Chapter 22: A Weekend Plan

A few days had passed since the perverted nerds incident and it was business as usual again for the school paper members. It was after school and everyone was inside the school paper room. Nicole May had been reviewing the articles already submitted to her on her laptop while Arthur and Elizabeth were working together on the final layout of the school paper using the computer. Avegaille, on the other hand, was sitting down on the sofa, busy with drawing on her sketchpad. Emily was with Naz, sitting across from Nicole May at the table, checking through the preview pictures they had printed and some photos that came from the student council.

"Hey, Rustford, what do you think of this?" Emily asked, holding out a picture in front of Nicole May. "It's cute, isn't it?"

Nicole May lifted up her head and glanced at the picture Emily was holding. She froze up and her face started turning red after looking at the picture. It was a picture of her and Avegaille sleeping together on the sofa. She quickly stood up and tried to grab the photo from Emily, but Emily held the photo further away from Nicole May.

"Where… where did you get that anyway?!" Nicole May asked nervously, and her face was getting more flustered. She quickly got off her seat and went around the table, getting closer to Emily. She tried taking the photo but Emily kept dodging her hands. Arthur and Elizabeth, on the other hand, could hear that the room was getting lively and turned around to watch the two of them.

"It's a secret~" Emily teased and grinned. Then, she turned to Naz, who was giggling at them. "Why don't you ask Naz here? Maybe she knows something~"

"Naz, you… you took that picture, didn't you?!" Nicole May asked, quickly turning to Naz. Naz stood up from her seat and took the picture from Emily's hand.

"Yeah, I did," Naz replied and handed over the picture to her. "Be sure to keep it… Either way, we have backup copies of it… somewhere."

"Aww, Naz, I was having fun teasing her with it too," Emily whined and pouted. She looked at Nicole May, who was quietly staring at the picture. Then, Nicole May moved back to her seat and placed the picture in between the pages of a book next to the laptop. Afterwards, Emily turned back to Naz. "Well, anyway, we should give the pictures Arthur will be putting in the newspaper…"

"Those pictures are important after all," Arthur interrupted. "Nicole May's been sending the articles she finished editing and Elizabeth's double-checking them here too. Most of the articles are here in the layout already, so only the pictures are the ones needed, plus the articles about the upcoming field trip."

"Well, here's some of the ones you can put," Naz said while she approached Arthur and handed him a page of small pictures. Some of the pictures had checkmarks on them. "But seriously, this week is kinda dull… I hope next week will be even better, with the field trip and all."

"Yeah, after the field trip, we'll be able to finally publish the first issue of our newspaper," Elizabeth added and grinned. "I can't wait for it to be published and then seeing students read them… it's all too exciting."

"Well, here are some pictures from the student council that we could use," Emily added as she walked closer to Arthur and handed over to him some pictures. "It was nice of Jane to let us borrow those pictures though… Hmm, speaking of which, I should check on Avegaille~"

Emily quickly ran off to get near the sofa, where Avegaille was. Avegaille looked really serious while she drew on her sketchpad with her pencil. Then, Emily sat down next to her and peered over to see what Avegaille was drawing.

"Ehh, it looks really cute," Emily remarked and she giggled.

"Huh… oh?" Avegaille stopped drawing and turned to Emily. She looked a little fazed and finally realized that someone was sitting next to her. "Oh, Emily… what are you doing here?"

"Just checking on you since everyone else is done with the other tasks," Emily replied as she winked at her. "Well, I'm pretty sure your drawings would be good enough for the editorial cartoon~"

"I suppose…" Avegaille muttered, looking down at the drawing on the sketch pad. "Hmm, it's Friday today… and then, tomorrow is Saturday… it's so boring…"

"You want to do something?" Emily asked curiously.

