Home Gallery Wattpad Upvote monsteracademy   "To put it clearly, I'm going to a school filled with monsters?" FOURTY-THREE: First Trip Home Ppalli! Ppalli! You tapped your finger on your desk while clutching your pencil hard with the other as you restlessly glanced at the wall clock for the nth time over the past hour. You were getting more anxious with every second and your feet were itching so much to go. You knew that you probably should get your attention back on your exam and try to fill in the many blank spaces on your answer sheet. You have to score high on as many exams as possible, most especially since you slept through your math exams this morning. But you were already too excited to care. You can tell that all your classmates were feeling the same as pretty much everyone also kept on glancing at the time, except perhaps for Kris who was looking out the window again. RRRRIIIIINGGGG!!!! “YEEEEEEEEEEESS!” The sudden screams of your classmates as well the students in the neighboring classrooms surprised you. But then your heart was also screaming for joy even though you didn’t join in the outburst. “Pass your papers! Careful now, you might cause accidents! Please submit your paper properly – hey! No littering! And no running in the hallways!” You’re teacher called out to your noisy, hyperactive classmates who were either hastily tossing him the answer sheet, making a dash for the door, throwing crumpled pieces of paper everywhere or climbing on their desks while waving around their blazers in the air. “Finally!” You sighed happily. “Joo Ri-ya! Come on!” Chanyeol, who was already outside with Sehun and Kai, called out impatiently. You submitted your answer sheet to your struggling teacher. You were heading out but decided to go back to help him with the fallen answer sheets which your classmates had carelessly tossed to his table. “You guys go ahead! I’ll meet up with you at the school gates!” You shouted. “Aigoo. You kids are so energetic,” your teacher muttered as he also collected the fallen papers. “But I guess that’s expected. Thank you for your help Song Joo Ri-ssh. Do enjoy your weekend.” “Thanks sonsaengnim,” you smiled blissfully. You surely will enjoy your weekend. Finally, the exams are over. Furthermore, it’s free week. You were excited to finally go home after what seemed like centuries. You will see your mom and Hye Bin again, and the best of all, you can finally take a break from school and all the monster stuff even just for a while. The boys, Ji Min and you agreed to meet at the school gates about thirty minutes after class ended, just enough time for all of you to change and get the things you needed for the trip home. Since there will only be two trips on Fridays, one at five o’clock and the last one at five thirty, you must be at the school gates as early as possible where the buses will be waiting. There will only be limited slots since there are only two buses for each trip, and according to them, most students would take the trip home on Fridays instead of Saturdays so they can have a longer free week. You dashed out of the classroom only to find yourself being dragged back inside by one of your classmates whom you recognized as the one in charge of cleaning duties schedule. “Where do you think you’re going, dung? Did you forget you’re supposed to do Kai’s cleaning duties?” She asked sternly. Ugh! Right, you groaned. “Don’t even think about doing a sloppy job just coz you’re too excited to go home. Bae-sonsaengnim checks on every classroom to make sure the cleaning was done properly,” she told you and left. “Uh, hey wait! What about the others?!” You called out but she didn’t listen and just went out of sight. “This again,” you sighed as you looked around at the messy and empty classroom. You glanced at the clock. It was twenty minutes before five. “Maybe I can still make it.” You started cleaning in a hurried pace, all the while cursing your classmates who always ditch their cleaning duties and let you do the cleaning alone. You tried to be as fast as possible, but there was just so much to do – peeking up crumpled pieces of paper, sweeping, cleaning the board, cleaning the board erasers, wiping the windows, mopping, segregating the trash and emptying the bin – the list seemed endless. You were still halfway with the mopping when the clock showed that there were only five minutes left before five. “I’m not gonna make it,” you moaned at the same time that your phone rang. It was Ji Min. “Joo Ri-ya, where are you? It’s almost five! We’ve already boarded the bus and we’ve already saved a seat for you. Ppalli!” She said on the other line. “Ji Min-ah I,” you panicked. “I don’t think I’m gonna make it,” you sighed. “What?!” “I forgot I’m supposed to do Kai’s cleaning duties today. I’m not done yet, and I don’t think I’ll be done anytime soon.” “Ah, ottoke?!” “We’re leaving in three minutes! Please make sure that you have everything you need and that you already went to the restrooms. There won’t be any restroom stops until we reach the city,” you could hear the driver’s voice in the background. “Eh? Ah, jamkaman! Ah ottoke,” Ji Min mumbled. “Ajusshi, can we wait even just for a while. Our friend’s still not here.” “Wae? What’s wrong?” You could hear Suho’s voice from among the irritated murmurs and protests of the students on the other line. “Is that Joo Ri? Where is she?” Baekhyun’s voice can also be heard in the background. “Sorry agashi, but we can’t let everyone wait for your friend. The bus leaves on time. If she doesn’t make it, she can take the next trip,” the driver said. “But...,” Ji Min muttered. “Ya Joo Ri! Where the hell are you? Come here already! The bus will be leaving soon!” Chanyeol shouted. “Ji Min-ah,” you spoke. “Yes, I’m still here,” she answered. “The ajusshi’s right. You guys go ahead without me,” you told her. “But Joo Ri-ya,” Ji Min protested. “It’s alright. I’ll just take the next