LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 248 The Newcomers
Van woke up with a groan, wondering if he woke up from a dream or a nightmare. Luna had actually gone through with her sex ed lesson this morning, making him feel very drained.
“Morning Van! How did you sleep!” Luna asked him cheerfully.
Van gave a slight glare. “You know very well how I slept.”
Luna gave him an innocent smile. “You slept perfectly?”
“Is that a question or an answer?” Van shot back.
Luna nodded her head. “Perfectly.” As if stating a fact.
“Oh really? And what makes you say that?” Van asked, Crossing his arms.
Luna gave a knowing smile. “Because I know for a fact you slept well until you woke up.”
Van stared at his wife for a long while as her smile never wavered. He sighed and decided to just drop it and change the subject. “So? How was your first ever sex ed class?”
Luna’s smile turned wider and brighter. “It went amazing!” She said excitedly. “I think everyone left really happy!”
He sighed, he really couldn’t remain angry at her when she was this happy. “Alright, but next time let me choose who you allow to join in on these sessions of yours beforehand. Like we promised, remember?” Raising a brow.
“Right… Sorry… I was just so excited that I couldn’t sleep! So I waited all night until morning!” Luna said passionately.
He raised a brow, knowing full well she fell right to sleep last night. “I get that, but… Why was Astrid there?” Van asked.
“Sorry, She was one of the first people to show up for my class. I told her she could join if she could get the other students to come. And she did!” Sounding surprised for some reason.
Van wondered if Astrid even knew about the sex ed sessions, and only tried to get in bed with him like last time. But decided not to say anything about it.
Just then Serena burst into the room with a huge smile on her face. “Guys! Guys! My sister is here! Come and meet her!” She shouted before rushing out of the room.
Van and Luna looked at each other and got changed to see Serena’s sister, and most likely, Nephi and the new girl as well.
Walking out the door they found a group of three people standing in a row for all to see.
“Why are we standing like this again?” The shortest one of them asked with her arms crossed.
Even without needing to be told, Van knew she was probably the problem student from Seral’s room. Which left the other new face on the other side of Nephi to be Serena’s sister. His suspicions were confirmed when Serena herself introduced her.
“Everyone! This is my wonderful sister! Seraphina! Say hi Seraphina!” Serena said, giving a huge smile and hugging her little sister with an abundance of love.
Before her big sister started yelling out her name, Seraphina had a very schooled expression on her face which slowly turned pink out of embarrassment from her sister's actions. Like her sister, she had similar features to Serena, even down to the small blue strip of hair on her head. But that’s where it ended.
Unlike Serena, Seraphina was about a whole head and shoulders smaller than her big sister. And while Serena was tall and athletic, Seraphina was shorter with more mature features in the bust and ass departments, all smoothed over with a body of a gymnast or swimmer rather than an athlete or gym goer like Serena.
With a mumble she said, “Hi…” To everyone who came to see her, clearly embarrassed by her sister's antics, but loving her too much to say anything about it and just went with it.
Van and the others waved and said hi back.
Serena then began to introduce everyone to her sister.
“Seraphina, these are my friends. Van, Luna, Cerina, Astre, Astra, Kira and Seral. Merody is still out with her date and the exchange students left early because they had someplace to be, so you’ll meet them later.” Serena then looked at everyone. “Everyone, please be good friends with my sister for me.” She then turned back to her sister. “Seraphina, if I’m not around and you need help, please don’t be afraid to ask any one of them for assistance.”
“Even the male?” Seraphina asked.
Serena gave a nod. “Even Van, yes. He’s a lot stronger than you might think.”
Seraphina looked at Van uncertainly but decided to not question her sister in front of her friends.
“Oh!” Serena’s eyes widened as if she had a light bulb moment go off in her head. “Do that thing! The thing with your legs! I forgot to tell them how good you are at stretching!”
Seraphina’s cheeks went pink. “Do I have to-?” Looking like she really didn’t want to do the thing her sister was talking about.
“Come on! Show them! You’ll definitely impress them for sure!” Serena egged her sister on.
Seraphina sighed and slowly lifted her leg up high and higher until both her legs were parallel with the floor like a pole.
