A few notes before I begin:

1. In case I forgot to mention this before, this fic switches POV every chapter. Last time it was Thatz; see if you can figure out who's narrating this time before I say the name. It's not all that hard, really.
2. The girls WILL be in this fic, though they'll play a minor part. I want this mostly to focus on the knights.
3. I think the idea of having Kharl as a teacher is a wickedly BRILLIANT idea-- but we have to save that for Rath's turn, now don't we::evil grin:
4. Once again, I wrote humor without knowing it o.o;;;

This chapter dedicated to demonangelxx, whose review reminded me that I needed to type this up.

Enjoy!

-o0o-

"Don't go near the other fountains," Delte warned. "There's a water demon."

"Oh, goody!" sang Rath. Then there was an "Ouch!" as someone pulled on his ear.

"Shut up, Rath!" grumbled Rune.

"Come on! I'm glad this forest is full of demons. Ouch!"

"This isn't a picnic!" Rune shouted.

"Any gold here?" wondered Thatz.

A moment later Rune was hovering over him. "I said this isn't a picnic!"

"Okay! Okay! Sorry, sir... I mean, madam."

That was when Rune lost it. "What did you say?" he yelled, choking Thatz.

"Can't... breathe..."

--Dragon Knights volume 2

The Tables Turn, number two:

Teacher's Pet

I sat alone at the deserted table, with the remnants of my lunch pushed off to the side. Shifting so I could get the sun off my back, I turned a page in my book as I pushed my reading glasses a little farther up on my nose.

"Ah, it's no use, I can't concentrate," I muttered, finally snapping my book shut. A sudden flurry of movement, and then there was a sharp pain in the back of my head.

"Ow! Hey!" I yelled, reaching up to grab the hand that had yanked my long hair. Pulling the hand free, I grumbled and pushed it away, over my head. A moment later that hand was followed by a body as Thatz slid onto the seat next to me.

"Hey, blondie."

I glanced up at him bitterly, opening my book again. "Hi."

"So. We have to do a project together."

"Yes."

He stared, waiting for me to say something more. "Any idea what you wanna do?"

"No idea." I never looked up from my book.

He snorted. "You sure sound enthusiastic."

I glanced up at him, then looked back down. "Of course. I'm working with you two."

Thatz glared at me. "And what does that mean?"

Sighing, I glanced back up at him again for a moment. "You and Rath both. You're just a couple of hoodlums, is all. That kid, he never pays attention in class, and you… you're just a dirty thief. It's disgusting." I returned to my book.

"And I suppose you're one to talk, girly-man?"

My gaze darkened as I looked up at him again. "What was that?"

Thatz continued on, oblivious. "Look at you! You barely moved in a week ago, and you're already on all the teachers' good sides! I bet you've never gotten anything lower than an A! You think you know it all, don't you, girly-man!" He snorted. "Teacher's pet. Totally disgusting—"

"Excuse me?"

He jumped, startled.

"You think you can just waltz up here and say whatever crap you want about me!" I was ranting now, totally out of control. "For your information, I have gotten plenty of bad grades in my lifetime! And I am not a 'teacher's pet'! I'm just trying to get around in a new school, meet new people, and what do you do? You insult me. Great. Just great. Thanks a lot, Thatz. That's a perfect way to greet the new student."

He was just staring at me. "Rune, I—"

"And don't you dare say anything to me about this!" I hissed, interrupting him again. "Let me remind you that you're the one who came over here to talk to me." And with that, I stood up, grabbed my backpack, shoved my reading glasses into my pocket, and stormed off.

-o0o-

What does he think he's doing?

I stared at him. He just sat there, slouching in his chair, eyes on his book. Any reasonable person could see that Rath was not paying one bit of attention to the teacher's lecture.

And yet, the teacher was obviously not a reasonable person. Instead of pausing to tell Rath to put the book away, she ignored him and just kept going on and on. And on and on and on and on and on…

Now the teacher's back was turned; she was writing something on the whiteboard. As quietly as I could, I ripped out a piece of paper from my notebook. I crumpled it up and threw it at Rath.

Score! It hit the side of his head. Laughs erupted from around the room as the redhead sat up abruptly, glaring at me.

"What's going on here?" the teacher asked, turning her head around curiously.

"Rune threw a wad of paper at me!" Rath defended.

Around me, I heard snickering.

"Rune?" The teacher looked at me incredulously. "Nonsense, he wouldn't do a thing like that! He's a perfect student!"

More snickering.

"Now, this is…" She continued on with her lecture.

Something hit the back of my head. I whirled around and glared fiercely at Thatz. The green-haired boy just smirked.

Reaching down, I picked up the paper airplane that was now on the floor and unfolded it.

"Teacher's pet," it read.

While the teacher's back was turned, I threw a paper wad at him.

-o0o-

Oh my, and these people have to work together::evil grin: Wonder what'll happen when they start the project :evil grin: Yes, I'm having way too much fun with this. Drop a review, and I'll see you next chapter!

Hobey-ho,
Peophin-chan