Chapter 45 – Ms. Accord's Surprise Summer Exam
Arle's POV
Just like how Amitie promised, the next day we went to her and Ally's old school to ask their old teacher if she could help me get into high school. The building itself was just as weird-looking as the others, but it was much bigger. As you would expect from a school building.
"So this is your old school, huh guys? It's pretty big."
"Well, not really." Amitie said. "It may look big on the outside, but it's actually quite small on the inside."
"Huh."
"Onee-chan. This is the school you went to?" Rafisol asked Ally.
"Yeah, but I was only here for like a month or so. It was near the end of the year when I transferred here."
"Wow. Onee-chan's school…" Rafisol looked as amazed as if she saw a shooting star in the sky.
"I-It's not that amazing, Sis." Ally said while resting her hand on Rafisol's shoulder.
"So you sure Ms. Accord can help me, Amitie?"
"Arle. Quit worrying. I told you, Ms. Accord would find a way. Even in a situation like yours."
"Well okay, but…"
"Hey. Guys."
I was interrupted when heard a voice call out to us. We then saw Raffina, Feli, and Raina heading towards us.
"Raffi!" Amitie cheered as she rushed over to her girlfriend. The two then shared a quick hug and a kiss. "What are you doing here?"
"I have to register Raina and transfer Feli for the school year. I was told that Ms. Accord can help us so we came here. What about you?"
"The same for Rafisol. And Arle, too."
"Really? You're coming to high school with us, Arle?" Raffina then asked me.
"Yeah. If I'm truly stuck here, then I might as well live a normal life again. Something I haven't done in a while."
"In a…while?"
"W-Well, you see…"
"Wow…this place. I remember having so much fun here!"
"You were never here." Raffina said to Raina.
"Yeah, I was. I remember everything clearly. Like the time I hid Klug's glasses and he was never able to find them."
"Like I said, you were never here. I did that, you moron."
"You did what now?" Klug asked as he and Peruvis were standing behind the two Raffinas.
"Gah! K-Klug! W-Well, that was during the time we hated each other's guts, you know? I-I would NEVER do such a thing nowadays. Hehhehhehheh."
"Right…" I can tell that Klug was a little pissed at that. Though, I didn't know that he and Raffina once hated each other.
What made them become friends?
"A-Anyway…what are you two doing here?"
"I have to help Peruvis with her transfer papers. Apparently, you need someone to co-sign the papers."
"I see."
"I still don't see why I can't just use Phoenix for this." Peruvis said.
"Look, Peruvis. For the last time, it has to be a human! Phoenix doesn't count because he's a soul!"
"Why you gotta discriminate against souls huh, Klug?" Phoenix asked as he came out of Peruvis' back. "You saying humans are better or something?"
"I-I'm not discriminating! It's just the rules! And furthermore, why are you siding with Peruvis?"
"I'm not. I just wanted to push your buttons a little."
"Well, congratulations." Klug said in a sarcastic tone.
"Hey, everyone."
Our original group of four turned to see Lidelle, her cousin Ringo, Rulue and Harpy heading towards us…
Wait, why are Rulue and Harpy here?
"Geez, there you guys are." Ally said. "I understand your house is far, Lidelle, but you still took forever."
"Well, sorry. You're the one who wanted Harpy here for some reason. It took me forever to find her."
Ally WANTED Harpy here? For what?
"ALLY!"
"HARPY!"
The two greeted each as they always did and, just like last time, they managed to start going too high to the point Amitie had to pull them down.
These two really are good friends, huh?
"I'm really glad to see you, Ally! You too, Al-
Harpy suddenly stopped talking once she saw Ally and Rafisol standing next each other.
"W-WAIT, WHAT?! TH-THERE ARE TWO ALLY'S?! I'M SO CONFUSED! MY HEAD HURTS! OUCHIE!"
"H-Harpy, calm down! I can explain!" Ally said, trying to calm her down. Once she did, she continued. "This is my twin sister, Rafisol. She just moved here yesterday."
"Oh. I get it now! Nice to meet ya! Name's Harpy!"
Rafisol starred at Harpy a bit before answering.
"You're Onee-chan's friend as well?"
"Who's Onee-chan?"
"That's a nickname she calls me because we're sisters."
"Oh. Well, then yes. I'm Ally's best friend!"
"I see. Can you be my best friend, too?"
"Sure! You can never have more than one best friend!"
"I'm glad. Thank you…Harpy-oneechan."
"J-Just Harpy is fine, Sis." Ally said while resting her hand on her sister's shoulder again.
"Huh. I didn't think you had a twin sister, Ally." Klug said.
"Yeah, it was a surprise to pretty much everyone. Along with the fact that Rafisol doesn't have a soul."
