Chapter 40: Inti Gaming

"Eeh?! What do you mean by we won't be able to use the new room until next year?" Naz exclaimed surprisingly. She quickly grabbed Nicole May's shoulders and moved her face closer to her.

"I would like to know that as well…" Nicole May muttered exasperatedly and turned her face away from Naz. "I only got a call from them after the documents were handed to me earlier this morning."

"Did they give any details as to why this is the case?" Elizabeth asked.

"Oh, I haven't read the reports yet… the answer should be in those papers, somewhere." Nicole May held on Naz's wrists and tried to get Naz's hands off her shoulders. After that, she went near the table where her bag was and pulled out a huge envelope. She opened it and inside it were the pages of the results from the engineer's inspection, as well as blueprints for the proposed room. She placed the glasses that were on her head onto her face and started reading the reports, page by page.

While Nicole May was reading the reports, the door of the newspaper room opened and Emily went inside, with Avegaille following behind her. Emily no longer had a cast on her left arm, which healed earlier than the given timeframe and could freely move her left arm as normal. Avegaille was sleepy, as usual, especially after being forced to wake up early by her sister. Days had passed by then, and it was already Friday.

"Another sudden meeting?" Emily asked upon noticing the three of them standing in front of the table. "Wouldn't it be better if we all sit down?"

Everyone else except Nicole May sat down on an unoccupied chair in front of the table. They quietly observed Nicole May and waited for her to finish reading the reports.

"Hmm, according to this… the room will be finished from renovation by mid-December due to the complexity of the electrical wiring of the building, plus moving all of the equipment up there. Also, because of our Christmas vacation after that, we won't see the room until January… so that's why they told me that." Nicole May turned around and placed the papers on the table.

"Eh, doesn't stop us from going to school during Christmas vacation, don't you agree, Emily?" Naz turned to Emily and grinned mischievously.

"My family will be busy during that period though, so I highly doubt I can even go during that time…" Emily muttered as she sweat-dropped. "Anyway, we have less than four weeks left before Christmas vacation starts. We should at least have a Christmas party of some sort by that time."

"Ooh, sounds like a good idea!" Avegaille exclaimed happily while she raised her hand, waving in agreement. "Count me in!"

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have our own celebrations before we move to the new room," Elizabeth said and laughed nervously. Then, she turned to Naz and Nicole May. "Well?"

"I have no objections," Nicole May muttered and folded her arms across her chest, turning away from everyone.

"Sounds good to me. Better tell this to Arthur when he arrives. Oh, maybe we should invite more people… like Phil," Naz said and giggled.

"Eeh?!" Avegaille lowered her hand and pouted. Then, she folded her arms across her chest. "Well… I suppose it should be okay… the more, the better, I guess."

"I object to that!" Nicole May exclaimed and quickly went in front of Naz while she slammed her hands on the table. "He's not even a member of this club!"

Elizabeth got up from her seat and stood next to Nicole May. She held on Nicole May's shoulder and smiled forcibly. Nicole May quickly turned to her and started cringing nervously upon seeing Elizabeth's face. The aura radiating around Elizabeth was different than usual, giving Nicole May the chills. Naz, on the other hand, was confused at Elizabeth's sudden change of expression.

"Oh… Lizzie?" Naz laughed nervously while she sweat-dropped.

"Uuh… if the editor-in-chief has no objections… I suppose… it's fine…" Nicole May muttered nervously and slowly stepped away from Elizabeth. She quickly went behind Avegaille, still shuddering at what she just saw.

"Okay, that's settled then. I'll let Emily handle the planning as she was the one who suggested it in the first place," Elizabeth said happily, turning to everyone and smiling at them. She was also back to her usual calm self.

"You got it, Lizzie!" Emily exclaimed and saluted at her. Then, she turned to both Avegaille and Nicole May who were next to her. Nicole May was still holding on Avegaille's shoulders. "Hey, Nicole May, any suggestions?"

"Haah? Why are you suddenly calling me by my first name?" Nicole May asked skeptically and raised an eyebrow.

"What? I just felt like it… or would you like me to call you 'Nikki' instead?" Emily asked smugly as she shrugged.

"Don't you even dare call me that, Hayward…" Nicole May muttered exasperatedly and clenched her fists.