"That's the problem, I don't know what to do…" Avegaille replied and sighed. "I could watch cartoons all day but then my Mom would complain and tell me that I need to go outside more… then there's my sister, who wants to watch also…"

"Why don't we ask everyone if they're doing anything for the weekend?" Emily suggested. She stood up and pulled up Avegaille's arm. Then, both of them walked to the area where everyone was. "Hey guys, are you all doing anything for the weekend?"

"Huh, why the sudden question, Emily?" Elizabeth asked, turning her attention to her. "Well, aside from chores and homework, I really don't have anything in mind… but still, those things take a while to finish, so I might pass up to whatever you have in mind."

"Hmm, now that you mention it… I am kinda busy watching over my siblings since Mom and Dad are busy, so I don't think I would have the time for anything else," Naz replied and sighed.

"What about you, Arthur?" Emily asked as she turned to him.

"Oh, me, well, I have homework to do… and then, I have to be with my parents for an errand, so I'll be busy," Arthur replied and smiled weakly. "Besides, if you two were planning something, it would be better if only the girls were involved."

"Hey, Nicole May, what about you? Are you doing anything for the weekend?" Avegaille asked and looked at her curiously. She noticed that Nicole May was sitting still and her eyes were dull while staring at the laptop screen. She stepped next to her and stared at Nicole May's face closely. "Huh… Nicole May… are you all right?"

"A-Avegaille!" Nicole May exclaimed and looked really surprised and nervous. "What… what is it? Did you ask something? I was… kind of thinking of something… so…"

"Oh… well… I was wondering if you were busy this weekend since almost everyone else is…" Avegaille muttered and laughed nervously.

"Eeh?" Nicole May looked at the others near the computer, and they were all looking at her with smiles in their face. She became flustered that her face started to turn red again and quickly turned away from them. "No… I'm not doing… anything this weekend…"

"Ah, really, we're on the same page then," Avegaille said happily. Then, she turned to Emily. "How about you Emily? You never told us if you were busy for the weekend or not…"

"Hmm… well, I am kinda busy, so don't worry about me," Emily replied nonchalantly. "Besides, now that you and Nicole May are free, you two should plan out what to do this weekend, right?"

"I guess…" Avegaille muttered as she sweat-dropped. Then, she turned to Nicole May. "Hey… um… Nicole May… why don't we talk over there on the sofa?"

Avegaille took Nicole May's hand and pulled her up. Then, she dragged her until they were near the sofa and sat down together. Nicole May looked around and took a pillow next to her and hugged it. Avegaille on the other hand, placed the sketchbook she was carrying back inside her bag.

"What to do… Hey… um, Nicole May, why don't you decide on what we should do for the weekend," Avegaille told her and laughed nervously.

"Eh… well, I've been to your house quite a lot… so… I guess, maybe you could stay over at my place for the weekend," Nicole May muttered while she lowered her head.

"How do I get there?" Avegaille asked, slightly tilting her head to the side.

"Oh… don't worry… I'll… just come over to your place and we'll go there together…" Nicole May said while she leaned her back against the sofa. "Still… even if we were to go over at my place… what are we supposed to do?"

"Ah… oh yeah, Elizabeth was busy with her homework… I almost forgot that I still have to work on mine," Avegaille muttered as she sweat-dropped. "On the other hand… I was thinking… I was wondering why you made those perverts from back then wear the cheerleader outfit?"

"What? They deserve it after all of the girls they victimized!" Nicole May protested and stared at her exasperatedly. "Either way, they won't be doing it anymore…”

Avegaille stared at her blankly, unsure of what to say next.

“Oh come on, I think forcing guys to dress as girls makes them less perverted…" Nicole May added. “Don’t you agree?”

"Ahaha, yeah… that's kinda true, I guess…" Avegaille said and laughed weakly. "Okay then, it's decided, we'll do homework first and then… other things at your place!"

.-.-.-.-.-

Meanwhile, at the principal's office, Mrs. Stewart was looking through the files of papers on top of her desk. After she finished organizing the things on her desk, she turned her chair around and looked outside the window, where some students were still practicing on the field. Then, someone knocked on the door, which made Mrs. Stewart turn her seat back, facing the desk.