"Uh…what?"
"It's a long story." Amitie explained.
"I see."
"So this is your old school, huh Lidelle?" Ringo asked.
"It's pretty big. Despite there being only a few students." Rulue said.
"It may look big, but it really isn't."
"Huh." Both girls said.
"So what made you want to tag along, Rulue?" I asked.
"I just wanted to see Harmony."
"Harmony?"
"Ms. Accord's first name." Amitie explained.
"Oh."
"And if I had to guess why you're here…you want to be a high school student, don't you?"
"Yeah, pretty much. I can finally go back to school now that I don't have anything else to do."
"Geez. You're lucky, Arle. Skipping 9 years of school. Your world must be crazy as hell!" Peruvis said.
"Trust me, Peruvis. You don't know the half of it."
"W-Wait, what? NINE years of school?!" Some of the others asked.
"The world we came from is not normal."
"I-I see…"
"Well, since everyone's here, let's go inside together." Amitie said.
"Come on, you two. I'll give you both a tour of the whole place." Ally said to Harpy and Rafisol.
"Yay! I get to see Ally's school!"
"Yay! I get to see Onee-chan's school!"
Oh, yeah. This will be the first time I've stepped foot into a school since kindergarten. I hope I can handle it.
We all entered the school walked down the hallways to the office Ms. Accord was supposed to be in. And for the five people who've been here (six, if you count Raina), it was like a trip down memory lane. They kept reminiscing all the fun times they had here.
"Remember that time where we tried to make that cake for the school fair?" Amitie asked.
"Oh, yeah. That didn't end well." Raffina said.
"What are you talking about, Raffina? I had a great time making it!" Ally cheered.
"Ally…cakes aren't supposed to explode." Lidelle retorted.
"You put way too must yeast in it." Raffina claimed.
"Well, I was growing impatient with how Klug was getting the ingredient amounts."
"Hey! You need precise amounts to make a cake. I was almost done when you decided to just dump everything in the bowl." Klug said.
"Okay, fine. I admit. I should've waited a bit more. But it was still fun on my end."
"Plus, that floor cake was super yummy!" Raina cheered.
"Floor cake?" Amitie, Lidelle, Ally, and Klug turned to Raffina with shocked looks.
"*sigh* It's really irritating that you share my memories sometimes." Raffina said to her clone in an annoyed tone.
"Point is, I really miss this place." Amitie said.
"Same here." The others agreed.
After a while, I was starting to get annoyed by it, or it was maybe jealousy. One of the two. The point is, I didn't want to hear it anymore and needed a way to get out of it. That's when I thought of something.
"Hey, guys. Where's the restroom? I really have to go."
"Oh, it's down that hall then make a left." Raffina said.
"Okay, thanks."
"We'll wait for you here, Arle." Amitie said.
"Alright."
As I walked down the long hallway, I looked at the walls that I was passing by. There were tons of photos of the students who went to this school. Some of Amitie, Raffina, Lidelle, Klug, and Ally as a group. Some by themselves, and some with certain pairs. But there was a specific picture that caught my eye. It was a big one with all five of them, a couple of teachers, and a bunch of other students.
"Oh. This must be the End of Year photo."
I took a big long look at it. They all looked so happy, despite it being their last day. It looked so much fun…being around your friends and teachers during the last few days before leaving the one place you've gained so many memories from.
…
…
…
Wow, that sounded depressing. I gonna continue walking before I start to cry.
Once I continued walking down the hallway, I found the area where Raffina told me to turn left at. I didn't really have to use the restroom, but I might as well continue to look around this place.
As I turned the corner, still lost in my own thought of how amazing school life must've been, I ended up bumping into someone.
"Gah. S-Sorry. I wasn't paying attention and…"
"Arle?"
"Sig? What are you doing here?"
"I heard that I can come here to register Chu and I for the school year."
"You don't say? I'm here for the same reason."
"Really?"
"Amitie told me that her old teacher can help me with a little problem I have."
"What kind of problem?"
"Well…"
Just then, I heard a flushing sound coming from the room behind Sig. The door to said room opened and out came Chu, drying her hands on her grey tank top.
"I'm finished, Shigu."
"Hey, Chu." I greeted her.
"Aruru!" Chu ran up to me and gave me a big hug. She been doing that a lot lately. Not sure why, but it doesn't really bother me that much.
"So you're starting school too huh, Chu?"
"Yep! I'm so excited to be in the same school as Shigu!"
"The same school? Sig, you're 16, right?"
"Yeah." He answered.
"So you and Chu are starting high school? I thought Chu was 10."
"She is. But she has a pretty high IQ. When she completed 4th grade, the school officials agreed that she's smart enough to go straight to high school."
"Woah…that's amazing, Chu! Good for you!"
