A collection of memoirs from some of the students at Divine Crown Academy.Which would you like to read first?

Secret Lair

Written by brisquad unit 4402

Uncertain after a fight with his best friend, Luca seeks advice.

Luca Kaneshiro stared up at the leaves and the mottled sunbeams that shone through them. One hand rested behind his head, where his blond hair would tangle into the bark if he wasn't careful, while the other dangled as he laid on a tree branch hidden from the rest of the park.Over the years it had gotten harder to pull himself up onto the tree than when he was a child, which made it all the more satisfying as he grew stronger. He liked to run, but pull-ups kept him in good condition, and before long he didn't need the planks he and his sister nailed into the trunk as a ladder. He can't even remember the last time he thought about using them. Track practice had done him well.Speaking of, Lucy stood on the tire swing, lazily swaying with the wind through her cardigan. College had been kind to her. Most days she had bags under her eyes from studying, but on weekends they weren't as noticeable, and the sunny smile she picked up with her second year took over the rest of her features.Her chunky cardigan was full of holes for the sun to bleed through just like the leaves. When Luca turned his head, he could barely make out her silhouette from the tree's shadow, but he could tell that she raised a hand to her chin while the other held the rope.

Lucy's speaking voice always commanded attention whether she knew it or not, even when she lowered it for occasions like this. "You know Sonny wants the best for you.""Yeah," Luca said."And he wouldn't bring it up unless he thought you would be a good fit.""Yeah," Luca said.Lucy asked, "So why didn't you take the offer to campaign for the student council as president, Luca?"The younger brother shut his eyes. Whenever someone asked him that, he always had a reason, but something about Lucy always made him feel like she could see through him like glass."I don't know," he admitted. A leaf fluttered from the canopy of trees and rested on his chest, slowly rising and falling."You don't know, or you don't want to tell me?""I don't know," Luca insisted. "I don't get why he would ask me that, of all people."The leaf blew away with the wind, and Lucy braced herself to the rope. It picked the tire swing up. Lucy may only be a few inches shorter than Luca, but she was still the elder, and towered over him with or without the breeze on her side. "Sonny thinks you're dependable.""He must be disappointed, then." Luca cracked open his eyes. The sun shifted in the sky, and now he could make out spots of blue through the shade. "And pissed. I blew him off pretty hard.""Because you didn't want it or because you didn't know how to respond?"Luca raised his head to stare at Lucy. "I don't know!"Little did he know she was watching him, too. She smirked once he fell into her trap."You're the worst," he relinquished. He turned to rest on his side, too. Laying on his back made it feel way too much like a shrink's office, especially with his sister reading him like a book."You're your own worst enemy, Luca," Lucy said. She sighed, but didn't seem the slightest bit exhausted. "You're a hard worker, but you really need to get some confidence."Luca protested. "Hey, what the hell! I'm plenty confident!""Go tell Sonny that you'll reconsider it.""But—""Can you come up with a good reason why you wouldn't be a good president?" Lucy asked.Luca promptly shut his mouth."Thought so." She smiled. "How about instead of avoiding it, you go call him and say you'll sleep on it. You don't need to agree or reject it off the bat."Once again, Luca tried to think of something, and once again, Lucy was always one step ahead.Likely for the better. He'd always been a good runner, but he didn't realize just how good he was until now."The worst," he repeated. Luca gripped the branch as he rifled around for his phone. He pulled up his latest contacts and tried to ignore the last text conversation he had with Sonny. "Now close your ears and I'll call him, fine?""Fine." She chirped and plopped down on the tire, letting it take control as she flew.The line picked up on the sixth ring—not that Luca was counting— and the voice on the other end only spoke up after a few distant rustles. "Hello?""I'll think about it," Luca said. Then he kicked himself. "I mean, it's Luca. Hi. Sorry. I was being a dick earlier but I'll think about it.""Oh. Hey. GM." Luca moved the phone away in time for the loudest rustle. Sonny must have been laying in bed, especially since his voice was lower than usual, heavy with sleep. "Yeah. Sorry for being insistent, I guess.""Yeah. You awake right now?"Sonny yawned. "Unfortunately.""Wanna do something?""I guess? The conveyor belt sushi place by the tech store has 25% off during lunch happy hour today.""That starts in thirty minutes?""Yep.""You up for that, Sonny? Even though you just woke up?"Sonny scoffed. "Who do you think I am?""Meet me there in twenty-five.""I'll be up in twenty.""Out of bed or at the sushi place?" Luca asked, to no answer. "Sonny, are you even able to get ready that fast?"Sonny didn't respond. Luca checked his phone. He hung up right after they made plans.Luca looked down at the contact photo incredulously. For as uptight, regimented, and dedicated as the disciplinary officer of the student council was…Sonny was seriously a lazy bum sometimes.A chuckle from below made him look back down. His older sister held a hand to her mouth with a snicker, purple eyes turning to crescents as she squinted. "I've placed pizza orders longer than that conversation."Luca slid his phone back into his pocket, then threw a twig at his sister, trying not to turn beet red. He failed. "Lucy! I said not to listen!"

