I'm so sorry that's it has been so long since my last update. I have no excuse other than bad time keeping and I promise that I'll try to update quicker. Thank you to everyone who waited patiently, I couldn't live without you! Now for something I haven't said for nearly two months:
Disclaimer:I do not own Beyblade
Chapter Eleven
Ellie tugged nervously at her blue plaid skirt as she waited to be into the classroom. She had waited close to three years for this day and it was finally here; it was her first day of school. She gulped as she peeped into the classroom before quickly backing away. There were so many other kids in there! She was only just okay with the Bladebreakers, how was she going to handle a whole class staring at her?!? Ellie breathed in and let out a shaky breath in an attempt to soothe her nerves. She hesitantly stepped closer to the door again and had another peek. All the other children were looking at the teacher, Mrs Radimov. Ellie gulped again.
"…Now children, I have one more announcement to make before we start our lessons. As all of you are aware of, Aleksi moved away during the holidays. His seat, however, will not be left empty since starting from today we will have a new student joining our number. Please welcome Ellie Kuznetsov!" Ellie gave one final gulp before timidly entering the classroom. She shied away slightly as all the students' eyes settled on her but Mrs Radimov started speaking before the instinct to run away took over completely. "Ellie had poor health when she was younger and up until now has been homeschooled so please be nice to her and show her how things are done around here."
"Yes Mrs Radimov!" The class chorused as they began to think of ways to tease the poor girl. Mrs Radimov, oblivious to the class' evil thoughts, beamed.
"Good." She said. "Ellie, please take the seat between Yerik and Nicholai." Ellie made her way to the desk quickly and it wasn't long before her first maths lesson was underway. Despite being the first day of school, Mrs Radimov decided to jump straight into multiplications and succeeded in confusing around half the class.
"Miss, it's too hard!" One of the girls whined as the rest of the confused ones nodded in agreement. Mrs Radimov sighed exasperatedly.
"Come on class, it isn't that hard! Now, what is three times seven, hmm? Ellie?" She asked hopefully, silently praying that the new girl had some hidden talent for maths. Ellie looked up slightly startled, not expecting to be picked on so soon.
"Twenty-one." She answered on instinct. The teacher almost cried for joy. Finally, a student who actually knew the answer!
"Correct!" Mrs Radimov exclaimed happily. "See, class, it isn't that hard! Now, Ellie, I don't suppose you know what seven times eight is, do you?" The teacher asked slyly, positive that Ellie wouldn't be able to do it.
"Fifty-six." Ellie answered automatically. Mrs Radimov's eyes opened in shock and the class let out an impressed sound. None of the others knew the answer and even if they were capable of working it out none of them would be able to work it out in the few milliseconds that it seemed to take Ellie. This girl was good! Mrs Radimov recollected herself and decided to test Ellie's abilities in the hardest way possible.
"Okay then, what is 123 times 321?" The class gasped. No way would she be able to work that out. Mrs Radimov smirked. Ellie might be good at maths but she was the teacher! Mrs Radimov opened her mouth to tell Ellie not to worry if she couldn't do it but Ellie beat her to it by saying:
"Thirty-nine thousand four hundred and eighty-three." The class gave an ooh of awe and Mrs Radimov almost keeled over. She quickly grabbed her calculator and paled upon doing the sum. She looked up at Ellie.
"She's right…" Mrs Radimov said quietly before flushing in anger. "You'd better not be using a calculator Miss Kuznetsov!"
"I'm not." Ellie said simply, cocking her head to one side in confusion. Mrs Radimov scowled as she heard what she thought was a lie and stormed over to Ellie's desk.
"Stand up!" She barked as she pulled Ellie up roughly by the shoulder, expecting to see a calculator fall to the ground. She growled when she saw no such thing. She turned to Yerik. "Was she using a calculator?"
"No Mrs Radimov." He answered politely. She looked sharply at Nicholai who said the same thing. Mrs Radimov gave a slight snarl. No way was an eight-year-old girl going to outsmart her!
"I don't know how you did it, Kuznetsov, but there is no way you could've done that sum without a calculator! Now, tell me: where is it?!?!" Mrs Radimov shouted. Ellie couldn't help but recoil slightly in fear. Before she stammer once more that she hadn't used a calculator, the door banged open.
"Mrs Radimov, could you please keep it down? I'm trying to teach an English class and you're shouting isn't helping them to get back into the swing of things!" The male teacher in the doorway berated the other mentor.
"I'm sorry Mr Beloi but I have just caught one of my students cheating and she is refusing to admit it!" Mrs Radimov explained heatedly. Nicholai piped up.
"But she wasn't Miss. I was watching her the whole time and her hands were on the desk. She couldn't have been using a calculator." He said innocently.
"Don't lie to me Nicholai!" His teacher snapped. Mr Beloi rubbed his temple to delay his oncoming headache.
