[Jedi]

"Yeah, you can definitely do that. They're individual cards with individual values." I flip the next card, only to be stunned by a flawless victory on her part. I had one of the nines, so I was surprised to find another nine dealt to her, landing her with a perfect twenty-one. "Looks like you won this hand. I'm up for another round if you want to play, or I can show you another card game."

---

As the time passes sooner than I thought, I start to hear the mass of students crowding the halls. "It sounds like classes are out. Is there anywhere you want to go? Anything you needed to do elsewhere?" My plans weren't existent at the moment, so what I did was dependent on if she wanted me around her or not. Either way, I wouldn't complain. This situation must've been tough for her to accept.

[Kitsumi]

The girl let out a loud whoop as she realized that she had been given a perfect score. "Yes! I knew it would only be a matter of time before I beat you!" Standing up, she did a little victory dance, successfully gloating. "Let's play again. I want to see how many times I can beat you in a row."

---

When the halls outside began to become noisy, Rebi realized that the other students were returning from their classes. Checking her watch, she confirmed that class was indeed out. "I need to catch the bus into town," she said. Then, realizing that he may not know, she filled him in on how the trips to town went. "A few of the teachers chaperone the students on a trip into town every Wednesday and Saturday. We stay for like four hours on Wednesdays and longer on Saturdays, and we can do basically anything we want. See a movie, go out to eat, shop, whatever. Since my monthly check came on Monday, I really want to go and get some things."

Hesitating for a moment, she wondered if inviting him to go with her would give the impression that she was ready to accept him - which she totally wasn't. But she was still riding the high from winning over half of the rounds of their card game, so she found herself offering without really thinking, "Do you want to come, too?"

[Jedi]

I didn't want to admit it, but hearing her offer to bring me along cheered me up a bit. I definitely wouldn't say that I have feelings for her. But I would like to spend time with my fighter, or whatever it is she thinks that we are. I stand up and get my jacket on, then open the door to see an older guy, probably a senior or something, standing on the other side. "Enlightened?" he asked me. "Yes?" I answer. He then hands me a package. Unwrapping it, I find a hard-covered book.

Wordspell Battles
Rules & Regulations For Fighter Units

I look up to thank him, but the guy had already walked off. "Who was that?" I ask, assuming that Rebi knows.

[Kitsumi]

Rebi was already halfway down the hallway, and hadn't even been paying attention to the man. "Huh?" She looked at the man, or rather his back, and shrugged. "I dunno, probably someone who works in the office or something." She gestured to the stairs leading to the bottom floor. "Are you coming, or what? The bus leaves in like ten minutes." Without waiting to see whether or not he followed, she headed down the stairs, jumping past the last four, landing with practiced ease.

[Jedi]

Of course, I want to come. So I toss the book onto the couch, hoping it lands safely, and lock the door behind me. Luckily, I can't hear it hit the floor. Putting the key in my pocket, I hurry after Rebi, skipping the last few stairs as she did. I don't look nearly as graceful as she does, my shoes making a loud landing. I then bolt back towards where she had run off. I find it a bit difficult maneuvering through all these students. Bumping into one of the students, I manage to knock the books out of his grasp. "Sorry," I say as I stop to pick up the books. When I go to hand them back to him, I notice that he's missing his left hand. After staring for a good second, I can't help but ask, "What happened." He follows my eyes and grimaces. "What, this? This is only a souvenir from the Eclipse incident." "Eclipse incident?" He goes on to say that it's some disaster that happened a few years back. But before I can ask him anymore, I interject. "I'm sorry, but my friend ran ahead of me. If I don't leave, I'll get left behind." He just smiles at me. "That's okay. My name is Hank. If you ever want to know more, just look for dorm 206." I give him a nod before taking off again. This time, I make sure not to bump into anyone.

[Kitsumi]

Despite seeming like she didn't care whether or not Komo was going to come, Rebi pauses before getting on the bus, which is idling in front of the building. She really did need to get more clothing, after what had happened to most of her things last week. But she couldn't help but think that it would be nice to actually go into town with someone else for once. Even if it was someone she was determined to hate.

When the bus driver asked, "Are you getting on or not?" Rebi pleaded with him to wait just a few more minutes for her 'friend' to arrive. Near the back, a couple of girls giggled rudely, making it obvious just how unbelievable they found it for Rebi to actually have a friend.

Face turning bright red, Rebi gave once last glance behind her - just in time to see Komo sprinting after her. She managed not to grin like an idiot, although the relief on her face was probably clear. "You're late," she said in a cold tone, trying to hide her face before he saw her expression. "Hurry up, let's get a seat near the back."

[Jedi]

Just barely making it, I'm heaving for my breath. "Sorry, I bumped into someone and had to help pick up their books." Seeing her turn away, I can tell she's agitated. I should've watched where I was going. I follow her up onto the bus and into the back, where we sat in a seat of our own. A few people were glaring at us. A bit nervous, I ask Rebi, "Why are they staring. Do I have something on my face?" Maybe they just don't like newcomers. Either way, it's all making me uneasy.