Chapter 2: It's like High-School (Without Musical)! (2)

The large amphitheater was truly a fascinating sight to look at.

It took me a moment after entering the building to realize that I had been stuck mesmerized for two solid seconds, everyone having already moved to pick their respective seats by the remaining chairs in front of the center-spot.

The presentation room had a circular inner section that was currently containing twelve tall statues showing the twelve Crests that had fought bravely against the Emperor back centuries ago.

Heroes of their time that had battled for ages before the final conflict, and that were still living among us after defeating one of the greatest threat directed at the galaxy as a whole.

It would be incredibly lucky for any Prime or human to find one of them in a normal circumstance as only the Crest of Fire and the Crest of Wisdom were known to the public, while the rest had mostly disappeared from known sight to enjoy their private life away from annoyances.

The former of the two being a major businesswoman about anything related to fitness products, while the latter was the High Prime herself, the current leader of the Kingdom, Lady Ambar.

Just as I took my own seat beside Miles, I glanced around at the lines of young men and women sitting in front of us and waiting for the ceremony to truly begin.

But in that very glance, I also noticed that the room the new students were the only one occupying the massive room.

The seats placed all around the outer 'ring' of the room were mostly occupied by other Primes, students from the other years that had been invited to personally watch the unfolding of this ceremonial event.

I felt a spike in my nervousness at this development as I hadn't expected this circumstance, but I managed to steel myself from showing any signs of my inner distress before I glanced at the Cat Prime sitting on my left.

Miles looked pretty chill about this detail, incredibly so as he was grinning eye to eye while trying to catch glimpses of the various older girls that he could eventually hit on after today was over.

My attention then moved to see Shin, the blond merely give a thorough look over the room with some awed expression at the presence of so many people at once but seemingly unfazed by the elevated number of people staring back at us.

I couldn't see Hope's reaction from where I was sitting.

With both Miles' and Shin's (mostly Miles') bodies hiding her from my sight, but I could only guess she was faring alright as well.

Focusing my eyes at the currently vacant podium as I tried my best to keep my mind away from thinking about the fact we were being watched by so many people at once.

Seriously, I thought that this was supposed to be a private ceremony, not one meant to be visioned by hundreds of students!

I took another sigh, this one trying to get my breathing under control to not spiral into some unneeded panic and… I felt someone pull at my shirt.

I turned to glance at Miles as he gave me a supportive smile.

“C'mon pal, we are here to win now," He half-whispered while softly patting at my shoulder, causing me to relax a little more.

We were here to win now.

With the acceptance to come here confirmed and validated, with the fact we reached Prism Uni in time… yes, we were here to begin our school year!

Excitement slowly started to replace my nervousness and I noticed that an old woman, a Puma Prime, had taken her place in front of the podium.

She had her dark-hair combed in a small bun and her gray eyes were hidden behind a pair of black spectacles; she was also wearing a formal gray business dress with a skirt that reached low below her knees.

“Young students of Prism University, today we are here to introduce the newest batch of young men and women that will join the literate life of this illustrious academy to our honorable establishment-"

There was a pause and I could hear a little noise coming from afar right by the direction where the woman was giving her speech, just a little bit more further from her.

Was that a… giggle?

The Puma Prime glanced around back and settled her eyes in a particular spot not-so far away from the podium as two other individuals were approaching from behind with a modest pace.

Both were Bear Primes with red hairs and, looking closely at the scene, I could say that they looked to be related to one another.

The oldest of the two had a light-brown fur with a lighter spot around her left eye and, speaking of her eyes, both were mostly closed, enough to keep their colors hidden to any looker; She was wearing a blue Chinese dress with golden details.

My attention moved to the second of the youngest.

My focus was initially taken by the strange yellow four-pointed star-like spot she had by her forehead before switching to her semi-formal set of clothes made by a dark shirt and a pair of light-blue shirts that reached down to her formal shoes.

As I tried to return my attention back to what was going on by the podium, I couldn't help but find myself fixed on her face once more.

It wasn't any elements that truly got me freezing, but the fact that she was currently staring back at me with her blank-looking light-blue eyes.

I blinked and she blinked back, but didn't do anything else from moving away her stare and thus I did continue with the situation as I was… confused as to what to do about this circumstance.

I could recognize the older Bear Prime, having seen pictures of Lady Ambar before, but this was the first time I saw the young woman beside her.

They were related, or maybe they weren't? Did Lady Ambar have a family?

I wonder what's her name.

She looked bored… but also not. There was something odd about her dull-looking expression as her eyes seemed to show more emotions compared to her own face.

