Chapter 14: An Unwanted Predicament

Finally, it was the start of a new week again. Avegaille managed to finish all of her homework thanks to Nicole May's help. Although, the thing was, both of them had to stay up all night to finish everything. While everyone else was getting ready for school, Avegaille was still asleep. It didn't take too long before someone woke her up. Jane was asked by her mother to wake up her little sister, as she had to leave early for her work.

At Centralville Middle School, while waiting for their first class to start, Elizabeth and Naz had both gathered by the door where their re-established school paper room was located. They could tell that it was a brand new room by the looks of the door and a small bulletin board hung on it for posting announcements. They were waiting for Nicole May to arrive, as she was the only one who had the key to the room. Naz was too excited, that she wanted to open the door herself, even if it meant breaking it. She quickly turned the knob, and to her surprise, it was open all along. Naz quickly swung the door open and saw Nicole May in the middle of the room, sitting on one of the chairs, reading a book. Elizabeth noticed that Nicole May returned to tying her hair into a ponytail and was wearing her glasses on her face.

"Hey, how long have you been here?" Naz asked while Nicole May placed the book on the table in front of her.

"Wow, you were able to put this much stuff in such a small area?" Elizabeth asked as she looked around. She saw a desktop computer by the side of the room, with a cable attached to the large printer. She assumed that the printer was for printing the newspapers. On the other side, she saw a small cabinet and above it was the air conditioner. Then, she looked to her right, knowing the space next to her was smaller in terms of height due to the stairs above it, and noticed a divider. She walked around it and saw that behind the divider was a sofa, enough for three people and a small refrigerator for storing drinks next to it. There was even a carpet laid on the floor, in front of the sofa, mostly for sitting down.

"Don't ask me, they just made do with what resources they had…" Nicole May said as she shrugged and stood up. She watched with a bit of exasperation Naz and Elizabeth delightfully inspect the room. She was so used to all the things in the room that it felt like nothing to her but for them, it was something new and exciting.

"Oh yeah, we should have our first meeting after school so we can discuss what our first issue will be," Elizabeth said, in which both Naz and Nicole May turned to her. "Maybe I'll put up a small flyer on that bulletin board saying we're still accepting staff members."

"Awesome idea! Hey do you know how to use that printer?" Naz asked while she looked at the printer next to the computer. She noticed a book on top of it and quickly took it. It was the printer's instruction manual and as she browsed through it… she realized that she couldn't understand it at all.

"Is that instruction manual too complicated?" Elizabeth asked. She stepped closer to Naz and peered over the book. "Huh, why is that in Japanese?"

"Oh, I forgot. There aren't any printers like that locally available yet, so I had to import it," Nicole May interrupted, which made both Naz and Elizabeth turn their heads to her surprisingly.

"Geez, now that explains it… so we have no choice but to ask you how to make this thing work?" Naz asked as she sweat-dropped.

"Yeah, but don't worry… the operating system of the computer is English anyway, so you can still print as long as you know how to print," Nicole May replied and shrugged. "Of course, you have to ask me where the paper goes or if you want your printed results monochrome or colored…"

"Uh, yeah, we can discuss that later…" Elizabeth muttered as she sweat-dropped. She looked around and saw a stack of letter sized paper by the side of the printer and took one of it. Then, she took out her pen and started writing on it.

"I'm going to my class," Nicole May said while she took out something from her pocket and gave it to Naz. "Here's the key to the room, just give it to Elizabeth when she's not preoccupied."

After that, Nicole May took her things that were on the table and got out of the room. As soon as Elizabeth finished writing, she noticed that Nicole May had already left. Then, she immediately turned to Naz, who was standing next to her. Naz handed over the key that Nicole May gave to her and giggled.

"So, what do you think of her?" Naz asked and Elizabeth looked at her perplexedly in response.

"I dunno, she's really weird… or maybe it's probably because of something else…" Elizabeth muttered and placed the key she was holding in her pocket.

"Well, let's forget about that… hmm, what did you write here?" Naz asked, looking down at the paper that was on the table and took it. Then, she read it. “‘Centralville Middle School News is still accepting new members.’ And some stuff involving who to contact… plus a time of the meeting after school… interesting."

"Yeah, at least we can post that outside for now…" Elizabeth looked through the drawers where the computer was and saw a box of push pins, which she took out. “Let’s hope we’ll get more new members this way.”

.-.-.-.-.-

"Dammit, where is she?" Nicole May groaned while she looked around the classroom. The seat next to her was empty, and that was where Avegaille was assigned to be seated. Her first class already started, and Mr. Collins was writing down the lesson for the day on the blackboard. While everyone else was copying the notes on the board, Nicole May stood up from her seat, in which Mr. Collins stopped writing and turned around.

