Chapter 15: A Naïve Little Girl

"It's quite interesting to learn more about Phil, but to be honest, we just meet in some classes," Arthur said while he slowly nodded his head and as he stopped, he grinned. "So, do you think he swings the other way?"

"Huh?" Avegaille looked very confused after hearing what Arthur just said. "I'm not quite sure of what to make of what you're trying to say…"

The two of them had been assigned lab partners for their science class, while Nicole May and Phil were partners. Although Avegaille didn't mind having someone else as her partner, especially if it was someone she just met for the first time, she was more worried about how Phil was interacting with Nicole May. Considering that she knew that she was the only person that Nicole May felt comfortable being with, and that Phil had tendencies of being a flirt and too oblivious to a girl's feelings, which made his personality conflict with Nicole May's. She was afraid both of them would end up fighting. Arthur, on the other hand, wanted to approach Nicole May so they could get to know each other properly, but he had been occupied with talking with Avegaille.

"Are you familiar with same gender relationships?" Arthur asked and winked at Avegaille.

"Uhh… well… no, not really…" Avegaille muttered, in which she laughed nervously and sweat-dropped.

"You're quite naïve, you know that," Arthur remarked as he shrugged and sighed. He gestured to the direction where Nicole May and Phil were. "You seem to be well acquainted with Nicole May over there. Let's have a what-if situation. Let's just say, Nicole May… was… well, not a girl but a guy."

"Huh, but I can't imagine her being a guy…" Avegaille muttered and stared at him blankly.

"Well, then, imagine if you were a guy then, and Nicole May had a crush on you," Arthur said and grinned. Avegaille slowly nodded her head, trying to understand the scenario. "Eventually, you also like her back and then you two will have a relationship like what those couples do. Now then, put the same situation in, this time, you, as a girl. That's how same-gender relationship works."

"Eh… it still doesn't make sense… why would a girl love another girl?" Avegaille asked and became more confused. She turned to Nicole May and Phil, who both seemed to be doing the experiment together, but she noticed the irritated look Nicole May had on her face. Then, she turned back to Arthur. "Well, are you saying that you like Phil in that way?"

"Sure, a guy can have as many crushes as he wants just as girls can have that many crushes, right?" Arthur remarked as he shrugged.

"Well, true…" Avegaille muttered, in which she sighed and gave up. She looked at the equipment on the table and wanted to start on the experiment. "Maybe we should work on this before Miss Clayton gives us a failing grade…"

"Yeah, even though she's been watching us talking like this all along…" Arthur muttered as he turned to Miss Clayton, who was sitting on her desk and staring at them, and sweat-dropped.

.-.-.-.-.-

It was finally lunch time when Avegaille decided to take Nicole May to the principal's office. She finally remembered that she had to ask her something, and the best place to do that was at her mother's office. Nicole May was a bit helpless and couldn't refuse, as she was on a wheelchair, even though she didn't want to get involved in Avegaille's silly little questions. As the two of them got inside the office, Vivian was shocked to see Nicole May on a wheelchair and turned to Avegaille.

"Did something happen to Nicole May?" Vivian asked while Nicole May sighed with exasperation.

"Eh, it was just an accident, but don't worry about it Miss Vivian," Avegaille replied and laughed nervously. Then, she sat down on one of the seats by the side of the door and Nicole May turned her wheelchair to face Avegaille.

"I see you're waiting for Jane… I'll be out for a while," Vivian said while she slowly walked out of the office, leaving the two of them alone.

After Vivian left, Nicole May groaned and folded her arms across her chest. Avegaille, on the other hand, was a bit nervous and didn't know where to start the conversation. She laughed nervously as she looked at Nicole May. Avegaille was observing both Nicole May and Phil during science class and noticed how the two of them were starting to get along. Well, at least, Phil tried his best to not annoy Nicole May further.

"What… what's so funny?" Nicole May asked as she slowly turned away from Avegaille.

"Ah, it's nothing, I just noticed how you were getting along with Phil," Avegaille replied and giggled. "Even though he's annoying sometimes… I mean, he can be a good person as long as he tries his best…"

"Is that the reason why you like him?" Nicole May asked as she turned back to her and raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, yeah… haha, it's a bit embarrassing to tell you, even if you already know," Avegaille replied while her face started turning red, and laughed nervously.

"I see…" Nicole May muttered as she lowered her head and kept quiet.

"Huh… did I say something wrong?" Avegaille asked upon noticing Nicole May's sudden change of mood. She stood up and went closer to Nicole May and knelt down beside her. She started thinking of any possibilities of what could make Nicole May upset. Then, something came to her mind. "Hey… could it be that you also like Phil?"

