AN: This started out as a drabble but expanded fairly quickly, written purely because I wanted to write some of the second years talking shop and shooting the breeze. Hope it worked out!

Growing Pains

"So… that could have gone better."

Emily sighed, taking a sip from her tea before looking at Theresia with a resigned expression on her face. "I guess we should be thankful that neither of them threw punches or anything. Y'know, count our blessings?"

"Alisa certainly looked angry enough to by the end," Theresia noted, wincing. "It's hard to blame her, though. Ferris seemed determined to force some kind of reaction no matter what."

"No kidding. What comes around goes around, I guess?"

The blonde frowned at that. "Come now. We weren't that bad, were we?"

"Speak for yourself," she said with a chuckle. "I was pretty determined to poke the bear during our first few months."

"Congratulations," Theresia replied dryly, remembering earlier days all too clearly. "Mission accomplished."

Emily grinned before tipping an invisible hat, much to her friend's amusement. "Hey, when I set out to do something, I do it. But look; if we got over ourselves eventually, I'm sure they will too."

"Let's hope so," she said doubtfully, her hand reaching out for her own mug. "I wonder how the others are doing with their clubs? Do you think they're going a bit more smoothly, or – "

Theresia was interrupted by the door of the Student Union being flung open so hard it sounded like it was going to rip off its hinges, followed by an irate "Fucking first years!"

"There's your answer," Emily commented dryly, the pair watching as a seething Loggins and a resigned Friedel made their way into the cafeteria. "Hey, guys. Sounds like you had as much fun as we did for first day of clubs, huh?"

"Indeed," Friedel said, still somehow managing to sound relatively unruffled as she pulled out a chair to join her fellow second years. "Greetings to you both."

"Yo," Loggins tossed out, furiously digging for his wallet. "I'm grabbing some food before I snap and decide to head back and kill dumbass number one and dumbass number two. Anybody want anything? No line, so should be back in like a minute, tops."

"Just the usual, thank you," Friedel answered, with Emily and Theresia shaking their heads and gesturing to their drinks. "I admit, I'm somewhat relieved to see we aren't the only club having issues."

"Misery loves company," Theresia quipped, smiling at the other blonde. "What seems to be the problem with your lot?"

"Personality conflicts for one. It doesn't help that there's a sizable experience gap, either."

"Pretty much," Loggins chimed in as he rejoined the table, placing a tea in front of Friedel and setting down a mug of coffee along with a plate of pastries in the middle, much to the Lacrosse Club's undisguised pleasure. "Alan's got guts without the skill to back it up, and Patrick knows what he's doing but thinks that makes him Aidios' gift to fencing, the cocky little shit – "

"Eat," Friedel told him, smoothly taking a muffin and nonchalantly jamming it into his mouth before taking one for herself. "That about sums it up, though I don't think it helps matters that Patrick conducts himself like the worst kind of noble and Alan can't help but respond accordingly."

"Hmm! It sounds as if this Patrick would be best served staying away from the Chess Club's new arrival then," another voice added, and everyone present turned to see Stefan and Dorothee coming from the direction of the stairs. "Hello, all."

Dorothee raised a hand in greeting. "I suppose we're discussing our latest club additions?"

Theresia nodded, gesturing for the pair to join them. "You suppose right."

Loggins simply grumbled, but it was plain to see his anger was rapidly dissipating; try as he might, it was difficult to stay upset with a mouthful of chocolate chip muffin to contend with.

"Stefan," Friedel asked, sparing a small smile at her co-captain, "would you mind elaborating on your last comment? It sounds like there's something interesting there."

Emily nodded eagerly, reaching out to grab a scone. "Yeah, spill!"

The newly minted Chess Club president paused, weighing his words carefully. "Well… it's like this. I've made it no secret that I'm not particularly fond of the Upper Class club – er, no offense to those present that are cut from the same cloth."

Theresia smiled and waved a hand in dismissal. "Oh, please don't worry about it. I've never been enthused with how they conduct themselves, either."

"Nor have I," Friedel added, her brow creasing.

"That's good to hear." Adjusting his glasses with a quick grin of approval, he continued. "He and I actually share many of the same viewpoints, but I'll admit he carries his with an intensity that borders on off-putting, to be honest."

Dorothee blinked, taking a short break from working on her croissant. "Meaning…?"

"Let me put it this way," he sighed. "I'd be satisfied with beating them in chess. I think Machias would be more satisfied with literally beating them."

Loggins nodded in approval. "Not a bad attitude to have if you're dealing with those jerks. Y'know, if the Chess Club had been more like that last year you probably could've suckered me into joining."

Freidel did her best to stifle a laugh with her hand, drawing a glare from the taller boy.

Emily snickered. "Uh huh. I'm positive Stefan's beating himself up for missing out on Loggins, Chess Club superstar. But you're a pretty calm guy, I'm sure you'll be able to keep things under control."

"I certainly hope so! Enough about our situation, though. How are things going with the new Lacrosse Club members, anyway?"

Brown met blue as Emily and Theresia looked at each other, and as one they simply turned their palms upwards and shrugged.

Loggins stared blankly. "So, that means…?"

"I'm assuming it means not good?" Dorothee asked next, her eyes glimmering with curiosity behind their lenses.