It was an odd situation for sure, but one I didn't felt that much weirded out about.

Maybe it was because I was already nervous and I couldn't perceive much of it, but the mere staring had quite the soothing effect on my mind and… I almost lost myself in that predicament.

“L-Lady Ambar, I thought I was allowed to have some peace during the speech," The Puma Prime pointed out with some hesitation, drawing another giggle from the Crest of Wisdom.

I felt pulling once again, this time Miles looked slightly confused.

“You alright?" The Cat Prime asked with some interest. “You've been staring at that strange chick for some time now."

I blinked, a little red hue on my cheeks. “I was just looking at her and… she was looking back, I don't know," I shook my head in ignorance at what had just happened and the guy patted my back.

“Worry not, maybe she is just surprised at finding someone like you here."

Yeah, someone 'like me'.

I glanced up at him and gave a quick nod. “I guess that's the case..."

“And I think I'm not saying anything that should disrupt your 'peace', Madam Jacqueline," Ambar replied with a certain confidence in her tone. “But please, continue with the speech. We wouldn't want to delay the presentation any further."

The dark-haired woman nodded and returned her attention to the podium.

“A-As I was saying, today is the beginning of your new life here at Prism University and I, Madam Jacqueline, the Deputy Headmistress, can assure you all that the staff will actively help you through the obstacles presented by your days here at this outstanding college," She resumed with a small smile. “But mostly important, today will also be remembered as the day where this university accepted the first human student in the first year."

I tensed up a little as her attention was now onto me.

“I would normally ask for Mr. Parker to come here and give a minor speech, considering the monumental weight behind such predicament," The Deputy Headmistress continued with a nod towards me, causing me to pale a little more. “I've decided to accept Lady Ambar's fair point that giving too much pressure to a first-year student might be too much and thus we will avoid creating any discomfort to Mr. Parker."

Still, I got my name publicized to the entire school.

What a funny development.

“To wrap up and conclude this important event, I wish for you young men and women to know that Prism University will be the staircase that will lead you to true maturity and a good way to access to your future as young adults," The Puma Prime concluded, drawing a lengthy clapping from the various people within the room, even the students merely looking at all of this unraveling. “And now, I would direct you to follow Mr. Hawthorne's lead as he will take you all to the vacant sections of the campus where you will be able to pick the room with one or two fellow students that will be your roommates for your stay in the dormitories."

She gave one last nod. “Once more, Welcome to Prism University."

We were already standing from our chairs and moving as a single group while following this 'Mr. Hawthorne', the Collie Prime with white hair and chocolate-brown eyes seemed fairly happy of the task given to him.

Randal was one of the oldest students here at the college, in his last year to obtain a degree in Agricultural Advanced Management so that he can help back home.

How was I aware of this much information about this genuinely friendly man? While he was taking us all to the dormitories, the Collie had taken his time to talk about himself, how the campus is structured and how lessons were usually scheduled.

It wasn't boring to listen to the easygoing nature of his words while he gave us a proper tour of the entire university.

Actually I found myself fascinated in the exhaustive way he was describing the life here at Uni, but I think I could understand the interest from everyone to actually rush to their new rooms and settle down their things.

“By the way, Frankie."

I almost tripped at the sudden call and I glanced behind to see Shin trailing close with Hope, the girl looked a little exhausted from dragging around her own bags and she didn't seem to have that much experience in pulling this much weight for so long.

“Yes, Shin?"

“Can I ask you… why were you staring at Nae- Lady Ambar's daughter?"

I blinked at the query, confused at the fact that I hadn't stared at- Wait, that means that the girl with that blank-looking expression was-

“You mean to tell me that I just stared at… Lady Ambar's daughter?!" I let out the last bit with a panicked outburst.

The White Tiger Prime gave a slow nod and then showed a surprised look.

“Wait, you didn't know who she was?" He asked again and I shook my head. “But you were looking at each other for a while, at least until Miles pointed that out."

“S-She was the first one staring, I was just looking at them like everyone else and before I could look back at the Deputy Headmistress, I noticed her eyes on me," I tried to explain with some bits of nervousness, still unsure about the whole 'I just shared something of a staring contest with the daughter of Lady Ambar'.

Like, was I going to receive some dangerous message anytime soon or was this situation going to be forgotten by the young woman?

“Still, that is quite odd," The White Tiger Prime pressed on with a certain hint of curiosity. “I wonder what could have gotten Naerie's interest on yourself."

...Her name is Naerie?

“I'm still surprised that Madam Jacqueline had initially planned to have you give a speech on our first day here," Hope piped in with a little shiver. “That would have been quite embarrassing and nerve-wracking."

