"I asked if you're that mysterious student everyone has been talking about," Allen repeated himself.
Allen was in the middle of the hallway, with a girl he had never met before. He had accidentally bumped into her, and moments later realized she may be the mysterious girl that Thomas was talking about earlier.
The girl just stared at him like Allen was the weird one here. She made no attempt to answer his question, and went back to organizing her papers and standing back up.
"Uh, did you hear me?," Allen asked her in his confusion, not even sure what to ask her.
"Perhaps," she quickly answered him as she finished reorganizing the papers in her hand exactly how she wanted them.
"Could you tell me who you are at least?," he asked her.
She was about to walk away, but looked back at Allen after he had asked her the question.
"You first," she told him with a very blank look on her face.
"Uh, um okay…," Allen said, totally caught off guard.
Just who was this girl?, Allen thought. Everything about her throws me off left and right. Is she even a student here?
"My name is Allen. Allen Fleming," he introduced himself.
"Hmmmmmm….," she tilted her head to her left again and blankly stared at him for what seemed like minutes.
"What? Is there something wrong?," Allen asked, confused once again.
"Pollen," she said with the most blank look on her face.
"Excuse me?"
"Your name. Pollen," she repeated herself, not changing the look on her face.
"Nonono," Allen immediately said. "My name is Allen. Allen Fleming. Not Pollen. It's Allen"
"Yes," she immediately answered him. "Pollen"
Allen could only stand there, lost in his confusion. Just who was this girl and why did she keep calling him "Pollen"? He was sure she was being serious, considering the look on her face. But how could she mistake the name "Allen" for a name such as "Pollen"? Was Pollen an actual name to this girl?
The girl seemed to giggle, but for only about half a second.
"Bye," she told him as she began to swiftly walk away.
"Wait!," he tried to call out to her to get her attention. "You didn't even tell me who you were!"
But by the time he had finished talking, she was already out of sight.
Just who exactly was that?, Allen thought to himself. Was that really the Mysterious Girl that Thomas was talking about? Either way, if the words confusion and weird had a child, it would've been that girl.
After a few minutes of regaining his composure from the weird incident that just happened, he finally decided to go back to his dorm room before he got caught walking the halls in the academy past curfew.
After thinking to himself about the "Pollen" incident for what seemed like an hour, he finally fell asleep.
After a refreshing sleep, Allen got up and got ready to go to class once again. While putting on his uniform, he noticed that his injuries were completely gone. He really did heal rather quickly. Once he was all ready to go, he finally headed to class.
As he headed to class, he started to notice more and more people were starting to stare at him as he walked the halls of the academy. With his duel with Nathaniel and Stephen being public, he seemed to be a bit of the talk of the academy recently. He hoped that this would die down soon, as he didn't know how long he could endure the strange stares from everyone.
Once he arrived at class, he found Ms. Florence once again at her desk reading her book as always. Thomas and Cecily were already there, surprisingly, as Thomas usually makes them run late. Allen went ahead and took his seat with them, getting his stuff out.
"So, something happened yesterday after our talk," Allen announced after they had all greeted each other.
"Yeah?"
"What happened?"
"So as I was heading back to my dorm room, I had accidentally bumped into this girl on my way back," Allen started to explain.
"Wait, you don't mean…," Thomas looked surprised.
"She was a student, a water mage. There was no one else around but us two," Allen continued to explain. "I think she was the girl you were talking about yesterday Thomas"
"Wait, are you serious?," Thomas excitedly asked.
"Excuse me, what?," Cecily looked up from her study book.
"Yes I'm serious," Allen responded. "The more I spoke with her, the more she seemed like the girl you were talking about"
"Wait, you talked to her?," Thomas curiously looked at him.
"There's no way. What Thomas said yesterday was just a joke," Cecily sighed.
"Yes, although if you count that as a conversation anyway. She spoke rather… weirdly," Allen explained.
"How so? What did she say?," Thomas eagerly awaited.