"Come in," Mrs. Stewart called and the door slowly opened.

Vivian peered her head by the door. Then, she entered the room and slowly approached Mrs. Stewart. She looked really nervous upon getting close to Mrs. Stewart. Then, she put down on the desk some piles of paperwork she was carrying.

"What's wrong, Vivian?" Mrs. Stewart curiously asked while she took some of the papers that Vivian placed on the table.

"Um… Mrs. Stewart… the school superintendent is here…" Vivian muttered as she quickly closed her eyes and slightly lowered her head.

"Eeeeh?!" Mrs. Stewart quickly got up from her seat and dropped the papers she was holding on the table. "You're… you're kidding, right?!"

"No… she's really here…" Vivian replied as she slowly opened her eyes and sweat-dropped. "She wants to talk to you… should I let her come in?"

"I guess I don't have much of a choice…" Mrs. Stewart muttered and sighed exasperatedly.

Then, Vivian ran out of the room and came back inside with someone following behind her. The woman behind Vivian was quite of age, almost the same age as Mrs. Cunningham, and her hair had a mixture of gray and black. She wore glasses just like Amelia, and her attire was quite formal. Amelia stood on her spot speechless, staring at the school superintendent.

"Mrs. Collins… I hope you don't mind the mess… Mrs. Stewart's been busy lately," Vivian said. Mrs. Collins looked around the room and then, she turned her attention to Mrs. Stewart, who had been quiet since she came inside.

"Don't worry about it… I know she's always like this," Mrs. Collins remarked and giggled. "Anyway, I hope you don't mind, I just want to talk to her a bit."

"Ah, I understand," Vivian said and she quickly left the room, closing the door along the way.

After Vivian left, Mrs. Collins sat down on one of the seats in front of the principal's table. Mrs. Stewart sat down slowly and looked at the school superintendent hesitantly, as if she had known her somewhere else.

"Now then, Amelia…" Mrs. Collins started while she picked up a sheet of paper from a pile.

"Mom! Why do you always have to be like this?" Mrs. Stewart asked, slightly irritated.

"What? I'm supposed to check up on schools… it's my job after all," Mrs. Collins replied and shrugged. She read through the paper that she was holding on and placed it back on the pile. "Anyway, I already talked with the other teachers. Everything seems to be fine… except that some of them were complaining about you not enforcing strict attendance policies among the students too well…"

"But Mom… students won't learn anything or won't be even willing to learn if there's too much unreasonable rules," Mrs. Stewart protested and groaned. She leaned her back against the chair and sighed. "Besides, it's not like the students are a bunch of troublemakers… they probably just have something to settle at home or something…"

"Well, moving on, how are you and your husband doing? You really should visit us once in a while you know," Mrs. Collins said and smiled. "Also, I want to see how my granddaughters are doing…"

"We… we're doing fine," Amelia replied nervously, slowly turning away from her and started cringing. She never told her parents that she was divorced and she didn't want them to find out about that either. She would always make up excuses so that her parents wouldn't force her to come over to their place. "Jake's always busy so we really don't have time to come over to your place…"

"How about this? Why don't I visit you two instead?" Mrs. Collins proposed, which made Mrs. Stewart cringe even more. It seems that Mrs. Collins was oblivious to Mrs. Stewart's expression. "All right, that settles it. I'll come over this weekend… that way, I can check up on you two and you wouldn't be bothered too much."

"Mom… that's not really necessary… besides, aren't you busy with your job also?" Mrs. Stewart asked as she sweat-dropped.

"Nonsense, I'll come over to your house tomorrow even!" Mrs. Collins exclaimed and giggled. Then, she stood up from her seat and waved her hand. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay dear?"

Mrs. Stewart looked at her mother hesitantly and then, watched her walking out of the room. Then, Vivian came back and looked a bit worried upon seeing Mrs. Stewart’s expression. Then, Mrs. Stewart started groaning as she looked up at the ceiling.