I nodded, the prospect of being put before this much attention so soon causing me quite some uneasiness to spread into my expression.

“I saw you pale when she mentioned that," The girl continued with a concerned voice. “Are you sure that you are alright now?"

I almost tripped at the genuinely-worried inquiry and I felt my lips twitch about it all.

“I-I'm alright," I tried to dismiss this unexpected effort, trying to not sound impolite with my tone.

I glanced at her green eyes and gave a quick nod, a small smile appearing on her face.

“Good, I guess we are even now about what happened a while ago," She said while giving a brief bout of giggles before turning her attention back to Shin, leaving me to contemplate about what she just did there.

But before I could waste enough time to ponder over this surprising behavior, I felt someone wrap their arm around my neck and bring their lips close to my ears.

“You know," Miles whispered in a teasing manner. “If you don't want her to notice that you are crushing on her, you might need to turn down a little the blushing."

I was blushing, but it wasn't because of Hope's words. It couldn't be… couldn't it?

I mean she did look quite cute and friendly, maybe it was because of how lovely she was about interactions…

Yep, my brain is failing right now.

Instead of trying to escalate things even more by either denying or ignore that tease, I decided to go for a distraction.

“S-So, if there is a bunk bed, will you pick top or bottom?"

Please take the bait, please take the bait, please take the-

The Cat Prime hummed, his face moving away from mine as he thought about this 'incredibly complicated' dilemma.

“We could have Shin stay on top and you stay on the floor," He pointed out amusingly, ending up drawing a confused frown out of me.

“Why the floor?"

“Because the weather is warm nowadays and I remind you that we have fur," He explained with a comical sigh. “Do you know how horrible it is to be sweating with fur while sleeping on the floor?"

I blinked. “Pretty awful considering you are literally leaving me the floor."

“I'm not leaving you to the floor, pal," He chuckled a little, giving me a shake while I was still in his hold. “I would offer the couch first if there is one."

“Jerk," I snorted before sharing a chuckle with Miles over the situation.

Then I turned my attention right at Shin as the younger Prime was lost in a conversation with Hope.

“How old do you think Shin is?" I mumbled out of curiosity, this time not as a distraction and more of a genuine curiosity since just now I was noticing that the White Tiger Prime looked far shorter than the other students around him.

Golden eyes showed the same curiosity I had about this topic and Miles hummed about it.

“I suppose we could ask the runt," He said before turning to the young man. “Hey Shin, how old are you?"

The blond looked surprised at hearing the loud question, but he gave a sheepish smile and nodded.

“Oh right, I guess I do look younger than others," He admitted with a certain degree of nervousness. “I'm 16, by the way."

I was ready to ask something help, but froze in surprise as the answer ultimately sunk within my brain, causing my eyes to widen at the White Tiger.

“W-Wait how did you-"

“Skipping grades," Hope interrupted with a small smile, glancing briefly at the slightly-nervous friend of hers. “Shin is incredibly smart."

“He literally skipped High School," The Cat Prime commented with a fair amount of shock. “I think that is just a little more than 'incredibly smart'."

The boy blushed while the girl giggled at the genuine praise directed at the fellow Prime.

“I-I'm not that smart."

“Shin, skipping four years of education is being 'that' smart," I countered his attempt to dismiss the flattering words. “But I can assure you that it ain't anything to be shy about, especially with us."

“Really?" He asked with some surprise.

“Yeah, I mean. We have all met smart people in the past few years at school and you don't seem overly nerdy about stuff so I will say that you are super-smart also because you were friendly and quite supportive back there," I replied at him calmly. “But you have to promise me that you will not allow Miles to copy from you during tests."

The Cat Prime sported a betrayed look on his face. “What? But… what about the Bro Code?"

“After you 'offered' me the couch?" I shot back with a smug smirk on my face. “I think you dropped your copy of the Bro Code down the trash can, you prick."

A round of chuckles followed from both Shin and I, while Hope giggled at the sudden conclusion of it all as Miles huffed at the unexpected sentence, trying to fight back a smile from forming on his face.

This sure was going to be a fun several years to spend with these guys.

~Change of POV~

It wouldn't be a lie to say that she was now interested in how things were going to develop from now on with a human here at Prism Uni.

Sighing while moving out of her chair, the young woman started to make her way towards the exit.

She felt someone giggling beside her but she didn't need to look at the person in question to know who it was and she hummed quietly.