"You're smiling!" She sang. "Told you he wasn't that mad!""How much of that did you hear?!""You're so noisy I can hear you even if I plug my ears. Boys making up are so funny." Lucy leaned back in the tire swing. "You know it would've been faster if he just met you here instead of the sushi place.""Yeah," Luca said."Poor guy has even less time to get ready because of it.""Uh-huh." Luca didn't want to get out of his tree. "He knows I won't be mad with him. Hopefully.""I hope you know that feeling is mutual," Lucy advised. "And that you're capable of a lot more than you realize."Luca's face flattened. "I hope you know I'm done hearing your two cents today.""You'd be nothing without me," Lucy teased. Her eyes were closed as she rested, the very picture of serenity despite her shit-eating grin.The process of getting down the tree was much simpler than climbing it. She kept that serenity while the wind gusted around Luca as he landed on the ground. Two bikes marked the edge of the clearing that separated it from the rest of the park. He'd always thought of it as the Kaneshiros' secret lair, where no one goes in nor out without their blessing. The brush around it was thick enough that anyone would assume there was nothing but trees there, anyways, and he liked the idea of two siblings going down a mysterious path lost to time.Luca picked up his bike. "Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't."

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A Child's Dream

Written by LucienAngel963

A young boy finds his passion for the performing arts with the help of his father.

A little boy clutches the soft toy in his hands while a gentle hand guided his back as they entered a large building, one he hadn't been in before.There were people busily walking around the hallways, pushing large electronic machinery and racks of clothing towards their next location. There were also people in costumes that were unusual, some outfits from previous time periods, some superhero-esque, and some even in tattered and ripped clothing. Vox couldn't help but look around at the new things that grabbed his attention."Now, Voxxy, be sure to stay close to me so you don't get lost, okay? This is a big busy place." His commanding yet gentle voice had the young boy looking up at the man, his black hair slicked back into a ponytail and his chin growing a bit of stubble. His golden eyes felt hypnotising to Vox, demanding respect as he nodded enthusiastically."Okay, papa!" Holding the monkey plush in his left arm, he held onto his dad's hand as he guided them through the studio, past all the stage hands moving around props and costumes; he even saw an actor wearing a costume of one of his favourite TV characters.They finally got to a quiet and forgotten area in the very corner of the studio, Room 522. Vox squeezed his father's hand, partially out of fear but also out of excitement. His father looked down and smiled at the boy, ruffling his hair with a chuckle as he opened the door."Mr. Akuma!" A voice shouted from within the room upon their entry."Good morning!" Another voice joins in as they take notice of their director and his son stepping in."Nice to see you already on set. We'll be working on scene 15 today." He smiled gently as he patted Vox on the back. "Voxxy, say hello."He looked back at his father, then back at the other people in the room.One was a young blonde-haired woman with blue eyes. She looked to be one of the supporting cast for the movie as she looked through a script. There was also another brown haired man with brown eyes, another of the supporting cast. Then there was a boy, around late teens, with black hair and hazel eyes. He looked the kindest, already smiling and waving at Vox as he held onto his monkey friend tightly."H-hello..."His father only chuckled softly at his son's shyness, ruffling his hair again as he picked up his own script. "Voxxy, these are the people who are going to make your dream come to life. Are you looking forward to seeing Baba come alive?"Vox nodded gently, when he heard that his dad wanted to make a movie about a dream he had with him and Baba. He was really excited, wanting people to know how great Baba is. This was his first time seeing it being filmed, so he was unsure what was going to happen while he was there.The teenage boy walked over to the two with a grin as he crouched down to Vox's height. "It's going to be so fun, Voxxy! I'll be sure to take good care of Baba for you.""What's going to happen to Baba?" Vox frowned slightly, curious on the idea that his favourite plush was going to stand up and move around like a real person."Well, there's going to be some people in green suits that are going to hold Baba and make him move around. When it's getting filmed, it'll look like there's no people holding him and he's walking by himself!""Mmm... okay. But don't throw him around, he'll get upset!" Vox complained as he nervously gave the monkey to him.The boy nodded and gave him a thumbs up, standing up and walking back to the set to place Baba down onto one of the classic wooden chairs that would be part of a dining table set."Voxxy, that's Daniel. He'll be starring as you, so he'll always have his eyes on Baba. You can trust him." His father interjects as he finds the correct page in the script, pulling out his glasses from his pocket and putting them on to read.Vox pouts. "Why can't I be in the movie?""Son, I would love to see you be on set with Baba, but you're just too young right now." Akupapa smiled gently as he picked up the boy and sat him down on a chair that's a bit too high for him, the back of it reading "Director" in big bold letters."When you're older, I would love to see you on the cover of a movie poster, or an advertisement on the side of buses. That's only if you want to, of course. You don't need to be in the entertainment industry if you don't want to." He sat down beside Vox in a similar looking chair as the actors and stage hands finish preparing for scene 15.Although Vox still had his doubts, he looked towards the set, kicking his legs slightly as he saw Daniel sit on a bed with Baba being placed by his side and one of those men in green hiding behind the bed. The cameras were moved over to a 45 degree angle from the bed so both Daniel and Baba were in view of the shot."We're going to start now, do you think you can help me with an important task, Voxxy?" His father turned towards his son, his eyes immediately glowing as he smiled."Leave it to me, papa!"Akupapa nodded to him then passed him the clapperboard for the set, it being a little too big for his hands as he held it up against his legs."When I yell out 'mark', you lift the top half on the clapperboard and push it back down, okay?""O-okay!" Vox was excited, not just for the fact that his dream was being made into a movie but the fact that his father was letting him be a part of the production as well. Even just being in charge of the clapperboard felt important, as he was the one who told the people to record and told them to act. He had a special role, that the movie couldn't start without him."Is everything ready to go?" Akupapa asked around the cast, getting a thumbs up from the cameraman and receiving a 'Ready!' from Daniel with a smile. Seeing this, Vox opened up the clapperboard, knowing that he should get ready too."Okay, Scene 15 alpha, take one. Mark!" Akupapa looked to Vox, his smile glowing as he let go of the clapperboard, making a loud click as the camera whirred to signify it was recording.

