Chapter 23: Saturday's Beginnings

"Hey Courtney, get back here!" Naz called as she ran out of the house and ran after the girl who was already ahead of her.

It was the weekend already and Natalie, or Naz rather, was in charge of taking care of her siblings while her parents were away for the day. It would have been easier for Naz if she had like… two to three siblings, but instead, she had nine siblings, and all of them were adopted. To make things worse, she was the eldest amongst them. Naz always had a hard time making her siblings behave properly, or at least, give them all proper attention without the other one complaining.

Naz continued running and constantly looking around the area but still unable to find her little sister. She was so busy looking at a distance and irritated at the same time that she didn't realize that she already bumped into someone. She slowly stepped back and looked closely at the person in front of her.

"Oh… hey, Elizabeth?" Naz rubbed her forehead with her hand and laughed nervously. "Sorry about that… I was… running after my little sister."

"Huh… Oh, it's okay. Anyway, I think I saw a little girl who went into that building," Elizabeth replied and pointed to the building they were standing in front of.

"Anyway, why are you here? Aren't you busy with your chores and homework?" Naz asked as she placed her hands on her hips.

"I was… but my Mom told me I should go out more often. She also told me that I can do my homework later since I was already done with my chores," Elizabeth replied and shrugged. "You're busy taking care of your siblings right? Maybe I can help you out…"

"Nah, it's fine, I can manage it on my own," Naz replied and slowly shook her head. Then, she turned her attention to the building close by and read the sign above the glass door of the store. From what she could tell, it was a convenience store.

Then, the door opened and a little girl carrying a paper bag got out from the store. The girl started trembling and quickly went behind Elizabeth. Naz stared at the little girl seriously as she folded her arms across her chest. The little girl had short brown hair and was wearing a light green t-shirt and knickerbockers.

"Courtney! I already told you that you can't just run off on your own like that!" Naz exclaimed furiously and stomped her feet.

"Oh come on now big sis, it's hard to find stuff like this one these days," Courtney protested, moving next to Elizabeth and pointed at the paper bag she was holding.

"What are you guys arguing about anyway?" Elizabeth asked as she sweat-dropped. Naz kept quiet and slowly turned away from Elizabeth. Courtney finally realized that the person she was standing next to somehow got involved in their argument.

"Hey… you know my sister?" Courtney asked curiously, turning to Elizabeth.

"Yeah, she's my friend in school," Elizabeth replied and laughed nervously. "Anyway, your name is Courtney, right? I'm Elizabeth… anyway, I've never seen Naz that furious before…"

"Oh, she's always like that whenever Mom and Dad go out and she's in charge of the house," Courtney explained and slightly chuckled. "Anyway, Naz wouldn't let me go to the store and buy the card packs I wanted… so I ran out of the house and bought them."

"Ugh… Courtney, seriously, I told you we would buy it later… and still you just had to go out on your own…" Naz muttered exasperatedly. She slowly approached her little sister and grabbed her arm. "Come on, we're going home!"

"See you some other time!" Courtney called as she waved her hand at Elizabeth while Naz continued dragging her away until both of them were almost out of sight.

"Natalie sure is scary when she's serious like that…" Elizabeth muttered to herself. She smiled weakly while waving back at Courtney.

.-.-.-.-.-

Elizabeth was still walking around town, trying to figure out what to do for the rest of the day, since her mother wanted her to get some fresh air. As she walked through the sidewalk and looking at store windows at the same time, a navy blue Lexus car was slowly following her by the road. Elizabeth noticed the fancy car and stopped walking. The car also stopped and the door opened.

"Avegaille?" Elizabeth looked confused and Avegaille immediately got out of the car. She looked behind Avegaille and saw that Nicole May was inside the car.

"Oh, Nicole May and I saw you walking and then, we thought of asking you… if you wanted to join us," Avegaille explained and laughed nervously.

"Join you guys… eh… I suppose… as long as I can get home by six in the evening," Elizabeth replied as she sweat-dropped. "Where are you guys going anyway?"

"Nicole May's house, of course," Avegaille replied happily as she took Elizabeth's hand and both of them quickly went inside the car.

