Friendly reminder that 'votes' for King and Queen for Daybreak Academy's formal are still on! You can still vote on my main page, as the poll will still be up for a few more days. Act quickly though! I plan on closing it soon!

Also, I've been considering the idea of a Tumblr blog dedicated to this story. On it, I will post all current chapters, post reference pictures and materials that have helped while writing, and maybe even some complaining/fangirling about Union Cross in general. Since I've gotten to the point where I am writing the chapters on the same day they take place in story, I feel like I need a way to buy time to keep the ideas flowing.

Rest assured, though, I have enough ideas to keep going for another 24 chapters and then some.

Thank you for reading!

"He did what?"

If Ava's jaw could have dropped any lower, it would have. Daybreak Academy's musical director, April Tremaine, gave a bemused smirk.

"You're acting like he decided to go skinny dipping in a kiddie pool." she even teased. "Is it really that weird for a grown man to join in on open mic night?"

Ava didn't answer at first- instead knitting her fingers together from under her desk. Even if she couldn't see it, April could sense Ava's hesitation.

"Or, it's not open mic night you're worried about?" April then guessed. At Ava's persistent silence, April decided to switch tactics. And it meant putting on her mom hat and glaring Ava down. "What is going on between you five?" she all but demanded in a voice she really hated using. "The other staff is starting to question what's up too."

"I..." Ava finally started to say. "It's complicated. I've been meaning to contact the superintendent."

"So why haven't you?"

Again, the only answer Ava could give was silence. April's eyes narrowed. With or without her permission, April's mom mode had been activated big time. It was pretty impressive considering her own child barely saw this side of her.

"Ava," April demanded. "Listen to me, and listen to me good- none of us wanted five headmasters. Us senior staff knew it was going to divide the kids even further. And while many of us still have respect for you five, it grows incredibly thin on days when we're not informed of what is going on. Let the superintendent know that when you contact him. Got it?"

Ava flinched. April wasn't giving a request, it was an order.

"I… I will." Ava promised. "Thank you for your opinion, April."

April gave nothing more than an annoyed huff as she spun on her heel to leave. The mild slam of the door was her last stand in the matter, and it made Ava flinch again.

As a still, almost chilling, air started to fill Ava's office, the young headmaster looked down at her desk in shame. She glanced over at her phone and then quickly looked away again. There was a reason why she hadn't contacted the superintendent, and it was close to the same reason why the other headmasters hadn't done the same; they didn't want Aced to get in trouble. Was he in trouble? Sure, possibly, he assaulted an independent school operator and fellow headmaster in the same afternoon. But did it warrant enough for him to potentially lose his job if it were reported? Depending on how it was worded? It was a large possibility.

And, of course, the rest of the staff was beginning to notice, as April had pointed out. If the staff knew, then the kids were starting to catch on as well. Payroll staff were one of the biggest gossips on campus; Ava was just lucky that many of them -like April- would bring their complaints directly to her. But then that lead into a different problem; how did she get stuck being everyone's queen of peace? Invi was the one who kept the most tabs on the school's activities, along with crowd control when the time called for it. Not that it had worked out very well last time…

With that final thought, Ava reached for the phone and started to dial the superintendent's business number. She immediately regretted it the moment after as she listened to the phone try to connect. Being unable to knit her hands together (what with one hand holding the phone), Ava instead opted to drum her fingers on the desk as the phone continued to ring. It was at the tenth ring that the superintendent decided to pick up.

"Oh, Ava!" he greeted in a bright tone. Something in Ava relaxed- it's been awhile since she'd heard that voice. "It's been awhile since I've heard from you and my other well chosen headmasters! How have you been?"

The smile that had been on Ava's face was wiped away with a shake of her head. Focus, Ava, you're here for business and not idle chit-chat.

"Sir, I wanted to discuss..."