Until then, Vox sat quietly and entranced by the movie, watching how his movie came to life. He felt like Daniel understood what he felt completely, as if they were the same person. At first, he didn't see how the green men worked, but once he saw what the editing did later on, it truly looked like Baba was alive.Since that day, he begged his father to let him go to watch the movie being made, even when he might've been missing preschool for it. Akupapa couldn't say no when it was a movie for Vox himself. He wanted his son to see how his movie was made, even if it didn't do well in reviews, he knew that he made one boy very happy.Unfortunately, once the movie was released, Vox quickly realized that his father stayed at home a lot more often than he would before. He was happy to have his company of course, but at first the boy worried that he would get fired if he was missing so many days of work.Akupapa laughed and ruffled his head."Don't worry about that Voxxy, I know what I'm doing. Being with you is my job as well."As time passed, Akupapa did get a new job, but it wasn't the same hours that he had when he worked as a director. He looked stressed, but always smiled around his son. It was only when he grew up that he found out that his father worked an average day job now.Even after the time Akupapa being a director had passed, Vox went to watch every single movie he had produced. It didn't matter if it was a genre he wasn't too fond of, his father just had a way of producing amazing sceneries and atmosphere. That's made him his father's biggest fan from the very day he brought Baba to life on the movie screen.When watching his last movie again, there was something he missed as a child, since he wasn't as patient to wait out the movie credits like he would now. Every name on that list was special to him, but now it was the last few seconds that was very special to him.

"I would like to thank everyone in this theatre for watching my film, whether you were a first time watcher or a fan of my work. Regardless, I thank you for your support. Unfortunately, this will be the last film as I will be retiring as a director."All of my films were made with passion, with the goal of spreading a meaningful message to people. I believe a good movie will make their viewers think, to make them wonder, or to make them empathize with the characters, to be put into their shoes for an hour or two and explore a situation beyond what your life can offer. If I have done that for you in any capacity for my films, then I have succeeded."Regardless of that, one day you do have to wonder, 'is my work complete? Did I achieve my goals?' For me, I believe that I have. But I also have another goal, one that I think is more important than continuing my directing career. So I want to focus on that goal instead.""To my dear son. At this time, you'll probably not read this but I know that one day you may find this message to you. I'm sorry for not telling you that this was the last film I'm making while you were on set with me, but I am glad I at least let your dearest friend help me make this film."I know I said that I would love to see you follow in my own footsteps, but I never want you to be obligated to do so. Fame was never my goal in the first place, but when I saw you growing up, I realized that I didn't want to miss those moments. I never gave up my goals for your own happiness, because supporting your happiness is my job."As long as you stay true to yourself and follow your own happiness, I will be there to support you. Seeing you grow up to be a fine young man is the greatest happiness you could ever give me. Live the life you want to live, and follow your happiness."Director AkumaThe words written felt so simple, and yet they stuck in his mind ever since the first time he read them. He was proud to have a father like him, and his passion for film and theatre grew more and more.Although his father was the start of his passion, Vox knew that he was following his heart, following his happiness, just like his father told him to.

