Battle Of The Valkyrie

Chapter 5-2

Lunch wasn’t what it used to be. Instead of the plethora of various foods and delicious options, now everything we were getting fit in a bowl.

“Eww. What’s this green goop?” Astrid complained as she dragged the ladle through a massive container.

“Pea soup,” Rita replied. “It tastes better than it looks.”

“Right…” She dropped a healthy scoopful in her bowl, pulling up her nose. “Does it taste better than it smells?”

“Unfortunately not,” she said.

“Gross.” Astrid handed me the ladle. “All yours.”

I winced. “Thanks…”

In horror, I dragged the ladle through the thick soup. With the consistency of mud and suspicious chunks, it wasn’t very appetising, but it was this or nothing.

“I like pea soup,” Aellyn chirped from behind me.

“Lucky you,” I muttered as I scooped myself a bowl. “Here.”

“Thanks.” She bounced in excitement. “Yummm.”

Only she could remain chipper in the face of disaster. Not a bad quality to have, but it was a tad annoying.

I grabbed a chunk of bread and dropped it on my tray before leaving the line and moving into the new dining area. It was ridiculously small compared to the previous dining hall and it explained why we had to eat in shifts. There simply wasn’t enough room and that was no surprise. This room wasn’t built to hold the entire school population, it was simply a classroom.

With a shaky thud, I placed my tray on the long rectangular table and pushed it along until I reached my assigned seat.

“How’s the soup?” I asked.

Astrid gagged softly. “Gross. It’s like eating vomit.”

“Ewww.” I stirred my spoon through the thick goop, fishing out one of the chunks. “What’s this?”

“Don’t know. Ham. Sausage. Could be anything,” Astrid replied between mouthfuls. “If someone told me it was d**k, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Come on. It’s not going to be d**k, is it?”

She shrugged. “Or balls. I hear they eat that in some places of the world.”

I put my spoon back down. “I think I’m done.”

“Eat up,” Astrid ordered. “If I’m going to suffer, you should as well.”

“That’s rude.”

“It’s the truth. There’s nothing better than shared misery. It’s not as bad as it looks.”

I glared at her and then at my bowl of soup, but that didn’t change the fact that if I didn’t eat this, I’d go hungry. That didn’t seem very sensible.

With a sigh, I brought a spoonful to my mouth. The soup was lukewarm, had a strange, stringy texture, and the chunks almost made me throw up. Why did they explode when I bit into them?

Astrid laughed vindictively. “It’s much worse than it looks.”

“You don’t say,” I hissed through gritted teeth.

From my right side, Aellyn hummed happily. “I think it’s tasty. It reminds me of home.”

“Remind me to never visit a Wood Elf then,” Astrid scoffed.

The pink-haired girl dropped her spoon into her empty bowl. “Umm, you weren’t invited.”

“I wouldn’t go if I was.”

What was Astrid doing? Picking a fight with Aellyn when she knew we needed her help? Was she dumb?

“Astrid, shut up,” I interjected, before things escalated. “Or I’ll make you shut up.”

My blonde classmate seemed surprised by my outburst. “Alright then… I was just joking.”

“You weren’t.” I turned to Aellyn, shooting her an apologetic smile. “Don’t mind her.”

“I never do,” she replied. She gestured to my bowl. “Are you going to eat that?”

I pulled a face as I pushed my soup towards her. “No, have at it.”

“Thanks!” she chirped, unbothered by anything, like always. “Hmmm.”

While I’d managed to keep the right side happy, Astrid elbowed me from the left. She c****d her head and used to gesture to the Elf. “Ask her.”

“Huh?”

“Ask her,” she hissed.

Right. Not the worst time.

I checked if any of the Ravens were in earshot and when I was satisfied they weren’t, I turned to Aellyn. “Hey, I could use your help with something.”

“Yeah?” she replied between spoonfuls.

“There’s something I need to ask, but not here though. Can we get together in the dormitory later?”

Her eyes flickered and the leafy tendrils wrapped around her perked up. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“I’d love to! Sure! Anything I can do to help.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “Great. I appreciate it.”

She gave me an amicable nudge. “Anything for my friend.”

And just like that, I felt guilty again. I’d been so occupied making friends with Flavia and raising my status of outcast, I’d been neglecting my friendship with her. I should change that. Luckily, an opportunity arose that I could turn to my hand.

If she helped us out with this, then surely, she could be part of the gang. That way, I wouldn’t have to choose between hanging out with her or with the others.