The trapdoor gave way without warning, and alas Murphy fell to what seemed like what would have been his early demise if it wasn't for an old pillow fort.
On landing, the lights spluttered a luminescent glow to reveal a dilapidated meeting room that had been left in such a state that the dust rose into a sandstorm because of a gust of chilling air. If Murphy was a starship, then crashing would be imminent. He then proceeded to run away from where he was to have found a visibly unstable cupboard strewn with webs. The dust eventually fell, and six people were seen scaling down a ladder that looked like it was just part of the wall's design and made the six people seem like six Spidermen. They scanned the room like drones until they eventually found him and then they fired away questions such as "Are you OK?".
Murphy eventaully asked, "What is this place?"
One of the six stepped forward and replied, "I take it you're new here, right?"
"Yes, I am." he answered.
"In that case then, it's best that you know our names. I think you know Huey and Ren already. I am August, to the left of me is Ken, behind me is Arthur and to the right of me is Saffron." August had told Murphy.
The three of them all said "Hi", but the way they said it didn't sound discordant but instead in unity.
"This used to be the teachers' meeting space, and rumor has it that when the last headteacher died, his ghost destroyed this space below and wreaked forms of chaos in the school, ranging from subtle to severe. Older students say that his body and spirit were sealed away with a spell tag hidden away somewhere in the school," August continued.
"Where the hell did you get that from?" Ken said, staring at him as if it wasn't just Murphy who had never heard the tale.
"Don't you check our school lore TikTok account? It's got some pretty good stuff on there." Saffron asked.
"Most of it is probably just made up, and besides TikTok is overrated." Ken retorted.
"And I wonder why you guys always get into arguments!" Ren blared sarcastically to silence them.
Academical Heartburn is a series about an LGBTQ+ youth called Murphy Rogers who is starting a new school life to try to escape his homophobic society. He meets the mysterious, self-acclaimed musical lord Huey Lane who transforms Murphy's world forever. What else has this new world have in store for him?
General Content Warnings (these will be updated as the series moves fowards):
- Use of derogatory terms
- Uncomfortable subjects such as pain and implied gore
- References and implications to the misuse of alcohol and narcotics
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