"WHAT?!" Nicole May exclaimed surprisingly as she quickly jerked up her head and turned to Avegaille while holding on the armrest on the wheelchair. She looked flustered and her face was red, not because what Avegaille said was true, but because of how ridiculous it was. She was also too nervous to admit that she wasn't interested in any men and that she was a lesbian. But she knew she had to tell Avegaille that before Avegaille could come up with something else. "H-hey now, don't come up with stupid conclusions like that without any basis… besides, I'm n-not interested in men!"

"Huh?" Avegaille looked confused after hearing what Nicole May said. She slowly stood up and sat down on the seat in front of Nicole May. "Hmm, that's really strange… I thought all girls were supposed to be interested in guys…"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nicole May asked as she stared at her exasperatedly. Then, she looked flustered again after realizing that Avegaille finally knew that she wasn't interested in a guy, but rather girls. Her face was still red and she slowly turned away from Avegaille. "N-not… every girl has to be interested in a guy… you know…"

"Hmm, that's the same thing Arthur said to me. He said not all guys had to be interested in girls either…" Avegaille muttered while she folded her arms across her chest. "He said something about me having a crush on you not as a guy, but as a girl, and eventually, the two of us would have a relationship, just like those couples in those television shows."

"What… the hell… he said something like that?!" Nicole May asked surprisingly and she became even more flustered just thinking about the situation, only it was the other way around.

"Hmm, well, I still don't get how that works…" Avegaille muttered and sighed. Then, she remembered she had to ask Nicole May something else aside from this. "Oh yeah, remember what Phil said earlier during math class after you slapped him?"

"Eh… what… w-what about it?" Nicole May asked nervously as she slowly turned back to Avegaille.

"I wanted to know why he said he wanted to be in the bottom of a girl… maybe you know why and slapped him like that," Avegaille replied and laughed nervously.

"Well, he's obviously a pervert, that's for sure," Nicole May remarked and her expression changed to exasperation. She slowly turned away from Avegaille as she cringed. "I'll bet he's also a masochist who gets his sexual pleasures from pain… and if you think about yourself being a sadist, you two might complement each other well…"

"Come on now… don't say things like that…" Avegaille whined out and pouted. "Well, I don't think Phil is a masochist… and I'm not a sadist either. But for him being a pervert, well, I did have my suspicions. When I saw you on the floor earlier, I thought he might have… you know…"

"Don't worry… he hasn't done anything… yet…" Nicole May muttered as she sweat-dropped. "Besides, I wouldn't let him and my guards would stop him before he even started."

"Ah, that's true… so, what he said earlier… so, basically he wanted to be in the bottom during… ah… hmm… ah, it's kinda embarrassing to say!" Avegaille exclaimed as she shook her head and then covered her face with her hands.

"What? Intercourse, intimacy, copulation… sex?" Nicole May grinned mischievously while observing Avegaille, who was embarrassed from just hearing those words. "So, you do have an idea how a guy and a girl does an intercourse…"

"Eh, it was mostly Jane's fault… at least, that was some time ago before she left and started living with Dad…" Avegaille muttered while she took off her hands from her face and turned away from Nicole May. Her face was still red as she was obviously thinking of 'that'.

"You're still too naïve either way…" Nicole May remarked, in which she sighed and shook her head slowly. She looked around the office and felt that it was too quiet. "So… can I ask again… why are we here?"

"Oh, I was going to ask Jane the same thing, but since you already gave me an idea of why… I guess… it's not necessary to wait for Jane anymore," Avegaille replied and laughed nervously while she sweat-dropped.

Before Nicole May could say another word, the door behind Avegaille opened and saw Jane enter the room. Jane closed the door and looked surprised as she turned to Nicole May.

"Did something happen to you?" Jane asked as she scratched her head. "I could have sworn you were walking just fine yesterday evening when you left…"

"I can still walk, just not the same way as a normal person could as of this moment," Nicole May muttered and sighed. "Avegaille was running too fast that she crashed into me and I fell on the floor along with her… and this pain still hasn't subsided…"

"You should really watch where you're going shrimp," Jane remarked as she turned to Avegaille and sat down next to her. "So, why are you guys here? This is the principal's office… I mean, students don't go in here unless they're sent in by the teachers or they're part of the student council…"

"Eh… well, I wanted to ask you something but Nicole May already answered it… so…" Avegaille replied and laughed nervously.

"Huh… what did you tell her, Nicole May?" Jane asked as she turned to Nicole May and sweat-dropped. She folded her arms across her chest as she leaned her back against the wall behind her.

