This was all so damn overwhelming. He really didn't want to just go back to class. Should he? Was there even any point to graduating highschool now?
But... he was still a creature of habit, and it's not like he thought highschool was all that important yesterday either.
"Okay, things didn't turn out exactly the way I planned it, but could have gone worse." And he wasn't going to complain either.
Lucy still hadn't resumed the flow of time, and on his way out of the classroom, he noticed Chaos was still sitting in her seat, as still as the rest of the students. "Hold on. Do your powers really work on each other like that?" He asked while he took a closer look. Was she faking? The masculine urge to honk her boobs bubbled up, but he pushed it down.
"Oh yeah. Absolutely," Lucy said, standing next to him.
This close to her, he couldn't help but notice that, like Jehovah in her human form, Lucy had a distinctive smell. Where Ms. Hym smelled like flowers, vanilla and the clean, warm smell of fresh sheets, Lucy's scent was of heady spices, tanned leather, and barrel aged liquors.
"Nothing permanent, mind you, but it's no big deal to keep her frozen along with the rest of time for a few decades at least," Lucy said as she casually pulled Chaos's shirt up, revealing a lack of bra and two very perky breasts. She gave them a poke, her finger sinking in.
"If you could do that, then what's the point of these contests? Just freeze the other two. Or something else."
Lucy grinned as she looked at him. "Because they can do the same thing to me. And it doesn't work. Say I brainwashed these two into being my adoring, loving slaves, and I kept reinforcing it every day. I might get away with it for one, maybe two million years, but you can't permanently change the nature of an infinite being, the same way you mortals can't fight entropy. Sure, you might make it cold inside a fridge, but you're still heating up everything around it even more."
"As soon as one of them broke free, they'd go back in time and stop me from doing it in the first place. Or go back even further in time and strike first. Which would mean that I would go back in time to do the same once I broke free. And so on. And as sturdy as we are, a universe can only have its creators and stewards warping the timeline back and forth so many times before it cracks."
"So ages and ages ago, we figured out a better way. An impartial judge, immutable rules, and most importantly... whoever wins, we all agree to leave it at that. That's why we hold these fun little contests." Lucy nudged him in the ribs with her elbow, giggled. "Though I gotta say, they don't usually end up this horny. I'm not complaining though, given the home court advantage that is for me."
"Hey. You're the one who brought up all my sex fantasies, and the other two were just as interested in hearing about them. I'm not the pervert here." He paused for a beat. "I'm not the only pervert here. Especially with the way Jehovah was dressing..."
He gave his head a shake, saw that Alice had gotten back to her seat, and so headed to the doorway. "See you at the meeting then. Just... don't cause too much mischief before then, alright?"
"No promises. Ta ta," she said in a low, sultry voice, giving him a flirty wink as she departed herself.
As Locke stepped into the hallway, he knew that time had restarted when he heard Chaos yell, "Lucy! You went already? You could have at least let me watch!"
The rest of the day passed by without incident, and as he sat through the final half hour of the compositions class that was the last on his schedule, a knock came at the door. It was the second of Ms. Wilson's he was in, and the pretty young teacher opened it to reveal Ms. Hymn standing at the door.
"May I please see Mr. Caulfield," she requested.
Ms. Wilson turned to him, and motioned for him to join her.
"Here," she said, handing him a note. "This is your assignment. I was waiting until the end of class to give it out, but since you're leaving us early..."
She gave her fellow teacher an irritated glance, and then dismissed the pair to leave.
Locke took the paper and folded it up into a little square, sliding it into his back pocket and promptly forgetting all about it. As he closed the door behind him to leave just him and Ella in the halls, he couldn't help but smirk.
"We had like thirty minutes of class left. What's the rush?"
"Your sister is coming to pick you up, isn't she? If we keep you late in a meeting, you might lose your ride home," she said, walking ahead of him. Locke wasn't really surprised they knew his schedule so precisely, though the level of consideration they were giving him did catch him off guard.
"Uh, thanks?"
"Of course. The role of judge gives you greater responsibility and importance than any mortal who has ever lived on this planet. Or ever will, for that matter. Ensuring you can perform your duties with as little stress as possible was one idea we all agreed on."
Locke thought about it for a moment as they walked down the halls. Ella had a sensual gait to her walk, similar to, but different from Lucy's. She walked with purpose, and pride, like the whole world was insubstantial and would do well to get out of her way. But there was a confidence to it that was almost sensual. She didn't need to emphasize being hot; everyone could see it. "Because if someone didn't disagree, the other two could tattle to the judge about it?"
Ms. Hym gave him a slight smile as she half-turned towards him. "Perhaps."
When they reached the history classroom, she opened it for him, and he walked in to join the other Goddesses. They were all sitting in students desks for him, and as soon as the door closed, they reverted to their godly forms.
"Locke," Chaos waved. "You're looking good. You get laid?"
"As hot as you made him, do you really think he could make it through a whole schoolday a virgin?" Lucy teased.
"Ahem!" Ms. Hymn cleared her throat as she stood in front of the teacher's desk. "Now that the round has concluded, it's time for you to pass judgment. Rank our efforts from best to worst. The first place champion will receive two points, and a privilege. The second place Goddess will receive one point, and a modest penalty. And the last placed Goddess will receive no points, and a strong penalty."
"The penalties were my idea," Chaos confessed with a smirk.
"And it was my idea that the penalties and privileges start relatively small, but get more intense the more rounds we go," Lucifer added.
"Huh. So it really is all my call." He leaned against the wall, cooly regarding the three women. "Well, last place is obvious. Turning Sun into a girl is just..." He let out a sigh. "Even if I was into that, it would be incidental."
Ella met him with a disapproving stare, but said nothing.
"First place though... that's tough. This new body feels amazing. It's not just being strong, it's like... I don't feel ashamed of being me. I feel good about who I am. Which is probably incredibly shallow, I know. But there it is."
"And Alice... well, I did say that was the greatest experience of my life, and I wasn't lying. But I wouldn't have been able to fuck her brains out without this new body either. So... hmm..."
He chewed on his lower lip, weighing the two against each other. It took him four minutes of silence before making a final decision. The goddesses said nothing, Lucy and Chaos both staring at him from across the room, both confident and proud. Finally, he settled on an answer.
"Okay, Lucy, you win this one. The contest was about helping me get Alice, and you were the most direct about it. Chaos, you're in second. And Ella, that makes you third."
