Maria P.O.V - Night time

After a long day of school and doing the exams, I changed out of my school uniform and into my pajamas as I laid down on my coffin bed, before I went to sleep, I noticed Grim was still studying which I find odd since he hardly studies for anything. I felt my eyes starting to close and I immediately went to sleep

Dream

I can hear the sound of the ocean except it sounded fierce like a storm as the waves were crashing into a ship

'This is a crazy storm'

"A storm's comin'! Hold on tight!" A sailor shouted, but the ship sank along with a young man

Swimming in the ocean was a young woman with red hair and a tail as she saves a young man from drowning as she swims to shore. Once she got to the beach, she laid the unconscious man on the sand

"Look, he's breathing!" The young woman said and she got a good look of the man. She was in awe as she stares at him, but she quickly went back into the ocean when she heard someone calling out a name

"Prince Eric!" An older gentleman came running along with a dog as he helped the young man up

"A girl helped me... She had a beautiful voice"

The young woman climbed on the rock as she looked in the direction where the gentleman is leading the prince

"I wonder why my heart is racing? I know my dream will come true and someday I'll be part of your world!"

Popping up from the surface were two moray eels and they let out a snicker

Dream end

Morning

Once I opened my eyes, I sat up and I rubbed the sleepiness from my eyes

"I had a dream about a storm and the ocean...?" When I got up from my coffin, I heard mumbling

"...If the trend for the questions is... Option 2 means it's a trick..."

"Good morning, Grim. Did you actually study all night?" I asked I walked towards Grim

"Ffna! Don't surprise me like that! You're gonna make me forget everything I memorized" Grim said as he crossed his arms

'It still surprised me that you even study at all since you hardly pay attention in class'

"Today's the last day of final exams! The two of us together count as one, so don't go dragging me down" Grim said with a grin and I flicked his forehead

"I don't wanna hear that from you" I said as I started to change into my uniform and got myself ready for school

At school

Everyone in class were focusing on the exams when the bell rang meaning the exams have finally came to an end

"Time's up, puppies. Put your pens down and pass in your sheet like good, obedient pups" Once we passed up our answer sheets, Crewel sensei gathered up the papers and put them in a pile "This concludes your final exams" Then everyone let out a loud cheer and Crewel sensei took out his pointer and let out a shout "Sit! It's too early to celebrate. Any bad boys who got a low marks on their tests should be prepared to sacrifice their Christmas vacation to take make up lessons. Dismissed" Crewel sensei said as he left the classroom with the answer sheets in his hands

Once he left, everyone started chatting while putting their stuff away and leaving the classroom

"We're done, we're really done!" Ace exclaimed happily as he stretched

"I did everything I could. All that's left is to wait for the results" Deuce said

"Kufufu! This test was a piece of cake for me" Grim said with a smug look on his face

"Hm? You look pretty confident for a guy who always looks like the world is ending after written exams" Ace said

"Heh heh. This time will be different. Get ready to call me 'the Great Genius Grim!' and you'll be saying 'Grim, help me study!' in no time" Grim said with the same smug look on his face

"Sorry, but I'm pretty confident this time around too. I feel bad, but I'm going to win" Deuce said looking confident

"Is that really something a guy who always gets low marks and cries like a baby should be saying?" Ace teased and I smacked the back of his head

"Be nice, Ace. I heard from Riddle that he caught you playing on your phone while you were supposed to studying" I said and Ace cleared his throat

"Anyway, this time exams were a breeze for me too, so I'm not gonna lose" Ace said

"So, you all studied pretty hard, huh? Even I was surprised that Grim pulled an all-nighter" I said

"Well, y'know! This was easy peasy!" Ace said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders

"Well, since tests are over, I better make an appearance in track & field" Deuce said

"I actually feel like going all out at basketball for the first time in a while. So let's head out" Ace said

"We should go home. I'm pooped from studying all night" Grim said

"You can. I have to go to work at Sam's Shop today" I said as we all left the classroom. Ace and Deuce both went to their sports clubs, while I went back to Ramshackle Dorm to drop off Grim and I went to Sam's Shop to start working again since the exams are over

No One P.O.V - Octavinelle Dorm: Mostro Lounge

"Why did you ignore my summons yesterday? It seems that you do not understand the position you're in right now" Azul said while he sits on his chair while Jade and Floyd were standing by him

"Y-Yesterday my stomach wasn't feeling well..." An Octavinelle resident said, looking nervous

"Really? Lying won't help you at all" Azul said

"It's true! My stomach really hurts..."

Then Azul let out a breath as he pushes up his glasses

"Jade. Please give him the push he needs to speak a little more honestly" Azul said

"Understood" Jade walked towards the resident who started to shake from fright "Fufu, no need to look so frightened, I'm not going to hurt you. Look at me... Shock the Heart"

"Hiiih...! W-What did you just do!?"