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Now Recruiting!

Written by crystillyzed

A certain club poster catches her eyes.

A first-year student stands in front of the bulletin board, intrigue in her eyes underneath sea-green hair.In front of her face is a poster shabbily written in marker with barely any decorations. In fact, the only designs on said poster are just some random doodles of people wearing glasses and books on the paper. It even looks like it was drawn in that one art program that every computer has installed!STUDY CLUB — NOW RECRUITING! MEETS EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY IN COMPUTER LABAren’t study clubs usually hosted in the library? Plus, why is it in the computer lab of all places? She’s pretty sure that everything they need including their textbooks are all found in the library.Actually, why are they making a club for this? They could’ve just made a normal study group and casually invite others to join them after school.Who would even join a study club in the first place? What do they do all day, study?"...Snrk."Finana turns around to see her friend stifling a boisterous laugh from coming out. She crosses her arms and tilts her head to the taller girl, long hair over one eye. "Is there something funny, Elira?""No, it’s just—" Elira’s shoulders jostles a little as she tries her best to not break out into her iconic laughter. "I didn’t think he was actually serious about this…"She blinks at her a few times. "...’He’?"Before she could ask her for any clarifications, she’s abruptly interrupted by a cackle from the other end of the hall, prompting her to look over Elira’s body. A boy with mismatched violet eyes crows at another boy with an unusual hairstyle holding a stack of paper—posters, she assumes.He catches his breath before wiping away a tear from his lighter eye. "Was this your idea of getting people to hopcon?""No? Yes?" The other boy says as he tries to keep the posters neatly stacked in his arms. Blond hair hangs over his face like a banana, even as he blows it out of his eyes. "...Maybe?""Shu…""Okay, fine, it was! My mom kept asking me when I’m joining a club, but I really don’t feel like joining one, so—""So you made a study club?"He stares at him for a moment, then gives a firm yet hesitant "Yes."Mismatched eyes glance at the stack of white poster paper in his arms, then a manicured hand points at it. "And now you’re recruiting?""You need, like, three or four members to be considered to be a club, right? I already registered you and Elira into it, so we just need one more for good measure.""Oh my god."Once more, the other boy bursts into laughter at his grand scheme. This, of course, grabs Elira's attention, who finally notices the two boys Finana’s been staring at this entire time.Elira enthusiastically waves at the colorful boys as she approaches them down the hall. "Shu! Uki!"Finana looks at her in surprise, soon trailing after her to meet with them. She heard a little bit about Elira’s other friends when they were in middle school together. However, she hasn't really met her friends, despite being together for a few years now. Needless to say, she was surprised to see they were fellow students too.Both boys hear their names being called from afar, turning their heads from their conversation to see their energetic friend coming their way.Uki stares at her in surprise as he realizes that she’s getting closer. "Oh shit, Elira? You actually passed?"As soon as she’s within an arm's length, she skids to a stop, places a hand on her chest, and gasps. "What?! What does that mean?"He laughs at her dramatics. "I thought you were kidding.""Huh? But I wasn’t!" Elira spins on her heels to look at the banana-haired boy—Shu, if Finana remembers correctly. "I’m not that hopeless, am I?"Shu was taken aback by her sudden question. He stares at her with wide purple eyes for a moment before attempting to reply. "Erm…""Why are you hesitating?!"While Uki cackles and Elira malds, Shu lets out a hearty chuckle, just before noticing Finana’s presence."‘Ello," he says while the other two are occupied in their own emotions.Crap, he’s talking to me.Finana stumbles over her words as she tries to formulate a proper response, much less an actual greeting. She admittedly feels awkward from listening in on their conversation. In fact, she doesn’t know if she should be involved in the first place!He does notice her awkwardness however, opting to chime in more to ease her nervousness. "You, uh, are you also a first-year? I don’t think I saw you earlier."He nudges his head towards her, seemingly pointed at the cuffs of her blazer. A single blue stripe makes its mark on both sleeves, empty compared to the upperclassmen and their collection of colorful stripes.To this, she nods."Me too! I’m Shu, it’s nice to meet you. I would shake your hand, but, you know…" He glances down at the somewhat loose stack of posters in his arms before shooting an apologetic look at her."That’s alright, I don’t want you dropping them or anything," Finana says with a smile. "But it’s nice to meet you! I’m Finana! Elira told me a lot about you when we were in middle school."Shu blinks in surprise. "She has?""Yeah!" Finana nods again. "She learned how to hopcon because of you guys."She takes a quick glance at Elira and Uki, now bickering with each other, and giggles to herself. "Now I can see how she knows what hopcon is. You aren’t really a study club, are you?"

