Chapter 5: The School Newspaper

"Avegaille, it's me, Elizabeth, don't you remember… from elementary school?" Elizabeth asked as she approached Avegaille and held her hand.

"Ah… Elizabeth… Ah yeah, you were the principal's daughter when we were still in elementary, right? And then, Phil was also there? I think I remember now, until something happened that I was forced to leave that school…" Avegaille muttered and laughed nervously. Then, she looked at Naz, who was still holding her arm. "So anyway, who's she?"

"Oh, that's Naz, Natalie Howard's her real name, but she prefers being called by her nickname," Elizabeth replied. "We just met yesterday at the area where the school newspaper's office was, and then, we agreed to re-establish the school newspaper. You know how much I love to write~"

"And I love taking pictures, especially ones that have action and can awe people!" Naz added and laughed. "So, what's your talent? Anything that a school newspaper can use will do!"

"Um, about that… I'm not a writer… and I don't think a school newspaper needs another photographer… and all I do is draw… and I don't see–"

"What are you talking about?!" Naz interrupted as she went closer to Avegaille. "We need an artist, and you're the one who we've been looking for!"

"Naz, you're gonna scare Avegaille that way…" Elizabeth muttered as she sweat-dropped.

Then, Avegaille noticed that Nicole May was standing in front of them, watching their every move. Elizabeth quickly approached Nicole May and thought that she might be interested in being a staff member of the school newspaper. Naz on the other hand, had a weird feeling over Nicole May, as if she had met her before.

"Ah, welcome, are you interested in being part of a school newspaper staff and write stories that everyone in school will read? Say no more, you've come to the right place!" Elizabeth exclaimed while she quickly grabbed Nicole May's hand and had her come closer to the booth.

"Uuuh, well it's true that I have too much free time in my hands, but… too much publicity is not really my thing," Nicole May muttered and sighed.

"Hmm, well, if you guys want me to join the newspaper, then, Nicole May has to join also!" Avegaille exclaimed, which made Elizabeth and Naz stared at her. Then, she started to become more confused. "Ah, wait, so that means, if Nicole May doesn't want to join you guys, you can't force me into it also… isn't that right?"

"Avegaille, your logic fails…" Nicole May muttered exasperatedly as she sweat-dropped.

"Hey wait, you guys know each other?" Elizabeth asked as she turned to Nicole May.

"She was my roommate for two years in Midway Academy… and we couldn't stand each other… which is a fact…" Nicole May explained and sighed. "To be honest, she was less naïve back then… did you take some sort of medication which made you that way?"

"Medication… um, I remember Dr. Anderson giving me some sort of medicine to take but on my next visit, she looked like she was in a state of panic and asked me to stop taking my meds…" Avegaille replied and began pondering. "But anyway, I really don't like doing too much work when I'm at school… I can't even keep up with my homework…"

"Hmm, didn't think that statement I made would actually be true…" Nicole May muttered to herself as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Don't worry about it, we'll have group study sessions whenever there's an exam coming up, it'll help us to get to know each other more!" Naz exclaimed and looked at Avegaille excitedly. "So, are you guys up for it?"

"Well, even if we find people to be part of staff, we still have another problem Naz… we need to find a new office because the old school newspaper room has been converted for the use of another club…" Elizabeth said and sighed glumly. "Also, we need funds… which we lack… otherwise, we can't even print out our first issue… to pay for the people who will print the newspaper, and then, some other things like the computers…"

"I'll take care of it," Nicole May interrupted while she took out her mobile phone and started pressing buttons on her phone, about to send a message. "Just focus on finding a room for now."

"Uh, okay… hey wait, does that mean you'll join us?" Elizabeth asked as she looked at Nicole May, who was too busy concentrating on her phone.

"Nicole May… I could have sworn I've heard that name before… ah, but anyway…" Naz turned to Avegaille with a mischievous grin. "See, your friend joined us, so you have no choice but to join us also!"

"Whaa, you guys are going to abuse me, aren't you?!" Avegaille asked, as if it was the end of her life.

"Don't be so overly dramatic Avegaille…" Nicole May retorted while she continued pressing the buttons on her phone.

.-.-.-.-.-.-

While the other students gathered for the school activities fair's other booths, Avegaille and Nicole May were forced to watch the booth. Naz and Elizabeth left them so they could search for a possible room that the newly established school newspaper group could use. Avegaille was resting her head with her arms on the table while Nicole May continued to send messages… to some of her contacts. Then, Avegaille sat up properly and turned to Nicole May, wondering what she was doing.