"You both are so stupid," Cecily sighed as she went back to reading.
"Oh c'mon Lily! Don't tell me you're not interested!"
"I'm not interested nor do I believe your story was real. Allen probably just ran into some girl that just happened to match your weird joke from yesterday," Cecily responded as she kept reading her book.
"Lily!," Thomas pleaded.
"You're not going to get through to her," Allen laughed.
"Don't make me knock another book on your head," Cecily remarked.
"Yes Cecily," Thomas quickly responded, getting back to his own book to study.
After Thomas got back to his book (although he always distracted by something), they began to study together like they did each day.
"Alright everyone, class time is over," Ms. Florence announced, not even looking up from her own book. "Time for you lot to get out of my room"
"Wait really? Class time is already over?," Thomas stood up from his seat, throwing his book back on his desk.
"You sound so enthusiastic not to study," Cecily sighed.
"I- uh, no of course I love to study Lily!," Thomas tried his best to convince her.
"Hmm, okay," she responded as she was putting her stuff together.
"Guess it's time for some training then?," Allen asked.
"Sure"
"Yeah! I'm always up for some training!"
"Get a move on. Out of my classroom," Ms. Florence announced, standing in the front of the room.
"Wait, does Ms. Florence have something going on?," Thomas asked as he quickly got his stuff together.
"I said out. Now," she raised her voice.
"Aww, fine".
"Let's go, Tom," Cecily started to drag him out of the room.
"But Lily!"
Allen laughed as Cecily continued to drag Thomas out of the room.
As he was putting his own stuff together, the only two other students who attended the F ranked class alongside the three of them also made their way to leave the room. Allen had yet to know much about them aside from the fact that the earth mage was a 2nd year and a water mage was a 1st year.
The water mage never talked, only read his own study book and looked out the window lazily. He did occasionally fall asleep during class, and did a slight snore when he did so.
The earth mage never talked either, but always wore a hood over her head. Allen had no idea what she looked like, as she never took her hood off. The only reason he knew she was a girl was because of her figure. She sometimes didn't attend class, but Ms. Florence never said anything to her about this matter, as far as Allen was aware. Then again, it wasn't really a class since Ms. Florence didn't teach much anyways. She was at one point teaching more often, but she ended up going back to her regular routine every now and then.
As he was about to leave and meet up with Cecily and Thomas outside the room, he noticed the girl had looked back at him, but only for a moment. It seemed really weird, cause she seemed to be not quite staring, but not quite glaring either. Before Allen could try saying anything to her, she had already walked out of the room, not to be seen again until the next class.
Allen finally put his stuff together, he hurriedly left the classroom so he could catch up with Thomas and Cecily.
"-doing here?"
Allen walked out of the classroom to find Cecily and Thomas talking to someone.
"He's being a Steph, like usual"
"Why do you keep insisting that's my nickname?"
Allen finally saw them talking to no other than Stephen, who seemed to be waiting outside the classroom.
"Steph, what are you doing here?," Allen asked.
"Not you too!," Stephen exclaimed.
"That's what we're wondering," Thomas added.
"Can't I just explain for once without being called 'Steph'?," he pleaded.
"Perhaps. Go ahead and explain, Steph," Thomas grinned.
"Are you guys ever going to let go of that stupid nickname?"
"Never," the three of them said all at the same time.
"Ugh fine, I give up. Least let me explain myself?"
"Sure, go ahead. I'm wondering why you are out here waiting for us," Allen responded.
"Thank you," Stephen sighed a breath of relief. "My fath- I mean the Head Director wishes to speak to all of you, including myself. He is waiting in his room for us, alongside Rose.
"What does he want us for?," Allen asked.
"That… I'm not completely sure about. It seems Rose knows about it somewhat, but other than that, that's all I know"
"Well then, we'll follow your lead. Let's head to William's office," Allen responded.
"Alright, I'll lead the way," Stephen said as the three of them started to follow him.
