Chapter 7: Conflicting Perspectives

Nicole May was on her seat, speechless at what Naz told her. She didn't want to admit it to herself either, but she knew that was where it was going to anyway. She took a deep breath and then, she felt calmer and after that, she started laughing. Naz stopped giggling and became confused at Nicole May's current reaction. Then, Nicole May turned to her, with her glasses on and shining while she had a smirk in her face.

"You wouldn't tell Avegaille about this, now would you?" Nicole May asked as she looked at Naz with the same eerie smirk in her face while her glasses reflected the light that her eyes couldn't be seen. "'Cause if you do, something terrible will happen to you…"

"You're not kidding… are you? And what's with that face? It's kinda creepy…" Naz muttered nervously as she sweat-dropped. She knew that there was something wrong with Nicole May the minute her mood changed like that. It also intrigued her in some way. "Are you even all right?"

"Haa?" Nicole May took off her glasses while she looked skeptically at Naz. Then, she remembered something that she forgot to do earlier in the morning. "I shouldn't have skipped on those meds earlier this morning… I can't even think straight anymore… I'll go home now before something much more terrible than this happens…"

"Hey, what are you talking about?" Naz asked while Nicole May got up from her seat.

"Remind me to explain it to you tomorrow… I might forget this even happened…" Nicole May replied. Then, she took her things and left the library.

"She's really weird… maybe it's that personality that made Avegaille turned off from her…" Naz pondered to herself and sighed.

.-.-.-.-.-

Mrs. Cunningham and Amelia just left the faculty room when Jane happened to pass by. She saw her Mom with the principal and quickly approached them. Usually, when her mother was around when Avegaille was studying in that school, something bad just happened. She assumed that the principal called her Mom so they could talk about Avegaille's behavior. It had been always like that since she was in elementary, since her sister was younger than her by three years. Amelia quickly noticed Jane and her concerned look and decided to change the mood a bit.

"Ah, Jane, what brings you here?" Amelia asked as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Mom, did Avegaille do something that got her in trouble again?" Jane asked and sighed.

"Hmm, what are you talking about? Avegaille's been good lately as what the teachers been telling me, though Johnny says that she keeps making a mess of the classroom whenever she's late…" Amelia said and giggled a little. "Anyway, what brings you here? Student Council business perhaps?"

"How did you know about that?" Jane asked surprisingly, and then, she turned to Mrs. Cunningham.

"I told your mother about how you worked hard to be the student council president, Jennifer," Mrs. Cunningham said and smiled. "Well, anyway, I shall be in the office, I could use some rest."

After Mrs. Cunningham left, Jane sighed exasperatedly as she folded her arms across her chest. Amelia looked at Jane and started to giggle again. She knew that her daughter didn't like it when she was called by her real name. She still remembered the day when Jane was only seven years old and all of them were still together. She wanted everyone to call her "Jane" during their family dinner. Amelia, at some point, soon learned as to why her daughter made such an absurd request. Apparently, Jane had a classmate who had the same first name as her, and her classmates were confused about who was who. There was also the fact that Jane and that girl didn't exactly get along.

"I might be forced to call you Jennifer also if you keep that up. She's the principal of this school after all, or at least, this will be her last day…" Amelia said as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Jane asked while she scratched her head.

"I'll be the principal of this school starting tomorrow, that's all I'm saying dear," Amelia said and grinned. "Avegaille doesn't know this yet, but don't expect any special treatments either, because I am serious when it comes to being fair to students. Anyway, what is it that you want to happen to this school? I know you're someone who hates being surrounded by people who like you just because you have a position."

"Well, I don't think I'm ready to say it yet… but… seriously, how did you even get the position of a principal? You must have been an awesome teacher back in the day or something…" Jane remarked and looked at her mother skeptically. "But… didn't you retire from teaching a few years ago… or did you retire because of problems with dad?"

"I don't really feel like talking about family problems in a school environment right now… but how's Jake been doing?" Amelia asked and sighed.

"Dad has changed quite a lot," Jane replied. "He said that I could live with you guys again if I wanted to. He's been preoccupied by his job again and he's going to his sessions every week, but overall, he's changed for the better."

"That's good to hear, I suppose… and well, you're always welcome to my house anytime Jane…" Amelia said and smiled. "Your sister misses you anyway."

"You guys aren't going to get back together again, are you?" Jane asked as she looked at her mother curiously.

