Book 3: Chapter 3 - Purple and Pink

I am trying to protect my students.
Not from consequences, but from death.

Everyone in Prism is terrified of the Cruel Ivy Killer.
I understand that.
For a brief moment, everyone my lancers protect have to live in fear.

But these brave students are training to face that fear every day.
It is my job—my responsibility—to offer them peace of mind while they do.

And I’m disgusted that so many people don’t seem to care.
—Abel Bouvier, Public Statement

“I see we all dressed our best to meet Mrs. Aubrey,” Guy said, glancing around the lunch table approvingly. 

“We have uniforms, Guy. We always look identical,” Violet intoned. 

“That's not true at all, and I’m offended you would say so,” Kiera huffed.

“Kiera has a new pair of headphones, and she brushed her tail out,” Guy explained.

“Guy is actually wearing his jacket, and his tie is in a double windsor knot,” Kiera added. 

Violet glanced at the pair, giving each a brief scan. “Kiera got those headphones last month, and I don't want to know what brushing that tail consists of. Also, that is not what a double windsor should look like,” Violet deadpanned.

“I’m a free spirit. This is my artistic interpretation of the knot,” Guy insisted.

“And you dressed up, too! Your socks are even higher on your thighs, and there are three stripes instead of two,” Kiera insisted.

“You pay a weird amount of attention to my legs,” Violet complained. 

“Anyway, I’m glad we agreed to dress up to meet Aubrey’s girlfriend,” Kiera answered cheerfully. “If we make a bad first impression, we’ll probably never be allowed to speak to her again.”

“Exactly. I’m not waiting another three months for this. Hence my artistic tie,” Guy agreed.

It was true they'd been pushing to meet the banshee's partner for ages, but Violet thought her friends were being overly dramatic. She wasn't particularly fond of the relationship, and was happy to admit as much. If only to herself. Even so, she didn't think there was anything strange about keeping it private.

“Relax,” Violet insisted. “First of all, you tied your tie in a bow. Not a bowtie, mind you. You just have a bow where the knot should be. Koral is going to have the exact right impression of you. Second, Aubrey just didn't want to introduce her girlfriend to the kids until she knew it was serious. It's not about us being good enough; it was just that the relationship hadn't earned our wonderful presence yet. But we’ll be fine either way.”

“Then explain the socks,” Kiera pushed.

“The campus store just started stocking a new style, and I look hot in them,” Violet answered immediately—and without a hint of irony in her voice.

Kiera and Guy shared a look and seemed to have a silent conversation. After a moment, they both turned to Violet in unison. “Yeah, alright, the math checks out,” Guy agreed.

All conversation halted there, however, as Aubrey breached the privacy barrier and approached the booth. All eyes turned to her the instant she did, while Guy wore the absolute worst shit-eating grin.

“Oh, God. This was a mistake, wasn’t it?” Aubrey asked. She stood a few feet away, a tray of food in her hands and a shorter girl next to her. “I specifically asked you guys not to be weird.”

“Actually, you asked us to be normal,” Kiera corrected. “Which is subjective.”

“Christ,” Aubrey murmured.

“Hello, a pleasure to meet you, Koral,” Violet greeted. “I’d like to say we’ve heard a lot about you, but your name is just about it.”

“Hello,” Koral greeted in a surprisingly gentle voice. “I’ve heard quite a lot about you, but admittedly not from Aubrey, so I suppose we’re even in that regard.” She was slow and measured in her response, and Violet got a strange feeling from her voice. Like she wasn’t sure if she should be offended.

“Right,” Aubrey cut in, a realization visibly settling on her after the interaction. “Hi, everyone! As I’ve mentioned before, this is Koral! Please don’t be too insane right away. She’s extremely cool, and she laughs at my jokes even when they aren’t funny, so be nice.” She paused after that, then redirected her attention to the girl with the pink twintails at her side. “Koral, this is my fireteam. The smug one is Guy. If you make a joke about his name, he’ll only get worse. So I recommend ignoring it. The sparkly one is Kiera. She seems a lot like Guy at first, but she’s sane underneath it all. And finally, Violet. She’s a lot more relaxed than the rumors say, and she’s been the most excited about today.”

