Chapter 8: Night Fall
Hey everyone I'm back with a new chapter and I have to say I found this episode very relatable and I think all you readers/ writers will like a little surprise I put in this chapter. Should really help inspire you all. I'd also like to give a shoutout to masters123lfm for helping create one scene. And finally there's a poll on my profile regarding this story so if you haven't voted please do. In the meantime, Please Review and Enjoy.
It was late at night at Luna Nova and all the students who were living on campus were fast asleep in their dorm rooms…well almost everyone.
In the room of Akko, Lotte, and Sucy, we see Lotte was still awake reading something on her crystal ball.
"A message from GreatBen8103," Lotte said answering it.
"Are you going to the release event?" It read.
"Of course, I am. I'm so excited I can't sleep." Lotte smiles before asking if they were.
Seconds later, the message came back.
"Absolutely, because this might be my only chance to meet Annabel," Lotte said before pulling the blanket over her head and squealing.
However the next day we see Akko, Sucy, and Lotte in Finnelan's office with Prof. Ursula, Prof. Badcock, and Nathaniel.
"Of course, it's you 3. Breaking into kitchens and stealing pies now are we?" Prof. Finnelan accuses.
"How did you girls eat a whole pie in one night?" Nathaniel asks curious.
"I told you to grab something they wouldn't notice," Sucy said looking at Akko.
"It wasn't a pie," Akko said.
"Excuse me?" Prof. Finnelan raised an eyebrow.
"What we took was a tart. Not a pie." Akko said.
"Just let it go Akko." Lotte insists.
"But they're two different things," Akko said.
"Yes, they are. And tarts cost 3 times as much as a pie!" Badcock said furious.
"Calm down, Prof. Badcock. Let's not bring financials into this." Ursula suggests.
"Keep quiet Prof. Ursula! I can't believe how gluttonous you 3 are! The school is suffering financial hardships and having to overspend on food doesn't help!" Prof. Badcock snaps.
"We did it because we're tired of the same boring food items!" Akko snaps.
"To be fair, the food me and the cooks have been preparing these past few days are less than desirable. Wouldn't hurt to make a few adjustments." Nathaniel admits.
"Nathaniel, hold your tongue! As a Student Worker, your job is to cook and serve the food we tell you to make not criticize the menu." Badcock said.
"But that's the thing. It's all potatoes! Potato Salad, Mashed Potatoes, or Fried Potatoes! That's too much starch!" Akko said.
"Well then if you eat that much potatoes you're sure to get full!" Badcock scolds.
"Potatoes get digested too quickly for that!" Akko points out.
"That will be enough. You should know better than to talk back to your elders. Since tomorrow is when produce is delivered. Your punishment will be to help the student worker assigned to it and in addition, you will take supplementary classes with Prof. Ursula. Is that acceptable professor?" Finnelan asks.
"I suppose," Ursula said not liking this.
"No, please! Anything but that! I'll do any punishment! I need to be able to go into town tomorrow!" Lotte begs.
"Lotte?" Akko said surprised by her reaction.
"I'll take any other punishment you have! Even the grossest ones! Look you can see the look on Akko's face, she's sorry! Please!" Lotte said.
"What is happening?" Nathanael asks.
"She's lost her mind," Sucy said.
"Please, pretty please. Let me go out tomorrow." Lotte said cupping her hands together.
"Absolutely not! You three are grounded!" Finnelan declares crushing Lotte's heart.
Later that day, Jaden, Iris, Talia, and Auriana met up with them and saw Lotte was still in shock.
"What the heck happened to her?" Jaden asks.
"Prof. Finnelan gave us detention for tomorrow and Lotte is in shock," Akko said.
"Why? This isn't the first time you got detention." Auriana asks.
"Frankly you're getting detention a little much," Talia mutters.
"Is something going on tomorrow?" Jaden asks.
"Yes, there is!" Lotte said snapping out of her shock. "There's an event for the release of the new Night Fall volume in town tomorrow. See!"
Taking out a poster she puts it right in his face.
"Uh too close Lotte." Jaden cringed as Iris took it.