"No, and you can't make me either. Besides, you know what your father did to your little sister. Avegaille doesn't even want to see him, or better yet, she's terrified of him," Amelia replied curtly and sighed annoyingly. She looked around and saw that there was no one else around. Amelia also knew that no one could hear their conversation from where they were standing since the faculty room itself was soundproof from the inside. She didn't want anyone outside her family to know about their past problems, and she was trying her best to make up for what was left all for the better. "This is why I hate talking about family problems in a school environment… you do realize your reputation could also be ruined because of this?"

"Well, maybe we could talk about it some other time then…" Jane suggested. "Well, if it's okay with you Mom, I'll start living with you guys again by next week. I have to tell dad about me getting ready to move back, of course."

"Sure, and also tell your sister about it. Johnny also told me that your little sister was upset with you when you visited their classroom. Did you do anything to upset her?" Amelia asked as she looked at Jane skeptically.

"Eh… um… well, I guess she was just upset because I was pretending that we weren't related… but I didn't get a chance to explain it to her yet…" Jane replied nervously and her mother sighed with exasperation. "Come on Mom, you know it's hard being a student council president already… it's going to be even more tougher now that you're the school principal…"

"Why can't you be yourself Jane? I really think you should just be yourself and stop pretending," Amelia said and sighed even more. "Well anyway, I'll be putting up a general assembly tomorrow for all the students, and the student council will also be there. Isn't that what you wanted to talk about?"

"Yeah, we can talk about it in the principal's office, I guess… Mrs. Cunningham could also help us out," Jane suggested.

.-.-.-.-.-

It was almost three in the afternoon when Avegaille woke up from her sleep. She slowly sat up from the bed she was sleeping on and then, looked around. She couldn't see clearly without her glasses and started to feel around her area until she felt that she got her glasses on top of the small cabinet next to her and put them on. Then, she realized that she was inside the school's clinic and the nurse was quite busy reading a book. The nurse noticed Avegaille was up and stopped reading.

"Ah, you're awake! Your friends brought you in here while you were asleep… I must say it was quite impossible to wake you up that time," the nurse said and chucked. "Anyway, school is almost over, most students are already going home as of this time since there aren't even any classes for this day."

"I suppose I should go get my things… if I could remember where I placed them…" Avegaille muttered while she got off the bed. She sat down on the floor and started putting her shoes on.

"You don't have to worry about that… your friend was kind enough to bring your bag here," the nurse said as she pointed on the chair, where Avegaille's bag was.

"Ah, thanks…" Avegaille said as she stood up and took her bag from the chair. "I'll be going now…"

"Sure, sure," the nurse said while she watched Avegaille leave the clinic. Then, she went back to reading her book.

.-.-.-.-.-

"Amelia, you seem to be a bit… too quiet…" Andrea said while she placed the cup of coffee on her hand in front of Amelia. Then, she took another cup from the cupboard and filled it with coffee. She went to the table and sat down next to Amelia. "I thought you were going to be the principal of Centralville Middle School but you don't look so happy…"

Amelia decided to stay over at Andrea's place for a while after she finished discussing the program for the general assembly tomorrow, and both of them were in the kitchen. Andrea made some coffee so they could have a drink while they talked about things that happened for the day. Amelia rarely visits Andrea's house unless she had a serious problem or was just a bit depressed. Andrea was the one who always comes over to Amelia's place to have their usual fun time.

"It's not about that, I just talked with Jane earlier," Amelia replied and sighed. Then, she held on the mug and took a sip of coffee and placed it back down. "I really wanted to forget that Jake and I were even married… hence why we got a divorce, but Jane says he's trying to change to be better…"

"Ah, your first child… well, I guess she just wants things the way they were before… but with you being quite persistent about not getting back together again, I don't think that's going to happen, is it?" Andrea asked. Then, the phone started ringing. "Huh, who could it be this time?"

"Busy as always, I see…" Amelia remarked while she watched Andrea rushed to where the phone was. Andrea picked up the phone and answered it.

"Yeah, your mother's here… hmm, well, you should come over and have dinner with us for the night then since she's here and all," Andrea said over the phone. Apparently, Avegaille was on the other line. "Hmm, what, you don't want to talk with Phil? I'm pretty sure he wants you to come over…"

"Avegaille's at it again…" Amelia said to herself and sighed. She continued drinking her cup of coffee while Andrea continued to convince Avegaille to come over. After that, Andrea hung up the phone and she went back to her seat. "Were you able to convince her to come?"

"Yeah, somewhat… as long as… Phil doesn't annoy her…" Andrea replied as she folded her arms across her chest. "Phil has a crush on Avegaille, I know that, but Avegaille seems to be confused over this, that sometimes she's in denial… and tries to push him away."

"Aren't all girls like that anyway?" Amelia asked while she looked at Andrea mischievously. Then, she started giggling. "I feel a bit better now. I'll help you out in making dinner."