"Hey," he then casually said, cutting her off, "How about we talk in the flesh? I'm in town for awhile and I've been meaning to make a trip up to the academy; but if you come to me, then we can talk things out one on one. What do you say?"

For a moment, Ava was at a loss for words. She even wondered if someone had told him about Aced's outburst. But that was impossible, no one knew but the headmasters and Ephemer. That Moogle, maybe, but it wouldn't have said anything to the superintendent. Would it?

"Yeah, that would be nice." Ava found herself agreeeing.

"Great! There's a swell little coffee shop in Cable Town, I think it's called Club 13- I hear it's a pretty hipster. Meet me there tomorrow around, oh say, noon-ish. Alright?"

"S-sure."

"It's been great hearing from you Ava, see you tomorrow!" and with that, the line went dead. Ava stared at the receiver for a moment before placing the phone down. What just happened?

. . .

Back when she was a student, Ava had known the superintendent as the sole headmaster of Daybreak. Aced and Ira had already graduated and were taking an apprenticeship as future administrators. Invi was six years older than Ava, but was also on the fast track to doing the same as the boys. Gula had been the youngest, attending Daybreak Academy a year after Ava started. And it was Gula who started to call the then headmaster MoM.

There was some joke behind it, but Ava couldn't remember it for the life of her now. It was... an acronym, of something. Master of Monotony? No… Mischiever on Meth? Nah, not that she would put it past Gula to have made that joke once. But it was always the name Ava associated with the headmaster, even now when he was their current superintendent: MoM. The worst irony about the nickname was that the man was anything but motherly (or fatherly, for that matter) in the way he taught them. He was stubborn, a practical joker, cryptic, and -on rare, rather scary occasions- dead serious.

But when she saw that 60 or 70 something man drinking from a glass cola bottle with a big red and white straw, it felt as if no time has passed between them.

"Ava!" he happily greeted as she took a seat across from him. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes!"

"It's great to see you too." Ava agreed.

"Now," MoM cheerfully declared, "Let's order some cake and you can tell me all about your troubles. Assume most of them are school related, and not general catching up stuff?"

"Unfortunately." Ava agreed with a nod.

As she then went on to explain the situation, MoM only seemed to be half listening. On numerous occasions he called for the waitress to bring them another drink, or ordered another slice of cake for himself. When Ava was finished, he let out a pensive silence pass between them.

"Seems like quite the pickle." he eventually said to her. "But Aced's a stubborn guy, he'll get himself together eventually."

For some reason, this wasn't the answer she had been expecting, so Ava let out a small, "Right..."

"But," the superintendent then mused, "In the mean time, I do have an idea on how you could increase student morale."

"How?" Ava asked, almost a bit too quickly.

"Create an entirely separate organization- something like a student council, but more… politically present, so to speak. Allow them to learn the ropes of what it takes to be a great headmaster, and then when the times comes, they will be. Simple, no?"

"Would that really work?"

"It worked for you five, didn't it?"

Ava thought about it, and April's threat from earlier came back quickly. 'None of us wanted five headmasters. We knew it would divide the kids further.'

"Sir, I don't think..."

"Well that was a great talk! Thanks for meeting with me, Ava, but now I've gotta jet. I'm expecting a video conference with Luxu in the next half hour or so, and you know how he is with being late."

Ava gave a half hearted nod. She only had faint memories of Luxu, who had acted as a headmaster before she and Gula signed on. Other than that, Ava knew next to nothing about the man.

The superintendent didn't seem to notice her response. Once he had gotten up, he went over to give Ava a kindly pat on the head.

"Don't be such a stranger next time, Ava. I like talking to you five- we're like a family, you know? Just make sure that your new student council can work well with each other, or it'll all fall flat."

"Of course." Ava agreed without looking at him. And with that, the superintendent paid for their bill and disappeared into the street. It was only now that Ava realized she had knit her fingers together in anxiety.

"A student council…?" she mumbled to herself. "Would it even work...?"