Chapter 19: A Certain Weird Rumor

"Avegaille, you're into those cartoons called anime, right?" Emily asked, quickly grabbing Avegaille's arm and clung into it. She snuggled her face on Avegaille's shoulder and giggled.

"Ah… yeah… I guess… but isn't it redundant to call anime… cartoons, when… anime is actually the Japanese term for cartoons?" Avegaille pondered and looked confused.

"Hey… Hayward, just what do you think you're doing to Avegaille?" Nicole May asked as she stared at her exasperatedly and folded her arms across her chest.

"Hmm? Are you jealous that I spend more time with Avegaille than you?" Emily asked, staring at Nicole May mischievously.

"Just because Elizabeth approved your application to be in the school newspaper doesn't mean you can do whatever you want to Avegaille…" Nicole May muttered as her face started turning red and quickly turned away from them.

The three of them were currently in the newspaper room. Emily was sitting on the sofa with Avegaille while Nicole May was standing to the side of Avegaille. It had been weeks since Emily arrived in Centralville Middle School. She finally decided to join the school newspaper after noticing that they lacked members, plus she wanted to write literary pieces. The fact that she didn't hold a grudge against Nicole May anymore made her more willing to join. Nicole May was hesitant about letting her join but the final decision had to come from Elizabeth, since she was the editor-in-chief. After seeing how good Emily was with any type of task, Elizabeth agreed in making her part of the staff.

"I knew it! You're interested in Avegaille, aren't you?" Emily teased.

"Eh?" Avegaille was getting even more confused with Emily and Nicole May's conversation and scratched her head. "What are you guys talking about?"

"You… just shut up Emily!" Nicole May exclaimed as she quickly turned to Emily and pointed at her face. Her body started trembling and she became more flustered. "Besides, it's not what… it's not what you think!"

"Oh?" Emily slowly got up from her seat and took Nicole May's hand. She looked at her mischievously and grinned at her. "You seem nervous, Nicole May… you know I think there was this term they call people like you… hmm, what was it? Tsu… tsun…"

"Tsundere?" Avegaille interrupted, in which Nicole May and Emily quickly turned to her. Still unsure of what was going on, she stared at them blankly.

"Ah… yeah, that!" Emily exclaimed happily.

"Eh?!" Nicole May quickly pulled herself from Emily's grip and turned away from them.

"Well, I noticed Nicole May's been acting like that lately… I kinda think it's cute…" Avegaille remarked and laughed nervously.

"Hmm?" Emily looked at Nicole May, who was trembling in the corner. "I see… well it can't be helped if she doesn't want to talk about it…"

"Sorry to interrupt you three!" Naz exclaimed. She quickly stood in front of everyone and waved her hand. The SLR camera had a strap, which was hung on her neck, and she was holding the camera itself with her other hand. "Hey, Nicole May, are you all right? You're sulking in that corner again…"

"Just… leave me alone…" Nicole May muttered and groaned, walking away from them. Then, she sat on a chair and rested her head against the desk while warping her arms around it.

"Hmm, did you do something to her, Emily?" Naz asked, slightly raising an eyebrow.

"No way, I was… just teasing her…" Emily replied as she sweat-dropped and laughed nervously. "Besides, I promised that I'll be good, right?"

"Of course you did," Naz said and grinned. "Well, anyway, I was going to tell you guys about those perverted nerds at the science lab… it seems that the situation's getting worse."

"Eh… perverted nerds… hmm, you told me about them some time ago, right?" Avegaille asked as she scratched her head.

"Ah, that's right. Well, take a look at this…" Naz said while she pressed a couple of buttons in the camera and faced the screen to Avegaille and Emily for them to see. Emily looked closer at the screen and noticed there was a poster taped in front of the science lab's door. "Well, that's just what the science lab's door looks like today."

"Hmm, I wonder who placed that poster there…" Emily pondered while she folded her arms across her chest. "The text is kinda small to read…"

"Ah, it was Lorraine. I got some info that she's the president of the cheerleading club," Naz replied. "I'm guessing she's the same age as Jane, Avegaille's older sister. She was talking to Jane before she placed that poster there."