"What is it Miss Rustford?" Mr. Collins asked.

"I hope you don't mind if I went out for a bit…" Nicole May muttered while everyone else stared at her and watched her walk to the back of the classroom.

Before Nicole May could open the door, someone quickly slammed the door open, which surprised her. She saw Avegaille running towards her, however, Avegaille's attention was to what was in front of the classroom. The next thing she saw as she opened her eyes, was that she was now lying on the floor with Avegaille sitting on top of her stomach. Her whole body was in so much pain from the fall she couldn't even feel how heavy Avegaille was. Everyone else was confused about what was going on and they all started talking about the situation.

"Miss Rustford, are you all right?" Mr. Collins asked as he quickly rushed to her and crouched down to see her condition closer.

"Nicole May, I'm so sorry!" Avegaille quickly apologized as she got off Nicole May and sat down next to her. "Hey, come on… tell me you're still here…"

Both Avegaille and Mr. Collins stared at Nicole May's face. Even though they could see her blinking her eyes slowly, she wasn't moving at all. Then, her expression changed, which relieved the two of them.

"Geez Avegaille… you should seriously watch where you're going…" Nicole May groaned while she slowly sat up from the floor, with Mr. Collins supporting her back. "You're just lucky I landed on my butt."

"Eh, well… yeah, should I take you to the nurse?" Avegaille asked, in which she immediately took Nicole May's arm and placed it over her shoulder.

"I'm fine now, aside from this body pain…" Nicole May muttered. Avegaille slowly stood up, supporting her body to stand up along the way.

"Well, as long as you think you can continue classes despite that accident Miss Rustford. Also, Avegaille, you're still late for class… again," Mr. Collins said exasperatedly while he stood up and sighed.

"Aww, Mr. Collins… you're so mean… as always," Avegaille groaned and pouted.

After that, Mr. Collins walked back to the front of the room. Meanwhile, Avegaille and Nicole May were slowly walking together towards their seat, as Nicole May was still in pain even though she could walk. As they were about to get to their seats, Nicole May heard someone chuckling. She realized it was none other than Phil and stared at him. Phil noticed Nicole May's intense stare and grinned at her.

"Oh Nicole May, you're so lucky, I always wanted Avegaille to sit on top of me and then feel the ecstasy of being in the bottom~" Phil said giddily and he chuckled even more.

Nicole May clenched her fists out of irritation. Then, she saw the book on Phil's desk and quickly grabbed it. Afterwards, she closed the book and smacked the book on Phil's face. Avegaille was surprised and confused while everyone who saw what happened laughed loudly. Mr. Collins quickly turned to the students and looked around to see what just happened.

"What is going on here?" Mr. Collins asked as he turned to both Nicole May and Avegaille.

"Oh Mr. Collins, I have a question. What does ecstasy mean?" Avegaille interrupted while Nicole May stared at her blankly and sweat-dropped.

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"Eeeh… ah… how do I say it… well, think of it as a synonym to happiness…" Mr. Collins muttered nervously while he slowly turned his eyes away from Avegaille and started sweating.

"So, Phil is saying he's happy being in the bottom of someone?" Avegaille asked while everyone else kept quiet and stared at her blankly.

"Avegaille… where is this getting at?" Nicole May asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Well… yeah, you could say that… but Avegaille, this is math class, not science or health!" Mr. Collins interjected as he pointed towards Avegaille's face and stared at her. But as to how Nicole May saw his expression, he looked quite nervous.

"Hmm, you're right Mr. Collins… but still, isn't it weird if a guy is at the bottom?" Avegaille asked while Nicole May slowly took her arms off Avegaille's shoulder and sat down on her seat, which was in front of Phil's seat.

"Avegaille Stewart… that's it… go to the principal's office now!" Mr. Collins exclaimed furiously as he pointed to the door leading outside, with his arms slightly shaking. In reality, he just wanted to send Avegaille there so that his sister could explain to her the actual details instead of him doing it in front of the class.

.-.-.-.-.-

"Geeeh… why are you asking that question all of a sudden, dear?" Mrs. Stewart asked as she cringed in front of Avegaille. She was sitting on a well cushioned office chair behind her desk, in a room also known as the principal's office.

The door behind Avegaille led to a small lobby and also the secretary's office. Finally, the door next to the seats in the lobby goes through the hallway. Then, Vivian, who was Mrs. Stewart's secretary, entered the room and noticed the tension in the atmosphere of the room. Mrs. Stewart looked quite relieved after Vivian approached her and stood next to her.

"Mrs. Stewart… is there something going on?" Vivian asked while she placed down the pile of paper she was carrying on the desk.

