Chapter 31: Curiosity of the Mind

Emily was walking along the corridor, carrying some books with her other arm due to the cast on her left arm. It was already lunch time and she had to get to the library to return the books she was carrying. She was about to turn on the corner when someone rushed towards her and both of them fell on the floor. The boy had black spiky hair and he was wearing glasses. As Emily sat up, she quickly noticed how the boy was panicking at the sight he was seeing and giggled at him. Even though Emily was wearing shorts under her skirt, somehow, she could see how nervous the boy was. She stood up from the floor while the boy picked up the scattered books on the floor.

"Ah, I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to…" the boy said as he handed back the books to Emily.

"Haha, it's okay… it's not like you'll see anything under there," Emily said and smiled. "Anyway, why were you in such a hurry?"

"Oh… well… it's a bit embarrassing to say… but I wanted to see for myself what Miss Rustford was wearing after hearing it from my friends!" the boy exclaimed ecstatically while Emily slightly raised her eyebrow. Emily knew that he was referring to Nicole May. "Well, I'm sorry if I bothered you… um…"

"Emily Hayward," Emily replied and smiled wearily.

"Ah, Miss Hayward… well, my name's Frederick. I hope we see each other again somewhere," Frederick said and quickly ran off before Emily could say another word.

"Huh? What does he want to see in Nicole May's outfit I wonder…" Emily muttered to herself and continued walking until she saw Arthur approaching her. She stopped walking as she was already in front of the library's entrance and Arthur finally got close to her. She could see from his face that he was concerned about the cast on her arm.

"Man, that cast is a bit nasty, how long will you stay like that?" Arthur asked and continued examining Emily. He was now wearing a light brown blazer over the white collared shirt. Then, he quickly grabbed the books Emily was carrying and winked at her. "Either way, you really shouldn't carry stuff like this while you're still injured."

"The doctor said at least two weeks," Emily replied and sighed wearily. "Well, I'm supposed to return those books you're carrying now, so why don't we go inside the library?"

"Haha, sure," Arthur said and both of them entered the library.

.-.-.-.-.-

Avegaille was at the school grounds, particularly close to the soccer field. She was watching the players while she waited for Phil, since he was the one who asked Avegaille to head over the field. The players on the field were doing some dribbling and shooting. Then, a soccer ball started flying towards Avegaille and she subconsciously caught the ball with both of her hands. She saw that one of the players was waving at her to return the ball and Avegaille kicked the ball towards the direction where the player was. After that, the players on the field continued with their practice.

"I wonder why Phil asked me to come here…" Avegaille muttered to herself and spotted an unoccupied bench, which she went to and sat down on.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Phil called and Avegaille turned around to the direction of his voice. Phil was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with a light blue t-shirt over it and still kept wearing the same pants and shoes. Then, Phil sat down next to Avegaille. "Elizabeth told me you were having some difficulties trying to remember what you and your sister used to do way back then."

"Ah… she did…" Avegaille muttered and laughed nervously. She turned slightly away from Phil and had her eyes on the field. "Anyway… why here of all places? I mean… what does playing soccer have to do with my current problem?"

"Well, you and Jane used to play soccer together, as far as I remember," Phil replied and chuckled a bit. "Jane taught you how to play it, didn't she?"

"Yeah… but my leg was badly injured back then from that incident… that I can't even play soccer now," Avegaille muttered and sighed. "Sure, I can do some basic kicking and all, but if I push myself too much, I might not be able to walk again…"

"Oh yeah, I know that… of course, I'm not really telling you that you and Jane should play soccer… it's just that you may remember other things if you remember at least one of them," Phil said and laughed nervously.

"Ah… yeah, I think I get what you mean…" Avegaille turned back to him and smiled.