"That was fast… hey, you know, you can always talk to me about your problems anytime," Andrea insisted while Amelia stood up from her seat. "I mean, you shouldn't be trying to be keeping them to yourself all the time, I'm here to help…"

"I'll be fine, don't worry…" Amelia said as she shook her head and turned away from Andrea. "Oh yeah, what are you going to cook for tonight?"

"Ah, well, I really don't know, there are lots of ingredients in the fridge, and you're better at cooking than I am, so why don't you decide?" Andrea replied and laughed nervously.

"All right, time to get started!" Amelia exclaimed as she quickly went to the refrigerator and opened it to look at the ingredients inside.

.-.-.-.-.-

Nicole May sat up on her bed as she opened her eyes. She had been sleeping for almost three hours after she took her alternate medication when she got home. Her mother wasn't around that day since she was busy with her shoot. Only the maids, butlers as well as the other workers were in the mansion. Nicole May actually had her own personal maid but she preferred doing things by herself. The maid's only job was to remind her of things she forgot to do or do the chores Nicole May forgot to do. The maid also made sure that Nicole May took her medicines, but sometimes, Nicole May was a bit persistent in not taking them probably because she had to wake up at three in the morning to take them. It was almost getting dark outside when she got off her bed and tried to remember what happened earlier.

"Ugh, what just… happened?" Nicole May grumbled. She tried recalling things that happened earlier but nothing came up. She took out her phone from her bag and looked at its contents. Her phone usually contained things she needed to do the next day, as she placed those details in there before she would end up forgetting them. She browsed it until she remembered some things. "Ah, that's right… those two will be coming to school tomorrow. I forgot to ask the principal for permission… maybe I'll do that tomorrow…"

She started putting that detail into her phone and after she was finished, she continued reading more. It didn't contain much aside from saying that she finished making arrangements for the things they needed. Then, Nicole May remembered the incident in which Avegaille fell asleep on her chest. Her face started turning red again as the incident started playing in her head.

"I really don't know why I'm starting to have this kind of feeling for her…" Nicole May muttered to herself while she looked at her phone. Then, she added a note that said 'try not to get too close to Avegaille'.

.-.-.-.-.-

The next day, Avegaille arrived at school with a new outfit… somewhat. Instead of wearing a skirt, she was now wearing blue jeans but still sporting the same orange t-shirt and white hooded jacket. Of course, no one really noticed the difference except for Phil, who happened to pass by and saw her. Both of them don't really walk to school together since Avegaille was somewhat lazy to leave the house early and the fact that she was still a bit uneasy over Phil. Avegaille was just getting some of her books from the locker when Phil approached her.

"Hey, Avegaille, what's with the jeans? You looked so much cuter in a skirt if you ask me…" Phil remarked while Avegaille turned to him.

"Eh, it's none of your business, you pervert!" Avegaille exclaimed as her face started turning red while she took out something from her locker. Apparently it was a 24-inch black thick stick, but its true purpose for it was yet unknown other than to hit perverts with it.

"Whoa, whoa, don't hit me with that, I was just… you know, wondering…" Phil nervously muttered as he backed away from Avegaille. "By the way, where did you get that?"

"Oh, this? I got it when I was training for self-defense every summer since I was in Midway Academy. There's another one, but one is usually enough, unless you're in real trouble… then you can use the other one," Avegaille explained while she looked at the stick. "Anyway, you should join the school paper… Elizabeth's quite persistent in finding more people to join…"

"Ah, Elizabeth's also studying here… guess she's not in the same class as we are…" Phil muttered as he folded his arms across his chest. "Anyway, there's an assembly at the auditorium to introduce the new school principal, we should head over there right away."

"How come I don't know these events until someone tells me?" Avegaille asked while she placed the stick back in her locker.

"You did kinda arrive late, it was announced over the speakers like thirty minutes ago," Phil replied and chuckled a bit. He looked behind Avegaille and saw that Nicole May was approaching them. Nicole May was wearing a new outfit also. She was wearing a long sleeved collared shirt with a blue sleeveless v-neck sweater over it but still wore the same red pleated skirt. "Yo, Nicole, how's it going?"

"I really hate it when people just call me Nicole…" Nicole May muttered as she started at Phil exasperatedly. Then, she turned to Avegaille. "You want to go to the auditorium right now? Naz and Elizabeth are waiting for us there…"

"Ah, yeah, let me just close this…" Avegaille said and she closed her locker, then placed the lock on it. Then, Nicole May took her arm and dragged her away, leaving Phil behind.