"Ah, Vivian, you're just in time… well, Avegaille wanted to know something. Basically, Johnny sent her here since he couldn't answer it in front of the class," Mrs. Stewart explained as she sweat-dropped.

"Oh sure, what is it?" Vivian asked as she turned to Avegaille, who was sitting in one of the seats in front of Mrs. Stewart's desk.

"Miss Vivian, please hear me out… My classmate Phil told Nicole May how lucky she was that I was on top of her. Then, he said something about wanting to be in that situation. After that, Nicole May slapped him with a book… Then, I asked Mr. Collins what ‘ecstasy' means and also why some guys wanted to be in the bottom of a girl…" Avegaille started and looked really confused after saying all that. "So, why was Mr. Collins acting weird and then, why do guys want to be on the bottom anyway?"

"Ah… eh… well, you're too young to know these things," Vivian muttered nervously as she sweat-dropped. Then, she turned to Mrs. Stewart and sighed. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Stewart, but I don't think it's appropriate to talk about such things in front of a student of her age…"

"I understand what you mean Vivian… but knowing Avegaille, she won't stop until her curiosity is fulfilled…" Mrs. Stewart remarked and groaned. She placed her fingertips on her forehead as she slowly shook her head. "Then, I guess I have no choice… I'll have to ask Jane to do this…"

"Do you want me to call Jane right now from her class?" Vivian asked as she sweat-dropped.

"No, that's not necessary, she's going to come here during her lunch period anyway," Mrs. Stewart replied and sighed while she turned to Avegaille. "Avegaille, could you wait a little longer? And please don't ask the other teachers this question when you get to your next classes, okay?"

"Eh… hmm, okay then Mom…" Avegaille muttered while she stood up. "I'll go back to my class then…"

As Avegaille walked up to the door, both Mrs. Stewart and Vivian sighed with relief. Then, they noticed that Avegaille wasn't leaving the room yet and she turned around.

"I got it Mom, maybe I'll ask Nicole May instead… she should know something!" Avegaille exclaimed and giggled. Then, she quickly ran out of the room. Both Mrs. Stewart and Vivian stared at the door blankly and sweat-dropped.

.-.-.-.-.-

"Hey, are you sure you can walk by yourself?" Phil asked and looked really worried.

"Shut up, I can do this!" Nicole May exclaimed while she was leaning on to the wall, trying to stand up. The pain she experienced from earlier had not subsided yet, and she had difficulty walking by herself unless she had some sort of support. Nicole May looked very weary just from trying to stand up. She couldn't stand any longer and had to sit down on the floor.

Their first class already ended and both of them were about to get to their next class. Before Phil could say anything, Avegaille was running towards them and quickly stopped when she saw Nicole May's expression and current composure.

"Hey Phil, what did you do to Nicole May?" Avegaille asked and stared at him suspiciously.

"Hold on, I didn't do anything!" Phil protested while he slowly backed away from Avegaille while Avegaille slowly stepped forward to look at his face. As he stopped moving, Avegaille also stopped. "Come on, let me explain… after class, I noticed that Nicole May had difficulty walking, so I tried to help her but she didn't want me to help…"

"Eh?" Avegaille turned to Nicole May and crouched down. "Hey Nicole May, if you still can't walk by yourself, we should go to the nurse…"

"Fine…" Nicole May grumbled. Avegaille wrapped her arm around Nicole May's back while she placed Nicole May's arm around on her shoulder and both of them slowly stood up. Avegaille took Nicole May's bag and insisted on carrying it for her.

"Hey Phil, tell Miss Harrington we'll be at the nurse's office, okay?" Avegaille said. Then, she and Nicole May slowly walked together to get to the nurse's office.

.-.-.-.-.-

"They're late again… I hope they're not going to attempt at cutting classes again…" Miss Harrington muttered to herself while she stared at Phil, who was standing in front of her. She was holding her class record and about to check the attendance when Phil interrupted her. She had no choice but to wait for both Avegaille and Nicole May, since Phil told her they were at the nurse's office.

The class was getting a bit impatient, but before the class started talking with one another, someone slammed the door open which kept everyone quiet again. Miss Harrington was shocked as she saw the two girls entering the room. Nicole May was sitting on a wheelchair and Avegaille was pushing her from behind.

"Seriously, Avegaille, I can do this by myself… it's not like I'm completely paralyzed," Nicole May protested while Avegaille walked up in front of her and shook her head. Nicole May knew Avegaille was persistent and didn't want to leave her alone. "Whatever then…"

"Miss Rustford, what happened?" Miss Harrington asked while she placed the class record on the desk and quickly approached her.

