Days with the demon queen-Chapter 45: Normalcy

It was the morning after Ronnie and Lily got home. Grandpa had yelled at Ronnie the previous night for failing to call or leave any messages. However, he expressed his relief that they had both come back home.

The alarm rang violently, Ronnie stayed fast asleep, the exhaustion from their mission had worn him out. Lily on the other hand was already awake. She lay naked next to Ronnie. She stared at his face as he slept and smiled.

"Just how exhausted was he? He looks so— peaceful. What is— this funny feeling I’m getting. It’s so warm" Lily pondered.

She got closer to Ronnie, close enough to feel his breath on her face. She placed a finger on his lower lip, caressing it softly. She found her lips on his, unexpectedly. Suddenly Ronnie was awake. His eyes had opened to Lily’s closed eyes, her lips on his, and her warm skin pressed against his. When he regained full consciousness, he quickly backed away from her and slammed his head against the wall, causing him a sharp pain.

"Ouch!" He exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head.

Lily had opened her eyes, looking more flustered than he was.

"Master, you’re—awake" she uttered, moving back from him and covering her chest with her arms. The two stayed still in their quietness, trying to assess the situation, thinking of words to say.

"What were you—"

"Your aura, I felt how unstable it was so I had to find a way to control the situation. The fastest way was physically handling it" she interrupted him.

"Right!" He responded almost immediately.

"Thank you— for doing that" he added, his voice sounding almost robotic.

"Of— course. You’re my master after all" She responded in an equally robotic manner.

Awkward air filled the room. Lily got up and grabbed a shirt by the bed. She wore it and left his room for hers.

Ronnie’s heart thumped loudly as he rubbed his head.

"What was she thinking?" He muttered.

Lily stood against Ronnie’s closed door, she covered her face with both hands.

"What was I thinking?" She thought.

"Ah, I sure missed the daily noise around here" Grandpa said, wearing a smile across his lips as he read the morning paper.

At school, Ronnie felt out of place. He had been exposed to a whole other world that made his regular world look too normal. But he craved normalcy. The lecturer stood at the front of the class, saying things that sounded like total jargon. He sat impatiently, tapping his fingers on the desk as the lecture went on.

"Master. Shouldn’t you pay attention?" Lily, who sat beside him, asked in a whisper, while facing the board.

"I don’t understand any of it. It’s boring" he responded.

"Is it really boring? or is something on your mind?" Lily asked, she used their telepathic link.

"Shouldn’t you ask permission before you pop into my head?" Ronnie asked, tapping his fingers at a faster rhythm.

"Why are you so irritated?" She asked.

"It’s nothing" Ronnie replied, shutting her out of his thoughts. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

After two hours, the last lecture for the day ended and Ronnie left his seat.

"Wait here, I have to turn in this report" Ronnie said.

"I should not follow you?" Lily asked, with a concerned look on her face.

"You don’t have to, I’m not going far" Ronnie said dismissively and walked away with a printed document in hand.

Josh witnessed the exchange from a few desks away. He shot Lily a questioning look, to which she responded with a shrug.

Out in the halls, Ronnie bumped into a girl as a result of being lost in his thoughts.

"Oh— I’m so sorry, Mister. I wasn’t paying attention" the girl said. She had jet black hair which she wore in a ponytail. Her voice was soft. The girl had a delicate build, although she seemed to be around the same age as Ronnie.

"Um— you’re staring. I really am sorry for bumping into you" she added.

"Oh— I’m sorry. It’s totally my fault. I should have been paying more attention" Ronnie voiced as he picked his documents off the floor.

"I’m sorry for staring earlier. You seemed a bit familiar" he added.

"I get that a lot, but I doubt we’ve met. I only just transferred here, you see" she responded, helping him pick up the remaining documents. She adjusted her glasses in place and took a look at the document.

"It would seem that we’re in the same year and department!" the girl said, wearing a smile.

"We are? Maybe I saw you in class earlier. Maybe that’s why you look familiar" he stated, arranging the documents in his hands and standing upright.

"You didn’t. This is my first day here. I’ve been finalizing my admission all morning" she said.

"Right. Well—see you around" Ronnie responded, waving and walking past her.

"Mister! Wait up" she called out and hurriedly followed behind him.

He stopped, and turned in her direction.

"would you happen to know where the office of a certain professor Harrison is? I was told to see him as he is the acting head of department" she explained, her words flowing fast without breaks.

"You seem out of breath, breathe. Then say that again" he said.

"Sorry, I’m a bit— frail. I’ve never been good with physical activities" she responded, drawing in deep breaths.

Ronnie stood in silence as she rested her hand on the wall for a few seconds, catching her breath.

"Do you know Professor Harrison? I was told that he’s the acting head of department and that I should see him" she stated.

"You’re in luck then. I’m going to submit this report at his office. Tag along if you’d like" He voiced with a small smile.

"Yes I’d love to! Thank you so much, mister!" She exclaimed, following behind him.

"It’s Ronald," he said.

"Mister Ronald," she replied.

"Just Ronald will do" he responded with a light laugh.

"Alright then, Ronald. I’m Claire. Nice to meet you" she said, walking faster to catch up with him.

Ronnie responded with a smile.

The two students made it to the professor’s office. After grading Ronnie’s report and welcoming Claire to the department. The head of department suggested for Ronnie to help Claire catch up with the semester’s work she had missed out on, as well as giving her a tour of the campus. An arrangement Ronnie didn’t like much, but agreedt o in order to take his mind off his current concerns.