POV Narrator:
Tuesday 24 March 2020, Luna Nova
The days went by, the Mecha's assembly was having advances well done until then, managing to progress to a good level, Croix had already finished building the structure of each one of the Mechas consuming enough of the iron that had been given to make the machine. In Luna Nova the danger of infection was starting to be imminent, since the student infected by the boss was getting to the point where she would infect the other students, specifically the target, this already at the beginning of the week that starts the third and last term of Luna Nova, something that Akko did not expect to happen, since Luna Nova is isolating itself so that the worst does not happen.
POV Akko:
At this time I would be in Japan on holiday, but here I am having to stay studying, they cut our spring break and these quarantine days are already stressing me out, I can't wait for this to be over and go home, now the teachers come to our rooms more often, it's almost every 10 days from what they said.
I leave the bathroom already all dressed for class, Sucy goes to the bathroom next, while Lotte goes waiting, she had already changed and woke up earlier than us, I think I'll talk to her a little bit.
"So Lotte, you can't stand these days here either? I am already getting exhausted" I tell her.
"I wanted to enjoy spring break, go out with Frank you know, he said he would take me on a trip, but now with this pandemic everything's got in the way, even worse I don't even know if I'm going to stay here in the UK with him, I think I'm going to Finland to stay with my parents when I graduate, but we've been managing, talking by messages and he's fine" Yanson said and for her it's much worse than me, at least I get to see Diana much more often.
"I just want this pandemic to end soon, it's already driving me crazy, I never imagined that in a few days I would almost go mad" I say with my hands in my hair.
"Stay calm Akko, there are only a few more weeks to go, we'll soon finish classes and you'll be able to graduate as a witch, you can be sure" she said stroking my head.
A while later, on arrival in the class, in line to see if the pupils are allowed to enter the class...
Here we are in line, the headmistress who is using the thermometer gun to allow us to pass and also passing us alcohol gel, will guarantee us an extra security, since last week it is she who is taking care of this, it is very good to be protected by Mrs Holbrook.
"How many days have we been doing this?" Amanda asks.
"I've already lost the idea, I think this is going to last longer than we think" I reply to O'Neill.
"I guess in six months and we'll still be wearing masks, we'll still be preventing ourselves from what's coming," Diana said, and I hope not, although I think masks are very stylish.
And the line arrived, we were allowed to pass, I'm without any suspicion, good, the fear of my forehead being a little hotter than normal makes me all scared, I don't even want to think that something like this could happen, honestly, then Amanda and Diana passed too and we were heading to our room, I look back and see that Rosie is with her nose kind of sniffling, but she can pass, this is very strange, but she's fine.
"Very well students, the classes are about to begin, we are already in the third and last term, from now on we are going to finish your course as witches and it won't be easy at all, the potions are going to enter a territory which you never imagined before, you can be sure that it will be quite complicated, we will be training for the so expected WTE, You must have already heard that on Monday during Miss Finnelan's classes, the Witch Trial Exam, the most apt witches need to do it and take the best grade if they want to be approved as witches, now let's start the revision of everything we have learned, because it will be important to remember before giving the last classes, take your books of the first year, we will give a revision well summarized since the beginning" Said teacher Lukic.
I even forgot that there is this WTE thing, I'm glad I brought a notebook summarizing what I had done in the first year, Diana warned me about it, I couldn't forget, as always my Cavendish saving me from bigger embarrassments, well come on, I think I can't sleep tonight under any circumstances, Akko concentration.
"Let's start there from the basics, the principles of potions and the oaths of Marianne Von Hoffen, after all a witch who uses potions also has morals, it's not because I'm sinister like that that I don't follow rules and conducts so that I won't use them against humanity" said the teacher and here we go, at least this part I can remember knowing what it is.
By passing the lessons...
Well now it's time to leave the room, I want to see how far this goes, I get up from the chair, I go to the outside, already in a hurry to stay at the front of the line, but I end up getting close to Rosie, which I make sure to use a magic shield to protect me, she is very close, I hear her coughing and sneezing.
"Teacher! Get that girl out of here, she is sick!" I tell her.
"If you don't want to be near her just go to the end of the line" I stared with the biggest disgusted face and honestly, I'm going to do it.
