Nerdy with a Streak of Pink
Prologue
Alfea Headmistress Dowling stood over her desk in her office, hands on either side of the lead-out large paper that displayed multi-colored, intertwined lines. A few feet away stood Calum, leaning against the wall, knowing better than to say anything, no matter how necessary his input sounded to him.
The paper was a map of Alfea's security protection system. They were designed to be the most powerful one could ask for a school, and Farah had taken pride in them for her years as a headmaster, as she had designed them herself. And yet, 3 days ago, someone, or something, was able to get inside. Someone, or something, whom the wards worked to prevent from entering the school grounds. Something of great value had been stolen, and she knew it was no student that took it, because if it had been one, they'd have been reduced to ashes upon touching it. She took less pride into knowing that her students were very much less capable to come in contact with such an object and survive.
For 3 days, Farah had not slept. Her waking hours were spent in her office, studying the map again and again, looking for a vulnerability that would have allowed someone, or something, as she felt the need to stress it out, to breach them.
"May I suggest that we send for a team from Solaria to take this matter into their hands?" Calum finally blurted out, triggered by the couple of hours during which he stood, doing nothing but leaning against the wall, to the point where he started losing feeling in his own legs, waiting to be dismissed by Farah. He regretted the words as soon as Farah rounded on him with a murderous expression. Seeing that she clearly hadn't slept for more that two days, he realized that she might not be so reluctant to murder him after all.
"You can leave now." Farah told him, returning her gaze to the map. She was very much against the idea of a group of investigators from Solaris strolling down the halls of her school and projecting her 'incapacity' at keeping the school safe, as queen Luna would have put it.
Just as he was leaving the office, Silva came in, nodding at him before approaching Farah. Starving for much-needed sleep, Calum closed the door and walked away, not the least interested in eavesdropping on the headmistress' conversation with the school's specialist's combat teacher.
Ever since she had discovered the missing object, Farah's mind had been swirling with possibilities, in addition to one small and crazy idea she refused to acknowledge, but as the hours went by and her lack of sleep increased, that idea kept growing and expanding, and the other thoughts were slowly subdued. She knew that she might regret it after a good night's sleep, but she wasn't getting a good night's sleep until she did something. Closing her eyes for a second, she said, "I'm going to contact her."
Silva was quiet with confusion as he stared at the headmistress, certain she had lost her mind and started sputtering random things. But then, as he put two and two together, especially the words 'security' and 'her', his eyes widened in realization.
"Magnethia's no longer …" He trailed off, unwilling to finish the sentence. Farah had lost it if she considered calling for a friend who no longer existed.
"Not her." She said in an angry tone. "I meant her daughter."
Silva's brows shot up.
"Yes, she's still alive. I've been trying to convince her to join the school since the start of the year. It might not be so late for her to come, after all. And she can work on the problem at hand while she's here."
Silva knew better than to suggest calling for a team of investigators from Solaria. The thought of them strolling in the school hallways irritated him as much as it did to Farah, and yet, this thought seemed even more absurd. "You want to bring in a 16-years-old to attend to the school security breach problem?"
"Well, more like reinforce it, as part of a school project. She'll gain extra points."
"Extra-points?"
"I'll pay her of course." Farah huffed. "I'm not into child labor. And she's old enough to work and get paid. And pursue her academic studies."
The two were quiet for a moment. By the way Farah was nodding to herself, it was clear to Silva that she at least still considered the absurdity of her idea.
"You said you've been trying to convince her to come." He asked. "Do you think a good payment is going to change her mind?"
"No, but the favor I have in mind just might."
A.N: Yet another story born from that feeling of emptiness that comes after finishing a series. Even though they went and combined Tecna and Flora in one persona (Terra), my inner-child-self just refuses to have Tecna not starring in the show (I was a kid-nerd and still am).
So, the story will kind of be inserted into the TV Show's story-line, with modifications of course.
I have the feeling that this is going to be as girly as they come. Enjoy!