"If it bothers you that much then why don't you take her to the headmaster?" He suggested. "I'll even take her if you don't want to leave your class." Mrs Radimov grumbled a bit under her breath before giving her begrudging assent. She let go of Ellie's shoulder and the small girl hurried after the disappearing form of Mr Beloi.
'Great, this is just great!' She thought sarcastically. 'I've been at school for less than half an hour and I'm already in trouble, for something I didn't do no less! This is what I waited three years for?' Ellie rubbed her shoulder absentmindedly as she walked. Mrs Radimov had sharp fingernails.
Mr Beloi spared the girl a glance and felt slightly sorry for her. His fellow teacher didn't like it when her students appeared smarter than her and she had a terrible habit of jumping to conclusions whenever it happened. This was just another one of those cases. It wasn't long before they were outside the headmaster's office. Mr Beloi opened the door and led her in. Ellie looked up and gasped at who she saw the headmaster was already talking to.
"Bryan! Tala!" She squeaked. The two mentioned people looked at the girl in surprise.
"I know you're related to Bryan, Ellie, but I didn't think you would be in trouble already!" Tala said jokingly. Ellie's eyes watered up slightly and she looked away. Bryan and Tala shared confused looks.
"What is going on Mr Beloi? As you can see, I was in the middle of something." The headmaster asked irritably. The teacher gave his superior a quick run down of what had happened. The Headmaster nodded in understanding before letting Mr Beloi leave before beckoning Ellie over so that she was standing next to Bryan.
"Mr Kuznetsov, you said that your sister had a fear of older women, right?" Bryan nodded. He turned to Ellie. "Miss Kuznetsov, did this fear make you cheat because you didn't want Mrs Radimov to shout at you?" Ellie shook her head vigorously.
"I don't even have my calculator with me. I forgot to put in my bag." Ellie explained as she nervously held on to Bryan's sleeve. The headmaster thought for a moment before talking again.
"What was the sum?"
"123 times 321 sir." Ellie answered sincerely.
"What?!?" Tala cried out. "Even if you could answer it you still should not have been asked that question!" The headmaster held up a hand and the redhead grudgingly quieted down. The man looked into Ellie's pixie green eyes to find any hint of a lie. He found none.
"Mr Chastakorlenka, with all due respect, Ellie would not lie. She's too honest to even think about lying." Bryan spoke up for the first time since Ellie's arrival. He picked his little sister up, placed her on his lap and put his arms round her protectively. Mr Chastakorlenka hid a small smile.
"I know." The trio looked at him in surprise. "I am an old friend of Murielle's and when she enrolled young Miss Kuznetsov here I asked her what she was like. I can assure you that what she said was most favourable. Besides, this happens every year. Mrs Radimov decides that a child is too smart for their own good and picks on them. It's nothing to worry about."
"So I'm not in trouble?" Ellie asked uncertainly. The headmaster smiled.
"No, you're not in trouble." Ellie let out a small sigh of relief. "However, I do not think that it would be beneficial for you to return to that class. If your brother gives me permission, I would like to put you through some tests to see if you should be in a higher class or at least getting advanced lessons in certain subject areas. Is that alright with you?" The siblings nodded. "Very well. You won't be able to take the test for a few days so I suggest you go home and study. And don't worry; I'll speak to Mrs Radimov." The trio before him nodded and stood up to leave. They shook his hand one by one. When he got to Ellie she whispered a small thank you. The old man smiled as the girl ran out after her brother and his lover. This was going to be an interesting school year…
"Honestly, what is the world coming to these days?" Tala pouted as they walked out of the school gates and to the car. "How dare they accuse my Ellie of cheating! Why, when I was kid, if you got a question like that right you were hailed like God but noooo, now you get treated as a freaking criminal!" Bryan and Ellie shared a look.
"Tala?" Bryan said. His koi looked at him expectantly. "You sound like an old man." Tala squawked in protest and the two siblings let out small laughs as they got into the car. Ellie smiled happily. All was right in the world again.
One Week Later
Ellie gulped as she once again walked down the hallway to her new classroom, this time with Mr Chastakorlenka by her side. She had passed the test and was being moved to a class of ten-year-olds. She bit her lip nervously as they stopped outside the door, vaguely wondering who her new tutor was. She hoped that they were kind, patient and sane.
"Class, a new student will be joining your midst today. She is younger than you but that is no reason to look down on her. May I please introduce to you, Ellie Kuznetsov." Mr Chastakorlenka said before turning to the nervous girl. "I hope that you have a better time here than with Mrs Radimov and that you enjoy being taught by Mr Beloi."
Well, one out of three isn't bad…
This chapter was kind of weird in my opinion but I really wanted her to go to school and she is smarter than your average eight-year-old so this is what I came up with. I know it sounds a bit Matilda-ry but I hope you still enjoyed it. Thanks once again reading this chapter. UNtil next time!
Ja ne!