Chapter 16: A New Rival

"Mrs. Stewart, there's someone here who wants to talk to you," Vivian said as she approached Mrs. Stewart, who was sitting on her desk, reading some papers. Then, Vivian turned to the doorway where the student was standing.

It was just a few minutes after Mrs. Stewart finished talking with Jane, and now she was looking through the papers on her desk. She wasn't really fond of formal paperwork, and wanted to customize the papers she was looking at to make it more casual for everyone. Vivian, of course, would always stop Mrs. Stewart from doing such ridiculous things and put things into proper order.

"Oh?" Mrs. Stewart lifted up her head and looked at the student who was standing near the doorway. She looked down again on the papers she was reading. The picture in the paper apparently matched the student standing in front of her. She was holding the student's school record. "Ah, you must be the transfer student, Emily Hayward!"

"Yes…" Emily muttered as she slowly turned her head around, looking around the principal's office while approaching the desk where Mrs. Stewart was. She had short blonde hair with a hairclip on the left side of her bangs and wore a long sleeved v-neck shaped maroon sweater over a white collared shirt. She was also wearing a pale brown pleated skirt and black shoes with white socks. "I apologize for not being able to attend the first week of school… My family couldn't get a plane ticket that could get us here back in time."

"Hmm, it's fine. I'm pretty sure you can catch up to whatever you missed," Mrs. Stewart said and smiled. "Well, I'll tell the teachers that you're here now… it was a good thing your parents called Vivian before school started…"

"Well, Miss Hayward, here's your schedule," Vivian said as she took a sheet of paper from the folder she was holding in her arms and handed it over to Emily. "Considering lunch time is almost over, you should probably head down to your next class listed there."

"I'll go with her just in case…" Mrs. Stewart said. Then, she stood up and stood next to Emily. "Don't worry too much… I'm pretty sure you'll have fun here. I know a certain student like you who does…"

.-.-.-.-.-

"Natalie! Don't push the wheelchair too fast!" Nicole May exclaimed as she gripped onto the armrests of the wheelchair while Naz ran as fast as she could, pushing the wheelchair along.

"I can't help it! It's just so much fun pushing these things!" Naz exclaimed happily and giggled. As she saw the corner, she quickly turned the wheelchair and ran to the left. Finally, she saw the classroom where Nicole May was supposed to be and stopped running. "There, we got on time, didn't we?"

"Goddammit…" Nicole May muttered and started panting. She was quite shocked from the speed that Naz had used to push the wheelchair… she felt that she was riding a roller coaster. "Why did you have to push the wheelchair so fast?!"

"Hmm?" Naz noticed the group of people who were approaching them from the other side. She noticed that the principal was with a student she never met before. "Oh, hey, it's the school principal!"

"Oh, you're one of Avegaille's friends from the other day, right?" Mrs. Stewart asked and smiled. Then, she turned to Emily, who was walking next to her. "Ah, well, anyway, I'm showing Emily here around school, considering she's a transfer student. I should make the other teachers aware that she's here now…"

"Ah, you don't have to do all of this, Mrs. Stewart…" Emily muttered as she turned to Mrs. Stewart. She looked nervous as she turned to Nicole May and Naz, who were standing in front of them.

"It's fine… well, time to meet Miss Read, the English teacher," Mrs. Stewart said while she went to the door and turned the knob and opened it. Then, she looked around and saw some students were already inside and Miss Read was at her desk, looking through her class record. "Susan! The transfer student is here~"

"Amelia… you really shouldn't address teachers by their first names in front of students…" Miss Read muttered as she stood up from her desk and approached Mrs. Stewart. Miss Read had blond hair that reached up to her shoulders and wore a headband on her head. She was also wearing glasses and wore formal attire. Plus, she was also a few years younger than Amelia. The other students inside kept quiet and were quite curious about the transfer student.

"Oh don't be so formal Susan! Anyway, this is Emily Hayward, the transfer student from Midway Academy," Mrs. Stewart said while she stepped to the side and turned at Emily, who was behind her.