.-.-.-.-.-

Nicole May was about to enter the newspaper room when she felt that someone was watching behind her back. She couldn't help but feel nervous and slowly turned to the direction behind her and saw three boys with glasses staring at her ecstatically. She could remember their faces… they were the same group of nerds that were proven innocent from the case of pervert attacks in school. One had spiky black hair, the other had round glasses and brown hair and the last one was wearing an orange headband on his head. She was curious and nervous at the same time as to why they were following her. Then, she recalled what Avegaille told her earlier about 'absolute territory'.

"Hey… you boys wouldn't happen to know what 'absolute territory' means… do you?" Nicole May asked and slowly cringed at them.

"Oh? So, Miss Rustford knows of the existence of this term," Frederick remarked and the two boys behind him applauded. "Well, to start off, it is the area between the skirt and the stockings."

"Not only that, that specific area is what makes girls even more attractive," Joey, who was wearing a headband, added. "Who cares about panty shots when you can have something as amazing as this to stare at and not scare the girls away?"

"And seeing as Miss Rustford is already a goddess and is now following this trend, this just made our day even better," Marcus continued and knelt down right in front of Nicole May, which just made her cringe even more at them.

"Okay, that's enough!" Nicole May exclaimed irritably. She folded her arms across her chest. "You guys just keep that to yourselves, I don't even want to know any more of this…"

"May we ask one thing, Miss Rustford?" Joey asked and sheepishly raised his hand.

"As long as it's not anything perverted or stupid, go ahead…" Nicole May muttered and slightly raised an eyebrow.

"I'm curious as to where you found out about this term or where you've heard it from… seeing as only people who have an interest in anime know about it…" Joey said and laughed sheepishly.

"Avegaille… she was the one who told me something like this could happen…" Nicole May replied and sighed exasperatedly.

"Oh, what's going on here?"

Nicole May quickly turned around after recognizing that voice. She saw Emily and Arthur right behind her. Emily, who just got out from the library, was about to enter the newspaper room when she saw the scenario. Arthur was just accompanying her since he had some free time after he was done with his lunch.

"It's not really of your concern, Hayward," Nicole May muttered and stared at her irritably.

"Ah… you two know each other?" Frederick interrupted, in which, both Nicole May and Emily turned to him. Marcus, on the other hand, stood up from his kneeling position and just stared at the girls.

"Sure we do, we studied in the same school when we were in elementary," Emily replied. "Rustford here is just in the top class section, so we could never be classmates…"

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"That's not how I recall how Midway Academy works…" Nicole May muttered and placed her hands on her hips.

"Huh, what are you talking about? All students who have above average grades always are in the top section…" Emily protested and clenched her fist.

"Then, explain why the hell was Avegaille in the same class as I am, considering she was a transfer student and her grades upon admission to the school were just average," Nicole May told her and grinned mischievously.

"Avegaille's a different case… there were rumors that she only got into your section because of her mother's contacts with the higher-ups of both the academy and the school district here in Centralville," Emily protested and turned away from Nicole May.

"I don't think her mother's contacts or whatsoever has anything to do with her being in that section," Nicole May muttered and nodded slowly. Then, she folded her arms across her chest. "If your grades were just as good as mine, then, we were never classmates because you never wanted to be in the same section as I did. Remember that students who have above average grades have the freedom to choose which class they want to be in, as long as it meets the required number of students for that class."

"Fine… you win…" Emily muttered wearily and sighed. Then, she turned back to the boys staring at them. "Anyway, why are you guys so interested in Rustford here? I mean… she's just your average snobby rich girl… only she's different now than the first time I met her."

"Haha, can't decide if you're to take that as an insult or compliment, eh?" Arthur remarked as he placed his hand on Nicole May's shoulder.

"Anything from Hayward is always regarded as an insult…" Nicole May muttered bitterly and stared at Emily exasperatedly.