"Thank you, Aruru."
"You know, in a way…I skipped a couple of grades myself."
"Really? How?"
"Well…I kinda had to stop a bunch of crazy monsters from causing havoc in my world…when I was 6."
"S-Six?!" Sig reacted.
"Yeah, my world is not normal at all. It was such a constant thing, that I never went back to school after kindergarten."
"Since kindergarten?!"
"Yeah. Pretty much. And so when Amitie told me that her teacher may be able to help me, I got really excited. But as I walked down these halls, hearing how she and the others had a fun time here and seeing pictures to prove it…it made me realize that pretty much my whole childhood was taken away from me because of a bunch of crazy freaks. I really want my school girl life back, you know?" I starting crying a little from telling that story of my past.
Sig didn't say anything. He just stared at me with that emotionless look on his face. I thought he had fallen asleep with his eyes open again. I was about to shake him in an attempt to wake him up, when…out of nowhere…he…he hugged me.
My face immediately started turning red from embarrassment as I felt his body touching mine, his arms around my waist, and his head next to mine.
"S-S-Sig! Wh-Wh-What are you…"
"Arle...It's okay."
It was all he said. But for some reason, those three words hit me in the gut hard like someone had punched it. I felt my heart beating like crazy, almost like I was having a heart attack. Tears kept running down my face…but they weren't tears of sorrow. Instead, they were…tears of happiness. I was completely happy right now. I've never felt this happy since the whole Dimensional Mirror thing. And it was all thanks to Sig. Being with him right here right now really made me happy. It gave me this new feeling for him. It's a weird one, but…I also like it. I like it a lot.
Could this what the others meant by me…noticing it?
"O-Okay, S-Sig. I-I feel better now."
"O-Oh. O-Okay."
Sig let me go and as I looked at him, I saw that his face was all red too. Did he get the same weird new feeling as I did? It would be great if he did. It'll be another thing we have in common.
A weird one. But I guess it would still count.
"I-I'm glad…y-you're feeling better…A-Arle."
"Y-Yeah. Th-Thanks for that…S-Sig."
…
…
…
The atmosphere went silent for a while.
…
…
…
A good & long while.
…
…
…
So awkward.
"Uh…Shigu. Aruru."
H-Holy crap! I completely forgot Chu was here! I hope she didn't notice my weird new feeling!
"Y-Yeah, Chu?" We both asked.
"We're going to be late."
"Oh, yeah. We have to see if we could get registered." Sig said.
"Right. I kinda left the others hanging for a while. They're probably going to be mad at me."
"Hey, can we come and ask them? We don't know the layout of this school."
"Sure!" I shouted elatedly, but then managed to calm down. "I-I mean okay. Hopefully, they'll understand a bit more once they see you guys."
"Aruru."
"Yeah, Chu? What's up?"
"Can you not tell the others how smart I am? At least not yet?"
"Not yet?" I got confused.
"Chu wants to reveal her high intelligence as a surprise to everyone else." Sig explained.
"I see. I didn't know you were so devious, Chu."
"Yeah. She's a sneaky little sister."
Chu giggled to herself as her brother rubbed her hair.
"Alright. I think we've kept them waiting long enough. Let's get going."
"Right. Come on, Chu."
"Chu!"
We went back the way I came from and met up with the others. And just as I predicted, they were pretty upset.
"Geez, Arle! What took you so long?!" Amitie asked.
"Did you had to go that badly?!" Raffina asked.
"W-Well, to be honest…no."
"Arle!"
"I'm sorry! It's just…well…" I didn't know how to explain it. I mean, I can't just tell them that I found their school memories annoying as hell and got me jealous. But I kinda don't want to tell them what happened between me and Sig just few minutes ago.
What do I say?!
"She's had it rough." Sig said, finally catching up to me. Chu was right beside him holding his hand.
"Huh? Sig and Chu?" Amitie said.
"Hey, everyone."
"Hey there, uh…" Chu only acknowledged the people whose names she "remembered".
"…Amytee, Waffine, Rita, Ally, Harpy, Peridi, Ringo."
"Amytee?" Rafisol asked.
"Waffine?" Feli asked.
"Rita?" Rulue asked.
"Peridi?" Klug asked.
"Chu has a hard time with names." I explained. "She remembers a slight variant of people's names."
"And we hate those names SO much!" Three of the four girls said.
"You guys are overreacting." Peruvis and I said.
"You two are only saying that because you got used to the names she gave you!" Lidelle whined.
"Which by the way, how?!" Raffina asked.
"Easy. I've dealt with Chu calling me that since she learned to talk." Peruvis said.
"And I just don't let it bother me that much." I added.
"So freaking lucky…" The trio whined.
