Chapter 134: Fort War (2)
[General POV – Student Imagination Version]
It was a peaceful day in this warm and cuddly Fort Fluffy-Shire. The inhabitants of this realm were happy and content with the handsome lord's effort to protect them from the terror of sleepiness and the cold hard hell of school.
As Lord Fluffy-Shire had decreed the 'No Three Fs' rule for the fort – which were Fires, Farting, and… mating, some students decided to be creative and 'borrowed' the microwave from the teacher's lounge to cook instant noodles to eat inside the fort.
"HALT!" A team of patrol guards who were wearing football under armor stopped the batch of students who were holding their ramen bowl and inspected them.
"Have you started a fire during your cooking process?" The guard asked while encircling the peasant.
"N-NO Sire, we are just simple folk. Fire is a luxury that we won't ever have." The peasant said fearfully. The guard grabbed the fork inside the peasant's bowl and took a bite out of his ramen.
"Good, you can go now." The guard said after illegally collecting the taxes from the citizens. Seeing the dissatisfied looks on the peasant, he asked menacingly, "Is there anything you want to say?"
"Lord Fluffy-Shire won't-"
"The LORD…ISN'T HERE!" The guard said while holding the peasant's collar. "Unless you want me to kick you out of the fort, maybe you should realize that-"
But before the guard could continue harassing the peasant of the realm, he felt a cold breeze blowing from behind him. He turned in that direction, and froze as he saw the woman in a white dress staring coldly at him.
"Mrs…Mrs Henderso-" The guard stammered fearfully. The peasant realized it and shouted immediately to warn the others, "RUNN! THE ICE WITCH IS HERE!!!!"
As the children screamed in a childish voice and scattered in multiple directions by quickly crawling away, Mrs Henderson walked slowly towards the frozen guard and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Mr Jameson, Please follow me to the teacher's lounge. We need to talk." Mrs Henderson ordered. The corrupt guard gulped his saliva and nodded obediently to the teacher before following her away.
[General POV- Normal Version]
Mrs Johnson, the PE teacher, was wearing a green PE coach outfit with her zips lowered, revealing her white tank top and a bit of cleavage. She walked next to Mrs Henderson and stammered, "Hey…This…I…Have no words…"
She was speechless as she saw the fort, and Mrs Henderson nodded beside her. "I know. It's incomprehensible. We should shut it down quickly before a student gets hurt."
Mrs Henderson walked to the front entry of the fort and touched the rope holding the fort together.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Some of the knots are load bearing. If you touch the wrong place, you'll collapse the whole thing and bury a lot of students inside." An old janitor suddenly warned Mrs Henderson while he was mopping the floor.
Mrs Henderson and Mrs Johnson turned to the janitor. The PE teacher then asked angrily, "Wait, did you know about this? And you did nothing to stop it?"
The janitor shrugged and continued mopping the floor. He couldn't really say that he wanted to stop it before, but once he got 50 dollars richer, he just turned a blind eye on the whole thing, couldn't he?
The two teachers thought for a while before Mrs Johnson said, "If we cannot take it down, then, we should find the ringleaders. Once we take them out, then the whole operation will crash to the ground. We just need to find out who the ringleader is."
Mrs Henderson sighed and said, "I know who the ringleader is."
"Really? How- Who is it?" The PE coach asked in disbelief.
"It's a good boy that's trying to pretend he's a bad boy." Mrs Henderson replied before taking out her phone and calling the 'alleged' ringleader of the operation.
"Then, if you know who he is, you might be able to tell me, just why…why is there a cameraman filming us right now?" The PE coach turned to the camera-man next to them.
The camera-man whispered, "Just pretend I'm not here," causing both of the teachers to stare in disbelief. While the call was connecting, Mrs Henderson said to the other teacher, "Go inside and try to find out where Ed and his friends are."
"Okay. See you inside." The PE coach grinned before getting on all fours and crawling into the fort's corridors at a high speed, startling the students who were relaxing around as she passed.
…
Inside the music classroom.
"Hip-Hip, Hooray!" The girls and the boys threw Billie up in the air, making her giggle while still fearing for her life after her successful performance.
"Okay-okay, put me down." Billie said shyly with a red face. Edward finally lets her off easy and then puts her on the floor on her own two feets again. While the rest of the group was complimenting Billie, Enid walked in and whispered to Edward from behind, "It's done My lord."
Edward turned to her and took out a white handkerchief from his pocket and began to wipe Enid's nose as she had some dirt on it. "Good Job. Now, don't go anywhere. Alex is going to sing next."
The cameraman zoomed into Enid's blushing, but still excited face as Edward was being affectionate with her. He was treating her as if she was his little sister, and she didn't feel bad about it, not in the least.
[Enid's commentary]
"Joshua? Who's that- Oh, the chess club. Right right. I'm not going to tell you guys what I did to him. That's a secret that only me and Ed should know though so keep quiet about it." Enid said with a smirk before sighing sadly. " I wanted to watch Billie sing too! I was looking forward to it!"