"Oh, you know… why do some guys want to be in the bottom during an intercourse…" Nicole May replied as she sweat-dropped. She noticed that Jane was cringing and a bit speechless. "What? Am I not supposed to tell Avegaille those kinds of things?"

"No… you weren't…" Jane muttered as she slapped her face with her hand. "Last time I did that, she went a bit too overboard and asked everyone about it and in return they asked her where she found that out. She told everyone I told her that… Mom grounded me for a month because of that."

"Ehehe…" Avegaille placed her hand behind her head as she sweat-dropped. "Well, no one told me exactly in description how they do it…"

"Well of course no one will! It's disgusting to talk about sex in public!" Jane exclaimed furiously as she put down her hand and looked at Avegaille exasperatedly.

"I don't really think disgusting is the right term, but it depends on the person you're talking to. If it's someone who's quite liberated, they won't mind, but for more conservative people, you should really be careful…" Nicole May interjected while she folded her arms across her chest.

Then, the door leading to the principal's room opened and Mrs. Stewart walked out of the room. She noticed how busy the lobby was and then saw Nicole May sitting on a wheelchair. Nicole May turned the wheelchair to face Mrs. Stewart.

"Oh… you guys were kinda noisy that I had to come out and see what was going on…" Mrs. Stewart said and laughed nervously. Then, she turned to Jane and noticed how exasperated she was. "Jane, were you able to answer Avegaille's question?"

"Geh… was I supposed to? Nicole May already did that…" Jane muttered while she turned to Nicole May. "Besides… Mom, how come when I was almost the same age as Avegaille, you didn't want me to know about those kinds of things?!"

"Well, I suppose it wasn't just suitable to talk about it yet… well, either way, get inside the office, we have a lot of things to discuss regarding next month's activities," Mrs. Stewart said as she shrugged and went inside the room.

"Is this about the field trip for next month?" Jane asked as she stood up, ran inside the room and closed the door.

.-.-.-.-.-

"I'm so bored…" Avegaille muttered while she pushed the wheelchair Nicole May was sitting on through the hallways. "There's still some time left before the next class… yet I feel so sleepy…"

After they left the principal's office, the two of them had lunch in the cafeteria. Since Avegaille didn't have any lunch with her, Nicole May offered to pay for her lunch. Although Avegaille was a bit hesitant at first, she eventually accepted it afterwards. Once they were finished, both were trying to decide where to go next.

"Geh…" Nicole May slowly turned from her seat to see Avegaille's face. She had to see if Avegaille would make the same expression when she was about to fall asleep. No mistake, it really was the same expression and she had to do something, fast. "Hey, Avegaille, why don't we go to the newspaper room… and make it quick!"

"Huh… well… okay…" Avegaille muttered. She yawned and quickly pushed the wheelchair.

Avegaille ran as much as she could while pushing the wheelchair until they arrived at the area where the newspaper room was. She noticed the small bulletin board by the door and a flyer stuck to it with Elizabeth's handwriting. She turned the knob of the door, which was unlocked, and quickly swung the door open. Then, she noticed Elizabeth and Naz were inside, at the table, eating lunch. The two of them were surprised seeing Nicole May sitting on a wheelchair. The room had too many things inside that the wheelchair wouldn’t fit in. Nicole May forced herself to stand up as she entered the room and Avegaille quickly supported her until both of them got inside.

"So… why don't we start with—"

"Avegaille! Go around the divider and sit down on the sofa!" Nicole May exclaimed as she pointed to direction to the other side of the room.

"Huh? Uh… okay…" Avegaille muttered. She yawned again and slowly went around the divider. She saw the sofa Nicole May was talking about and sat down. There were also some pillows and she took one and hugged it. Without realizing it, she fell asleep.

"Whoa, hey… hold on, what's going on?" Naz asked as she turned to Nicole May, who was sitting on the chair that was on the other side of the table, near the door.

"Nicole May must have figured out when Avegaille's going to fall asleep…" Elizabeth remarked and laughed nervously. "Is that the actual purpose of the sofa there?"

"Yeah… I guess… although, the carpet is also a suitable place to sleep too…" Nicole May replied as she sweat-dropped. She noticed Elizabeth and Naz's confused looks and wanted to get ahead of them. "You guys are going to ask why I was on a wheelchair, am I right?"

"Eh… yeah… did something happen?" Naz asked as she stood up and went besides Nicole May.

"Just a hard collision on the floor after Avegaille bumped into me… although I'm getting a bit better… it's still hard to walk normally," Nicole May muttered and sighed.

"Well, if you're still unable to walk normally by tomorrow, you should probably go to the doctor…" Elizabeth said and looked worried. There were some sandwiches left in front of her. "Anyway, you want some?"