"Anyway, what are you two doing here?" Peruvis asked the Duranné siblings.
"Need to register for school." Sig answered.
"You and Chu." Lidelle asked.
"Yeah. We just don't know where to go."
"Well, you guys can tag along with us. We were on our way to visit someone who could help us." Ally said.
"Okay, sure."
As we made our way to this office, I walked next to Sig…and was blushing during the whole walk there. I kept trying to get a good look at him, but I struggled extensively because every time I moved my head an inch towards him, my blushed face would get darker. But I did manage to glare my eyes at him…and saw that Sig was blushing as well. I've rarely seen him blush since the day we've met. I…actually find it cute. Then again, everything about him is cute…
…
…
Wait, what am I saying?! Do I really mean that?!
…
…
…Yeah. I kinda do.
*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*
"Yes? Come in."
"HI, MS. ACCORD!" The five ex-students cheered (again. Six, if you count Raina).
"Oh my! This is a surprise! Come in, everyone!"
We all entered the surprisingly space-ish office, with Amitie and Lidelle running up to hug Ms. Accord.
"It's really good to see you, Ms. Accord!" Amitie cheered.
"We really miss you, Teacher!" Lidelle cheered with her.
"*giggle* It's nice to see you kiddies again, too."
"Geez, Ami. You're so excited to see Harmony that you didn't even acknowledge your own mother."
"Huh? Mom, what are you doing here?"
"Harmony wanted to see my light novel once it got published, so I managed to get a copy before it went on sale."
"I see…Wait, your book got published?!"
"Yep! You're now looking at an official author!"
"And I have to admit, Melody. This is a really good book." Ms. Accord added.
"Thanks, Harm! Hey, Rulue! Wanna read my masterpiece?"
"Well, it depends." Rulue said. "It isn't that magical girl crap you wrote during high school, is it?"
"Tch!" All of a sudden, Melody froze up a bit.
"Oh, yeah. You did use to write that stuff all throughout high school."
"Whoa. Mom, you like magical girls?" Amitie asked.
"W-Well…I used to." Melody was rubbing the back of her head from a little embarrassment. "But I grew out of it."
"Aw. Too cute!"
"Shut it, Ami!"
"Fine, fine."
"So, what brings you all here?" Ms. Accord asked.
"Well, we have to sign up a bunch of new people for the upcoming school year, and we were hoping you can help."
"I see. Well, who do we got?"
"My cousin, Feli." Raffina said.
"W-Woah…s-such power! Coming from this one woman is freaking crazy! It's overflowing my senses! Such power could make my charms work tenfold! I could finally make myself look more mature!Fufufufu!"
"Feli…calm down."
"Wow. What a weird, cute little loli." Melody said.
"I'm not a loli!" Feli whined.
"Really? But you look a lot like one."
"But I'm not a loli!"
"She's not a loli, Melody. She really hates being called that." Raffina explained.
"Oh, I see. Well, okay then. Not gonna push it anymore."
"Th-Thanks, Raffina." Feli said.
"*giggle* Well, it's nice to meet you, Feli." Ms. Accord said.
"Y-Yeah. S-Same to you."
"So, Klug. I see you brought Peruvis with you. Is she planning to stay in school this time?"
"This time?" Amitie asked.
"Yeah…I kinda dropped out of school because I went to tour the world with a rock band I was in." Peruvis explained.
"What?" Most of us (including myself) asked.
"I don't get it, either. It's rather stupid." Klug said.
"I don't need you judgment, Bro." Peruvis said to him. "Anyway…yes, Ms. Accord. I plan to stay in school this time."
"And you'll be on your best behavior over there, right?"
"Well…"
"I highly doubt that, Teach." Phoenix said as he came out of her back.
"Shut up, Phoenix!"
"So, you still have Phoenix, meow?" Popoi asked.
"Well, yeah. I am a tortured soul. So, I am stuck with him."
"What do you mean "stuck with me"?! I'm the one keeping you alive!"
"Yes…but you're also annoying."
"Hmph. Little brat."
"Why I oughta…"
"This is what my mom and I go through every day." Klug said, sounding a little annoyed.
"I see." Ms. Accord said.
"Hey, Ms. Accord. This is my twin sister, Rafisol. She moved here yesterday." Ally said.
"Woah. Onee-chan's teacher."
"Onee-chan?"
"It's a nickname she calls me."
"I see. Well, it's nice to meet you, Rafisol."
"It's nice to meet you too, Onee-chan's teacher."
"S-Sis. Just call her Ms. Accord."
"And I see you brought Raina huh, Raffina?"
"Yeah." Raffina said. "I personally didn't want to. But Lily didn't give me a choice."
"I see."
"That's just like Lily…" Melody and Rulue said.