I leave all protected, I notice that she was coughing and sneezing still looking at me, as if she was insinuating something with me, this is very suspicious, thank goodness I got here safe, I could look at the magic barrier I made and it comes dripping with liquid, she surely has something, I suspect she is a student that the boss infected and she wants to spread the germs on me, but she won't get it that easy if it is that, at the end of the line was Diana, she is always the cordial one that waits for everyone.
"I saw that Akko, this Rosie is acting pretty weird" Cavendish said.
"Don't even talk to me love, I think it must be some kind of trap with me, it can only be that, she walked in the exact same place as me" I tell her.
"Be careful, I'll be here tae guard ye, I dinnae want Rosie tae get anywhere near ye" My girlfriend said.
The line went on and on, we even kept a good distance, strangely Rosie was going more reserved, she didn't sneeze or cough anymore and was doing it with her mask down, she is really shameless, I'm sure she intended to infect me, but she won't get it, I'll wait my turn, my temperature is calm, I wash my hand with alcohol gel and leave protecting myself, I don't want to be attacked by Rosie.
"Oh Akko, I'm so sorry" She said smiling and coughing at me right beside me, lucky Diana used a magic shield just in time.
"Get that mask up Rosie, ye have tae go tae the infirmary, or you'll end up spreading Covid 19 tae the whole school if it's true" Said my girlfriend.
"I'm fine" she said.
"You've got a sniffly nose, it's even red, apart from the constant sneezing and coughing, you don't come near me" I say turning away from Rosie.
"Ah a hug won't hurt" She said and I started to walk further back.
Rosie suddenly started to run towards me, I'm not stupid, so I use a teleportation magic and stop on the other side, I breathe relieved and she turns to me, stares at me, takes off her mask and starts to make a ball with her coughing in front of the ball and then throwing it with magic, but it's something very basic that I can make it stop in mid air.
"Teacher! Somebody! Rosie took her mask off in the corridors!" I go trying to call someone and Professor Lukic appears in the doorway.
"Miss Peterson, put your mask on immediately" Oh sure, that'll solve a lot. We have to immobilize this girl before she spreads it to the whole class.
"Shut your mouth you old woman" said Rosie still spitting towards the teacher who uses a magical barrier to protect herself.
"She's infected! Dinnae come any closer!" said Diana who was also in the middle.
"Yes I'm infected with the corona virus, I won't be expelled without first leaving some damage behind," said Rosie who started spitting in my direction and I went using a magical barrier to protect myself from any particle.
"Akko, run away, it's a clear tactic of the boss tae try tae infect ye, go tae yer room, I can handle it here" said my girlfriend.
"But what about you?" I ask her.
"That's just a normal witch, she dinnae bring any risk" Diana said.
"Heh, I didn't come unprepared, I brought this in case you guys came in the way of my plans" Rosie said.
She's turned a keychain into one of those insect poison sprays, only this must be full of viruses, now I think the situation has gotten worse, I have to help her hold it, she gets a bit stubborn, but I use a magic shield too to block the passage or she could spread it all over Luna Nova, that I'm sure could happen if I'm not careful enough.
"We can't run away, we have tae isolate her, with all our magic, or she'll spread more with this thing" I say coming to Diana's side making a stronger barrier.
"Akko! It's too risky if ye get infected," she said.
"I know, but I am one of the strongest, I can hold it for a long time, girls, call more people for reinforcements" I tell them.
"That won't be necessary" I hear the headmaster's voice coming from the classroom, I even forgot that she was taking our temperatures.
The headmistress snaps her fingers, our barriers are destroyed, which still gave Rosie a loophole to spray once and with that Diana went in front of me, she used a magic barrier to nullify any passage, how clever, at least that to save me and also threw me backwards with a spell, until the sprayer became a water gun, which the headmistress quickly appears and snaps her fingers putting Rosie to sleep.
"Let her be restrained now" The headmistress said and we breathed a sigh of relief.
"What took you so long Miranda, that girl almost infected me" Professor Lukic said.
"I would not allow it, but now she will be taken to a secluded place where she will be tested and if she proves to be ill we will immediately start a cleansing process in the whole school, now go to your rooms and wait for me to announce" Mrs Holbrook said and I go to Diana who had protected me.
"You threw yourself in to protect me and then you threw me back, love?" I'm even grateful for what she did.
"Better me than ye, fae me it's just a paper, fae ye it's one of the most important achievements of yer life, I can live knowing that I was expelled from Luna Nova and couldn't finish, I dinnae mind having the stain on my diploma if I know it was fae an attempt tae protect someone... Ye understand Akko," she said and I shook my head, trying to keep my distance since she used a spell to keep me from approaching her.