"Eh, thought so… I'll just stick with 'Nicole May' then," Emily sneered while Nicole May just stared at her irritably. "Hey Avegaille, how about you? Anything you have in mind? It'll help me out with the planning and all…"

"Me? Um… other than food and the typical exchange gift, I don't think there's anything else you can do at Christmas parties…" Avegaille replied and laughed nervously.

"I can start from there, for sure," Emily said while she took out her notebook and a pen from her bag. She started writing her plans for the upcoming party on an empty page. Then, she lifted up her head and looked at both Avegaille and Nicole May, in which Nicole May was holding on Avegaille's shoulders again. "While I'm at it, the two of you should really start dating if you're both going to stick together like that…"

Both Avegaille and Nicole May stared at each other for a few seconds. Then, Nicole May quickly released Avegaille's shoulders from her grip and stepped away from her. Avegaille just laughed sheepishly while Nicole May's face started turning red and turned away from all of them.

.-.-.-.-.-

"You want me to come with you for a site visit after school?" Nicole May furrowed her eyebrows upon hearing her father’s request, who she was currently speaking to on the other line. She was holding her mobile phone near her ear with one hand while holding a sandwich with her other hand. She continued eating while her father was talking.

It was already lunchtime and Nicole May was eating lunch with Avegaille. Both of them were sitting on one of the benches that were nearby the secondary building. Despite what happened earlier at the newspaper room, Avegaille still was able to convince Nicole May to join her for lunch. Everyone else was busy and Avegaille cannot be left alone during this time of the day. Her narcolepsy could trigger at any moment, and someone was needed to be watching over her during that period.

‘It'll be a great experience for you, Nikki… besides, the head of the gaming company told me he wanted to get to know you personally when I told him I would be visiting them,’ Mr. Rustford said happily.

"Huh… who is the head of this gaming company you're talking about anyway, Dad?" Nicole May asked and raised an eyebrow.

'Oh, his name is Jake Stewart, not sure if you've heard of him somewhere…' Mr. Rustford replied. 'I am not sure if he's related to Amelia or your friend, Avegaille… so, don't ask me about that.'

Nicole May kept quiet for a while and slowly turned to Avegaille. On the other hand, Avegaille was still busy eating her sandwich that she wasn't aware of what Nicole May was discussing over the phone.

'Anyway, Nikki, I'll pick you up after school and if you want to bring Avegaille along, that's fine with me as well,' Mr. Rustford continued and laughed a bit. 'It'll be a good experience for the two of you. I’ll talk to you later, got a meeting starting soon!'

"Wait, I haven't even said anything about going or not!" Nicole May exclaimed, in which the other end just cut off abruptly. She could hear the busy tone from her mobile phone. She sighed wearily while pushing the button on her phone to end the call on her side. Then, she turned to Avegaille again, who just finished eating. "Hey, are you interested in visiting a gaming company after school today?"

"Eh? Is this the gaming company your father recently bought?" Avegaille asked ecstatically.

"How did you know about that?" Nicole May asked wearily while she put her mobile phone back in her pocket.

"Jane told me about it a couple of weeks ago," Avegaille replied and giggled. "Is that what you were talking about on the phone earlier?"

"Yeah… my Dad is doing his usual site visits for the companies under him and out of the blue, he wanted me to come along," Nicole May muttered exasperatedly. She continued eating her sandwich until it was all gone. "He said you can come along… I suppose that's better than just me and Dad."

"I need to get permission from my Mom first though… and I suppose, I should tell Jane as well, just in case," Avegaille said happily. "I can't believe I'll get the chance to see the insides and behind the scenes of my favorite gaming company as well. This is too exciting!"

"All right, if your Mom allows you, we'll go there after school," Nicole May said and smiled at her. Then, she recalled the name of the head of the gaming company and felt that there was something odd about this.

.-.-.-.-.-

It was almost time for their next class, and Nicole May managed to get Avegaille to the school newspaper room's sofa area before Avegaille fell asleep. Everyone else already left for the next class. After Nicole May covered Avegaille with a blanket, she heard someone knocking on the door. She quickly went to the other side and opened the door.

"Um… hi…" Nicole May muttered upon seeing the person outside the room. "What does the vice-president of the student council want from us at a time like this?"