"Ms. Accord, you remember Arle, right? From the festival?" Amitie asked.
"Ah, yes. I do remember seeing her. You want to register as well?"
"Uh….y-yeah. B-But I have a feeling I can't."
"Why ever not? Everyone should try getting a better education."
"Well, yeah. But…"
In case you couldn't tell, I was nervous as hell at this point. I had a whole bunch of "what if" questions flowing through my head. What if there's no hope for me? What if Sig goes on without me? What if he finds someone else to be friends with? I couldn't bare having all of that happening. Especially the third one. What, with Peruvis around and all.
…
…
…
Okay, it may sound like it, but I don't hate Peruvis. I-It's…complicated.
"You see, Teacher…Arle has admitted to skipping a couple of grades." Lidelle explained.
"Really? How much?"
"U-Um…w-well…" I was still terrified.
"She skipped 9 of them. Apparently." Raffina answered for me.
"Oh, my! 9 of them?! How on earth did that happen?"
"W-Well…l-let's just say my world is not normal."
"I see. And these other three are joining, I assume?"
"Yeah. This is Sig and her sister Chu."
"Hey."
"Chu!"
"And the angel is named Harpy. She came from Arle's world too." Ally said.
"Well, nice to meet you three. It's nice that you're wanting to further your education."
"Wait, what?" Harpy sounded confused. "I never said I wanted to do this."
So, that's why Ally wanted Harpy here…
"Huh?! Why not Harpy?!" Ally asked.
"This school thing sounds really hard! I don't wanna do it!"
"But don't you want to be in a classroom with me? We'll have so much fun together!"
"Really? Lots of fun?"
"Not even lots. Tons of fun!"
"Tons of fun?!"
"You bet!"
"Will this school thing be totally tubular?!"
"Super tubular!"
"Then I'll do it! If it's going to be tons of fun and super tubular, then I wanna go to this school thing!"
"Alright, Harpy!"
Ally hugged Harpy and the two, once again, floated too high to the point Rulue had to pull them down.
"So it's just these 8, right?" Ms. Accord asked.
"Yep." Amitie said. "But it's mainly Arle we're worried about."
"I see. Well, Arle. Due to your situation…"
Oh boy. Here it comes. The rejection.
"…there is a way you can get into high school."
Ah, I knew it!
…
Wait, what?
"S-Seriously?! I have a chance?!" I asked.
"Indeed. You just need to pass an exam that proves you're ready."
"A-A test?! B-But I didn't even study?!"
"Don't worry. You don't need to. This is an exam that transfer students must take. So the rest of you have to take it as well."
"And this is the only way?"
"I'm afraid so."
"*sigh*I see."
"Don't worry, Arle. You'll do fine." Amitie said to me.
"Yeah. We know you can do it." Raffina said.
"You'll pass for sure." Lidelle added.
"Th-Thanks, everyone."
"Now then. I'll just call my assistant to bring the exam over to the classroom."
"You have an assistant, Ms. Accord?" Klug asked.
"Indeed, meow. He was just hired yesterday." Popoi said.
"Can we meet him?" Raffina asked.
"Oh, I'm sure some of you already know him."
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Amitie asked.
"*giggle* You'll see."
As we made our way to the classroom for this exam (that I'm still worried about), Amitie, Raffina, Lidelle, Ally, and Klug were trying to figure out who Ms. Accord's new assistant was. After multiple guesses, they came up with nothing.
When we reached this classroom, Ms. Accord opened the door to reveal a big round guy standing inside. I didn't know who this guy was and neither did Ally. But the others did. Especially Lidelle, who had the biggest grin on her face.
"T…TARUTARU!" Lidelle shouted as she ran up to hug the guy.
"Hey, Lidelle. Nice to see you again."
"When did you get back into town?" Amitie asked.
"Yesterday, to be honest."
"Wait, so you mean…"
"Correct." Ms. Accord interrupted. "Tarutaru is my new assistant."
"But wait, doesn't he need to finish school first?" Klug asked.
"Well, there's been an exception. Since I know about these supernatural things, such as the Puyo Hats, I've been hired to help out in finding out the secrets of such things."
"Woah. That's some job." Klug sounded impressed.
"Well, we're just glad to have you back." Raffina said.
"Thanks a lot, Raffina. It's good to be back."
"Well, we can catch up on missed times later, after the exam is complete." Ms. Accord said.
"All non-test takers please leave the room, meow." Popoi added.
"Come on, you." Ally had to pull Lidelle off of Tarutaru, as she was still hugging him throughout the whole conversation.
"Good luck you guys." Amitie said.
"Thanks, you guys." I said as they closed the door behind them.