"Hey, Nicole May… what are you up to?" Avegaille asked and tried glancing over at the mobile phone's screen, in which Nicole May was holding tightly.

"It's none of your business Avegaille," Nicole May replied as she turned away from Avegaille, trying to avoid exposing whatever messages she was sending. "Besides, it doesn't concern you right now, but it will benefit this… this… I wouldn't really consider this as a club, since every school is supposed to have a school newspaper, and yet this school administration doesn't give a damn if their school newspaper is disappearing?! What the hell is up with that?"

"Why does it concern you anyway, it's not like you'll get something from it… Then again, having your own place after school seems nice," Avegaille muttered while she went back to her usual desk sleeping.

"Pfft, hey, don't you know, a school newspaper is something a school should be proud of, because it represents the school as a whole," Nicole May started explaining and turned to Avegaille. "Without it, no one outside the school would know what's happening inside the school, or even the students themselves."

"It's all a yawn to me, it seems," Avegaille remarked while she yawned and closed her eyes.

"Whatever… pretend like you don't care…" Nicole May muttered and sighed exasperatedly. Then, she stood up and went to a corner and started to make a call. The phone kept ringing until someone picked up. "So, you guys got what I needed you guys to get? …Yeah, thanks, just put the bill on my account… yeah, as soon as we find a place, you guys can deliver it… bye then."

While Avegaille was sleeping, Nicole May was still busy arranging some things that the school newspaper might need. Of course, no one other than Avegaille knows about her social status in life. And she had no intention in revealing it to anyone either.

.-.-.-.-.-

"Naz, you know, it's weird… Nicole May said she'll handle everything, and all we have to do is find a room for us to put the school newspaper into production… and yet, we only met her today," Elizabeth muttered and she folded her arms across her chest. "Isn't she being too… how do I say it… generous?"

"What, you find it strange? Then, again, I've been wondering myself. I have this sort of feeling that I met her before, but I can't exactly remember when…" Naz said and sighed. "Maybe it'll come out eventually… but for now, we should find that room."

Then, the two of them passed by a room located besides the stairs, in which the room to the left was one of the classrooms for the seventh-graders while the room to the right, next to the stairs itself, was the ground floor library. Naz and Elizabeth decided to inspect the room seemingly located under the stairs. As they went inside, they saw it was quite empty and it could use a lot of cleaning. It wasn't used as a janitor's room either, seeing that there were no janitorial equipment inside. It might have been used by some other club but decided to migrate to a bigger room. The room was spacious enough to put a computer on top of a desk, a small table for editing, some sofa and another desk to put things, and even cabinets. The seemingly slanted side from the stairs makes it a nice place to put another sofa for sleeping even. Too bad these two could only imagine those things and could never actually afford them.

"You know, this room would make the most awesome school newspaper room, but our problem is finding the stuff that would make this room lively… Plus, I don't think the light is working anymore, only the light from outside is giving it light in here… and it's gonna be really hot here if we don't put an air-conditioner here by the time summer comes…" Elizabeth muttered and sighed. "That reminds me, a couple of days ago, there was news about a famous actress moving here to Centralville with her family after the mansion that was being built by the south side of the town just finished."

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"What does it have to do with our problem?" Naz asked and she was starting to get confused.

"Have you heard of this rumor that the Rustfords don't actually have a biological child, but rather, they adopted a child the day after a certain accident happened where that child was involved?" Elizabeth asked.

"You're going off topic now, you know that…" Naz muttered as she sweat-dropped.

"Hey, unlike you, I read news articles, even if they're really old, even those magazines my mother keeps in our house!" Elizabeth exclaimed and looked irritated. "It's just that the name 'Nicole May' reminded me of those circulating rumors I've been reading in those magazines… but it might have been just coincidence. Anyway, let's go back and tell them we found a place we can use."

"Hmm, how come I seem to remember something by what you said?" Naz muttered to herself while she watched Elizabeth leave the room and she followed her quickly.

