Good Morning, Class

"Cadance, can I ask you something?" Spike looked over at his boss/current traveling companion. Math turned out to be the final class for B-5 that day, and every girl in that room was pretty quick to remind him that he had agreed to move to campus. So, he was now walking to the nearest subway station with her.

"Hm?" She looked over, now wearing a pair of body-hugging jeans and midriff-baring t-shirt that didn't leave a lot to the imagination. Though, given how she was dressed when they met, Spike didn't have much trouble worrying about imagining anything.

"Um, when you were in the classroom, how come you didn't tell them my real age?"

She simply responded with a mysterious grin, "How come you didn't tell?"

"With the exception of Ember-who already knows since SHE'S a dragon too, you really think any of them would believe me when I still look like I'm ten? I mean, my voice won't even start to crack for another five years!"

"Well, the main reason I didn't has something to do with that as well." She answered as they finally reached the entrance. By this time, most were already, or had finished, the commute home. So, the station was fairly quiet at the moment. "You saw how readily they embraced you as their teacher, and it's only your first day here. Do you really want to skew all that by making a fuss over your age? Besides," She took on a more humorous tone, "With how you're championing them, not knowing your age is probably the only thing keeping several of them from trying to seduce you."

Unfortunately, the humor flew right over his head. "But that's just it!" He responded, "They're all going to find out sooner or later; what if they think I'm some creep that's using his size to perv on them!?" Cadance had no trouble catching the worry in his voice. "My job, the reputation I'm gonna get, and whatever career I build here is going to hinge on maintaining a measure of professionalism. That's gonna be hard enough when some of the students snatch me up in hugs." He sighed, "And I've already slipped once in calling Macareina cute."

"You don't think she's cute?" She teased as they got in the subway car.

"Of course she is, but that's beside the point." Spoke slumped a little when they sat down, "But making remarks like that isn't something a teacher needs to be doing. I think she and Applejack missed it, but still..." He let out a deep breath, shaking his head, "And I...I just don't wanna mess this up." In doing so, however, he missed the brief smirk on Cadance's face that quickly got hidden in the shadows once the train started its journey.

With the exception of a stoned-out-of-her-gourd unicorn wandering down the cars, mumbling something about potato wedges, the ride proved to be uneventful. Less than an hour passed before they reached their stop. However, it was still about a three block walk until they actually entered the Heights.

The whole area had an eerie feel; the street and surrounding buildings seemed to get more and more abandoned the closer they got. Aside from the occasional distant shout or dog barking, it was unnervingly quiet.

"So, what's the name of the place you're living at?" Cadance asked, heading towards the district like she was walking to the store.

"Oh, uhm...the 'Grizzlehoof Arms'." He answered, almost stumbling when she suddenly took his hand, giving the image of a mother and son going for a walk.

"No sense making it look odd if we're heading the same way." She said, "Now, which way do we go?"

"Ah.. take a left there." He pointed to a nearby corner once they entered Everfree Heights. "There's one other thing I'm kind of curious about."

"Yeah?"

"You said something about a 'behavior code' earlier today..."

"Well, it's basically a set of rules to ensure students don't become troublemakers and ruin things for others. Stuff like no narcotics, if anyone smokes, they do it in an empty spot of the campus grounds at least."

"Give us yer bits, NOW!" A grubby-looking mare and stallion came rushing out from around a dumpster and pointed switchblades at them threateningly.

Cadance just gave them an annoyed look, her horn flashing twice, "Parties in the dorms are ok, provided they don't disturb students studying or sleeping. Alcohol's fine, as long as they don't get drunk on a school night. Otherwise it's their own fault if they find themselves having to attend class with a hangover."

"I'm guessing they never try that more than once." Spike replied, glancing at the pair, still holding out their knives.

"A couple of times for the more stubborn ones." She nudged the wannabe muggers aside, their immobilized bodies falling over with a clunk, "And the girls tend to change their minds pretty quick after seeing what passes for hangover cures"

A couple turns (and a third frozen mugger) later, the two were standing outside the apartment building.