"Now then." Ms. Accord continued. "This exam will test your readiness for the material you'll learn in your first year of high school. Please take your time and don't rush. Your final score will determine if you're ready to move up. Are you all ready?"
"Yep." Both Feli and Peruvis said.
"You betcha!" Harpy and Raina cheered.
"Ready." Chu said.
Rafisol did a small nod of confirmation.
I was still unsure about this. I was about to raise my hand and ask to quit when Sig tapped me on the shoulder.
"You're going to be okay, Arle?" He asked.
"Y-Yeah. I'll be okay. Thanks for asking, Sig. Let's both do our best, okay?"
"Right."
We both smiled at each other to the point where we both got embarrassed and turned away from each other.
"We're ready." We both said.
"Alright. Let's get started."
Once Ms. Accord passed out the exam, I stared at it with a focused mindset and prepared to read the first question.
Okay, Arle! You can do this! You can pass this test! Do it for Sig! Just calm down, breath, and focus! Now…what's the first question?
Question 1: What's the grossest thing you've ever done underwater?
…
Uh…the grossest? Well, I guess anything that involved Suketoudara. Do they really need to know that for high school? Whatever. Next question.
Question 2: How many duck rapes should be allowed per year considering that there's no such thing as duck rape?
What?! That doesn't even make any sense! And who is out here raping ducks?! Whatever. Next question.
Question 3: If Ray-Ray come along these parts looking for me, you don't go dropping a dime. Do yous?
What the hell is with these questions?!
I was going to raise my hand and get Ms. Accord's attention, but Peruvis beat me to it.
"Uh…Ms. Accord. What's with these questions? They seem…kinda weird."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Ms. Accord looked over the questions and just like the rest of us, she was really confused.
"What in the world?!"
Just then, the door opened and Melody popped her head inside.
"Uh…hey, Harm. You got a minute?"
"What is it, Melody?"
"Well…it's just…I think you got the wrong paper."
"I see. So, you wrote these weird questions. How on earth did you come up with these?"
"Yeah, Ally's got me watching this favorite show of hers. It's actually pretty funny."
The room went silent for a bit. I wasn't sure was everyone else was thinking, but I was kinda relieved that high school's not as messed up as these questions.
"*sigh* Geez, Melody." Ms. Accord said.
"Sometimes I wonder how even you managed to graduate, meow." Popoi added.
"H-Hey!" Melody sounded insulted.
Once the real exam was given out, I felt a tad bit more confidence run inside me and I managed to start answering the questions one by one.
Alright! I'm doing this so Sig and I can be in high school together! I will pass this exam!
Otherwise…this weird new feeling will be the death of me.
Sig's POV
That test thing wasn't that hard. It was kinda easy. So Chu and I waited outside the classroom for the others to finish. I was actually surprised I got through it, though…with that bothering me.
What I mean by that is…this weird feeling I gained just recently. Around the time I was talking to Arle about school, and she mentioned how she missed 9 years of it. She sounded really sad about it. And looked that way, too. She was even crying. I didn't like seeing her that way, so I did something without thinking…which is a common thing I do.
I should learn to not do that.
What I did was…I hugged her. I hugged Arle and told her it was okay. It may sound normal to most people, but with me…it wasn't that simple.
Arle's been a real good friend to me lately. And Chu once told me that she sees Arle as a big sister. I really like her…but when I hugged her at that moment in time, I felt something…different towards her. Like a new feeling or something.
Is this the "it" the others keep talking about?
"Shigu…Shigu…"
"Hey, Sig!"
"H-Huh? Wh-What?"
"You okay, Sig? You were spacing out just now?" Arle asked me.
"You had me scared for a second, Shigu." Chu added.
"Oh. Sorry. I was just thinking."
"Of what?" Arle asked.
What do I say? I can't tell her that I was thinking of her. That's just creepy. Think, Sig! Think!
"Uh…just some bugs that I caught earlier."
"Oh. I see." She sounded a little sad while saying that.
"You okay? Did I hurt you or something?"
"Ah, no. I'm fine, really. I-I'm just glad you are too." Arle started blushing a little after saying the last part.
"O-Oh. O-Okay then." I started blushing a little as well.
"Shigu. Aruru."
"Yeah, Chu?" I asked.
"I wanna know the results of the test."
"Why?" Arle asked. "With your high IQ, you probably got a perfect score, right?"
"She wants to see the other's reactions, remember?"
"Oh yeah. Now I remember. Alright, Chu. Let's go."
"Yay!" Chu cheered.
It took us a while to find the exit, mainly because we kept getting lost. But we did find it. And met up with everyone else, who were waiting outside for us.
"There you guys are! Did you get lost or something?" Amitie asked us.
"Well, um…yes. Multiple times. This place is just too big." Arle said.
"How did you guys get used to it?" I asked.