.-.-.-.-.-

"Hmm, something's bothering me… it's those glasses on your head… are they supposed to be some sort of fashion thing?" Avegaille asked and she pointed at Nicole May's head, where her glasses were currently at. "You said that you use them to make sure you don't attract attention… but I have a feeling there's something more to it…"

It was almost lunch time, but the two of them were still at the booth, watching over it, waiting for any possible students to take interest in joining the school newspaper. The other students seemed to be more interested in joining other clubs, like the science club for the enthusiastic nerds or the cheerleading squad, for the girls who want to be with the popular crowd. Nicole May was just as bored as Avegaille, in which both of them were sitting together in front of the booth's desk, doing absolutely nothing, and trying to ignore each other while they were at it.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nicole May asked and sighed loudly. Then, she remembered the conversation she had with Avegaille yesterday at the library. While it was true that she wears glasses to avoid unwanted attention, they had a real purpose to her. "These glasses help me read things without having to give it distance from me… while you can't see things clearly when they're far away, I'm quite the opposite, everything's that's closer to me is actually blurry."

"Oh, so that's the reason why… but… well, it's been a while… I guess I just don't remember you wearing them while we were still in Midway Academy," Avegaille muttered as she went back to resting her head on the desk with her arms around. "Which reminds me, you were with those annoying snobs… so annoying… I wanted to beat them up so badly… I really don't care if I got expelled from that school, but still, the principal had to stop me…"

"You know, you could always ignore those people if you think they're so annoying…" Nicole May said and turned away from Avegaille. "I really don't think you should be using physical force against them anyway…"

"Now I remember why you were so annoying… you're always nagging, here and there at everything I was doing…" Avegaille added and groaned.

"Geh…" Nicole May quickly turned to Avegaille and stared at her exasperatedly. "It's like everything is annoying for you, isn't it?!"

"Huh? What's with that tone?" Avegaille asked as she sat up and looked at Nicole May curiously. She noticed that Nicole May was actually getting pissed at what she was saying earlier with the tone of her voice. It was actually rare for Nicole May to raise her voice like that, as far as Avegaille remembered.

"Whaa… what? It's nothing… forget it…" Nicole May quickly muttered as she turned away from Avegaille and her face started turning red.

"If you say so…" Avegaille shrugged as she stood up from her seat. "Where's Elizabeth and that other girl she was with… hmm, I forgot her name… what was it again… Starts with an 'N'…"

"Natalie Howard…" Nicole May replied as she rested her elbow on the desk and then placed her chin over her hand.

Then, Nicole May noticed two familiar figures coming closer to them. Elizabeth and Naz had finally returned from their room finding. Nicole May stood up as soon as the two of them were finally in front of them.

"So, were you guys able to find a room?" Nicole May asked.

"Yeah, it's the one by the stairs near the library," Elizabeth replied. "Although… it's really empty, I have no idea where we could get the things for it. Anyways, I'll secure a permit first so we can use that room as our office. I'll be back by after lunch."

"I'll check out the room," Nicole May muttered while she took her bag from the desk and then walked off.

"Guess that just leaves me and Avegaille here…" Naz said while Elizabeth waved and ran off. Then, she turned to Avegaille, who was standing, a bit dazed, not aware of what was going on around her. "Yo, Avegaille, you all right?"

"Ah, you're Natalie, right?" Avegaille asked and laughed nervously. "I'm fine, don't worry…"

"Just call me Naz," Naz said while she gave a thumbs-up. "Anyway, you look like you were in a daze earlier. You do realize that Lizzie and that other girl just left?"

"Ah, yeah, I tend to be like that sometimes, sorry," Avegaille replied nervously and smiled. "Ah, speaking of which, I don't see you and Elizabeth in our classes… does that mean we aren't classmates?"

"Seems like it, haha, but yeah, there are some subjects that aren't exactly taken everyday, like every Tuesdays and Thursdays, like physical ed for example… which reminds me, since they took Tuesday for the club fair, we'll have P.E. by Thursday, maybe we'll be classmates there," Naz said and laughed. "Or maybe we've seen each other in some classes but never notice it until now. Anyway, we should have lunch for the meantime, I'm really hungry."

"Yeah, same here," Avegaille said while her stomach started to grumble.

.-.-.-.-.-

"Hmm… Elizabeth said it should be around this area," Nicole May muttered to herself while she started walking down the hallway. She arrived by the area where the library was, but her main objective was to find the room that they were supposed to use. Then, she went near the stairs and noticed a small room next to it. She quickly entered the room to see what was inside.

The room was empty, and a bit dark, the only things that were giving light to the room was a small window by the corner, and the light from outside the room. Nicole May assumed that this was the room Elizabeth and Naz were talking about. Nicole May tried turning on the lights of the room, but the switch or the light bulbs were not working anymore.

"Looks like I'll need more things aside from the printer…" Nicole May muttered to herself and sighed while she took out her mobile phone.

