Morning came to the Archlight Academy. Students filtered through the hallways, one after another, making their way to class. It was peaceful, though, save for a few exceptions.
Towards the back of the class, Eleanor stares intensely at her desk, her fingers gripping her pen so tight that her knuckles are white.
As one of the top ten magic theory students in the academy, Eleanor has never known failure.
At least, not until now.
Further in front of her, Nisha takes casual notes, blissfully ignorant of the seething female beside her.
The thought of having placed lower than a nobody like Nisha was unthinkable. A week ago she would have easily beaten Nisha in both skill and magic theory. This was unacceptable. There was simply no way that the upstart had not cheated in some fashion, and Eleanor was positive that she could find proof to show her up.
"That concludes the lecture for today. You may all return to your dorms," the professor said as he slammed his book shut.
A groan of disappointment rumbled through the class as everyone gathered their things to leave.
Eleanor stood immediately, her mind set on confronting Nisha. As she stomped down the aisle, determination in her step, her sharp eyes were fixed on the dark-haired girl.
Just as Eleanor reached Nisha's desk, however, a tall shadow blocked her view of the girl.
It was Rias. Same black hair and all.
"Nisha, care to get some lunch?" Rias asked cheerily, deliberately ignoring Eleanor.
Nisha looked up at Rias, her expression souring as soon as her eyes landed on Eleanor hovering behind the other girl's shoulder.
"What do you want?" Nisha asked, her voice clipped and uninterested.
Eleanor was momentarily stunned by Rias blocking her path, and it took a moment for her to school her features into an impassive mask. With an almost courteous smile, Eleanor replied,
"Oh, nothing really. I just wanted to ask Nisha about some notes on the lecture."
Nisha's lips twitched in amusement.
"Notes? You were laughing along with the nobles that surrounded me last week. Is this some kind of sick joke?"
Eleanor's smile vanished.
"I don't know what you mean," Eleanor hissed, her voice low enough that the departing students would not hear.
"Just because you managed to find a guard dog to keep me from beating you down doesn't mean anything. We'll see whose scores are really so inflated soon enough," she spat, her eyes narrowing.
Rias shifted her weight, cutting between the two girls. "That's quite enough, Eleanor. Walk away."
The two girls locked eyes, Eleanor glaring furiously at Rias, until a moment later when Eleanor realized that nearly everyone had left the room. With a reluctant sigh, she snapped her notebook shut.
"This isn't over," she muttered under her breath before walking back towards the aisle, disappearing into the sea of students leaving the room.
Nisha let out a slow breath she hadn't realized she was holding as her shoulders relaxed. She turned to Rias and gave a small, grateful smile.
"Thanks again," Nisha said.
Rias merely gave a short nod in response.
"Don't worry about it. Let's just go," Rias said, grabbing her bag and walking out the door.
The two girls walked down the hall, unaware that they were being watched. And unaware of the incident is about to happen by now.