Cadance looked at Spike in disbelief, "Are you insane!? This place has 'condemned' written all over it!" She pointed wildly at at least three broken windows-one with a half-assed boarding, a dilapidated fire escape, and an area where it looked someone tried to steal the brickwork.

"I know, but it's hard to be picky living on five thousand bits a year." He replied, missing the look of disbelief on her face.

'Five thou...?? Cadance shook her head and followed him in, feeling a LOT better about the idea of getting him out of there.

Inside, she scrunched her nose up at the musty smell, like the place hadn't been properly cleaned in years; peeling wallpaper, a carpet that threw up puffs of dust with each step, and a brief movement in the corner that she was sure was a rat.

"There's the owner, Gustav." Spike motioned to a mangy-looking yellow male griffon at the counter, reading a porno mag.

"Ugh...ok, I'll deal with him, go ahead and pack up what you want to salvage." She had to resist the urge to scowl when she caught him not even try to hide the leer he gave her.

"You sure? I mean, he thinks he's suave enough to get into any pair of panties he wants."

"Trust me." She gave the 'lobby' a look over and he noticed she seemed to be doing a mental tally of something.

"All right." Spike hesitated for a moment, before finally making his way up the stairs.

As soon as he was up the first flight, she marched towards the counter.

The griffon didn't bother to hide the mag, or look above her breasts when she got near, 'Well, hell-o ladies..."

"Can it, jackass!" She snapped, slamming her fist on the counter and making him jump, "And my eyes are up here!" A scowl crossed her face until he finally made eye contact, which meant tilting his head back a bit since she was a few inches taller than him. Before he could say anything she began, "First off, that little dragon going up the stairs; he's with me. He's also moving out of this overgrown roach motel." She lowered her head down a bit until they were even, "Now, you have two options; you can give him his deposit, since you and I both know that without a written agreement, withholding it until he prepays rent-like you are-is illegal in Canterlot."

The griffon reared back, evidently not accustomed to being called out like this, "Who the hell do you think...!?" He quickly shut up when her horn started glowing.

"OR, I can inform certain parties about the dozen or so violations I've already counted in this dump." She jerked her head head towards the entrance, "The wrecked fire escape, which is a fifteen thousand bit fine in itself. The compromised structural integrity, ten thousand bits plus repairs." She made sure he followed her gaze to a visible patch of fuzzy-looking black matter behind some peeling walpaper, "Black mold, up to five thousand depending on how widespread it is."

"Are...are you kidding me!?" He protested, trying to ignore the intimidating glow, "There ain't nothing...!"

"Possible vermin infestation, that's at least three hundred." She continued, catching another rat out of the corner of her eye, then pointed to a light switch with visible, naked wires sticking out, "The shoddy wiring I can from here; that's a thousand bare minimum."

"That's just one switch!"

"No sign of any fire extinguishers in the holders, which are required in buildings like this, five hundred per violation. And that 'lovely' planter full of Poison Joke in the corner." She looked pointedly at the mass of blue flowers, ignoring his strident shriek of 'they aren't mine!', "Which just so happens to be highly illegal to grow-much less own-in the city limits, is another one thousand bit fine PER PLANT, and I believe I see at least twenty."

"You...you can't do that!" He shouted, moving to jump her, regardless of magic...only to feel his feet get yanked out from under him.

"Can I?" She responded, pulling a phone out of her pocket after he faceplanted onto the counter. "A couple of phone calls is all it takes."

"You...you...!" He finally deflated after she started dialing. "Fine! Fine..." He muttered under his breath as he removed a nearby poster to reveal a wall safe, though Cadance caught the words 'bitch', 'cunt' and 'hooker wannabe'. A minute later a bag hit the counter in front of her, "There's the little reptite's deposit; I hope you both choke on it!"

"Right. Oh, by the way." Cadance looked him dead in the eye as he suddenly found himself faceplanting again, except this time, he was stuck to the floor, "That was being a creep. This is for being an asshole."

