Chapter 28: Something Unique

"Hey, Nicole May… where are we going?" Avegaille asked while Nicole May dragged her until the two of them were outside the building. After they got outside, Avegaille looked around and saw that some of the students were leaving. Other students were in a hurry to get to the other facilities before the designated time was up. Then, Avegaille turned to Nicole May, who was still holding her hand and still had her glasses on, which somehow made it impossible to see her eyes. "Um… Nicole May?"

Nicole May kept quiet while she turned back to Avegaille and stared at her. Then, she took off her glasses and placed them on her head.

"Hey… you're not mad or something… are you?" Avegaille asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not that…" Nicole May muttered as she slightly turned away from Avegaille and released her hand.

"Eh… then, what's wrong?" Avegaille asked and tilted her head to the side.

"Nothing… it's just that… we didn't get to do as much here." Nicole May lowered her head and sighed. "Never mind, forget what I said…"

"Um… okay…?" Avegaille muttered and stared at Nicole May blankly, very confused at what was going on.

Then, Avegaille looked around the area again and saw a booth by the distance. It was a carnival type of game and they would hand over prizes if you won. She went closer to the booth, and watched how the game worked. Nicole May, on the other hand, noticed that Avegaille's attention went to something else and followed her. At the booth, one student was throwing a ball towards the stacked bottles by the other side. While he was able to topple over one stack, he was unsuccessful with the next one. All three stacks of bottles had to be knocked over, and they would only give three balls to do it. The prizes were quite interesting, in which were different types of plush animals; some of them were featured in their respective areas of the park. Avegaille looked around the booth and saw a black plush cat by the side, displayed along with other animals. She couldn't help but stare at it.

"Hmm?" Nicole May noticed Avegaille's reaction towards the plush cat and quickly tapped her shoulder. "You want that?"

"Eh? Well… I'm not good at aiming at stuff, so… I'm bound to fail…" Avegaille muttered as she turned to Nicole May and lowered her head.

"Well, what if there's someone who can?" Nicole May asked and smirked. Then, she turned to the booth, in which the attendant was still arranging the bottles.

"Huh, what are you gonna do?" Avegaille asked nervously.

"Don't worry, this won't take long…" Nicole May muttered. Then, she looked at the sign on the counter, in which the price of the game was displayed. It was cheap enough but the problem was Nicole May didn't have any smaller bills with her. She turned back to Avegaille. "Got some change?"

"Um… here…" Avegaille took out some change from her pocket and gave it to Nicole May.

The attendant just finished arranging everything and then came back with some balls in a basket. He noticed the two girls and smiled at them.

"So, you girls want to give this classic game a shot?" the attendant asked while he placed the balls into the boxes, in which the boxes were sitting on the counter.

"Yeah…" Nicole May muttered and then, handed over the change to the attendant.

"All right then, you have three balls there and there are three stacks of bottles there. You must hit all three stacks of bottles, and then you can pick a prize you'd like from these shelves here," the attendant explained while Avegaille looked around the booth.

Nicole May took one of the balls and stared at it for a while. Then, she looked at the other side of the booth, where the stacks of bottles were. Avegaille noticed how serious and quiet Nicole May was. Then, Nicole May stepped back a bit and threw the ball, in which the ball knocked over the first stack.

"Eh… that's quite impressive…" Avegaille remarked, but Nicole May was too focused on what she was doing that she didn’t pay attention to anything else.

Avegaille finally realized what Nicole May was doing when she did the same posture again. From what she could tell, Nicole May was calculating the distance, height, speed and the force of her throw to aim directly at the stacks of bottles. The process itself was complicated, but Avegaille already knew that it was a simple thing for her. After knocking over all three stacks, the attendant was quite impressed.

"Hoho, first time to see someone knock all of those on their first try. Most of the visitors take two to three more tries before they get it," the attendant remarked happily while he clapped. "All right, pick any prize you'd like!"