"I'll ask you once again. Why did you refuse to answer Azul's summons yesterday?" Jade asked

"About that... I've had it up to here with being used for that cheating bastard, Azul's underhanded schemes! Of course I just feigned a stomachache" Then the resident was shocked "The hell?! W-Why my mouth just sprouting all this... Ah!" He immediately covered his mouth

"Ooh, I see. So that's how you really feel" Jade said as he returned to Azul's side

"Ahh... How could you? I'm so shocked. Even though I made your wish come true like the benevolent sea witch would have. But I'm a cheating bastard?" Azul said, looking hurt

"I-I'm sorry! What I just said wasn't true!"

"Hmph. It's too late to smooth things over! Floyd, it's your turn" Azul said

"Are you done talking? Can I squeeze him now?" Floyd asked

"Yes, go ahead. As much as you'd like" Azul said and Floyd grinned

"Alright" Floyd made his way to the already frightened resident

"P-Please wait! Give me one more cha-!" He didn't finish his sentence as Floyd wrapped his arms around the resident and started to give a bone crushing squeeze "Gyaaa!!!!!!!"

"My goodness. One after another these people all try to skip out on payment. Pay for what you buy, return what you borrow. This is common sense" Azul said as he let out a sigh

"Yes, it's just as you say" Jade said as he brought a tea set and started pouring a cup of tea, and handed the cup to Azul

"I would like for some more decent people to join us this year..." Azul said as he took a sip of the tea

"Heheheh. The test results are something to look forward to, especially since a certain someone will be here quite soon" Jade said with a grin

"Oh, yes. I would never forget about her" Then Azul pulled out a contract "I even got a contract prepared when she wants to form a deal with me. I'm looking forward to it. Heheheh"

One Week Later

Maria and Deuce were walking down the hallway while chatting, and they heard shouting and running from up ahead. They saw Ace chasing Grim

"Stop right there, Grim! I'm not gonna let this slide today of all days!" Ace shouted

'What happened this time?' Maria asked herself

"Ha ha sucker. You should write your name on it!" Grim said with a smug look

"Why you!!"

"Ace, what happened? And Grim what did you do?" Maria asked as she and Deuce walked towards the duo

"They'll never give it a rest, will they?" Deuce asked with a sweatdrop

"Nope" Maria answered

"Ah, Maria! If you're really a prefect, then properly watch over your residents! This jerk went and stole my bread I set aside for a snack again!" Ace said

"That's rude to say I stole it. I just happened to eat it after it fell off your desk" Grim said

"You don't say things 'fell off' someone's desk when they were purposely set it on their desks, y'know!" Ace shouted

"Seriously, Grim? Didn't I just buy you a couple of snacks?" Maria asked as she let out a sigh and Grim started to hide behind Maria's legs

"Running away like the thief you are. I'll show you with my wind magic..." Ace was about to pull out his Magical pen, but immediately stopped

"Oh, you wanna go?" Grim stepped out from behind Maria's legs and walked forward "I'll hit you right back with my fire magic..." Grim was about to breath out his fire, but he didn't

"Ah!!" They both yelped

"You know what, let's knock it off with the magic. It would be a huge pain to have to clean windows again as punishment" Ace said

"He heh. You say smart things every once in a while. It'd be pretty immature for me to be the only one using magic, so I'll let you off the hook this time" Grim said

"Huh?" Maria was surprised

"It's rare for you two to stop on your own. Usually it takes the headmaster jumping in after you've burned the classroom black to end your fights" Deuce said

"No kidding. Did you guys eat something funny or are you guys getting a fever?" Maria asked as she checked on them even checking their temperature

"We're fine. Besides, I'd look like a dumbass throwing hands over bread with a raccoon" Ace said

"Come again!? You really don't know when to shut up!" Grim shouted

"All right, that's enough. Let's head to class, we're getting our results today" Maria said as she started heading to class along with Ace, Deuce and Grim

Classroom

The students were chatting with their friends, then Crewel entered the classroom as the bell rang

"Time to start class, puppies. Sit like good little pups. First up, I'll return your tests" Crewel said as he placed the papers on his desk

"It's finally time" Deuce said as he gulped

"Nyaha! Test return! Come on teach!" Grim said excitedly as he jumps up, but Maria caught him

"Grim, please wait until he calls your name" Maria said as she sweatdrop

"Come get your tests in student number order. Number one!" The students went up to Crewel as he calls the student's number. Once the students got their tests, they looked at their results and they let out a cheer

"Hooray! 92 points!" Ace cheered

"88 points! I-I can't believe there would be a day I scored over 80..." Deuce said as he looked at his score on his test

