Pride x Familiar (32 page)

“The swim team ace has such a sleek figure. Get
it? She’s sleek—sleek.”

“She’s so hydro-dynamic.”

“But she’d make a poor mermaid.”

“Even mermaids have larger breasts.”

I was starting to feel sorry for the girl. Her
proud, confident expression crumbled a little with each successive
jibe at her expense.

“Hey Melanie, no wonder Duncan made a place for
Haruka in his heart.”

“No amount of padding is going to help,
Melanie.”

“Give up Melanie. You’re not in Haruka’s
league.”

“Let’s give Melanie an Aye rating.”

Some of her haters began to chant. “Aye cup. Aye
cup. Aye cup.”

I saw her break into tears, and something
snapped deep inside my chest.

Before I knew it I’d run toward the inner
balcony guardrail, picked up an empty chair, raised it high
overhead and thrown it clear across the cafeteria floor. It sailed
high over the balcony before it fell and crashed loudly on the
ground floor some twenty feet below.

“Shut the Hell up!”

I didn’t know I could yell so loud but I didn’t
think my voice could take it either.

“All of you, shut the Hell up!”

I was trembling with anger. I didn’t know why,
but the sight of Melanie – a girl I didn’t even know – slowly
breaking down in tears had boiled my blood in an instant.

“How the Hell can you make such a special girl
cry.”

I kicked the glass wall that ran under the
balcony railing, and it cracked in a starfish pattern.

“You big tit cows have nothing but your breasts
going for you. Just wait till you get older. Let’s see where those
are hanging after you’ve popped out your third kid.”

I can’t believe I just said that.

But I couldn’t stop myself.

I was like boulder on a downhill roll, and
nothing was going to stop me.

I pointed at Melanie and yelled, “I see nothing
wrong with that girl. She’s perfect. To Hell with all you jerks for
making her cry.”

I grabbed another nearby chair, lifted it over
my head and smashed it down on the railing.

A number of girls screamed in fright and
suddenly there was no one within fifty feet of me except for
Duncan.

I turned and pointed harshly at him.

“You want big, then good luck with Haruka.
Melanie is better off without you. You’re a jerk who couldn’t
appreciate her and it’s clear you don’t deserve her either.”

Duncan stared at me in shock.

I waved a piece of plastic chair at him. “If I
had your good looks, I’d be lining up for a chance to go out with a
girl like Melanie. Ah, good looking guys like you
piss me
off
. You have it all and you leave nothing for the rest of
us.”

I threw the piece of chair at him, deliberately
aiming to miss but only by a few inches.

Duncan ducked involuntarily.

Was this really going to work?

I mean, I was making a huge scene, but at least
everyone was focused on me.

Plus, I was kind of pissed at Duncan.

Apart from her chest, Melanie Cardwell was
easily a nine point five on the ten scale. Damn, I would have to
revise the scale, especially since I have a thing for blondes with
blue eyes.

A loud voice blared out. “You there. You are
destroying academy property. Cease and desist.”

Miss Katrim sounded like a wannabe Enforcer?

She was waving madly in my direction. “Guards,
apprehend that student. Take him into custody.”

The guards looked hesitant for a few moments,
then charged in my direction.

Okay—so they’re focus was definitely on me.

I looked down over the guardrail at the floor
below.

A twenty foot drop, more than six meters.

Could I handle it without my Fragment?

As a Familiar I could take more punishment than
a Regular, but it was still a twenty foot drop and I needed to
survive without injury.

To Hell with it—here goes nothing.

I climbed over the railing, then while holding
on I looked up at the hundred odd faces gaping at me.

Then I looked in Melanie’s direction.

Ah, at least she’d stopped crying. She was
staring wide eyed at the scale of my wild antics.

I raised a hand high as I heard the running
guards grow nearer. “Melanie, you’re perfect—don’t change a
thing.”

Then I jumped to the ground floor of the
cafeteria.

I flexed my legs, took the impact and let it
shoot up through my body. Then I tumbled forward, and by some
miracle I executed a neat roll.

