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“Sy-on!” Anya ran across the cobblestone of Eden’s ground, her hair bouncing behind her in long, pink curls that faded into a peachy orange at the ends. “Don’t keep walking, idiot! Get back here!”
“Anya!” Her best friend ran right behind her, already out of breath from trying to catch up to the eccentric girl’s giddy legs.
Damian Desmond finally turned around after he felt the presence of a particularly annoying girl way too close to him. “Forger. What is it?”
Anya stared holes into him as if he was wearing a large mural of a peanut on his face. “…Don’t tell me you forgot..”
The bratty Becky Blackbell halted as she finally caught up to Anya, huffing in air as she put her hands on her knees and let her hair fall forward, the purple-tinted strands flying across her face. “Jesus, Anya, you’ve got to stop dashing off like that! I mention the results are coming out today and you just ditch me?! For what?! Just to tell Damian?!” Becky slammed her fists playfully into Anya’s shoulders and back as she whined about her friend’s tendency to fly off without a word, especially when it came to Damian being just around the corner. “Gahhhhh, you tire me out sometimes..”
Damian flushed as he felt himself finally understand what Anya had been rushing to him for and what Becky was rambling about.
“The results? You mean this semester’s test scores? …I guess I did forget.” Damian brushed his amber eyes over Anya as he nervously recalled what had occurred during that session’s Classical Language test in particular. He had fallen asleep while taking it. Him. A Desmond. Fell asleep while taking a test that could earn you a Tonitrus Bolt. He sweat just thinking about it. Damian only told Ewen, Emile, and Anya(and by extension, Becky, who had used that information to tease and blackmail him into giving her whatever she wanted,) about what had happened. When Becky quipped about him losing his edge, he had absolutely freaked out and shouted that it was because he spent all night studying for it. I’m dead if it turns out my rushing after having woken up gets me a Tonitrus. I’m fucked. What if I get multiple for how bad my performance was? No, they wouldn’t do that… But isn’t everything a possibility? Father’s going to disown me. I think I’d rather pass out than look at my scores righ-
“It’ll be alright, Sy-on. I’m sure I failed my Maths exam!” Anya pat his head, effectively snapping him out of his own thoughts, but also putting him in astonishment with how stupid she was. Becky forced herself not to laugh at Anya’s statement, shoving her hand over her mouth.
Hell type of comforting is that? Don’t you always fail that subject anyway, Forger?? He looked straight at her genuine smile, surprised at how she was always earnest when saying the weirdest things.
“Anya.. Let’s just go and see the scores now.” Becky successfully stopped herself from bursting out in laughter, her face opting for a simple amused expression. She interlinked her arm with Anya’s, motioning for them to get a move on.
“Wait, Sy-on, come on. What are you waiting for?” Anya whipped her head back to Damian, sunlight hitting her green eyes in a way all too familiar to Damian. He always noticed them first, anyway. He stared at her for a moment, processing her words as he pulled himself out of the flowery and glittery world that is Anya Forger.
“No. I refuse to look upon those scores.”
Becky groaned, tossing her arms down in annoyance. “Oh my God, Damian, just get over it, will you? Whether you see the score or not won’t change what you got, so you might as well be done with it.” She flicked her hair back and smoothed it out, glancing to the side before glaring at the boy throwing a dramatic show in front of her.
“Becky’s right.”
“Sh-Shut up, will you?! I am NOT going with you guys.”
“…Anya, get him.” Anya swiftly followed Blackbell’s commands, grabbing him by his arm and dragging him over to the scoreboard. She had grown impressively strong over the past few years(due to Yor’s training).
“Hey! Unhand me!” Damian protested as he wriggled in her grasp, unable to do anything about the girls taking him to the one place in the world he’d like to be the least.
“Geez, it’s not going to be terrible or anything. Now stop moving so much, I’m already tired..”
“How would you know that?!”