"Look, Maria! I scored 85 points!!!" Grim exclaimed as he showed his score to Maria

"I'm still surprised. Grim, who always fails got an 85" Maria said with a surprised look on her face

"What's your score Maria?" Deuce asked

"My score is 95" Maria said as she showed them her score

"You did a great job, Maria!" Ace said

"I expect nothing less from my henchman" Grim said

"This means I won't have to repeat a year...!" Deuce looked relieved

"It seems like you all studied a lot for this exam. It's completely different from quizzes... Actually, it's strange for the average to increase this much" Crewel said

"Eh, it's strange...? What do you mean, Mr. Crewel?" Ace asked, looking nervous

"The average test score for potions is over 90 in all grades. I heard from Mr. Trein that the results in history were also fairly good" Crewel said, making the students go silent

"Eeeh?!"

"Ffgna?!"

"I've got a really bad feeling..." Ace said

"The 50 students with the highest test scores will be posted in the hallway, so look forward to it. Let's begin class. Open your texts books" Crewel said and the students pulled out their texts books and the lesson for class has begun

Maria P.O.V - After school

Once class was done for the day, Ace, Deuce and Grim ran down the hallway to the bulletin board. Once they got there, the area was a bit over crowded with students, so it took a while to see the results

"Is my name in the Top 50?!" Grim asked as he climbed on my head to find his name

"I've gotta be in the Top 50 if I got an average of above 90 right?!" Ace said as he looked for his name

"Top 10... Top 20... I-I'm not there! 48, 49, 50... Nope! My name isn't there at all!" Grim cried

"M-My name isn't there either..." Deuce said

"Hold up a sec! On the top score list, they've written everyone's total scores next to their names... The Top 30 people all got a perfect score of 500!" Ace said

"A p-perfect score?!" Both Deuce and Grim were shocked

"A perfect score, huh? Is that even possible for 30 people to get a perfect score? Well, actually I can see Riddle getting a perfect score" I said

"More than that... If I'm not in the Top 50, I'm breaking contract!" Grim said

'Huh? Breaking contract?' I looked at Grim with a confused look

"Eh...? Contract? Grim did you..."

"Ace, that face... did you...?"

Then a bright flash appeared and on top of their heads were sea anemone

"Ffgna?! Wh-What the hell is this?! There's an anemone coming out from my head!" Grim shouted

"G-Grim, you made a contract with him too?! You coward!" Deuce said

"Deuce, you've got one growing out of your head too!" Ace said as he pointed at the sea anemone on Deuce's head

'Huh?!' I looked around and noticed that some of the students also had sea anemone growing out from their heads

"I'll pull this thing right out..." Grim grabbed the sea anemone and tries to pull it out, but it hurts Grim in the process "Owowowow! I can't get off!"

"What's going on here?! Why are sea anemone growing out from your heads?! And what's this about a contract?!" I asked as I started to freak out, then I felt someone place a hand on my shoulder. I turned my head and saw Jack

"I came over to see what all the fuss is about, but it's just you guys. What're you doing?" Jack asked while Jack tried to calm me down

"Jack, did you make a contract...?" Deuce looked up and saw no sea anemone on his head "But you don't have an anemone...!?"

"Despite your looks do you actually take your studies seriously!?" Ace said

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Jack asked looking confused

"Of course he studies! He, Leona and Ruggie were the ones who helped me study for the exams" I said

"Actually, what's that on your head?" Jack asked as he noticed the sea anemone on their heads

"Well, you see..." Then the sea anemone were being pulled to the side by something "Ffgna!? What now?! I-I'm being pulled by my head by the sea anemone!" Grim shouted

"Owowowow! It's gonna pull my head off!" Ace cried

"Shit! Is this what he meant by 'absolute obedience'...?" Deuce asked before they pulled away along with the rest of the students with sea anemone on their heads

"The hell? They looked like they were being pulled along by the anemone on their heads. They all look like idiots..." Jack said

"*Sigh* I better chase after them. I need to find out what's even going on especially the contract part" I said as I started following in the direction where everyone were dragged to

"Wait" I stopped walking and turned to look at Jack "Aren't you gonna ask me to join you?"

"No. I don't want to drag people into a mess that Ace, Deuce and Grim created. I can handle it" I said as I started walking again

"Wait up!" Jack quickly ran towards my side "You're not doing this alone. I'll come along and keep you safe. And Leona will have my head if I let you go alone"

"Thanks, Jack. I appreciate it and sorry" I said

"It's fine. Besides, I'm a bit curious about the cause of this. It's not for them at all, ya hear. Don't get the wrong idea" Jack said as he looked away

"Aw, Jack you're so cute" I said as I kissed his cheek and he wagged his tail

"L-Let's follow them!" Jack said as he pulled my hand as we followed the students with sea anemone

To be continued