Tuesday, 12:35 PM
Cafeteria
Sarah was eating in the cafeteria among the other students and a few teachers that decided to eat outside the Teacher Lounge, enjoying her meals. She wasn't too fund of someone else carrying it for her, but it was just for this moment and she did like what they had today, better quality than it usually have been. She had to eat it in a particular manner, since eating without hands was a pain for her, but she surprisingly managed to do so with both glace and skill.
"Hello, Sarah," exclaimed a voice behind her, causing her to pause to notice a strange lion-like creature with thick curly eyebrows. She quickly recognized the figure to be the secretary in the front office and a close friend to Mrs. Crawford. Thinking about Mrs. Crawford caused her to growl in her mind, still not happy with yesterday. "I'm sorry about interrupting your lunch break, but I was wonder if you have seen Mrs. Crawford anywhere."
"Hmph," Sarah huffed in annoyance at hearing that woman's name, but there was a faint tract of curiosity in her voice, "Nope, I haven't seen her anywhere, but I figured that she was just eating in the teacher lounge. Why are you asking?"
Mayan, not picking up on the tone, replied with further concern, "Well, I was just worry, that all. She seems to be so down today, and when I was looking for her during our lunch break to talk to her, I couldn't find a trace of her. I don't think she put up that strange veil of her either, because of its time limit. It was like she completely left the school ground. Since you know Mrs. Crawford better than most of the available students have, I was hoping you could help me find her for me, since my lunch break is about over with."
"Grrr, why should I even help that bloody woman at all?!"
Mayan was taken back at the harpy's strange anger, since she wasn't there during the commotion yesterday, but she recovered quickly and calmly replied, "Because this is the same woman who went out of her way to see most of all your games."
The harpy was looking away and growling, but eventfully that anger slowly decreased to simple annoyance and she turned back to her, letting out a long irritated sigh and responded, "Gah, all right, all right, fine...I'll see if I can find her and try to see what going on, but you'll owe me a free lunch for this! I think I might actually know where to look for her..."
Near the Football Field
Grumbling all the way, Sarah dropped gently down from her flight and let out a sigh. While the school's football field wasn't really all that far, her weak exhaustion was mostly due to her grumbling. If there was a place Mrs. Crawford could be, it would be around here. She knew that this location meant a lot to her, more than simply watching some games or practices, but she never really bother to ask why. Though, if she would to guess, it might have something to do with her deceased husband, Mr. Crawford.
She walked around the outside of the field, passing by one trees to another. She often wonder why there was so many trees around the football field, since she know that many other football fields wasn't really known for being surrounded by so many of them. She had thought it was either some kind of Earth Day thing or a memorial request, but once again, she didn't think it was really important at the time to ask. She let out a quick laugh, thinking that she was just now curious about such matters.
She was walking some more, when she saw a figure sitting behind a tree. On the tree was a craved-out heart with an initials on it, but she was more focus on the figure to care. She was about to charge up to the figure she knew was Mrs. Crawford and gave her a piece of her mind, when she heard something that caused her to paused in confusion. 'Is she...crying,' Sarah pondered as she got closer. However, it seems that getting closer was a horrible mistake, as a horrid smell forced Sarah to back up suddenly with her wings trying to block her nose from it.
Mrs. Crawford heard the noise and sniffed before covering herself with her own shadow material, and then went back to her human form again, erasing the smell in the process. "Hello, s-sweetheart," she said, trying to straightening her voice out, "S-sorry about the smell, I...just h-having an off day. So-o-o, how have you been, everything is going all right at home?"
"Y-yeah, we are doing just fine...my aunt came to help around our house, since my folks are...unable to take care of it." Sarah stared at her face, trying to study it for any clue to what this whole thing was about, but it seems Mrs. Crawford was trying to hide it. So, she decided to go the direct route, something she known to do, "Ms. Freelance was wondering where you went to, as well was wondering what was up with you?"
