Vaughn's POV
Headmaster's Office, Wellston Private High School, 8:35AM
...
"Hmm..." I hummed to myself as I looked through the documents.
I was gazing through them in my office while looking at each word intently. I couldn't merely skip this information. Certainly not when it could involve the future of Wellston Private High School.
"Headmistress Emma Doe..." I mused to myself. "What an interesting woman indeed..."
Headmistress Emma Doe
Physical Description: Mrs. Doe is a tall woman who stands at a height of 5'10 feet and has a slender build. She has long white hair (originally black) which reaches down to her lower back and sharp burnt golden eyes. Her bangs are swept to the right while she has a black mole under her right eye. She is usually seen wearing professional suits during school hours.
Education: As a teenager, she attended New Bostin High School and graduated at the top of her class in Class 201X. Based on her report cards, she seems to excel with perfect grades in every class (English Language Arts, Mathematics, Chemistry & Physics, etc.)
Adulthood: After marrying William H. Doe, she moved from New Bostin to Wellston Town where she decided to become a teacher and then soon-to-be headmistress. Shortly after her marriage, she and Mr. Doe had a son, John Doe.
General Comments: Wellston students find her very kind and helpful. Sometimes, she holds private meetings with low-tier students to discuss their problems regarding the modern-day hierarchy. The authorities have shown difficulty understanding Mrs. Doe and her intentions.
Ability: Aura Manipulation
Ability Level/Tier: 7.5/God-Tier
"Holds meetings with low-tier students, huh?" I questioned thoughtfully as I read that section.
And she's a woman with a level of 7.5. Though, this short report was only recorded three years ago. Her potential to strengthen her ability can still be considered.
I sighed as I set down the manila folder that held multiple papers of my predecessor.
How is it that I encounter some of the most strongest god-tiers at this school? The only people I've ever met who were like that are John, Seraphina, and Arlo.
...
Speaking of John, I wonder if he realizes that his mother was the previous headmistress yet?
Before he officially attended Wellston, his father had discussed with me about that matter.
...
"You want me to do that?" I had asked, confused by the man's request. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, Headmaster." He replied with no hesitation.
I gave a look of bewilderment. "I understand that you want only the best for your wife and son, but is this right? Is it really healthy to keep him oblivious to the idea that she was involved in this school? What if he catches on? What will happen then?"
"That won't happen."
I raised an eyebrow.
"You're so certain of that." I pointed out. "How come?"
"He can't know..." The black haired man clenched his fists while he gritted his teeth. "I already made a mistake once by letting those bastards catch Emma. But I assure you, Headmaster. I won't make the same mistake again with John."
I listened carefully to every word he spoke before nodding.
"Alright. If you truly believe that he won't find out about her, then I won't deny you." I agreed before raising my pointer finger up in the air. "However, if John does end up searching for answers, I'm putting 'Headmistress Emma' in her records. There won't be a last name."
"That'll be better. Thank you." He responded, then sighed. "I'm sorry for laying it all out to you like this. It's just that...I'm truly scared out of my mind. I couldn't stand it before, and I certainly can't now. You have to know, Sir. That I absolutely hate to lie to John. More than anything."
...
"I'm aware."
...
CLICK!
I heard the door open as I looked up from my desk.
"Sir?" A familiar man with parted beige hair, blue eyes, and black circular spectacles asked.
"Ah, Keene. Please. Do come in." I greeted him as he walked forward to my desk.
His eyes immediately darted to the picture of Emma Doe on the document that I was holding.
"Emma Doe..." The beige haired man's sentence drifted off. "Sir, if you don't mind me asking. Why would you look at her documents now? What would be the point of it? It's already been three long years. Yet none of the authorities have given us any information..."
...
"That's true." I agreed. "However, it should be our jobs as vital members of Wellston to step up to the plate while the other adults ignore the mess that surrounds them. I believe that that is what Wellston Private High School truly is. A place where we solve problems deliberately."