The camera-man comforted Enid and said he recorded the performance.
Enid brightened up and said, "Really? Ed will put it on his streaming websites right? I remember hearing him saying that his lawyer already asked for permission from Smash Mouth."
[Commentary ends]
Alex heard it and was frozen. Her palms were sweaty, her knees suddenly became weak, her arms turned heavy. She looked at Edward who was uploading something on his laptop, and her fear doubled.
She tried to shake off her nervousness, but it wasn't working. At this time, Ed's phone started to ring. He smirked and he answered the call in a confident manner.
"Hello Eve, what can I do for you?"
"Don't be coy Edward." Mrs Henderson said coldly. "I'm calling about the pillow fort."
"Pillow fort? Where?" Ed acted surprised. Mrs Henderson didn't play along and asked, "I'm sure you know, that any injuries, and any mishaps that happen under your instigation will be placed on your permanent record. You're almost graduating, Ed, are you sure you want to risk that?"
Edward was silent for a bit, but a smile never left his face. Then he replied, "If I was indeed the one responsible for it, then yes, I would have a slight fear of getting branded as the ringleader. But I'm not. The one responsible for this, is Lord Fluffy-Shire. You find him, then you can end this."
Ed wanted to cut the call, but the teacher then said, "I see. Then, you don't mind Mrs Johnson taking a look inside the music classroom to find out who Lord… 'Fluffy Shire' is, don't you?"
"No. Not at all. But…" Ed pretended to be distressed before he said coyly. "But, it depends on whether or not she can make it to the class."
"Hmm? And why wouldn't she?" Mrs Henderson asked with a raised brow.
"Let's just say that if she crawled from the East wing, she needs to get past the sport's entertainment district where a quiz competition is currently going on." Edward said in a calm manner as he sat on his 'throne'.
"Even though she may be a fan of the game, I don't think that she would be willing to abandon her responsibilities just to watch a quiz competition." Mrs Henderson said while watching the camera-man with a confused expression. Then, she decided to walk to the teacher's office to get more allies.
"No, I think you misunderstood me. I don't think she'll just watch the game. I think that she'll register her name to participate in it." Edward said while beckoning Jacob to come near him.
"Then you had greatly miscalculated Edward. I thought you were smarter than this." Mrs Henderson said with a scoff.
"Really? Even if the price of the competition was a Vintage, 1973 'Lou Gehrig' , Mint condition Baseball card worth well over 500 dollars. Which might also just be the last piece she needs to complete her collection? Something that she's been working on for more than 5 years?" Ed asked lazily while holding his head with his hand while propping it on the armrest.
"I think that under those circumstances she just might abandon her responsibilities. In fact I have no doubt she would. Don't you think so too Mrs Henderson?" Ed enunciated the teacher's name, the girls watching him swoon at his behavior.
"..." Mrs Henderson was silent for a while. Before she could refute Ed's word, the boy added, "Even in the extremely unlikely scenario where she might manage to pull herself together, do you really think that the competition is the only hurdle she needs to overcome to get there?"
"You mean 'here'." Mrs Henderson interrupted, causing Edward to laugh. "And she's not the only teacher in this school." She added.
Ed stopped laughing and grinned evilly before saying, "I know."
Mrs Henderson looked around the teacher's office, and widened her eyes as she noticed that it was all empty. "What the- What did you do, Edward Newgate?" She enunciated his name in a menacing manner, but Edward just laughed.
"I didn't do anything. I'm not Lord 'Fluffy-Shire' Remember?"
The old History teacher was actually teaching on the last day of school. It was the first time ever he was so excited to teach, as the students were actually responding to him. The listeners were wrapping themselves in blankets and thought that they could finally realize the year-long temptation of sleeping in History class.
But when they actually had the chance to do it – while being provided with pillows and blankets to do so, they found themselves to be wide awake instead. Especially so for the grade 8 students who're having their last day in this school.
"You… did you really manage to get the entire school in your grasp?" Mrs Henderson asked in disbelief.
"Not me. But yes." Edward said while smirking.
Not only that, the math teacher was currently playing basketball with his homeroom students, the school administrator was bought off with some classy brunch, the pregnant English teacher was bought off with a massage session by a licensed masseuse, and thus there weren't any teachers left to help Mrs. Henderson anywhere else in the school.
Mrs Henderson walked to the camera-man and finally asked something that she had been suspicious about. "How did you guys get permission to film here?"
The camera-man replied casually, "Oh. The Principal did it. He signed the release and everything."
Mrs Henderson's face turned sullen and she looked at the camera-man in contempt. Then, she returned back to the call. "I see. I'm in a very disadvantageous situation. But I wouldn't count my chickens before they hatch if I was Lord Fluffy-Shire."
"And why is that?" Ed asked curiously. Mrs Henderson looked inside the fort, and saw a student patrol holding up an ordinary student who was holding a bowl of instant noodles.
"Do you know why dictatorships fall, Ed?" She asked. Ed was silent, and then she smirked and said, "Because, power corrupts people and absolute power corrupts absolutely . And when that happens…then the kingdom is going to be at risk of an…insurrection."