Mrs. Crawford hesitated on her response, not really comfortable about recalling anything bad in her current mood, but she knew that Sarah would pick up on it, and she really don't want to insult her intelligent. She let out a long sigh before she decided to converse her pain to the teenage harpy, "I'm sorry that I dragged you into my problems, I know that I'm being down-right pitiful, it is just that everything seems to be falling apart for me. I w-wasn't trying to upset you children, I was just trying to help, but apparently all I did was stirred up a hornet nest instead."
"Well, it is your darn fault! What possessed you to even consider what we should do?! We were just fine without any clothes!" She let out a huff and gave an evil-glare at Mrs. Crawford, only to find her hugging her legs with tears flowing down of her cheeks. Seeing her crying in front of her managed to kill the glare Sarah was giving her. "Gee, you got to be kidding," Sarah exclaimed, not sure how to feel right now, "C-come on, please don't cry, I didn't mean to upset you."
Rubbing her eyes with her upper left arm, Mrs. Crawford replied, "I-It's okay, I don't really blame you for being anger, but I didn't mean any offense. I was just trying to look after you children." She sighed and let out a weak distressing chuckle, "Of course, it was far easier before the sun changed...before everything became so complicated beyond imagination. I can only imagine what issues poor Principal Erin is dealing with...!"
Sarah thought about that for a moment. Perhaps she does raise a good point, trying to sort out everything and deal with all the changes must be chaotic. She was still not fond of Mrs. Crawford's clothing idea, but maybe she was being too hard on her. It wasn't her normal habit, but maybe she should try to understand what is up with Mrs. Crawford.
"Fair enough," Sarah started, surprisingly sounding less angry and annoy than she had been before, "So, how clothing fit into 'looking after us'? I mean, I don't understand how it played any role of helping us."
"W-well, I'm not really aiming for anything extreme...t-that why I m-made the idea optional. One reason why I came up with the idea was to motivate the student to build up their self-discipline. But, the thing was that wearing clothes wasn't really the important part behind it, but rather the routine. We often took for granted the level of self-discipline of the day-by-day routine of dealing with clothes, because it just seems like the natural thing to do at the time."
"However, I won't mind changing a few things if you all really felt so uncomfortable about it. I would even be fine with the permission note as long as it is done within a daily basis. Nonetheless, all I was trying to do was to figure a way to protect you children from losing your humanity. I just don't want to see you children getting shallow up by your growing impulses and lose who you are...like I was."
Sarah rolled her eyes at this, feeling like she was hearing a recording. But, as much as she hated to admit it, she never really thought about how much self-discipline was involved with clothing, and it did seems to make some sense. Still, she was fine as she was, so she just remarked with a flat tone rather than her annoyed or sarcastic tone, "Okay, I can appreciated you looking after us, but you can relax. We may not be human, but we are not beasts either. We can do fine without our humanity."
"Heh, I know that you children are not beasts or anything else," Mrs. Crawford remarked with a smile, but there was still concerned in her tone, "Perhaps it is just my fear talking, I guess. I'm sorry if that is...it is just so...scary when a person loses their humanity. It doesn't matter if you have changed or not, any sentential beings can lose what might be called their 'humanity'. I mean, if you really think about, is there more to humanity than simply being human?"
That question just blindsided Sarah, not expecting the profound question from her. 'Wow, Mrs. Crawford have really been given this a lot of thought,' she thought with interest. She paused to think about that for a moment, and suddenly she remembered how her own folks reacted to her when they discovered her transformation for the first time, causing her to shiver in emotional pain. "Can I ask a question as well," Sarah asked, this time with sereneness, "Did this line of thoughts come from what happen to you? You never actually did get the chance to talk about it."
Sarah saw the smile disappeared as a whimper motion of her lip told her that she just hit a sensitive subject. But, before she decided to change the subject, Mrs. Crawford spoke, "I'm afraid it does have a part to play in it, much to my shamed." She shivered hard, hugging her legs so tight that Sarah could see an expression on her leg. "Losing my humanity, even for only a short time, have forever scarred me and my daughter for life. ...I-it is just something that I don't you dears to ever go through."
