Chapter 35: Violet Strikes Back

Lunalei continues to lay in her bed, comforted by the presence of fresh clean sheets, a steady supply of delicious, nutritious foods, and a laptop on her knees.

The mucus content has gone down significantly, but now she's dealing with the shitty aftermath of coughs, coughs, and more coughs.

Needless to say, she didn't get much sleep last night.

And she's getting fidgety over it.

"Ghhh, I wanna go back to work already…!" She said before another cough hit her hard in the lungs.

"For fuck's sake, if I wanted my chest pounded, I'd have been born a drum!"

One good thing is that she could grab her phone without any struggle, but there were no updates worth checking.

But the compulsion was never going to go away, not when she was at her absolute weakest, blind to what was going on in the real world outside her room.

Her mom had to go to work today, there was an important meeting regarding adding a bigger, multilingual section to the library, and damn it, that was way more important than her taking care of her cruddy flu.

But her dad was staying around, and had already given her a healthy dosage of medication made by his hands and a little help from some herbs provided by Maria.

He was up all throughout the night, trying to stifle the cough with lozenges and water. But she rejected a lot of his aid, saying that she didn't want to reap the benefits of his abilities.

Though he respected her wishes, in hindsight that was utterly childish of her. He was here. He wanted to take care of her…

"Why can't I let him…?" If she just took his medicine and swallowed it without hesitation like a normal person, she'd have gotten some sleep and probably could look at being back to work in a couple of days.

She contemplated this problem while munching on some wheat toast. She then looked and saw Zelene hanging outside the door with a timid, almost pitying look in her eyes.

Lunalei swallowed with some roughness and then murmured, "Isn't it time for you to get on the bus?"

"I…I think I should stay home today." She replied.

"Oh don't tell me you caught this crap too-"

"N-No, I'm good."

"Then what's up?" Lunalei could at least try and be a teacher right now, even if for her sister.

"...You're not there." Zelene said with a forlorn, frustrated look in her eyes.

Lunalei quickly pointed out, "Yeah, but there's damn little I can do about THAT. Look, is the substitute decent?"

Zelene tightly gripped onto the door frame and Lunalei felt some concern rising, "Be honest with me."

"She's…g-good…" Zelene looked the other way as a bracer before stating, "And she looks her age."

Lunalei's eyes widened as she yelled out, "Not THAT honest!"

Only to suffer more coughing until she forced some water down the hatch. She then plopped back against her pillow and let out a very long groan.

Zelene bit her thumbnail and muttered, "Assholes…they only care about appearances…!"

Lunalei's head was too fuzzy to register the rage in her little sister's voice, and took only the words to heart, "...Ok, this might be a threat."

She then limply pointed at Zelene and told her, "YOU need to get to school and run damage control before this hussy takes my job."

"A-And what about you?" Zelene wondered.

"I'm getting back on my feet as soon as damn possible!" Lunalei said, suffering another cough attack, midway through going, "F-Fuck this! I may not have powers, but I ain't jobbing to a damn FLU!"

"O-Okay, sis…" Zelene cheered up a tiny bit from seeing her sister's fighting spirit in action, "You get better. I'll see you later."

After she left the room, Lunalei picked up her phone and gave her dad a quick ring, "Hey, dad?"

She fought off a few more coughs and then some of the fire in her eyes came back, "How about…we finally have our first team-up, and kick this virus' ass?"

With her battle against her flu continuing on valiantly, another battle begins to unfold at the school.

Arriving bright and early with a backpack full of curled up papers, bubble bombs, and a couple spray cans, Violet waited outside the front door.

She was so hyped up to get started, but first…! She needed her ally of justice.

"Huff…huff…" Selina came running up to her, vocalizing that she was out of breath.

"Wowzer! My legs feel like two burning candlesticks!" She declared.

Violet grabbed her around the back and walked her towards the school, thrusting a finger at her face with the grit of an army veteran in her demeanor, "Well keep that fire burning, soldier, we got work to do!"

"Now let's review the rules. Number one: We're not gonna break anything."

Selina pumped her fists and started catching her breath, "Number two: We're just after the red-headed Frenchie!"

Violet nodded, "And number three: NO SURRENDER!"

"NO SURRENDER!" Selina cheered even louder than her.

"Ooookay, settle down there, magical girl," Violet patted her on the back and bounced away with a humored, jolly step, "Now…first things first, we gotta loosen her up a bit."

"And I was thinking…we revert her back into a child!" Violet proclaimed.

"Ummmm, isn't that a teensie bit extreme for an opening act?" Selina pondered, "And…I don't know a spell that makes people younger."

