Hey guys, before I give the synopsis for this chapter and present a new piece of the story, I just want to say a few things. I have just got back from vacation with my folks and I'm a bit exhausted. I still have a few weeks of school left and I'm really excited to get into winter break with my family again.
Alright so right now we have the girls unexpectedly come up to us as we start our first official conversation with them. I know this is going a bit crazy, but I had learned from the books of the Thea Sisters themselves that these books the original books are very small and quick compared to the special edition books. Sadly they aren't that good compared to the other books that Thea's brother, Geronimo wrote.
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The nine of us, counting the Thea sisters were all sitting at our table getting intrigued by our own conversation as we asked them about their adventures. I was really nervous about how to approach this because even though I grew out of the books a long while ago, somehow they were giving me Deja vu moments due to a lot of things. First of all, these girls were the exact form I remember them in the first time I ever read their adventures.
And by their words when explaining their hobbies, they have impressed us, but still something felt like there was a little something on their minds too. Sophie and I still had our books on the Thea Sisters main adventures on the table as they were still asking us about our hobbies and what we do.
"So you're the engineer and cook of the group then?" Phil asked Pamela.
"Yep, and I'm also the muscle of the team as well. Helping out with the arguments carefully and I do have a bit of a temper sometimes." Pamela the Tanzanian mouse squeaked to Phil delightedly as she ate a big bite of a pizza slice.
Sophie was really surprised by how big of a bite Pamela ate from it, but wasn't too surprised because she remembered in the books how much she loves eating.
"Huh sounds like we're similar minds but on two different sides of the bread slice." Don said smiling as he chuckled with Pamela.
She chuckled at this a bit as she talked to the rest of the girls.
"I am a bit curious, you two boys somehow aced most of the work in Thea's class today even though this was your first time here." Violet said looking at us.
"Well what can we say? We have a bit of our own experience with history and facts about amazing places." Phil said proudly crossing his arms.
"That's right, we're experts in our field with math, science, and other subjects." Don said spinning his brush in his paw.
"You're an artist I take it?" Violet asked Don.
"Yep, made a lot of artwork for my friends as they share me theirs as well." Cody's a good one too and loves puzzles. And I mean it, he really loves escape rooms." Don joked at me while he took another spoonful of his stew.
Some of the mice girls chuckled a bit as it felt like we were getting along just fine for now.
The four of us 'non secretive mice' were a little nervous to explain to them about our stories that we might want to just go with the basics.
"We have read many of your adventures from time to time and have admired your moves ever since high school. I just loved learning about the world and traveling, which is why I wanted to be like you." Sophie said with a smile while showing some of the older books like the Secret City, The Mountain of Fire, even Trouble in the Big Apple.
Colette saw the illustrations in one of the books Sophie gave out and she just couldn't help admiring herself in the illustrations. OOOOH! I look so cute in these! I look amazing with those outfits! Well, except that time I fell into the swamp in Australia. No thanks to you Nicky." Colette smiled with glee but gave a bit of a sneer at Nicky who looked confused about it since it was a while ago.
The other three chuckled at this as we continued to talk.
"So where are you guys from exactly?" Paulina joined in the conversation.
"Ummm.. you mean country wise?" I asked a little nervous and curiously.
"Exactly, like where did you grow up?" Violet asked.
This made me feel really comfortable because this was an easy question that was normal and not related to what we actually do.
"Oh that! Thank you. Phew. Well, Phil and I are from America. We both met online and have collaborated on some adventures and some book reports." I said to the girls.
"I'm from the Philippines where I do some landscape drawing and art, while Sophie here is somehow my neighbor, from Singapore." Don squeaked as Sophie shrugged her shoulders about it.
The Thea sisters were intrigued to hear about this since none of them have ever quite been to Singapore or the Philippines before.
"You know, Singapore has a bit of history I'm familiar with, maybe we can take a visit to see your family there." Violet thought which brightened her closest friends up a lot.
"That's a grand idea. We should definitely check in with Professor Sparkle and Marblemouse about this soon!" Nicky spoke as she got done eating her lunch.
"Are you sure you don't want to talk about Professor Stilton about this?" Sophie asked the girls nervously as she scratched the back of her head.
"Professor Stilton?" Pamela asked us confused.
"Yeah, Thea Stilton, Correspondent of the Rodent's Gazette of New Mouse Island? The person you named your group after?" I asked them.
"Oh yes, I can't believe we've forgotten about her. Ummm, this might be harder to explain somehow." Colette spoke feeling a bit guilty about not seeing their teacher again. However she stopped with a thinking face on her mind. "Wait, person?" She asked me.
Oh crap! I made a mistake! I used the term 'person' instead of 'mouse' to cover our tracks. None of the mice in this world knows what a human is or looks like.
"Sorry I meant to say Mouse, the MOUSE that you named yourselves after." I chuckled a bit trying to correct myself.
