Chapter 29: A Complex Sister Affair

A few weeks had passed since the field trip, and even though Jane's plan of scaring delinquents off wasn't exactly as what she originally planned despite her little sister helping out, at least, something good came out of it. The delinquents agreed not to mess with school property and instead, they would just do it elsewhere. Also, the meeting held at the newspaper room prior to that got too lively since everyone tried to fit in such a small room. Madeline proposed that the newspaper club be moved somewhere else, but currently, there wasn’t any empty room available for them to use. Finally, the first issue of the school newspaper, which they all decided to name 'Centralville Middle School Journal', was finally published. Most students and teachers were picking up and reading the newspaper that they placed around campus. At least, they knew that some people were still interested in reading newspapers.

The end of October, where Halloween parties were usually held, was rather busy due to school related work. Even though the school didn't plan for a party in its premises, most students had their own Halloween parties in their homes, while others would still go on trick or treating.

Nicole May wasn't interested in the holiday itself but she was forced to do some trick or treating with Avegaille and everyone else. Avegaille was dressed up as a witch and even had the black cat plush with her while Nicole May dressed up as a vampire, thanks to Naz's influence. Naz, on the other hand, found some costumes from her mother's stuff and used the werewolf costume while she let Elizabeth use the mummy costume. Emily was dressed as a grim reaper and Phil and Arthur were both zombies. Naz gave most of the treats she got to her younger siblings, while Emily tried finishing off the candy she got with Phil and Arthur. Elizabeth and Nicole May just gave away most of the candy that they got to everyone else as they weren’t fond of sweets.

Now that Halloween festivities were over, something started bothering Jane. The season was changing too… it was almost the end of the first week of November. Of course, that meant everyone wearing something to keep themselves warm. Jane was in her room, doing her homework. Her room was more organized compared to her little sister's room. Her study desk was close by the window, and her bed was near the door. The closet was to the left side of the study desk, facing the bed. There was also a bookshelf to the right side of the room.

Jane just finished writing the draft for her essay. She read the paper she was holding in her hand, and afterwards, she felt that her mind was going blank. Then, she remembered something from the past…

.-.-.-.-

"Jane!" a voice that was very familiar to her could be heard. The door to her room opened, and her little sister, who was seven years old at that time, came in, holding a book in her hands.

"What is it now, shrimp?" Jane asked while she closed the book she was reading, and turned to her. She was sitting on her bed, reading some books that her Dad bought for her.

"Can you help me with my homework? I mean, these… math equations are really hard…" Avegaille muttered and handed over the book to Jane.

"Hmm?" Jane got off her bed and started flipping through the pages of the book. She started reading one of the pages that was marked with a slip of paper. Of course, since she was older than Avegaille by three years, she already knew what the answers for those questions in the book were. She had another problem though. She had to show her sister how the question was answered so that her little sister wouldn't need to ask her again. She walked to her study desk, took a pencil and some paper, and went back near her bed. Then, she sat down on huge carpet placed on the floor.

"Eh, so are you gonna help me?" Avegaille asked and sat down on the carpet with her sister.

"Yeah… sure… these things are easy to answer anyway," Jane replied and placed down the book on the carpet, in between them.

"Hehe, you're so amazing," Avegaille remarked and giggled.

.-.-.-.-

Then, someone started knocking on the door, which startled Jane. She quickly stood up from her seat and ran up to the door to open it. Her mother was in front of her, and looked a bit troubled.

"Jane, could you help me out with something?" Mrs. Stewart asked and handed over to Jane the papers she had in her hands.

"What… what is this, Mom?" Jane looked through the papers and realized that the papers her mother had given to her was the draft of upcoming school activities for November and December. "You want me to throw out some ideas on what the activities would be for this month?"

"Yeah… something like that. We should have done a Halloween party, but I guess it's already too late for that," Mrs. Stewart replied and laughed nervously. "You would not believe the pressure the school board is putting into the school… I mean, like to make these kids study more and more so they could get better scores in those national exams…"

"I know some of the students noticed that, with all the tests and homework coming at them…" Jane muttered wearily as she sweat-dropped. Then, she looked around the hallway and saw that the door leading to Avegaille's room was open. "Hey, Mom… what's Avegaille doing?"

"Oh… still busy with her homework… I asked her for some ideas also but she said I should talk to you, seeing as you are the student council president," Mrs. Stewart replied nonchalantly. "Well, why don't you help your sister out for now? I'm pretty sure she'd appreciate it… and also, maybe you might get some ideas for some school activities too if you ask your friends tomorrow."

"I guess… I mean, most of my homework isn't really due until Friday…" Jane muttered. Then, she looked down at the sheets of papers in her hand again. "Anyway, I'll put these inside first…"

"All right dear, I'll be downstairs if you need anything," Mrs. Stewart said as she waved her hand and left.

Jane sighed as she went back inside her room and approached her desk, in which she placed down the papers her mother gave to her earlier. She looked at her desk again, and noticed the picture frame that had a picture of her and Avegaille when they were still younger. The picture was still there, even after she decided to live with her mother again. Then, someone was knocking on the door, which made Jane turn around. The door was already open, and then, Avegaille came inside, carrying a book with her hands.

