Chapter Text
The plan was simple:
Step 1, get close to Kalim.
Step 2, become friends with Kalim.
Step 3, get invited to more than one party at Scarabia.
Step 4, earn Jamil's trust by showing he was no threat to Kalim.
Step 5, secure a deal with Jamil.
But as Azul went over the plan again in his head, he knew that it was easier said than done. He had already tried asking Jamil directly and each of those attempts had failed, so he needed a new plan. That was how he had finally come to the conclusion of getting close to Kalim. Kalim was the heir of the Asim family, and Jamil served him.
"If I can get close to Kalim and show I am no threat to him, I should be able to get on Jamil's good side. Now I just need to find a way to talk to Kalim without Jamil interfering..."
He closes his eyes and sighs, rubbing his forehead. "Easier said than done. They're virtually inseparable..." he mutters to himself.
A cup of tea is set down in front of him and he meets Jade's mismatched eyes. "What is bothering you, Azul?"
Azul huffs, pushing his glasses up and sits straight. "No matter what I do, Jamil will not trust me. I altered my plan to get close to Kalim first, but that requires getting past Jamil. How is he a roadblock for all the plans that I have?"
Jade chuckles. "Your end goal is to make a deal with Jamil, so of course he would be involved."
"You think I don't know that?!" The dorm leader hisses, glaring at the moray.
"I am aware that you know, so I come with a proposal."
Azul turns his attention to Jade and motions for him to continue before taking a sip of tea. He watches closely as Jade seats himself in front of him, waiting for the moray to speak. A beat of silence passes before Jade clears his throat.
"Professor Trein is assigning group projects."
"How does that help me?"
"You are allowed to work with someone who isn't in your class."
Perfect. A smile inches across Azul's face. "This might just work."
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"Jade, this isn't working!" He frantically turns to his vice dorm leader.
Jade hums, following Azul's eyes. "I will distract Jamil for you."
Without another word, he strides across the room and places his hand on Scarabia's vice dorm leader's shoulder. Azul watches as he whispers something and indicates in Floyd's direction, and he grimaces as he watches the scowl cross Jamil's face before he walks towards Floyd.
Adjusting his jacket, Azul walks over to Kalim and puts a smile on his face. "Kalim! How lucky of me to run into you now!"
"Huh? Azul? Oh! I don't know what I did, but I am glad you are happy!" A bright smile is plastered on Kalim's face.
"You can do this, Azul. Just get to the point."
Azul clears his throat. "Say, Kalim. Do you have a partner for Trein's group project yet?"
A surprised look crosses Kalim's face and his smile disappears momentarily. "Eh?! I though Azul would have a partner already, so I was going to ask Riddle!" he shakes his head with a sigh, "but Ruggie already asked him and he accepted. So I tried to ask Silver, but Jade asked him already... And Floyd said he wanted to work with Jamil."
Azul fakes a surprised gasp and mentally thanks Jade and Floyd. However, a small part of him feels bad for Jamil. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Jamil rapidly approaching them and a smile is plastered on his face once more. He extends a hand to Kalim, "then you and I can be partners."
He is barely able to react before Kalim throws his arms around him. "Thank you, Azul!"
They are pulled apart abruptly and he sees Jamil shoot him a glare. "Azul. Whatever you are trying, don't."
Azul places a hand over his heart and gasps. "Me? Try something? I would never! Kalim and I were just having a friendly talk, and we decided to be partners for Trein's project!"
He smiles inwardly when he sees Jamil's eye twitch. "Oh. He doesn't like this."
"Jamil, it's okay! Azul has helped me study before, so this will be fine!" Kalim adds in.
Jamil's expression softens as he looks over Kalim before his returns a steely gaze to Azul. "Fine, but you will meet in Scarabia where I can keep an eye on you."
"Drat."
Azul keeps a tight smile on his face. "Of course! I'm sure Floyd would love that too!"
As if on cue, Floyd appears next to the group. "Yeah! Sea Snake is my partner for this project! We can have a study session together! It will be fun!"
Azul watches as Jamil grimaces. "We will see you around then. Come on, Floyd. Let's go find Jade."
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"I am not sure how you did it, but you have helped me to secure Kalim as a partner for this." Azul sits across from Jade as they eat some seaweed soup.
"I bribed Ruggie with an offer of free meals for a week."
"That is coming out of your pay check..."
"Hai."