NOVEL NEXT 47: Appearance of an Emergency
“Welcome back everyone, hope you all slept well over the weekend,” Angelica walked into the classroom with a wave. “Nice to see that everyone’s here on time today.”
Nyssa and Celeste had sat by the window. They now quieted down as Angelica walked to her desk. Conrad, Albion, and Titus sat near Nyssa and Celeste in the center of the classroom while Ryker and Electra sat beside them, near the other wall.
“Not much I have to say this morning before I dismiss you all to complete your general education requirements,” Angelica tapped her lips, falling into thought. “Just two announcements I have to make. The first is that we’re doing a class field training activity. Since we’ll be taking a new mission from the Hunter’s Society, I actually have to send some forms back to your families to get their consent as you all aren’t graduate students yet. So, just be on the lookout for that.”
“Even if we’re legal adults by now?” Ryker stretched out across his desk.
“Yes, even if you’re legal adults, don’t worry, I’ll be going as well, so there should be no risk of danger, if you need help convincing your parents just let me know, I can talk to them,” Angelica leaned back against her desk. “As for the other announcement, we’ll all eat lunch together because this afternoon there’s... a bit of a surprise I should say. So make sure to finish your general education requirements this morning. On that note, you’re dismissed, use this time well.”
A moment of silence. Titus and Albion exchanged a couple murmurs. The sound of chairs being pushed back and bags being gathered filled the room. Electra ended up being the first to leave. The sound of electricity crackling filled the room as she accelerated to super-speed disappearing without a trace. Conrad ended up being second as he demonstrated how his physical abilities had progressed. He vaulted over five desks at once and disappeared out of the classroom.
“What are they in such a rush for,” Ryker pushed his blond hair back. “These extra few minutes aren’t going to make a difference...”
Angelica, with her arms crossed as she leaned against the desk, could only shrug before nodding. “You all have fun.”
With her words, everyone else filed out of the classroom, dispersing to their various little spots all around the Class Zero building. Two people, though, stuck together as they made their way to the third floor balcony: Nyssa and Celeste.
Once on the balcony, Nyssa laid her stuff out across half a table before transforming into a cat and laying belly down onto her bag. Celeste, with practiced motions, spread her stuff out across the other half of the table. She pet the white cat next to her as, together, they started their lessons.
---
The five Class Zero graduate students gathered in one apartment. Sat in a loose circle on some couches and on the ground, they had begun their planning. Ashe broke the silence first. “So, nobody’s told the students that we’re back yet, right? Scarlet, in particular, you haven’t told Ryker, correct?”
“Of course~” Scarlet laughed while hiding her smile behind her hand. “A surprise reunion is always more wonderful.”
“That’s good,” Ashe grinned, rubbing his hands together. “How do we want to do this then? We still have time to make a run to the store if need be. So, let’s make it quick just in case we need to.”
“Well, I think we should have Scarlet be the centerpiece,” Thalia grinned, mimicking Ashe’s expression and rubbing her own hands together. “I’ve heard Ryker and Electra have called their class the f--- around and find out club, we have to teach them it's still our original moniker. Can’t have them stealing it now, can we?”
“True, true,” Isolde agreed. She pulled out a piece of paper and began drawing out a couple of ideas. “What if we did something with cloaks, I know a place we can get some... then Orion you do this... and we have Scarlet here, before we all then you know...”
---
“Good job everyone, thank you for completing all your general education requirements this morning!” Angelica flashed a brilliant smile. She gathered everyone near her as they walked together to the largest cafeteria. As a group, they had a slow lunch. Angelica went through and asked how everyone was before sitting back and listening to their respective conversations.
Once done, they all began walking back to the classroom with everyone but Angelica unaware of the prank about to come crashing down on their heads.
“We should do some more group practice sessions,” Electra tapped her chin as they walked into the Class Zero building. “Roxanne’s coming soon, and she might do another sparring session. It'd be nice if we could improve upon our last performance with Slade. Plus, she’ll be a harder opponent than Slade because of how she matches up against us.”
“I agree...” Ryker put his hands on his hips as they walked. As the de facto leader of the class with Electra, they brainstormed a couple training exercises before a flash of enlightenment crossed his face. “Wait, Nyssa, Roxanne’s your sister, right?”
“Do you know anything about what we might want to expect?” Electra ran a hand through her purple hair.
“Huh? Oh y-yeah, she’s my sister,” Nyssa blinked a couple times, flinching after being caught off-guard. “But I never asked about it, she’s been planning it though. I can ask if you want... If there is sparring though I don’t think I’ll be able to participate.”
“Oh, why?” Electra turned back forward to pay attention to where they walked. “Also, yeah, only ask if it's not a big deal. No need to force it.”
“Ah, yeah, she’s been coming home a lot with her partner so it's not a big deal,” Nyssa nodded. “Her spirits really like me though, and it's really hard for them to muster any sort of aggression against me. So... yeah.”
“Makes sense,” Electra sighed, “We’ll miss you if there is a spar, but don’t worry.”
“Yeah! Don’t worry! We’ll just have to work a little harder to pull out the win, no sweat!” Ryker laughed. “You know, I am curious as to who Roxanne’s partner is. There’s been a lot of rumors over the years, but nothing confirmed. Are you allowed to share anything with us, Nyssa?”
A nervous chuckle slipped out of Nyssa’s mouth. She tensed her neck so as to not look back towards Angelica. All of a sudden, her scalp felt itchy. “... Y-Yeah, I uh... I don’t think I can share anything...”
The conversation drifted away then, and Nyssa, for her own curiosity snuck a glance back towards Angelica who met her gaze with a calm smile.
How is she so nonchalant...
As they walked up to the classroom door and made their way in though, the group tensed up as the door slammed shut and the lights went off.
Click.
A spotlight came on as a hooded figure sat in the center of the room pulled down her hood to reveal Scarlet’s face. “Hello, my dear younger brother~”
“LET ME OUTTTT,” Ryker screamed as he began scrambling backward. He knocked over a couple desks and chairs as he ran towards the door. “LET ME OUTTTT! SAVE ME! HELP! HELP! DEMON APPEARED! EMERGENCY LEVEL ONE HUNDREDDDD!”