An Odd Favor

Eirin was left speechless. 'How could he say such words?' She scoffed and shook her head. 'Let's just ignore him,' she thought after passing the young man by. 

  "You did great." 

The teenage girl stopped with a forehead creased after hearing that. 'Did that guy compliment me after saying something rude?' Eirin thought while staring at Shade. 

  "Great job embarrassing yourself." 

Eirin scoffed and thought, 'I knew he was not complimenting me.' She stared at the man and rolled her eyes. "What is your problem?" 

Shade ignored the angry Eirin and walked away as if nothing happened. "What the heck was that?" Eirin blinked lots of times while shaking her head. The great annoyance Shade caused made Eirin's forehead crease until her way to the dormitory. 

While walking, Eirin noticed familiar-looking girls. 'I think her name is Kara,' she thought with her eyes squinting, figuring out if she was correct or not. The girls were laughing aloud while surrounding someone in the middle. 

  "Do you really think you can fight us all alone like this? You're only courageous whenever Link's around because he always saves you," Kara said and stomped on someone sitting on the ground. 

  'Are they seriously bullying someone?' Eirin's forehead furrowed the more she moved closer towards them, and her eyes soon widened. 

  "What? Are you going to snitch us to your prince charming like the bitch you are?" Kara chuckled, but the girl sitting on the floor glared at her. It was Coleen. "Go tell them then. If you only shut your mouth like you usually do, this wouldn't happen. Why did you go out of your way and run that vulgar mouth of yours?" 

  "What are you guys doing?" 

Kara and the girls with her turned around, and the moment they saw Eirin, their facial expressions changed. "E-Eirin," Kara stuttered upon seeing the teenage girl. "I didn't know you'll be coming back so soon. Did you finish your talk with the school director?" 

Eirin's eyes landed on Coleen who was wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth. Eirin flinched after it reminded her of Ava when she was younger. "Why were you hurting her?" 

Kara laughed awkwardly and nudged the other girls which made them pull Coleen up from the floor. "What do you mean hurting her? We will never do something so barbaric." She flashed her bright and innocent smile. "We were helping her despite her rudeness. Isn't that right, Coco? Weren't you too clumsy that you fell to the floor all by yourself?" 

Coleen glared at Kara and said, "Only my friends can call me by that name." She swung the arms that were holding her. "If you wanted to take the new girl into your hive, act like you're the Queen. Stop being so pathetic, it's making me laugh." 

Coleen walked away, dragging her feet after saying that. 

  "Don't mind her. She's rude to everyone," Kara smiled and grabbed Eirin's hand. "Why don't you join us? We'll be eating some snacks together." 

Eirin forced a smile and shook her head. "No thank you. I feel a little sleepy now," she said, and she followed Coleen to their room without waiting for Kara's reply. 

  "Didn't she sound so arrogant?" One of Kara's followers whispered to her. However, Kara only watched Eirin's back as she walked away from them. 

On the other hand, Coleen struggled walking and even after arriving in front of their room, she couldn't open the door after she felt an excruciating pain in her wrist. When Eirin saw this, she quickly opened the door for Coleen. 

  "Are you okay?" Eirin asked, but Coleen did not respond. "Uhm, I know someone who can use healing powers. You might know her too since she came to my world with Link and Shade." Despite her attempts to initiate and continue a conversation, Coleen ignored her as if she was nothing. 

  "I'll call Cali, okay?" 

Hearing that quickly moved Coleen from the bed and she grabbed Eirin's arm, stopping her from going outside the room. "Can you shut up and stop minding my business!?" Coleen screamed which caught Eirin off guard. "Stop acting like you care about me. I don't need your meddling." 

She was shooting daggers at Eirin, and after that, walked back to her bed, leaving the teenage girl speechless. It was another first. A first for her to be screamed at with such hostility. Eirin only experienced indifference, but this was rare. It was like... hatred. 

  'Now I feel bad,' Eirin thought. "I'm sorry," she said. 

The atmosphere grew heavier as Eirin sat on her bed. There was nothing else for her to do, and she didn't have anyone to talk to either. Eirin felt how awkward it was as she was used to her best friend Ava's nonstop talking. 

  'I wonder why she flipped out like that.' 

They only had half-day classes because of the incident that happened. And Eirin is still not allowed to join the 'training' class either because she's still new to the school, and she couldn't do her divulgence rite properly. 

Despite feeling boredom and awkwardness, the moment Eirin lay on her soft and comfy bed, she immediately fell asleep. Regardless of her tiredness, Eirin woke up in the middle of the night due to extreme hunger. She squinted upon realizing that she hadn't eaten a single meal for the whole day. 

