Connection

The next school day, the girls sat around at their usual spot in the school’s cafeteria. Mona was acting all high and mighty since she was able to “defeat” the one and only Mrs. X in a battle of words. But even though she was feeling great after finally being able to engage with this mysterious person that had been bothering them and the school, something still felt missing. Would this be the end of this grand adventure Mona and her friends have been on for the past months, or is there one final resolution to it all? Difficult to tell, since real life doesn’t always end on a high note like fictional stories tend to do. Sometimes, the moment’s just fade away without you even noticing. And only way later, in retrospect, you’ll be able to tell when this shift occurred. Lucikly for Mona this wouldn’t be the end of her adventure just jet. As the daydreaming came back to earth, she saw the rare sight of the headmaster walking into the school’s cafeteria. To Mona’s surprise, he seemed to be walking right toward our girls.

“Dear pupils, I just got contacted by a former student that really wants to meet up with you.”

The girls looked really worried.

“There is no need to worry, you are not in trouble with the school. She sounded really eager to talk to you about something important. Please come to my office after your lessons are done.”

As the headmaster was about the leave, he was suddenly reminded of something.

“So I do not forget, I have to give you regards from your grandmother, Timothy, for bringing her the flower bouquet the other day. She did not stop talking about it for days… haha. Oh well, I have to go”

Ti started looking really embarrassed as she gave her response to the headmaster.

“I have to go.. do something important”

Ti suddenly left the cafeteria.

“It looks like you got to meet Mrs. X one more time Mona.” Said Nia.

“I am looking forward to that and all… but what just happened with Ti.. I am a bit confused”

“Yeah she acted totally strange, is the headmaster related to Ti or something?”

“Also, did he just call her Timothy, isn’t that like a boy's name?”

“Wait Nia…”

Mona suddenly connected the dots and figured out what Ti was too afraid to tell them about all this time.

“This all makes sense now”

Mona also stormed off to go search for Ti.

Ti’s Room

“Knock, knock… knock, knock”

Mona was knocking on the door she thought to be Ti’s.

“I guess I’ll just enter”

As Mona opened the door, she got her first glimpse of Ti’s room. The first thing Mona noticed was a rack full of expensive idol-like dresses she had never seen Ti wear. There were a lot of dolls, stuffed animals, and a lot of decorations you would expect a little girl to own. On the wall hang a poster of some idol group Ti liked. The room was the same size as hers but one bed was unoccupied and was used by Ti to store some extra stuff. On the other bed were pink bedsheets and there appeared to lay a person under them.

“Is that you Ti-chan?”

After a brief silence, Ti turned around, her eyes look like she had been crying.

“How did you find my room, Mona?”

Mona scratched her head and let out an uncomfortable giggle.

“Well.. you know I am known as a bit of a stalker don’t you.”

“So I guess you all figured out my true identity? I told you I wasn’t supposed to be here”

“Why wouldn’t you be? If those robots could be maids, why couldn’t a boy be?”

“You were the one that told me being a maid is all about the heart.”

This was able to cheer up Ti at least for a bit.

“Ohh Mona-chan, doesn’t this make you uncomfortable?”

“Well not really, as a manga enjoyer, I am already really familiar with the concept of boy-maids. They are usually one of my most favorite characters”

“But real life isn’t a manga Mona…”

“I wouldn’t mind if it was…”

This made Ti chuckle

“Alright Mona, thank you for coming here you made me feel a lot better. Our next class will start soon”

As Ti stood up from her bed, Mona gave her a big hug.

Before they left the room, Ti had Mona make a promise.

“Mona, will you please keep this a secret from the rest of the school?”

“Alright, I’ll just keep calling you a girl okay?”

After this, Mona and Ti left the room and went to the next class together.

The principal's office

After classes, Mona, Ti, Serena, Nia, and even Rose were waiting outside the principal's office. After about 10 minutes, the principal walked outside. To the girl’s surprise, Ei left out of the room right after him.

“Hello students, thank you for coming here. This is doctor Magoshi, but I guess she needs no introduction”

The headmaster laughed slow and heavy.

“Well, I do not have enough chairs in my office to seat every one of you so please follow me to the meeting room”

Once they were all seated, awkward silence followed.

“Okay, can I give the word to you, Miss Magoshi”

She looked pretty nervous, in stark contrast to how she acted at the convention.

“Where do I begin.. well I guess I have to apologize for my unprofessional behavior towards you and the school”

Ei looked at Rose.

“I and my niece got carried away with doing all of these pranks, well I guess they weren’t that funny”

“Pff, as you know I went here to school and I really had a hard time. In retrospect, it probably just wasn’t my place. As this was the only place my niece could get in, we thought we might as well have some fun”

Now she casts her gaze in Mona’s direction.

“I wouldn’t have thought anyone would ever figure us out, but I guess I underestimated the new generation here. Check.. mate..”

“Hahaha miss Magoshi, you are as funny as I remember from back in the day. After our talk before, we have come to an agreement. We decided that the school won’t be pressing charges against us. As compensation for the damage she did, the older Magoshi will be funding the school festival, and the younger will help with the preparations. Actually, as we only have a week left, I hope everyone here will lay down their differences and help to make the festival the best in years.”

“Do you have any questions pupils?”

“Well, even though Mrs X… eh Magoshi’s apology seems a bit forced, seeing her panicking on stage was quite the experience. So I guess we would be good. Although it would be fun to hang around with one of these maidtrons one day.”

“They are no toys…”

As the other girls left the room, Mona stayed behind, she had a question for the principal.

“Mister Principal, can I ask you a question?”

“So, is Ti-cha.. eh Timothy family of yours?”

“He is my grandson. Didn’t you know that? I thought Timothy would have told you about that”

The headmaster suddenly realized he made Ti really uncomfortable earlier that day.

“I will go to this room to apologize to him”

But Mona stopped the headmaster from leaving just yet since she had one more question.

“So how did Ti get allowed on this school? Isn’t this an all-girl’s school?”

“Ever since Ti was just a little kid, I brought him here every year to experience the school festival. He kept asking me if he could go here to school if he got older. At first, I thought he would grow out of it, but last year I knew I couldn’t laugh it off again. In the end, his grandma had me convinced him to let him join this school. Maybe we should be letting in more boys like him next year, maybe we could then fill the empty seats hahaha”

“This new generation is something, isn’t it?”

When Mona went to say goodbye, the headmaster lay his hand on her shoulder.

“I am glad you are here for him Mona, he always talks about you and the crazy adventures you have together. He doesn’t have an easy time in life, so please keep looking after him okay?”

Mona shook the headmaster's hand and they both went off in a different direction.

Preparations

That same evening, Maika gathered all of the school’s girls together. Now the funds were secured, the school festival must and shall continue. That week, the girls spend all of their time with the preparations. Painting banners, hanging flyers, and preparing their class exhibits. Even though they had been exhausted from all the things that happened this semester, they were able to pull together their last bit of energy to get it all done in time. It was to be a festival like no other…