"Thank yo for everything Diana" I tell her smiling underneath the mask.
"Say thank ye by going tae yer room, enjoy and go and leave everything clean, I dinnae want ye tae run even a little risk of being infected" She said and I nodded.
I wanted to kiss Diana now for all of this, this pandemic has been leaving me quite stuck, good time to clean the room, not that I've already done the cleaning on Saturday, but I'll have to do it again, I don't want to risk getting a scolding, not even getting sick, this boss really wants by all means to see me failing, What does she have so much against me, I showed that I have potential to be a witch, not letting me pass won't change in anything what she thinks she believes, this is even sick, well anyway, they can try to step on me, I will step back and win one more barrier.
Some time later the news is arriving in Luna Nova and the girls are starting to check the rooms...
POV Hellene:
De message Akko sent from a possibly infected student really got me, dis boss can't stop thinking about my sister-in-law, it seems she rented a flat in 'er boss's head, that's what it is, well anyway it's time to clean up, 'ide things again or else they will end up finding my video games and I don't want to risk losing my saves.
"Why are you doing this Hellene?" Marianne asks.
"We 'ave to tidy up de room again, an infected student appeared 'ere in Luna Nova de first sick one, it seems dat Covid 'as arrived in Luna Nova" I tell 'er.
"Ohhhh, how awful, I wonder if it was Akko? I hope not" Mari said and I shook my head in denial.
"Luckily it wasn't 'er, but still we can't let de virus circulate around 'ere, or else dings will get much worse, de infected tried to attack Akko, dis is another one of the boss's tricks, now let's finish dis" I tell em.
"Woah, they really can't stop attackingAkko, all this just because a girl of mundane origin and totally mundane to magic when she stepped in here is standing out, they really can't get enough of wanting to sabotage our friend" Annabel said.
"One day we find out who this boss is and she will never trouble us again, let's do this for Akko, they don't want her to pass, but let's not allow them to get what they want, she very much deserves to have this achievement in hand" Marianne said.
We started to tidy up de room, doing de organization with a lot of care, we hid all de electronics as usual so as not to reveal anything, after all Finnelan might be de pushy old lady she is being, but anything she might be just pretending to tell de boss dings, so I can't trust 'er dat much, I better be very smart about it.
"Students of Luna Nova, start cleaning your rooms immediately, student Rosie Peterson is infected with the Covid 19 virus, we have already managed to take the necessary measures and she has been expelled from the academy, just as her belongings have been taken away, now I ask you to leave your rooms clean and in an hour teachers will come to search your room to see if everything is in order"
As I imagined, an attempt to infect Akko, now it's confirmed dat Rosie really got sick, who would 'ave thought, now dis can get really complicated, it won't stop only at Rosie, you can be sure dat de targets will expand even more, dis woman is sick and I 'ave to find 'er identity soon, I take a deep breath and keep cleaning, I dink we'll soon get through de inspection of de teachers.
"I hate this, having to hide the video games, if only we had more tolerance here, it won't change anything whether we are here playing or not" Said Mari and I agree with 'er.
"De worst is with Constanze, she has to wash 'er whole lab, although she must 'ide a lot of things, especially de Mechas she's been doing, which we'll soon use against dis boss" I tell dem.
"They really are trying to infect Akko, that's going to be our next concern" Leclerc said.
"We really 'ave to invest in not letting dis happen, she will not stop at Rosie, if she 'as access to Luna Nova, I only know dat she is one of de teachers or de director 'ere, or she can even be a hidden person who got access to de ley lines anyway de boss is no small ding, if she can go back and forth to Luna Nova and without permission or anything she surely 'as an advantage against us" I tell dem.
"I still think it's silly that we're still here, honestly we should be starting distance learning by now," said Annabel.
"My sister Holly does, she's not doing de classes at school anymore, dey do online classes by call, it's de way dey found, it's usually well in de morning, back home my mum and grandparents 'ave been taking every care for when I get back, but I honestly don't dink I will, my priority will be staying 'ere to find out de whereabouts of de boss" I tell dem.
"I think I'll stay to help you Hellen, we can work together on this one" she said holding out 'er hand which I make sure to clap.
"I'm going back to Switzerland, I don't want to risk getting infected and honestly, if things don't improve I won't study in Luna Nova, unless they make some way to change the classes to distance learning, then maybe I'll continue studying, but other than that, I think these may be my last days here" Annabel said and she's right about dat.
