Partners

Ellanor did her best to pay attention to all her classes, like she always did, yet most of the lessons she sat through failed to stick in her mind. The arrival of a certain transfer student had made it difficult to focus, she found herself casting all of the blame for her lack of concentration on Paul.

 Every time she attempted to write down notes, she'd become distracted by the sight of Paul doodling small drawings on the edges and spines of his notebook. Despite his seemingly lack of interest in the lessons, whenever any of the instructors posed any questions to the class, Paul would be the only student to raise his hand and offer up answers; the role of being the class' sole responder, a role usually taken on by Ellanor as she tended to be the only student willing to answer, now belonged to Paul. 

Paul's lack of interest in the lessons juxtaposed with his readiness in answering problems made him a fascinating bundle of contradictions that Ellanor couldn't help but watch. Paul's mere existence took up much of Ellanor's brainpower to get a grasp, understanding how the boy thought and behaved was a paramount matter.

All because she didn’t know what to think of Paul. What she did know was that she felt frustrated. How could someone who showed such little regard in note taking be so quick to respond with the correct answer?

After the end of first period, Mr. Achates asked for both Paul and Ellanor to stop by his office during the lunch break.

When lunch came around, the three of them sat and made themselves comfortable in a small, cramped cubicle space, designated for Mr. Achates, inside the teacher’s lounge. Ellanor fidgeted slightly as she sat opposite of Mr. Achates and next to Paul. She felt that she had been sat close to her classmate, a little too close.

Paul let out a long yawn. “Didn’t get a full night’s rest?" Mr. Achates said. "Looks like you’re still not used to this place, but then again, from what Mrs. Noichi told me, it’s your first time on academy grounds.”

Mr. Achates’ words stirred some curiosity in Ellanor. If it truly was Paul's first time ever inside of the academy, how did he become a transfer student?

Paul shook his head. “Nope. Although Brenda was very kind with fixing me up with my accommodations, my chat with Sophia last night left me with more questions and headaches rather than answers.”

Sophia? Brenda? Is he talking about... No... He couldn't possibly referring to the two most influential people of the academy. Especially not without putting an ounce of reverence for their titles and positions. And yet...

Ellanor couldn't help it, if Paul was going to continue to be disrespectful when referring to others, she would reflect the poor opinion she had of him in her mind. No longer would she think of her desk neighbor as being a boy named Paul in her mind, instead she'd think of him as just Henderson. 

Not as familiar sounding as Henderson wanted, no first name basis, while also being slightly disrespectful enough, by excluding the "mister," to reflect the bad manners the young man had displayed.

If you can’t have respect for others, I’ll just have to hold less respect for you, not that I would be rude enough to clue you in on it.

“Funny you should mention both of the Noichis,” Mr. Achates said as he stood up and bowed. Henderson blankly stared at Mr. Achates while Ellanor turned around to see who her teacher was offering his respect to. Behind her stood the two most famous people of the entire academy, the very same people Henderson had mentioned and Ellanor had been thinking of.

First was the woman in the maid outfit, someone Ellanor and the rest of the student body was very familiar with. She was a great woman, serving as the head of the cleaning committee, the head of the sewing club, the one in charge of the infirmary, the person in charge of overseeing the disciplinary committee, and she also the part-time instructor who led the physical education classes. Basking in her presence, Ellanor sat directly in front of Mrs. Brenda Noichi.

Ellanor jumped to her feet, bowing towards Mrs. Noichi with an even lower bow than that of Mr. Achates'.

Didn’t he say the Noichis? Which means…

Ellanor kept herself in her bowed position, turning her gaze slightly towards the other woman she was in the presence of.

This is the other Mrs. Noichi? As in our headmaster?

It wasn’t that Ellanor didn’t believe that the orange haired woman was the head of the academy, all her interactions with her had been just in passing, only really seeing Headmaster Noichi when she was going from her office to her manor and back. Ellanor wasn’t alone in that regard, most of the students were in the same boat as having only seen Headmaster Noichi during those precious few moments of her trips in the morning and evening.

When it came to the public appearances like speeches, when the Headmaster was meant to deliver the opening speech at the start of each term, it was often Mrs. Noichi that would deliver it in her wife's stead. She regularly claimed that her lovely wife was either too ill or busy to present it herself. Thus, the interaction witness next, between Henderson and her headmaster, sent Ellanor's mind into shock.

“Hmm? Oh. Hey Brenda, hey Sophia,” Henderson said with a dull tone.

“Show some respect,” Ellanor yelled within the confines and privacy of her mind.

Mrs. Noichi gave a slight bow of the head while Headmaster Noichi pulled out a small paper fan, a beautiful depiction of the ocean held between its wooden frames, from her sleeve to deliver a hard smack onto Henderson’s head.

“Oww.”

“Serves you right. You are to refer to me as Headmaster Noichi during regular school hours while also referring to my lovely wife, your mother, as Mrs. Noichi. Understand?”

Mother? As in the Noichis are his parents?

Henderson rubbed his head where the Headmaster had hit him. “Yes ma’am.”

“Ma’am? Why are you referring to me as ma’am? You’re making me sound old,” Headmaster Noichi spewed out angrily as Mrs. Noichi stepped between the two, attempting to stop her wife from delivering any further damage upon Henderson’s head.

During regular school hours? Does this mean Henderson can call them something else when they’re alone. I suppose parent and child are allowed to have that kind of rapport with each other. Still…

“Son, if I were you, I would apologize before you make things any worse for yourself,” Mr. Achates said with a grin. Henderson nodded.

“Apologies, Mrs. Noichi, Headmaster Noichi.”

Whether it was because of Henderson’s apology or the fact that Mrs. Noichi had wrapped Headmaster Noichi into a loving embrace, Headmaster Noichi eventually settled down, offering both Ellanor and Henderson a warm smile.

“Putting the way you address us aside, Paul, do you know why we asked both you and Ms. Evergreen to come to the teachers’ lounge?”

It looked to Ellanor as if Henderson was about to say yes, nodding slightly, before shaking his head. “No, not exactly at least.”

“What about you, Miss Evergreen?”

I don’t have a clue, I haven’t done anything personally that would be cause to call me to this room. The only thing I can think of is…

“Is this about my grades?”

“Can’t be,” Henderson said. “You have, like, the best grades in the whole school, right?”

And how do you know that?

“You’re both on the right track,” Mr. Achates said. “As Mr. Henderson said, Ms. Evergreen did have the highest test scores of all students in the entire academy last year. As for Mr. Henderson, Headmaster Noichi assures me that-”

“Based on the coursework of this academy and what I assume is his current level of knowledge, he will become one of the most proficient students we’ll have ever come across, even if his troublesome personality leaves much to be desired.”

“Oh, I’m happy you think so highly of me Noichi,” Henderson said. “I’m not sure how I’ll stack up against this fancy school but I promise to give it my best.”

“Selective hearing, like I didn’t even say the second part of my analysis of you,” Headmaster Noichi said with a sigh. “Also, it's Headmaster Nochi. Got it? Headmaster.”

“As such,” Mr. Achates continued, “Headmaster Noichi and I have decided it would be best for the two of you to team up. Having a fellow student that's on par and supporting you will ensure that you both manage to secure positions as being top students.”

“In other words, you want us to team up? Make sure that we keep our status as honor students?” Ellanor asked with a nervous twitch in her smile. The sudden explosion of grins on the faces of the adults in the room did little to comfort Ellanor’s nerves.

Headmaster Noichi clapped her hands together. “Exactly, in hopes of helping you keep your position as a scholarship student and getting Paul to earn his spot here at the academy, I want the two of you to be year long study partners.”