"Night Fall. Oh, I've seen these books before." Iris said.
"I've heard of it," Sucy said.
"Not me, what is it?" Jaden asks.
"Night Fall is one of the most famous novels with fans all over the world! One day a high school teacher named Belle visits an old manor with her fiancé. When suddenly she's transported to the past and meets a handsome young man named Edgar, but it turns out he's a vampire. And Belle ends up witnessing famous events that have changed the course of history. It has love, adventure, thrills, schemes, friendship, and tragedy. Put it all together and you have the best young adult series ever." Lotte explains in an excited tone.
"Why am I just now learning of this series? That sounds amazing." Auriana said getting hooked.
"How many books have been made?" Jaden asks.
"364 and tomorrow is 365," Lotte said.
"365 books? Who could possibly read all that?" Nathaniel asks.
Cutting to the library, we see Racheal casually reading at a table with tons of Night Fall books stacked up along her table.
"Young lady. I hope you plan on putting those books back when you finish reading them." Badcock said approaching her.
Once she finished one Racheal put it back on the shelf and grabbed the next one from the stack.
"Can you move now? You're in my reading light." Racheal asks not taking her eyes off the book.
Narrowing her eyes Prof. Badcock watched as Racheal kept on reading. Thinking she wasn't looking Prof. Badcock swiped one of the books Racheal had finished.
"Whatever. Not my books." Racheal shrugs.
"No doubt the author of this series gets a lot of criticism." Sucy assumes.
"Correct, her name is Annabel Crème and she's a witch who's been writing this story for over 120 years. Until now she's never appeared in public at least not until tomorrow! And all the fans will be there in costume…all except me." Lotte said hanging her head in disappointment.
"Because of the detention," Iris said as Lotte walked away.
"This is all my fault. If I hadn't reported the missing tart to Finnelan they would still get to go." Nathaniel said.
"Oh, it's not your fault, Nathaniel. You were just doing your job." Iris assures.
"If anything, it's Akko's fault Lotte can't go into town," Sucy said making Akko frown.
"There's gotta be some way to cheer Lotte up," Iris said.
"Well, we do have a performance in town tomorrow, maybe after the show we can pick up some rare merchandise for her," Talia suggests.
"Ooh, good idea. It's not Annabel but it's definitely something." Auriana said as she, Iris, and Nathaniel walked away.
"Hmm it's not meeting her in person but maybe I get Lotte a picture of Annabel," Jaden said going to get his camera.
"Wow everyone wants to help Lotte out. Hmm." Akko pauses.
"What are you doing?" Sucy asks before Akko gasps.
"I got an idea!" Akko grins.
As Jaden was walking through the halls, he noticed Headmistress Holbrooke carrying a big box.
"Hey you need a hand?" Jaden calls out getting her attention.
"Oh yes please." She said immediately handing it to Jaden who pretended to struggle with it.
"Whoa, what's in this thing?" Jaden asks.
"The rest of Pamela Isley's belongings. I'm sending them back to her mother." Holbrooke said making Jaden pause.
"Oh wow," Jaden said.
"Yes it is unfortunate but you can't change the past, can you?" Holbrooke asks.
"No, I guess not," Jaden said walking with her when he noticed something shining in the box.
Looking inside he saw the light reflecting off Pam's Luna Nova pin.
Entering her office, Jaden put the box down on her table.
"Well have a good weekend ma'am," Jaden said.
"You too Mr. Cooper. Try to stay out of trouble." Holbrooke said.
"I'll try." Jaden starts walking out and closing the door.
Reaching into his pocket, he revealed to have swiped the pin.
"But for me, it's not that easy." Jaden chuckles before putting it back in.
Making his way down the hall, he ended up walking past Diana.
Briefly glancing the two of them looked at the other once before making their way down the opposite ends of the hall.
The next day, Akko, Sucy, and Lotte went to meet the Student Worker to help him unload the delivery.
"Hmm, so where's our backup?" Sucy asks.
"I don't know. I don't think we got a name." Lotte said when a figure walked up to them.
"The name is Luke." A male voice said.