"Another Midway Academy student?" Miss Read muttered as she looked at Emily curiously. She noticed that Emily was nervous and tried to brighten up the mood. "Ah, don't mind me. Anyway, you have a lot of catching up to do, considering you came here a bit too late."

"Don't worry, I can catch up to all my subjects easily," Emily said and nodded her head.

"I know you will," Miss Read said and smiled. Then, she looked outside the classroom and saw Nicole May sitting on a wheelchair, and behind her was Naz. "Miss Rustford… did something happen?"

"Don't mind me Miss Read… it's just your typical case of not being able to walk properly after someone crashed into you pretty hard…" Nicole May muttered as she slowly turned away from everyone staring at her.

"Well, if you don't want to talk about it, it's fine…" Miss Read said as she shrugged. Then, she turned to Naz, who was standing behind Nicole May. "Miss Howard, you should get to your class now…"

"Yeah, yeah, I will," Naz said and grinned. "See you tomorrow, Miss Read!"

Miss Read couldn't help but sweat-drop as she watched Naz walk off. Then, she turned to Mrs. Stewart, who was waving at her as she said her goodbyes and walked off. Only Emily and Nicole May were left, standing in front of her, well, at least, one of them was. Miss Read entered the classroom, while she waited for more students to come in before her class started. As Nicole May turned her head to the person in front of her, she noticed that Emily's expression somehow changed. She noticed that Emily was staring at her seriously, as if trying to analyze her.

"Is there something wrong?" Nicole May asked as she looked at Emily skeptically.

"Oh… it's nothing… I was just reminded of someone while I was in Midway Academy. She was always the top student every year since second grade, considering she was accelerated. She had the same last name as you… her name was Nicole May Rustford…" Emily muttered as she shrugged. "She was very quiet, but she was annoying also, especially when she was with those students. Only one student was brave enough to last as her roommate until graduation. Nicole May was well known to always find a way to get rid of her roommate, mind you."

"What… does she have to do with me then?" Nicole May asked and looked a bit uneasy.

"Ah, well, Rustford is a very uncommon last name… you might be related to her or something," Emily replied and shrugged while smirking. "Well, anyway, it's been nice talking with you… hey, what's your name anyway? It would be unfair if I didn't know it, considering you already know my name…"

"Ah…" Nicole May felt stiff while Emily stared at her, waiting for her to reply. She couldn't say her name in front of her, not after hearing what she said about her. Then, someone held onto her shoulder, which startled her and she quickly turned around to see who it was. "A-Arthur?!"

"Hey, Nicole May," Arthur said casually and grinned. He noticed that Nicole May was jittery and couldn't help but look worried. "Are you all right?"

"Don't do that!" Nicole May exclaimed as she stared at him exasperatedly.

"You… what did you say her name was?" Emily interrupted, looking at Arthur skeptically.

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"Huh, it's Nicole May… Nicole May Rustford… well, at least, that's what everyone in the school paper has been saying, and also the teachers," Arthur replied, in which he noticed the student's serious look and got confused. "Why, you have some unsettled business with her? A conflict you two could never resolve? Or perhaps you're a secret stalker?"

"I wouldn't go low into stalking someone as annoying as her!" Emily exclaimed furiously while she pointed at Nicole May's face. Then, she turned away from them and walked inside the classroom.

"Whoa, such a grouchy little missy that girl was," Arthur remarked as he folded his arms across his chest. He turned to Nicole May, who had a blank look on her face and was speechless. He waved his hand in front of her face but there was no response from her. Finally, he pinched Nicole May's left cheek, which resulted in a very unpleasant reaction. Nicole May slapped his hand really hard.

"That hurts!" Nicole May exclaimed while she looked at Arthur furiously. She held on her left cheek with her hand, trying to ease the pain.

"Hey, I've never seen that student before… who was she?" Arthur asked as he went in front of Nicole May, while shaking his hand to ease the pain he received from pinching Nicole May's cheek. "You look a bit nervous over her also, are you all right?"

"I'll be fine… I'm more concerned about her. She's Emily Hayward, as what Mrs. Stewart introduced to Miss Read. Like me, she was also a student in Midway Academy. Although, I never met her personally while I was still in Midway Academy… but maybe, perhaps she saw me around the campus back then. I was a bit of an obnoxious and arrogant student back then… so I wouldn't be surprised if she found me that annoying," Nicole May muttered and sighed.