"It's nothing serious Miss Harrington… I just got into a bit of an accident earlier, and now it cost me of not being able to walk properly for a day," Nicole May explained, slowly turning away from Miss Harrington and cringed. "At least, that's what the nurse said… and asked me to go to the doctor as soon as possible…"

"I see, then… the three of you get to your seats. I'll start checking the attendance," Miss Harrington said as she went back to her desk.

Phil ran up to his seat while Avegaille pushed Nicole May's wheelchair and led her next to an empty seat which was in front of the blackboard and near the window. She took out the chair and pushed Nicole May's wheelchair in front of it. There was enough space under the table for Nicole May to push the wheelchair further in, so she could be closer to the table. Miss Harrington started calling everyone until she was done with her list. Then, she took out a stack of papers from her drawer and placed it on top.

"All right, I hope you all have been reading your books because we're going to have a pop quiz!" Miss Harrington exclaimed and everyone started groaning. "Oh come on now, I don't want any complaining… besides, it's just a recap of our discussion from last week."

"If you say so, Miss Harrington…" Nicole May muttered as she slowly turned away from her and laughed slowly but mischievously.

.-.-.-.-.-

After History class, Avegaille's next subject was Science. Their teacher, Miss Clayton, was almost the same age as Miss Harrington, estimated to be around mid-twenties. She was a bit carefree but she made sure that the students would always do their homework. They were currently in the science lab, but aside from the science lab, her class also had another classroom for regular lectures. The science lab was twice the size than a regular classroom. It had enough experimental tables for two classes. Aside from the tables, there were also the laboratory equipment at the back of the room, placed inside the cabinets. In front of the room one could see the huge blackboard and the teacher's desk, placed on top of a platform. The platform was the same size of the blackboard in terms of width. On one side of the lab, opposite to where the windows were, the bulletin board was filled with announcements and instructions before starting experiments.

Avegaille looked around and finally noticed that she had some classmates that she didn't have in other classes. She turned to Nicole May, who was sitting next to her, still on a wheelchair. Nicole May on the other hand, was busy reading a book, while listening to Miss Clayton's instructions. Avegaille tugged Nicole May's sleeve, in which Nicole May stopped reading and turned to her.

"What is it now, Avegaille?" Nicole May asked while she placed her glasses on her head and looked at her skeptically.

"I just realized something… we have classmates here that we don't see in our other classes…" Avegaille muttered as she slowly turned her head and looked at the student sitting next to Phil.

"Are you talking about Arthur?" Nicole May asked as she sweat-dropped.

"You know him?" Avegaille asked, which she quickly turned back to Nicole May.

"Not really, he just introduced himself to me last week… although I didn't notice he was also in this class…" Nicole May muttered and sighed.

"All right class, pay attention! I'll pair you up with your lab partners," Miss Clayton announced and everyone quickly turned to her. "Okay I'll read out the list. Everyone please stand up so that you can approach your lab partner."

As Miss Clayton read the list, everyone inside the room started moving around to get to their partners. After Miss Clayton read the list, Nicole May couldn't help but cringe as she turned to her partner, who was standing next to her. It was none other than Phil. Avegaille had already moved to another table, which was next to the table where Nicole May was, and her partner was Arthur Parker. The two of them were getting to know each other for the first time, so they were talking about a lot of things. Then, Miss Clayton started distributing papers around the room, which were the instructions for today's experiment. Phil took the paper from Miss Clayton and sat down on the seat next to Nicole May.

"Well, it looks like we have to do some chemical mixing here and there," Phil said, while he continued reading the paper in his hand. He turned to Nicole May and saw how quiet and irritated she was, and didn't want to disturb her any further. But they had to work together to finish the experiment today or else they would get a failing grade. "Hey, Nicole May… you're still mad at me from earlier? I was kidding you know…"

"Sure you were…" Nicole May muttered as she folded her arms across her chest and glared at Phil. Then, she sighed and turned to the blackboard in front. "Actually, it's not about that, it's something else, although you wouldn't understand what I'll be saying here. Let's just say, if you were in my situation, with everyone worried about you, forced to sit on a wheelchair even though you could still stand up despite the pain, you'd probably feel annoyed at the unwanted attention, right? Of course, you're not me, so you wouldn't know that feeling."

"Well, yeah… I suppose I might get annoyed if there are too many people trying to ask the same thing…" Phil muttered while Nicole May sighed exasperatedly and took the paper from his hand. "Well, either way, I'll get the stuff we need from the back."

'To be honest, I don't know what Avegaille sees in you…' Nicole May thought to herself. She turned to Phil, who was already at the back of the room, gathering the things they needed for the experiment.