Chapter 424: School Arrangements?
Luna didn’t even have time to process Ms. Cersei’s words because she had to stop Anna from taking off her rings.
"Babe, wait!"
"Mmf! Mmmphrm mmph!"
Ms. Cersei didn’t understand what Anna was saying with Luna’s hand over her mouth, but she could tell it wasn’t elementary school-friendly.
"P-Please, don’t be upset! I’m not telling you this because your daughters have been causing problems-"
Anna finally ripped Luna’s hand away from her mouth. "Damn right they haven’t! They’re angels!"
Luna tapped her foot on the ground twice.
A shadowy hole opened up in the ground beside them, and she wasted no time pushing Anna through.
"Babaeeee!!"
"See you at home." Luna waived.
Once the portal closed, she straightened her hair and tried to take the conversation from the beginning once again.
"Sorry, what were you saying?"
After everything, Cersei was scared to speak again. The likelihood that she might wet herself was becoming scarily high.
"U-Umm, just that... I-I don’t think that this is really the right environment for the girls...? Put simply, they’re a little bit too smart for their age... h-here, I brought something."
Cersei went rummaging through her purse for a small red booklet and handed it to Luna.
"This is..?"
"M-My sudoku. I usually like to do it while the kids are on the playground or having nap time."
Luna flipped through the pages and saw that they were all filled in. "Looks like you’ve had some pretty long breaks."
"That’s the thing, that is new. I only bought it Sunday night, and yesterday the girls were having trouble falling asleep at nap time, so I said they could watch me do my sudoku... they finished the entire book before anyone else woke up."
If Luna had to put her current feelings into words, she would say that she felt prideful and a little surprised.
Everyone at home already knew how smart the girls were. However, they sort of dismissed their antics as something normal because the girls’ births were so unconventional.
But now that the girls were beginning to step out from under the shelter of their parents, people were naturally going to notice just how exceptional they were.
"...What do you recommend?"
Ms. Cersei rubbed the back of her head nervously.
"I suppose maybe a gifted program or possibly even skipping a few grades. Also.."
Luna raised her brow.
"It... might help to investigate the possibility of alternative schooling? Y’know, for children with super-abled differences?"
-
"So that’s really all she said?"
"Yes, Annalise, that’s all." Luna grumbled with unveiled frustration.
Anna suddenly felt guilty about nearly giving the girls’ teacher a five-knuckle shuffle.
"That’s my bad... I guess I got too carried away about the girls and I just didn’t think."
Luna’s expression lost some of it’s intensity. "Yes, and you owe that woman a muffin basket and an apology."
"Why a muffin baske-"
Anna received hard glares from everyone in the room.
"...Everyone loves chocolate chip and banana nut, right?"
Anna returned to getting dressed while giving herself a mental note to go and research muffin recipes when they got back.
Sei had just finished pulling her shirt over her head and now worked on tying her hair back into a tight bun.
"But there isn’t even a school specifically for children with abilities... Do we just let the kids stay where they are?"
Bianca shook her head. "We can’t do that. Studies show that children who aren’t sufficiently challenged in school have a higher chance of acting out."
Anna didn’t even say anything this time, but everyone turned to stare at her and Joanne.
""...What?!""
"""""Nothing..."""""
Anna huffed and went back to getting dressed. "I don’t see what the big deal is... If things aren’t working out, then we’ll just make the girls a school. And we’ll make one for every other super-abled child."
Silence had never pervaded a room quite so quickly as it did when Anna announced her plan.
She turned around once again and found her family staring at her with open mouths and unveiled shock.
"...I know my pants are off, guys, but you don’t have to stare so hard." She joked.
Even Malachi wasn’t swayed by her joke, and his expression continued to be one of immense shock.
"Anna... are you possessed by something?" Bianca asked worriedly.
"What?!"
"It’s Malachi’s fault, isn’t it?" Nadine shrieked. "He’s attracting demons because he is one!"
"I ain’t do anything..! ...Right?"
Anna pursed her lips. "Look, I’ve actually been thinking about this for a long time now. I think the girls need an environment that’s better suited to them. And the world doesn’t have anything like that so we should be the ones to do it for our children because we have the means."
"Honey, that’s admirable, but we don’t have the money for something like that." Celeste reminded.
"Or the certifications..." Joanne added. "You want the girls to go to an accredited school, don’t you?"
Anna scoffed as she buckled her pants. "Then it’s a good thing we know some good government people who can help us with those things."
Joanne was zipping up her vest, but paused when she got halfway up her midsection.
"...It’s bad enough I have to report to that woman five days out of the week. Now you want me to go on my knees begging her for help starting a school, too?"
Anna’s tone became much softer. "Mom, I know it’s not easy, but-"
"It’s not about it being not easy, Anna. It’s impossible. Fuck her, and fuck everything that has something to do with her."
"Ma, I-"
"She can suck my dick."
"I know it’s not easy, but-"
"That bitch let me in a hole to rot and die-"
"It’s for the kids, ma!" Anna yelled.
Joanne clenched her fists until her knuckles turned as white as her wings.
Setting her boots aside, Anna crossed the room and placed her hands on her mother’s shoulder.
"I’m not saying I’m not still mad. I got left in that hellhole too, you know? But if we can use Awena feeling indebted to you to make things better for the girls and other kids like them, then shouldn’t we go for it...?"
Anna couldn’t see her mother’s face for the longest time.
She thought for just a moment that maybe she was getting through to her. Joanne was a famously soft woman when it came to Shiro and Camille after all.
But for some reason, this time things were different.
Joanne knocked her daughter’s hand away.
She turned around, and her face was bright red and her eyes on the verge of tears.
Joanne fled the room so quickly that no one even saw her move. For a moment, Anna was actually staring at an afterimage.
Malachi tried to chase after her, but Joanne was moving incredibly fast. Far faster than she ever had before.
He didn’t even catch sight of her before she vibrated her molecules quickly enough to pass through the walls of their ship.
With her out in the open, flying through the air, Malachi couldn’t appear beside her through her shadow.
It was then that he realized Joanne didn’t want him to follow her.
And nothing could have worried him more than that.