"Yes sir!"

"That sounds like a great idea, Schlatt."

"Great. Done. We can do that tomorrow. And Alex, do us all a favor, start working out, your ass is flat. Wow, no one told me how easy this whole leadership thing is."

"...Excuse me?"

"Yeah, you fuckin' heard me. Flatty patty. Maybe you should work out more."

"I work out every day, I don't know what you want me to do--"

"Yeah well do more exercises then. You've been slacking. You thought I couldn't tell? Nahhhhhhhh. I see it, baby. Flatty patty."

Sigh. "Homework for today, Schlatt?"

"You know, I like this kid. He's a good kid. Knows exactly what to say."

"Thank you, sir."

Niki shoots Tommy an are-you-seeing-this look.

Yeah, he's not loving this either.

He makes a point of working on mana for Wilbur instead of homework for Schlatt and Toby. Wilbur needs it right now. He does his best to tune out Alex and Schlatt arguing.

Niki contributes a little. Or, well, a lot, compared to what Tommy's making; being a year ahead does that. It's almost nice, except for everything else about the situation.

And the next morning Wilbur shows up at his door.

...Well, better than Wilbur not showing up. It's been--what, a week without him? (Long enough that Toby had stopped contributing to the Wilbur-mana pool. Long enough that Tommy had, traitorously, started to wonder--) "Wilbur! You're okay! Niki and I got you more mana."

"What are you trying to imply? If you're trying to make me feel bad, if you're trying to guilt me with Niki, it's not going to work."

"We just thought--you need mana, man. I was worried about you, fuckin', giving away all your mana and disappearing like that."

"She means nothing to me. None of them mean anything to me. They're not--they're not on my side. None of you are."

....Tommy puts his hand on Wilbur's chest and shoves the mana from the crystal through him to Wilbur.

"I didn't want that."

"Yeah, well, I wanted you to have it."

"I'm not crazy, Tommy. I'm not. I know you think I am, but I'm not, I know what I'm doing."

"Wilbur. Wil. They're--they seem happy. You can come back, man. We're having a party today, we're going to the vending machine--"

"Yeah, everyone's fucking happy. Look how great Schlatt did! Look how happy everyone is with Schlatt! He's throwing a fucking party! Look how lovely it is! I've already said, if I can't have that, no one can." Quieter: "No one can have... happiness."

He pauses.

"Tommy, look. You're my friend, okay? You're still my friend. Let's just--not talk about it, today. Just--enjoy yourself."

"...Okay."

Class passes slowly. Toby is... a bit excited, despite himself, for the party. He tends to hoard a fraction of tokens in reserve, in case he or Tommy needs them--it's not rational, really, but it makes him feel better to have things saved. It's good for this sort of thing, too, he'll have plenty to contribute. In class, Tommy seems to be in a better mood than yesterday, at least.

But when it's time for the party, Tommy doesn't show. Not at the library, and not at the vending machine. (He's never not shown up before. Toby tries and fails to not think about the implications, there.)