After Elizabeth closed the door of the car, the car started moving. Avegaille was sitting in the middle while Nicole May was on the other side, reading a book quietly. Elizabeth looked around the insides of the car and then, she directed her attention to the window, watching the scenery pass by her eyes. Then, Avegaille quickly grabbed Nicole May's book away from her hand, which surprised her.

"Hey, what did you do that for?" Nicole May asked exasperatedly and frowned at her.

"Don't you get dizzy when you read a book in a car?" Avegaille asked curiously.

"Not everyone is like you, Avegaille," Nicole May muttered. She sighed and leaned her back against the seat of the car. She quickly grabbed the book from Avegaille's hand and started reading it again.

"Avegaille, you really shouldn't disturb other people when they're busy…" Elizabeth added as she sweat-dropped. Then, she turned to Nicole May. "Hey, Nicole May… is your house really that far from… well, our school?"

"Yeah…" Nicole May replied without turning to Elizabeth and focused her attention on the book in her hands.

"Hmm, it's hard to talk to Nicole May when she's reading a book," Avegaille said wearily. She looked around and turned to Elizabeth. "Hey, Elizabeth, what should I do?"

"Huh… why are you asking me what to do?" Elizabeth asked and stared at Avegaille blankly.

Avegaille scratched her head and sighed. Then, she remembered what Naz told her and quickly turned to Nicole May. She moved closer to Nicole May and leaned her head on her shoulder while grabbing her arm. Nicole May stopped reading the book on her hand and quickly turned to Avegaille, with her face turning red as well.

"H-hey, what are y-you doing?!" Nicole May asked nervously. She started to become more flustered when Avegaille continued to cuddle her. She lost grip of the book she was holding and dropped it on the floor of the car.

"I can't help it, you were so busy with that book… I wanted to ask you some things," Avegaille muttered. She stopped cuddling Nicole May and slowly turned away from her.

"Hey, don't look at me, I didn't ask her to do anything," Elizabeth rebutted and laughed nervously. Then, she patted Avegaille's head slowly while Avegaille moved slightly away from Nicole May.

Nicole May slowly turned away from both of them and stared at the window. She could somehow see her reflection aside from the scenery from outside. She closed her eyes as she groaned, hoping in her mind that what was happening right now would end already. She wanted to get out of the car already.

Avegaille on the other hand, turned back to Nicole May and noticed she was sulking again. She looked down and saw the book that Nicole May was reading earlier and picked it up.

"Hmm… it says… um… is this French?" Avegaille muttered as she looked at the title of the book.

"Oh… really?" Elizabeth directed her attention to the book and looked at the cover. “My French isn't good enough yet, but the title says something about… ‘love’. Never knew Nicole May was interested in these topics…"

Then, Nicole May quickly turned to them and immediately grabbed the book from Avegaille's hand. Her face was bright red while staring at the two of them. She turned away from them again, gripping firmly on the book with her hands.

"Miss Rustford, we're almost there," the driver at the front announced and Nicole May slowly turned her head facing the driver's seat. "Is there a store you need to stop by before we get back to the mansion?"

"No, not really… just get us to the mansion…" Nicole May replied meekly and slowly shook her head. Then, she leaned her back against the seat of the car.

"As you wish, Miss Rustford," the driver said, trying to keep a straight face. He tipped his hat and continued driving.

.-.-.-.-.-

"Geez… finally… at least some of them are asleep…" Naz muttered to herself and flopped down on the sofa.

While her younger siblings were asleep, she still had to watch over the ones who were awake. She was at the living room and she was with Courtney, the second eldest of the siblings. Unlike Naz, Courtney was only ten years old, still in fifth grade. Courtney was currently opening the packs of cards she bought earlier. She looked at them and then started sorting them, inserting each card in the sleeves of a card binder. Naz took the remote control from the coffee table and turned on the television. She made sure it wasn't loud enough to wake up some of her sleeping siblings.

"Hey, big sis…" Courtney muttered and Naz slowly turned to her. "You're still mad at me… are you?"

"Huh… no… not really… I'm just a bit… stressed today, that's all," Naz replied wearily. "Anyway, do you mind watching over them for a while? I'm going to order our lunch…"

"Ah, sure," Courtney replied. Then, Naz stood up and left the living room.