“Did you see how cute he looked there, Vixy?" The slightly-taller Tiger Prime mirthfully commented while giving her a full stare with her green eyes. “I mean, he looked so adorbs when he thought he was going to give a speech in front of everyone."

Try with 'utterly terrified', and rightfully so considering that a first-year should never be subjected to that kind of attention.

Not many were prepared to face the burden of going through that kind of duties so early on.

Vixy merely nodded, her attention mostly directed at a little ruffled spot of her cheerleader uniform that prompted her to fix it properly.

The Fox Prime then reached to adjust one of the rebellious golden locks that had tried to stray from the way she had combed her red-and-yellow hair.

Traci Biggs, better-known to the cheerleaders' club and other with her affectionate nickname as 'Tiggs', gave a huff at her friend's lack of verbal response over her words.

Moving away some of her purple locks from her sight, the Tiger Prime decided to speak once again.

“So you don't think much of this new development or-"

“Of course I find it interesting, Tiggs," Vixy ultimately interceded with a minor scowl. “But I was thinking more about the troubling ramification his presence here will bring with the 'balance of power'."

Tiggs blinked in surprise, but gave a positive nod as the two moved through the campus alone and without any distractions. “You think Davin will try to approach him?"

“That moron wouldn't find him an interesting individual," The most popular girl of Prism Uni answered with a certain sureness. “Albeit he would be curious about the human, I think his main priority will be Ms. Ravenhurst."

The taller woman nodded at her well-pondered thought… before frowning and giving her a quizzical look.

“Who?"

The Fox Prime sighed at this, but conceded to the fact her interlocutor was unaware of whom she was talking about.

In fact, this very information was came from two different sources, one more biased than the other.

Her mother had been incredibly vocal in their last call just a few days ago, mentioning how she needed to keep away from approaching Hope Ravenhurst, once again pointing out how disappointing the Ravenhurst family was with their 'stupid Love Clan tactics'.

Her father had been a little more restrained, but while he had voiced some caution as usual with children with Crests' parents, he had also been keen to point out that both Hope and the little runt walking beside her, Shin, were both people that she could trust in case of need.

Especially Shin as he was the son of the Crest of Light and someone that her dad had met a few years ago while visiting the Aryoko household in Japan.

“The 'Gazelle Prime' that was sitting beside that White Tiger Prime, the same last line where the human was," Vixy explained, drawing a minor snort as her friend nodded in recognition.

“She looked quite pretty," Tiggs commented with a small smile. “Green eyes and dark hair, but… she didn't seem to be that much to get his attention."

“It's not her appearance that would be his priority," The young woman continued to explain. “Hope is a natural singer. She is not ambitious enough to try and establish herself as a pretender to my title, but still her ability is nothing to scoff at."

“Oh?" The Tiger Prime looked surprised by this detail, but not enough to press for more about it as her attention was slightly taken by the fact that they had finally reached the entrance that led to the locker room of this part of the campus.

A training session for the club was supposed to start very soon as it had been delayed from earlier that morning for the ceremony that had just finished.

The other girls were surely inside, ready and waiting for them to arrive too, but Tiggs decided to resume the conversation by changing the topic by just a little.

“Should we try to recruit Hope in our group then?" The proposal was sudden and the Fox Prime paused with wide eyes at the offer. “I mean, I don't know if she would be good as a cheerleader but-"

“You would want me to use this as a pretext to take a shot at Davin's popularity?" Vixy inquired with a certain confusion. “Even though the excuse is too weak as, like you said, we don't know if Ravenhurst is good enough as a cheerleader?"

“Uh- I mean, wouldn't it still be an effort against him-"

“He would ignore it, Tiggs," The girl interrupted with a sigh. “While a good slight would get him pissed, one that is half-botched would actually be seen as his own victory against us."

The taller Prime nodded as she started to carefully fix her clothes and pick her pom-poms from her locker.

“Then… what if we try to..." She stumbled a little, unsure what she should propose to her leader, but then she got an idea. “What if you use your contact in the Singing Club?"

Vixy sighed, ready to shot down this new proposal as she knew that the club in question was suffering from a major lack of funds to sustain itself… but then the girl remember about some of the last words she heard from the leader of the club.

The Wolf Prime with dark-gray fur and black eyes had been so desperate in trying to find some new singers that could boost their current ranks as a good show happening in their weekly attempts to draw more donations would probably lift them from the ground.

If Hope was sent to join them and help them up, not only would it be seen as a favor scored in Vixy's favor as she would be the one presenting the younger girl to the group, but she would also remove her from dealing with Davin's attempts at get the Ravenhurst in his little clique.

