“’Bullied’ is a strong word.” Mina muttered as she rubbed the back of her head. She had always been perfectly capable of standing up for herself, and though Syn’s interference was appreciated she was content to leave things as they were with Gwen. She was also perfectly capable of ignoring the rumors that had spread through the school like wild fire, able to maintain her indifference through the whispers. They were mostly true, with the exception of her cheating somehow. She had no control over her demon—not that she intended to-- and she<i>was </i>lazy. Again, she never really cared what people thought of her. If she had, she would have been a model student, punctual and attentive. She would have been proactive in her studies and making every attempt to excel. For the next three weeks after being dismissed by the Head Master, she hadn’t changed at all. She continued to sleep in class, play games on her phone, and daydream at every turn. Despite being back to her usual routine day in and day out, she was rather bored. Syn really knew how to lay on the silent treatment.<br/><br/>She was laying on the floor of her room with her laptop in front of her when the Demon Lord finally did speak to her. Her brows rose and she paused the movie she was watching. “Wow. I am thoroughly impressed.” She smirked, resting her chin in her palm. “I thought, for a moment, that you were never going to speak to me again. Then I remembered that one of us, probably you, would get very bored and break down finally.” She shut her laptop and sat up. “To answer your first question, no. And your second question, also no.”<br/><br/>The last three weeks had been frustrating for reasons he likely hadn’t anticipated. In the rare moments that Mina actually paid attention, particularly to lessons, she realized that she might have been missing out on something crucial.<br/><br/>“I never wanted you to behave the way I wanted you to. I wouldn’t dream of asking you to conform to some dull, idealized version of what a demon is supposed to be. However,” she raised a finger. “There are repercussions for your behavior that reflect poorly on me. I know it wasn’t your intention to get me in trouble, but . . . I got in trouble. I’m not stranger to mischief, but I usually try to steer clear of the kind that gets me expelled or recruited to Warwick. Whispers and rumors don’t hurt me. Kennewick bullying is like a tickle fight compared to the shit that goes down at Chaos Academy.”<br/><br/>“So, can we please go back to being buddies? You did say you would train me.” Mina gave him her best puppy dog eyes.