Victor chewed on his popcorn, shaking his legs excitedly. He actually really wanted to join this high-end and deadly academic debate.
For instance, he could share his personal experience of "accidentally" (yeah, right) tasting a certain tropical fungus and then watching hallucinations of colorful snails crawling around with Venom for twelve hours.
So, when Ms. Thornhill picked up a small shrub with eerie metallic-blue leaves and berries as bright as blood, Victor immediately raised his hand and answered without being called on:
"I know! That's 'Blue Blood Lady'! Its juice tastes like a mix of rusty nails and raspberries, with an aftertaste of..."
Before he could finish, he habitually plucked one of the dripping blood-red berries, popped it into his mouth, chewed twice, and even offered one to Enid next to him: "Hey, Enid, want to try? The texture is pretty weird!"
"Pfft—" Bianca in the front row almost lost her haughty expression.
The corner of Wednesday's mouth twitched imperceptibly, as if witnessing something incredibly stupid yet completely expected.
"Victor Black!" Ms. Thornhill's voice shot up an octave, filled with unprecedented horror.
She practically teleported to the back row and slapped the berry—which had nearly caused a catastrophe—out of Victor's hand. Her voice trembled:
"Spit it out! Immediately! Right now! It causes violent full-body muscle spasms strong enough to snap your spine!"
Victor was stunned by the shout. He obediently spat out the berry residue and smacked his lips in evaluation: "No wonder the back of my neck feels a little stiff..."
Venom writhed grumpily inside him:
"Pah! Pah! Pah! Tastes disgusting! Like chewing on a scrapped bicycle! Victor, you moron! Can you ask me before tasting things next time?!"
Ms. Thornhill's face was pale. She held her forehead, looking like she needed oxygen.
She pointed a trembling finger at Victor: "You! From now on! Forbidden from answering any questions! Forbidden from touching any teaching aids! Forbidden from tasting anything—including your own fingers!"
She took a deep breath and turned her gaze to Enid, who was equally terrified. Her tone was heavy, as if entrusting a critical mission:
"Miss Sinclair! Watch him! If he tries to eat anything that isn't normal food again, I authorize you to... use any means necessary to stop him! Including, but not limited to, knocking him unconscious!"
Enid snapped out of it and straightened her back immediately, as if accepting a military order: "Yes! Ms. Thornhill!"
She instinctively reached out and grabbed Victor's wrist tightly, as if guarding a large, dangerous child who might rush off to gnaw on a cactus at any moment.
Victor blinked innocently.
He looked at his captured wrist, then at the still-shaken teacher on the podium, and finally at the gazes from the front row—a mix of disdain and amusement. Finally, he looked down at his box of chocolate popcorn.
He shrugged, grabbed a handful of popcorn, and stuffed it into his mouth.
Fine. Can't join the debate, can't taste new plants. At least I can eat snacks and watch the show.
This botany class was still very interesting. Especially seeing the lightning-filled eye contact between Wednesday and Bianca—much better to look at than those inedible berries.
---
Nighttime in the dorm.
The low pressure of the evening formed a tragic contrast with the sunny brightness of the morning.
Enid Sinclair, who had been a vibrant golden sunflower in the morning, was now like a blade of grass ravaged by a storm. Completely wilted.
She paced back and forth in the middle of the room, on the verge of tears.
"Oh god, oh god," she repeated incoherently, her voice thick with sobbing.
"Why did this happen? Can someone explain? They just went to get a pizza! How did they end up in the infirmary for eating a massive amount of ice cream?!"
Her two capable teammates were currently lying in the infirmary on IV drips due to acute gastroenteritis and sugar overdose. Let alone rowing, they could barely stand.
The Poe Cup was the day after tomorrow, and her Black Cat had instantly lost all its crew.
Tears finally couldn't be held back, rolling down her cheeks in big drops.
"Oh, Enid, calm down."
Victor walked up, his voice unexpectedly gentle and soothing.
He reached out, his fingertips lightly brushing her cheek to wipe away the tears.
"I am more than willing to board your Noah's Ark," he promised, his tone serious.
"B-but we're still short two people!" Enid sobbed, gesturing desperately. "The rules require a team of at least four! Now it's just me!"
"I think Venom would be happy to help," Victor chimed in immediately.
As if to prove it, a mass of pitch-black, viscous matter separated almost completely from his body, condensing into Venom's muscular form. He cracked his neck and let out a low rumble:
"Although I'd prefer to be a spectator and treat all the losing teams as dessert... but fine, for the Little Wolf Girl."
"T-that's still one short!" Enid counted on her fingers. The tears stopped temporarily, but the anxiety didn't diminish.
This time, Victor was stuck too. He scratched his head, genuine distress on his face. "Uh... well..."
He really had only revolved around Wednesday and Enid for the past two days; he hadn't had time to build any new relationships. He couldn't even find a random person to drag in.
Just then, the dorm door was pushed open.
Wednesday walked in. She had just finished her evening of solo investigation, carrying the chill of the library's old book section and the night wind.
She immediately sensed the unusual atmosphere in the room. Specifically, three pairs of eyes—
Enid's teary blue eyes, Victor's sparkling "help me" eyes, and Venom's massive white eyes filled with some bizarre expectation—all swiveled and focused on her instantly like searchlights.
"What do you want?" She raised an eyebrow, her voice filled with wariness and ominous premonition.
This kind of collective staring usually meant trouble. And trouble specifically targeting her.
Victor immediately put on his brightest, most innocent smile and took a step forward. "Hey! Wednesday! We've encountered a tiny human resource crisis..."
Enid also rushed over, clutching at the lifeline, explaining incoherently:
"My team! Ice cream! Hospitalized! Poe Cup! Still need one person! Please, Wednesday! Just this once! You don't have to do anything! Just sit on the boat and fill the spot! Really!"
Venom nodded in cooperation from the side, grinning wide to reveal rows of white teeth:
"We can decorate the boat to look like a moving coffin! Very fitting!"
Wednesday's gaze moved from Victor's ingratiating smile to Enid's pleading, teary eyes, and finally landed on Venom's ill-intentioned suggestion.
She was silent for a few seconds, no emotion visible in her dark pupils.
Then, she spoke extremely slowly and clearly:
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't nail the three of you, along with that ridiculous canoe, to a pillar of shame."