"Imagine waking up from a nightmare," Mrs. Crawford began, trying to hold together as best as she could, "Where you were no longer the same person you were, but only afterward to find out it really happened. During my time as Shadoe Fae, I did some horrible stuffs for my own sick enjoyment...s-stuffs that I would never forgive myself for. The sadistic fiend I had became took pride in the thought of hurting innocent people...n-no one was an exception, e-especially children...a-a-and m-my own little...p-pumpkin. I-I afraid that s-s-she will never b-be the same around m-me or the s-shadows again, forever scar for life, both physically and mentally...!"
Sarah gasped, taking a step away in shock, unable to believe her ears. The idea of this woman hurting anyone physically was impossible, especially her daughter. "W-whoa, I never heard the sun did that before! I'm surprised that the Principal actually hired you...errr, this Shadoe Fae?!"
"Don't be hard on Principal Erin, sweetheart; it wasn't that hard for her to pretend to be me with my memory at her mercy. She was trying to infiltrate the school, so that she could look for a particular kind of...children. Thankfully, I was rescued from her gripped, ironically by the very same child that she was trying to...'dispose' of. I told Principal Erin everything afterward, figured that he deserved to know, and prepared myself for the eventual conclusion. However, he decided to keep my around, feeling that I was back to my old self again."
"As for the sun, it wasn't exactly the cause of my transformation into Shadoe Fae, but rather something else that was created by some horrible beings. I was implanted with some kind of negative energy, a seed of darkness I would like to think of it, and it warped my change into its own preset form, among with its own collection of memories. I still have that seed inside myself, but it is purified right now...thank to Becca."
Sarah raised her eyebrow before gently sliding her right wing down her face, finally getting the picture. "No offense, Mrs. Crawford, but that sound like some form of cheesy literature!"
Mrs. Crawford couldn't help but laughed at that, and replied with a smile, "Aren't that the truth! Sad, isn't it, that I am a part of a cliché plot!"
"Anyway, you said there was another reason. So, what is it," Sarah asked, trying to hide a silent laugh.
Mrs. Crawford held out her left palm, which was just a simple hand gesture that people used to explain a point or lecture, "Well, the other reason was in hope to satisfy the board of education enough, as well as the government themselves, from adding any unfair rules and laws. According to a rumor that my cousin in the news business heard, there are talks about dealing with the situation of growing instincts within the changes. I highly doubt they will passed any laws yet, but if there are enough amount of fears, who know what would happen. And, thing is, even fellow transformees are among those who felt that way as well."
"WHAT?!!! Are they crazy?! I mean, won't that lead to civil protest and unrest?!"
Mrs. Crawford got up from the ground, so that she could dusted her clothes off. "I hope not, I don't want anyone getting hurt. And, I am afraid it might be a battle that they won't be able to win as well. The government would most likely have highly advanced technical androids and powerful beings among their employment, probably very loyal as well."
"Gee," Sarah noted with a gulp, "I hope that won't happen."
"Don't worry; I don't think that would occur. Like you said, those that are affected by the growing instincts are still yourselves. I'm just trying to figure a way to keep you darlings safe from either scenario, emphasizing on 'trying'. I won't mind if you children offer any suggestions and changes, I want this idea to be as free of stress for you children as possible. Though, considering that the teachers themselves are bother by the idea, there is a very good chance it would end up failing anyway."
"Wait, if you figured that it would end up as a dead-end anyway, why bother continuing through with the idea?"
"Simple really," Mrs. Crawford stated with a prideful beam, "I've never been the type to just quit on you darlings. Even if the idea gets shot down, I would be happy to know that I have made an attempt at least. I fear that people these days are more tempted on giving up than days before the Iridescent Sun. I won't give up on you children, I would still be here to help you children out in many other ways."
"Oh...I see," replied Sarah, feeling a bit guilty now, "Listen, I want to...apologize; I shouldn't have blown up on you like I did."