Colette was a bit suspicious of my behavior but she shrugged it off.
"Yes we have been in her class recently, but we actually felt like it wasn't the same as before. We loved this place and our friendship so much that we've been going about on our own adventures without any school work." Nicky replied.
"Most of the times, it's to visit our friends, our families, and even vacations." Colette spoke as she admired those times.
Paulina, Pamela, and Violet rolled their eyes as they knew that Colette loved to travel, just for the shopping, relaxation, and even the clothes they wear.
"Very interesting. Even though we're newbies, I am curious if you guys are going on the trip to Norway?" I asked them.
The girls then stopped to think about it for a second, then came up with a decision.
"Well we have been thinking about a new vacation, and perhaps since it's near the winter, I hear there's some cool places to check out in Norway. That's a place we haven't been to yet." Paulina spoke noting my idea.
"Yeah, I think a trip to Norway and somewhere near Finland might work out fine for us." Pamela smiled.
"Oh I love the idea a lot! I'll be able to bring my favorite sweater and gloves with me on the trip!" Colette squeaked with excitement as I saw Violet and Nicky roll their eyes.
"But wait, don't we have an assignment due soon for class?" Nicky asked.
Violet was about to say something when we heard the school bell ring, signaling us that it was nearly time to get to our next class for the day.
"Op well, I guess we'll have to discuss this later, for right now, we've got classes to attend to. We have music class with Professor Aria, and Literature with Professor Ratcliff." Paulina exclaimed.
"Well, let's go girls. We haven't got all day, let's make like mice and blow this cheese stick stand." Colette squeaked as she got up with her tray as Pamela tried to finish up her food.
The five girls were about to leave when Violet and Paulina turned around to us four and said. "It was nice squeaking with you. Hope we talk again." They then left as this placed a bit of a bit of warmth in my heart, knowing even though we didn't talk much, I still miss the original Thea Sisters as they were. Hearing their voices was unnatural because usually we see their words on the pages.
It's amazing seeing your old childhood heroic characters right in front of you. However it still felt like I was in a dream along with my friends.
"Hey Cody, Code..." I heard a voice saying in my ear as I fazed out of my mind.
"Uh er what? Oh guys, sorry I was just thinking. I spoke while looking at Don and Phil.
"Thinking of them? Don't tell me you've got a crush on all of them or just at least one of them." Phil joked a bit sarcastically.
"Wait, excuse me?" I asked putting my utensils on the table while looking at him. I was starting to get a little upset with him as Don noticed the two of us having a little argument again.
"You said that we needed to stay on topic to be aware of the environment without causing suspicion." Phil perked up with his leadership again.
"Yeah of course that's what I'm doing but I was gaining the trust of possible allies." I spoke getting up from the table.
"Yes but you used the wrong term." Phil spoke putting his paws on his side of the table.
"Look I'm trying my best here to get used to the school and our surroundings but anyone makes mistakes. It happens." I replied.
"Yes but the wrong step can get us into big trouble." Phil spoke annoyingly.
Don then stepped in between us with a bit of force and squeaked. "Hey guys back it off for once alright? This is not how we deal with conversations as a team."
While Don tried to conserve the small argument, Sophie noticed a strange blackish glow coming from a few set of mouse prints on the ground which somehow lead to somewhere. However there were too many mice in the building it was hard to distinguish which one it could be.
Phil and I were then looking at Don as we noticed not only anger but a slight hint of fear realizing he was trying to help us realize we needed to work together.
"Oh man he's right, sorry about that." Phil spoke cooling down.
"Yeah me too, hey maybe we can discuss more about what we've learned so far today in our dorm room when we have time." I spoke.
"Maybe, but don't we have other classes to deal with first?" Sophie asked us.
"Classes, huh I don't know, when Phil and I went to see the Headmaster, he told us that the class we'll be taking today will be Thea's class only. Strange." I said as I took my schedule out of my backpack. I pulled out the paper that had a schedule for this semester at Mouseford Academy.
"Alright it says I have music class with Professor Aria at 2 to 4 today as it is somewhat the last class for me today. What about you guys?" I spoke as the others looked at their schedules from their bags.
Phil got his out and noticed that he has schedule had a class at the same time as me but with Professor Sparkle, the history expert. "Thea did mention we were going to have a trip in a couple of days so we better make the most of it happen." He spoke as we looked at them carefully.
"But wait, we don't have our passports. And I don't know if we should be doing that trip anytime soon, because I think something is off here." Sophie said as the three of us turned to see Sophie pointing at the floor. Ink like footprints in the shape of a mouse standing were leading into the crowd of students and teachers who were leaving for the next class.
"Wait, footprints?" Did someone get their feet dirty as they walked in?" I asked in confusion. When I approached the trail on the ground, I tried to examine it by touching it. But when I was about to get a tiny sample, it instantly vanished! Not only did that print disappear, but so did the trail. Something was very weird. "Holy crap. What is happening here?" I said, as a few mice noticed me squinting down at the ground. "Op sorry, just uh.. admiring the floors in this place." I spoke as I got up scratching the back of my head.