"Maybe I should get those things…" Avegaille muttered as she stood up from her seat and left Emily and Naz. Then, she went out of the room.

"What… things?" Emily asked and immediately turned to Naz.

"Oh, Avegaille knows a certain type of self defense, but it requires her to use those long stick things…" Naz replied and sat down on the sofa. "I haven't seen her actually use it yet… but Lizzie has."

"Elizabeth? Did something happen to her?" Emily asked, sitting down next to Naz.

"Ah, Lizzie told me that a couple of days ago, she was at the hallway and some pervert was stalking her. Then, the pervert purposely laid himself on the ground so he could see Lizzie's panties. Luckily, Avegaille was there with her sticks and she quickly assaulted the pervert. At least, that was what Lizzie told me…" Naz explained and chuckled. "The pervert was trembling after that, and Lizzie hasn't seen him since."

"Hmm, is it me or are they targeting girls wearing skirts?" Emily muttered, squinting her eyes for a bit.

"Yeah, that's basically the gist of it. Jane is also aware of the situation, but she can't do anything about it… yet," Naz added and sighed. "Hmm, if the student council president can't do something about this… who will?"

"Jane? I thought the president of the student council was named Jennifer…" Emily recalled and slightly scratched her head.

"Oh, you haven't met Avegaille's sister yet, have you?" Naz asked. "Yeah, her name is Jennifer but everyone calls her Jane… also, some people don't even know what her real name is aside from the teachers, close friends and family members. Avegaille told me that calling her by her real name is like asking for a death wish."

"She must really not like her real name then…" Emily remarked and laughed nervously. "Well, anyway, I don't think those perverts will bother looking at what's under my skirt, seeing as I wear shorts under them."

"Thinking ahead of the game, eh?" Naz grinned mischievously at her.

.-.-.-.-.-

"Goddammit, why did I have to be like that in front of them?" Nicole May groaned while she pressed her hand on the wall and lowered her head. She was outside the newspaper room, about to go to her next class as lunch time was almost over. She also had Avegaille's bag with her, since Emily and Naz went ahead to their next class and were asked to return the bag to Avegaille. "Why can't I just be honest with myself sometimes? Everyone is already noticing it… and yet I always keep denying it…"

"Hmm, Nicole May, are you all right?"

"Geh!" Nicole May quickly lifted up her head and turned around. She saw Avegaille standing in front of her, very confused and she was carrying two long black rattan sticks with both of her hands. Then, she slowly walked back until she was leaning on the wall. "Avegaille! How… how long have you been s-standing there?"

"Oh, I just passed by and noticed you were… there… sulking again," Avegaille replied and laughed nervously. "Are you sure you're okay? I mean… Emily said something about you being interested in me. I really don't get what she meant by that though… I don't even remember what Arthur said back then… something about being attracted to the same gender. I seriously should write down things so I don't forget them…"

"Please don't!" Nicole May interjected and her face started turning red again. "Eh… I mean… I mean to s-say that… y-you don't have to worry about me!"

"Well, okay… hmm, at least my drowsiness isn't coming unto me today…" Avegaille said calmly. "We should get to our next class… let's see…"

"Here…" Nicole May immediately handed over Avegaille's bag and looked away from her.

"Ah, thanks!" Avegaille exclaimed happily as she took her bag and hung the strap on her shoulder. "Come on, we should—"

"EEEEK!"

Avegaille and Nicole May quickly turned to the direction where the scream came from. Then, they saw a girl who was wearing a cheerleading outfit running towards them. Following her was a boy wearing thick glasses and was drooling while chasing her. The girl quickly went behind Avegaille. Then, the boy suddenly stopped after he saw Avegaille and the sticks she was holding. He started trembling, then, he quickly ran away while screaming.

"Oh thank goodness, that pervert finally left…" the girl remarked and sighed with relief. Avegaille and Nicole May turned their heads to her. "Oh, you guys somehow saved me… well, have my thanks. If there's anything you need from us… just come to the gym or something."

"Eh… but I didn't do anything…" Avegaille muttered as she sweat-dropped.

"Yeah, besides, why did that boy just run away like that? Avegaille hasn't done anything yet…" Nicole May muttered while she folded her arms across her chest.