"Oh Luke that's helpful," Akko said before realizing something. "Wait."
Turning around they saw a muscular African American male with short black hair. This was Luke Cage.
"So you three are the detention girls huh?" Luke asks.
"Yep, that's us," Lotte said.
"Wow, how come we've never seen you around?" Akko asks.
"The teachers like having a big guy like me around to do the heavy lifting," Luke said as the delivery truck arrived. "Hey, Sal."
"Hey Luke." The driver said as she pulled up in front of them. "Got a lot for you today."
"Alright, step on out and pop the trunk we'll take it from here," Luke said.
Following his advice, the delivery woman sat along the wall as Luke and the girls unloaded all the bags and boxes in the trunk.
"Ugh, they ordered way too many potatoes again." Akko groans.
"Yeah, I need meat with my potatoes. Or something else. Just a bunch of empty calories." Luke said.
"That's what I said!" Akko said making him chuckle.
"For real?" Luke asks.
"Yep, but all Prof. Badcock said was the academy is short on funds and this is not something for the students to complain over," Akko said.
"That's the problem with these old ladies. They think because they've been around for so long, they know how to do things better than us." Luke said putting two big bag downs.
"I know right? All this over one tart." Akko mutters.
"Is that all of it?" Sucy asks.
"I think so," Lotte said.
"Let's go," Sucy whispers.
"What about Luke?" Akko whispers.
"Forget him," Sucy said as they snuck to the truck.
However just as they were about to open in Luke put his hands on the hood.
"What are you doing?" Luke asks.
"Uh trying to sneak out of school." Akko gulps.
"Why?" Luke asks.
"To avoid Finnelan and go into town." Akko gulps fearing the worst.
"Get in." Luke gestures surprising them.
"Seriously? You're not gonna rat us out?" Sucy asks.
"No way. That lady creeps me out. Just don't say it was me who helped sneak you out." Luke said loading them in the back.
"Thanks, Luke. We owe you one." Akko said as Luke closed the trunk.
"Hey, all good back here!" Luke calls out to the driver.
"Thanks," Sal said as she drove off with Akko, Sucy, and Lotte in the back.
As they passed through the gate, the truck started driving towards town.
"This will take us straight into town. Oh man, I'm so smart." Akko before gasping in realization.
"What's wrong?" Lotte asks.
"I forgot about the supplementary lessons with Prof. Ursula." Akko realized.
"Akko you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. Some sacrifices must be made." Lotte said.
"What she said," Sucy said.
"Well I guess you make a point," Akko said not wanting to think about what it will be like when Ursula arrives to see none of them were at her class.
In town, we see Jaden walking around the Nightfall festival and saw several people in cosplay.
"Oh wow, it's like an outside comic convention," Jaden said.
Looking around Jaden took some pictures hoping Lotte would enjoy them when he noticed 3 familiar faces singing on stage.
Spread the magic
You and I, we are magic (magic)
Spread the magic
You and I, we are magic (magic)
Spread the magic
You and I, we are magic (magic)
Spread the magic
You and I, we are magic (magic)
We are magic
When they finished the crowd burst into cheers.
"Thank you. Thank you!" Iris calls out.
"Please enjoy the rest of the festival!" Auriana said as they made their way off stage.
"Wow you girls sounded great," Jaden said greeting them.
"Hey you should have told us you were in the audience." Iris smiles.
"Just got here. So does your band have a name?" Jaden asks.
"We're Lolirock." Iris declares.
"But sadly we're not exactly Shiny Chariot level. Once we reach town our magic kinda goes away." Talia said.
"Says you. I thought we were amazing." Auriana said.
"Well, nice to see I'm not the only member from school who thought to come here." Jaden chuckles.
"Yeah, we thought Lotte could use some cheering up since she couldn't make it," Iris said when Talia noticed something.
"But somehow it seems she was." Talia points.
Turning around the 4 of them saw Akko, Lotte, and Sucy nearby and Lotte was even dressed up in a red hood.
"Oh wow, this is so amazing," Lotte said.
"I thought you 3 had detention," Iris said spotting them.