trip.” “I’ll also just take the next trip then.” “But didn’t you say your mother’s already waiting for you by the shore? I bet the others also have someone waiting for them to arrive. Ji Min-ah, it’s fine really. Don’t wait for me. ” “Ahhh...ah jinjja,” she sighed helplessly. “Tell the others I’m sorry I didn’t make it. I’ll see you on Monday.” “Alright, we’re leaving!” The driver announced. “Joo Ri-ya~!” She moaned. You chuckled. “I’m running out of battery. Have a safe trip!” Beep. You sighed. You would have wanted to take the trip home with them. “But it can’t be helped. If I hurry I might still make it for the next trip,” you mumbled to yourself and continued mopping. You were sure it’s going to be quite a lonely two-hour trip. You hurried with your cleaning chores. You were positively sure that you can finish your tasks and still make it to the last trip until you saw blobs of gum stuck on the wall somewhere at the back. Upon closer look, the gums were shaped into the word ‘dung’. You didn’t have to think long to know that those pieces of gum were stuck there on purpose, though you were not sure who did it. It could be centaur girl and friends. After all you did report them to the disciplinary office. Though they haven’t been punished yet because the teachers wanted everyone to focus on the exam in the meantime, revenge can always be done early. Or it could also be golem guy, or Lee Hee Jun’s friends, or it could be any of your classmates for that matter. Too many people hate you here you wouldn’t even be shocked if someone told you that, except for Chanyeol, Kai and Sehun, it was a class effort. You found a cutter and used it to work on the gum, careful not to also chip the paint while removing the sticky pieces. After much difficulty, you were finally done. All there’s left to do was to empty the trash. You took the two trash bins and glanced at the time. There was only less than ten minutes left. If you were fast enough, the trip to the incinerator and back to the classroom would take you five minutes. However you still needed to go back to the dorms to get changed and get your things, which could take you another five minutes, not to mention the waiting time by the elevator, and another five minutes to get back to the school gates. “Oh no! I’m not gonna make it!” You stood frozen at the classroom while staring at the clock. No matter how you think about it, there was no way you can make it, unless you suddenly have the ability to fly like Chanyeol, or teleporting would be better. As much as possible you wanted to be in today’s trip. Travelling tomorrow would be a waste of your precious two hours which you could be spending with your mom and Hye Bin. Besides, the Saturday trips were early morning trips and you were never good at being punctual in the morning. The clock ticked, taking away another minute. And you just stood there, rooted on the floor with frustration and disappointment. The door slid open, snapping you back to your senses. “Kai!” You exclaimed when you saw Kai standing by the doorway, panting. “Joo Ri,” Lay appeared behind him. “I thought this is what happened,” Kai muttered as he stared at the bins you were carrying. “Why are you guys still here?” You asked in surprise. “What else needs to be done?” Lay asked in a hurry. “A-a-I just need to empty these,” you answered in a panic. “We have no time. Your things are still at your dorm?” “Y-yes.” “I’ll take you there,” he said, and suddenly transformed into a really large wolf without warning, making you drop the bins and fall backwards on your as you stared at him with your mouth hanging open He had beautiful light gray fur on most of his body, and silvery white fur on his snout, chest and paws. He was huge, slightly larger than Kai’s gumiho form. He was also fluffier and his body was more muscular. Now that you’ve seen a real wolf, you could pretty much finally agree that Kai indeed looked like a fox rather than a wolf. And he had clear, light gray eyes that looked like crystal. He was beautiful. “Sorry about that. But we need to hurry. Hop on,” his voice thundered, as he crouched down. “Wha...,” you muttered, still on the floor. Kai sighed and approached you, helping you up. Then he suddenly grabbed you by your waist and effortlessly lifted you on top of Lay’s back. “Waaah!” You muttered. “Kai, take care of the bins. We’ll meet you at the school gates,” Lay said. “Araso,” Kai answered, while helping you with your backpack. You didn’t even notice when he got it. “Joo Ri, put your arms around my neck. I need you to hold on really tight,” Lay instructed. “O-okay,” you answered, doing as he said. In a blink of an eye, Lay suddenly started running. He was fast, impossibly fast. The hallways swept past in a blur as Lay padded faster. You held on his neck tighter, holding on for dear life. “Hold on,” he said, as he found one of the large hallway windows left open. He suddenly leapt high and out of the window. It was too unexpected and too sudden that you just found yourself screaming. You didn’t even have time to close your eyes before the both of you landed safe on the ground. He continued running as soon as he touched the ground without even pausing for the landing. “Are you okay?” He asked. “Y-yeah!” You shouted, though your face was white with fear. You felt like your spirit left you during that jump and was floating somewhere in mid-air. I’m gonna have a heart attack! Lay swiftly covered the enormous school ground in a matter of seconds. There were gasps from the students as Lay passed by the gate where the students were gathered for the last trip. “Hey, wasn’t that Lay-hyung?” Baekhyun said, looking out from one of the bus windows. “And that was Joo Ri riding on top, right?” Chanyeol exclaimed, also looking out of the window. “Who’s riding who?! Whoa! Let me see, let me see! Where’s the action?” Chen, who was earlier buried on his iPod and didn’t see Lay and y