The mice shrugged as they went back to their classrooms. I took a sigh of relief as I knew somehow I was going to get soon a bit of trouble if no one would be me or my friends.
"Hey I get it, we saw them too. We believe you. But there is something going on in this book world that's just not right." Sophie spoke as she walked up to me.
"Yeah, and I know we had our issues cut out like what happened earlier back in our room. Maybe we should sort this out once we've got through our next courses. They don't seem to be that bad it looks like." Phil said as we looked at our schedules again.
"It looks like we have another class involving science soon, so I guess we'll have to finish the conversation a bit later today." Sophie stated as Don noticed the same class on his list.
"Hmmm, you're right. Well, hope you guys note your findings and let us know what you have found so far. We'll need it." Don spoke as he and Sophie went off again. I didn't want to lose them again, but at least we know where we'll be.
Phil and I waved good bye to our teammates for now as we know we'll see them again.
"So now what should we do?" Phil asked me.
"Me? Well, maybe we should get to know more about the history of this place and see what we can know. We still have a bit of history class to take soon." I squeaked in .
Phil nodded as we then started our walk towards our classes.
Phil then said one more thing. "Say Code, about the girls before, those five mice. I'm sorry if I said that you might be into them. I don't really know much about them but can you also explain to me how they work together?" He asked me.
That's right I totally forgot about that, since it was of course our so called first day here at Mouseford Academy.
"Soon, yes real soon. I'll do my best to explain it all tonight." I finished as Phil smiled.
Meanwhile on a separate part of the campus, the Thea Sisters themselves were really intrigued by the four new rodents they just met. They were squeaking about how those two boys in Thea's class and how their two friends were amazing but had their doubts about them being real solvers because of what they have done. Almost as if they were jealous of the girls.
"Those guys were really ratastic in my opinion." Nicky spoke as she walked with her fellow sister friends.
"Indeed, that girl Sophie was interesting and I've yet to see what that fellow Don has drawn or painted in art class yet." Violet spoke agreeing with her friend as something was on her mind about the other two rodents they met.
"What about those other two rodents? What were their names again?" Pamela asked her friends.
"Cody and Phil?" Paulina assisted her.
"Ah yes, thank you. I am feeling a bit odd about the guy with the top hat. Who does that guy think he is? Thinking that they are better than us, or even as good as us at mystery solving." Pamela spoke as they went into their next classroom with Professor Rattcliffe.
"It was a bit of cheesy chatter we had with them, but I do have suspicions about that rodent with the gray jacket." Colette spoke with her thinking caps on in her mouse brain.
"Why him?" Nicky asked her stylish rose color coated friend.
"A detective? A magician? Phil looks a bit out of place for fashion if you ask me. But that Cody? Mmmm somehow, he looks cute." Colette squeaked in a daze as she remembered seeing his jacket.
"Yeah he is very cool looking like a sweet cheese casserole, but you just met him, we all met him, and his friends. Besides something smelly is going on here." Paulina said.
"What do you mean Pauly?" Nicky asked looking at her.
"Well, the way how they were behaving, even said person one time when referencing our old teacher, Thea. Can't believe she's actually back after so many years." She continued.
"Yeah, wonder why she came back? It's been about a few weeks since she just came back to teach here at Mouseford Academy, and today was the day we get new students? That's unbelieveable!" Nicky squeaked.
"Ladies?" an older female voice spoke up.
The five girls looked at their teacher who had gray hair but light brown fur. She wore a light lavender dress with glasses over her snout and purple shoes.
"Op sorry Professor, we were just discussing with each other about our next paper." Pamela chuckled.
The professor nodded as she went back to teaching the class.
"We should squeak to those four again, maybe it could be our new scoop for the school!" Violet thought carefully whispering to her sister friends. The other four nodded in agreement as they too want to know all there is about the Mad Hatters who they believe could be an interesting news story. Little did they know that the journey they'll take, will be one that will be unforgettable for the both of them and their perhaps new friends.
They then got to work in Rattcliffe's class as they started writing in their notebooks about note taking, when a strange rodent from the entry way was watching them within the shadows, as they stepped away with ink like pawprints on the floor.
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Ok guys, there you have it for the next chapter. PHEW! Man I'm exhausted from all of this writing. I know I still have a lot more to write on, but I have to focus on this week and the next week if I want to get good grades in all of my classes for the next semester. So hope you guys enjoy this chapter, because soon, a new chapter will be in the making of how the two groups start to hear about a competition regarding a certain trip to Norway and a new surprise along the journey affects them both! Feel free to respond in the comments about what you guys think of this story, it would mean the world to me. Have a good time wherever you guys are in the world, I'll talk to you in the next chapter!