Categories > Games > Castlevania > Castlevania: Horror Highschool
Chapter 4: It's relative, really.
Chris slept restlessly as they forced him to stay at their apartment that night until they could escort him to Carmilla in the morning, also a non-human according to them. Chris had also done a decent job of his so-called 'duty' of assisting Arisa with her oiling down, enough to pass inspection anyway, despite his attempt at trying to avoid being too touchy. Although she had assured him several times to forget that train of thought and get everywhere, as everywhere he was forced to get, lest he fall victim to her blade much to his chagrin. Somehow he had also managed to do the homework he had missed the day before, all the better to retain what little sense of normalcy was currently left to him. The next morning he woke to see Rina pulling the covers off of him that they had thankfully lent him the night prior. He had been forced to sleep in his school clothes and he smelled a little from not having had a shower, but he had somehow managed to get enough sleep to be alert anyway. The three girls stood around him to prevent him from fleeing in any direction, which caused a few stares from the students at the school gate. They were walking in the direction of Carmilla's office when Chris noticed Donna being picked on by some rather preppy-looking girls in an even more girlish looking version of the school uniform than normal. Suddenly he stopped, causing Arisa to shove him roughly from behind with the words,
“Move it, or I'll give you what for...” She whispered roughly with a no-nonsense tone.
“Just a moment, I wanna talk to a friend before I 'get it'...” Chris said as he stepped away from the group and walked up to the commotion he had seen.
“Hey, Donna... Didn't you say you wanted to meet me in the library this morning? C'mon, you don't wanna be late for the study you set up for me, right?” Chris said, trying to keep a handle on the situation, when suddenly the leader of the girls in question said rudely,
“Excuse me? I don't think miss reads-a-lot has any friends, so go back to your business and stay out of mine...” She said in a voice that grated on Chris' ears. Undaunted he tried to put an arm around Donna's to lead her away, but she was grabbed also by the teenage terror that had been harassing her. It was at this point Chris had had enough, and grabbed the girl's hand and squeezed hard, feeling a few of the knuckles pop in his grip causing her to wince and cry out sharply. As she got a rather irritated look, she looked straight into Chris' eyes and seemed to be trying to do something meaningful, but Chris was unaffected by whatever she may have thought she was doing and he simply glared at her.
“Don't touch her like that again, or I'll do something we'll both regret... Got it?” He said in a truly pissed off tone to the young girl as she got a look of shock on her face. Suddenly Donna reached into her pocket and pulled out what looked like a prescription bottle of some kind of medicine and quickly downed a rather large pill without any kind of liquid to help it down.
“Geez, she's on medication too? How dare you mess with someone like that?!” Chris practically shouted at the girl as she seemed to cower down finally, leaving with the clique she had been with the whole time as they had been laughing at her behind her back. He glared daggers at their backs as they left, finally noticing he was being watched by several students and teachers who seemed to be impressed with his valiant actions, including Carmilla who had obviously been talking with the group that had brought Chris in judging from their sadistically gleeful expressions.
“Chris, if you could please come with me along with Donna, I'd like to speak with you in my office about a few things...” Carmilla said with a serious face, forcing Chris to believe she was not happy about what she had seen.
“You three stay behind, you're all free to go on to class...” She said to Chris' guards, who walked off believing it was over for him. Chris followed the Vice Principal to her quarters where she closed the door quietly and sat behind her desk as she stared at them both without a word. Suddenly Chris broke the silence with,
“So I suppose I'm not just gonna be expelled from the school am I?” He said with a dismal tone, his stomach feeling as though he'd swallowed a boulder.
“Why do you think that? Is there a reason for you to leave the school at this time? I was under the impression that this kind of thing wouldn't be near enough to sway the likes of you of all people, Chris.” She said as she retained that same serious manner about her, not allowing Chris any clues behind her intent.
“Didn't Shiroi and Arisa tell you? I've seen them for what they are, and I don't think they're too happy... This is usually how it goes though right?” Chris said, fearing the worst to happen at any moment.
“If this was 20 plus years ago, then I'd be inclined to agree... But that is simply not the case here Mr. Belmont...” She said, using Chris' family name as Shiroi had done the night before.
“That's just it, what does my last name have to do with any of this? And why do I feel like this has happened before, what the heck is going on around here?!” Chris said in a slight panic.
