Chapter 8:

Raised Suspicion

The Creator


Monday.

Monday for someone such as JDG is monotonous and rather trivial. JDG was unable to skip any classes throughout the day and has managed to survive the boring lectures and tedious assignments that do nothing but keep him in discipline.

Walking down the hallways, JDG intends to go to the library to speak with Merlyce, however the headmaster himself catches JDG. The tall man grabs JDG by the shoulder and turns him around to reveal an annoyed expression on the headmaster's face.

"Where do you think you are going?" The headmaster stands above JDG, still holding onto his shoulder.

"I'm going to the library, I have some studying to do." JDG answered with a grin.

"Oh really? How studious of you, too bad you are supposed to start janitorial duties today." The headmaster grips JDG's shoulder a little tighter.

JDG then loses his grin and remembers that has a punishment from his small engagement with MLA last week. "Oh, right." JDG speaks softly.

The headmaster guides JDG to the janitor's shed just outside the main building of the school. Upon opening the small brick structure, the dust blasts out toward the two and after they cough, JDG leans to look inside to see all the tools for cleaning.

There is a broom with a dustpan, a mop with a bucket, and different sponges and glass bottles of soap and chemicals on shelves. It's a dirty place. While JDG looks, he notices something in the left corner of his eye. He witnesses a large brown spider dangling from the ceiling. The spider seems to stay absolutely still as the two males intrude the janitor's closet.

"Doesn't the academy janitor use this closet?" JDG asked the headmaster.

The headmaster swipes dust from his face, "No, he brings his own truck of cleaning supplies. Thus, this place doesn't get touched unless someone is sentenced to it."

JDG glares at the headmaster and then looks back at the closet, "What do you want me to clean?" JDG droops his eyes.

"I already called the janitor about a student working with him, once he gets here I'm going to leave him to you." The headmaster says while taking a few steps back from the dirty closet.

"Oh great, of course you want to escape to your safe little clean study." JDG stares at the headmaster.

"Listen to me boy," the headmaster raises a fist, "you understand nothing, and you need to wipe that disgusting attitude or else I will make you clean the entire campus everyday for the next three years." JDG stands there unmoved.

At that moment the school janitor arrives. He is a middle aged man, one who still sports black hair but one can notice the many grey hairs that stand around within his patch. He's not very tall, not as tall as the headmaster at least, however he is taller than JDG and he walks with a purpose.

"Marley, I leave him to you. Have him clean around for the next hour or so." The headmaster waved his hand at the janitor before making his way back inside the doors of the main building. 

The headmaster leaves behind JDG and the janitor without much of a second thought into his mind. However, as he walked through the sparsely populated halls what late afternoon, he began to question JDG as a person.

'Who is that kid?' The headmaster asked himself as he continued forward toward the grand staircase to his study.

Throughout the history of headmaster Alan Litchfield's career at Devonshire Creative Academy, he has never come across a student with such a strange attitude before. MLA shared the fight with JDG that previous week, however, MLA spoke with greater respect to the headmaster when he eventually questioned him.

'He has no right to speak to me so informally and with so much resentment,' the headmaster thinks as he begins to ascend the grand staircase, 'He is not even allowed to use his given name. He is only JDG, he is only allowed to use his initials, nobody wants to stay that way forever.' The headmaster takes a quick pause, 'Yet, he still acts like the way of this world means nothing to him.' 

The headmaster continues his ascent up the grand staircase. Holding with his right hand on the right railing, he guides his feet with each passing step using his two eyes looking down. However, he cannot shake his thoughts out of his mind. JDG has had a history of disciplinary trouble; he is known to skip class, his fight with MLA wasn't the first time that JDG has tried to engage violently with another student, and JDG refuses to speak with complete respect to most adults and faculty within the campus.

'That damned kid, I can ruin him, I should ruin him.' The headmaster thinks to himself as he turns the knob of the large double door that guards the lobby before his study. Upon entering that double door, the headmaster is greeted by his assistant.

"Good afternoon Dr. Litchfield, did everything go alright with setting up that student's janitorial duties?" His assistant stands up to greet him.

His assistant is a woman by the name of Rosemary, she is young, significantly younger than someone like the headmaster who is now in his late fifties. Still, she cannot be much younger than her late twenties judging by the prestigious career of assisting the headmaster of one of the top academies in the world. 

Rosemary sports deep black hair complimented with rather bright fair skin. She dresses rather differently than the uniforms of the students and other faculty since her position usually means staying within the confines of the headmaster's study. Being one of the small-minority of women who are allowed to work on such a glorious campus, there are little ideas on how to set up a dress code for the women employed. The only women who have proper uniforms are the professors.

"He was rather bothered by the encounter I had with him." The headmaster looks at Rosemary and straightens his overcoat, "If that adolescent brings me more grief then I'm going to speak to the Council of Devonshire directly about him."

Rosemary then perks her head at the headmaster, "He comes from Harwich doesn't he? Shouldn't we speak to the Council of Essex in order to remove his privileges?"

