Chapter Text
Half an hour of class time had elapsed, and over that short window, groups had formed, broken, and divided more times than Noelle cared to count.
As Ms. Alphys twiddled her claws behind her desk, the class conversations rose to a level just enough to keep her from paying attention to anything but the time.
That sharply audible tick of the clock near the door was a reminder of two things.
One, with Susie gone, there was no place for Noelle’s wandering eyes to bury themselves, longingly. And two, making project plans with Berdly was almost exhausting enough for her to forget how long it had been since she left and Kris followed.
That would be concerning, if it weren’t for another thing.
Kris and Susie were something of an explosive pair. Their unstoppable force-immovable object dynamic was a sight she had the grim curiosity to behold a number of times. Maybe for another person that might make their marked absence even more alarming, but Noelle was not that person.
More than anything, there was a feeling, nothing more than gut intuition, telling her that these forces would meet and fizzle out.
She knew Kris, at least she did once. They weren’t afraid of anything. They were a bundle of tricks and teases, themselves, once.
As for Susie, well, she wasn’t supposed to know, but every time she caught a glimpse of her about to deal Kris in, something always made her hesitate. Maybe it had something to do with their expression, or the way they always just took whatever she dished out. Maybe it was something they said?
Right as Noelle began to tune back in Berdly’s ramblings, shockingly, Ms. Alphys spoke up.
“c-Class? ...”
…
The noise didn’t falter.
“E-Everyone? Hello? …”
…
Her face contorted in exasperation.
“HEY!”
Silence fell across the room like a wave, and all eyes turned to stare in utter bemusement. Ms. Alphys NEVER raised her voice like that.
“S-Sorry, everyone… I just… uh….”
…
“I don’t think we’re getting the chalk back today… so… please stay in your groups and I’ll just tell you what you have to do…”
She arose from her desk chair to stretch out her back, which audibly cracked at being straightened for what was likely the first time in months. In her lightly trembling claws was her notepad, which she took a few moments to skim before speaking.
“As you probably guessed… …because I told you earlier…” She laughed awkwardly.
“G-group project month is here again... which means a new assignment…”
“Normally, I would write out my instructions on the chalkboard… but uh… you know…”
“Today, you’ll have to take some notes… so please, if you h-haven’t already, take out your notebooks and something to write with…”
“I hope it’s not a chalkboard and chalk!!! Because… uhm… that would be…”
“…That would be….uhh… you really should’ve spoken up, earlier!!”
The entire room was now steeping in nearly more second-hand embarrassment than Ms. Alphys’ apparent first-hand embarrassment.
The silence from before returned for a few more torturous seconds as Ms. Alphys pulled herself together again.
“Now!... Let me begin…”
A cacophony of students grabbing their bags and pulling out their books and pens sounded behind Noelle, who waited, pen in hand, for the instructions.
“Okay… This month’s assignment will involve each group making a book report on a book from the local library…”
“It can be on anything... a-as long as it’s school appropriate!”
“You can use historical books, fantasy novels, fiction, non-fiction…………...manga…”
“J-just as long as it follows a story and can be summarized!”
“You have until the end of this week to work on it, a-and you uh… will be p-presenting this to the class—”
The class erupted in a chorus of groans at hearing that last bit.
“B-but it’s not being graded on how well you speak! Just hit all the points on the rubric and you’ll be okay…”
“Uhhh… Class dismissed!”
Berdly stood up on his desk as to raise his wing as high as he possibly could.
“Er… There’s still 10 minutes left in class, Ms. Alphys!”
The groans returned as the bird boy began to be pelted in every direction by disapproving sideways glances. He seemed to be none the wiser.
Ms. Alphys stammered a response as she returned to her desk to hide her head in her arms.
“Ah…uh… right…. Just uh…. Just talk among yourselves for the rest of class I guess…”
Noelle reviewed the itemized list of important assignment information she had written.
A book report, huh? Seems easy enough… But what book to report on…?
