The three of them were the only ones left.

Vivienne stood at the front of the empty classroom for a second. Just stood there. Then she looked at the door like she was confirming it was closed and something in her posture changed.

Not dramatically. Just the specific shift of someone who had been holding a particular weight and had decided to put it down.

"The entrance ceremony tomorrow is completely pointless." She pulled herself up onto the desk and sat on it. Actual sat on it. "A whole morning wasted on introductions nobody cares about. I think it’s total bullshit."

Arthur’s eyebrows went up.

Where did the other Vivienne go.

"Fucking imbeciles." She rubbed the side of her face. "Wasting my time managing a class. I’m not even a proper teacher. I was a student here once and apparently that’s enough qualification." She gestured at the room. "Anyway. Triad name and leader. Go."

Theodore looked at Arthur.

Kreasial looked at Arthur.

Arthur looked at both of them.

Uhh.

"I don’t have all day." Vivienne’s voice sharpened. "I have actual things to do."

Arthur raised his hand.

"I’m the leader."

"Good." She crossed one leg over the other. "Here’s what you need to understand about tomorrow. This isn’t just a school event. Sponsors from different kingdoms will be present. The Mageia council will be watching. Being noticed at second year is rare. Being scouted at second year basically doesn’t happen."

Theodore was listening with the focused attention of someone writing everything down internally.

"That said." She looked at all three of them. "That only applies if you perform well."

Theodore raised his hand.

"Professor. Is it really possible for Class F to be there? I heard last year’s Class F didn’t manage to attend any part of the culmination."

"That’s true." Vivienne looked at him. Direct. "This class is considered full of rejects. Untalented. Poor. The bottom of the building."

Kreasial pushed off the window wall slightly.

"But the rules changed."

"Who changed them?" Theodore asked.

"I did."

A beat.

"I made sure this class was included." She looked at the desk surface briefly. "I was Class F once. People called me a misfit student. Unqualified. Not worth the seat." She looked back up. "So I changed the rules."

’That’s true.’ Vexis appeared at Arthur’s shoulder. Quieter than usual. ’Velja mentioned her once. Said she was considered a strange student when he was starting his first year. People didn’t know what to make of her.’

Vivienne looked at Arthur directly.

"Do you accept that this class is inferior to the upper classes?"

Theodore opened his mouth. Closed it.

Kreasial looked at the window.

"No," Arthur said.

Vivienne tilted her head. "You’re originally from Class A. Don’t perform humility for—"

"I know where I’m from." Arthur interrupted her. His voice stayed even. "And I’m not talking about myself."

Vivienne was quiet.

"The people in this class are underprivileged. Some of them are poor. Some of them are here because they had nowhere else to go." He looked at the desk for a second. "But they’re not idiots. They work harder than anyone in the upper classes because they don’t have a choice." He looked back up. "So thanks. For changing the rules. And for giving them a chance to actually be seen."

Silence.

Theodore was looking at him. His pen had stopped moving. His eyes were doing something he was trying not to let show and not fully succeeding.

Ugh. I said something cringe again didn’t I.

Vivienne stared at Arthur for a moment. Then she straightened up.

"Give me a name."

"A name?"

"For your triad." She picked up her pen. "What are you called."

Arthur looked at Kreasial by the window.

At Theodore with his stopped pen.

At the empty classroom around them, the one that had been called the bottom of the building since before any of them arrived.

He breathed in. Out.

"Misfits."

Vivienne’s pen stopped.

She closed her eyes for exactly one second.

"Alright." She stood. "Dismissed. Proper uniform tomorrow." She pointed at Arthur without looking at him. "Especially you."

She pressed the relic stone and disappeared.

Arthur sat in the quiet room.

Man she’s cool.

The cafeteria corridor was busy.

Arthur moved through it slowly. Eyes scanning. Not looking at the food or the tables or the people eating.

Looking for one specific person.

’Who are you looking for.’ Vexis drifted beside him. Watching his face. ’What are you doing.’

Arthur didn’t answer.

He moved toward the far end.

Then he saw him.

Black hair. Purple eyes. Moving with the specific energy of someone who expected the crowd to part and was mildly irritated when it didn’t. A green-haired girl beside him, keeping pace, not talking.

Arthur stepped forward and let the shoulder bump happen.

"Hey!" Elias turned immediately. "Watch where you’re going."

"Sorry about that." Arthur raised both hands.

The anchor moved from his palm to Elias’s shadow as he did it. Smooth. Quiet. Elias didn’t feel anything.

Elias looked at him for a second. Then something shifted in his expression.

"You’re Vexis Lestilaut."

"Yeah."

"Heard you dropped to Class F." He looked Arthur up and down. "And now you’re their representative." His voice had a specific edge to it. Not quite a laugh. "Didn’t realize the Archmagus’s middle son was this underwhelming in person."

’This bastard—’ Vexis started.

Arthur looked at him.

Just looked.

What is it with people in this world and their genuinely rotten personalities.

His mouth opened. This time it was his own choice.

"Can’t wait to see you in the format then." Arthur’s lips pulled up. "Should be interesting."

Elias’s expression shifted slightly. Reassessing something.

"A golden puppy." He said it lightly. "All bark. No bite."

Arthur turned back. And raised his hand.

"Yeah sure. Go and pick a fight with your boyfriend Xavier. He might get jealous seeing you here picking a fight with me—l

’ARTHUR. HIS RIGHT ARM—’

Arthur stepped left without thinking about it. He already felt the movement from his shadow anchor. A fist swung through the air where his face had been half a second ago. The sound of it missing was specific.

He looked at Elias.

Elias was staring at him. Both feet planted. The arm still extended from the swing.

"Huh." His voice had lost the easy quality. "How did you—"

Arthur’s back leg pushed forward. His hand came up and caught Elias’s extended arm at the elbow, redirected the momentum, and let Elias’s own weight do the rest of the work.

The cafeteria floor came up to meet him.

Not hard. Just enough.

Arthur looked down at him.

"No wonder Xavier doesn’t pay attention to you." He grinned. Genuinely. The ridiculous kind that he couldn’t fully stop. "Going around picking fights with other people to get his attention."

Arthur tilted his head. "So? How’s the floor?"

Elias went red from the collar up.

Arthur kept the grin where it was.

Stupid bastard. I never liked your ass in the novel anyways