Chapter 56 - Observation Buffet (1/2)

A few days passed with the children settling into an easy rhythm of attending classes, eating packed lunches together before they split off to do their respective things. Alex was always seen hanging around the art rooms. The girl was often seen bugging any art teachers available and it was working very well. Alex learnt a lot from the teacher in charge of the pottery club from before. In fact, she was probably Alex's go-to teacher for any queries.

Scarlet would be surprised if she didn't spend all her time in one of the unoccupied art studios. Contrary to Wilmer's initial opinion, Scarlet thought that her sister had a really good chance of winning that art competition. The Wilde princess had very good guidance and she was extremely hardworking. Scarlet would know it because she'd seen the draft sketches from before and after private lessons. Even when Alex went home, she would spend hours drawing after dinner right until they had to go to bed.

The blogger hadn't been idling either. Apart from trying to complete a year's worth of homework in advanced, she was busy with the very first assignment that Debbie assigned her. Decorating Judah wasn't a one-person project but Scarlet thought that it was only fair to get some assistance. She wanted nothing less than the best for her very first book even if it wasn't a published manuscript. Although it didn't quite appeal to Scarlet, she could understand why Debbie found the job of an editor to be fun.

Just last night, Scarlet successfully completed Debbie's assignment. Tina helped with the plant press and Alex was more than thrilled to land a hand spray painting the leaves silver and gold as required. Claire did the finishing touches and laminated the cover once they'd hot-glued the plant art and decorated the book with glitter and colours. Wilmer couldn't be prouder of his daughters' very first work and took a photo to commemorate it, much to his wife's envy.

The early completion of her assignment gave Scarlet plenty of time for other things apart from spacing out the completion of homework in advance. Although Debbie hasn't told her anything about developing a writer's style, the blogger took it upon herself to do some observation. If every writer had a unique style of story-telling, every individual must have a unique manner of speaking. As such, it was only natural that Scarlet turned her attention to the people around her.

Strangely, while doing so, the blogger noticed something slightly strange about Jasper. While the boy was still easy-going like before, his manner of speech became more astute and his quips were slightly harsher. Alex even flinched at one of them because it hit a sore spot but Jasper apologised quickly enough so the Wilde princess didn't think too much of it. If one had to put into perspective, Jasper was now like a mysterious ninja. He still spent time with them just enough to keep them busy but not enough for them to find out what he's up to.

That simply wouldn't do. The young writer was curious by nature so she decided that she would uncover the reason for Jasper's recent change. The boy was often tense and up to something. His hair wasn't neat and Jasper's bringing a lot of things to school lately. She didn't detect any lies when Jasper told them he had things going on with the Entrepreneur Circle but the girl just couldn't help but worry. What if the scary older boys were bullying Jasper and he couldn't say a word about it because he wanted to stay in the club?

Hence, Scarlet was determined to uncover the truth with her infamous sleuthing skills - with or without crutches.

Lessons with Danny was always an interesting affair. Jasper didn't skip this time because it was the first class they had in the morning. However, immediately after class ended, the boy excused himself and told the girls to have lunch without him. Alex wasn't too affected. In fact, she took the opportunity to do the same and excused herself to work on her modelling practice. they'd started to use figurines and pictures for practice after doing nothing but drawing basic shapes and lines for so long. Scarlet understood her sister's excitement and didn't stop her.

On the other hand, Scarlet kept an eye on Jasper. She might be disabled for a bit but she wasn't incapable. Even without any information from Alex, the girl easily found out the location of that classroom used as the Entrepreneur's Circle. When one thought about delinquents, it wasn't anything too far from Scarlet's expectations. She simply found the most avoided spot in the school that wasn't the staff office and explored in that direction.

The classroom walls were full of poorly done graffiti meant to serve as something more of a warning statement rather than a work of art. It's meant to keep the regular students away and intimidate staff. Sadly, it just wasn't enough to deter Scarlet who was determined to uncover Jasper's secret.

Scarlet could hear Jasper's voice as she approached and it wasn't her imagination either. From what she could make out, they were talking about... Math? Not wanting to give herself away so quickly or interrupt the 'lesson' in session, Scarlet hobbled to the backdoor and listened in.

There were sounds of paper smacking against something solid and the occasional protest from one of the 'students' but none of the delinquents actually acted violently. If anything, Scarlet thought that they were awfully respectful and tolerant of Jasper. The girl wondered why her friend and live-in housemate was suddenly interested in becoming a teacher. However, she wasn't quite expecting the door to be thrown open with a very tall boy with wild hair to be glaring at her. Scarlet wanted to get out of the way but she was quickly grabbed by her school bag.