I paused for a moment. "Keene, would you care to find more information about Mrs. Doe?"
His glasses shined as he smiled brightly. "Yes, Sir!"
Suddenly, a ringing noise appeared out of nowhere.
Keene pulled out his phone from his pants pocket and glanced up towards me.
"If you'll excuse me, Headmaster..." He said.
I nodded. "That's quite alright. Come in contact with me whenever you find something new about that woman. We'll need all the help we can get to make sure that she returns."
Keene bowed before facing the other direction and going out of my office to receive the call.
The door shut loudly.
Seraphina's POV
Wellston Private High School, Manner Hall, 8:58AM
...
Hmm..." I thought to myself in my head while putting a finger to my chin. "He hasn't contacted me in a bit. Wonder if he did get to talk to him. Knowing those two, it'd be pretty hard though."
...
Ah! Speak of the devil!
I looked up to see a glimpse of curly blond hair that peeked near a wall.
I speed walked up to the boy, moving my fast quickly. Once I got to him, I placed a hand on his shoulder and he stopped walking.
"Well, well, well..." I mused. "Look who it is. Arlo. Just the man I wanted to see! Funny that I was just thinking about you, and you just showed up right in front of me, huh?"
"Seraphina, as much as I'd love to chat with you, I have to get to class." Arlo replied to me.
"Oh, come on. Who even attends class at this school anyway?" I asked him. "Enjoy some of the perks of being one of the strongest students of the school, would ya? Trust me. It's worth it."
"A lot of people do." The blue eyed boy responded blankly. "It's just that you skip your classes so frequently that you have no idea how many students actually go to learn in them."
"Well, I don't really care about that." I said flatly. "Sooo...John. What did he say to you on the night that you talked to him? You did talk to him like you promised, right?"
...
Eh? Are you kidding me?
"So, I'm guessing that you didn't get to talk to him about me by that silence." I sighed, feeling a bit upset. "Wow, Arlo. I really thought you weren't lying to me at that time. Sure had me fooled."
"What?! Of course not!" The blond looked taken aback. "Jeez, there's no need to jump to conclusions like that. But if you must know, I did try to talk to him about you, but he refused to discuss any further about the matter."
Man, I didn't expect that in Operation: Befriend John Again...
Though, I probably should've since it's me we're talking about.
"So, he really doesn't want to talk to me, huh...?" My sentence drifted off into the distance. To be fair, it sounded more like a statement than a question.
"Hey, I said don't jump to conclusions." Arlo repeated from earlier. "You know what? I'll let you in on a little something, but when he spoke to me, he sounded more nervous than anything. It's not that he hates you. But in my opinion, I just think that he's afraid to speak with you."
Scared?
Well, John has always been the anxious type. I guess I could see that happening.
"So how do you propose I get to be friends with John again?" I asked the blond, curious to hear his response. "I mean, it's not like I can just waltz into his dorm and announce that I wanna be friends with him again. I think that would freak him out even more."
...
"No ideas?"
"I'm in the middle of thinking, Seraphina!"
...
"Seriously. You don't have to be so hasty, you know." Arlo replied, crossing his arms. "If you take your time by including him into your life bit by bit again, I'm sure that he would appreciate it. Once you do that, you guys should have an honest-to-good talk."
"Wow." I was impressed by his thinking. "You're really something, Arlo."
"It's nothing. Anyone else could think of that plan. It's not very complicated."
"Now you're making me feel bad." I chuckled a bit as I tapped his shoulder. "Well, since you went out of your way to talk to me instead of going to class, remind me when I should do you the favor of helping you get together with your man."
"You didn't give me much of a choice anyway..." I think I heard him mutter.
Then, he flinched in surprise.
"Wait a minute..." He caught onto the realization.
I grinned devilishly. "You didn't deny the second part, did you?"
His face suddenly flushed red.