They began to walk the halls of the academy, all filled with students who just finished up their classes. Not many paid attention to them, because they were all wrapped up in their own conversations. However, the ones that did notice them gave them weird glances.
"So, what do you think the Head Director wants with us? Any ideas Lily?," Thomas whispered.
"No clue. Let's just follow them and find out when we get there Tom," Cecily responded blankly.
"Ugh fine. So much for the excitement," Thomas murmured.
"So, how did the discussion with your father go?," Allen asked Stephen while walking next to him.
"Oh yeah, I told you I would tell you later," Stephen recalled. "It went surprisingly well"
"Care to elaborate?"
"Well, we both told each other everything we wanted to say. I told him how I felt about him and my mother, and he expressed his feelings on my mother and me as well"
"And?"
"We made up. I'll admit, I can get annoyed at him at times, but he's still my father. He's the closest family I have, aside from my uncle, aunt and my cousins"
"Well, that's good to hear," Allen smiled.
"Thank you. I owe it to you for my current relationship with my father," Stephen smiled back.
"Oh, don't worry about it. What matters is you made up with him, and all is well"
"Either way, thank you"
Not long after their discussion, they finally arrived at William's office.
"Come in," William's voice came from within.
"Of course he'd know we're already here," Stephen sighed.
"Typical William," Allen sighed.
"This is usual?," Thomas asked.
"Yep," Allen and Stephen said at the same time.
"We're waiting on you guys. Come in already," Rose's voice came from within, sounding slightly annoyed.
"Alright, coming in," Stephen responded as he opened the creaky door to William's office.
As they all shuffled in, they saw William sitting at his desk per usual, with Rose standing next to his desk to the left. Surprisingly, there was no paperwork on William's desk, unless it was hidden elsewhere. There were several seats in front of his desk, ready for everyone to use.
"Took you three long enough, hmph," Rose crossed her arms with an annoyed look on her face.
"Three? But there's four of us," Stephen exclaimed.
"Lily is fine. You three should've been quicker"
"Umm, we all arrived at the same time. Why are you annoyed with only three of us?," Allen exclaimed.
"Because I don't blame Lily. She would've been here already if you boys didn't slow her down," Rose sighed.
"Why are you blaming us for?," The three of them exclaimed.
"Alright enough. Why don't you all take your seats, including you Rose," William motioned to the empty seats in front of his desk.
"Ugh fine," Rose sighed as she took her seat.
The rest of them took their seats, with Rose at the far left, followed by Allen, Stephen, Thomas then Cecily at the very end.
"Care to explain why you have us all here?," Rose finally spoke up.
"That's a good question indeed," William grinned as he leaned forward in his seat.
"William, enough with the aesthetics. Just tell us why you wanted all of us here, including Thomas and Cecily," Allen spoke up.
"Allen why do you have to be no fun?," William exclaimed. "Oh well, fine I'll explain myself"
"Hmph, much appreciated," Rose crossed her arms again.
"Well from what I can tell, you five are starting to become all close, aren't you? Forming a friend group, huh?," William smirked.
"I guess you could call it that"
"Yeah! Everyone's becoming friends!"
"Sure, if that's what everyone wants"
"Hmph, I suppose so"
"Why not? I like everyone here"
"Well, that answers my question then," William smiled. "So then, Allen. Do you remember what I told you several weeks ago about clubs?"
"You mean how F ranks are now allowed to join clubs?," Allen asked.
"Precisely. That means you, Thomas and Cecily are all able to join or create a club," William grinned.
"Uh William, if this is going how I think it's going-"
"Now from my understanding, all five of you were looking to all train together, is that correct?"
"Yeah, that was the plan"
"Yes! I love training!"
"Training will help us get better"
"Sure, I'd rather train with everyone here than my classmates anyways"
"Wait hold on-"
"Great, that's what I was expecting from all of you," William said, while grabbing out some paperwork from inside his desk.
So that's where he hides it, Allen thought to himself.