"Oh… I think it's because he knows of that rumor…" the girl said as she placed her hands on her hips. "Well, the perverted nerds isn't really a rumor, it's a fact. However, lately, those perverts had a rumor of their own that they're quite terrified of… they said there was a girl who uses sticks to beat up perverts whenever she sees them. I'm assuming you're that girl?"

"Actually, I only beat one up…" Avegaille replied and laughed nervously. "He was seriously creeping out my friend so I had no choice but to beat the shit out of him…"

"Well, that's how rumors spread… anyway, I have to get to my class," the girl said while she waved her hand and ran off.

"I wonder if there's a way we can stop those perverted geeks from being… so perverted?" Avegaille asked and sighed. Then, she turned to Nicole May, who just shrugged at her.

.-.-.-.-.-

"Mrs. Stewart… what are you doing?" Vivian asked after noticing the piles of papers on Mrs. Stewart's desk. She placed the cup of coffee on an unoccupied area of the desk. Then, she looked down at one of the papers and saw that it was a student's school record. The piles of paper were really thick, and she looked through the papers on the pile. All of them were student records. "Mrs. Stewart… what's with all the student records? Did they do something? I already told you that turning student records into slam books is out of the question!"

"Oh, no, it's not like that Vivian," Mrs. Stewart said, while she kept going through the paper she had on her hand. "Jane told me about some students who are… as we say, a bit indecent towards the cheerleaders. I'm looking through their records to see if I can do something…"

"But… it's just a student's school record of grades they got since elementary," Vivian muttered as she sweat-dropped. "You really won't get anything much out of it aside from their grades, attendance records and disciplinary sanctions, if any."

Then, Vivian noticed that Mrs. Stewart looked really serious while she was writing something on a piece of paper. Vivian gave up and went out of the room and sat down on her chair. As she looked through the files on her desk, someone knocked on the door and then the door slowly opened. Miss Harrington came in, slowly approached Vivian and sat down on the chair in front of Vivian's desk.

"Eh, Miss Harrington, what brings you here?" Vivian asked as she sweat-dropped.

"Oh, I just wanted to talk to Amelia… about something very serious," Miss Harrington replied, staring at her seriously. After seeing how startled Vivian was, she started giggling. "Miss Chandler, you should probably cut the caffeine if you're always so nervous."

"But… I'd fall asleep easily if I don't drink coffee…" Vivian muttered and groaned. "Anyway, Mrs. Stewart is really busy fiddling with student records… she won't tell me why… All she said was there were some indecent students towards the cheerleaders."

"Ah, perverts?" Miss Harrington folded her arms across her chest and nodded slowly. "Well, I've already known Amelia way before she became the principal and was just a teacher like me. In fact, she was in charge of the seventh grade history class while I handled tenth graders. Anyway, she can tell a student's personality, their likes and dislikes, just by looking through a student's record or grades."

"Eh, seriously?" Vivian looked at Miss Harrington surprisingly while she stood up from her seat.

"Yeah, it's weird, but it's true. She always asks Mrs. Cunningham if she could access the students' records whenever she's having a hard time with a student," Miss Harrington continued and shrugged. "We all thought it was weird, but she would always figure things out and was quite successful in making students listen to her. All the students she handled always passed in her class. While it's true she started as a history teacher back then, she can actually teach any subject without fail."

"Hmm, I still don't understand… everyone keeps saying that Mrs. Stewart is really good, and yet, she's really… weird and sometimes acts a bit too immature," Vivian muttered and she sat down on her seat.

"Oh… that… that's the downside, I guess… but students actually feel more comfortable when a teacher is like that… carefree and yet very serious when it comes to making students pass the class," Miss Harrington remarked and nodded. "Amelia always thinks that students should have fun learning or else they won't learn anything at all."

"I suppose that's true…" Vivian folded her arms across her chest and started to think. "Oh yeah, I was wondering, I mean… were you and Mrs. Stewart kinda close? You know quite a lot about her…"

"Haha, not really… we had disagreements back then once in a while, but she's someone I look up to, since she's older than me and all," Miss Harrington replied and laughed. "Anyway, I hope you don't mind me intruding inside her office, I just need to talk to her about her daughter."