"We did but…we might have snuck out," Akko said nervously.
"Why am I not surprised?" Talia said pinching her nose. "You know Finnelan is going to give you a far worse punishment when you get back, right?"
"Well, all the more reason to make sure we have tons of fun today, right?" Sucy counters.
"She makes a good point. Plus now we don't have to go fighting for rare merchandise." Iris said.
"You mean shopping?" Jaden corrects.
"No. Some of these hardcore fans are very violent when it comes to rare merchandise." Iris cringed.
"Well since we're all here, let's have some fun." Akko declares.
"Hot dogs! Get your hot dogs here." Walking by Stan was setting up his hot dog cart right in front of the big hall.
"Hey, it's Stan." Jaden chuckles seeing the old man selling food.
"Well now we know where to look if we get hungry," Auriana said.
As they looked around for things to do, Jaden noticed a familiar face holding a Nightfall book.
"It's Strange," Jaden said surprised.
"What's strange? Did I mess up somewhere on my costume?" Lotte said confused.
"Not a what. Who." Jaden points to show Stephen Strange buying a hot dog from Stan.
"Hey it's Stephen," Akko said.
"Is he a fan of the series too?" Lotte asks curious.
"I don't know. But I'm gonna find out you girls go and have fun in the festival while Strange and I have a little chat." Jaden said walking away.
Walking to the steps, Stephen ate his hot dog while he waited for something.
"Ugh, the things I do for love. I hope she likes this." He mutters.
"Strange?" Jaden calls out making him almost choke on it before drinking water.
"Cooper? What are you doing here?" Stephen asks.
"I was about to ask you the same question. But since you asked first. I'm here with a few friends. What about you?" Jaden asks.
"Well, I'm here because…" Pausing Stephen tried to make up an excuse.
"What? You here because of your girlfriend?" Jaden jokes.
"How did you know?" Stephen said surprised making Jaden pause.
"Wait you actually have a girlfriend?" Jaden said not expecting that.
"Jaden there's quite a bit you don't know about me and like most of them I need you to keep this one secret." Stephen insists.
"Okay, okay. So what's her name? Does she go to Luna Nova too?" Jaden asks.
"Her Name is Clea and no she isn't here and she's not a student. I met her last year she helped me when I was in big trouble. We became friends and one day I asked her out she said yes and we've been dating for a few months. She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." Stephen smiles.
"Whoa, how pretty are we talking? Like hotter than Diana?" Jaden asks.
"Interesting that you chose her when asking about hotness details," Stephen smirks making Jaden pause.
"You forget I said that and I'll forget everything you said." Jaden offers.
"Deal, but don't worry doctor confidentiality," Stephen smirks.
"Geez what were you before you came to school? A psychiatrist?" Jaden asks.
"Neurosurgeon actually," Stephen said.
"A hot girlfriend and Ph.D.? Man some people get all the luck," Jaden said.
"Cooper a word of advice: time is one of our greatest allies and enemies. Don't waste it being picky if you want to find someone special but take your time to learn and know everything about the girl you like." Stephen said.
"Thanks for the advice Doc but I think people are lining up to be my girlfriend anytime soon," Jaden said.
"You never know what life can throw at you. But in the meantime, I gotta find Annabel and get her to sign this." Stephen said holding up the book.
"Well, good luck with that. You and about everyone else here want to see her." Jaden said.
"You know I wanted to do a little writing in my day," Stan said getting their attention.
"You did?" Jaden asks.
"Yeah, but not books like this. Comic books. And I had this one idea for a really good hero but my publishers thought it was a bad idea." Stan said.
"So what did you do?" Jaden asks.
"I did what I thought was right and I published it anyway. I needed to get it out of my system." Stan said.
"And what happened?" Stephen asks making Stan smile.
"They loved it. And they gave me a chance." Stan said. "So boys here's a little advice to you about writing or pretty much anything you do. You can take it or leave it." Stan said.
Looking at him both teenage boys listened to the advice he gave them.
Across the street, Lotte was in awe checking out the costumes when nearby a figure wearing a clock costume that covered their whole body approached a little girl.