A rush of red tints Shu's cheeks as poorly hidden embarrassment shines in his eyes. "H-how did you know?""Kinda obvious once you get the hints," Finana giggles in response. "I mean, a club that sounds pretty boring right off the bat? Not to mention about how all three members already know each other. Plus…"Again, she looks over to examine the two and Shu himself. In order to be accepted to Divine Crown Academy, incoming students have to take the infamously challenging entrance exam to even be considered for admission. Not only that, she’d already heard the rumors about the top first years who immediately made it into the academy after taking their exams—said first years being the ones standing in front of her.Finana already expected Elira to get in at some point, so she wasn’t surprised when she heard that she made it in not too long after taking her exam. After all, she did have the best grades out of their friend group. Not even combining her scores with their mutual friends would beat Elira’s previous exam results. Besides, even if she didn't know much about Elira's other friends, she definitely knew she admired those two and their intelligence.With a knowing smile on her face, Finana continues her observation. "You guys don’t really need to be tutored, do you?"Now it’s his turn to be completely flustered. Shu stammers as he tries to form any coherent sentence while his ears turn a deeper shade of red. "You’re not going to tell anyone about this, are you?"She laughs lightheartedly at his response, shaking her head. "No, I won’t. I don’t wanna make Elira sad anyway, even if her club is a cover. You get what I mean?""Oh." Shu lets out a sigh of relief before averting his eyes. "Uh. Cool! Thanks, Finana.""It’s no problem…" She trails off nervously as her lips curl up into a sheepish smile.

A hand reaches out towards the stack in his arms, pulling a poster and holding it up to him. "Do you need a fourth?"

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First Love

Written by light_arin and Kay Astra

He’ll never forget that day when he met his first love.

School is finally over. What should I do when I get home? I already finished my homework. Maybe I'll...Ike notices the guitar in all its glory on the display window, all thoughts abandoned as he stares in awe."Ike?"He jolts, tearing his eyes away from the guitar. He didn’t realize he'd stopped walking until his sister’s voice broke him out of his trance.Ivy follows his gaze and glances at the window, her expression lighting up."Oh! This is that music shop that opened up a few weeks ago." Her eyes darted a few times between the guitar and her embarrassed little brother. "Do you wanna check it out?"Ike’s hands tighten their hold on the strap of his schoolbag before the pre-teen quickly shakes his head no; glasses slipping down his nose. "Mom’s waiting for us to get home…"Ike had always enjoyed music, although he had never tried making it quite yet, he couldn't deny he was interested.Ivy pouts before pulling her phone out, checking the time. "There’s still a few hours before dinner will even be ready. I’m sure Mom wouldn’t mind us getting home a little late. C’mon Ikey!"Taking a determined step forward, she grabs her brother's wrist and pulls him along; stuttering and stumbling into the store with her.Well. A little peek wouldn't hurt, right?The bell chimes through the air as he pushes open the door. There’s a bounce in her steps as she surveys the store, her hand still firmly wrapped around Ike’s wrist. She can’t help giggling as he mutters things beneath his breath, pouting, but the glint is his eyes sparkles now that they’re inside.Clutching his bag, the pair explores the shop for a bit while they admire all the different instruments. Before then, they find themselves back around to the guitar in the display window. Ike reaches out to brush his fingers against the strings as if he were under a spell.And that was when he fell in love."You kids lookin’ for somethin’ in particular?" A deep, raspy voice calls out.Ike snatches his hand back before he and Ivy turn to find an older man holding an unlit cigarette between his lips, strolling up to them. The older man looks past Ike, and he hums as he catches sight of the guitar. He steps closer, picking the guitar up and starts to tune it.As he does so, he glances at the young boy from the corner of his eyes. "Can you play?""Uh…" Heat rushes to Ike's face, his eyes darting to his feet before glancing towards his sister.Ivy nods, giving him an encouraging smile, to which he clears his throat to respond. "Only a bit. May I try playing this?"The man hums again before holding the guitar out to him. "Of course. How else will you know if it's right for you?"Ike’s eyes widen, quickly looking back down at the beautiful instrument being offered to him. He takes a hesitant step forward before carefully taking the guitar from the man's outstretched hands.