And just like Serena said, everyone was impressed by Seraphina’s flexibility. Serena then tried to ask her sister to do other poses, to which she did a few more before giving up since it was just too embarrassing to continue. When she finished she had a small wave of clapping.
But no one clapped harder than Serena. “Amazing as always Sera! Now let's introduce everyone else, then we can move your stuff onto my bed and maybe call it a day. I have a few sweet shops I want to take you to.” Looking happily at her sister, knowing that Sera liked sweets.
Sera perked up at that. “Are we going to be sharing the same bed until I get one for myself?”
Serena deflated a little. “Not… Exactly… I’m… Actually moving into the room next door…”
“What! Why!?” Seraphina seemed genuinely perplexed and worried. “Is it because there is too little space?”
Now it was Serena’s turn to look a little embarrassed. “Well… Not exactly… Though that is part of the problem…” Unsure of how to break this to her sister.
Sera though seemed to have thought the worst. “Is it the new exchange students? Are they bullying you?”
“No, no, nothing like that.” Serena said.
“Is it one of the other girls then?” Sera asked, looking clearly worried for her big sister.
“No, no one is bullying me Sera.” Serena said gently.
Sera looked towards Van, then back to Serena. “Is it the male? Are you embarrassed to be sleeping in the same room as a male?” She then leaned forward and whispered into her big sister’s ear. “Are you crushing on him?”
Serena’s face went red. “NO!” She replied, perhaps a little more harshly than she meant to, then hesitated. “Not exactly.”
“Oh for fucks sakes.” The problem student said, having overheard their conversation since she was close by. “The one she’s clearly crushing on is the other male whose room she wants to get into.”
Serena’s face really went red this time and Seral’s face also turned a light shade of pink and looked away.
Sera looked between them back and forth, then looked down dejected. “Oh… So… you're leaving me for a male…”
“What! No! I’m not leaving you! We’ll still be in the same dorm! It’s just that… I…” Serena didn’t know what else to say in this situation. How was she supposed to make her amazing baby sister understand the feelings she was going through without sounding like she was choosing Seral over her?
Slowly Serena leaned down and got on her sister’s level, and with a voice filled with hope that Sera might understand whispered. “Look… I… Want to see where this goes… It’s the first time I’ve felt like this… And the first time I ask something back from you and all my other baby sis’s. Please… Don’t say it like I’m abandoning you… Because if you ask… I’ll leave him for you and all my sisters… I promise…” She said quietly and gently.
Though she tried to sound strong, it was clear there was a hint of sorrow in her tone of voice and expression near the end of what she said.
Sera was silent for a long while, before giving the feeblest of nods. “Fine… I understand… Do what you have to…” Looking down and lonely.
Serena hugged her sister, thankful, but also hoping that one day her sis would understand and be more accepting of her decision.
An awkward silence passed for a while until Serena finally pulled away and began to introduce the new girls who would be joining Sera today in moving into the dorm.
“Sera… I would also like you to meet Nephi. She’s also moving in with you today.”
Nephi gave a nervous wave. Since she was standing in a row with Sera and the problem student, she was the closest one to the drama and now felt very out of place and uncomfortable about everything that happened so far.
“And I believe your name was Magnolia?” Serena asked the problem student from Seral’s room.
Magnolia nodded. “Yes, I’m Magnolia Oleander. And I was kicked out of my room because everyone there was racist.” Saying such a statement as so clearly a matter of fact that it kind of broke the awkward atmosphere from before with a new one, all the while her face remained passive and without care for what she said.
“Oh, I’m sorry, did I just make things a bit more awkward? Terribly sorry about that.” Magnolia said, commenting on the strained atmosphere she just created, but not sounding sorry at all. “I suppose my tongue slipped. Forgive me. I’m just not in the greatest of moods right now…”
Seral gave a polite cough. “Magnolia… We're just worried for you. We figured you might have an easier time in this room is all.”
“Why? Because the exchange students are all half-elves?” She scoffed. “So rather than just becoming better people, you all rather take the easy way out and throw me into a room with a bunch of Fandorians in the hopes we all will- what? Sing songs together? Dance around a circle of flowers? Braid each other's hair? What exactly were you guys hoping for by doing this?”
