It's a Taelia chapter. Have fun with that.

I stood at the gate of Kadic Academy and sighed. I didn't think I'd ever be back here again...I never really wanted to return. Oh well, I was trapped in France, that was made perfectly clear. No use complaining about it. I would enroll as a student at Kadic Academy and try to figure out what was going on. Something dangerous was brewing...Xana...I thought those kids were taking care of him. He had taken the form of that girl from the electrical plant. He had manipulated me into meeting that group of kids.

Who were at this academy...

That wasn't going to be a fun conversation.

I sighed again, internally, and looked at my digital watch. 1 pm on a Saturday. Xana said he was going to turn on the Supercomputer on Friday at 8 pm. I had gone to stop this from happening and encountered the kids. Did that mean it was all one big lie to get that meeting to happen? Or did he also turn on the Supercomputer? Was I supposed to kill that group? Had that been Xana's plan. Did he know me so well that he knew I would do that? My mental state was way worse since the last time I talked to him...

Wait, if the Supercomputer needed to be turned on, that would mean it was off before? Then how was Xana still around? Where had he been?

God, I was so out of the loop.

Well, that's why I was here. I'd gather information here and then...I didn't know what I'd do...but I had to do something.

I walked onto campus and headed to the administration building, my suitcase dragging behind me. I had spent the better part of the morning shopping for a few outfits and generally making myself look like an actual member of society and not the gross hermit I was. Hey, it was better life than I would live if I was caught. Literally anything was better than that. Not many students were around. It was a Saturday afternoon, which, if I recalled correctly, meant no classes.

I walked into the admin building and found my way to the Principal's office. I wasn't too happy about the security cameras around. I knew if I just kept my cool things would be fine, right? I mean stuff with the Men in Black...that was so long ago surely they couldn't still have their eyes on the area. That reminded me...Aelita was here. Last time I saw her she was running away with Franz off to the Supercomputer to be virtualized...and now she was at Kadic? And she was the same age as the rest of them with her, or at least it looked it. Was Franz somewhere around here too, then? What happened exactly when I was away?

The door directly to the Principal's office was locked, so I went through the Secretary's office. She wasn't there so I just knocked on the door to his office. What, was she out on lunch break? I hoped the principal wasn't also out to lunch. What was his name? Oh, duh. I looked at the small plaque on the door. Mr. Delmas. Right, that was his name. I used to be so great at calculating everything and scanning a room...I was slipping. I had been for a long time. I hated that feeling. I ignored the shadows in the corners of my vision. I had learned that nine times out of ten they weren't real. Didn't stop them from bothering me...

"Come in." A voice came from within, tired and dignified. Being principal of a school was probably pretty tiring. I walked in. Oh, yep, I remembered this guy. I always liked his little mustache beard combo. Poor guy was probably closer to my age than I was. He looked at me and raised his eyebrows. "Miss Twist, I thought you left this academy to pursue other academic interests."

"Yes. I did. They didn't work out and so I'm back." I smiled and shrugged.

"But this is highly irregular, it's nearly the end of the school year."

Oh, shit, was it? I had to think on my feet.

"Yes, I know. I was hoping to stay summer tutoring to catch up with your curriculum and start up again with my class in the fall. You see, it turns out this other school I tried was not as academically challenging as here. I would also be willing to do some cleaning on campus." Hopefully that would be enough. I mean, who turned down free labor? He considered for a moment.

"Right then, let me just re-activate your student profile." He was searching down a list, like he was looking to see if any dorms were available. "Now...I could fit you in with miss Aelita Stones. You would sleep in a cot for the time being, but once the students move out we could move you to your own dorm."

"Thank you, that sounds great." I wasn't entirely sure rooming with Aelita was a good idea...I wanted to see her, but did she want to see me? Did she even remember me? Did I have the right to put myself back into her life like this? My mind flooded with questions, but that was normal. My entire life was a cluster fuck of unresolved issues.

Delmas gave me the key, welcomed me back to Kadic, and dismissed me. That was easy, probably easier than it should have been. Oh well.

I went to Aelita's dorm. I stood there with the door closed. I only saw her for a second...and she looked pretty much exactly the same 11 years later. Maybe a little more mature...maybe? Maybe...Aelita was the same as me? Did Franz not fix the Supercomputer? If that was the case, then those kids-

Well, if that was the case I could find a way to fix it...there was more time now. And I could fix...me? Well, there was no fixing me, but I could start with the physical stuff, at least.

I opened up the door. Nobody was there. Well, I put off that encounter for a little bit. I wanted to see her, but I was also kinda afraid to. With a sigh, I put my suitcase in the corner of the room. There wasn't a second closet in the room so I'd just live out of the suitcase. I sat on the floor and sighed, running my hands through my hair. Why was everything so fucked?

Welp. This was as good a time as any to go check on the Supercomputer. I tucked my feet in close and pushed my hands off my knees to give me the momentum to stand up. I left and went by the back of the admin building on the way to the factory, when suddenly...

"YOU!" Someone was screamed at me. I turned around to see a fist coming at me. I ducked down and stuck my leg out, tripping her. But then she came back at me before I could get back up and just started struggling with me. "YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" It was the black haired girl from the factory.

"STOP!" Two hands were pulling up apart. It was Delmas. "Detention! Both of you!" He managed to pull us apart. The man was stronger than he looked. "Miss Twist, getting in trouble in your first hour back, and miss Isiyama. You should know better!"

And then he dragged our sorry asses to the library for four hour of detention.

Time Elapsed since last chapter: half a day

Time Elapsed since ch 1: a week, a day, and a half

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. And remember, I do commissions! As always guys, have an awesome day!