The headmaster sighs, "Damn those students from different counties," the headmaster muttered, "they always make these processes difficult." The headmaster looks into Rosemary's eyes, "I will speak to the Council of Devonshire for guidance and then once I've decided to revoke his privileges, I will travel to Essex to speak to them." The headmaster then walks past Rosemary and toward the door that opens his study.

"Dr. Litchfield," Rosemary raises her hand to stop the man from entering his study, the man then stops and turns to look at the woman, "This question may seem silly," the headmaster perks his head at the sound of those words, "what bothers you the most about a disrespectful student?"

A strange question arises into the air, the headmaster leans his head upward and places his hands on his hip. He spends time trying to dig deeper into the way that he is but his authority wouldn't allow him to do so.

"I have superiority over everyone on this campus." The headmaster stated, "These students don't even have the right to their own name yet, thus they must respect me in order to graduate and earn that right."

Rosemary then considers the words that the headmaster speaks. His argument is filled with much flaw, however for the context of their situation, both parties understand it. The headmaster then leaps in his shoes as he points his hand up.

"Yes, that reminds me," the headmaster looks at the ceiling, "could you send for Masami, she's the Eastern one who transferred here, some kind of Asian." The headmaster looks at Rosemary.

Transfer students from all over the world are not too uncommon, although they make quite a small minority within the school since such a process of transfer is difficult politically. Thus, only the best of the best from other areas of the world are allowed to come to such a school as Devonshire. 

Rosemary nods at the headmaster's request and he then makes his way into his study. The headmaster places his coat on the rack just left of the door to his study, and he then makes his way toward his desk. Reaching his desk, the headmaster swiftly takes a seat in the comfort of his expensive leather chair.

Masami, a Semi-Creator who is also a girl, an extremely rare sight in this world. Despite clear rules in the magical doctrine that states that no woman should be allowed to use magic, Masami and a select group of other girls have made an exception for one reason or another. Either the councilmen of their province or country has been bribed by powerful parents, or, in the case of Masami herself, she was able to unlock the abilities of Creator Magic on her own, and thus she was made an exception as long as she vowed to never apply for a position in government. 

The headmaster sits patiently in his grand chair as he once again thinks to himself about JDG.

'That boy, that boy has something wrong with him. I want to find out what it is, or if anything, I want to put some dirt on that boy to get rid of him forever.' The headmaster sits with his hands on the cheeks of his face and his feet lifted upward in a more relaxed position than he would ever present to somebody in person.

After about ten to fifteen minutes of though, the headmaster is interrupted by the knocking and opening of the door to his study. Rosemary peeks in, "Masami is here to see you now."

The headmaster quickly sits straight in his chair, "Thank you Rose," he waves to Rosemary, "I will see her now." The headmaster relaxes slightly in his chair.

Rosemary holds the door for Masami to walk in. The young girl then makes her way into the study, and after she has made it fully inside, Rosemary closes the door behind her. Masami's uniform for the school was a last minute decision, since she is one of three other girls to attend in the history of the entire academy's existence. Thus, she wears a boy's top and they only added a skirt to make the look match femininity that the academy was far from used to.

"Masami, I need to speak to you about something." Masami walks toward the headmaster's desk and stands right before it. She then boys to him and he stands up from his chair. The headmaster then points to the left seat in front of him, "Please have a seat." He insisted.

Masami soon sits down gently on the same chair that the headmaster pointed to, and then the headmaster follows her movement by sitting in his comfortable large leather chair, "What is it that you need, headmaster." Masami speaks. Her voice is much too gentle for the harsh tones that most of the boys on campus speak with. She speaks as if she were the soft meadow surrounded by the course forests.

"I have a rather unconventional task for you," the headmaster leans in to speak to her and she makes clear eye contact with him, "there is this student who has been causing me trouble for the past two years." The headmaster speaks softer, "Now, I know you are a very valuable student at this school and you have mastered everything above and beyond for the year that you've attended here." The headmaster then looks to the side, "However, I want you to watch a student closely."

Masami then leans her head forward, "Espionage?" She questioned with a near gasp.

"I know it's rather extreme, however, I want to preserve the prestige of this academy, and thus I need to make sure that this one troublesome student is in line without having him realize what I'm doing." The headmaster then sighs, "I could send a faculty member to watch him, however, he is known to disrespect and ignore any person of authority within this school, thus such a thing wouldn't be subtle and we wouldn't be able to get much out of him."

"I accept this task." Masami quickly stated.

The headmaster then moves his head back, "You do?" He leans his head to the side as he once more looks Masami in the eyes, "I simply want you to watch what he does and report back to me anything suspicious you might see. If we can't determine anything from that," the headmaster pauses and moves his eyes away, "would it be too much to ask to become his acquaintance?"

"It would not be too much." Masami responded.

"Then I can trust you with this task. Let's begin right now, he is sweeping the hallways of the right side of the main building right now. Please go to him and watch what he does after he is relieved of his janitorial duties." The headmaster then stands up from his seat and Masami does the same.

Masami bows to the headmaster and then is escorted by the headmaster to the door. The headmaster opens the door for her and she walks out and walks into the lobby of the headmaster's study where she is escorted out by Rosemary.

Masami then begins her mission to the right side of the main building.

-june-
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