Her margin doodles began overtaking the page as her mind meandered. Berdly elbowed her with a grin as they packed up their things around a minute before the bell rang.
*RIIIIINGGGGG*
The contents of Noelle’s backpack felt strangely heavier than usual, straining her back as she walked with Berdly. He seemed preoccupied with an improperly placed pen on his pocket protector, so she took up the initiative of starting the project conversation.
“So…. Any ideas?”
“DO I?” His face lit up in excitement.
He faltered. “Wait…. Do I?”
Noelle giggled. Berdly could be really funny when he wasn’t bending over backwards in an effort to be.
“You tell me, Berdly! Fahahaha!”
He thought for a moment, employing one of his tried and true incredibly overdramatic ‘deep in thought’ expressions.
“Hmmmm………. AHA!”
Noelle jumped at his sudden exclamation, though she couldn’t place why.
“I don’t… think I know….” He said dejectedly.
“It’s okay, I’ll think of something, I love reading!”
Berdly turned sharply in possibly mock offense.
“W-Wh-What??! I’ll have you know I am an AVID and LOYAL reader of MANY DISTINGUISHED titles!”
“Wait, I never said that you—"
As she faced him, his stupid grin had eaten the rest of his face.
Pretending to roll her eyes at his antics, Noelle racked her brain trying to remember every book she’d ever read.
There was that one about the cat…that one about the human vampire… that murder mystery with the train….
The title of another book flashed briefly in her memory, and at that, she knew which one they were doing.
“What about Lord of the Hammer? Ms. Alphys did say it could be a fantasy novel.”
He paused in his steps and squinted, putting his finger under his chin.
“Wait… isn’t that the one they based Dragon Blazers on?”
She nodded knowingly.
Berdly’s eyes sparkled in delight.
“I knew I could trust your beautiful, beautiful gamer mind, Noelle.”
“Uhm… thanks?”
“I just figured it would be the easiest for us to write about, since we already know the games.”
“The games do take some creative liberties compared with the books, but they’re close enough, I think!”
Still in thought, Berdly sighed and made another face.
“I wonder if by the end of this academic journey I will still favor the game as superior to its original source material…”
“But that matters not! Onwards!”
He ran up excitedly through the halls with his arms held behind him. It was one of Noelle’s least favorite of his ‘quirks’.
There was no way she was running after him.
Now walking at an unhurried pace, alone, she felt an urge to check the supply closet.
If I’m quick…Berdly will never even know I left…
Susie and Kris couldn’t have gotten far. What could be so hard about getting a package of chalk and bringing it back to class?
These thoughts pooled in her head like blood does when you hang upside down too long. She had to at least check things out.
Approaching the hall where the closet was, she thought she was seeing things when the air around her dimmed, and a dread with a name unspeakable rose within her.
That weight on her shoulders doubled, tripled, quadrupled, until…
*THUNK*
Her bag toppled to the floor, and she could tell her wobbly legs were moments from giving out themselves. Her breaths quickened, and a pain started growing in her chest that she couldn’t begin to understand or control.
Noelle’s hand, mere inches from the door’s handle, started reflexively balling into a fist, as if her own body were refusing to let her open the door. She grabbed her arm with her other hand, swiftly pulling it away from the handle until she was far enough away that she could open her fingers again.
She fell to her knees.
Nothing that was happening made sense. Why was a supply closet giving her such a potent sense of impending doom that she physically couldn’t enter? Why was everything so dark?
Everything seemed to collapse in on itself, and she couldn’t take not knowing why anymore.
After a few minutes of regaining her strength on the hallway floor, Noelle got up to meet with Berdly at their lunch table.
In the cafeteria, she scanned the crowd of students for her blue feathered friend.
Recognizing her, he raised his wing proudly and waved at her. She was somewhat confused to see his expression change once she waved back.
Looking down at the palm of her hand, she was annoyed to discover that her nails had dug so deeply into her hand from balling into fists earlier that they broke the skin.