And we went on cleaning, I don't know if I'll continue in Luna Nova, but I'm already going into my last year, I want to go deep to find out de identity of de boss, I'm going to do something dat nobody thought of doing before, for sure I'm going to find out, whatever it takes, I want to help in de witches' revolution, I want to fulfil my mother's dream.
An hour later...
Wow, it was impeccable, as always we stay de longest time without doing anything, because dere's really nothing to clean, de room is small and everything we can clean we 'ave already cleaned in dis time, I'm sure Professor Finnelan will come 'ere and won't complain about anything, although de prosthesis helps a lettle, I can make her assist in some way in cleaning, until we hear knocking at the door, I go to answer and it's obviously Finnelan.
"Oh you" I say in a disheartening tone.
"I have come for the mandatory inspection of the cleanliness of the room" she said.
"I hope dat's all you're coming for anyway, I don't want to waste my time having to talk to you anymore" I tell 'er just going about 'er business of scanning de room.
"Well it looks like you're in compliance, after the red team you're one of the cleanest in Luna Nova" Said my... Ugh... Great grandmother.
"Good dat everything is in order now finish seeing dis and leave us alone" I say to Anne who is finishing.
"Well I have finished with the inspection, all clear, now I have to finish with something else, Miss Crème and Miss Leclerc, please wait outside, I have to talk to my great granddaughter" she said and the two of them nodded their agreement.
I 'ate 'ow dey 'ave to respect a teacher's order, now I'm 'ere alone having to endure what she will try to appeal to me, seriously, by de nine lesbian witches, dis woman won't stop wanting emotional appeal for my side, I can't take it anymore, well I have to think, dis is for de sake of finding de boss's identity.
"You see, I have openly told your friends that you are my great-granddaughter," said Anne.
"And?" I don't have the patience to put up with this kind of thing.
"I just want to try and try, you've heard it over the last few weeks, but tell me more, I want to know why you've been finding this boss so much and you think she's the one who's done this now?" said the teacher and I pass my hand over my face.
"Obviously aye, de boss is a dangerous woman, remember when you raised Kagari's minimum grade for 'er to pass? You can only play dumb with all dis, but you are sabotaging Akko's studies, making every effort for 'er to fail, all because she is against what you propagate dat only witches can graduate in Luna Nova, she is about to graduate being a witch all different, she dedn't even know 'ow to fly a broomstick and look today, she is one of the most talented students of de third year if not de best - I tell 'er that gets a kind of regretful face.
"Look I am sorry, but this is what I believe, or at least I used to believe, I wanted to keep the purity of Luna Nova, if I allowed something like this it could be a sign that magic is dying, you have to understand that tradition should be valued" said de teacher.
"And doesn't Akko value this? She dreams of being a witch, she respects de traditions and acts like any other student has always acted, yes sometimes she made a lot of mistakes, but everyone makes mistakes, success only comes after a lot of failure, she is de living proof of dat, if even she can make it, others can, de more witches de better for magic, we shouldn't be an elitist club, don't you see a problem with dat? I tell 'er who shakes 'er head.
"That's what I seek to understand Hellene, tell me what it's like, why it's so bad this kind of thing, you seem to have knowledge" I even feel a bit honoured, but if it was someone else and not her, pushing this kind of thing.
"Elitism is a form of exclusion and preaching dis exclusion only makes de group even smaller, because dis would escalate to a point where no one could be considered a real witch, when we know dat all human beings manifest magic, there is no reason to exclude anyone from being a witch, we should expand
ourselves, We should expand, diminishing ourselves more and more to a club will kill magic, it will not, in fact it is already killing it, you preaching dis is killing it more dan all de rest dat you accuse dat is killing magic, make de barriers for a person to be a witch even higher and wonder why magic is dying, less people are interested, de people interested are older and one day they will die and take it all with dem, dat is why it is so bad to preach an elitism with magic, don't you remember what de nine witches preached, dey wanted magic to be for everyone, Luna Nova included Witches and Wizards until de fire of 1517, without caring about deir origin or magical aptitude, even de nine, dey dedn't start out being exceptional witches or being in de standard you imposed, dey came from scratch, so aye Anne, dat's why we should avoid elitism, magic can die because of it" I explain to 'er in detail, I love how I learn de things Mama Laura always told me.