"Well, how about that cat over there?" Nicole May pointed to the black plush cat that Avegaille was staring at earlier. The attendant took the plush and handed it over to Nicole May.

"It's all yours now," the attendant exclaimed happily. "Come back anytime if you feel like doing some more throwing!"

The attendant turned back to rearranging the bottles again and Nicole May handed over the plush cat to Avegaille, in which Avegaille hugged the plush tightly. Then, Avegaille turned to Nicole May and smiled at her.

"Aww… it's so cute! I wish I could own a real cat though…" Avegaille said and laughed nervously. She continued stroking the cat's head with her hand. "Hehe, thanks Nicole May…"

"What's wrong? Your mother doesn't like cats?" Nicole May asked and folded her arms across her chest.

"Oh no, it's not like that or her not wanting me to own a pet… it’s more because I'm allergic to cats and dogs…" Avegaille replied and looked down at the plush cat again. "Even though I like them so much, I start sneezing whenever I'm with one…"

"I see…" Nicole May slightly turned away from Avegaille and gazed at the area where the buses were parked. She noticed there were only a few buses left. "Hey, I think we should get back to our bus…"

"Ah! Oh yeah, Emily said earlier it was almost time to leave… and since we went here and all, we'd probably should go back," Avegaille agreed and nodded slowly.

.-.-.-.-.-

Avegaille and Nicole May ran as fast as they could until they arrived at the parking area where the buses were at. They noticed that there were only a couple buses left, and one of them was the bus for their class. Mr. Collins was standing in front of the bus and saw his two students. Both of them quickly approached Mr. Collins, and braced themselves for another one of his lectures for being late.

"You two, where have you been?" Mr. Collins asked sternly and folded his arms across his chest.

"Ah… it's my fault, Mr. Collins…" Nicole May muttered nervously.

"But… Mr. Collins, look! Nicole May got me this cool cat!" Avegaille exclaimed happily as she held up the plush cat in front of their teacher.

"You know… it's not a good idea to talk to our teacher like that at a time like this…" Nicole May whispered and stared at Avegaille exasperatedly.

"Oh, don't worry, he's my Mom’s little brother, so it's fine," Avegaille said and grinned at her. Then, she hugged the plush cat around her arms. "I'll just tell Mom or my grandma that he's being mean to us…"

"Geh… so, you're basically saying that he's your uncle?" Nicole May asked and slowly shook her head. Apparently, Avegaille's choice of words somehow bothered her. "You should have just said that in the first place…"

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"Avegaille…" Mr. Collins stared at her exasperatedly but kept quiet after that. Then, he coughed and stared at them. "Okay, that's nice. Now, you two still have homework to do thanks to your science teacher…"

"Eh? What homework?" Avegaille asked curiously and stared at him blankly.

"Oh… Cecilia told me earlier that your class should write an essay about what you saw on this field trip and what you've learned," Mr. Collins replied while staring apathetically at them.

"I have no complaints," Nicole May said and took Avegaille's hand. "We're going inside now…"

"Wait… but…" Avegaille couldn't continue what she was about to say since Nicole May was already dragging her until they got inside the bus.

Once the two of them finally got inside the bus, Mr. Collins was following behind them and then, he sat down on one of the seats behind the driver. Avegaille and Nicole May went to the same spot they sat down earlier, almost near to the back of the bus. Most of their classmates were busy talking about the places they went to, and some of them were writing down on their notebooks, as they were already informed of the science homework. Phil was writing on his notebook while Emily was playing with the gaming device she borrowed from Phil. Then, Emily noticed that Avegaille and Nicole May had finally arrived and stood up from her seat. She stopped playing with the console for the meantime.

"So, where did you guys end up going?" Emily asked and grinned at them.

"It's none of your business," Nicole May muttered, turning away from Emily and then, sat down on the seat close to the window.