"That's one of the promotional toothbrushes that came with the earlier volumes. There are only 20 in the whole world. I'd pay anything for that." A familiar voice said.
"Who is that?" Akko asks.
"Excuse me," Lotte said approaching the clock lady.
"Lotte, what are you?" Iris asks as Lotte examined the costume.
"Amazing. You're the clock tower that Belle was living in when the series began. I never thought I would meet someone with that kind of eye for detail." Lotte said.
"You're the first person to know who I was." She said in awe.
"Only a true fan would know. Can we be friends?" Lotte asks.
"Don't be silly. We're already friends." The Clock lady said shaking her hand.
"What just happened?" Sucy asks.
"I think Lotte just made a new friend," Iris said.
Nearby Diana's friends Hannah and Cindy had some bags in their hands indicating they had gone shopping nearby.
"What is all this?" Hannah asks.
"I heard it's for that Nightfall series," Cindy said.
"That stupid romance series? It's so embarrassing seeing adults cosplay." Hannah mocks.
Cindy however had other thoughts.
"Why don't we go check it out? Just so we can see how stupid it is." Cindy suggests clearly hiding her curiosity.
"Hey, Lotte! Over here!" Looking at the center, they saw Jaden waving for them to meet him.
Making their way inside, they see the crowd gathering towards a big stage.
"This is the best. Thank you all so much for this." Lotte said.
"Lotte, I gotta ask why did you become such a big fan of Night Fall?" Akko asks.
"Hmm, I guess it all goes back to when I was a kid. My family runs an antique magic shop and when the other kids found out I was a witch they teased me about it. One day I went to the library and came across the book. As I started reading I just related so much to the family of vampires because they were bullied like me. Then I fell in love with the series and everything about it. Then I wasn't sad anymore. All I could care about was reading the next volume of Night Fall." Lotte explains.
"I think that's why people like reading stories. The characters go through problems so similar to them and it just lets us put ourselves in the stories." Iris smiles.
"Exactly." Lotte nods.
Finding some seats, Jaden noticed Strange sitting in the row in front of them.
On stage, a light shines down revealing the announcer for the event.
"Welcome to this very special Night Fall event. Today we celebrate the release of the 365th volume in the series. Here to celebrate with us is the esteemed author herself. Introducing Annabel Crème!" As the light shines down we see a young girl with blonde hair, headphones on her head, a black dress, and a phone in her hand.
"That's the author?" Talia said surprised.
"She's just a little kid," Akko said.
"Is it some sort of magic that stops you from aging?" Stephen ponders.
"Wow, she's so cute," Lotte said in awe.
"Miss Annabel, do you have anything you would like to say to your fans?" The announcer asks.
"What?" She asks moving a headphone away from her ear.
"Do you have anything you want to say to your fans?" He asks.
"Hello." She simply said.
"Uh, anything else?" He asks hoping for more.
"You said say anything." She said before taking her seat.
"Rude." Akko mutters.
"Oh great she's one of those authors." Jaden rolls his eyes.
"So much for getting this signed," Stephen mutters but Lotte was the only one unfazed.
"Okay, time for the next portion of our event the Night Fall trivia contest! All the questions here were created by Annabel herself who will even present the winner with a special prize!" The announcer declares causing the crowd to go wild.
"Let's start off with a novice question. Where did the maker of the gloves Belle got from her great-grandmother move to?" He read and so many people's hands shot up including Lotte and Cindy.
"Wait you know the answer?" Hannah asks.
"Uh sorry I got caught up in the moment," Cindy said.
"Alright, let's go with the girl in the red hood." The announcer said pointing at Lotte.
"43-5 North Granpiashire White Street!" Lotte declares.
"Correct." The announcer declares.
"That was an easy question?" Auriana raised an eyebrow.
As the contest progressed Lotte was dominating the questions. And soon it was down to just two people.
Up on stage, we see Lotte standing alongside the clock costume lady from earlier.
Looking at her, Lotte realized something.
