What A Dream Wants

Steven, who was already forced to sign up for the duel, was waiting for lunch. He sat down on a seat and patiently waited for Mrs. Watson to start screaming for the tables to get lunch.

He started tapping his fingers.

Tap... Tap... Tap...

"Hey, can we sit here?" Someone asked.

He looked up.

A blonde hair boy and his friend greeted him with a friendly nod.

'Yes, you can sit here, but I really don't want you to.' he replied.

Too bad they weren't able to read the thoughts in his head. So instead, he said "Sure."

The blondie and his friend sat down.

"Oh you're Steven, right? I'm Lucus and this is Sinclair." He introduced himself and his friend.

"Hello, S-Steven," Sinclair said, then immediately groaned, running his hand through his hair in frustration.

"What's with the sss~ sound?" Steven asked, oblivious.

Sinclair raked through his viridescent hair like it was a leaf pile that needed to be swept away. A fire was burning in his emerald serpent like eyes... which sort of resembled a forest fire.

Steven decided not to point that out. He started wondering where they met...

"Oh, you're Lucus and you're... Snakey boy," Steven murmured, suddenly remembering that they met on the first day of school.

Sinclair glared at Lucus.

"What?" Lucus shrugged, adjusting his collar.

"Why did you s-spread that atrocious nickname around?" Sinclair growled... then groaned again. His eyes were wary of his friend.

"I didn't," Lucus protested, "I only mentioned to Steven by accident."

"By accident?" Sinclair stared.

Lucus blinked.

"Whatever." Sinclair looked away.

Lucus sighed in relief, fixing his collar again.

"Hey Steven, did you sign up for the freshmen duel?" Lucus asked Steven.

"Yeah," Steven said.

"Sinclair and I also signed up. Good luck!" Lucus said.

"Okay."

. . .

Mrs. Watson started screaming to get lunch.

. . .

Steven's table was called and he got lunch.

. . .

Steven was swiftly savoring his food. Then, he realized something strange. He looked around, but couldn't figure out what was out of place.

All of a sudden, it hit him. The irksome Zero wasn't anywhere near his vicinity. Based on the scenarios of the past three days, it would be safe to conclude that normally, Zero would be pestering him by now.

He looked around the cafeteria, noticing Zero sitting at another table. Immediately, a guy walked over, who then proceeded to obnoxiously slam his hands onto the table, and shout:

"No, not really." Zero replied.

'Oh... there's Zero.' Steven thought to himself, but since the cafeteria didn't serve popcorn, he wasn't sure how to watch the show.

'Wait...' Steven asked himself, 'Does the cafeteria serve popcorn?'

'Better to be safe than sorry', and thus, he decided to head to the cafeteria kitchen to check if it served popcorn.

Moments later, he returned with a bucket of popcorn.

And so it continued...

"I see you didn't learn your lesson from last time." Zero smirked. "Your ears must be really sore."

"Shut up!" The taller guy shouted at Zero, then looked around, worried that Mrs. Watson heard. He sighed in relief as Mrs. Watson was still screaming, and not paying attention to them.

Zero decided to ignore him and continue eating his food.

"I am the almighty Bull E.!" The guy, presumedly the Bull E., said loudly, trying to strike fear and awe into those who were watching and listening.

Steven was watching and listening. He was not in fear or awe; he was eating popcorn.

"I shall not be disrespected... I mean ignored in this manner!" He screamed and then proceeded to nervously glance at Mrs. Watson again.

Steven was confused. 'How about not screaming then? It would be better than screaming and then worrying if Mrs. Watson noticed.'

He didn't realize that Bull E. didn't adhere to normal standards of logic. His standards of logic are more closely represented by another logic system. This system, which was invented by Bull E., is accurately called "A Bull E.'s Way of Thinking". Currently, he is writing a book on this, and it will be available on Amazon. Pre-order now. Support him on Patreon. All funds will go to allowing him to buy a cup of coffee. Thank you.

"Zero, clearly you need to be taught a lesson." Bull E. growled.

"Everyday I'm learning, but I'm not sure about you. I don't think you need to be taught a lesson, but you probably need to be taught a curriculum or two." Zero said, and then proceeded to continue eating his lunch.

"Why you!" Bull E. screamed and then tried to throw a punch when he realized he couldn't move for some reason.

A fist was grasping his wrist.

He turned around and saw an unhappy figure.

Mrs. Watson.

Bull E. looked at Mrs. Watson.

Mrs. Watson glared back.

Bull E. started sweating profusely.

"Mrs. Watson, I-I swear, I was just trying to give him a handshake." He stammered.

"From, what I've seen, you have been trying to give him a knuckle fist sandwich, not a handshake." Mrs. Watson barked menacingly.

"Please don't hurt me." Bull E. begged softly, tears in his eyes.

"I won't be hurting you," Mrs. Watson smiled, empty of warmth. "I won't be hurting you..."

Bull E. paled.

"Anna! Cover for me!"

"Kay, Carol." The other lunch lady replied.

Mrs. Watson dragged Bull E. away.

'This popcorn tastes amazing~' Steven grabbed a handful. 'The golden buttery goodiness somehow doesn't have any of those corn shells. It's salty and sweet, but not overly so. The oiliness is manageable, and the smell is heavenly. It so enticing!'

'Eh..? Where did the popcorn go?'