“It could… work," The Fox Prime ultimately conceded with a fascinated tone, glancing at the giddy look on Tiggs' face. “But it would require some meticulous effort to get the plan to perfectly work."

Nonetheless, the fellow cheerleader nodded while letting out a little giggle, turning towards the main room where the session was meant to happen.

“Okay, I will be checking on the girls then," The Tiger Prime commented with some eagerness. “Wouldn't want to see them slacking off now that we are here."

Vixy nodded back and stood behind as she was finally left alone in the locker room while her mind decided to delve back in the issue created by the presence of a human here at Prism.

Maybe the origin of her personal worry about the matter was related to the fact that neither her mother, nor her father had told her about this new situation and she was quite sure that at least one of them would have commented about the subject itself.

Her mother would have spoken about it for sure, especially with how her perception of humanity was a mixed one.

To her, humans were simply weaker than Primes but their adaptable nature make them apprentices as good as normal Primes in her fitness projects.

It was a novelty for sure, but one that the leader of the cheerleaders was unsure how to pick properly.

Humans were inherently unpredictable wherever they were and the individual that was Frankie Parker looked to be fairly reserved about his own manners.

He seemed to be shy and yet it was also possible that this attitude was one born from the important event he was present by and Vixy was certain that any indirect attempt wouldn't get anything out of him.

Not only was he forming bonds with both Shin Aryoko and Hope Ravenhurst, but he did seem genuine in his efforts to keep away from the spotlight from the way he paled at the possibility of having to give a speech on his first day here at the university.

But which reasoning could be used so that she could approach him in a friendly manner and get a proper reading of what he was like?

A blunt approach now would be seen more as a power move.

Something that she was well-aware to not force now that there were so many interested people from the more relevant groups that are staring at this oddity from afar now and pondering her same dilemma.

Sending Tiggs in her stead would also be seen as a blatant attempt from her part to maybe 'recruit' him in her clique, which wouldn't be a smart idea since she was still uncertain over his worth here at the school.

And while there was a considerable thinking behind the fact that he, as a human, was picked to join the school years here at Prism, there was quite the major mystery behind the methods used to decide which of the possible students would get to be picked to join the school.

It would be silly to gauge his 'weight' from this circumstance alone and, after spending some time in the social circles of Prism Uni, it wouldn't be wrong to say that she was well-accustomed with the riskiness behind any moves of this caliber.

A wrong step could easily shatter one's reputation and for the sake of her current peaceful standing, it was best to not shake the boat so suddenly and so brutally.

There was just a chance that would give her the means to personally approach Frankie without getting the attention of anyone even so remotely dangerous to her leadership.

And that was by finding him at the end of one of the classes he had picked for his specialization.

It would take some day to get the schedule properly compiled, but while the process would be painstakingly slow, it was the only way to get a safe mean to approach the young man without triggering some unwanted alarm.

Putting on her pom-poms, Vixy closed her locker with a final sigh, her blue eyes turning her attention right at the door as she prepared to face the first training session of the year, ready to give some motivational words to the gals before beginning with the usual routine.

She smiled inwardly as she left the locker room to find Tiggs waiting for her after concluding some discussion with the other girls.

The rest of the cheerleaders were looking eager and ready for another year of impressive actions.

And as the leader of the group, she couldn't help but be excited herself about it all.

For now her little concerns would have to wait, not only for the sake of giving proper guidance to her group but also to enjoy for herself the peace of mind that these practices would give her every time.

Away from the pressure, away from her mother's ambitions for her and… away from the fact that she was once again single after what happened last summer.

She hid a scowl at the mere mentioning of that dreadful detail, the circumstance itself still fresh in her mind but the girl managed to perfectly hid it away from the other girls.

This was a good day after all, and she couldn't certainly allow to spoil it for herself and the others.

AN

Another chapter, the conclusion of the final day and… Vixy and Tiggs are here too.

And you forgot about me, little one.

Oh right. Hi Am-

I'm still mad that you called me late last day for that sudden Review Q&A, and I thought I was the one annoying you by popping around in your other stories.

You kinda are an-

Nope, you don't get that privilege now!

...Okay?

And by the way, do you think I look fabulous in that old Chinese dress?

You look… gorgeous?

I will accept it, *hugs the author*, but I will take you as a hostage until you confirm the update of the Golden Month for Thursday.

*Sigh* Fine I will-

Oh no~, I mean you will be stuck here in this embrace until you will be writing that on Thursday.

You… are planning to hug me for two days straight?

If I have to even more at the possibility you miss the update.

...Okay. (The fur is actually… nice to the touch.)