"Hey wait, dammit…" Phil called but Avegaille and Nicole May were too far away for them to hear him. "Might as well go there by myself…"

.-.-.-.-.-

While Nicole May continued dragging Avegaille, Avegaille decided to stop Nicole May from dragging her, in effect, both of them stopped walking. Avegaille seemed a bit surprised and confused at Nicole May's sudden attachment to her.

"Hey, you know, you've been acting weird lately…" Avegaille remarked as she folded her arms across her chest. "I really can't say where, but you're much more different than when I last met you in Midway Academy…"

"What… what are you talking about? I just took my meds this morning…" Nicole May muttered as her cheeks started turning red. She quickly turned away from Avegaille before she could see her face. Then, she realized that Avegaille wasn’t supposed to know about her condition. "Geh, you weren't supposed to know that… whatever, let's go…"

"Eh, you take medication…? Guess I'm not the only one…" Avegaille remarked and laughed nervously while she scratched her head. "Too bad I can't take the meds yet for my sleeping problems…"

"Just don't sleep on me next time please…" Nicole May muttered while she started to walk again.

"Eh?" Avegaille looked at Nicole May, not clearly hearing what she said, but Nicole May was already leaving her behind. Avegaille quickly ran up to her and both of them started walking together again. "Hey, wait up!"

.-.-.-.-.-

Inside the auditorium, Nicole May and Avegaille saw Elizabeth and Naz by the right side. Naz was waving at them, and there were two empty seats next to her. Avegaille and Nicole May quickly went there, with Nicole May sitting on the end row while Avegaille sat between Nicole May and Naz. Then, Naz went closer to Avegaille and whispered something to her. Avegaille looked at Naz in a confused manner and then stared at Nicole May, who was busy reading a book with her glasses on. Then, Avegaille took Nicole May's arm and started cuddling over her.

"Avegaille! Whaat… what are you doing?!" Nicole May exclaimed as she started to become flustered while her face started turning red.

"Huh, Naz wanted to see what it was like for two people to cuddle each other, like they were in the movies or something…" Avegaille replied as she looked at Nicole May blankly. She was still hugging Nicole May's arm. Then, Naz started to chuckle.

"Very funny Natalie…" Nicole May muttered sarcastically as she glared at Naz. She was tempted to throw the book she was holding in her other arm, but she knew that would cause a scenario considering the amount of students inside the auditorium.

"You guys are so cute together!" Naz remarked and continued to giggle. Then, she turned to Elizabeth, who was watching them with exasperation. "Isn't that right, Lizzie?"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it Naz… could you keep quiet now, the program's about to start…" Elizabeth groaned while she rested her elbow in one of the armrests of the seats and placed her chin on her hand.

"Eh? What's Naz talking about, Elizabeth?" Avegaille asked as she took off her hold of Nicole May's arm and looked at Elizabeth.

"Ah, it's nothing worth knowing Avegaille… you don't need to worry about it…" Elizabeth said while she sighed and turned away from her and looked at the stage. "Natalie here is just on crack, that's all…"

"I swear she's going to get it one of these days…" Nicole May muttered to herself while she continued to read her book. Her glasses began to reflect again that her eyes can't be seen.

"I'm confused now…" Avegaille muttered and folded her arms across her chest. Then, she looked at the stage and saw that her mother was walking to the podium. "Eh?! What's Mom doing there… I mean here?!"

"Whoa, that's your mother?!" Naz exclaimed while she looked at Avegaille. Nicole May stopped reading her book and took off her glasses. She turned to Avegaille and then, at the stage, where the program already started.

"Good morning, students of Centralville Middle School, starting from today, I'll be the new principal of this school. I'm Amelia Stewart, but you can just refer to me as Mrs. Stewart or something… dammit… Jane, why does it have to be this formal?!" Amelia exclaimed without realizing that she was still speaking over the microphone. The students were chuckling over the scenario on the stage.

"Gah! Mom… I mean… Mrs. Stewart, the students are watching and listening to you, please watch your… words…" Jane muttered as she sweat-dropped. Then, she looked at Vivian, who was next to her. "Miss Vivian, please help me out here…"

"Ah, yes, Jane is right. Well, my suggestion is that you should tell the students what you want to happen to this school…" Vivian said and laughed nervously. Amelia looked at the stage and noticed that the students were waiting for her. She also noticed from the side that Avegaille was placing her hand over her face at the scenario.

"All right then, all of you students, starting from today, I'll be your principal… I may not be serious now, but I'll make sure that this school will be a better place for both students and teachers and I don't like rule breakers either, so be careful children!" Amelia announced over while the students looked at her in a confused manner but just shrugged and clapped.

"Your mother sure will make a cool principal," Naz remarked while Avegaille groaned with embarrassment.