"Hmm, are you scared that everyone in this school will eventually learn of who you used to be?" Arthur asked while he placed his hands on his pockets.

"Maybe… that could be the reason why… she seemed so threatening," Nicole May muttered and groaned. "At least, Avegaille wasn't that… overreacting and stubborn as her…"

.-.-.-.-.-

"Damn, I fell asleep again… Mom should really buy me medication for this narcolepsy… whatever that is," Avegaille muttered while she closed the door behind her and looked around. She was now standing in the hallway, in which behind her was the entrance to the school paper's room. Then, she noticed a student walking at quite a fast pace, and looked furious. Avegaille didn't know who the student was, but somehow felt concerned for her. Then, the student stopped walking and looked at Avegaille surprisingly.

"Hey, you're Avegaille Stewart…" the student remarked, quickly holding Avegaille's hand. "Ah, you don't know me of course… I'm Emily Hayward. Like you, I'm also from Midway Academy! I'm so glad you're also in this school~"

"Eh…?" Avegaille looked really confused upon noticing how excited Emily was. "I'm… afraid I don't understand why you're glad I'm here…"

"Oh, you know Nicole May Rustford, right? The annoying obnoxious snob that was your roommate when you entered Midway Academy... well, she's also in this school," Emily explained as she let go of Avegaille's hand and folded her arms across her chest. "You're the only one who can save this school from that… girl!"

"Ah… yeah… that was years ago… well, actually, a year ago, or something. Anyway, how come you know me… and yet I don't know you?" Avegaille asked as she scratched her head.

"It's fine if you don't recognize me, I'm just one of those students who tried to be a top student… and yet, I could never achieve that since she's around," Emily muttered as she looked away from Avegaille. Then, she turned to Avegaille again with a smile on her face. "What's your next class, maybe we can go together?"

"My next class… you mean, my last class… it should be… Computer class…" Avegaille muttered as she looked through her bag, trying to find her schedule. Then, she pulled out the paper and looked through it. "Yeah, it is Computer class… my other two subjects from earlier… I have to go to the faculty room later so I can study them when I get home…"

"Eh, what do you mean?" Emily asked while Avegaille gave to her the paper she was holding. She looked through it and saw that she had the same schedule as hers. "Wait, the schedule says you're supposed to be in Miss Read's class earlier, and yet you weren't. Why's that?"

"Oh, I fell asleep when lunch time was ending… it happens once in a while… the teachers all know about it, so they just give me a copy of today's lesson for me to study at home," Avegaille explained and sighed. "It'd probably be easier if I was taking medication for this instead of my depression… but Dr. Anderson says I can't take them both at the same time."

"Well, anyway, I also have Computer class as my last subject. We should go together," Emily insisted as she took Avegaille arm and dragged her.

.-.-.-.-.-

Avegaille and Emily had to take the stairs to get to the second floor, where the computer lab was. As they entered the room, they saw that some of the students were using the computers, while the other students were chatting. Their teacher, Mr. Schneider, was by his desk, reading a book. Mr. Schneider was around the late twenties, and he wore glasses which hid his eyes every time he was reading a book. He had ginger hair, and it was neatly combed even though he had bangs covering his forehead. As Avegaille turned her attention to the board, she realized that Mr. Schneider turned his class into a self study time with today's task written on the board. Then, Emily approached Mr. Schneider's desk and introduced herself to him.

On the other hand, Nicole May was sitting on a desk near the door and was also staring at Emily. Avegaille noticed that Nicole May was in front of her. She quickly went next to the empty computer station beside Nicole May and sat down on the chair.

"Hey Nicole May… that girl's really weird… I know you were a bit… annoying back then, but you've changed, right?" Avegaille whispered while Nicole May turned to her, who looked really exasperated.

"I wish she could see that…" Nicole May muttered as she folded her arms across her chest and sighed. "She's been pissing me off lately, saying ridiculous and false accusations about me in front of everyone."