"Ah drat." Violet snapped her fingers before her chest.

"I can age people up though!" Selina said with a perky smile.

Violet flagged down that idea with the handwave, "Ehhh, but what if we accidentally gave her dementia? Then I'd feel bad."

"Stow that spell for another day though." She had some fun ideas in mind for herself.

"Hmmm…ok, let's go with Plan B then."

The two ran to the classroom where she was teaching her morning group. As the students were studying their books, she was sitting on her phone and clicking her pen every few seconds.

"See how she does that a lot?" Violet then had them bend down before they could get caught, "I bet she wouldn't look so mature if that pen ripped a loud one!"

"A loud what?" Selina tilted her head.

Violet rolled her wrist around and couldn't believe she had to say this, "You know…a fart?"

"Oooooh!" Selina's eyes lit up.

"...Selina, are you a sheltered child? No offense obviously."

"I am sheltered in a warehouse!" Selina proclaimed.

"...Ooooh, I see. You're doing a bit with me. Ha ha!" After Violet laughed her friend's strange behavior off, she looked at her and grabbed her shoulders, "Focus Perlwhite. We can form a comedy duo later. Now get out your wand, and let 'er rip!"

After confirming no one else was around, Selina stood up and aimed her wand through the window in the door, "Ummm…"

With a blush she murmured, "Tootootpoot."

The pen was hit with the spell, and Claire's next click created a loud fart noise that threw off her focus.

A few students chuckled.

Violet then squished next to Selina and waited to enjoy the reaction.

Claire clicked her pen and caused another noise. She grinned and let out a dainty chuckle, before deciding to set down the pen.

Violet widened her eyes, "Gawk…!"

"She brushed that off like it was nothing!" She said in frustration while walking off with Selina.

"I think…we only increased her appeal." Selina noted.

"Craaaap…!" Violet ruffled her hair and then flicked her finger back at her friend, "Ok. We should move on to the next step. Ambush her."

Selina raised her wand aloft, "I could make us invisible!"

Violet turned and shook her head, "Noooo, not like that, silly! Although…"

She shook her head and then took Selina to another area, where she dropped her bag and took out one of the many papers inside.

It was a poster made of flat colors and shapes with a few parts casting shadow to create depth. Lunalei was the primary subject, and she was standing atop the school with other students posing in front of it.

It read "We are the future. And we NEED Lunalei Whiter to get us there."

Short, but cuts the bullshit and gets right to the main point.

"I wanted to add a swear, but…gotta have SOME tact." Violet shrugged.

Selina surveyed the poster with a clockwise strut, gasping in marvel at the intricate work, "You made this?!"

"Yep. Only took a few hours of toiling away on CSP and a little help from my uncle to print them out."

Violet blushed with embarrassment, "The hardest part was finding the right photo of her to color over."

"You're so talented, Violet!" Selina cheered.

Violet's face melted into an assortment of expressions, mostly shy, "Dawwww, bllblblblbl…!"

She then gave a bright smile, "I'm the smartest girl in class after all!"

"I…thought it was Er-"

"Not important!" Violet quickly handed off posters to Selina until her arms were overstuffed. Then she pulled out one final paper, "This is where we need to place all the posters."

"W-Where did you get these bluepr-"

"Not important!" Violet looked her friend in the eyes and remarked, "Can I rely on you to do this, Selina?"

Selina froze up for a moment and locked her knees together. With a solid gulp, she muttered, "I don't know. But I will try!"

"Atta girl." Violet patted her on the back and the two split up their workload, and headed off.

It took lots of sweat, leg aches, and tape, but eventually the two girls wound up in the cafeteria sitting back to back to catch their breath.

"T-That about does it…" Violet panted.

"M-My heart is fluttering like a newborn butterfly…!" Selina said.

Violet raised her fist back and remarked, "Now…we wait and see what happens next."

Selina bumped her fist into hers and the two dropped their arms to relax, laughing at the fun they were having along the way.

As the morning class wrapped up, Serra went flying out of the classroom exclaiming, "Chow time! Wahoo!"

But she pumped the brakes upon noticing that the walls had gotten a bunch of posters on them now.

"Huh?" She stopped and was joined by Leo and Zelene in examining them.

Zelene gasped in disbelief, "W-Who did this…?"

Leo rubbed his chin. The crowd of students continued to grow around them to the point that Claire had to come out to see what the noise was about.

"This is…" She murmured.

Pausing with an invested smile, she waded through the crowd and took the poster down gently.

Then she gave it the once over and remarked, "Someone has it out for me, it seems like."