  "Grandma would scold me if she learned of this," she muttered as she sat on the bed. "I mean, I can't help it. I don't know where the cafeteria is." Eirin flinched after hearing a grunting sound from Coleen which made her realize that it was already nighttime. 

The whole room was engulfed in darkness, and the moonlight shining through the window was the only light Eirin could use. She didn't want to open her lamp, thinking that it would wake or disturb Coleen who was already fast asleep. 

However, the way her stomach grumbled would eventually wake up her roommate anyway, so she tiptoed her way out of the room. 

  'Wait. Don't dorms usually have strict rules and wouldn't let students wander around at night?' 

Eirin had already closed the door when the realization hit her. The dark hallway made her lean back on the door. There were only a few lights open and the empty garden she could see on the first floor gave her fright. 

  'It feels like something's about to appear if I look away for a second,' she thought as she kept taking deep breaths. "I'm used to having strict diets, but I'll die if I keep this up," she muttered and started walking barefoot, not knowing where she must go to find some food to eat. 

  "What time is it anyway?" 

The cold breeze made Eirin rub her arms as she breathed heavily. She was still wearing her uniform, as she forgot to change clothes, but she also forgot to wear her shoes or slippers which made the floor made from marble feel so cold on her feet. Eirin continued walking, she didn't know where she was, and she didn't know how to go back to her room. It all seems different at night than at daytime. 

  "This is all my stomach's fault." 

She continued walking, there were no sounds other than her heavy breathing, but she soon heard an odd sound that reminded her of a machine. This caused the teenage girl to freeze. It reminded her of that from a printing machine, but why does it sound so scary? As the sound got louder, the more Eirin's footsteps grew faster, and when she stopped, the odd sound also stopped. 

  "What are you doing?" 

Eirin's heart thumped so loud as she covered her mouth before she could let out a scream that could wake everyone up. 

With teary eyes out of fear, Eirin could finally breathe again after seeing the familiar face of Cali. "I-It's you." She heaved a sigh. "Why did you scare me like that? I almost died. What are you doing in the middle of the night outside your room?" 

Cali's nonchalant expression made Eirin gulp. "I should be the one asking you that." Her chilly tone made the cold night turn freezing. "Why are you out in the middle of the night, barefooted?" 

Eirin gulped due to nervousness, and her stomach grumbled, answering Cali's question without Eirin needing to open her mouth. 

  "Did you not eat anything?" 

Eirin's face turned flushed, causing Cali to sigh and turn her back to the girl. That's when the sound of the creepy machinery started getting louder causing Eirin to grab onto Cali's sleeves. 

  "D-Did you hear that?" 

Cali looked at whatever was standing behind Eirin. "Do you mean that?" She pointed her finger, making Eirin feel shivers down her spine. 

  "Please, stop scaring me." 

Cali's emotionless face did not change as she stared at Eirin. "Are you afraid of the bots?" 

  "B-Bots?" Eirin turned around and saw a little white robot scanning the area with its small wheels moving around. "A robot?" 

  "That's right. They are called bots, and they guard the dormitory and academia at night." Cali left after saying those which confused Eirin. 

A gust of cold air made Eirin shivered. 'Just when I thought I could ask Cali for help,' she thought while rubbing both of her hands and continued walking to her path. That's until she heard footsteps from behind, causing her to turn around. 

  "Here." 

Turns out, Cali brought indoor slippers for Eirin to wear. The teenage girl was left stunned as she did not expect the cold-hearted Cali to help her like that. 

  "T-Thank you." 

Cali walked forward, in front of Eirin. "You're hungry, right?" She said to which Eirin's stomach responded with a grumble. Cali led the way to the cafeteria, and the lights automatically opened as soon as they got inside, revealing the huge and sparkling space. 

  "Would there still be food?" Eirin asked after her eyes landed on the wall clock, making her see that it was already 1 a.m. 

Cali did not answer and only continued walking towards the spacious counter, and so Eirin followed her. She took one of the plates, and suddenly, dishes appeared on the plate like magic. 

  "H-How did you do that?" Eirin's eyes brimmed with curiosity and sparkled as she kept exchanging glances between Cali and the plate of food. 

  "Ask your roommate to explain it to you." 

Eirin thanked Cali after she placed the plate on the table. "My roommate hates me," she said before eating a spoonful of rice. "Her name's Coleen McGuffin so you might already know her." Cali stared at Eirin after hearing that name. Her cold piercing gaze made the teenage girl freeze before she could eat again. 

  "D-Did I say something wrong? Are you angry?" 

Cali sighed and calmed her face down. "I must ask for a favor," she said. "I beg you, do not despise that child. She is not a bad person."