Courtney turned to the area where her other siblings were. The three younger boys were playing with a LEGO set, trying to build what it seemed to be a tower with the blocks available. On the other hand, her two younger sisters were playing with a tea set and some stuffed animals. Courtney felt too old to be playing with her younger siblings, so instead, she ended up collecting trading cards and playing it with her friends at school. Whenever their parents were around, she could have fun and play with Naz, in which her big sister was fine with.

Then, Naz came back and sat down on the sofa, next to Courtney. She looked at her other siblings who were still playing.

"Hey big sis, what did you order today?" Courtney asked as she looked at her sister ecstatically.

"Oh, the usual…" Naz replied as she leaned her back on the sofa and slowly closed her eyes. "I'm going to take a quick nap…"

"But…" Courtney quickly turned to her older sister but she was already asleep.

Then, the doorbell rang and Courtney quickly ran out of the living room. Then, she rushed to the front door to check on who the visitor was. As she opened the door, she saw a blonde girl wearing a maroon sweater and a brown skirt. The girl waved her hand and grinned at her.

"Um… I'm sorry but who are you?" Courtney asked as she sweat-dropped.

"Oh, I guess Natalie doesn't introduce her school friends to her siblings," Emily said nonchalantly and laughed. "Anyway, I'm Emily… I actually stumbled upon here by accident… My parents were looking for good photographers for their event next week, so they asked me to look around. I saw this business card of a professional photographer with the last name 'Howard'. Then, the address led me here for some strange reason… and then I remember that Naz's mother was a photographer, so maybe perhaps this card is hers."

Emily took out a business card from her pocket and handed it over for Courtney to see. Courtney scratched her head and then nodded her head, confirming that it was her mother's business card.

"But still, our parents are out today… and they won't be back until later," Courtney said. "But why don't you come in? I mean, you said you do know my sister, maybe perhaps she might be less stressed that way…"

"Sure, it's not like I have anything to do for today," Emily replied and Courtney led her inside the house.

.-.-.-.-.-

Meanwhile, at the Stewart residence, Mrs. Stewart or Amelia was uneasily pacing around back and forth in the living room while Jane was sitting on the sofa, staring at her mother exasperatedly. Today was the day that Amelia's mother and Jane's grandmother, Mrs. Collins, would come to their house. Then, Jane quickly grabbed her mother's arm and stopped her from pacing around.

"Mom, you seriously need to calm down," Jane said as she pulled her down and had her mother sit on the sofa. "How about this, Mom? Why not just tell grandma the truth so you wouldn't be this nervous?"

"It's not as easy as it sounds Jane," Amelia muttered hesitantly. "Mom would probably tell me in my face that I couldn't even last long in a relationship with a guy… and she's just that annoying…"

"Oh come on now Mom, you're doing it again…" Jane groaned as she slapped her hand on her face. "You really shouldn't be saying things like that…"

"Sorry Jane… I'm just… tensed today…" Amelia muttered and she stood up from the sofa. She began pacing around again.

Then, the doorbell rang and Jane quickly got up from her seat, running out of the room afterwards. As she got to the hallway and near the door, she quickly turned the knob. Upon opening the door, she saw her friend Madeline, waving at her.

"Hey… what are you doing here?" Jane asked as she sweat-dropped. "Also, how did you even know I live here? I mean, you only know the location of the apartment where I lived with my Dad, right?"

"Oh, I went there earlier, but your Dad said you were staying at your mother's house so he gave me the address to this place," Madeline replied. "Anyway, is there something going on inside? You looked stressed again…"

"It's nothing… anyway, let's take this inside," Jane said as she stepped back and Madeline entered the house. Then, Jane closed the door and both of them walked to the living room. Once they got inside, she noticed that her mother looked a bit relieved after seeing Madeline. "Mom, this is my friend from school, Madeline Fletcher. I think you've seen her around the campus…"

"Oh hello, Madeline," Amelia greeted as she smiled. Then, she turned to Jane. "You really should introduce your friends to me more often…"

"Eh… wait… you're our school principal, right?" Madeline asked surprisingly and her mouth was wide open. "I mean, I know Stewart is a common last name, but I didn't think two were related… I always thought Jane was going to the principal's office because of student council work."