"Easy. We've been here most of our lives, so we got used to its size." Raffina answered.
"I see…" Both me and Arle said. We didn't really get it, but we decided not to question it anymore.
"Okay, everyone." The teacher said, heading towards us. I forgot her name...but didn't bother to ask. "I've finished grading the high school transfer exam, and I must say… all 8 of you all did very well."
"Wait…eight? Did Chu take one by mistake?" Ally asked.
"Teacher, you know Chu's 10, right?" Lidelle asked.
"Well, yes. But I'll explain in a second."
The others looked confused. Which, judging by Chu's small smile, is exactly what she wanted.
"For now, the results are as followed: Arle, Harpy, and Raina were tied with a 70, which is the grade you needed to pass."
"W-Wait…I…passed?" Arle sounded shocked.
"Indeed. Congratulations, Arle."
"See, Arle! We told you you'll pass!" Amitie cheered.
"Now you get to experience high school with us!" Raffina added.
"Y-Yeah! I-I do now, don't I?! SO COOL!"
"You hear that, Harpy? You passed! Now we can be in school together!" Ally said to her.
"Yay! Now we can have TONS of tubular fun together! I'm super-duper excited!"
Tubular?
The two kept cheering while hugging each other until they started going up too high, and Lidelle had to pull them down.
"Yay! I passed! I get to go to high school!" Raina cheered.
"Yeah, just barely." Raffina said. "If you really are a clone of me, then you should've gotten a higher score."
"*whine* But that test was hard!"
"Well, then…" Raffina said with an added elegant laugh. "…I guess I'll be tutoring you hard then! Oh, La-Ti-Da!"
"What?! No way!"
"Anyway…" The teacher continued. "Next is Rafisol, Feli, Peruvis, and Sig. Who were all tied with an 87."
"Onee-chan. What does 87 mean?" Rafisol asked her sister.
"It means you passed, Sis."
"Really? Yay! I get to go to school with Onee-chan!"
"I'm glad you're happy, Sis." Ally said while giving Rafisol a hug. Not sure how that's possible with her floating.
Wait, why IS she floating?
"Nice work, you guys." Raffina said to Feli and Peruvis.
"That test was hard, though." Feli said. "If only I knew the Google Charm. I've could've just searched for the answers!"
"No, Feli. That's cheating."
"B-But…"
"No!"
"Fine." Feli whined.
"An 87, huh? I could've done better if Phoenix didn't bug me the whole time." Peruvis complained.
"Hey, I was only trying to help! You looked hopeless in there!" Phoenix said, coming out of her back.
"Hopeless?! Who are you calling hopeless, you damn ghost?!"
"Guys. Please. Not now." Klug said.
"Fine, Klug. Whatever." Peruvis said.
"87. Not too bad, I guess." I said to myself.
"Yay, Shigu!" Chu cheered while giving me a hug.
"Thanks, Chu." I patted her on the head.
"Alright, Ms. Accord. Now tell us, what did Chu get?" Raffina asked.
"Well, based on my scoring system…Chu got a perfect score."
And just as we thought, everyone went silent with shocked looks on their faces. I could hear Chu giggling next to me, and Arle and I were trying to hold ours in.
"A-A-A PERFECT SCORE?!" Everyone shouted.
"H-How did a 10-year-old get a perfect score on a high school entrance exam?!" Lidelle asked.
Then Ms. Accord (just remembered her name) turned to us three with a grin on her face.
"Chu. You knew you didn't have to take the test, but did it anyway, right?"
"Yep." Chu said.
"She just wanted to do it for fun." I explained.
"You were right about their reactions, Chu." Arle said.
"Wait, you knew about this, Arle?" Amitie asked.
"A heads up would've been nice, you know." Ally said.
"Sorry. When I ran into them in the hall, Chu made me promise not to tell."
"Sheesh, Chu." Peruvis said. "I remember you being smart…but to this extent? That's crazy."
Chu just smiled and giggled a little.
"Wait, aren't you 10 Chu? Why did you even take the exam in the first place?" Raffina asked.
"I'm going to high school with Shigu."
"What?!" Everyone said.
"In fact, she's actually going to high school from the 4th grade." I added.
"Th-The 4th grade?!"
…
"Th-That's…pr-pretty impressive, Chu." Amitie said.
"Thanks, Amytee."
Amitie started cringing after hearing that name.
"So, Chu's just as smart as us, huh? That's something." Klug said.
"Yes, it is." Ms. Accord added. "I was especially impressed with the language part. I didn't think someone could learn that many."
"That many? Chu, how many languages can you speak?" Arle asked.
"Lots, Aruru."
"Like…"
Chu thought for a moment, then she tugged on my sleeve to get my attention.