"Oh, I saw this booth and it had this cute cat plush here," Avegaille replied happily. She smiled while showing Emily the plush cat she was holding with her hands. "The game was difficult, but Nicole May was able to win it on her first try!"

"Haha, really? That's cool," Phil remarked as he lifted up his head, focusing his attention on Avegaille instead of the notebook in his hand.

"Really now. I've always known that Rustford here can excel in any sport or game if she wanted to…" Emily remarked while looking at Nicole May, who was ignoring everything she was saying.

"Hey, Nicole May… tell me something, are you just really good at aiming stuff or were you calculating all of that with your brain or something?" Avegaille asked and sat down next to her.

"You could say something like that… I guess…" Nicole May muttered while she shrugged and slowly turned away from Avegaille. The bus already started moving and she looked at the scenery outside through the window.

"Waaah, I still can't believe we have to do homework about this field trip…" Avegaille pouted as she folded her arms across her chest and leaned her back against the seat. Then, she looked at the plush cat, which was now on top of her bag, placed next to her.

"Well, I have no problems with the homework, I'll do it later," Emily said as she sat down and continued playing with the console held up on her arms. "Hoho, now I understand why Avegaille likes this game… it has a nice story and this game play is just amazing!"

"I never knew you're into video games also…" Phil said and laughed nervously.

"Nah, not really a huge fan of them, but I'll play them when I'm bored, like right now," Emily explained and turned back to the gaming console.

"Haha, you have fun then…" Phil said and he turned back to the notebook in his hand. He thought it would be best if he wrote down the things that happened earlier and the places he went to before they arrived back at the school grounds.

.-.-.-.-.-

Back at Centralville Middle School, inside the student council's room, Jane had just finished the meeting with the first half of the club presidents. She looked at the list of what she had written down, and most of the things they talked about earlier. Most of them involved the club funds, how some clubs wanted some new things for their room and the management of club events. Jane was able to get some of the records of the club funds from the principal before the meeting started and presented that to everyone. The club presidents had already left, and now, some of the members of the council were re-arranging the chairs and tables and returned the room to its previous state. Madeline was arranging the papers they gathered up earlier, which was a survey they did. Sabrina and Vicky were stacking up the seats they used earlier while two other members, who were younger than them, were arranging the trays back into the table.

"So… we're going to have another meeting… this time with the seventh and eight grade club presidents?" Jane muttered to herself as she flipped through the next page of her notebook and stared at the schedule. She looked at the list and saw that there was only one club. It was none other than the school newspaper club. She looked up and turned to Madeline, who was busy reading the papers in her hand. "Hey, Madeline! Come here for a sec!"

"Yes, what is it, Jane?" Madeline turned to Jane and she walked up to the desk where she was.

"Hey, don't tell me… you lied to them when you said there was going to be another meeting just for seventh and eighth grade club presidents…" Jane muttered and stared at Madeline exasperatedly.

"Hehe, I guess you caught me there," Madeline admitted and laughed nervously. "I have to be honest with you Jane, I totally forgot about them when I planned up this meeting. All of the clubs all have either ninth or tenth graders as club presidents, so this day was perfect. But then, when I remembered that there was still a seventh grader who is also a president, well technically the editor-in-chief, it was already a day before the scheduled field trip. I couldn't move the meeting for another day since I know that's gonna piss off the other club presidents. And besides, wouldn't it be better if the two of us just go directly to their room when the field trip is over?"

"I suppose…" Jane looked down at her notebook and started writing on it with the pen she was holding with her hand. Then, she looked up and noticed that some of the other members were looking at her. "Huh… what's wrong now, you guys?"

"Ah, well, it's nothing really, it's just that… these past few days, some of the students have been a bit rough lately," a male student replied glumly. He had brown hair and wore glasses.

"Yeah… some of them even started vandalizing some of the walls of the bathrooms…" another one continued. She folded her arms across her chest and sighed wearily. "We tried telling them off, but they just pushed us around…"

"Hmm, this isn't good…" Madeline muttered and placed her hands on her hips. "How come you guys are telling this to Jane only now?"