"Ah… Miss Hayward, right?" Frederick confirmed meekly while trying to regain his composure from listening to the two girls arguing earlier. "Well… we were talking with Miss Rustford about absolute territory earlier, as that is the subject of what we're interested in right now…"

"Oh, Fred, is that the girl you were talking about earlier? The one who wears shorts under her skirt?" Marcus asked and Frederick nodded slowly. "You must be lucky, to be able to see that up close… I envy you…"

"She reminds me of a certain character…" Joey added and grinned ecstatically. Then, the three boys all knelt down and bowed on the ground. "Miss Hayward, let us be your servants also from now on!"

"Whoa… whaat?" Emily was so surprised and scared that she didn't know what to say next. Nicole May, on the other hand, was chucking at what she was seeing.

"Well, aren't you glad you'll have some boys to help you out while you're injured," Arthur remarked and started laughing.

"Oh yes, please let us serve you while you are in that state!" Frederick exclaimed and the three of them lifted up their heads.

"Have fun with them," Nicole May said while she smiled mischievously and entered the newspaper room.

"I'll be inside when you need me," Arthur added and followed Nicole May.

"Wait, you guys!" Emily exclaimed but both Nicole May and Arthur were already inside. Then, she turned back to the boys. "Geez… what the hell am I supposed to do now?"

.-.-.-.-.-

After watching a couple of practices at the soccer field, both Avegaille and Phil decided to head over the newspaper room before lunch ended. Both of them were in the hallway, about to take a turn to where the newspaper room was until one of the soccer players from earlier caught up with Avegaille. The girl, who had long black hair tied to a ponytail, was also carrying a soccer ball with her.

"Ah, sorry to bother you guys… but… when I saw how you caught that ball and gave it back to us, I thought perhaps that you should join us," the girl explained and became nervous. She was wearing the school's strip, which was the maroon shirt with white collar, black shorts, white socks that reach up to her knees and cleats. "Maybe I should introduce myself… my name's Megan."

"Well… I'm Avegaille and this is Phil… but… I'm not physically fit to join you guys," Avegaille replied and smiled sheepishly. "Besides, you guys are already more than eleven on the team."

"That's true… although I wouldn't mind joining," Phil added and shrugged.

"Don't you have the sports club already?" Avegaille asked and stared at Phil suspiciously.

"Oh… yeah, but they're kinda inactive lately, and I wanna engage into playing real games and not just admiring them," Phil explained. Then, he turned to Megan. "Are you guys recruiting now since you know that the majority of the team will graduate next year?"

"That's basically it, but so far we haven't had much success…" Megan muttered and lowered her head. Then, she lifted up her head and turned to Phil. "Well, Phil, if you're interested, you're welcome to try out later after school at the field… we also had some flyers up around campus, hopefully other people would come."

"Haha, all right, I'll come," Phil said and smiled at her.

"Thanks!" Megan said happily and then, turned to Avegaille. She handed over to her the soccer ball she was carrying. "Why don't you borrow this for now and return it later after school? Maybe you might change your mind… or something…"

"But…" Avegaille took the ball in her hands and Megan ran off before she could say anything else. Avegaille looked down at the soccer ball she was holding however, her mind just drew a blank.

"Don't worry too much Avegaille, I'll return it for you if you like," Phil said and placed his hand on Avegaille's shoulder.

"Oh… I wonder…" Avegaille muttered to herself as she stared intently at the soccer ball she was holding with her hands. Then, she could hear familiar voices coming from the other side of the hallway. Avegaille quickly placed the ball on the floor and prepared herself to kick it.

"Avegaille… what are you doing?" Phil asked, raising an eyebrow. Then, he turned to the direction where Avegaille was facing and saw Jane and Madeline coming closer towards them. The next thing he saw was that Avegaille kicked the ball towards Jane, in which Jane caught swiftly with both of her hands.

"Hey, hey! What's the big deal of kicking this ball towards me?" Jane exclaimed furiously. She quickly approached Avegaille and pointed towards the ball she was holding.