"Huh… what do you want?" Jane asked and slightly raised her eyebrow.

"Ah… well… I was wondering… if you're not doing anything and all… you know… help me with my homework," Avegaille replied and laughed nervously.

"What is it about?"

"Um… well… just some math problems… Mr. Collins is already teaching us some algebra… which I can't understand some of them…" Avegaille replied nervously and slightly lowered her head, staring at the book in her hands. "So, will you help me out?"

"You know I'd still help you even if you didn't ask… Mom told me to help you either way," Jane replied and chuckled a bit. "Let's do your homework in your room, okay?"

"Ah, thanks Jane!" Avegaille said happily and ran out of the room, in which Jane followed her until the two of them got inside Avegaille's room.

.-.-.-.-.-

"Yo! Jane, guess what?"

It was another day at Centralville Middle School, and Madeline approached the desk where Jane was. Jane was wearing a light blue turtleneck sweater with a black blazer over it and some jeans while Madeline was wearing a pink long sleeved sweater and blue jeans. Both of them were inside the student council's office, and it was their lunch break. Jane was busy reading her Physics book, which she was also reviewing for their upcoming test later. Madeline stood next to Jane and noticed that Jane was spacing out. She quickly grabbed Jane's shoulder, which startled Jane in return.

"Wha… what?" Jane turned around and saw Madeline next to her, holding on her right shoulder. "What is it? What do you want?"

"Hey, are you all right? Sabrina said she would let all of us hang out at her house this coming weekend," Madeline replied, although she looked worried at the same time. "You know we should have some fun once in a while, like what we used to do before we all became part of the student council!"

"Oh… yeah… sure…" Jane muttered and turned back to the book in front of her. She started flipping through the pages, even though she wasn't reading it at all.

"Come on now, Jane! I know something's bothering you…" Madeline pouted and then took the book that was on Jane's desk. Then, she sat down on the desk, which was sturdy enough to hold a person sitting or even standing on top of it.

"Madeline…" Jane looked a bit exasperated, but after that, her expression changed again and looked away from her. "Well… it's not really of your concern…"

"There's no one else here, so you don't have to worry about anything… just tell me what's bothering you. You know I'm always here to help out," Madeline insisted and slightly patted Jane's head.

"All right… I'll tell…" Jane muttered and slowly turned to Madeline. "It's basically about my little sister… well… I know she's really annoying and everything and sometimes, I've been mean to her, especially during her first day at school because of that stupid dare you guys asked me to do. But anyway, I really can't explain it. It's like the two of us are changing now… and we don't get to talk much even though we live in the same house."

"Ooh, is that all? Well, why don't you spend some time with your sister this weekend instead, it might help," Madeline suggested and slowly nodded her head. "Don't worry about going to Sabrina's place… we can always do that after you've spent some time with your sister."

"I don't know… I don't think she'd be willing to do something like that…" Jane muttered, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I'll talk to her for you then," Madeline insisted and giggled. "You need to look into the positive side a bit more."

"I suppose…" Jane muttered as she folded her arms across her chest. Then, she stared at the folder that was on top of the table. They were the files that her mother had given to her yesterday. "Oh yeah, Madeline… I need some ideas for school activities for this month and even for December…"

"Sure, I'll help you out!" Madeline exclaimed happily and got off the desk. Jane handed over the folder and Madeline started browsing through the papers inside.

.-.-.-.-.-

"Okay guys, have you all been to that old abandoned house near the cemetery?" Emily asked ecstatically.

Emily was standing besides the shelves, which was facing the sloping of the stairs and the mini fridge inside the school newspaper room. Elizabeth and Nicole May were sitting on the sofa while Naz and Avegaille were sitting on the carpet. All of them were looking at Emily, in which Emily had a piece of paper in her hand. It was still lunch time, and they were all done eating, so now they had some time left before their next class. Elizabeth was now wearing jeans instead of the usual skirt due to the weather while Emily was wearing a maroon turtleneck shirt but still wearing the same brown skirt. Avegaille was wearing a long sleeved white shirt with a black shirt over it and brown cargo pants. Meanwhile, Nicole May was wearing a white collared shirt with a blue hooded jacket over it, a grey skirt, long black socks that reached up to her thighs and sneakers. Naz was still wearing the same outfit, except that she was wearing black jeans and a grey jacket.

"What the hell is this all about now, Hayward?" Nicole May asked irritably and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Rustford… I was thinking if we should all go there and see if the stories about it being haunted are true," Emily replied and stared at Nicole May mischievously.

"Eeh… Halloween just ended last week… so why are you telling us stuff like this now?" Avegaille asked and laughed nervously.

"I don't see what's wrong with exploring an old abandoned house near the cemetery…" Naz remarked and winked at Elizabeth.

"Oh no… we are not going in there…" Elizabeth protested and shook her head. Then, she turned to Nicole May. "You agree with me, right, Nicole May?"

"Yeah, besides, an old abandoned house is pretty unstable, you could fall off somewhere while exploring it," Nicole May added while staring at Emily exasperatedly.