“You truly don't know...? Your family was famous for many things, namely the slaying of a certain dark lord... I can understand if this is a bit much to take in at this time, so I'll first tell you the true intent behind this school, nicknamed 'Youma' Academy by 95% of the students and staff... Do you understand what I mean by saying that?” She said with a curious tone. Suddenly Chris realized why most of the students and what he'd seen of the teachers looked so vastly different than what he knew as 'normal.'
“They're... They're not...?” Chris started to say, dreading the answer Carmilla openly gave.
“Human... No they're not, that's precisely right... The goal of this school is to retrain a centuries-old line of thinking, a reform school of sorts for our kinds youth so that we may better fit in with the more dominant human society... This was the best and most plausible course of action, the whole idea being to start early in the lives of our children so that they may one day coexist with humans, without the fear of being discriminated against or hunted down mindlessly out of fear... humanity needs to understand that while we come from the side of darkness, we are still something that needs to be accepted if not embraced fully, as things have changed drastically from what they were in just the last few decades alone.” She said to a stunned Chris.
“Then that means that...” Chris said as he slowly looked over at Donna, who looked completely grief-stricken at how she might be viewed by a potential friend.
“Hey, hey... No none of that, don't cry... You're gonna make me start doing that...” Chris said honestly, trying to think of how to cheer her up, when suddenly he heard Carmilla chuckle slightly snapping him back to the situation.
“Is that truly how you feel, even knowing the truth? For all you know she may try to do terrible, unspeakable things to you while you slumber comfortably in your bed at night...” She said which caused Chris to snap momentarily in a brief flash of anger.
“HEY! SHUT UP! That's not nice at all!” He said, quickly biting his tongue in wide-eyed fear.
“So that's how it is... interesting... if that's how you feel, then you may go, but keep in mind that this news will spread quickly, and I can only do so much to ensure you won't be harmed in an attempt to silence you for good, so...” Carmilla started to say when Chris replied,
“As long as nobody attacks me or my friends, I'll keep a low profile as best I can, I promise...” He said as he got up with a bit more confidence then he had started with.
“Alright then, may I say once more, welcome to your new life at school here, Chris... Tread carefully...” Carmilla said just before Chris walked out of the room with Donna keeping close by his side.
Chris slept restlessly as they forced him to stay at their apartment that night until they could escort him to Carmilla in the morning, also a non-human according to them. Chris had also done a decent job of his so-called 'duty' of assisting Arisa with her oiling down, enough to pass inspection anyway, despite his attempt at trying to avoid being too touchy. Although she had assured him several times to forget that train of thought and get everywhere, as everywhere he was forced to get, lest he fall victim to her blade much to his chagrin. Somehow he had also managed to do the homework he had missed the day before, all the better to retain what little sense of normalcy was currently left to him. The next morning he woke to see Rina pulling the covers off of him that they had thankfully lent him the night prior. He had been forced to sleep in his school clothes and he smelled a little from not having had a shower, but he had somehow managed to get enough sleep to be alert anyway. The three girls stood around him to prevent him from fleeing in any direction, which caused a few stares from the students at the school gate. They were walking in the direction of Carmilla's office when Chris noticed Donna being picked on by some rather preppy-looking girls in an even more girlish looking version of the school uniform than normal. Suddenly he stopped, causing Arisa to shove him roughly from behind with the words,
“Move it, or I'll give you what for...” She whispered roughly with a no-nonsense tone.
“Just a moment, I wanna talk to a friend before I 'get it'...” Chris said as he stepped away from the group and walked up to the commotion he had seen.
“Hey, Donna... Didn't you say you wanted to meet me in the library this morning? C'mon, you don't wanna be late for the study you set up for me, right?” Chris said, trying to keep a handle on the situation, when suddenly the leader of the girls in question said rudely,
“Excuse me? I don't think miss reads-a-lot has any friends, so go back to your business and stay out of mine...” She said in a voice that grated on Chris' ears. Undaunted he tried to put an arm around Donna's to lead her away, but she was grabbed also by the teenage terror that had been harassing her. It was at this point Chris had had enough, and grabbed the girl's hand and squeezed hard, feeling a few of the knuckles pop in his grip causing her to wince and cry out sharply. As she got a rather irritated look, she looked straight into Chris' eyes and seemed to be trying to do something meaningful, but Chris was unaffected by whatever she may have thought she was doing and he simply glared at her.