Months of training had finally paid off in the
most unexpected circumstances.

I gained my feet and stood up despite the pain
lancing through my legs.

Damn, that really hurt. My legs felt like they’d
been stabbed by sharp needles.

But I looked up at the blonde beauty with clear
blue eyes, and waved at her triumphantly while Katrim’s voice
thundered loudly.

“How dare you! Stay right where you are.
Guards—apprehend that hooligan.”

Damn, time to run away.

I winced as I first started walking, then
jogging across the ground floor of the cafeteria. I pushed open the
glass exit doors, and then made a dash for freedom.

Eventually I needed to be caught, but I still
wanted to give the student body in the cafeteria a good show so I
ran for the athletics ground where the girls of the Track-and-Field
club were slowly finishing up their training session.

When I arrived at the sporting field I slowed to
a stop, and collapsed on the grassy ground.

The guards caught up to me a couple of minutes
later.

Six burly men surrounded me while I lay on the
ground.

I stood up slowly and raised my hands in
defeat.

“I surrender.”

The head guard shook his head. “You’ve got
balls, kid, even for a Familiar.”

I sensed one of the guards step up to me from
behind.

The shock from a stun baton ran through my
body.

Oddly, it wasn’t enough to make me lose
consciousness, but I decided to play along.

I collapsed to my knees, then closed my eyes as
I fell forward on the soft ground.

Now all I had to do was fake being unconscious
and hopefully I’d get off with just a warning.

(Haruka)

School Week Two. Wednesday.

After lunch, the entire high-school student body
– in the vicinity of fourteen hundred students – was corralled into
the gymnasium floor and an impromptu assembly was held.

I had no idea what was going on. Siobhan,
Alistair and I had just returned to class when the students were
called to gather at the gym. I didn’t see Caelum amongst the
students in our class, and for some reason that triggered warning
bells inside my head.

The school principal presided over the assembly,
but it was the Student Council President who explained the
situation.

That’s when I learnt of the mini-war that took
place within the cafeteria.

A conflict between a divided female student
body.

Girls with large breasts facing off against
those with small breasts. It seemed the millennia old rivalry
between big and small had come to a head within the academy
grounds. Dirty laundry was aired, and differences were loudly
expressed.

In other words, to quote Caelum, it was a Bust
War.

In fact, it was already being called the War of
the Busts.

I looked around me, and noticed sour and smug
faces alike. Envious and gloating expression faintly veiled behind
clenched teeth and thin smiles.

And I noticed I was receiving quite a few
derisive looks, many from my female classmates.

Even Siobhan appeared uncomfortable. Like me,
she was comfortable Dee cup.

But Alistair was barely a Bee cup, and I
suspected she added some padding to her bra.

Thus I realized that this War of the Busts was
threatening to come between my friends.

In fact, I noticed Alistair had an increasingly
sullen look on her face.

I whispered, “Alistair?”

She ignored me and angrily folded her arms over
her small chest.

No way! Was this how our friendship would end? A
look at Siobhan confirmed she was worried about this development
between us.

This couldn’t be happening.

How the Hell had this all started?

Then I heard the Student Council President begin
listing out the names of students identified as most responsible
for the unrest in the cafeteria. This included those identified as
starting the altercation as well as promoting it. As each name was
called out, the students had to walk to the back of the gym.

Most I didn’t know, but there was one name that
made my stomach sink.

Severin Kell spoke clearly with a voice full of
presidential authority. “As the main instigator of this unrest,
Caelum Desanto afil Lanfear is suspended for one week and will pay
reparations to the academy for the property he damaged.”

Huh? What did he just say? Caelum was the cause
of this war?

Kell continued smoothly. “For her
insubordination and clear disregard of authority, Melanie Cardwell
afil Avenir, will be suspended for two days. In addition, she has
been suspended from her position on the academy swim team pending
further disciplinary action.”

Now that was a surprise. The ace of the swimming
team was being suspended. She was one of the reasons Galatea
Academy won the swimming competition last year.

