Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Three: Say It Smaller

Christina's Arc: Bend or Break

I wonder what that was about? Sakura never showed interest in guys before. Maybe seeing the blond monster and me sparked something ugly in her. I mean, I don't like that Christina likes me, but this morning was... something else.

I whistled down the hallway toward the cafeteria. A few students moved from the bathroom to their classes.

After Christina dropped me off at my Dangers of Emotional Manipulation 102 course, I decided to leave early. We tested today, and I always ace the damn things.

I'm so damn thankful for my book-reading curse sometimes.

My void experience was nice last night. Sure, Shizuka's pebble was still there, but all it could do was talk tons of shit.

I pushed open the cafeteria doors, walked to our typical table, and sat down.

Alright, kissing queen, you better live up to your end of the deal and not kill Jenie, or any of my friends, yet. I'm not sure how I feel about Jenie.

Was I the first one to the cafeteria?

Huh. Jenie isn't here yet. That is unusual.

Maybe she finally understood what she did wrong and decided to skip town… Nah.

I unpacked my lunch, which was just leftovers my dad and I made. Once I had finished laying out the three boxes, I tapped my finger on the table.

I wish people would hurry the hell up and get here—freaking bell.

Minutes later, Jenie walked in, sat down, and started her lunch preparation without saying a word to me.

…

"So, are we going to talk about it, or what?"

…

"Salutation—"

"Skip the greeting; it takes too long. Now, talk."

"Please clarify what—"

"About telling the world we needed to sleep together, you asshole."

…

"My declaration was justified and remains so. We must sleep together if I am to access you."

She split a boiled egg, then measured some rice before placing it into Kai's bento. After dividing the rice, she started to pull legs off an octopus.

"Why the hell do you need to access me anyway? I'm right here; do your weird touching shit before the cafeteria fills up."

"Antwon, the information I'm about to relay may cause you unrest, but know my intentions are amicable."

…

"Okay."

"Antwon, I am in you, and when you are unconscious, you are in me."

…

"You seriously want to die, don't you?"

"I'm unsure of what you mean, Antwon. However, expiration is not my prerogative."

Jenie brought out seaweed wrapping, wrapped some rice and octopus in it, and lightly salted it.

…

"Jenie, I understand feeding Kai, but can you focus on me for, like, half a second?"

"Your request is uncanny, for I have provided you with three minutes of uninterrupted focus."

"Sure, okay, um, I don't think you meant what you said in the way you said it. But pretend I was a monkey and explain it to me before Christina gets here."

…

"I'm unfamiliar with the methods by which monkeys converse, so—"

I slammed my head against the table.

…

Ouch…

"Such strange diction—"

"Shut up, Jenie! What did you mean by the whole 'inside you' thing?"

"Do you recall the fall of Knox?"

"Don't make my death sound so epic, but yes."

Jenie set her chopsticks down.

"After you summoned me and I granted your wish, your unconscious body retained my lamp. It shared the same fate as Knox."

…

"That's stupid. Wasn't it made of magic or something?"

"Magic is a vague concept utilized by individuals who are unable to fathom the nuances of—"

"Speed it up! The bell is about to ring, damn it."

"Very well. Upon the destruction of my lamp, I took refuge in the shared vessel."

"The what?"

"I took refuge inside of you, Antwon."

…

I opened my bento and started eating.

"So, is that why you were, like, a voice in my head?" I said, chewing.

Jenie cocked her head.

"What?" I asked.

"May I continue prepping Kai's meal?"

"No, just finish your story."

…

"Yes, that is why I manifested as a voice. It is also why I took frequent breaks when communicating with you."

"I think you meant persuading me to do weird shit."

"Your interjections shorten the time we have, Antwon."

"Fine. I'll shut up."

…

"After your bout with Ryo, I investigated the effect my presence was having on your mental and emotional state. However, I first noticed a significant shift in your disposition after Abby Abutin's lecture."

You mean after I was sucked into the science textbook?

…

"Affirmative."

…

"Who said you could read me?"

"As you lay unconscious, I attempted to locate your subconscious, yet I could not. Now, I understand I could not locate you, as you were inside of me."

Jenie started to stack Kai's sushi.

"However, trepidation rose within me. By the time you contemplated your second wish, I had considered all implications and punitive measures the God governing this world may impose upon me. The current disciplinary action is one I would also settle on, though the method was unfamiliar. Now I understand."

Jenie stood up and pointed at me.

"Only my consciousness was removed. My astral body is still within you; the place you call the void is actually me in my purest form. When I attempted to stir you from your unconscious state, a coalescence occurred, connecting me to my astral body."

I chewed on a piece of eel and stared blankly into Jenie's face.

"I'm gonna need you to say it in smaller words and shorter sentences, or I won't get it."

…

"There you are!" Christina said.

Oh, boy.

I stood up, bit my lip hard enough to cause pain, but not hard enough to draw blood, and thought of a sick puppy. Then I turned around and held my arms out. She turned her attention toward me and softened her face a bit.