"I really don't know who she is… she said she also studied in Midway Academy… I'm really bad at remembering people," Avegaille muttered and groaned. She looked at the computer screen and noticed that it was turned on. "Anyway, today's activity… has to be done with a partner… I don't get it."

"You could do the activity by yourself in less than thirty minutes if you concentrate enough," Nicole May added and sighed. She grabbed the mouse and dragged it around while clicking through the icons on the screen, waiting for each program to load. "Of course, these computers are slow… very, very… slow."

"Are you saying it's impossible to be done in an hour?!" Avegaille exclaimed loudly and everyone in the room quickly turned to her, staring at her blankly.

"Miss Stewart, please be quiet!" Mr. Schneider called as he stared at her and sighed. Then, he went back to reading the book he was holding in his hands.

"Ah, whoops…" Avegaille laughed nervously while everyone else turned back to whatever they were doing. Then, she turned to Nicole May, who looked a bit exasperated. "But seriously Nicole May, can we do that in just one hour?"

"Hmm…" Nicole May took her bag, which was also on the side of the wheelchair, and took out her laptop. She turned it on and waited for it to finish loading. "Well, my laptop can… even faster than this computer here actually."

As Avegaille watched Nicole May type through her laptop, she noticed that Emily was approaching her. She turned to Emily and saw how serious she looked. Avegaille couldn't help but sweat-drop as Emily took her arm, and dragged her to stand up.

"Avegaille, would you like me to be your partner for this activity?" Emily asked as she smiled.

"Huh… well… Nicole May and I—"

"Mr. Schneider said it's fine that I could be your partner for the day, even though you're already partners with her…" Emily muttered as she glared at Nicole May, in which she was also glaring back at her.

"Uh… well… I suppose it's… fine," Avegaille muttered while she turned to Nicole May, who sighed and turned back to her laptop.

"Good, we can sit over there!" Emily exclaimed happily as she pointed to two empty computer stations by the back of the classroom.

.-.-.-.-.-

"Crap… how am I supposed to get down from here?" Nicole May muttered to herself as she stared at the stairs in front of her.

Nicole May was still sitting on the wheelchair, and since Emily had been dragging around Avegaille, she had no one else to help her. The only reason why she was able to get upstairs earlier was because Phil helped her, even if she was a bit persistent. Before she could stand up, she noticed that someone was running up the stairs. As the person got closer, she was relieved as she saw Avegaille, even though she looked quite exhausted from running.

"Hey… are you all right?" Nicole May asked while Avegaille sat down on one of the steps of the stairs.

"I'm fine…" Avegaille moaned and panted, until her breathing returned to normal. "Man, she's really annoying… I thought I could never lose her…"

"What did you do?" Nicole May asked while Avegaille turned to her.

"Oh, I asked Elizabeth and Naz to show her around school while I made up an excuse of having to go to the principal's office because of last week's detention," Avegaille replied and sighed. Then, she paused for a while and looked worried. "Oh shit, we actually do have one more week of detention!"

"I thought you had already forgotten that…" Nicole May muttered and sweat-dropped. "Anyway, you think you can get me down here?"

"Yeah, but I'm too exhausted, let me rest for a while…" Avegaille muttered while she turned and stared at the window by the other side of the stairs. "Hmm, I'm more worried with what Emily might actually do to everyone in school… I mean… maybe she wants to ruin your reputation or something. Did you do anything to her before I transferred to Midway Academy? She keeps talking about how you're always not giving others a chance or something."

"I can't help it if I'm always having perfect scores in my tests!" Nicole May protested while Avegaille folded her arms across her chest. "Besides, my parents want me to have a perfect school record just because they expect me to take over the company."

"I see…" Avegaille muttered as she looked at Nicole May and smiled. "Don't worry, maybe a little convincing here and there, and we could probably make Emily see how much you've changed. For now, I think we're just gonna have to bear with how annoying she is more than you are while we were still at Midway Academy…"

"Hey, that's not funny, Avegaille!" Nicole May exclaimed and pouted, which made Avegaille laugh.

"Eh, but it's true!" Avegaille remarked and continued laughing.