"It's okay, we just ate…" Nicole May muttered as she shook her head slowly. Then, she turned to Naz and noticed that she was busy folding the wheelchair from outside. Then, she watched Naz enter the room and place the folded wheelchair next to the divider and closed the door. "Uh… was that really necessary?"

"Yeah, of course. I mean, what if some students saw the wheelchair and took it?" Naz asked. She sat down on the chair next to Elizabeth. "Anyway, what's your next class? I mean, Avegaille's been pushing you around… is it that bad?"

"No, she's just persistent. I can turn the wheel by myself actually…" Nicole May muttered and groaned. Then, she looked at the area where the cabinet was but her view was blocked by the divider. "Hey, have you guys seen what's inside the cabinet?"

"Hmm, well, not all of it actually," Elizabeth replied while she continued eating her sandwich. "Is there anything special in it?"

"Yeah, actually, there's a digital SLR camera there… I'm sure Naz could make use of that…" Nicole May replied. Naz quickly stood up, went in front of the cabinet and opened the doors.

Elizabeth was surprised to see how excited Naz was looking through the cabinets until she found a camera bag, which was somewhat squarish. Naz quickly took it out and closed all the other doors of the cabinets. Then, she placed the camera bag on the table and opened it.

"Whoa, this thing's expensive and it's not even out yet in the market! Where'd you get this?" Naz asked excitedly and quickly turned to Nicole May.

"My Dad gave that to me, he found out I was spending too much and I told him it was for the school newspaper. I didn't even ask him to buy me that… plus, I'm not really into photography, so you can use it," Nicole May explained while she folded her arms across her chest.

"Awesome!" Naz exclaimed happily as she took out the camera and placed the strap around her neck. "Now I can take pictures as much as I want without wasting film!"

"Just don't overload the computer with them…" Elizabeth retorted as she sweat-dropped. Then, she turned to Nicole May. "Hey, we're going to have a meeting after school… so anyway, for now, I was thinking of who would be the editor-in-chief for the school paper."

"Oh, don't be so modest, Elizabeth. I know you want to be one," Naz interrupted while Nicole May sweat-dropped. "Well, what do you think Nicole May? She would make a good editor-in-chief, right?"

"Yeah… I know she can do it…" Nicole May replied and nodded slowly.

Then, someone knocked on the door. Everyone turned to the door as it slowly opened. Elizabeth immediately recognized Phil, who was standing in front of them and behind him was Arthur. Naz had no clue as to who was the guy that Arthur brought with him. As she turned to Elizabeth, she noticed how gentle her smile was towards the guy. Nicole May, on the other hand, was a bit irked at seeing Phil and went to the other side of the room where Avegaille was. While Nicole May struggled to get away from Phil, Elizabeth stood up and walked up to Phil.

"Hey, what brings you here?" Elizabeth asked and smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, well, Arthur here asked me if I wanted to join the newspaper… though, I do have the sports club to attend to," Phil replied and then, slowly turned to Arthur.

"Don't be ridiculous Phil, you can always be a contributor of some sort without being active here," Arthur insisted as he pushed Phil inside the room. Phil was a bit hesitant, but both of them eventually got inside the room and Elizabeth closed the door. "I never knew the school newspaper had this much cool stuff in them."

"Ah, you can thank Nicole May for that," Elizabeth said as she sweat-dropped. "Anyway, you guys can take a look around if you want… though this room is not really that big for more than six people…"

"Hmm, I am a bit curious about what this divider is for," Arthur said while he walked around the divider and saw Nicole May sitting next to Avegaille, who was fast asleep. He noticed how cute the two of them looked together, and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Huh, what's so funny?" Nicole May asked as she turned to Arthur, who was standing in front of the cabinet that was next to the sofa. She was hugging a pillow, similar to the one in Avegaille's arms.

"Ah, nothing, I just thought, maybe you and Avegaille would be much better together," Arthur remarked and grinned. "Anyway, even though you haven't properly introduced yourself to me, I already know your name… Miss 'Nicole May'…"

"I was just too preoccupied that time… it's not like I didn't want to tell you what my name was," Nicole May muttered as she looked away from Arthur.

"Hey, Phil, come here for a second," Arthur called and Phil approached him. Then, he pointed to the direction where Nicole May and Avegaille were. "Don't you think they look cute together?"

"Come on now Arthur, just because you're gay doesn't mean everyone else has to be…" Phil whispered as he sweat-dropped. "Besides, I don't think Avegaille swings the other way…"

"Oh, she doesn't have to, but you know what? She can be influenced," Arthur whispered back and winked.