"You better not have tried shit with him, or I'll kill you right here. Aww, come here, hani," Christina said, holding her arms out to hug me, too.

If I didn't know the ugly side of you, this might actually be super cute…

She pulled me down and hugged me; then she smelled my hair.

Yup, she can't ever be normal. Never mind that. I need to distract her crazy ass.

Once she started to ease up, I quickly sat down, still holding her right arm. Then I gently tugged her sleeve, inviting her to sit down before she could turn her attention back toward Jenie.

She sat down, of course, but she gave Jenie a nasty look before she did.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, hani, but by all means, let it stay."

Maybe I should tell her that Jenie is what got into me.

I grinned and turned toward Jenie, who stood up and bowed, but it wasn't a deep, apologetic bow. No. It was more of a Western-style business bow.

"Allow me to introduce myself, as we may see much of each other in the foreseeable future, Ms. Tetsusen. I am Jenie Nocturne. I look forward to working with your enterprise."

…

"Uh, mm, it's just lunch, Jenie."

"That's not what she means. You will be tested, watched, and investigated, Nocturne. If you pass, you will receive an offer of admission from the Iron Fan Court. Nocturne, if you accept, your life will belong to me. Are you sure that's something you're willing to offer, given our history?"

Shut up. The thing said it wanted to sleep with me once, and I'm the only one who knew what it meant. History my ass!

"What the hell are you two going on about?"

"Hey, Jenie," Kai said.

Then he sat down next to Jenie and kissed her on the cheek.

"Hmm, that was sweet of him. Don't you think so, Antwon?"

Freaking Kai!

"Well, I was here first, Christina."

I set her bento on the table.

"So, I don't think you're entitled to a—"

Christina took me by the chin, turned my head, and kissed me on the freaking lips. But her lips were so damn soft that part of me didn't mind.

"I love the way you taste, hani—"

"Lips, Christina. Say, 'I love the way your lips taste,' because context matters." I looked at my bento. "Can you chill out with all the kissing? I know I said whenever was fine, but the other kids will think we're conjoined at the mouth."

"No."

…

Next time, think about it for a moment, at least. Screw it. Why are these two acting so polite? Christina wanted to kill her yesterday. Suddenly, they're talking business.

I turned toward Christina and leaned in close; then I gently tugged at her sleeve.

Christina turned, lifted her arm, and wrapped it around me.

That wasn't what I wanted! Learn how to read the room. Shit. Screw it.

"Hey, what the hell were you and Jenie talking about?" I whispered.

"I'll tell you when we go home, and we are going home today because we've been away for too long."

Christina picked up a piece of unagi.

"What? We were there this morning. How is that too—"

Nakamura and Sakura sat down, so I brought out Tiffany's bento and passed it to her.

"Where is my bento box?" Sakura asked.

"The hell if I know. Why don't you ask your hostage, you guy-claiming asshole? I swear you don't make any sense, Sakura. You see how miserable I am, so why would you put someone else through this?"

"Yeah, you look so damn miserable right now… no offense, Chris— I mean, Your Grace."

"None taken, and call me sister."

“Okay… Anyway, I didn't claim him. Watanabe forced himself onto me. I just wanted to know… um, what it meant when… ugh, when a boy has been…”

Christina held a piece of unagi to my mouth, and I ate it.

…

Well, shit. I’m too hungry to fight with her about feeding me, and Sakura is taking her sweet ass time with telling me what she was doing with her new slave. Then Jenie is—

Christina’s nails slid through my hair and brushed my scalp.

A shiver ran through me.

I tensed, then melted before I could stop it.

An alien sound escaped me; then it was gone along with every ounce of air in my body.

I rested my head against the table.

“Well, fuck me. That was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen you do, hani. It reminded me of this morning.”

"This morning? Did you do that to Antwon this morning, too?"

…

"Well, yeah. Are you going to make that a problem?" Christina asked.

Her body started to tense up, like she was going to reach over and hit Sakura at any moment.

"No. So, that strange noise Tetsuzaki heard this morning was Antwon moaning while you scratched his head?"

"What can I say? He likes it, but he hates that he enjoys it."

"I can speak for myself…"

…

"Okay, are you going to fucking speak, Antwon?"

Sakura, Christina, Tiffany, Jenie, and Kai stared at me as if my next word would change the cafeteria's temperature. I looked at my bento box. Then I listened to the growing noise in the background.

If this were an action movie, I’d have the perfect line. But this wasn’t a movie, and I wasn’t that guy.

"Um…"

Christina held a clump of rice in front of me.

I cleared my throat.

"Shut the hell up and eat your food."

…

Bunch of assholes. Serves them right.

"There you are, my Sakura," someone said.

I know that voice, but what was his name again?

"Fucking Watanabe—" Sakura said.

"It's Touma," Watanabe said.

…

I felt like we all stared at Sakura and Watanabe, who stood behind her.

"Why the hell are you here?"

"I told you; I'm changing my schedule to match yours, Sakura."

We gasped.