“Magnolia please… We just want to see you happier.” Seral said, trying to make her understand. “It's not because of the Fandorians that we are sending you into this room. But because we trust everyone in this room to give you the respect you deserve. I know Van, Luna, Kira, Merody and everyone else, they wouldn’t treat you like the other girls do.”
Magnolia stayed silent, her piercing green eyes weighing everything that Seral said and determining if it was true or not.
Van used this opportunity to give Magnolia a quick once-over. A few things she had said had piqued his interest. At first he thought she was just an odd-looking vampire, but as he started paying more attention, it wasn’t just the pink hair that made her stay apart from her other vampire roommates. Her eyes were an emerald naturey color, with constant black sclera like she was always going to fight. Though that just seemed a quirk of her body she had no control over. But what really took Van aback, was how her ears, no matter how well hidden, were slightly curved and pointed. Almost like a… Elf’s…
“Wait… Is Magnolia a… Half-elf!?” Van thought.
And it seemed he wasn’t the only one to recognize this. Luna also seemed to have realized what Magnolia was and now had a new keener interest in the girl.
“And am I supposed to take your word for it?” Magnolia asked Seral. “What insurance do you have that I won’t be treated worse than I already am? Perhaps they will dump water on me in my sleep to see if I grow branches? Or try to cut my hair while I'm not looking? Replace all my food with flowers?” She raised a brow. “Do you really think you’ve done anything for me to believe a word you say? You’ve hardly talked to me about this transfer at all. You and Cerina just decided things on your own.”
“That's not true!” Seral said defensively. “We asked you and you said it was okay!”
“Only after the paperwork was all ready and done. I only signed because I felt pressure to… And I suppose because any room has to be better than yours…” Magnolia replied.
Van wondered how bad Seral’s room had to be with some worry for his friend at Magnolia’s comment. He also felt she was being unduly rude to Seral, but understood that she probably had some circumstances and just didn’t know him as well as Van did.
Serena was looking very dejected and sad at this turn of events. This was supposed to be a happy day. But instead everything was going so wrong that it left her in a negative state of mind. Like this was all her fault somehow.
“Well I suppose it doesn’t matter in the end.” Magnolia sighed. “All my stuff is already packed so I suppose there is nothing left to do but move in.” She looked up at the awkward faces facing her. “I hope you all are as welcoming as Seral said you are. I would hate to find out that his word meant nothing…” Knowing full well that everyone knew what she was implying.
But after another awkward silence, and despite everything, Luna walked up to Magnolia and took both her hands into her own. Magnolia seemed taken aback by Luna’s action as two big beautiful blue moons stared back with innocence and hope into hers.
“Magnolia… You are welcomed.” Luna said without a hint of lie or subterfuge. She meant it wholeheartedly, to the point Magnolia was once more taken aback and now had a both confused, and fearful, expression on her face, as if she never once before had to deal with such an odd situation.
Luna held Magnolia’s hands tighter, but still gentle enough not to hurt. “Magnolia… I want to be your friend…” Again, there was no hint of lie that Magnolia could detect, not like the other times someone asked to be her friend.
“Wha- what the hell are you on about!?” She leaned back, looking up into Luna’s eyes, unsure of how to deal with this and confounded by the situation she found herself in.
Luna explained again in a calm manner. “I want to be your friend.” She said simply.
Magnolia looked lost. She really couldn’t detect a single lie from Luna. She tried to pull away from her, only to find that Luna’s grip was too tight. After a while of fruitless efforts, she gave in. “Fine! We can be friends! Just let go of me!” Feeling a little panicked.
Luna nodded, but kept one hand still on Magnolia’s. “Let's go out and do friend things. Van! You come too, okay?” Looking at her husband.
“Umm… Sure?” Van said, wondering what was going on alongside everyone else.
Luna nodded and began to walk out the door, Van quickly realizing that Luna might be trying to find some alone time to confess to Magnolia that she too was a half-elf of some sort. He never thought that Luna would do something extreme like this, but then again he always had a hard time figuring out what was going on in her mind. Magnolia herself seemed completely lost, only following along because she had no idea what else to do and because she was being dragged by the hand by Luna.
Van left the dorms with Luna and Magnolia, with Anna quickly following after. Everyone was wondering what was going to happen next and what was going on.