"Oh, heya Nicole May! Jane just wanted to drop this by for you," Madeline said as she handed Nicole May a book, in which Nicole May held with both of her hands. "She got in trouble for cutting classes last week, so she can't be going around campus when lunchtime is over until who knows when. Even though she is the president of the student council… hahahaha!"

Nicole May stared at the cover of the book that she was holding with her hands. The cover looked worn out and it was somehow dusty. 'Inti Gaming' was printed on the cover. She recalled that same name from one of the businesses her father had acquired recently. Then, she stared at Madeline perplexedly.

"Are you curious as to why Jane gave you that? That's the company guidebook of where her father works… the same company that your family bought and revived from bankruptcy," Madeline explained, in which Nicole May’s eyes widened. "She just told me that today when she asked me to give this to you."

"I see…" Nicole May started flipping through the pages of the book. There weren't any pictures of the employees in the book, but it showcased the games the company had created for the past few years. Then, she looked up at Madeline again. "Um… by any chance, do you know the name of Jane and Avegaille's father?"

"Oh? Jake Stewart, was it? I think I heard that name a couple of times when I was visiting Jane's place back then…" Madeline replied sheepishly while she placed her hand behind her head. "Anyway, why the sudden interest?"

"Ah, nothing really…" Nicole May slowly turned away from Madeline. "Anyway, please tell Jane thanks for this."

"Sure thing, see you whenever, as always!" Madeline exclaimed happily as she waved her hand at her and then ran off.

After Madeline left, Nicole May wearily looked down at the book she was holding. Somehow, she felt nervous from all of the information she was getting and didn't know what to do next. She sighed heavily and went inside the newspaper room again to get her things.

.-.-.-.-.-

"A gaming company?" Mrs. Stewart looked surprised and was curious at the same time. She was comfortably sitting down on the office chair, inside the principal's office. Avegaille on the other hand, was standing in front of her.

It was already after school, and most of the students had already gone home while others were still busy with extracurricular activities. The school newspaper club was still in the middle of a meeting but Elizabeth allowed Avegaille to leave early, so she could talk to her mother about the trip to the gaming company later.

"Please Mom! Let me go there, besides… I'll be with Nicole May and her father. It was Nicole May who invited me to join her…" Avegaille pleaded and clasped her hands. She looked at her mother with wide, puppy-dog like eyes.

"All right, all right… it's Friday anyway, so I guess it's not much of a huge deal," Mrs. Stewart said nonchalantly and sighed. "Just make sure you do your homework this weekend. You still have a lot to catch up on."

"Yes, Mom! It's a deal!" Avegaille exclaimed happily as she quickly went next to her mother and hugged her. "You're the best!"

"Haha, okay, that's enough…" Mrs. Stewart said while Avegaille let go of her mother. "In any case, if you guys end up coming home late… well, I trust Mr. Rustford to get you home safely."

"Hehe, don't worry, I'll be okay!" Then, Avegaille took her bag that was on a chair and placed the strap on her shoulder. "I'll see you later, Mom!"

"Okay, take care, dear," Mrs. Stewart said while she waved her hand, which Avegaille waved in return. Then, Avegaille quickly ran out of the room.

After Avegaille left, Jane entered the room and was surprised at her little sister dashing out of the room with a grin on her face. She was holding on some folders with the paper works inside, to hand over to the principal.

"What was that all about, Mom?" Jane asked perplexedly while she placed down the stack of folders on the table.

"Oh, apparently, Nicole May invited Avegaille to join her in visiting a gaming company's location," Mrs. Stewart explained and laughed a bit. "Well, I've never seen Avegaille that excited, so I allowed her for now."

Jane froze upon hearing what her mother just said and started sweating. She shook her head and sat down on one of the chairs in front of the principal’s desk. "Hey, Mom… did Avegaille mentioned the name of the gaming company?"

"No… she didn't. She must have been so excited that she forgot. Oh well, as long as she enjoys what she's doing," Mrs. Stewart replied and shrugged.

"Um, is it okay with you if I joined them? You know, just so I can keep an eye on Avegaille and all?" Jane asked nervously. She had other reasons for coming with Avegaille though.

"Oh, sure, go ahead. Better catch up to them… they'll be leaving quite soon," Mrs. Stewart said and pointed to the window.

Jane looked outside and saw a black four-door sedan Mercedes-Benz driving on the school's parking lot, apparently looking for a spot to park on. The car wasn't something they saw everyday and she quickly stood up from her seat.