A female student spoke out, "Why? You've been a great substitute teacher!"

"Yeah!" A few more students agreed.

"Better than our regular one even!" Another, cocky guy just HAD to add on.

Before Zelene had a chance to jump them, Claire addressed the group, starting off with a sigh, "I appreciate the compliments, but…hmmm…"

She looked at the poster again and after a faint squint, curled it up and tucked it under her arm, "Get to lunch, I need to discuss this with the principal."

The crowd of students split up, as did their discussions.

Serra put her hands behind her head and noticed there were posters nearly every step they took, "I didn't know Luna had a ton of fans!"

Leo remarked, "This feels like the work of one person…maybe two. They're just very, very passionate."

Zelene was trembling, feeling an urge to smile, "T-Thank god…still…"

Leo closed his eyes and stopped in place, "I wonder if we're being too passive about Lunalei's fate."

Zelebe turned around and got a little blunt towards him, "That's what I was saying…!"

"...As much as we want things to remain the same, we are still just kids in an adult institution. If they decide to hire Claire permanently, then there's little we can do. " Leo tackled this with the honest truth, "But we still have a voice. We should at least TRY."

Serra nodded, "Luna taught me that you can have fun fighting your fellow students academically! I don't think Red's got the same spunk as her to try that!"

Zelene and Leo scratched their heads at her focus, but agreed with the general idea behind it.

Leo then noted, "We know there are other students who have warmed up to Lunalei's teachings. If we can just rally enough people to our cause…"

"T-They'll have to keep my sister on!" Zelene proclaimed, her words ringing with hope.

"Yeah!" Serra jumped and cheered, "Let's do it!"

After having their lunches, they split up across the school to recruit fellow classmates.

Leo's first stop was to visit Lyra and Bang in their usual meeting spot.

And after explaining the situation to them, Lyra went, "I think you're all overreacting about this, personally. But if you need help, I'll bring my voice to the cause."

Bang crossed his arms and casually shrugged, "idk bro, your cousin's a bit of a hard ass at times. Plus, the new gal's got a kinda foreign appeal."

Lyra said, "Oooof course…"

Bang hit back with, "Am I not allowed to appreciate a gal's appearance?"

Lyra then turned and said, "Then compliment me right now."

Leo knew Bang wasn't ready to commit to that level of maturity yet, so with a gentle cough to get them back on track he said, "I know she can be tough. But she wouldn't be in this job if she didn't care."

Bang puckered his lips for a long hum and then remarked, "Man, you always say the right things to get me thinking the right way."

"I got your back bro. I'll put in a good word about your cousin."

Leo was glad it didn't have to be any tougher than that.

However, Serra's path had her beelining straight for Erin and Alex, simply passing by and telling them, "C'mon guys! If we don't act, Luna's is going to get replaced!"

Erin slacked her jaw while finishing crumbling up another poster and tossing it into the trash, "Is THAT what this is about? Pfffft, I say, good riddance."

She crossed her arms under her chest and rolled her eyes the other way, "Maybe I'll get someone easier to manage."

Alex rubbed the back of his head, "Honestly…it sounds very hard to believe they'd replace her anyways unless the sub pulls in insanely good grades. But there's no tests coming up."

"Damn…" Erin clicked her tongue, "Oh well, then I get to keep teasing her."

"Sis…" Alex groaned, but secretly was smiling.

And all this was happening, the two who started this fire watched from behind the corners.

"Yes!" Violet pumped her fist, "I knew someone else would rise up in her defense! I didn't think it'd be this many though!"

She was having the time of her life holding her head up proudly and basking in success.

Selina murmured with a twinge of envy, "Sis is so popular now…"

However, their efforts had one slight, unintended side effect.

"Honestly, they should replace her. I heard…she didn't even actually graduate from college."

"Oh no way? Where'd you learn that?"

"A friend of a guy who goes on the internet a lot."

And further down the hall…

"If she was gone, our class would be on top."

"It's BULLSHIT, I heard she has relatives in her class, I bet she feeds them the answers."

"Oh totally, how else could that brainless she-jock stay in school?"

And just behind them…

"You like her?! Why?! Do you like them young looking?!"

"What are you SAYING?!"

"Pedo! You're a pedo!"

Violet quickly realized that they maaaay have stoked the fires a liiiiittle too much.

"Ummmm, maybe we should've put up less posters, ha ha ha…!" Violet rubbed the back of her head and stuck out her tongue.

They had single handedly gotten the school divided on their opinions of Lunalei.

"Well whatever!" Refusing to back down from the consequences, Violet grabbed Selina by her puffy shoulders and dragged her limp, befuddled self into an empty classroom.