"Wait…are you GreatBen8103?" Lotte asks and she nods confirming it making Lotte smile to see her online friend alongside her.
"I can't believe she made it to the finals," Iris said.
"This girl is a die-hard fan," Stephen said as Jaden took a picture of this.
"Go Lotte!" Akko cheers.
"Lotte?" Hearing her, Cindy turns her head and spots Akko and Sucy next to Jaden.
"Hey, that really is here." Hannah recognized.
"Final question. When Annabel Crème's mother was a child she took piano lessons. The name of the bakery where her father-in-law would visit frequently…" The announcer starts when GreatBen slams on the buzzer.
"Sommersat Bakery!" She declares before he could finish.
"Yes, but you didn't let me finish. What was the name of the prominent flower that resides next to the bakery." The announcer corrects making her groan.
"Darn it." GreatBen whines.
'Wait…that voice.' Jaden pauses recognizing it. 'It couldn't be.'
Looking at Lotte she seemed to be stumped trying to remember the flower. Glancing at Annabel she noticed her phone cover had hydrangeas on them and gasps.
"It's Hydrangeas!" Lotte declares.
"Correct! Let's meet our young champion!" The announcer said as Lotte slowly made her way up making her friends chuckle.
"Look at her. She's so nervous." Iris giggles.
"Of course. She's about to meet her idol." Sucy smirks.
"Jaden get a picture of this. This could be the best day of Lotte's life." Akko said.
"You got it," Jaden said taking a picture just as Annabel took out a pen.
"And the prize is none other than Annabel's favorite fountain pen!"
"You must really love Night Fall," Annabel said.
"It's my favorite." Lotte nods.
"Then you'll be happy to receive this." She said handing Lotte the pen. "You are now the next Annabel." She whispers so only Lotte could hear.
"Huh?" Lotte pauses.
"One person did not write the whole series. There have been 12 Annabels and now that you hold that pen you are the 13th Annabel. If you choose not to write then your beloved Night Fall will end." Annabel declares before disappearing surprising everyone.
"What was that all about?" Talia asks.
"That was awkward," Akko said.
"Well that was unexpected but I can't say I'm surprised. After all Night Fall always is full of surprises and twists." The announcer said closing the curtain.
Confused Lotte looks down and noticed what appeared to be a large tree nut.
"This is a tool for magic teleportation." Lotte realized.
Seeing what was going on, Lotte ran off stage as fast as she could.
Making her way backstage, Lotte was on the lookout for Annabel.
"Hey, Lotte!" Joining her, Jaden, Akko, Sucy, Stephen and Talia joined them.
"What was that all about?" Talia asks.
"What happened out there?" Akko asks.
"Annabel wasn't supposed to disappear. She used this." Lotte said showing them the tool.
"What is that?" Akko asks.
"It's a magic tool. It's made so anyone can use it." Sucy said.
"Anyone?" Jaden pauses wondering where he could get one of those.
"So wait that means Annabel…" Akko starts.
"She isn't even a witch. Listen I need to find her and fast. Please can you all help me?" Lotte begs.
"Sure Lotte." Jaden saud.
"Why not? I need that autograph." Stephen shrugs.
"Alright, I'll call Iris and Auriana maybe they can help," Talia said taking out her phone.
"Let's move out," Akko said.
Searching around the city for an hour, the Luna Nova students met up by a park bench.
"Any luck?" Akko asks.
"None," Stephen said.
"I found a bunch of mushrooms," Sucy said.
"We weren't looking for mushrooms." Talia facepalms.
"We're trying to find Annabel," Iris said.
"Why do you need to find her so badly?" Jaden asks.
"It turns out the author of Night Fall isn't just one person but many people who were chosen after inheriting this pen," Lotte said showing them the pen.
"Huh? That actually explains a lot." Stephen said.
"No way one person could write 364 books in over 100 years." Auriana agrees.
"Wait a second. You mean the pen they all used is the same one Annabel gave you?" Iris points out.
"Yep." Lotte nods.
"Wait does that mean you're the next author of Night Fall?" Akko asks.
"If I can't return this pen to her then yes," Lotte said.
