Chapter 6: 06 → Unbelonging → Extra Discredit

“I give you...” a very small eldritch person with too many eyes began, reaching behind themself and pulling out a long, pink plastic stick with off-white, bent bristles at the end. In other words... “A backscratcher!” the eldritch person exclaimed, and Josh closed his eyes, shaking his head. No, that was a toothbrush. A used toothbrush.

This “assignment” was basically what Josh had originally expected. Maybe even goofier? He couldn’t help but feel... flabbergasted, that this was what these incredibly-powerful beings were doing with their schooling. Bringing a toothbrush in for show and tell...

“Can’t you see the glow? It’s totally unbelonging!” they cried, lifting the toothbrush up into the heavens. Or... well, lifting it up fifteen centimetres or so, anyway.

“V-very good,” Astia smiled at the tiny eldritch person, nodding supportively. “It’s definitely... faintly unbelonging. Which group is next?”

“Ooh, ooh! We’ll go!” the largest eldritch person said, his booming voice vibrating the walls. “We have... well... I don’t know what it is for sure, but I’m wondering if it might be a time machine? And it’s definitely unbelonging, see?”

It was a toaster.

“D-definitely. Good work,” Astia gave him and the rest of his group a strained smile.

“She’s not even trying to act impressed, is she?” Josh thought.

Ludi laughed. “Or she’s a terrible actress.”

“Well, to be fair,” Ulisa said, for once coming to her sister’s defence, “these objects aren’t impressive. If I was grading this assignment, I’d have flunked all of them, and it’s clear that my sister wants to do the same. Instead, they all pass, and... well, the range of work which is actually valuable... is all rewarded purely with a bit of extra credit. Which devalues the effort we put in.”

“But Ulisa, aren’t you like...  s u p e r  into extra credit?”

Ulisa didn’t respond for a moment. “Well... obviously. It is one of the only methods I can prove my superiority.” And then she sighed at the next object being shown. “I suppose my superiority is obvious with ‘showing and telling’ like this. Why do I even share a class with these fools?”

“Oh, it’s a LEGO brick,” Josh mused.

“Whoops!” blurted the girl holding it, as it suddenly slipped out of her fingers and fell to the floor. “Where did it go?”

It was literally just sitting on the floor next to her, as she frantically looked around for it. Clearly it was trying to fulfil its true purpose of being a hazard for bare feet.

And then suddenly there was a rip in spacetime, a tentacle shot out, grabbed the LEGO brick, and then vanished, gone without a trace.

Was... was that where wayward LEGO bricks ended up?! Stolen, falling into a creepy tentacle space tunnel? Ending up in some strange alternate dimension? Josh found that his mind was even more blown than when he’d gone through the creepy tentacle space tunnel himself!

“Ulisa,” Astia said, her voice soft, a warm (wolfish) smile on her face. “I believe your group is next, then?”

“Oh,” Ulisa said, suddenly sounding positively gleeful. “She doesn’t believe I could’ve ended up with an unbelonging object better than theirs, does she? She expected to stump me, to find a project where I’d end up with a pitiful object like that.”

“Yes, Astia,” Ulisa said, aloud. “I believe you are correct,” she said, and I had a feeling her smile was just as wolfish as her sister’s. Especially so based on the way Astia’s expression changed. Then she gestured to the door. “Oh, Ludi? Why don’t you bring in our unbelonging object, mm?”

“O-oh sh—” Josh said, realising he was about to be—

“Looks like we’re on, extraplanar!” Ludi declared, shoving the door open and pulling him in behind her. He then immediately stumbled as — schloo-POP! — suddenly his eyes were both back where they belonged.

The entire class gasped.

“What in Odd’s name is that thing?” someone gasped.

“Where are its extra eyes?” someone else shouted. “And its tentacles? It’s like an ocuman, but naked!”

(Josh couldn’t help but check to make sure he was fully clothed at that particular comment.)

You are reading story Extra Credit for an Eldritch Horror at novel35.com

“What do you think of that, hmm, Astia?” Ulisa gloated, fingers on her chin, laughing her pompous laugh once more. “You tried to stump me, to leave me bereft of the extra credit I rightly deserve... Consider this your comeuppance! For I am Ulisa, and I will always have the most extra of credit!”