"Nah, you got nothing to apologize for. The truth was that I just got a bit carried away with a few things and it is coming back to bite me in the rear, hehe. I just want you children to know that I'm not trying to upset, or bribe you, I'm just trying to help the best way that I can. I am the one who should be apologizing to you darlings, and I will."
"Well, I have better get going, I think I might be late to class now," exclaimed Sarah.
"Don't worry, I'll be happy to come with you and excused your lateness for you, since you were doing a favor for Mayan. Beside, it would give me the opportunity to starts my apologies."
"Sure, I don't mind, thank."
"Oh, there is one more thing that I want your opinion on, Sarah," Mrs. Crawford added as they commenced on walking to Sarah's next class. "I was planning on asking them if we can restart the sport program somewhat soon, among with the cheerleading program. But, the problem is that I'm not...sure how to go about it. With new elements to deal with, like special abilities and limitations, it would be tough to develop rules and guidelines for any sports activities, let alone find anyone to referee the game."
"So, I was wondering if it is possible for you to gather together a few of the students and teachers to form some ideas. I think both the students and teachers need a chance to cheer up and ease their days, because I bet you that there are a lot of tension going around. You think it is possible?"
The moment that she mentions the possible revival of the cheerleading squad was the moment that she began to get fired up like she used to be. It would be tricky to pull it off with her form, but the idea of utilizing some fancy aerial expertise into a cheer routine does bring a nice challenge to her. However, there was one thing that was stopping her from going for it: her folks.
"It might be a bit difficult, but if we can put a lot of thoughts into it, it could be possible...but, what about those who can't come to the games? My dad, for example, is rooted to the ground as a plant-girl and my mom is a swarm of bees. It won't be easy, even likely, for them to come, and I'm sure that there are many other people with similar problems. And, many of the people that might want to come to watch won't be transformed yet, so that could be an issue as well."
"Hmmm...you got some good points. We could telecast the games to solve that problem, but I'm not sure if that will guarantee anything completely. You could talk about that issue when discussing the idea."
Sarah shrugged at that and nodded her head, accepting that suggestion. If the school does bring back the sport and cheerleading programs, she wanted her family to watch. She took a peek at Mrs. Crawford was in a happier mood, almost like some of the weight she had been carrying was gone. Sarah was still not sure about the clothing deal, but she wasn't so hard against it like before, and Mrs. Crawford did say that they could changed a few things about it.
Unfortunately, just at the moment they was near one of the school's entrances, Mrs. Crawford's better mood came crashing down as a water-balloon bombed her in the face, filled with something different now. Sarah had been taken completely by surprised, unable to comprehend what just happen. She turned to see the culprit was a female anthropomorphic teddy bear, whom seems to manage to keep most of her human figure, shape, and size (with the exception to some minor plushy changes). It was odd that she was capable of throwing the balloon, though, since her hands seems to be like mittens with engraved paw print on her palms.
Mrs. Crawford noticed the girl just before she disappeared and moaned, although this time, the student wasn't wearing any clothes. She don't know why the two other students was bother so much by her idea, considering they didn't seems to have a problem with wearing clothes. However, it doesn't really matter to her right then as she just stood there with a depressed look on her face, taking a sample of the sticky material off her face to examine it. "S-Sarah, could you be d-dear and tell me if this is really s-syrup on my face and not something else...because I lost my taste and smell, so I can't tell for sure."
"Y-yeah, I believe it is," was all that Sarah said, before staying silent for a few seconds, until she decided to ask a question. "Aren't you going to do something to that?!"
"...N-nah, it's okay. Let them get it out of their system...it isn't like I don't deserved it anyway," Mrs. Crawford noted before being consumed by her shadow material in order to disposed of the syrup. However, instead of going back to her human form like she usually does, she just shifted completely into her Shadoe Fae's form. She was too disheartened to care about her own dislike for the form and just decided to go with the flow. Beside, she figured the students need to be comfortable with her in that form anyhow.
Sarah didn't appeared to like the response that Mrs. Crawford gave to her, feeling that she was letting them walked all over her, but she just kept quiet and walked with her to her class.