"I have heard your mother speaking speeches like this many times, but I always covered my ears to fight it, but now coming from your mouth I am understanding it better, well this is something I should add to my reflection, I really want to understand this" she said and I walked to de shelves and picked up a book.
"Well you want to understand better, den learn, dis is de manifesto of de witches' revolution my mother wrote back in 1999, 'ere she points out de flaws of the current system you preach and 'ow the status quo of witchcraft can harm magic and kill it, it's a reading you should pay attention to" I tell 'er who nods in agreement.
"I admit dat I 'ave always burned dat book and forbid it to be 'ere in Luna Nova, but I can give you de chance so dat I can better understand your side, I really want to come to de conclusion of what I believe is de right Ding" She said and den stood up.
"Well do it for yourself and don't beg for me, I won't forgive you overnight" I tell 'er very clearly.
"I understand my great-granddaughter, now I am leaving, I know you are not comfortable with my presence" she said walking out de door.
I breathe even relieved now, but it will be interesting lettle by lettle to introduce 'er to more revolutionary thoughts, who knows it will grow more de witches' revolution, if even Finnelan can be convinced, I dink more witches can, my mother's book is excellent for dis kind of thing, my friends arrive and come to me, with Mari calming me down a lot.
"Always Finnelan nagging you, she just won't give up, will she?" Leclerc said.
"I can do my lettle ways too, we would say I am spreading my mother's word more, books can do 'er a world of good, heh, de witch revolution is going to be a reality, as my mother said at de beginning of the book, witches all over de world unite" I tell dem.
"I'll pretend I didn't get your mother's reference, but I can already see she's a comrade" Annabel said and I just nodded my head, she is.
POV Narrator:
In Glastonbury square, there was Rosie walking alone with her bags, waiting for her parents to arrive with the car, as she was with Covid she couldn't get any rides, but soon she is surprised by a slap on the neck, waking up in a very secluded place, where she had no idea where she was, as they turn on the lights, the boss reveals herself to Rosie, which was still a bit of shocked by everything that happened.
"Mission failed Rosie, you failed to infect the target, due to this I cannot give you the full reward, only for the risk of the mission, here is your money" she said giving the briefcase to Rosie.
"Well you still got me expelled, I was going to graduate in a month, I was going to have the chance of my life, look what you did" said the witch full of frustration.
"A good deal is a deal, you did not comply with what I asked and still received a reward for that, enjoy the money, even so don't complain, at least you have enough there to buy a car and enjoy it, or whatever you can do, you can even invest in a business, oh yeah, you won't be able to open one until the pandemic ends hahahaha" said the boss laughing.
"And the vaccine? Aren't you going to give it to me? I've already risked getting infected" said the revolted girl but the boss won't let her have the vaccine.
"That's only for those who carry out the mission, you can endure the virus in your body, you can be sure that you will get an immunity, you just have to take care that you survive" said the boss.
"The care? I've got a lung full of pain, my forehead is on fire, the food is tasteless, I can barely breathe properly with this thing, you can kill me with this, you bastard, all this to get me to do a stupid mission, I hope you fail even more" Rosie said and the boss went on laughing.
"You've already proved a point to me, just one is no good for what I want to do, I think I'm going to have to expand my horizons more, just one infected won't do, I think I'll have to get a whole team for that, you're no longer useful" Said the boss who then gave another blow and Rosie ended up going back to Glastonbury square with the suitcase with money.
She was soon picked up by her parents with the car all wrapped in plastic in the back seat and with a screen dividing the seats so that she could be transported to the hospital and all the necessary treatments for Covid 19 could be performed, while the boss was smiling already thinking of the next plan, since a single student was not enough to pass the virus on to Akko, who also has the protection of her friends.
What was predicted to happen actually happened in Luna Nova, Akko would become a target to be infected and thus be expelled for containing the virus of Covid 19 for this she has been protecting herself as she can, since she has this fear, with her friends around kind of wanting in every way not to let this happen, since Kagari deserves to graduate for all the effort she made, what the boss will continue to insist on trying until the Japanese fail, a mission that can be an achievement for the boss, but that always comes having the efforts hindered. Anne Finnelan is slowly trying to understand a different side of the world than the one she has always lived with, a struggle that she has always oppressed, thanks to her insistence on family contact with Hellene, who still refuses to accept her great-grandmother after everything she has done and preached in the past.
See you, ill witches...