She then tossed her some of her special made bubble bombs and pulled out spray cans for herself.

"No doubt the posters have got her spooked. So now we'll get her with the final wallop. I'm gonna tag the chalkboard with big bold letters saying 'Get out, Frenchie!', and then you…!"

Violet pointed at her to make sure she was paying attention, "Are going to drop those in her desk drawer, wait until she has her back turned to look at the message, then use your magic to pop the bombs out of the drawer and BLAMO…!"

She puffed her cheeks and blew out an explosion like noise, "She'll be so defeated that she'll lose all her appeal!"

Selina's eyes shone brilliantly, "I see no flaws in this plan whatsoever! You're so brilliant, Violet!"

Violet's held the sides of her face and giggled madly, "Eeehehehe! S-Stop it, I'm not!"

She then looked at Selina and told her, "But you? You've been a great partner, Selina."

"Aww, I haven't done verily much! But tis was all worth it for my big si-...teacher's sake!"

Violet giggled sincerely, "You're so goofy."

She then patted her on the back on her way out, "Ok. Let's split up here. We'll be in and out before class starts, and then walk back in casually."

Violet's route cut her through the lobby briefly, where she used her pouches to hide the spray cans.

On the way she passed by the principal's office and overheard something.

"-love to have you on the staff."

Violet's heart jumped and she stepped back to peek inside, where Claire was talking to both principals.

Claire had one of the posters on the table and withdrew her hand from it, a clearly devilish smile on her face, "The children here seem very delightful to work with. I would love to be here full time."

Violet's skin turned cold watching her worst nightmares come true, "N-No way…After everything I did?"

She was so stupid…

"Adults don't accept diplomacy. They just think they know what we want best…!"

Gritting her teeth hard she stampeded into the office and took her metaphorical gloves off.

No more playing this safely…

"You're a fraud!" She shouted to cut down the conversation at hand.

The vice principal stood up and dragged his sexist ass into view, "W-What on EARTH?!"

Violet put all her anger on Claire, "You…will NEVER be her! Get out!"

After the initial outlash, her rage quickly tempered down and left her feeling stiff in the knees and embarrassed.

She gasped a few times and then sprinted out of the office.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

Her vision got foggy as she lost track of which hallway she was in. She just needed to get the hell out of here.

But she was pulled up off the ground by her shirt, a patient voice telling her, "Slow down there, troublemaker."

It was Claire.

"H-How did you…?!" She had caught up inhumanly fast.

Violet turned and with the vestiges of frustration fueling her fists, she rolled up her sleeves and started swinging, "F-Fine, if you want to go, lets-"

Claire let her go, making her confused.

"-go?" Violet turned and lowered her fists, with Claire greeting her with a docile smile and her glasses off, making her look more normal, more natural.

She then took out the poster and remarked, "Is this your doing?"

"..." Violet furrowed her brows, "I have the right to remain silent."

Claire turned the poster her way, "Well I need to compliment someone. The composition on this is stellar."

"H-Huh…?" Violet cautiously murmured.

Claire then closed her eyes and let out a deep breath, "And the passion is clear as day."

"...A-Are you toying with me?" Violet said, her usual spunk drained dry.

Claire rolled up the poster and tapped it on her arm, "I think we've had a misunderstanding, Violet. Can we talk it out like adults would?"

Violet put down her fists and pouted.

Claire then guided them over to an empty bench down the hall and they kept their distance from each other.

"I'm not here to replace anyone." She hit the biggest issue as quickly as lightning.

Violet argued, "B-But I heard you talking with the principal!"

"Yes, because of all the posters you put up."

Violet didn't buy that, "You said you'd love to work here."

Claire had to reprimand her, but did so calmly, "If you didn't barge in, you would've heard me say 'But I don't ever want to be a replacement for someone's favorite person'."

Violet was aghast, "You…wouldn't?"

Claire laid her hands on her lap and looked out the window, "It's the same thing as replacing a lost loved one. You can mimic every detail of their personality, but that hole retains its unique shape, never to be filled."

"I am…something of a world traveler, Violet. I've taught in many countries. Learned many languages. But I've never learned how to settle my feet on the ground. Because no matter where I go, nowhere feels like home."

"Lucky…" Violet murmured, "I'd give anything to be in your shoes."

Claire turned and asked, "Why's that?"

Violet leaned out and pressed her hands against her puffed cheeks, "I'm sick of being tied down to dad's pain. I'm ready to move on and actually…y'know, live a life!"

"Ah. Your dad, Mark, he's a cop, no?"