If there was one thing about Nicole May, it was that she was never fond of the latest stuff, unless she really needed it. She had a huge allowance every month, but actually spent only not even one-fourth of it. She used her allowance for buying books she wanted to read, and the rest would go to her bank account. It had always been like that since she started elementary. She really had no idea what to do with that huge amount of money, but now that she was joining the school newspaper, she might finally make use of that money.

Of course, she didn't want them to know about it. She was always like that. She didn't want anyone to know that she was the daughter of a famous actress and living a rich family life or that she was a rich kid in general. She wanted to get away from all of that. To cope with that, she had been reading books ever since she was young, trying to get away from the reality that other people wanted in life.

.-.-.-.-.-

The cafeteria was quite crowded, with students eating in almost all the tables. Some were gossiping about various things while they ate their lunch. The boys were somehow having a riot with the food or probably their plans for later. Either way, the cafeteria was too lively that, sometimes, teachers that go in there couldn't stand the noise. The cafeteria also had some vending machines aside from the usual lunch lady serving in the counter, where the kids line up and get to choose their meal. Avegaille and Naz were eating their lunch by the window, in which that part of the area was less noisy.

"I was wondering, Centralville is quite a small town, and I never see you around… I mean, you do stand out quite a lot just wearing that," Avegaille said while she took a bite on the sandwich in her hand.

"Ah, of course, I just moved here from New York," Naz replied and chuckled. "Well, our family did anyway. Our place there was kinda getting too small for all of us, so my Mom decided that we should move to a better and sort of bigger house."

"Huh, was it coincidence that you and Nicole May both used to live in New York?" Avegaille pondered to herself and continued eating her sandwich.

'Wait, did she just say that Nicole May also used to live in New York…' Naz thought to herself as she looked at Avegaille for a while and then started eating her sandwich. Naz couldn't stand the silence and decided to talk with Avegaille more. "Oh yeah, you know, the way Lizzie and that girl, Nicole May, were pronouncing your name, it's like, it's slightly different from how 'Abigail' is pronounced."

"Ah, oh, that's because my name is spelled differently," Avegaille replied and smiled sheepishly. Then, she took out a sheet of paper, apparently her homework, from her bag, with her name on it. "Not many people can spell it right, only the ones who know me very well can spell it right. They also pronounce it as how they see it."

"Well it's no wonder why they can't spell it right…" Naz said after she saw the paper. "Haha, anyway, it looks like we'll be bored for the next few hours until this day ends… no one else seems to be taking interest in the school paper."

"Eeh… I still can't believe you guys forced me into it…" Avegaille groaned and she swallowed the last piece of her sandwich. "I'm not really into club activities, no matter what type they are… I only draw when I'm really bored or I just feel like relaxing, but it's actually hard to force me to draw."

"Well, you don't have to worry too much for now, I think Lizzie is quite obsessed with writing, so you can leave her with that task. Heck, she can be our editor-in-chief," Naz said and took a sip of her juice. Then, Naz thought of something funny, maybe enough to have a little fun with Avegaille. She noticed that Avegaille was wearing a skirt, and thought she could have her fun from there. "Oh yeah, do you know that… skirts are like very susceptible to guys being perverts over you… wanting to know what's under them…"

"Eh?! You're not serious about that, are you?" Avegaille asked nervously and frantically looked around.

"Well, yeah, sure, I'm serious about it… I mean, it's like, every man's fantasies," Naz shrugged as she turned away from Avegaille while she started laughing in her mind. "Besides, what if a gust of wind blew? Of course, they'll see what's under your skirt."

"Eh… fine, then I'll wear jeans tomorrow," Avegaille muttered and puffed her cheeks.

"Well, you should really consider things before wearing skirts to school," Naz said as she turned back to Avegaille and pointed at her. "Either way, it makes you look a bit childish. I actually think you look better in pants."

"What about Nicole May, she's wearing a skirt also…" Avegaille muttered while she looked through the window.

"Oh, Nicole May's a different case, she has sex appeal and can pull off wearing a skirt," Naz replied and grinned. "That girl's so serious, I don't think she gives a damn if men are all over her."

"Sex… appeal?" Avegaille muttered, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Yeah, you know, the thing that makes someone quite attractive to the opposite gender… or something like that…" Naz replied and laughed nervously. She was surprised at Avegaille's naivety. "Seriously, you don't know what that means?"

"Not really…" Avegaille replied sheepishly. "And for you to say that Nicole May has it, yet, she's trying to avoid unwanted attention… it's quite conflicting."

"You know, there are a lot of things that we don't know yet about her," Naz said and sighed.