"Hmm, everything is checking out here," William murmured as he looked over the papers on his desk. This may be the first time he's ever gone through paperwork without hating it.
"Hold on William, I haven't even-"
"Now hold on Rose, I know what you are about to say," William stopped her. "But allow me to explain myself first, before you make any quick decisions"
"Ugh, fine," Rose slumped back into her chair.
"Ah, that reminds me. Before I explain further, I need to introduce all of you to someone," William set his paperwork down.
"Who exactly?," Allen asked.
"You may come in," He announced.
"Yes," a quiet voice came from outside the room, but loud enough for them to barely hear it. It sounded like a girl, but Allen wasn't completely sure since it wasn't that loud.
"Wait," Thomas started to say. "Who is that-"
Before Thomas could finish, the door creaked open and the person in question slowly walked in. It was only a few moments before Allen instantly recognized her - she was the girl from yesterday. The mysterious girl.
"Wait, you're-"
"You can come in," William smiled.
"Yes," she muttered as she slowly closed the creaky door behind her.
She looked around the room at everyone, looking at everyone individually. Her facial expression changed just slightly depending on who she was looking at. She stared at Allen for a brief moment and then, she made her way over to William's desk, standing next to William.
"Well? Are you going to introduce yourself?," William asked.
"Introduce?," she asked while leaning her head to the left, confused.
"Yes, introduce yourself to everyone here," William smiled.
"Ah. Okay, sure," she turned back around to face the rest of them.
Everyone just stared at her, completely speechless and confused. She stuck out like a sore thumb, but yet she had this thing about her where it seemed she'd be able to easily blend in with crowds.
"Introduce…," she said as she seemed to stare into space, unsure of what to do.
"Yes, introduce yourself. Tell everyone here who you are," William chuckled a little.
"Uh, oh," she said, but it didn't seem like she caught what William told her.
"Uh, if she's not going to introduce herself William, why don't you do it?," Rose asked.
"Hold on, give her a second," William chuckled.
"Are you sure she's a student here?," Thomas asked, confused at everything about her.
"Well," Allen started to say. "Isn't she-"
"Pollen," She said with a blank expression, staring Allen down.
"Not again," Allen sighed.
"Pollen?," Rose asked, giggling.
"A new nickname for Allen?," Stephen laughed.
"Wait, isn't she the girl you were talking about in class today Allen?," Thomas asked.
"Yes, she's who I saw yesterday," Allen responded.
"Seems like you've already met her then," William chuckled again.
"I wouldn't say met, more like bumped into her and then she ran off," Allen sighed.
"Pollen," she repeated herself, still staring at him.
"Alright, alright. I'll go ahead and just introduce her myself," William sighed.
"Yeah, good idea. I already knew that her doing it was a lost cause," Rose shrugged.
"Wait, you know her already?," Stephen asked.
"Well, she is involved with the Student Council…"
"This is just getting weirder and weirder," Thomas looked down in defeat.
"Looks like your story is actually adding up for once, Tom," Cecily giggled.
"What do you mean, Lily?"
"Pollen"
"I told you, my name is Allen!"
"Alright, alright quiet down. Let me introduce her to you all," William raised his voice.
Everyone fell silent as they waited for William to continue.
"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Alice Rivertide. Although, some of you know her already. She has been helping me run a few errands here and there during my work as a director," William explained.
"Nice to meet you all," she gave a respectful bow.
"Well, that was the first time she's completed a sentence," Allen noted.
"Alice, you know you don't have to be shy around these dorks. If your sister and I are with them, you can trust them," Rose smiled at her.
"Wait, her sister?," Thomas raised his voice, really confused.
"You didn't know?," Rose gave him a really confused look, like he was the first person she'd expect to know.
"Cecily, nice to see you again," Alice gave a small smile to her.
"Nice to see you again sister," Cecily gave her a warm smile.
"Wait, hold the front door!," Thomas loudly exclaimed. "Alice is Cecily's older sister?!"
Volume 3 End