"Oh… it's no wonder why Avegaille hasn't been complaining about how her classmates are annoying her as the principal's kid," Amelia remarked and giggled a bit. "Well, anyway, that's enough about that… I'll be in the kitchen preparing lunch for today…"

"All right Mom," Jane said and watched her mother walk out the living room. Then, she sat down on the sofa and Madeline sat next to her. "At least Mom doesn't look like a nervous wreck unlike earlier…"

"Really? Your mother was pacing back and forth earlier when we got here… why is that?" Madeline asked as she looked confused.

"Grandma's coming to visit and she's been like that since yesterday," Jane replied and sighed exasperatedly. "Anyway, why are you here? I'm pretty sure you would have visited me another day the minute you found out that I'd moved out of my Dad’s apartment and yet you decided to see me here still."

"I just remembered, we still have to finish our project for science together," Madeline replied, her eyes brightening up. "You told me to visit your place since you were so busy with settling student council matters by yourself yesterday. But I couldn't visit you yesterday either, since I was busy with some other club activities as well. So, here I am now~"

"Oh yeah… I forgot…" Jane muttered as she folded her arms across her chest. "Anyway, you're here, so we might as well talk about what we're supposed to do…"

"Sure, I already have something in mind actually," Madeline said happily. She took out a notebook from the bag she was carrying and gave it to Jane. "Take a look at it and see for yourself!"

Jane flipped through the pages of the notebook, carefully reading the blueprints drawn on them. After she finished looking at them, she looked weary and shook her head slowly.

"What? What's wrong?" Madeline asked curiously.

"Um… Madeline… we were supposed to make a written report about ‘Schrodinger’s Cat', right?" Jane asked in return.

"Yeah… we were… wait, are you saying we don't need to actually build anything?!" Madeline exclaimed and lowered her head in shame.

"Yeah… please don’t even try looking for a cat and do a live demonstration in class," Jane muttered, staring at Madeline exasperatedly. "Let's go to my room… maybe we'll be able to figure out how to properly finish this report with some of the books that I have."

"Oh, okay then," Madeline said and followed Jane until both of them got out of the living room.

.-.-.-.-.-

On the other hand, Nicole May, Avegaille and Elizabeth finally arrived at the Rustford mansion. Avegaille and Elizabeth quickly got out of the car and the two of them stared at the huge front door of the mansion. Some of the maids and butlers were already standing by the door, waiting to greet them. Nicole May on the other hand, was used to this kind of thing and actually thought it would be better if the maids and butlers didn't put so much effort. Nicole May got out of the car and the butlers and maids turned their attention to her.

"All right, everyone, this is Avegaille and Elizabeth, my guests," Nicole May told them. "Make them feel at home, okay?"

The butlers and maids nodded and then turned to Avegaille and Elizabeth, in which Avegaille was waving her hand sheepishly while Elizabeth was smiling weakly at them. Then, Nicole May went inside the mansion and one of the maids followed her.

"I never imagined Nicole May… was this rich…" Elizabeth whispered to Avegaille as she sweat-dropped. "Strange though… I usually imagine rich people riding limousines…"

"Ah, Miss Rustford's not really fond of limousines, so she always uses that navy blue Lexus car when she wants to get around," one of the butlers interrupted. "She's a strange child, that's all I can say."

"Haha, she told me the same thing as well. She even refused to ride one when she was at my place and that car broke down," Avegaille added and laughed nervously.

"Anyway, you guys planned to do homework together, right?" Elizabeth asked as she folded her arms across her chest. "So, why did you guys invite me to join you?"

"Ooh, well… Nicole May noticed you were wandering around the sidewalk quite aimlessly and she thought you were bored or something, so she asked the driver to follow you until you noticed us," Avegaille replied and giggled a bit. "Anyway, we're not going to do homework right away. Nicole May's gonna show us around here first and then have lunch~"

"That sounds… quite interesting," Elizabeth muttered and smiled weakly.

"Excuse me, young ladies… Miss Rustford is waiting inside. Let's go inside, shall we?" the butler interrupted. Then, he led the way and Avegaille and Elizabeth quickly went inside the mansion.