Finally, the house visit event was over. The potential new members had to go back to their dorm. Even after they pledged their chosen fraternity, they still had to live in Olympus Hall. They could only move into their houses next year.

On the next day, while Luka told Ariane all about Brayden over breakfast in Hemera Hall, an announcement was played all over the campus.

"Good morning, Erebuzzers!" the announcer greeted them out loud. "Today we have our first duel of the year. It is a special duel between two mermaids, Vanessa Escobar and Madeline Yeoh. Finally, we get to witness a duel back in our extravagant Aquarena. Join us at 3 p.m. It's a free admission. Have a great Sunday!" 

Luka’s eyebrows went up and down while looking at Ariane, but she responded by saying that she had a model UN club meeting at that time. So, as he left Hemera Hall, he texted his buddies to go there with him.

Aquarena was located under Eris Stadium. As Luka navigated his way to Aquarena that afternoon, he passed the photos of their former athletes and victories in the atmospheric black and purple hallways. It would be quite daunting for rival supporters to come into this place with this eerie colors and lighting. Instead of going to the seating, he had to find the stairs to the underground. The stairs were hidden behind any wall-sized photo of the football team. 

Down there, everything was calm blue, reflecting the colossal aquarium in which the merfolks would perform. The blue covered seats were arranged circling the aquarium. TV screens were attached on different places. Some people already occupied the front seats. He had to be satisfied sitting on the middle section.

There were self-serving bars by each entryway. Luka got himself a popcorn and drinks. He was just turning around when he found Finlay taking a seat in the middle section. 

"Tea?" Luka put a cup of brewing tea in front of Finlay. The fairy who had his nose on his phone looked up. "Or do you prefer coffee instead?" 

"How do ya know that I don't have tea yet?" Finlay received the cup and let Luka sit on his other side. 

"I don't," Luka sat down. 

"Cheers, mate," Finlay put his phone in his jacket's pocket. "I was going to text ya to come here, by the way. So how's yer house visit? What's yer conclusion of the fraternities? There are sixteen of them, aren't there?" 

"Yep," Luka shoved four popcorns at once into his mouth. "Each house is pretty homologous."

"For a moment there, I thought ya'd say homophobic, although it won't be surprising. Do elaborate with that observation." 

"Well, Tau only accept athletes. Iota only accept wizards..." 

"Warlocks," corrected Finlay. "Don't ever let them catch ya calling them 'wizards'. Things will get deadly." 

"Aren't they the same?" 

"Ya can call a person a computer wizard, but ya can't call them a computer warlock. Hence, they denounced the wizard term. Learned that in fourth form, saved me from being cursed by loads of warlocks." 

"Thank you for telling me this. Even without mistakenly called them something else, my friend was enchanted to be a maniacal tarsier." 

"Ah, so frat warlocks are the worst kind of them, hm? And what do Delta Pi Kappa only accept? Do ya share their homologous traits?" 

“I guess so. Though Beta is pretty cool too.”

"Wait, ye mean Beta Alpha?" 

"Yes." 

"Nope, nope, don't go with Beta Alpha," Finlay shook his head. "Ya know what happens to Conall. They turned him into..." 

"A pompous wankurr," Luka finished his sentence, mimicking Finlay's accent. 

"What's a wankurr?" asked Castor who suddenly emerged beside Luka. 

"See? Stop teaching him bad words," Finlay took Luka's caramel popcorn. He looked at the nocturnal. "Aren't ya supposed to be sleeping? Go to yer dining hall and have some." 

"Just because I'm more active at night, doesn't mean I have to sleep all day," answered Castor. "Why do you always have to mention my dining hall? And why do I have a suspicion that wankurr and my dining hall are connected?" 

"Because they kinda do." 

They found a guy wearing black studded earrings standing at the other end of the row. It's Matthew. 

Castor was shocked. "You're a mind reader!" he shouted. "Wait what? What's a wanker again?" 

"Guys, this is Matthew, the guy who was turned into a tarsier on our house visit," Luka chuckled. "Matthew, this is Castor and Finlay." 

"You're a shapeshifter?" asked Castor who didn't get to hear the story. "But you're also a mind reader? How?" 

"No, I'm a Shimbran, but I just happened to open something I shouldn't have opened in a warlock house. Thanks for the background story there, Luka. But hey, it’s so much better than opening a handbag and arriving in 536 AD. Which I've also done.”

"Ye're a Shimbran?" asked Finlay. Luka silently found himself listening to this incongruous conversation. "There are so many Shimbran immigrants in Ireland. Neither of them has common English name."

"I was born here in America, with real American birth certificate. My parents gotta keep it as American as they can. So Matthew it is."

"Better than Chad, honestly," Luka shrugged.

"Which planet are you from?" Finlay ignored Luka's comment.

"Chirruk Shimbra."

"Oh, bingo! I finally found all five. It’s the second planet to the star, innit?”

"That is correct. I've never met someone who knows this much about my home planet and for that I appreciate you. Mind if I join in?" 

"Crack on, mate." 

"Does that mean yes?" Matthew and Castor sounded at the same time. 

Finlay sighed and said, "Just sit yer bloody arse down."

"Thanks," the alien sat beside him. "So, what are they dueling about?" 

"I thought ye're a telepath," replied Finlay. "Ye should've known every answer." 

"No, I'm not," answered Matthew. "I don't read mind. I can only communicate through mind. So I'm not a telepath, I'm more like a..." 

"Telephone?" asked Castor. 

They all sniggered. 

The fanfare music suddenly played. The lights were lit. The host talked in a boxing match host kind of way, welcoming the guests and explaining the duel's rules. Then he introduced the duelists, Vanessa versus Madeline. After he announced that, the mermaids came in shining gold armors while holding gold tridents.