"Robbie, Miles… you guys shouldn't be afraid to report to us if something like that is happening." Vicky smiled at them and came closer to the desk where Jane was.

"But then again, isn't this supposed to be a teacher's concern also?" Sabrina asked as she approached them and stood next to Vicky.

"That's true, but we should figure out a way on how to handle these students before they can do further damage to the facilities," Madeline said wearily and slowly shook her head. Then, she turned to Jane, who was busy writing in her notebook again. "Hey Jane, what do you think we should do for now?"

"Huh…?" Jane stopped writing and lifted up her head. She paused for a while and then she placed down her notebook. "I guess… I'll report this to the principal first, and then if possible, we should be able to tell off these students. If they keep being persistent, we should let a teacher know."

"Well, that plan can work for us, but what about Robbie and Miles?" Sabrina asked as she turned to the two of them.

"Yeah, considering most of those students are older than us…" Robbie muttered and meekly lowered his head.

"Oh, I got an idea! Why don't you guys join us at our meeting with the newspaper club once the field trips are over?" Jane suggested while she stood up from her seat and picked up the notebook on her table.

"What's this about now, Jane?" Madeline asked skeptically and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh… you'll see…" Jane muttered and smirked at everyone.

.-.-.-.-.-

It was finally evening at the Stewart residence. Earlier, the school buses arrived at almost after dawn due to the distance from the science park back to the school. Most of the students went home after that.

When Avegaille got home, she saw that her mother and sister had arrived much earlier than her. While their mother was cooking dinner in the kitchen, both Avegaille and Jane were in the living room. Avegaille had to write a report about the field trip that happened earlier for their science class. She was busy writing down things on a notebook while she had the plush cat on her lap. All of the seventh and eight grade science classes had the same homework. It was mostly planned by the teachers in advance so that the students wouldn't forget that they went to the park to learn something while having fun. Jane, on the other hand, was watching the television, in which her favorite soap opera was airing. Avegaille was too focused on her homework that the noise from the television didn't bother her.

'And this episode is brought to you by…'

"Argh, another cliffhanger?" Jane exclaimed furiously while the television screen started playing various commercials. The program she was watching just ended. She immediately picked up the remote control from the table and pushed a button on it, which turned off the television.

"Why do you even watch that show?" Avegaille asked wearily and furrowed her eyebrows. She placed the notebook on the coffee table and then took the plush cat on her lap and hugged it around her arms.

"It's none of your business, you little shrimp!" Jane exclaimed and leaned her back against the sofa while folding her arms across her chest. "Anyway, there's something I need to tell you…"

"Eh, what's this all about now?" Avegaille stared at her blankly.

"Oh, well… could you tell your friends at the newspaper club that we'll be visiting them on Thursday, since the meeting cannot be held tomorrow due to our school field trip?" Jane replied and sighed heavily. "Well, just in case you forget, I'll talk to Elizabeth before we leave…"

"Well, sure…" Avegaille nodded her head in agreement but something else bothered her. She noticed how worried her sister was and couldn't help but wonder why. "But… I just know you're about to ask me something else…"

"Heh… well… yeah, I was also wondering if you could help out two members of the student council…" Jane muttered and lowered her head. "I honestly don't know what to do with those delinquent students. Well, it should be the concern of the teachers and school administration, but maybe if we started from somewhere… we can at least avoid having a bigger problem."

“That's true… yeah," Avegaille agreed and nodded her head again. "But why does it have to be me? I mean, what can I do to help them?"

"Your sole existence alone is enough…" Jane replied and smiled at her. Then, she began laughing eerily. "That… and what you've been using these past few weeks to drive away all the guys that I talk to."

"Eh?" Avegaille slightly tilted her head to the side and frowned, unable to understand what her sister meant. "Huh? Is that some sort of joke?"