“Nice to meet you!” Guy blurted out the moment Aubrey was done. “I have no idea what she’s talking about. I’m perfectly innocent.”

“Sparkly?” Kiera asked, her tail twitching with irritated flicks. It did twinkle under the light as it moved, which confirmed the description in a common act of betrayal.

“Here, have a seat,” Violet offered, sliding her plate of fish sticks down the table and scooting along the bench. 

Aubrey smiled and slid into place next to the reaper. Koral paused for a moment, and Violet watched an interesting mix of emotions cross the girl’s face. But Koral rolled her eyes, seemingly at herself, then followed her girlfriend. She didn’t speak for a few seconds, but she smiled when she did.

“Being sparkly is good, it makes you memorable!” she finally responded. Then she looked over toward Guy, maintaining the smile. “And I think you have every reason to be such a smug guy.”

As predicted, Guy immediately got worse.

“Oh, nonsense, I’m just some Guy,” he quipped. He then immediately grunted as Kiera seemed to kick him under the table.

Koral gave him a smile, then shifted her focus to Violet. “I think I’ve seen Violet around already, actually,” she continued. “She passes by my dorm all the time. Although, it's possible I just noticed her more because she's famous, and my friends always compare us.”

“You mean because you kind of look similar?” Kiera asked. “I was wondering about that, actually. Are you related to the Ashers?”

Koral shook her head. In what was apparently her manner, she paused for a moment before speaking. “Not at all, no. It's just the long hair, I think. And maybe the blue eyes. I also have a bit of a reputation myself, if not quite as... theatrical as Violet’s," she answered.

“You're also the only other girl I’ve seen who bothered to get your uniform tailored. Which looks great, by the way,” Kiera noted.

Koral frowned at first, then took a deep breath and gave Violet a curious glance—although she had to lean past Aubrey to do so. For Violet’s part, she just waved the comparison off.

“My tailor didn't do a very good job, and it didn't end up fitting how I liked. So I just wear the standard ones. He was overly optimistic, it seems. I also usually don't advertise the mistake, but Kiera is just awful at keeping secrets,” Violet explained, although Koral hadn’t actually asked. “Which is why I’d rather talk about the reputation in question. I’d honestly trade, if I could. I hear you're top of the class in academics, right?” 

Koral seemed to sit up a bit straighter at that. “Top of the year is an evaluation of both practical and academic performance, so Kassie from your class actually has me beat. But I do try to excel where I can,” Koral confirmed. Her tone was modest, but Violet got the feeling the girl enjoyed the redirection. Especially after Kiera had all but denied it a moment before.

“I’m admittedly a bit of an underperformer on that side of things,” Violet continued. “Maybe you can tutor me sometime?”

“She is good at that. Got me up to a B in math,” Aubrey agreed, shooting Violet a grateful glance. Violet found it interesting exactly how grateful it was, and she filed the information away for later. She wondered if the relationship actually was more serious than she thought. She wasn't sure she liked that, although she couldn't put her finger on why.

“Oh, thank God,” Guy interjected. “Can I join? Because I am absolutely failing geometry.”

“That’s because you keep falling asleep in class,” Kiera pointed out. 

“That is that, and this is this,” Guy dismissed. “I’m trying to get to know Koral, not shapes.”

“Please don't ask my girlfriend for tutoring that you don't care about, Guy,” Aubrey groaned.

“Well, that's hardly fair,” Guy answered. “I can hardly ask for tutoring I do care about!”

“How about we just have a game night?” Koral suggested. “I’m good at those, and there is a lot less math involved. Not, uh, none. But less.”

“So long as it isn't Monopoly,” Kiera grumbled. “Some of us cheat at that game.”

“Don’t worry, though. That’s all she cheats at,” Violet teased, giving the blushing Aubrey a friendly poke. “Even during Spin the Bottle, she literally shook hands with whoever landed on her.”