"Ah! Sorry, Jane… I was trying to remember something…" Avegaille replied meekly and lowered her head. "Phil told me you were the one who taught me how to play soccer, but I can't remember anything like that in my head…"

"Oh, your little sister's still at it?" Madeline asked and turned to Jane, who was still furious at what just happened. "Give her a break Jane, I mean… at least she's trying, right?"

"What… I already told her to forget about it…" Jane protested, turning to Madeline. Then, she handed to Madeline the soccer ball she was holding and turned back to her little sister. "Hey, you do realize that if you keep kicking the ball like that… you might end up not being able to walk anymore."

"I know Jane… I wanted to try it, at least… to see if something might come up," Avegaille muttered and turned her gaze away from her sister.

"Huh… did something happen to your little sister?" Madeline asked surprisingly.

"Oh… Mom and Dad were arguing and somehow… Dad threw something really heavy and Avegaille was just passing by that time. Next thing that happened was that a heavy object hit her right leg really hard," Jane explained hesitantly and looked down at Avegaille. "After that, Avegaille was sent to the hospital. Then, that's when Mom finally decided to get a divorce…"

"Ah… so that’s why…" Madeline muttered and turned to Phil, who was listening to them, even though he already knew about it. Then, she turned back to Jane, who still looked depressed. "But Avegaille could still walk… that would mean, she got better after some time, right?"

"Yeah… sure she did… but that wasn't really the reason why Mom and Dad divorced…" Jane muttered and sighed. "I don't really want to talk about this, so I'll be going now."

Madeline watched Jane walk off to the other side, to where the stairs were. Then, she turned back to Avegaille and Phil, who were quietly standing in front of her.

"Hey, you guys! Cheer up… you're all making me depressed!" Madeline complained. She quickly dropped the soccer ball on the floor, hoping to get their attention and lighten them up. The ball bounced back and she caught it.

"Haha, sorry about that," Phil said and laughed a bit. "But hey, aren't you that girl that Jane's always with? Even that time when you went to her house…"

"I thought I've seen you somewhere… Yeah, that was me," Madeline replied. She placed her hand on her hips while holding the soccer ball with her other hand. "I'm Madeline Fletcher, in case Jane hasn't told you what my name was…"

"I'm Phillip Anderson, but most people just call me Phil," Phil said and smiled at Madeline. "I'm always at the Stewart residence whenever my Mom and Mrs. Stewart want to talk together and have some fun."

"Oh, really? Then, maybe perhaps… you and Avegaille had always been together since you were young?" Madeline asked curiously and sneered at them. Then, she tossed the soccer ball to Phil, in which Phil caught immediately with his hands. "Are you two going out?"

"Wah! It's nothing like that!" Avegaille protested while waving her hands frantically and her face started turning red.

"Not really…" Phil replied and smiled sheepishly, while glancing at Avegaille.

"Well, things are going to get a bit more complicated if one of you doesn't make a move," Madeline remarked and turned away from them. Hearing those words from her just made both Avegaille and Phil even more embarrassed. "Anyway, I'm going to my class now… maybe we'll see each other some time."

Madeline lifted up her hand as she walked away while both Phil and Avegaille were waving their hands slowly back at her. After Madeline was out of sight, Avegaille turned to Phil and stared at him for a while. Then, both of them heard footsteps and could see from a distance a familiar face that was approaching them.

"Where have you guys been?"

"Ahh… Nicole May…" Avegaille muttered and turned to the direction of her voice. She was still flustered from earlier and Nicole May noticed it quickly, in which she was now staring at Avegaille suspiciously. "Well, Phil asked me to head over the soccer field… and tried to help me out with remembering things…"

"Yeah… it's no big deal," Phil added meekly and grinned. He noticed how irritated Nicole May was but tried his best at ignoring her.

"Whatever… Come on Avegaille, we're heading over to our next class!" Nicole May exclaimed and immediately grabbed Avegaille's hand. Then, she dragged Avegaille away from Phil and both of them started walking together until they were out of sight.

"I wonder… if this is what Madeline meant…" Phil muttered to himself, furrowing his eyebrows.