"Eh… I don't think my Mom would allow me to go there anyway… I mean, she told me to stay away from there," Avegaille said nervously as she sweat-dropped.

"Pfft, I'll bet you guys are just scared," Emily teased and smirked at them.

"Yeah, sure, I'll call 911 for you if anything happens to you while exploring that place," Nicole May retorted and turned away from Emily.

"Well, I'm up for a little adventure… of course, you're just going to need more convincing power for them," Naz added and chucked a bit. Then, she stood up from the floor. "Anyway, I need to get some pictures of that place… tell me where it is, okay?"

"Of course!" Emily exclaimed happily. Then, the two of them went to the other side of the newspaper room and eventually got out of the room itself, leaving Avegaille, Nicole May and Elizabeth.

"I'm more concerned about them doing something dangerous like that," Elizabeth muttered and Nicole May turned to her. "Should we follow them, just in case?"

"Nah, I'll ask someone else to do it," Nicole May replied as she took out her mobile phone from her pocket and started pressing the buttons on it.

"Eh… you're going to ask your bodyguards to follow them?" Avegaille asked while she hugged one of the pillows scattered around her.

"Something like that…" Nicole May muttered while she continued pressing the buttons on her mobile phone. "Besides, if anything bad happens to them, my bodyguards are fully trained for risky tasks like these."

"Ah, that's good to know," Elizabeth said and sighed with relief.

Then, someone started knocking on the door. Elizabeth quickly stood up and went to the other side of the divider so she could open the door. As she opened the door, Madeline was waving her hand while Jane was standing next to her and looked a bit flustered.

"Oh hey… is there something that the student council needs?" Elizabeth asked and laughed nervously.

"Ahaha, no, nothing like that. We just wanted to talk to Avegaille," Madeline replied.

"Why don't you guys come in… anyway, there aren't many people inside," Elizabeth said as she stepped back, in which Madeline and Jane stepped inside.

Then, Elizabeth closed the door and followed them until they got to the other side of the room where Avegaille and Nicole May were. Madeline sat down on the carpeted floor with Avegaille while Jane and Elizabeth both sat down on the sofa.

"Aren't you the vice-president of the student council?" Nicole May asked as she turned to Madeline. She placed the mobile phone on her hand back into her pocket. "Anyway, what do you guys want from us now?"

"Oh, well… Jane here wants to ask Avegaille something… isn't that right, Jane?" Madeline said as she turned to Jane and winked at her.

"Why do I have to do this? This is ridiculous…" Jane muttered irritably as she folded her arms across her chest and turned away from everyone.

"Come on Jane, we already talked about this," Madeline protested as she clenched her fists and pouted at her.

"Eh, what is going on?" Avegaille asked as she scratched her head while looking at Madeline and then, turned to her sister, Jane.

"Well, something's bothering Jane… even I don't know exactly what it is… but anyway, basically, if you two spend some time together this weekend, maybe she might feel better," Madeline explained and smiled at Avegaille.

"But we always see each other at home… I mean… since she moved back and all…" Avegaille muttered and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Told you she's not up for it…" Jane retorted and sighed.

"Hey Avegaille… why don't just give it a try?" Nicole May insisted and stared at Avegaille seriously.

"Yeah, after all… you guys haven't talked to each other that much since Jane moved back into your mother's house," Elizabeth added and nodded slowly. "All of us have been busy and we don't have much free time until now…"

"Haha, yeah, that's true," Madeline remarked and laughed. Then, she turned to Avegaille, who was still confused by everything. "Well, what do you say?"

"I suppose… I mean… what are we going to do this weekend?" Avegaille asked meekly and placed her chin on the pillow she was hugging.

"Well, just do what you guys always do when you were still together, way back then…" Madeline suggested and placed her hands on her hips.

"Um… I don't really remember much or anything at all…" Avegaille muttered and laughed nervously.

Then, Jane quietly stood up from her seat and walked away, which surprised everyone. Madeline quickly stood up and followed Jane, but as she got to the other side of the room where the exit to the room was, she saw that Jane had already left. Madeline went back to the area where everyone else and looked worried. The room was quiet and it took a while before someone spoke up.

"I wonder why Jane left…" Madeline muttered to herself and folded her arms across her chest.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but… I think I may have an idea on why," Elizabeth said and everyone turned to her.

"Eh… what's the reason, Elizabeth? I don't get why Jane just left like that…" Avegaille muttered and frowned at them.

"Well, you said it yourself that you don't remember much when you and Jane were still together before your parents divorced," Elizabeth explained and smiled weakly.

"Maybe Jane was just upset 'cause her own sister doesn't remember the days they spent together when they were younger," Madeline added and nodded slowly. "I wonder what's gotten into her and she's bringing up something like this…"

"Who knows… but Avegaille might remember something if she could find something that can remind her of those days…" Nicole May suggested and turned to Avegaille. "Hey Avegaille, maybe you should look around your room later when you get home."

"I should probably do that…" Avegaille muttered and looked down. "I mean… after all, I don't really want to see Jane upset at me like that for too long…"