"Mrs. Stewart… are you all right?" Vivian asked, concerned over what was happening.

"Huh… oh Vivian…" Mrs. Stewart looked at Vivian and sighed. "It's nothing… it's my Mom… she's kinda annoying sometimes… I wish she would leave me alone…"

"Eh? Your mother… you don't mean… Mrs. Collins?" Vivian looked confused but she was surprised at the same time. Mrs. Stewart nodded slowly. "Really… I never knew… she was your mother until you told me…"

"Yeah… of course, she didn't know that I was offered a position to be a principal until I got hired," Mrs. Stewart continued. "I'm just not really close with her… even though I'm the eldest in the family… I mean… I always have a hard time telling her what I really feel about things… I would just keep quiet and let her lead me on what she wants me to do…"

"But Mrs. Stewart, I'm pretty sure she'll do whatever it takes to make you feel more comfortable with her… even listen to whatever you have to say," Vivian said and laughed nervously. "After all, she is your mother…"

"I doubt she'd even talk to me after she finds out that I'm divorced," Mrs. Stewart muttered and sighed exasperatedly.

.-.-.-.-.-

A few hours later, it was finally evening. Mrs. Stewart just got back home and quickly went to the kitchen. She saw Avegaille reading her science book while Jane was busy baking cookies. There was already a plate of baked chocolate chip cookies next to Avegaille, and she was munching into them while Jane continued baking some more. Mrs. Stewart stared at the mess Jane made from baking all those cookies and felt weary. She sat down on an empty seat next to Avegaille, which slightly surprised her youngest daughter. Jane took out a tray from the oven and placed the cookies on an empty plate.

"Jane, you better clean up this mess!" Mrs. Stewart exclaimed and sighed. She looked at the plate next to Avegaille and took one cookie. "Anyway, why are you baking cookies? Is this for a project?"

"Hmm, I don't think so, Mom…" Avegaille interrupted and giggled a bit. "Earlier before I got home, I saw Jane talking to a guy and then, this other girl came… it must have made Jane depressed or something."

"Hey shrimp, you better keep quiet or else…" Jane muttered while she turned to her little sister and stared at her. Then, she turned to her mother. "Don't listen to her Mom… she's just making things up…"

"Whatever you say then, Jane," Mrs. Stewart said as she shrugged. She started munching on the cookie she was holding until it was all gone. "These are pretty good, if you ask me."

Mrs. Stewart turned to Jane, who started cleaning up the mess in the kitchen and thought of helping her. As she got up and started picking up the things Jane used for cleaning, Jane quickly went near her mother and both of them started washing the utensils together.

"Mom, you came home much later than us again, did something happen?" Jane asked, looking at her mother curiously.

"Oh, it's nothing… don't worry about it," Mrs. Stewart replied and laughed nervously.

"Mom!" Avegaille exclaimed, which made Mrs. Stewart quickly turn to her. "I'm going to stay at Nicole May's place tomorrow, is it okay with you, Mom?"

"Huh? Oh… sure go ahead… you can even stay there for the whole weekend if you want," Mrs. Stewart replied and smiled weakly. Then, she watched Avegaille happily running out of the kitchen.

After Avegaille left the kitchen, Mrs. Stewart turned to Jane and stared at her seriously. Jane looked confused, unsure of what was going on. She just stared back at her mother blankly.

"Jane, could you do me a favor?" Mrs. Stewart asked and Jane just nodded her head slowly. "Your grandmother's coming to visit here tomorrow and…"

"Eh? Grandma's visiting? Really?!" Jane exclaimed happily and looked really excited. Then, her excitement faded after realizing how serious her mother's face was. "Well, what is this all about then, Mom?"

"Well… please don't tell your grandma… that me and Jake are divorced… and tell her that he's with Avegaille when she asks tomorrow…" Mrs. Stewart muttered hesitantly, gazing away from her eldest daughter.