“And not even in the hot way,” Guy confirmed.

“Is there a hot way to shake hands?” Kiera asked.

“Everything has a hot way,” Guy insisted, closing his eyes and nodding sagely.

Koral twitched a bit, but took a breath and responded in the same calm and measured tone. She decided to refocus on the point of the discussion instead of pursuing the trail Violet’s team had started to follow. “I’ve got a pretty big collection; there will be plenty to choose from,” Koral assured. “And I have a sharp eye for cheaters, don't worry.”

“She has a talent for it, in fact,” Aubrey added.

“For catching people cheating at board games? What kind of calling is that?” Violet asked. 

“Not exactly,” Koral replied with a laugh. "Still, it would be a good way to get to know each other. For Aubrey’s sake.”

Violet took a bit of a fish stick and glanced at the new girl. That answer wasn't a lie, but it didn't ring entirely true, either. Getting too close to Koral could throw a small wrench in Violet’s plans, but her curiosity made it worth the risk.

“You just want a larger group for game nights,” Aubrey accused. 

“Shhh,” Koral replied. “Don't worry about that.”

“Well, I’m happy to make plans,” Violet agreed. “Do you have any of those secret murderer games?”

“You mean social engineering games?” Koral asked. “Sorry, I gave all of those away. Had a few game nights back home that got a bit too heated.”

“What a suggestion,” Kiera marveled, incredulous sarcasm permeating the words. She gave Violet a look that was growing more familiar, but the reaper just shrugged and smiled.

“What, because of the Cruel Ivy thing?” Guy asked.

Koral seemed to shudder at the thought, and she shared an obvious look with Aubrey. “Can we not talk about that?” Aubrey asked.

“Oh, shit, sorry. You didn't know anyone who...” he started, but trailed off. It was obvious he realized too late how insensitive the question might be. He and Kiera had talked about it months ago. He wasn’t worried about her, despite her father being one of the first public victims, because he knew how complicated that situation was. But Koral wasn’t Kiera.

“Nothing like that,” Koral responded, shaking her head. “I just don't like focusing on such negative topics. We’re lucky enough to be separated from the news for the time being, and I’d prefer to enjoy that while I can.”

“I can agree with that. Honestly, I’m pretty sure everything in the bulletin is exaggerated anyway,” Kiera added. “I like cooperative games, for the record. No one will cheat.”

“Oh my God! It was a moment of weakness!” Aubrey complained. “Violet had hotels on that entire side of the board! I was going to get knocked out of the game!”

“Sorry,” Guy said. “She’s very convincing when she wants to make a trade.”

“I still can’t believe you didn’t introduce me to the group when you were already having game nights,” Koral huffed. “You can kiss people if you want, or even shake their hands in the hot way. But leaving me out of board games? That’s a true betrayal.”

“Oh, no,” Aubrey whispered. “You’re going to get along with them, aren’t you? Fuck, this is the worst-case scenario.”

“Hush, you,” Koral dismissed, playfully shoving Aubrey’s shoulder.

“Speaking of getting along,” Violet interjected. “Can I invite one more person?”

“Seriously?” Kiera asked. “You mean...”

“We’re trying to mend fences!” Violet explained. “What’s a murder accusation here and there among friends, anyway? Come on, he doesn’t know anyone else on campus! I feel bad for the guy!”

“Wait, you want to invite Chase?” Aubrey said.

“Chase?” Koral asked. “Chase Cook? The guy who used to spread all those nasty rumors about you?”

“Yes, Chase,” Violet confirmed. “Listen, I know people don’t like him. But he’s all I have left of home.”

“Doesn’t your brother go here?” Guy asked.

“Oh, right. We can invite him, too, I guess. The point is, Chase is lonely, and he actually is fun to have around. Just... give him another chance, okay?”

“I mean, I’m fine with it,” Koral agreed. “When do you guys want to set this up?”

“After we find out what insane plan Clay has for next week’s practical training,” Kiera answered. “I have a feeling it’s going to be dumb as fuck.”