“Don't touch her like that again, or I'll do something we'll both regret... Got it?” He said in a truly pissed off tone to the young girl as she got a look of shock on her face. Suddenly Donna reached into her pocket and pulled out what looked like a prescription bottle of some kind of medicine and quickly downed a rather large pill without any kind of liquid to help it down.
“Geez, she's on medication too? How dare you mess with someone like that?!” Chris practically shouted at the girl as she seemed to cower down finally, leaving with the clique she had been with the whole time as they had been laughing at her behind her back. He glared daggers at their backs as they left, finally noticing he was being watched by several students and teachers who seemed to be impressed with his valiant actions, including Carmilla who had obviously been talking with the group that had brought Chris in judging from their sadistically gleeful expressions.
“Chris, if you could please come with me along with Donna, I'd like to speak with you in my office about a few things...” Carmilla said with a serious face, forcing Chris to believe she was not happy about what she had seen.
“You three stay behind, you're all free to go on to class...” She said to Chris' guards, who walked off believing it was over for him. Chris followed the Vice Principal to her quarters where she closed the door quietly and sat behind her desk as she stared at them both without a word. Suddenly Chris broke the silence with,
“So I suppose I'm not just gonna be expelled from the school am I?” He said with a dismal tone, his stomach feeling as though he'd swallowed a boulder.
“Why do you think that? Is there a reason for you to leave the school at this time? I was under the impression that this kind of thing wouldn't be near enough to sway the likes of you of all people, Chris.” She said as she retained that same serious manner about her, not allowing Chris any clues behind her intent.
“Didn't Shiroi and Arisa tell you? I've seen them for what they are, and I don't think they're too happy... This is usually how it goes though right?” Chris said, fearing the worst to happen at any moment.
“If this was 20 plus years ago, then I'd be inclined to agree... But that is simply not the case here Mr. Belmont...” She said, using Chris' family name as Shiroi had done the night before.
“That's just it, what does my last name have to do with any of this? And why do I feel like this has happened before, what the heck is going on around here?!” Chris said in a slight panic.
“You truly don't know...? Your family was famous for many things, namely the slaying of a certain dark lord... I can understand if this is a bit much to take in at this time, so I'll first tell you the true intent behind this school, nicknamed 'Youma' Academy by 95% of the students and staff... Do you understand what I mean by saying that?” She said with a curious tone. Suddenly Chris realized why most of the students and what he'd seen of the teachers looked so vastly different than what he knew as 'normal.'
“They're... They're not...?” Chris started to say, dreading the answer Carmilla openly gave.
“Human... No they're not, that's precisely right... The goal of this school is to retrain a centuries-old line of thinking, a reform school of sorts for our kinds youth so that we may better fit in with the more dominant human society... This was the best and most plausible course of action, the whole idea being to start early in the lives of our children so that they may one day coexist with humans, without the fear of being discriminated against or hunted down mindlessly out of fear... humanity needs to understand that while we come from the side of darkness, we are still something that needs to be accepted if not embraced fully, as things have changed drastically from what they were in just the last few decades alone.” She said to a stunned Chris.
“Then that means that...” Chris said as he slowly looked over at Donna, who looked completely grief-stricken at how she might be viewed by a potential friend.
“Hey, hey... No none of that, don't cry... You're gonna make me start doing that...” Chris said honestly, trying to think of how to cheer her up, when suddenly he heard Carmilla chuckle slightly snapping him back to the situation.
“Is that truly how you feel, even knowing the truth? For all you know she may try to do terrible, unspeakable things to you while you slumber comfortably in your bed at night...” She said which caused Chris to snap momentarily in a brief flash of anger.
“HEY! SHUT UP! That's not nice at all!” He said, quickly biting his tongue in wide-eyed fear.
“So that's how it is... interesting... if that's how you feel, then you may go, but keep in mind that this news will spread quickly, and I can only do so much to ensure you won't be harmed in an attempt to silence you for good, so...” Carmilla started to say when Chris replied,
“As long as nobody attacks me or my friends, I'll keep a low profile as best I can, I promise...” He said as he got up with a bit more confidence then he had started with.
“Alright then, may I say once more, welcome to your new life at school here, Chris... Tread carefully...” Carmilla said just before Chris walked out of the room with Donna keeping close by his side.
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