"Seraphina, that's playing dirty! You can't just say that so casually and leave it at that!" Arlo pointed at me accusingly.
I stuck out my tongue and gave a blank face to him. "Huuh~? I was playing dirty~?"
"I swear, you're absolutely unbelievable sometimes!" He complained.
"That's my job, Chief. Glad I could be of service." I responded without a care in the world. "Besides, don't you have to get to class?"
The blond only scoffed and turned his head to the other side, annoyed. "Urgh, what's even the point? I'm already fifteen minutes late into the period. Might as well skip while I'm at it."
...
"Wait, you for real? Seriously?" My attitude suddenly became ecstatic and I smiled excitedly. "You, the prim and proper Arlo, skipping class?! That's totally awesome!"
"Yes...? Why are you so happy? It's weird." He took a step back with a confused expression.
I grabbed his hand, which surprised him.
"Come on, let's go to the roof and chill!" I said as I ran towards the stairwell with him.
"W-Wait, Seraphina!" He shouted. "At least calm down before we go-!"
"Oh, I got a voicemail." I noticed as I pulled out my phone and stopped running. "Hold on a sec."
"Urgh!"
Since I was running so fast and abruptly stopped, Arlo fell and landed face flat on the floor.
I raised my phone up to my ear and listened to the message.
...
"...ra...Sera! It's me, Leilah!"
...
What...?
Leilah...?
"Listen, I'm so sorry for leaving you so suddenly! I just couldn't stand another day in that place! I know I can't ever make up for what I've done, but please listen to this!" There were loud noises in the background of the voicemail. "If you want your ability back, then-"
?!
My ability?!
"If you want your ability back, then please look at your text messages. You'll find that I sent you a location. If you can, would you meet me there on Sunday this week? Thank you..."
"Leilah...?" I huffed, distressed to see that the voicemail ended a while ago. "Leilah!"
"Huh? Who's Leilah?" Arlo questioned from the floor. Soon enough, he stood up. "You okay?"
...
I clenched my phone and gritted my teeth, scared of what happened back there.
"I...I'm not so sure..." I concluded.
Why...?
Why is it Leilah that contacted me now? It's been over five years since we're actually interacted.
Nevermind that, this is about my ability. If I agree to come to that location, then I have a chance!
There's no way that I'm backing down from this golden opportunity!
"Let's...just get to the roof, alright?" I turned to Arlo. "I'm okay."
He nodded. "If you're fine, then that's good..."
...
Can I really go back to those days when I was strong?
I really wonder...
???'s POV
One Day Ago...
...
"What?!" I yelled. "There's no way I could do that!"
"No?" The man I was speaking with questioned with a raised eyebrow. "It's a simple task really. And with your skills, it could certainly be done in a short amount of time. Come on, you won't even feel the guilt once it's over with. Did you honestly think that you could escape your duties by neglecting the conditions of our contract?"
"That's-!" I huffed angrily. "I would hardly call this a contract! You people captured me against my own will! How can you even say that we're in an alliance when I never wanted this?!"
"Now, now. Best not to be angry. Certainly you wouldn't want that precious son of yours to be hurt, wouldn't you? If you understand that, then keep your mouth shut and just obey our orders."
"You..." I gritted my teeth. "This is insane! You hear me?! Insane!!"
"You may think whatever it is we're doing, insane, tortuous, or inhumane..." He spoke. "However, that does not matter to us. As long as you do it, we won't lay a finger on him."
...
He's right. I'm trapped.
I closed my eyes as I sighed.
I'm so sorry, my little raven. I don't want to do this. I don't want this at all...
But if it means that you can be safe, I'll do it.
Even if it ends up hurting me...
NOTE: So, you guys got a physical description of John's mother in the beginning of the episode. I've already drawn a full picture of what she looks like, but I didn't want to show it because it has spoilers on her backstory. I hope that clears some things up!
Next episode will be on Tuesday, March 30th! Remember to vote/comment when you're finished reading!!