"That's amazing! She personally asked you to continue the story. You can write whatever you want in your favorite series! That's like a dream come true." Akko squeals.
"Guess she's never heard of Fanfiction," Jaden mutters.
"But I don't want to be a writer," Lotte said.
"But don't you love Night Fall?" Talia asks.
"I do but that's the problem. You girls look up to Shiny Chariot and want to be like her but that doesn't mean I want to be like Annabel. There's a lot of things I'm not good at and I'd rather support others who are good at those things." Lotte said.
"I guess I can understand that," Iris said.
"You love reading it but you don't want to write about it," Auriana said.
"Exactly. I need to give it back to someone who does want to write these stories." Lotte said.
"Which means we have to find her ASAP," Stephen said.
"Hey old do you think that pen is?" Sucy asks.
"I'm not sure but she said it was used by the first Night Fall author," Lotte said.
"Meaning that it might have some magic in it to help us find her." Talia hints.
"Maybe it even has a spirit inside it." Sucy hints.
"Really?" Jaden said interested.
"And fortunately for us, Lotte knows how to talk to spirits in ancient objects," Sucy said.
"My grandma taught me when I was little but no way I can do it next to such a busy street. It's too loud." Lotte said.
"Let's go somewhere else," Iris suggests.
Going to the park they set the pen down on a rock and the two boys watched as Lotte got to work.
Chanting a small melody a green spirit rose from the pen surprising both Akko and Jaden.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Lotte Jansson. Can you tell me where Annabel is?" Lotte asks as the spirit leans in and whispers.
"I can't hear anything," Akko said but Iris just shushes her.
"Just be patient," Iris said as the spirit went back into the pen.
"What did she say?" Auriana asks.
"Well, she didn't know where Annabel was," Lotte said much to their disappointment.
"Anything else?" Talia asks.
"Actually yes, she said that this pen has always chosen the next Night Fall author. Even the current Annabel, but doesn't have much confidence in her abilities. So she held this event to choose the next author on her own." Lotte explains.
"Aka you." Stephen points.
"But I can't accept it. The new volumes are getting more and more interesting. I can't hope to top what the current Anabel is doing." Lotte said.
"Well then maybe you need to tell her that," Jaden said.
"Yeah if she thinks no one likes her work then maybe she should hear from someone who does like it. That'll boost her confidence." Iris agrees.
"But I don't know how to find her," Lotte said.
"Come on. If you're such a big Annabel fan then you should have an idea where she might be." Sucy points out.
"Well maybe…" Pausing Akko thought back to the contest. "Hydrangeas?"
"The flower? Well if it helps there's some over there." Talia points to a patch not too far from them.
Making their way over, they saw Annabel looking at her phone as she sat among the flowers.
"Same old bad reviews." She sighs. "Maybe I should just go home."
Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder scaring her.
Turning around she saw Lotte sitting in front of her.
"Please don't run," Lotte begs.
"If you're here to return the pen I refuse to take it back. Night Fall is your responsibility now." Annabel said.
"But you're the one whose talent was chosen. That means you're the pen's rightful owner." Lotte points out.
"Haven't you read the latest reviews? I don't have any talent. Everyone complains about Night Fall's story development." Annabel said.
"Well, I'll admit I was surprised by Arthur going into space," Lotte admits.
"See? No one likes it." Annabel assumes.
"No, you're wrong. When I looked into it I realized going into space was something he always wanted. It was subtle but experts had pointed out his interests in space. Any true fan knows that. We've all been waiting for something like this." Lotte said.
"Not everyone feels the same way you do. Ever since I started writing I get nothing but criticism." Annabel said.
Looking at her, Jaden saw how much of a struggle it was for her. As much as he wanted to help her he didn't have much writing experience. The closest he had was people calling him a menace. But then he remembered what Stan told him.
"Every time I try to write people just keep complaining and tell me I should give up. I'm tired of it." Annabel frowns.
