Another Dragon Tattoo Drabble (807 words and a "drabble". yeah right...)
Nicodème was reviewing what the test was going to cover, so deep in thought that he didn't notice that his steps were taking him right past a group of the popular students. Due to his delay in getting a dragon, all of the students at the same level as him were all younger, as well, so he didn't know any of the students his age. Except for one.
Rémy, however, thanks to her habit of watching the world in intense curiosity through his eyes, saw the one person Nicodème always seemed to notice. It wasn't hard for her to nudge his feet to walk closer to them. She carefully put a cap on her glee so her master wouldn't notice, and walked right up to Thibault. "I- I love you," she announced for him.
Nicodème's eyes went wide as he saw the judging gazes of the other students. He missed Thibault's expression, though. "Rémy. I'm sorry!" he squeaked before turning and fleeing down the hall, ducking around the first corner he came to, heedless of if it led to his class or not. As he came to a dead end with a low window that led out to a field sloping down to the river, it was apparent that his class was most definitely not this way.
He hauled Rémy off of his arm. "What are you thinking?" he demanded. "You can't just take over my head every time I'm not paying attention and ruin my life!"
The tiny dragon sat on the window sill and retorted with a long string of clicks, chirps and hisses that only her master would fully understand.
"Yes, Rémy, I have my life under control! I'm not going back there and we're just going to fade into obscurity. By the week's end, we'll be forgotten. You don't always know what's best for me!" Nicodème held his arm out to her in an unspoken apology.
Rémy gave him a look that said far more eloquently than words that she thought he was a complete moron and that yes, as a matter of fact, she did know what was best for him, but stalked up his arm and melted back into her tattoo form. Nicodème could feel her anger buzzing low in the back of his skull.
He cursed as the warning bell sounded out across campus. At this rate, he was going to be so late for the test.
Nicodème climbed out of the open window and took off around the building to where his class actually was. The only upside to having been at the school so long was that he knew all of the shortcuts to the classrooms. He skidded to a halt outside of the classroom and leaned against the doorframe wheezing faintly for a few seconds before walking in at a more sedate pace. As he suspected, no one noticed anything different with him, and they'd all been in the classroom too long to have heard any gossip, despite the way it spread like a wildfire.
Taking a deep breath, he threw himself into the test, tuning out everything irrelevant, and Rémy occasionally nudging his hand to what she though the right answer was.
A grueling hour later, Nicodème groaned and put his pen down, passing his exam to the professor. He really couldn't wait to get back to his room and collapse on his bed and not have to deal with anyone. He walked in his usual subdued pace along the halls to the living spaces, small, communal areas that housed up to four students. They had curtains around the beds, but solitude was something they had to cultivate in their own heads.
It might have only been his exhausted mind making him more paranoid than normal, but he would have sworn whispers were following him down the hall. No one was acting out of the normal when he turned around to look, though.
Not a minute too soon, Nicodème collapsed onto his bed, and heard the crinkle of paper under his pillow. "What?" he mumbled, fishing around for it. He could feel Rémy perk up in curiousity. He found a small object wrapped in a piece of parchment. He carefully unwrapped it, totally confused. "A cookie?" he asked Rémy. His eyes found the paper again, and he smiled as he read the note. You looked like you needed this.
Nicodème was sure that one day he'd find out who kept giving him presents, but until then, he was going to savour every little clue that someone knew he existed. He was probably the only person in the world with a secret admirer and who didn't want to find out who that admirer was. He carefully wrapped the cookie back up and put it in the drawer next to his bed, and when he shut his eyes, he fell asleep with a smile.
Rémy, however, thanks to her habit of watching the world in intense curiosity through his eyes, saw the one person Nicodème always seemed to notice. It wasn't hard for her to nudge his feet to walk closer to them. She carefully put a cap on her glee so her master wouldn't notice, and walked right up to Thibault. "I- I love you," she announced for him.
Nicodème's eyes went wide as he saw the judging gazes of the other students. He missed Thibault's expression, though. "Rémy. I'm sorry!" he squeaked before turning and fleeing down the hall, ducking around the first corner he came to, heedless of if it led to his class or not. As he came to a dead end with a low window that led out to a field sloping down to the river, it was apparent that his class was most definitely not this way.
He hauled Rémy off of his arm. "What are you thinking?" he demanded. "You can't just take over my head every time I'm not paying attention and ruin my life!"
The tiny dragon sat on the window sill and retorted with a long string of clicks, chirps and hisses that only her master would fully understand.
"Yes, Rémy, I have my life under control! I'm not going back there and we're just going to fade into obscurity. By the week's end, we'll be forgotten. You don't always know what's best for me!" Nicodème held his arm out to her in an unspoken apology.
Rémy gave him a look that said far more eloquently than words that she thought he was a complete moron and that yes, as a matter of fact, she did know what was best for him, but stalked up his arm and melted back into her tattoo form. Nicodème could feel her anger buzzing low in the back of his skull.
He cursed as the warning bell sounded out across campus. At this rate, he was going to be so late for the test.
Nicodème climbed out of the open window and took off around the building to where his class actually was. The only upside to having been at the school so long was that he knew all of the shortcuts to the classrooms. He skidded to a halt outside of the classroom and leaned against the doorframe wheezing faintly for a few seconds before walking in at a more sedate pace. As he suspected, no one noticed anything different with him, and they'd all been in the classroom too long to have heard any gossip, despite the way it spread like a wildfire.
Taking a deep breath, he threw himself into the test, tuning out everything irrelevant, and Rémy occasionally nudging his hand to what she though the right answer was.
A grueling hour later, Nicodème groaned and put his pen down, passing his exam to the professor. He really couldn't wait to get back to his room and collapse on his bed and not have to deal with anyone. He walked in his usual subdued pace along the halls to the living spaces, small, communal areas that housed up to four students. They had curtains around the beds, but solitude was something they had to cultivate in their own heads.
It might have only been his exhausted mind making him more paranoid than normal, but he would have sworn whispers were following him down the hall. No one was acting out of the normal when he turned around to look, though.
Not a minute too soon, Nicodème collapsed onto his bed, and heard the crinkle of paper under his pillow. "What?" he mumbled, fishing around for it. He could feel Rémy perk up in curiousity. He found a small object wrapped in a piece of parchment. He carefully unwrapped it, totally confused. "A cookie?" he asked Rémy. His eyes found the paper again, and he smiled as he read the note. You looked like you needed this.
Nicodème was sure that one day he'd find out who kept giving him presents, but until then, he was going to savour every little clue that someone knew he existed. He was probably the only person in the world with a secret admirer and who didn't want to find out who that admirer was. He carefully wrapped the cookie back up and put it in the drawer next to his bed, and when he shut his eyes, he fell asleep with a smile.