Class ended with the ringing of a bell.

Caspian stood up from his seat and scooped his books off the desk. He then proceeded to make his way toward the exit with haste. If he could just make it out of the room before Christo, then he would be home free and wouldn't have to deal with the annoying young man. At least, he wouldn’t have to until it was time for their next class.

It was too bad someone else had to get in his way, and it just had to be the muscle-bound idiot. Great. This was just what he needed to complete his morning. An argument with some snobbish noble who thought being able to lift a two hundred pound boulder made someone special.

Caspian stared at the person blocking the doorway with half-lidded, deadpanned eyes. “What do you want, Julius? In case you haven't noticed, I'm kinda in a hurry right now.”

“I see you're as rude as always.” Julius ran a hand through his longer than average blond hair. Caspian had no clue why the teen had such long, silky―not to mention girly―hair, but it looked absolutely ridiculous when combined with his way too muscular physique. “Not that I expected anything less from an ill-bred fool like you. Uncouth behavior is common among peasants of your stature.”

“Is there a point to this? Or are you just pontificating for the sake of listening to yourself talk?”

Julius twitched, but he quickly reigned in his anger. He put on a smile that was so fake it made Caspian want to gag. “You never were one for small talk, were you? Alright then, I'll get to the point.” The fake look of cheer disappeared as the much larger male leaned down to glare at Caspian, who merely returned the look with a bored one of his own. “I don't want you to think you're better than I am just because you currently have the highest grades in class. You're nothing, less than a bug. I could step on you and no one would give a damn.”

Ah, so he was threatening Caspian because he was jealous. That didn't surprise him. Many of the students at this academy despised him for that very same reason. Of course, many of the students also sat on their laurels, trying to ride on the coattails of their noble status. They didn't work for what they had. Almost the entire lot of them were a bunch of lazy fools who'd rather spend time chasing skirts in Axium―the city surrounding the academy―than actually training. Maybe if they worked as much as he did, he wouldn't be so far ahead of them in class.

He could also be upset that Caspian didn't even bother paying attention in class and still excelled in his lessons. That was always a possibility.

“Is that all you wanted to say? If so, then I'd like you to move. Your fat, narcissistic ass is blocking my way.”

“What was that?!” With an angry glare etched onto his face, Julius grabbed Caspian by the fabric of his shoulder cape. He pulled the much smaller teen towards him, trying to intimidate Caspian by overwhelming him with his presence, size, and mass. “Now listen here you little―aaaggghhh!”

Caspian dusted himself off after forcing Julius to let go of him. He looked at the hand that had been grabbing him by his clothes. The wrist, now bent at a slightly awkward angle, was swelling up to nearly twice its regular thickness, and it had taken on a bright red coloration. It was not quite broken, but some serious strain had definitely been put on it.

“I would suggest not touching me again,” Caspian advised in the same bored tone he'd been using for their entire confrontation. He walked past Julius with an uncaring expression. And why should he care? The fool had it coming, trying to act tough and get in his face when he'd never done a single thing to the guy. What was it with people like Julius constantly trying to pick a fight with him just because he wasn't a noble?

Bunch of shallow, simple-minded buffoons.

Stepping into the hallway, Caspian began making his way to the nearest courtyard. There were fifteen minutes before the next class started. He wanted to spend that time by himself.

All around him, people stopped and stared as he walked by. Some pointed while others talked. None of what they said about him was very nice.

“Hey, hey look. It's him.”

“That's the peasant, right? How did he get into this academy?”

“He doesn't belong here.”

“He should just leave. Can't he see he's not wanted?”

“I wish he would hurry up and die.”

“Heh, maybe someone would do us a favor and kill him.”

Caspian gritted his teeth behind closed lips. He clenched his hands until his knuckles turned white. He didn't care about these people, nor did he care about what they thought. He didn't, he didn't, he didn't.

…So, then, why did listening to these people degrade him always hurt so much?

“Caspian! Hey, Caspian!”

Eyes widening, Caspian picked up his pace, going from a quick walk to an outright sprint. Hot on his heels was Christo, who ran after him, waving his arms in the air with frenetic motions like some kind of idiot.

“Hey! Wait up, Caspian!”

“No! Go bother someone else!”

“Eh?! Is that any way to talk to your best friend?”

“We're not best friends! We're not even close to friends! Now go away!”