He knew it wasn't something he could actually afford quite yet. And so he treated it like it was the most delicate thing on the planet. Again, his fingers brushed against the strings, filling his surroundings with a rich sound that seemed to resonate with his soul.Ivy’s cheeks ache from how wide she’s smiling. Her hazel eyes darted between her brother playing the instrument and the older man who nodded along to the song, an impressed gleam in his eyes. Her gaze settles back onto her brother, the pure happiness on his face filling her heart with adoration.The rest, as they say, was history.The Eveland siblings have stopped by many times, either to say hi to the store owner or for Ike to spend a bit of time playing the guitars. Ivy even encouraged him to stop by the store by himself every now and then. After all, it’s been a long time since Ivy's seen her brother so happy, so excited to do something of his own accord.Every day, he visited the store.And every day he spent his time playing the guitar.His careful touches grew more confident, and his fingers learned to strum.It wasn't long before he started to sing quietly with the music he created. Filling the store with his songs before he had to go home.Home, without the guitar. Even with the money he had been saving up, he was nowhere near being able to afford the instrument he so loved. Sadness hung over him like a cloud every time he left the music store, and his excitement shone like the sun every time he came back.And that excitement was what caught the attention of the person he would come to thank for the rest of his life."Are you enjoyin’ yourself?"The voice startled Ike out of his concentration, the music from the guitar lingering in the air as he looked up to see the owner smiling down at him. Suddenly feeling shy, Ike merely nodded, nearly hugging the guitar as he looked up at the older man. At this, he let out a laugh and kneeled to make eye contact with him."Relax, I'm not plannin’ to take the guitar from you. You and your sister come in everyday and your playin's improved, but you always leave without it." He nudges him lightly with an elbow. "There somethin’ wrong, kiddo?"Ike pauses, his brain processing the words spoken to him before a simple sentence leaves his lips."I can't afford it. Not yet anyway. I'm saving up for it right now.""’s that so? How much you got saved up?"He chokes on his breath at the sudden question, feeling that familiar sinking feeling in his chest as he thinks about his wallet. For the last three months, Ike’s been saving up the money from his allowance from their parents but…A sigh makes its way out his mouth. "...Not enough."Without saying much else, the man stood up and walked over to the cashier. Ike watched in bewilderment as he watched the man speak with the employee. After a few minutes, he came back with a paper in hand."Family discount." The older man chuckles as he hands over the receipt to him. "The guitar's yours, kid. Take it home with you."He takes the paper from his hands while balancing the guitar against his chest, and his eyes widen in shock."What—but we’re not—let me pay you back at least!"

Again, the owner let out a laugh, his hand coming down to ruffle Ike's hair."You kids remind me a lot of when my own kids were young, and I’ve enjoyed your company around the shop. Plus, I’ve seen too many passions die just ‘cause people ain’t have enough money."He takes out the unlit cigarette from his lips and holds it between his fingers, pointing it towards the instrument. "Just promise me you’ll both keep droppin’ by from time to time. And invite me to your first show, alright?"Ike was completely stunned at his words before a smile brightened up on his face. He clutches the guitar even closer to him as he nods enthusiastically at him.It’s been a long time since the owner bought that guitar for him, and since that time Ike had fallen in love with his new passion. Even to this day, he falls even deeper with his guitar and love for music.

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Hard Work, Hard Play

Written by brisquad unit 4402

Just a regular lunch break, nothing special.

