pris and the math homework that made a snake

[Guest]

[this post was a collaborative effort between michael and myself, because it's both pris and lumie!]

when the bell rang signaling not only the end of class but the end of the school day, five dreaded words were spoken by her teacher even before pris put away her pencil and notebook. "priscilla. at my desk. now." head bowed and looking down at the page of freshly taken notes and mostly completed problems that where flanked on all sides by small drawings, the eccentric girl drew back her teeth and made her snarl face. mister math wanted to see her. that couldn't be good. mister math and mister english were the two teachers that disliked priscilla the most, and neither man bothered to hide that fact.

and that was exactly why when pris stood, lumie stood from his desk [two rows away and one seat back] at the exact same time. the kitsune teen took his job guarding pris at school very seriously, and he'd noticed that the problem wasn't just the students and that it was definitely all the adults here too. it made him a seriously presumptuous and incorrigible boy, because he thought pris was the most awesome girl he'd ever met ever and that everyone else had no right to treat her like they did. so unless he was off with the doctor saving the universe, lumie walked pris to school and he walked her home and he stayed as close to her as he could throughout their day.

which meant there was no way lumie was leaving here without her. he was right behind pris as she walked slowly up to the math teacher's desk as if she were walking the plank. reaching out, the boy grabbed pris' left hand and squeezed it to let her know things were going to be okay and that he was here. just as pris turned to smile at lumie over her shoulder mister math spoke and he didn't sound happy. "illuminado. wait outside. shut the door behind you."

both teenagers scoffed. hers sounded like an indignant huff, and his was a feisty foxen yip. flicking his two tails he stood tall and challenged mister math with a know-it-all tone he's learned from working with the doctor. "if you make me leave i go straight to the principal and tell her that i saw you touch her inappropriately. what's she going to think when she comes here and sees a shut door?" lumie looked proud of himself. it was something he'd seen on television once, and as all teenagers know TV never lies.

even if the TV did lie, what lumie said was enough to make mister math change his tune. pris watched her teacher cast an uncomfortable look at the doorway to his classroom. while he was looking away, she stood a little taller and squeezed lumie's hand tighter. because what she was about to do made her butterflies bang in her stomach - she stared into mister math's face. intoning softly under her breath, "ssssssssssss," a sound that was just like a snake. both mister math and lumie looked at pris with surprise. both watched as the girl was making an undulating motion with her hand, swishing it back and forth as she moved it upwards.

her 'usual weirdness'. it was enough to make mister math glare, and speak sternly at her, "miss ganesvoort. we have a problem with your homework. do you know what i'm referring to?" despite his firm tone the teacher felt a growing unease, one that crept up on him and he was having trouble placing the cause. it took staring at his least favorite student to realize the problem - it was that his least favorite student was staring right back. in the year plus that he'd had the headache of knowing this girl she'd never looked him in the face for more than an instant, and now her bug eyes were fixed on him like she was a catatonic. and she was making a damned hissing sound. mister math reached for the phone on his wall to call the nurse to tell her that miss ganesvoort was about to throw one of her fake little fits, but that's when pris spoke back.

"i know mrs. principal doesn't like you mister math." her teacher forgot about the phone, the nurse, the possibility that she was having a fit. his head snapped back to look at her and he pointed a single finger at her. "now you listen here, you - " but pris pointed her finger right back at him and she was speaking the same words he was right back at him at the same time as him even though the was impossible, "now you listen here you." even though he stopped speaking she continued, her voice no more than a whisper as she leaned in to tell the secret. "i heard mrs. principal say words." a click-clack of her tongue as pris shook her head back then forth. "they weren't good."

how mister math's heart was beating. how he'd forgotten to breathe. how he felt the corner of his eye twitch and the fact that he couldn't get his tongue to form the words his mind wanted to say, he hated all of it. mister math's lips were pressed into a paper thin white line before he blurted out, "your homework was perfect." his voice was shaking and so was he. he was madder than mad and both pris and lumie noticed it. so when mister math continued, "in the two years i've known you that's never - " the kitsune boy was quick to cut him off.

"we did it together!" he blurted it out so abruptly the foxen bark of his voice could be heard. pris and their teacher were both staring at him now. looking between them he thought fast and kept talking. "what are you looking at me like that for?" he questioned the teacher. "we're friends and she's bad at math and she needs help and i helped her. what did i get on my homework?" lumie stood tall and didn't flinch when their teacher gave him a look that could probably turn weaker students to stone. the teacher gave the same look to pris, and under the pressure of it she only canted her head to the side and fixed her dreamy gaze on him with a soft, "ssssssssss." when his least favorite student made that sound again mister math had enough. "go home." bitterly spoken as he made a jerky gesture towards the door with his arm. "i find out there's copying going on..."

lumie had already taken pris' hand and the pair of them were nearly out the door when the foxen boy yipped a reply over his shoulder, "nope no copying!" once out of the classroom lumie kept pulling pris almost at a run until they were out of the building and 'safe' on the sidewalk. the kitsune wanted to be far enough away from mister math and mrs. principal in case either one of them decided to find he and pris again. now leaning against the front gate of the school he dropped pris' hand and both of them caught their breath.

worry was in two-tailed boy's eyes as he looked at his girlfriend. yup, pris was totally his girlfriend. he'd just neglected to verify that with her or let her know or anything like that yet. "hey pris," he nudged her arm with his elbow and swished one of his tails forward so that she could hold onto it if she wanted. "why were you hissing at him?" looking down at his fluffy white tail which she took in both her hands, while her fingers explored and rubbed over the soft texture, the eccentric girl replied with an undertone of 'duh', "um. because mister math is a snake."

even though lumie didn't understand why pris would think their teacher was a snake, he didn't question it. because she gave his tail a squeeze with her fingers and then two tugs. two tugs meant one thing in their tail-tug language they were developing:

let's go home.