As expected, Berdly was not going to take this well.
“WHAT HAPPENED??”
“I don’t know, Berdly… I guess I need to clip my nails, fahaha!”
A part of her hoped that he would see past her counterfeit cheery disposition, but that would be asking a lot from him.
“Be CAREFUL! I can’t have you going around hurting yourself before we even have a proper plan yet!”
“You know you can’t just respawn!”
He had already grabbed her hand and started wrapping it in some gauze before she could say anything. Gamer jokes aside, it was really comforting to just be cared for like this.
“T-thanks, Berdly.”
The guy must’ve been pretty hungry, since he had shoveled a spoonful of his lunch into his mouth as he retorted.
“Don’t you ever do that again!”
Pulling her hand away, she beamed seeing how nicely he wrapped it.
“Fahaha! I know…”
The only issue was, she couldn’t just come back home all bandaged up. She could imagine the laundry list of things her mother would say. She could probably get away with leaving it on for the rest of the school day, though. Just for Berdly’s sake.
Noelle opened her lunchbox. Inside was a peanut butter sandwich, an apple, and a candy cane with a note attached to it.
Noelle,
Please remember to bring your house key to school.
Regards,
Mom
Berdly chimed in from her shoulder. “She really knows how to keep it to the point, huh?”
Sighing, she took a bite of her apple. “Yeah…”
“My mom NEVER brings me notes in my lunch! She says it’s ‘too childish’ and that I’m ‘a big boy now.’”
He slammed his fists down on the table, almost toppling both of their lunches.
“SOMETIMES I JUST WANT A LITTLE NOTE!”
She held up her lunch in the air, giving him a look she hoped read as “take it down a few notches.”
Shrinking down into his seat and keeping his mouth full, Berdly appeared to take the hint.
Her mind left to roam; she remembered her problem from earlier that morning. What could be the next hobby she tries out? It felt like an impossibly daunting question.
…
Maybe she could think about something a little less intimidating…
Or someone…
Maybe it was wishful thinking, but Noelle couldn’t help but imagine that maybe if she went with Susie instead, things would’ve been different. She couldn’t be all bad.
Maybe she would help her figure out why the closet made her so anxious. Maybe she felt the same way around the door, too?
Kris may not be the kind of kid that runs away, but they don’t exactly stand up for themselves either. They just sort of let things happen to them. They sure let Susie happen to them.
They really have no idea what I’d give just to have her happen to me.
Maybe they do.
Wouldn’t that be funny? Someone like that getting closer with a girl who hates their guts than I ever could…
Do they even like girls?
Wait…. Does SHE even like girls...?
Maybe Kris would know. Maybe not. It’s not like Susie was the type to mention a few personal details while pinning them to the wall.
She had to take a moment to digest the thought she had after that one about wanting her to do that to her once in a while.
Oh my god, what is wrong with me…?
Enough of that. The door was still perplexing to her to say the least. Did she feel such a heavy weight over her because Susie was in there? Was she just afraid of confronting her?
Why did it almost feel like back when…… no…. not that… it couldn’t be…
Noelle shook her head to get rid of those thoughts as fast as she could.
It was probably her just losing it again. Was it just how scary things were? It couldn’t be. Scary could be nice. Scary could be warm and real and comforting, like a blanket.
But the second something stressed her out, the tiniest thing was overwhelming or reminded her of…something… the world always started to cave in behind her eyes. All she could do was stare and stand, frozen.
She wasn’t that hungry anymore. She stuffed the rest of her lunch back in the box and shoved it in her bag. She didn’t dare throw it away, the only thing she hated more than eating when she wasn’t in the mood was littering.
When she closed the bag, she could feel the sores on her palm sting, even from under the gauze. Berdly had finished the last of his juice pouch, and that meant it was time to go.
Thankfully, as the bell rang and the two of them walked to their next class, she started to feel just a little bit better.