"You know Annabel someone told me some good advice that I think you should hear," Jaden said getting her attention. "If you genuinely have a good idea don't let some idiot talk you out of doing it. I mean I'm not saying everything you write is gonna be good but if there's something that you feel is good, something that you want to do, something that means something to you then do it. You do your best work when you're doing it the way you want to do it and the way you think it should be done. That way no matter what happens no matter what people tell you; you can look at it and say I did that. And that means something. So don't let idiots stop you from doing something that you think is good." Jaden said.
"Just do your thing. And give it your best." Stephen smiles remembering that speech.
Hearing this all the girls not just Annabel felt inspired by this.
"Wow, I never thought of it that way before. I remember reading Night Fall and I just loved it. There were so many things I wanted to add to the story, things that I thought it would make it so much better." Annabel said.
"So do I but you can do something special. You can show your love with new chapters and stories. Only you can keep the story going the way it should be." Lotte said holding out the pen. "You're the one and only Annabel."
Slowly reaching out, Annabel took it.
"I feel really inspired now thanks to all of you," Annabel said.
"Hey before you leave." Reaching out Stephen took out his Night Fall book. "Can I get your autograph?"
Smiling Annabel took the book. "Who should I make this out to?" She asks.
"To my biggest fan, Clea." Stephen smiles.
Signing it, Annabel hands the book back to him and begins to write again but this time on the air.
As she began to write Annabel's words spun into the sky getting everyone's attention. In the park and even the town below.
"What is that?" Hannah pauses.
"Night Fall," Cindy said.
"Well, ain't that something." Stan smiles.
As the sun was setting, Akko, Sucy, and Lotte return to school, and to their horror they see Finnelan waiting for them with an enraged look while Ursula just sighed and Hannah and Cindy smirked seeing they were busted.
"I hope you know what's coming." Finnelan glares.
"Yes ma'am." Akko and Lotte groaned.
"And words of advice?" Sucy asks looking at their friends.
"Ooh look at the time good luck girls," Auriana said.
"Sorry," Iris said as she, Talia, and Auriana ran off.
"You girls dug your own graves with this one," Stephen said ditching them.
As Finnalen dragged the three girls away, Jaden noticed Prof. Badcock sneaking by but she was carrying a familiar clock costume on her back.
"Hey, Professor nice clock," Jaden said.
"Oh thank you." She said.
"You know I think I saw that costume a little earlier…at the Night Fall trivia contest," Jaden smirks making her freeze in place.
Cringing, Prof. Badcock turns around to see Jaden with a photo in his hand. "Hey, there GreatBen."
"How did you know?" She gulps.
"It really wasn't that hard. I couldn't help but wonder why you didn't take the costume off to bust Akko, Sucy, and Lotte earlier for ditching detention but then I realized you didn't want people to know about your little secret." Jaden said making her gulp.
"Are you blackmailing me?" She glares.
"No. I'm just curious why you were such a hypocrite to your own students. If you were so excited about this event then why didn't you stand up for Lotte when she was so eager for it?" Jaden asks.
"Because they needed to be punished. Stealing is wrong." Badcock said.
"And I agree stealing is wrong but so is doing nothing while one of your faculty members crushes a student's dream. Let me ask you something if Finnelan didn't let you go into town today to meet Annabel how would you feel?" Jaden asks.
"If I couldn't go today. Th-That'd be awful. That would be the worst day of my life." Prof. Badcock whimpers.
"That's how Lotte felt. Akko and Sucy only did it because they knew how much it hurt. I'm not asking you to look the other way but maybe you could try to be a little more sympathetic to your students and not always just jump to detention." Jaden suggests.
"That's it? That's what you think? And what if I don't do it you'll post it all over the school?" Badcock assumes but to her surprise, Jaden just hands her the photo of her and Lotte on stage.
"Even if I can't see your face I knew being up there meant a lot to you and it meant a lot to Lotte. Not all the students are bad. If you gave some of us a chance, we could surprise you." Jaden said before walking away.
As Jaden hopped on his skateboard, Badcock was about to call him out but stopped herself.
'Mmm well maybe once in a while I can try being a little more open with these students. You're an interesting one Jaden Cooper. I'll be keeping an eye on you.' She thought with a smile.