"Thanks, Mom!" Jane exclaimed as she quickly dashed out of the room.

"What's up with those two, I wonder?" Mrs. Stewart asked herself and sighed.

.-.-.-.-.-

Nicole May got a message on her mobile phone, which she quickly read through and then, placed her phone in her pocket again. She was in front of the door of the school newspaper room, waiting for Avegaille. Apparently, Avegaille had to use the comfort room just when they were about to leave. Nicole May was getting impatient and folded her arms across her chest. Then, she heard someone running fast and she quickly turned to the direction of the noise. The person was getting closer until Nicole May could recognize who it was, much to her surprise.

"Nicole… May… you…" Jane was still out of breath and continued breathing heavily.

"Yes?" Nicole May was surprised and confused at the same time. ‘What could Avegaille's sister want from me now?’

After Jane regained her composure, she held on Nicole May's shoulder and looked at her groggily. Nicole May wasn't sure on what to do next and just stood there speechless.

"You're bringing Avegaille to my father's gaming company, aren't you?" Jane asked, in which her glasses started shining that her eyes could no longer be seen. To Nicole May, Jane looked really furious.

"She was really excited about it… so… yeah, you could say, I am about to…" Nicole May replied nervously and slowly stepped back from Jane. "I wouldn't know about Inti Gaming being originally owned by your father if it wasn't for Madeline and that book you asked her to give to me. Besides, my Dad said that your father wanted to meet me…"

"I see now… regardless, I am coming with you guys, whether you like it or not!" Jane proclaimed. Nicole May was still confused but was no longer nervous at her. Jane's glasses stopped shining as well. "Today is not the right time for Avegaille to know that our Dad is the lead of that company!"

"Be my guest…" Nicole May muttered and sighed exasperatedly. Then, she placed her hands on her hips. "Geez, you should have just said that in the first place instead of scaring me like that…"

Then, the two of them could hear footsteps and turned to see Avegaille approaching them. Avegaille quickened her pace until she was next to Nicole May.

"Hey Jane, why are you here?" Avegaille asked curiously. "Did Mom tell you about my trip to Inti Gaming?"

"She did… and that's why I'm coming with you guys! She asked me to do so," Jane replied bitterly and folded her arms across her chest.

"What? But Nicole May's already watching out for me…" Avegaille whined out and pouted.

"No 'buts' shrimp, I'm going with you guys whether you like it or not!" Jane protested.

‘I don't think Mrs. Stewart knows anything about this…' Nicole May thought to herself while she continued listening to the two sisters talking to each other. Then, she stepped in between the two sisters. "In any case, we have to leave. My Dad is a busy person as well, we can't keep him waiting…"

.-.-.-.-.-

"Oh, looks like this will be a fun trip," Mr. Rustford remarked upon seeing her daughter, Avegaille and Jane gathered together in front of him.

The three of them were already at the school parking lot, where Mr. Rustford's car, the black four-door sedan Mercedes-Benz, was parked. It was a slightly different car from the one that Nicole May saw the last time his father was in town. Nicole May rarely went to this part of the school as she would walk a few blocks before getting to her ride home, in the Lexus car.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, Mr. Rustford… I know you only intended to have Avegaille join you guys, but I was asked by my Mom to come along with her," Jane said, which somehow made both Avegaille and Nicole May cringe. The way that Jane’s manner of speech suddenly becoming too formal made them doubtful of Jane's real intentions.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all… Jane was it?" Mr. Rustford asked, trying to remember her name.

"Yes, sir, that's me." Jane nodded and laughed nervously.

"You being formal isn't like you Jane…" Avegaille whispered, which Jane just ignored for now while she twitched.

"Okay, everyone in the car! Let's hope the traffic today isn't heavy so we can get there as soon as possible," Mr. Rustford said. Then, he walked to the other side of the car, where the door to the driver's seat was and got inside.

Nicole May waited for the sisters to get on the back seat of the car and after that, she occupied the front seat of the car. She was still feeling nervous from all of this. But with Jane around, she might be able to avoid Avegaille from breaking down once they get there. Right now, the plan the two of them had in mind was to make sure that Avegaille doesn’t see her father.

‘We'll work out on something… hopefully…' Nicole May thought to herself while the engine of the car started.