I blinked in surprise.

Melanie Cardwell was a Familiar?

Weren’t Familiars supposed to be weaker than us
Aventis? How could she be such a superb swimmer? How could she
compete alongside the Aventis? And she was the swim team’s ace to
boot.

I heard loud mutterings of dissent amongst the
girls around me.

“Not fair. Melanie didn’t do anything
wrong.”

“She stood up for us against Twin Peaks
Katrim.”

“And now she’s being punished.”

“That is
so
not fair. It’s all that
Amiella’s fault. Stealing Duncan from Melanie started all
this.”

Severin Kell cleared his throat and it carried
loudly on the public address speakers.

He continued once quiet returned to the gym
floor. “Caelum Desanto and Melanie Cardwell will also participate
in after school cleanup duties alongside students currently serving
out their detention sentences. The other students suspended over
this incident will not be required to serve out an additional
punishment. With this announcement, I hand over proceedings to
Principal Mason.”

He stepped aside for our Principal, Lavinia
Mason. She had a piercing stare that was said to intimidate most if
not all the academy staff. Very few people could say no to her. It
could also be said she
ruled
Galatea Academy, rather than
led it.

Severin Kell bowed politely, then walked back to
his place in the background, alongside Simone Alucard and the other
members of the Student Council.

My eyes were focused on Principal Mason, my ears
listened to her speech, but my attention was definitely
elsewhere.

So it was just Caelum and Melanie that were held
most responsible.

I felt queasy.

The furtive stares I was garnering were anything
but friendly.

Then I heard a male classmate whisper, “Duncan
was there as well. Why wasn’t he suspended? Why does Desanto have
to bear the blame?”

“Yeah, Desanto was right. The good looking guys
always get all the breaks. Pisses me off.”

“And wasn’t Armand the one who shouted out that
Haruka was the only one in his heart?”

“Yeah he started the whole thing.”

My heart jumped and crashed into my ribcage.
When it landed it was panicked and wouldn’t stop beating fast.

Another male student whispered, “I think they
made Desanto the scapegoat because he’s a Familiar.”

“No, don’t you get it? He made himself the
villain and by doing that he stopped the fight in the cafeteria.
And he stopped the girls from making fun of Melanie.”

“I get it. He’s a fan of big breasts yet he
supported Melanie when the girls made her cry.”

“I guess he can’t stand the sight of a girl
crying.”

“Damn that bastard. What a heart of gold.”

“What a great guy….”

Someone sobbed, “Even though he’s a Familiar,
he’s so selfless.”

“And he likes them small too.”

“…small boobies are the best…”

Siobhan whispered angrily, “Will you guys shut
up. Stop putting that Familiar on a pedestal. He’s a
pervert
. Can’t you see that?”

One guy hissed back, “I happen to like small
breasts. Does that make me a pervert too?”

Another said, “Yeah, the kind that fit in your
hand are perfect. Too big and your hand gets swallowed up.”

Someone else added, “She’s top heavy. She
doesn’t understand us.”

A girl snapped, “Shut up, Gunther. You think we
like having heavy breasts? These things are a pain to lug around,
and it’s hard to find the right bra.”

Alistair snorted loudly. “So says the girl who
enjoys being ogled during swim class.”

“I do not
enjoy
being ogled.”

“That’s bullshit, Éclair. You wear last year’s
swimsuit so it can stretch more around your chest.”

“Shut up, Alistair. At least I’ve got something
to show.”

“You swim backstroke so your tits stick up out
of the water!”

“Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.” Muffled sobbing
followed.

I thought Éclair might be crying into her
palms.

I did believe Alistair had a point. Éclair was
short but she was what Caelum would call a Pocket Rocket. She had
an explosive body packed into a small, five foot frame. I knew guys
had a thing for short girls with all the right curves, so she was
quite popular during swimming class. And she was cute too.

Popular with the boys, but not the girls, as
evidenced by some of my male classmates coming to her defense.
“Hey, Alistair made Éclair cry.”