Dobrý den!
We had another short day today, except this time we actually got to go home early! Woot woot!!!
So, when I picked today's word, I decided it must be the universe subtly prodding me to get a plot in here instead of making a big compellation of one shots. So, the way I factored the word in was just referring to the beginning of the real story! Not that I really know where I'm going to go with this, but hey! I've got five months and three weeks to figure that out!
Thanks to MsChuchuTrain for the review!
Sorry if anyone is OOC. They are in the modern world, so their characters MIGHT be a little different. That's a big MIGHT.
Enjoy!
…
Beginning
Athos Sage, principal of Emblem High School lowered himself into his chair with a slight groan. He was really getting too old for this job. He would of retired ages ago, but he just couldn't see himself living without being a teacher. Not to mention the problem of Nergal Druid…
Speaking of which, he had to meet with the man today, glancing at his schedule as if to make sure that it hadn't magically disappeared and his day was free to browse the classrooms and check up on students and teachers. He hated the formalities of his work. If he could just oversee everything and do nothing else, he would have so much less back trouble.
It was his turn to go over to the high school, despite the fact that Nergal had arranged the meeting, not him. He got up again, wincing slightly, picked up his car keys, and locked the office door behind him. It was never good when Nergal called a meeting. It meant he was plotting something.
He seemed to have been cooking something up for a while now actually. They were rather immature with their rivalry for such old men. But ever since Sonia Reed had come over from Black Fang HS, Athos had been a bit wary. However, despite all the horror stories of the atrocities she inflicted on her students, whenever he came in to observe, she seemed like a perfectly nice and capable teacher. There was no way to prove that she had ever tortured her students in anyway, mentally or physically.
Now there was this meeting…Nergal hadn't called him to talk since last year to clear up the rumors around the death of one of Emblem's students, Leila Agent. After the police had declared it a murder, there had been many wild accusations flying the way of several of Black Fang's students. The case had been closed by now, because there was absolutely no evidence of the murderer. Even Athos had been a bit suspicious of Nergal, but he had seemed to have honest distress. Although, he had always been a good actor…
Athos shook the dark thoughts from his head, already in his car and on his way now. About ten more minutes of driving to get there. He glanced at his car clock: 12:40. He was supposed to be there by one, so he would be a bit early.
He silenced his mind for the rest of the trip, merely focusing on where he needed to turn and how much longer he would be driving.
He got to the high school five minutes later; traffic hadn't been as bad as he'd expected. He slid into a parking spot and pulled out his keys. Getting out of his car with a few grunts and flinches, he turned to face the intimidating school. There was something so dark and unhappy about the outdoor look of the school, something that Athos couldn't quite put his finger on. The inside wasn't much better. There was hardly anything on the walls at all, besides a few simple signs pointing out where things were. Back at Emblem, they displayed artwork and writing all the time in the halls, and posters were put up for school events. Here however…Nothing. It had always unnerved him a bit.
He opened the door to the main office quietly, and a woman who bore a striking resemblance to Sonia looked up at him.
"Mr. Sage, I presume," she said, beckoning him over to her desk. "I am Limstella Morph. Mr. Druid should be out with you in a moment. He is discussing something with by brother, Ephidel at the moment."
"Thank you," he responded. She merely nodded and shifted her gaze back to the papers in front of her. Athos suppressed a sigh. Even the new service was unfriendly.
Just as he thought this, a man who looked similar to Limstella came sweeping around the corner, a slightly annoyed look plastered on his face. Athos nodded to him as he walked by, but was ignored.
"Mr. Druid will see you now," Limstella told him, hanging up her phone with a click. Athos thanked her again, and walked down the hallway the man he presumed to be Ephidel had just vacated. He halted by the familiar office and gave a single firm knock. A muffled, "Come in," was heard and he pushed open the door.
Nergal was seated behind his desk, a slightly smug smile placed upon his face. His hands were folded over a small stack of papers and Athos had to wonder if that was what they were meeting over. The papers, that is.
"Have a seat," Nergal ordered, gesturing to the chair across the desk from him. Athos obeyed, with his back protesting only a bit.
"What was it you needed to talk to me about?" he asked politely, leaning forward a bit. Nergal let out an exasperated sigh and swerved to papers around so that Athos could read them. He placed his reading glasses on his nose and peered down at them, before looking up again in surprise. "Transfer papers?"
"There is an unusually large amount of students that wish to transfer to Emblem," he admitted, almost sheepishly, but Athos knew he was faking. "And some of them…Well, just read the names."
Athos looked back down at the papers again. The people who wished to transfer were Lloyd Reed, Linus Reed, Nino Reed…Legault Hurricane, and Jaffar Aneath. Athos looked up at Nergal in disbelief.