His eyes widened and began to tear up when he heard the sound of a phone ring, followed by 'Hello, Canterlot Health and Safety Commision?' He tried to scream, but she'd locked his beak shut as well.

Meanwhile

"He changed the lock, that feathered so-and-so changed my damn lock!" Spike growled, examining the door after he'd been forced to remove it from the frame when his key jammed. The lock'd been switched with a newer, microchipped model, the kind needing a key with the matching chip. A glance at nearby doors showed a couple others had been done same. "Probably thinks he can squeeze a few more bits out of the tenants for the new keys if they don't know already." He snorted and tossed the door to the side, "Yeah, agreeing to move was definitely a good idea. Ok, first off..." He quickly headed to the closet. The apartment-if it could actually be called that-wasn't much more than one room; bed in the corner, fridge, stove and sink on the other side, and a small bathroom off it.

Luckily, he didn't have too much to worry about in regards to what he had take with him. "Never thought I'd be happy this thing always jammed" He mused, wrenching the stuck closet open with a crack, and pulling out the old Saratrota trunk Scorpan had given him when he finally moved out on his own. Supposedly he'd gotten it from a pawn shop owner who thought it just looked tacky and wanted to get rid of it. A sigh of relief that it was still locked and he quickly opened it and began pulling out the compartments.

It took a few minutes, but he'd managed to double check that his books and winter clothes were still accounted for. A slight shiver ran down his back at the thought of how the girls, and a few teachers for that matter, would react to the blue,teddy bear decorated sweater he'd been forced to settle for last time he went for clothes. As he started getting clothes out of his closet and the cheap little dresser nailed to the wall, he had to fight another shiver while getting out some of his more tailored stuff; a pair of vest-slack combos in blood red and steel , and another business suit in dark green. Those, along with his regular shirts, jeans, and everything else he could find/remember, including a couple of posters he made sure to grab, went.

However, it wasn't completly flawless, "Son of a bitch stole my toothbrush!" He yelled, staring at the empty holder, "He even took the toothpaste and my jar of scale polish!" Being cheap was one thing, but this waltzed into petty shit! For that, he made it a point to turn the hot water on before leaving.

By the time he got back down, Cadance was putting her phone away...and Gustav was on the floor bawling.

"Got everything?" She asked when she spotted him.

"Yeah."

"Then it's time to go." She handed him the bag, "Here's your deposit."

He glanced to the crying griffin, "Um, do I wanna know?"

"Just explained a few basic truths he didn't enjoy. Nothing to worry yourself about."

The trip back to the college turned out to be rather uneventful, and the sun was already setting by the time they got back.

"Whew, feels good to be away from that dump." Cadance commented.

"I'll second that." Spike replied, "Never thought I'd be that happy to leave a place behind. So, do I just pick a room or just find an empty one?"

At this, Cadance stared blankly for a second, "Whoops..."

"'Whoops'? What 'whoops'? That's never a good thing!"

"Heh, I forgot to tell you...um...unfortunately, all the rooms in the teacher housing are currently taken." She said sheepishly, before quickly taking on a more cheerful expression, "However, there is a free room in the student dorm!"

Spike almost dropped his trunk, "The..the student dorm?"

"Mm-hm! And luckily for you, it's on class B-5's floor. Since we have a relatively small student body, each class has access to their own floor in the dorms, so you'll be able to be right there, just in case!"

"But..but..." He gestured toward the teacher housing, albeit a tad helplessly. "What about the one who got fired?"

"Svengallop was adamant about living off campus." She replied, rolling her eyes a little at the memory, "The idea of rooming 'among nudists' was apparently beneath him." Her smile then looked even more cheerful, "Don't worry, you'll be fine! I'll go let one of the girls know they can tell the others." She started to trot off, "Oh, one more thing, sometimes they tend to have sleepovers with each other from time to time, so you may wake up with company on occasion, but at worst most of them are just cuddlebugs from what I've heard."

As she left, he could only stand there, fin drooping slightly, "Aw, come on...!" He whimpered.