"Kon'nichiwa! Watashi ga hiyasu koto ga dekiru basho o shitte imasu ka? Koko wa hontōni atsuidesu."
"Uh, what?" Ally asked.
"That's Japanese for: Hello! Do you know a place where I can cool off? It's really hot out here." I said.
"Whoa…"
"Ciao! Conosci un posto dove posso rinfrescarmi? Fa davvero caldo qui fuori."
"That's the same thing in Italian."
"¡Hola! ¿Conoces un lugar donde pueda refrescarme? Hace mucho calor aquí afuera."
"That's Spanish."
"Geiá sou! Xérete éna méros ópou boró na kryóso? Eínai pragmatiká zestó edó."
"That's Greek."
"Olá! Você conhece um lugar onde eu possa me refrescar? Está muito quente aqui."
"And that's Portuguese."
"Th-That's insane!" Lidelle said.
"I never thought a girl this young could know that many languages." Lidelle's cousin Ringo said.
"You really are smart, Chu! Can you teach me how to do that?" Harpy asked.
"Really, Harpy? You want to learn another language?" Arle asked her.
"Why not? It sounds totally tubular!"
"Hey, what does tubular mean?" I asked Arle.
"I have no idea."
"So, can you teach me, Chu?"
"Sure, Harpy. I don't mind."
"Yay!"
"Good for you, Harpy. Wanting to learn new languages." Arle said.
"Yeah, that's great." Raffina added. "And you'll have an easier time when we go to the high school down the road."
"Oh, yeah. We should get a quick look at it, should we?" Amitie asked.
"Yeah, we should." Lidelle agreed.
…
…
…
"Uh…kiddies…" Ms. Accord sounded rather unsure about something.
"You didn't tell them, Harm?" Amitie's mom said to her.
"I thought you did, Melody."
"You mean you BOTH forgot to tell them?" The other woman named Rulue asked.
"We've been busy, okay? It just slipped our minds."
"Wait…tells us what" Ally asked.
"Mom, what did you forget this time?" Amitie asked.
"What do you mean this time?" Her mom sounded insulted.
"Anyway…" Ms. Accord said. "What we meant to tell you guys is…Primp High School has been shut down."
…
…
…
"WHAT?!" Amitie, Raffina, Lidelle, Ally, Klug, and Peruvis shouted.
"I don't get it." Raina said.
"Is that a bad thing?" I asked Arle.
"Not sure." She said.
"Hey, Chu. Do you get what's going on?" Harpy asked her.
"Not really, Harpy." Chu answered.
"Yes, guys. This is a bad thing." Lidelle said to us.
"It means that don't have a school to go to." Amitie added.
"Oh…" The five of us said.
"Well…technically, you still do." Ms. Accord said.
"Huh?"
"Hey, Ringo. Remind me on what's the nearest high school from here?" Rulue asked her.
"The nearest high school from Primp? That's…oh! OH! I GET IT NOW!"
"Ohhohoho! I knew you would."
"Get what? What are you two talking about?" Lidelle asked them.
"Guys, listen. The nearest school from Primp Town is the school I'm going to."
"Wait…you mean…" Ally said.
"Yep! Suzuran High School!"
"Suzuran?! You mean we're going to the same school Melody, Ms. Accord, Lily, Yumi, and Rulue went to?!" Raffina asked.
"That's. So. AWESOME!" Amitie shouted.
"It that a good thing?" Arle asked me.
"Not sure." I said.
"Yes, guys. It's a good thing." Raffina said.
"You know, Raffina. I think I'm starting to see it now." Feli said.
"Yeah, me too." Peruvis added.
"S-See what?!" We both said while blushing a little.
"Hey…they're starting to notice." Ally teased.
"N-Notice what?!"
"*giggle* Don't worry, guys. You're getting closer to finding out."
Neither one of us knew what they were talking about. But when we looked at each other, we started blushing even more. And quickly turned away from each other.
"Aw! So cute!" The teen girls said.
"Sh-Shut up!" Arle yelled.
I decided to just stay out of this.
Teen girls are something else, huh?
Author's Note: Arle gets to go to high school! Yay! Now she can be normal! Double Yay!
…
What am I doing?
Anyway, this is a chapter that I didn't expect to be this long. With the same notes as before like bringing Tarutaru back. I took part of the next chapter and added it here mainly because it made sense in my eyes. In the original, it was actually two mini-chapters. Now they'll have their own separate and fleshed out chapters.
So, I'm going to be doing a little binge upload for this story for the next few days. There's going to be two more rewrites then it's going to be new original chapters for a short while after. And I want to get to that point before the end of the year. So, I may be blasting your inboxes for a couple of days. Sorry, in advance.
Thanks for reading. Later.