"They aren't going to be happy with Legault and Jaffar in the school. You know they had the brunt of the rumors against them last year. It'll probably be dangerous for them and others," Athos murmured, wondering what Nergal was plotting. He was smiling that smug smile again.
"I know," he stated. "But they need some classes that I can't give them here. We don't have a lot of students as good as them, so we don't have classes suited to their level. Legault's taken to cutting all together because he knows it already, while Jaffar just doesn't pay attention."
Athos hesitated. Nergal rushed to reassure him more. "They're both rather adept athletes too, and they both know basic self-defense. They won't be in any danger."
Athos debated with himself. While the reasons they wanted to transfer were innocent enough, there was no way that was all there was behind it, at least for Nergal. Plus, there were Leila's old friends who would not be happy to be sharing a building with people they believed had killed her. Trying to buy some time, he asked, "What about the other three. Linus and Lloyd are already seniors too; can't they handle staying here?"
"They miss their mother," Nergal shrugged, not offering up any other reason. "They're all good students too and won't cause any trouble."
There was no right answer to this question. But Athos knew what he should do. Even if his rival had something up his sleeve, he could always turn it against him later in the game. And the students were the priority. So he sighed and said, "I'll take them. All of them."
Nergal's smirk widened and Athos felt himself become uneasy again. "They'll be thrilled," he purred. "That's all I needed to discuss with you, so if you don't have anything, you may go."
"They'll start this Monday," Athos decided. "I need some time to warn some people and get the teachers on the alert for any unfriendly behavior."
"I understand," Nergal nodded, seemingly gleeful. "I'll tell them immediately. Good-bye, old friend."
"Good-bye," Athos responded, before getting up and walking out, shutting the door firmly behind him. He walked by the desk, noticing that Limstella had disappeared somewhere and had been replaced with a lavender haired boy who was doodling in a notebook. His head shot up as Athos passed, and he stood abruptly, calling out, "Excuse me?"
Athos paused and turned to face him. The boy gave him an easy grin. "I recognized you from the descriptions my friend Heath gives me. I'm Legault."
Athos could see the resemblance from the pictures that had been passed about last year now, although the hair was longer and the eyes sharper. He stuck out his hand to the boy, who gave it a firm shake.
"Are we going to be able to transfer?" he inquired, and Athos nodded. His eyes lit up with happiness. "Really?" he asked, spinning about to look at something behind him. "Hear that, Jaffar?"
He was answered with a grunt from the black-clad red-haired boy that only now became apparent to Athos. Legault gave his hand another shake.
"Thank you so much, sir!" he exclaimed, releasing his grip and Athos smiled at him and responded, "You're welcome."
He turned again and walked out the door, frowning to himself. He couldn't see why any of the people at Emblem had suspected Legault could kill Leila. He seemed to be a relatively normal, friendly, teenage boy. Jaffar was slightly more understandable, but even that impression hadn't screamed, Murderer!
He got into his car, smiling a bit now. Although Nergal was always a bit suspicious, there hadn't seemed to be anything wrong with the boys. Maybe he had nothing to worry about. Probably not, however…
Legault let the grin slip from his face and spun to face his colleague, whose expression was now its normal blank.
"What do you think? Did I play normal teenage boy well?" he asked Jaffar, not expecting a response and not getting one. Legault huffed in impatience. "You know, you're probably going to have to be a bit friendlier once we get there. That'll be hard for you. Even for me, that was tiring."
He had a habit of trying to fill up Jaffar's silences. Even with some of the stuff Nergal made him do, he could never really stand the quiet. Not the best trait for a spy.
Jaffar just glared at him a bit and Legault exhaled again, getting the meaning from the gaze. "Yeah, you're right; they'll probably just be much too scared of you for you to have to talk."
He sat back in his chair with a thud, and resumed the spiral in his notebook. He was not happy about this job. It needed more than four people, and Ursula had not been willing to move from her classes. And that had left Nino.
He would have to apologize to her in the future for not getting her out of this. Because he didn't think this mission would end well.
…
Do you smell that? That thing that smells like air freshener, chocolate chip cookies, dew covered grass, salt, and burned toast all at once? That's a little delicacy I like to call plot. What are the ingredients? Two cups of laughter, one and a half of tears (more depending on your taste), a tablespoon of scandal and intrigue, a dash of secrets, a whole container of character development, and a few pinches of suspense. Put in some chocolate and butterscotch chips and you're good to go!
Sorry for that little tangent right there. I am easily excited when it comes to plot as well as when it comes to cookies.
I probably won't have access to a computer tomorrow, so I will write a chapter by hand (what!) and post it and Sunday's addition all on Sunday. If I somehow find a laptop on the sidewalk somewhere, I will be sure to get it up to all you adoring fans.
Review!
Sbohem!