Vox waltzed into the classroom with all the confidence in the world, but to be fair, if he knew he forgot his "doctor's note" he would have been more humble.The teacher was a historian just as anal as the military leaders she lectured about. Without an excuse, she finally had the opportunity to do what she wanted to do ever since Vox started going absent more and more often: sentence him to cleaning the classroom during lunch.He had opened his mouth to whine but she cut him off before his groupies could cheer him on. "Don't even think about complaining unless you'd like to stay after school too, mister."Ew. He's way too young to be a "mister" anyway. The blue and yellow second-year stripes on his blazer sleeves would agree.That is, if they weren't covered in chalk dust. Vox's hair hung over his face as he crouched over the trash can, took a chalkboard eraser in both hands, and clapped them together.A plume of chalk dust puffed out into the air. He hit them again. More gusts of chalk kicked out, but seemed to evade the trash can entirely. Then again, and again, and once more with passion—"Akuma, quit making even more of a mess."The teacher leered from her desk in the corner of the room, smug and satisfied as she ate her lunch while Vox went without. Speak for yourself, Vox thought grimly. Quit leaving crumbs all over your desk and then we'll talk.Of course, that's not exactly polite, so Vox just shoved his hands deeper into the trash and tapped the erasers.But maybe Lady Luck favored him after all, because she stood up from her seat just a minute later. "I'll be printing something out in the teacher's lounge," she announced to the four students in the room. "I'll be back momentarily. I expect you to make some progress in silence, or else I'll hold you back for lunch tomorrow."Vox didn't turn around even as her heels clunk, clunk clunked behind him. The door shut.No one in the room said anything. The only thing he could hear was a spray bottle followed by a rag. One of the students was wiping down the windows, he presumed, long after her footsteps faded away into the hallway.So Vox launched up to his feet and spun around. "Fuck that noise.""Shh!" From the windows, Ike slapped a finger over his mouth and hissed. "What if she can hear you?""From that far away? No way in hell," Vox said. He slammed the (somewhat) clean erasers into place and strutted down the aisle of desks. "I'm so bored."Luca dragged a broom along the hardwood floor. "That's kind of the point." He poked Vox's shoe. "Legs, please."He awkwardly sidestepped just in time for Luca to sweep over where he stood, killing the whole Cool Rebel™ thing he had going on. "You're just going to do what she says?""Well, yeah.""Square.""I'm not a square! I'm just guilty!" Luca protested. "I mean, you skipped school. Don't you feel bad about it?""Nope," Vox said coolly. "Besides, I don't skip."A spray and a wipe from Ike-side. "That's BS and you know it.""I always come in with excused absence notes. Today I just… forgot it." Vox spun on his heel and approached the final student, sitting at his desk with a phone in one hand and chopsticks in the other. He thumped his hand down on the table. He perked up with shock. "What say you?"Mouth stuffed with chicken katsu, Shu closed his phone and stuck his chopsticks out to gesture. "I mean, I don't know your personal life.""Thank you, Shu, you beautiful boy. I'll kiss you.""Please don't, I'm eating."Vox chose to ignore that. Instead, he leaned back to watch Ike strain to wipe the topmost parts of the windows. "I thought you were a good kid, Ike. How'd you get cleaning duty?"Ike huffed. "You'd know if you were in class this morning.""Well, I wasn't.""We're well aware."Shu's royal purple eyes squinted as he smiled, watching the other three work. "Trouble or not, you should do it more often, Ike. It's important to tend to your needs."

