𝐉𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 // 𝐒𝐏𝐘 𝐱 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘

Chapter 19

Kei threw her head back and laughed. And while the laugh itself was stuck in the back of her throat, a burbling thing of just there —but not quite, the sentiment remained the same. She smiled so widely, her cheeks hurt, but in a good way. It was genuine in a way that rarely fit her.

Charlie seemed delighted by her reaction. He grinned crookedly, all pearly teeth. "I told you it's amazing." His words, though confident, came in breathless gasps, as he took the lead.

Despite the ache at her lungs, and the beginnings of a cramp forming in her tummy, Kei flashed a smile back. They were running; short legs pumping as fast as they could. But what really made her laugh was the sight of one Murdoch Swan, red-faced and furious, covered in sparkly pink goo. He was pursuing them with much struggle, rotating between waddling frantically after them at a dignified (he was a proud man and an elite, at that) and absolutely enraged pace. Mostly the latter. The said man's lip curled in disgust as tittering laughs abrupted down the hall at the sight of a —frankly— much disliked man heaving after a pair of tiny, tiny first years.

The older years turned away, covering their mouths, but they did not try to stop the children. No, they watched and ducked out of the way, creating a relatively uniformed path. Their amusement only grew with every second the previously-housemaster —now in charge of the hopeless— experienced a taste of his own medicine. His unsavory methods and tendency to poke at a poor child til they cried wasn't a well-kept secret.

(Really, everyone knew he was a bastard. A pitiful, miserable man who lashed out at others for what was only his own fault.)

It's like in the fairytales, Kei thought, silent laughter falling out of her lips as she ran. The bad guys always get what they deserve in the end.

Charlie was a troublemaker, she would learn. And also; a wily two-faced boy who had long-since mastered the art of flattery, politics, and delicate talk. This, Kei noted, with some incredulity as her new-found friend singlehandedly bullshitted out of the mess. He showed no shame nor fear, even as he straight-out lied to the headmaster, himself. (Yes, that wrinkled old walnut.)

Kei admired that, certainly. And it fairly thrilled her too. Just like how the whole chase had gotten her heart fluttering and adrenaline rushing. It was an exhilarating feeling. She hadn't ever really been a stickler for rules, per say, but this was a new level of rule-breaking.

"Sir, as the accused, I must point out several faults. Firstly, you have no proof of this being our wrongdoing. You only have Mister Swan's words to believe, but even then, it was a hasty assumption. You may check the cameras but you will not see us entering the upper years' building at the time of this atrocious act." Charlie began to weave his story easily in a businesslike manner. His expression was serious, but his eyes danced. And Kei knew her own gray orbs would be glimmering with mischief.

His words were partly true. It had only taken her a single glance to identify the cameras and it had been easy enough disabling them —a little bit of fiddling around. Anyhow, a good thief-spy-trickster or whatever they were, never entered the obvious route. (The duo had climbed the vents, which was an interesting experience to say). Also, for an elite school, Eden had terrible security.

He smiled innocently. "Secondly, even if we were the culprits, whatever would our motivations be to commit such a horrible thing —after all, glitter and pink slime is, oh, so dangerous— to a teacher we barely know?" It took all of Kei's self-restraint to keep a straight face and nod earnestly along.

Clever. The headmaster cannot refute this statement without admitting that the bastard absolutely deserved it. And the emphasis on horrible... Well, the prank itself is so innocent, it hardly warrants an entire investigation or the interrogation of two completely harmless first years —six year olds— and by the headmaster, himself!