It was now fall, the cast of everyone's favorite high school having safely passed their respective classes and gone on. Which for everyone's favorite chimera, meant that he was now in his fourth and final year of high school. By the way, for those who remembered Lina's and Zel's research project for Occult Magic, with Lina caught under that love potion for over half of the year, they didn't really get working on it until two weeks before it was due. It was a rushed effort, and definitely not an indication that even with procrastination one can still get good grades, but they managed to keep their positions as the top students of their grade. And the third wheel (Valgaav: Hey!) also managed by the end of the year to score a complete turnaround, academically, which left the three of them contending to be number one as they entered the home stretch.
Which is kind of funny considering that one can't really score higher than a perfect and even when the three weren't tying test scores, they were always within the top three. Perhaps the other students simply weren't making the effort anymore...
But being as it was their last year of high school, serious issues have arisen.
"Lina-sempai! This is terrible! Horrible! Too awful to be described!!"
Lina sweatdropped, eating her lunch of tofu-fried seafood and vegetables. It wasn't chilly enough to be forced to eat inside and Lina intended to enjoy whatever last bits of sunshine there was before winter set its claws in. Of course, her friends (yes she had some by now) and Amelia had joined her and they had gotten into a discussion of nostalgia and what high school life they could still cram into their last year.
"I don't think never having a boyfriend is such a psyche-scarring thing."
The topic of most interest was boys, the one topic Lina had the least interest in and usually just tuned out. So what if she never went on a date much less have a boyfriend. Of course, she supposed she could understand everyone else's interest. After all, their ideas of a future had marriage as a large fixture in the whole scheme of things. Lina was more interested in seeing stuff, learning magic, making money, etc etc.
Of course, everyone looked at Lina and then quickly switched topics. Lina was the only person in the entire school who didn't remember those months she was under the effects of the love potion though there were a number of people who were suffering from memory losses around last Valentine's Day. The Chemistry Department had been soundly chastised by the Superintendent but apparently made some kind of deal with her that kept them from being dissolved.
"After I graduate from here, I will go on to become the White Star of Justice, the ever vigilant defender of what is right and good, striking fear in the hearts of evil-doers everywhere." Amelia went into guts mode.
"I don't think the high school will be too proud of you becoming a vigilante," Lina muttered, knowing the lower classman was too far-gone to hear her anyway.
"Convincing my evil nemesis to leave his misguided ways and convert him to the side of good and love. Then together we will spread our light to the farthest reaches of the galaxy." Somehow or other, Amelia had climbed on top of the nearest tree and was now posing on top of it. Everyone else below tried to ignore her. "Then when we hit middle-age, we will found an organization of defenders of justice, the Justice Rangers, who will continue our legacy for ages beyond."
"And how exactly do you plan to pay for expenses?"
Lina's words of reality crashed down hard on Amelia, causing the younger girl to lose her balance and come falling down, noisily, through the many tree branches until getting caught by her sailor blouse on a limb.
"Lina-sem~~~pai!!" she wailed, though for what exactly Lina wasn't sure. "You can't put a price on the acts of good and kindness."
"Doesn't pay for the food in my stomach, or the rent, or the clothes on my back, or anything else," Lina said, spoken like a person who has been there, which she had. "I mean, if we have to spend so much time getting a 'well-rounded education', you might as well put it to some use."
"Lina-sempai..." Amelia's eyes suddenly went large and watery. "Does this mean..."
"Eh?"
"You're going to go to college!?!?" She would have grabbed her sempai in a great bear hug, sobbing her overwhelming joy at such wisdom her sempai had displayed, if she was not still stuck up a tree. So instead, she hung there waving her arms and legs and looking quite ridiculous. Well, the photography club was getting some great shots anyway.
"What's so strange about going to college?" the redhead asked defensively as everyone else expressed their disbelief. She was about to be deluged with an ocean of remembrances when the school bell chimed the end of the lunch hour.
"Alright everyone, as you know, you are the oldest students of this school now and therefore, you must set a proper example for your lowerclassmen." Xelloss smiled broadly at his class, especially at his favorite trio who did not reciprocate the feelings. "The faculty are sure none of you will be disappointing us."
All toilet paper rolls and foam spray cans were pushed even deeper into school bags.
"Now, since you are all at this age, it is time to start, if you haven't already, thinking about what you want to do with your life. On these handouts, you are to fill out your top four choices. Obviously, this will be reviewed by the faculty and shared with your parents. So try to refrain from writing down obviously bad choices such as arsonist, Humanoid Typhoons, potential bearers of a piece of Shabranigudo, bringer of the MaOh Dark Star to our world, and other ridiculous choices. Ne?"
Everyone decided, again, that their homeroom teacher was very, very weird.
Lina looked at the piece of paper. For her, teacher conferences meant her sister would be attending. And even though during lunch she had said she was going to go to college, since she decided that getting a degree in magic would probably give her more haggling and authority power, she had never really thought beyond getting back to her old way of life. At least that had been the idea back when she got dumped in this place. It wasn't that she was now adverse to the idea of adventuring but she knew that she didn't want to that forever. The question was what did she want to do afterwards?
Zelgadiss looked at the piece of paper and resisted the urge to write 'Find a cure for this curse'. That was a goal, not a career, but he had been so focused on it, and one other thing, that he hadn't really thought about his 'future'. He assumed he would be going to college, his family was big on the whole education thing and he didn't mind. But he couldn't imagine himself joining the family 'career' of working for this school campus. School drama would hit a whole new level, especially if his family somehow managed to get Lina to become a teacher here as well. He rapped his head on his desk for even thinking such a thing.
Valgaav, upon getting his sheet tossed carelessly over Lina's shoulder, had immediately written 'police officer' as his first, second, third, and fourth choice. No surprise there, considering the extent to which he idolized his mentor. Of course, he had another goal in life but it wasn't something he dared write down, not when he knew there were going to be other people reading it. He stared hard at the redhead in front of him until, feeling the heat of his stare, Lina whacked him with a textbook, through a window, and down four stories.
Filia sighed and began pulling out the splints and bandages.
Part 26 | Story Index | Fanfiction