Ike held out the spray bottle like a weapon. His brows knit together, harshening his face even though the tips of his ears were turning red. "Oh, shut up, Shu!"Vox perked up. "Embarrassed Ike? Please tell.""He got scolded because he fell asleep in the first hour of class," Luca explained, still sweeping with the sleeves of his sweater rolled up. "Which was bad enough, but when she woke him up she realized he was listening to music in class.""Lu-ca!""What? He wanted to know!"Vox held a hand up to his mouth as he chuckled. "Thank you for the information, Luca. How'd you get in trouble?"That was enough to make Luca hesitate. "I said something I shouldn't have. You know how she always has those stupid long nails?" Vox nodded slowly, prompting him to continue. "Right after Ike woke up, they scraped the chalkboard and it made this horrible sound. I said that maybe Ike wouldn't have fallen asleep if she did that sooner."Vox stayed quiet for a moment, expecting something else. When he realized that was all, he scoffed. "That's it? There has to be more."Luca set the broom in one hand. Sweeping made him lean over, so as he stood up to his full height, his blond bangs fell into his eyes. His free hand scratched the back of his head. "I dunno, I say a lot of dumb shit. Maybe she just got tired of it.""You might be right," Shu said, nose buried into his phone again. "I think she's tired of your yapping. Small things build up, you know?""Sounds familiar," Vox mumbled bitterly. "That doesn't explain why you're eating in here, though, Shu."His lip curled into a mischievous V-shaped smile. "Can't I just hang out in the classroom for lunch in peace?""Not when there's students trying to clean!" Luca poked Shu in the thigh. "Legs?" The scot-free student raised his legs out of the way as Luca stuck the broom under his desk.Meanwhile, Ike finished wiping the windows. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but don't you have other friends to spend lunch with?""Yeah, but I wanna spend it here," he said. "You guys are fun."Green eyes blinked in surprise as Ike adjusted his glasses. "I don't know what about cleaning is fun for you."Shu bit the last cut of katsu. He set his chopsticks inside his empty bento, placed it into his bag, then exchanged it for a bag of chips, a routine procedure for every lunch he brought to school. "From where I sit, I basically have a bird's eye view of the whole classroom."Then he had the audacity to giggle. "Watching Luca rolling up his sleeves is nice. And it’s funny watching Ike jump to reach the top windows.”That got Luca to crack a grin, then laugh as Ike pretended to hit Shu over the head with the butt of the spray bottle. Vox's shoulders shook as he snorted, and before he knew it, all four of them were stifling chuckles together, too nervous to cackle out loud but too amused to wipe the dumb looks off their faces.The sound of footsteps outside cut their amusement short, however.Vox shot straight up. Ike wiped down the desk behind Shu, while Luca thonked his broom along the dustpan. They moved around the shell-shocked Vox, busying themselves before the teacher returned. Daggery heels simply grew louder and louder, though, and even as the door opened he couldn't muster the strength to unfreeze.A thud to the side knocked him out of his reprieve. Vox found himself holding a dustpan. Luca had used it just a second ago."Pour that out," the student council president hissed just as the teacher entered the room.Her face twisted into a beakish scowl, with eyes of a hawk that just caught its prey. "Kaneshiro," she started. "Remind me. Did I say talking would be tolerated?""Uhh. No, ma'am?""Then another day of cleaning ought to remind you. Return tomorrow at lunch, same time, same place. Don't be late."Luca's lips pressed together in a thin line while Vox's pursed. He took the hit so Vox wouldn't get in trouble, but now it was like looking at a sad puppy trying to pretend like it was no big deal.That was the student council president, no less. He joked around in class, sure, but the poor guy was a good student at the end of the day. Something sparked alive in Vox's brain, setting a fire down his veins and into the fingers wrapped around Luca's dustpan."Seriously?" Vox spat. The rest of the classroom—friends and teacher alike—turned to look at him. "He was just trying to help."The teacher shrugged it off. "I said I wanted silence. You can clean without speaking.""I'm holding the dustpan for his broom!" Vox cried, and before he could think any better of it, waved the pan around. The dust clouded around his feet. Ike sucked his cheeks in as it settled back on the floor, right where Luca had spent the last five minutes sweeping. Luca's eyes were saucer-wide, and even Shu paused eating to watch the scene."You are excellent at causing messes, Akuma," the teacher chided. "I'll see you tomorrow with Kaneshiro."His anger still burned, but that was enough to cool him off and realize exactly what he just did. Vox crouched down. The bristles of Luca's broom came into view. "I'll be there."The bristles scraped along the floor as they worked together, accompanied by Shu's chips crinkling until Ike interrupted. He smacked the rag on one of the desks as he wiped it down, and announced for the whole classroom to hear, "Hardass."That was the third time Vox had ever heard him curse. The first two were while he was reading aloud, and even then, he hesitated before he spoke. Now, it was so pointed Vox barely registered it.And naturally that got him punished just as well. Ike gripped his arm as the teacher lectured him, clearly unfamiliar with trouble.Vox almost felt bad for him, until the teacher made the mistake of asking if he understood. Ike replied with a thin smile and said, "Yes, ma'am. Now can I wipe your desk off? It's covered in crumbs from your sandwich."Shu nearly choked on his chip as he erupted into laughter. He pressed a hand over his mouth to muffle it. "Sorry—sorry, I didn't mean to—pffft."When Vox thought he finally got a grip Shu hiccupped instead, face turning red from how hard he was laughing. "Actually, no, not sorry. Ike has a point."Five minutes later Shu was fanning himself, brows knitted together as he tried to get it together. A smile was painted on his face, even though he was just on the receiving end of a lecture for the four on respecting authority figures. He stared up at the ceiling.

"Worth it," Shu said. Vox offered him a wet wipe. He took it and rose from his desk, then moved to the next, keen to clear off the ones Ike hadn't while the teacher kept a watchful eye on him and his friends. "So, so worth it."Vox nudged him. "Shh.""Nah. What's she going to do, give us clean-up duty a third time?""Don't tempt me, Yamino," the teacher said.The four students exchanged looks. Shu smiled a little wider.

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