"I-I mean, one of them is trying!" Emily declared, nodding her head furiously. "Alisa worked her butt off to be friendly and helpful and stuff, but Ferris just wasn't having it!"

"No, she wasn't," Theresia agreed, her words toneless. "I can understand being a little stand-offish your first day – after all, you've only been at Thors for a little while – but it was almost as if she was actively resisting Alisa's efforts to reach out."

Friedel took a sip from her tea, humming thoughtfully. "I see. A noble's inherent pride at work, perhaps?"

"That's most likely the case. It doesn't help that while they're fairly close in ability, Alisa nonetheless has a slight advantage. She's perceptive enough to see that, and it wouldn't surprise me if it bothers her more than it should."

"I get that," Loggins added, crossing his arms. "When I joined the Fencing Club last year, I took a major beating from Friedel and learned exactly where I stood in the process. Gotta admit, it stung at the time, but hey; didn't take me long to get my head out of my ass and realize that dealing with a monster like that was only gonna make me tougher. She'll probably do the same."

Dorothee laughed out loud at that, drawing a confused look from Loggins.

"We're keeping our fingers crossed!" Emily said, shooting a playful grin at the bemused 'monster' across from her. "Aside from doing our part as captain and co-captain, that's all we can do right now. Right, Friedel?"

"Indeed. Thank you for the compliment, Loggins," Friedel said, her right eyebrow twitching only slightly; a testament to her legendary self-control. "I think."

Theresia nodded, biting the inside of her cheek to avoid a smile of her own. "It's my hope that if Alisa's positivity carries on, then eventually Ferris will recognize that and they can become friends… but that's off in the future. Right now, we just have to hold the course steady and hope that things don't escalate in the meantime."

"You said it! How about you, Dorothee? Care to toss your story of first year woe into the mix?" Emily inquired, turning her gaze toward the bespectacled girl, who for her part could only smile sympathetically.

"I'm sorry to say that I'm the odd one out here, but Emma's actually fantastic! She's extremely well read, has a great eye for diction and loves reading new works; why, if things keep on going at the rate they are, in the next little while I think I'll be able to introduce her to… the genre," she finished reverently, the light in her eyes so vibrant it bordered on unnatural.

Stefan looked baffled. "Beg pardon; the what now?"

"Don't ask," Loggins muttered, sounding like a headache was coming on. "For the love of Aidios, don't friggin ask."

"So soon?" Theresia said, impressed. "Well, she certainly must be special to draw this kind of reaction."

"She is!" Dorothee chirped, clapping her hands enthusiastically. "Just having someone new around to bounce ideas off of is so stimulating. I can feel the inspiration coming on already!"

"Ugh, I don't wanna hear that!" Loggins groaned, burying his face into his arms. "The last time you got inspired I wound up in like four of your damn stories!"

"Stories...?" Stefan asked, looking around.

"Oh, you did not," Friedel dismissed him with a sniff, though the corners of her lips curling upward gave her away. "Are you so egotistic that you think a character that you share a handful of traits with was honestly based off you?"

He glared. "The guy was in the Fencing Club. Co-captain."

"And?" Emily asked, shoulders starting to shake with repressed laughter. "That's a normal club to be in and someone's gotta be second in line."

"He was tall with spiky brown hair."

Theresia idly toyed with her right sleeve, her fingers quivering. "T-Those characteristics are hardly out of the ordinary."

His eyes narrowed even further. "His goddamn name was Froggins."

"And you're Loggins!" the Literature Club president happily declared. "The evidence has been presented and weighed! In the case of character infringement, the court finds Dorothee – "

"Not guilty!" a chorus of three voices rang out before dissolving into companionable laughter, and a confused Stefan turned to stare at Loggins, who looked like he was trying to sink into his seat as much as humanly possible.

"Loggins…?"

"Forget it, man," he muttered, glaring at no one in particular. "Friggin first years, right?"

"S-Sure," Stefan agreed uncertainly, reaching out to take a scone while deciding that discretion was indeed the better part of valor. "Er… friggin first years."

AN2: The closest thing this story had to framework was "second years talk about club issues". Where that last part came from I have no idea, but hey... it's there.

OMAKE

"Hey, what's with the party?" a jovial voice rang out, and the table turned to see Crow strolling in, his fingers raised in a casual salute.

"Well, we were kinda talking about what an adjustment it is to having new first years in all our clubs, but considering you somehow managed to dodge that I don't think you'd have too much to add," Emily quipped, pushing what remained of the treats at him. "Still, have a seat."

Crow blinked, doing some quick math in his head.

"... Wait, today's club day already?"

Dorothee simply shook her head at her classmate, all too familiar with his habits at this point. "Same old Crow. Yes, today's club day. Why did you think Instructor Heinrich came in during homeroom to talk with us earlier?"

"... Instructor Heinrich came into homeroom earlier?"

Theresia nodded in assent. "That's right, he spoke with all the classes after the assembly this morning."

"... There was an assembly this morning?"

"Hoping you keep this up for a long while, Armbrust," Loggins said with a snicker as Friedel rolled her eyes. "You make me look good."

Crow took a theatrical bow, flashing a grin at the taller boy. "A hard job, but someone's gotta do it. Besides, anything that keeps me outta Heinrich's sights is pretty key right now. Towa and Angie had George crunch my attendance numbers and as it turns out I'm kinda low on credits..."