"Ah, don't worry, it's fine… the door's open, last time I checked," Vivian said while she nodded and then turned to the files on her desk. Then, Miss Harrington went inside the room. After a while, Vivian took one of the files and read through them. "Hmm… the field trip… we should be arranging the letters to be sent to the parents…"

.-.-.-.-.-

It was after school when Nicole May was about to go inside the science lab. Apparently, she forgot something and it was still inside the lab. She noticed the poster warning about perverted nerds but ignored it and entered the lab. As she looked around, she felt how creepy the silence was in the room. She quickly looked around the room and saw that her notebook was on top of the teacher's table and ran up to it. As she took the notebook from the desk, she felt that someone was watching her. When she slowly turned around, she immediately saw three male students, who were wearing glasses, happily staring at her. Nicole May stared back at them exasperatedly and sighed.

"Hey… you know, you boys are going to be in serious trouble if you keep staring at girls like that…" Nicole May muttered as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Oh… but we can't help it… I mean, the wonders of a girl… how amazing they look, especially when wearing a skirt~" one of them from the right exclaimed giddily.

"Aren't you the resident child prodigy, Nicole May Rustford?" another one of them, who was in the middle, asked and nodded slowly. "Never knew that someone as smart as you was this beautiful… I must become your fan!"

"I'll join in your campaign, dude!" the last one to the left proclaimed. "Miss Rustford, let us be your slaves!"

"Huh… hey, how did you guys even know what my name is?" Nicole May asked. She slowly stepped back from them and cringed.

"Oh, we assumed that would be your name since that's what's written on the notebook you're holding," the boy in the middle explained as he kneeled on the floor. "Anyway, Miss Rustford, from this day on, we shall be your fans and slaves~"

"You guys are really creepy…" Nicole May muttered, in which she quickly ran out of the room.

"Wait, Miss Rustford, come back!" all of them exclaimed and they quickly ran after Nicole May.

.-.-.-.-.-

"Okay, next week is the school's field trip… we should be getting the letter soon so our parents can sign it. While we're on this field trip, we will write about the place, the things the students did while at the destination," Elizabeth stated while everyone was attentively listening to her and Emily was writing down notes on her notebook. "And Naz, don't forget to—"

Then, the door slammed open, which surprised everyone, as Nicole May quickly went inside and closed the door. She was breathing heavily and then, she slowly slumped on the floor, trying to catch her breath. Avegaille quickly stood up from her seat and ran up to her.

"Hey, Nicole May, what happened?" Avegaille asked while she pressed her hand on her forehead.

"Avegaille… I'm not sick… I was just… running away from some of those geeks in the science lab…" Nicole May replied exasperatedly and her breathing returned to normal.

"Oh, I see you've met some of them?" Naz asked and grinned. "Did they do anything… you know, perverted?"

"Ugh, not exactly, but they were really creepy… saying that they want to be my slaves and that they're a huge fan of me…" Nicole May muttered as she stood up from the floor and sat down on one of the chairs. Avegaille followed her and sat down on a chair next to Nicole May.

"Oh, aren't you lucky? At least you've got fans…" Arthur remarked and laughed.

"Shut up Arthur!" Nicole May exclaimed furiously and stared at him exasperatedly.

"Well, anyway, you should probably start wearing shorts under your skirt… maybe that will lessen your sex appeal, in return you won't have those creepy fans," Emily suggested.

"Hmm, I don't think those are the type of geeks who want to look under a girl's skirt…" Elizabeth muttered to Nicole May. "I mean, I'm pretty sure there's another reason why they started becoming your stalkers."

"Ugh, they said something about me being a child prodigy…" Nicole May muttered and groaned.

"Well, you are technically one… although you refused to accelerate even further. If you did, you wouldn't be here with us, now would you?" Emily remarked and grinned while Nicole May stared at her exasperatedly. "Well, there's nothing I can do, so good luck~"

"Hmm, well, as long as they don't touch you… I really don't think I should… but if they keep annoying you, just tell me, okay?" Avegaille said, puffing out her chest.

"What are you gonna do, Avegaille?" Nicole May asked as she turned to Avegaille and looked at her curiously.

"Oh… it's a secret…" Avegaille replied and giggled.