Violet rose in shock, "H-How did you…?"

"His name IS on your profile. As for profession well…I took a guess based on my experiences," Claire crossed her legs, "Wanting to leave is well and good, but do you have any plans?"

"...Who cares? I'll graduate, and then go wherever the hell I please!" Violet proudly pumped her fist ready to take on the world.

"Hehe! Then why wait? Your grades are incredible. You could likely get a job somewhere..I would even give you a recommendation. If you want."

Violet turned to her with her jaw slacked, "That…doesn't sound very teacher-like."

"Consider this me selfishly feeding my curiosity." Claire giggled.

Violet curled her lips one way and hung her shoulders, "W-Well…I had considered it. But…then I met my teacher."

"You only need to take one look at her to see she's serious about our education. Other teachers? They feel like they're in it for the dough. And…I dunno, I kinda wanna see if she'll get me to find my way."

"And then I made friends with Selina, and we've had a lot of wild and wacky adventures around the school."

"And…then there's another friend…who I thought I'd never get to see again. I…I want to work up the courage to talk to her and I'd feel totally guilty if I left before I did."

Claire nodded along with a reasonable look in her eyes, "It sounds like I simply cannot compete with Lunalei Whiter. If the light I wish to shine towards the future is but a dwarf star, hers is as grand as a supernova."

Violet grinned, "She really is the coolest teacher ever! And…I'm glad a lot of people aren't just taking her in for her looks."

Before she knew it, she had gotten a lot off her chest and her cheeks shone rose with embarrassment.

Claire giggled again in a more mature fashion, "See? I'm not a threat. I'm just trying to do my job. Same as her."

"...I guess you're kinda cool for an older woman." Violet admitted.

Claire put on a slight glare, "I'll have you know I'm only 24."

"Bullshit." Violet remarked.

"...And your teacher is how old?"

"Ok fair point." Violet said, throwing her hands up and having another laugh.

Claire then tossed a glance at her pouches and asked, "For the record, what were you planning to do with those?"

Violet pulled out a spray can and pointed it at Claire's face, "I was going to write 'Get out, Frenchie!' on the chalkboard."

"Pfft…!" Claire sputtered out a laugh, and tried to keep herself in control, easing the blow by mentioning, "Well…At least now I know you're a good girl."

"Because a bad girl genius would come up with a MUCH better insult than 'Frenchie', such as 'Putain'."

"What does that mean?" Violet tilted her head.

"You can look it up. I shouldn't blurt it out in public." Claire said, her face a brief shade of red.

After letting silence take hold for a bit, she then asked, "Now then. While I'm still here, is there anything I can do to make your time with me a little more comfortable?"

"Hmm…" Violet snapped her fingers, "Well, maybe you could try being a little less stiff?"

"That can easily be arranged. Tomorrow, I'll try loosening up a little. But for now…" Claire stood up and put her glasses back on, "WE need to get to class."

"I…" Violet stood up and awkwardly pointed down the hall, "Should probably call off my friend…"

She ran down the hall, and Claire took out her pen and held it beside her face with a lofty sigh, "What a fun and caring girl. You really don't know what you're losing, Mark…"

She clicked the pen and it let out another fart noise, causing her to comment, "...How DID she pull this off though? Hmmm…I'll need to change this out when I get back to the hotel."

So the rest of the day went by with little issue, as it didn't take long for word to spread about how Claire was NOT in fact replacing anyone, with the implication being that she spread the news herself before heading back to class.

But it would be difficult to put the genie back in the bottle. Now that everyone had aired out their opinions on Lunalei Whiter, her return was bound to be very, very interesting…

The next day though, the morning class arrived to their usual seats, with Zelene having reported that her sister was still out sick, but getting better.

And now that her fears were alleviated, it would be a lot easier to get through the rest of Claire's time here.

Right before the bell rang for the morning class, the door swung open and Claire walked in.

Except today, she had a bit more of a smile, and walked at a slightly quicker, lighter pace, her hands gliding behind her back.

She stopped behind the desk and clapped her hands together, "Hey everyone! Hope you're ready for another good day at school!"

"Huh? A few students were stunned by her more upbeat personality.

Claire parted her fingertips and sighed, "I was feeling a little off yesterday, but now that I've gotten to know you all a bit more, I want to try and be myself."

"So that means…we're going to be a little more loose with education today. If you want to catch some 'Zs' or read a manga, whatever, go ahead! I'll still be teaching to whoever wants to listen."

Zelene's gaze turned sharp as she blurted out to herself, "What the hell…?"

Next Time: Third Time's the Charm