49: A Droopy Cat

The room filled with idle conversation for the next ten minutes or so. Each of the five Graduate-Division Class Zero students took turns catching up with Angelica. Everyone else introduced themselves to Nyssa or caught up with the other students in Class Zero. Nyssa, over the course of these ten minutes, lost energy like she had a hole in her internal battery.

“Are you doing, okay?” Celeste patted the now-drooping Nyssa. “How has talking to everyone been?”

“Sleepy...” Nyssa mumbled as a pair of cat ears poofed into existence above her head. Her head bobbed a few times as she pushed off the cat transformation. “They’re all very cool people... I don’t know what we’re doing later in the day, but I... I should stay awake.”

“I’m sure there’ll be a gap in which you can take a nap,” Celeste reassured as she ran her hand through Nyssa’s hair. “I’m glad you thought everyone seemed cool though. Even for me, this conversation was still quite novel. I think, other than Scarlet and Thalia, I, myself, have only talked to them like... four or five times.”

“You seemed like a fish in water,” Nyssa nodded as a tail appeared behind her. She slapped it out of existence before a faint gloominess settled onto her shoulders. “I think I sleep as a cat too often. In the past when I was tired I’d become a human, not the other way around...”

“That’s... not good,” Celeste raised an eyebrow. “Is that becoming your default form? That’d certainly not be great in the long run.”

“Yeah, it wouldn’t,” Nyssa confessed, stretching upward to try and wake herself up. “It’s just started, so if I sleep as a human for the next week it should be fine again. And as long as I sleep as a human most of the time it’ll be... fine.”

“Better to change the habit now,” Celeste encouraged Nyssa with a few pats on the back. “They’re filing out of the classroom, we should... probably follow. Did you hear what Angelica said we were doing?”

“... No, I was talking to you,” Nyssa coughed as she grabbed onto Celeste’s hand. Together, they followed along behind Albion, bringing up the rear as Angelica closed the door behind them. Reaching out, Nyssa tapped Albion’s shoulder. “What are we doing right now? Something I can nap through, hopefully?”

“Not something you can nap through I’m afraid,” Albion shook his head. He clenched his fists and flexed a little. “We’re doing a round of dodgeball and then capture the flag! Look alive!”

“Oh I have the perfect form for dodgeball,” Nyssa swung the hand she had interlaced with Celeste forward. With a faint cheer she pumped her other fist. “I’m so ready.”

“What is it!?” Conrad interrupted while raising his fist into the air. “Something strong? Like a wheel-like monster? So it has fast mobility? And then give it like... FIVE arms to make it a dodgeball throwing machine?”

Nyssa waved off Conrad with her free hand. “... No, it’s just a very flat, very small leaf with cartoon eyes I dreamt up a couple years ago. It also has camouflage abilities. If I just lay down randomly, they’ll never be able to hit me. I’ll let the rest of you do the dodgeball throwing... and dodging.”

“... That’s a very you strategy to employ,” Conrad patted Nyssa on the back after a couple seconds of hesitation. “I shall be the star of the show then. As the protagonist! I’ll wow the world with my immaculate dodgeball skills. I’ve been doing some one-on-one training with Angelica recently to better utilize my physical capabilities, so here’s a great time to show the fruits of my labor!”

“Uh huh,” Celeste nodded with an unimpressed gaze. She could do nothing but shake her head as Conrad looked at her with expectant eyes. “As the female lead, I can’t help but say I’m swooning right now. I’d rather stick with the side character Nyssa.”

“A brutal comment! Fear not, I shan’t give up now, my heart will never waver! Even when faced with defeat,” Conrad galvanized himself with his own motivational speech—a very ‘protagonist’ move if anything.

Before he could continue though, Titus dragged him away with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, you two, we’ve been trying to get him to talk to more girls recently. It’s... a slow process.”

“Don’t worry!” Celeste smiled before giving her best thumbs-up. “Fear not! Don’t give up now, don’t let your heart waver! Even when faced with defeat! I heard these words from a wise sage very recently. Can’t seem to remember what their name was though.”

“I’ll keep your words in mind,” Titus nodded, shifting his hand to press Conrad’s mouth shut. “Albion and I actually came up with a pretty good strategy for Capture the Flag though, so when that comes around, let’s coordinate. We can use our numbers advantage—and our knowledge advantage, to pull a fast one on them.”

Both Nyssa and Celeste nodded their heads. No conversation continued though as everyone began splitting up to change into their costumes. Celeste, here, let go of Nyssa’s hand and made a mock salute. “I’ll be right back.”

Having swallowed back the urge to say “Don’t miss me too much,” Celeste bolted off before Nyssa could reply. She pressed a hand to her face and did a mental scream. These past few weeks had made her painfully aware of her crush on Nyssa.

Why am I such a dork Why am I so bad at this wooing stuff Why did I fall so hard Why is love so painful and Why... Why is she so cute...

As she changed, she faced the corner of the room as Scarlet, Isolde, and Thalia changed too.

I can’t let them see my face right now, I bet it's red, it feels warm it feels... aahhhhh gah why is Nyssa’s hand so soft... I should put on lotion more, I hope she doesn’t think my hands are really calloused...

I’d really hate to let her down... she’s just... so kind gah, the world doesn’t deserve someone like her, she’s just so genuine so... loving and accepting of us all... especially of me and my shortcomings...

I’m glad she’s not afraid of my star powers...

Unbeknownst to Celeste though, Nyssa stood in place staring at her now-empty hand with a faint crestfallen frown. Her hand opened. Her hand closed. Clenching and releasing her hand a couple times, she shook her head.

Celeste’s hand was so warm...

She’s so warm...

I hope I can take a nap on her again soon...

She’s really nice for letting me do that, I hope I'm not being a burden on her...

Maybe I’ll make her cookies sometime as a thank you for all those naps

Angelica, perhaps the largest mental proponent of the young love she saw blossoming between her two students... missed out on both scenes. With everyone else going to change, she had gone into the training room to set up the dodgeball match.

A real shame.

She flew around the pitch though. Laden with cones in both hands, she leapt off a wall to soar through the air. Rotating in the air, she threw out the cones into their various spots. The packed dust floor kicked up a faint cloud of debris as she landed. Unburdened, she spun on her heel and leapt up again to finish setting up the match area.

“Whew, easiest part of my job,” Angelica laughed, wiping her hand across her forehead. “Why can’t I just do this all day instead of grading their training results and writing reports to administration.”