“You’re smart, Sy-on boy. Be honest with yourself for once. There’s no way you failed, no matter how rushed it was.” Anya still didn’t turn around, but if she did, she would’ve seen the face of a bashful tomato who rarely got genuine compliments, much less from a pink, curly-haired, jade-eyed, serene Goddess, who always had flowers sprout near her. Somehow.
“We’re finally here! Quick, Anya, look for my name!” Anya dropped Damian’s arm in an instant, leaving her warmth to linger and fizz on his skin. “Hah! 36th in History, not bad! And 57th in Maths… Well, we can’t all be perfect… Huh, Anya, I don’t see your name over here….”
Anya and Damian both glanced up, Anya furiously darting her eyes through the long list of students and praying that she doesn’t have to come home with a Bolt.
“53rd. Forger, you got 53rd in Mathematics.” Anya turned towards him and blinked as she heard Damian’s words slip out of his mouth, almost at a mumble.
“HUH?!” Blackbell and Anya screeched simultaneously, each very clearly taken aback.
“I… I did?” Anya faced the floor, unmoving. She then quickly brought her head up and jumped around, not caring about the clearly unimpressed students around her. “I DIDN’T FAIL!!” The bouncing girl wrapped both her friends into her arms, still giggling from the joy warming her heart.
“Anya, I’m so glad! You did it! I knew you could!” Her best friend teared up, wiping her face with a floral hanky that seemed to just pop out of nowhere.
“Good job. That’s… insane. You somehow did it.”
“What type of backhanded compliment is that?! Aren’t the princes always supposed to be the nice ones?! If you keep this up-“
“Hold up, Blackbell, what the HELL are you talking about?? Prince?? Do you hear yourself??”
Anya laughed in between them. “It’s fine, Becky! But… do you know what I just spotted?”
“Huh?”
“Sy-on’s at the top for every subject.” She slammed her hand into Damian’s back, her unique way of showing that she’s proud while also making sure the recipient leaves with a bruise. “5th for Maths, 12th for Science, 1st for History(of course..), and 6th for Classical Language. Told ya, didn’t I? You got 6th. Now tell me how that’s failing?! Tell me!!” She let go of him and Becky, letting them observe the scoreboards.
Damian looked at the 6th slot for Classical Language, and sure enough, it had a printed ‘Damian Desmond’ right there. He had passed, with flying colours, infact. He felt unknown tension he was holding in his shoulders immediately disappear as he gazed at his 6th place spot.
“Oh. Well, that’s expected of a Desmond-“
“Shut up and just appreciate it.” Anya glared at the newly arrogant teen infront of her. “And while you’re at it, take a look at that 1st place spot, Sy-on.” Anya smirked, knowing who was going to be right there. Heh. Another Stella in the bag.
“You. I knew that already, though.”
“WHAT?! (Is he an esper too?!)”
“Anya, you get the same place on Classical Language every year.. You can’t expect us to be surprised every time…”
Anya fell to her knees, dramatically folding over as her soul floated out of her body.
“Good job, shrimp.” Damian felt his skin burn as he saw her face instantly light up at the praise. Her eyes sparkled, her cheeks looked like they were stained by rose petals, and her hair placed itself atop her shoulders in a way that was nothing short of beautiful. So worth it to see her like this.
Becky congratulated her too, and after the trio had been chattering for a while, Damian’s minions decided to show up, both seeming to have agreed on embarrassing him infront of a certain jade-eyed girl.
“Hey, Bossman!”
“Lord Damian!”
“Cut it out right now.” His face turned beet red after hearing those old nicknames. How in the world did we agree upon using those names in the first place… And why are they coming back to haunt me?
“Heh. Lord Damian~ Will you be my king?~” Anya made a dramatic show of her arms, waving them around like a Shakespearean actress performing her grand role. This, of course, like anything Anya has ever done, makes Damian’s body temperature increase by at least 20°. He immediately turns to Ewen and Emile.
Look what you’ve done.
The two of them snicker, and Anya continues to make a grand play, prancing around Damian as she does so and acting like he’s royalty.
The five Eden students bicker their way into the day’s classes, laughing through the halls and teasing each other through the classes.