And Ulisa continued to gloat, on and on. She didn’t, however, seem to notice Astia’s expression, or disinterest at every word she was saying. Josh did, though. He and Astia were sharing a look — a look that made him feel as though he actually was naked, but on a very, very, very,  v e r y  deep level. Like, naked without extra eyes and tentacles, obviously, and also, clothes, and also without hair, probably? And, actually, also skin and muscle and bones and organs. In other words, her eyes pierced him so hard that he felt naked down to his very core; his very soul.

She looked hungry. And not in the way that Ludi had seemed hungry earlier. No, she actually looked like she wanted to eat him. Or his soul, at least.

Josh Holliday did the only thing he could do. He took one step to the left and three steps forward, and then hid behind Ulisa.

“Wh-what are you doing?” she asked, confused.

“I’m hiding. Your sister is even scarier than you.”

Click. Click. Click.

Suddenly even more terrified, Josh looked over Ulisa’s shoulder... and Astia was approaching, her heels clicking against the stone floor. “Very curious,” she hummed, glancing between him and Ulisa. “Sister. I admit I am rather curious. Where did you happen upon this... object?”

“Umm...” Ulisa said, suddenly seeming a lot less sure of herself. “W-well, you’d never believe me if I told you.”

“Oh? I’d never believe you, hmm? I wonder what exactly that would entail. Excuses I don’t follow? Reasons I misunderstand? Or, perhaps... you didn’t even do the assignment. And your fear that I wouldn’t believe you is simply your fear of me finding out that you cheated,” she accused.

“Hey!” Ludi grumped, “I’m the cheater, not Ulisa. Believe me, if we’d cheated, you’d know about it. Because it would be hilarious. And this is not hilarious, it’s not even funny. Besides, how do you even cheat at this assignment? You only told us to bring in unbelonging objects we found.”

“That’s just it,” Astia shook her head. “Objects you found. I don’t believe you simply stumbled upon this unbelonging object. I don’t know how this one came to be in your possession, but... I’m afraid that...” she said, smiling a wide smile, one that only grew as she continued, circling to Ulisa’s side to get more of a view of Josh. “This much unbelonging energy...? It could be a danger to Oculum,” she mused, sounding absolutely and utterly... Full of it. “I’m afraid I’ll have to confiscate—”

“No!” Ulisa cried, stepping in front of Josh again, and then suddenly she was holding him by her tentacles again. “You can’t have him!”

“Aha. I see,” Astia said, her smile unnaturally wide, now. “Nothing has changed, then, has it, sister?”

“Wh-what are you talking about?” Ulisa said, her hold on Josh going slightly limp. “I have changed! That’s... that’s why my extra credit is so important. That’s why I need hi— it! Don’t you see?”

“Of course,” Astia said, kindly, her numerous eyes flashing. “I’ve seen everything I need to see. Don’t worry, little Ulisa. You’ll have your extra credit.”

She took a step closer, and another, leaning down next to Ulisa. “And yet you are still found wanting.”

Ulisa didn’t say anything, just standing in front of him, the dark tendrils from her back limp on the floor. She must not have known what to say... What could you say to someone who thinks of you like that? 

Josh couldn’t meet the expectations his own family gave, for example. It was part of the reason why he had trouble feeling like his life even made sense; like he could even be what they wanted him to be, even if he tried with everything he had.

And in Ulisa’s case… he didn’t even understand what exactly Astia expected of her. Extra-er extra credit? No, clearly it was something more. 

But before he had a chance to decipher what the truth could be, the eldritch girl had already stomped her foot on the ground in anger and rushed off, leaving the classroom in only a singular moment. And as that moment concluded, Astia immediately turned back to him and gave him the scary, hungry look again. Predictably, Josh blanched, then ran after Ulisa, Ludi close behind.

She was in the hall, nearly in tears, and Josh felt like… he had to do something. He wanted to help her feel better, he didn’t want her to feel like… like he did. He wanted her to feel good enough as the person she already was, not like she needed to be whoever her sister wanted her to be. 

Coincidentally, though, he also had no idea how to do any of that, so instead he watched as she simply gave them a look, then suddenly burst into black particles, jumping between shadows down the hall at lightning pace.

…Before she suddenly seemed to think better of what she was doing, and turned back around to grab Josh with her tentacles, and take him along with.

Fwoosh! Everything went black.