"Yeah, if the king is incompetent." Edward scoffed. Mrs Henderson chuckled a bit and said, "If only you knew how many dictators have said that…"
[Mrs. Henderson's Commentary]
"I know he wants to play a game. I'll show him that some people cannot be messed with. Everything he builds…shall fall…and from the ashes, will rise a new democratic republic- Wait, why am I getting absorbed in this? I'm the teacher!"
…
[Edward POV]
"Well. The fuse is lit. Mrs Henderson is raising an army." I said with some anticipation in my tone as I stood up from my throne.
Jenna asked in a quizzical manner, "And why are you so excited about it?"
"Just because." I answered dismissively before walking up to Alex. "When the next school bell rang, we will start the next performance. Alex, are you okay? Do you want some more time to practice?"
Alex pouted while crouching near the wall and said, "I don't WANTTT more practice. I NEEEEED it! There's a difference."
Billie was confused and said, "You already sing well enough. Why do you feel you need more practice?" She wasn't being sarcastic. Alex had sung in the rehearsals after being instigated by me.
"That's different. I'm going to sing in front of strangers!"
"Nah, we are all schoolmates. Don't worry about it Alex. Even if they don't like it, I will make sure none of them would ever DARE to say it to your face." Abraham said confidently.
"I second that." Jacob said.
"Third." Jenna joined in.
"That doesn't help!" Alex got angry and chased the trio away while they were laughing.
…
Before we got to the West wing which was near to the cafeteria, I asked Elsa about the progress of the expansion.
"Right now, we are currently 75% finished. However, it would be hard for us to expand from now on as various small forts have been erected, and its residents are preventing us from keeping up the pace." Elsa pushed up her glasses, feeling a bit discontent by the resistance and her inadequacy to handle the matter herself.
"Activate the hounds. If they are still resisting…well just tell them that they will be thrown out there, left to sleep in the cold if they don't" I replied in a cold manner.
The group was shocked, but they nodded as they obediently followed the order. Abraham looked at his watch and said, "It's almost time."
Billie was holding a bass guitar and she muttered to Alex, "The pressure must be twice of what I felt before as you're singing a song that's never been released before."
Finneas then rebuked before Alex could, "Yeah. But it's Edward's song. It's sure to be a hit. Just enjoy yourself while you're singing, Alex."
"That's true. You guys are all growing. I'm proud of you." I said before pulling the trio all together for a group hug. "Also Alex, not to increase the pressure on you, but you're going to be the first girl ever to sing a song that I wrote. Not even Taylor has the privilege to do so."
Of course, I had cleared it with Taylor before. And for some reason, she didn't mind Alex singing the song. I guess she wasn't threatened by Alex at all. And she knew I treated Alex like a lil sister.
And for all intent and purposes, I had already copyrighted the song under my label. I just need to find a singer to sing this song later on. Alex could sing, but she didn't want to be an artist. So she was just singing this for fun.
Alex's face paled after my words, and Billie admonished me, "Why are you saying that NOW!? You did that on purpose!"
I turned to Billie with an astonished face and said, "Hey, it's the first time you ever scolded me- GUYS! Billie just told me off!"
Billie was flabbergasted and she blushed hard as the entire group congratulated her. Jacob then said to her, "When you could start to tell him off, then it means that you're finally opening up to us! Welcome ABOARD BILLIE! We're all co-dependant, so it'll be a long time for you to get rid of us!"
I nodded in agreement while Billie was becoming increasingly embarrassed. Alex laughed out loud, and the pressure she felt lessened after that. I held the guitar and signaled Finneas who's handling the drums.
"It's time." I muttered.
The school bell rang, and it was time for a break. The students were walking to the cafeteria, and they walked towards where we had set up.
"3…2…1…" I counted before I started to strum the guitar. The students who heard the music had their eyes lit up and they rushed to our stage immediately.
[Echosmith- Cool kids]
♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪
The students encircled us immediately as we played the intro. I smiled towards them and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Give a big applause to Alex Dunphy who's singing, Cool Kids!"
The entire school had known that we were going to make impromptu performances today, so I didn't have to say much. Alex looked at the crowd with her heart beating wildly. Then, she decided to take off her glasses and grabbed the microphone with both hands before singing.
"♫♪ She sees them walking in a straight line
That's not really her style♫♪"
Her voice was mellow and a bit raspy as she was going through puberty, and the crowd was hooked on it immediately.
"♫♪And they all got the same heartbeat
But hers is falling behind♫♪"
Alex was still anxious and she kept looking around. I get close to her to give her confidence as she continued.
"♫♪Nothing in this world could ever bring them down
Yeah, they're invincible…
And she's just in the background♫♪…"
When Alex read the lyrics after rummaging through my stuff before, she had related hard to this song. That was why I decided to let her sing it today.
"♫♪And she says
I wish that I could be like the cool kids
'Cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in♫♪"
"♫♪I wish that I could be like the cool kids
Like the cool kids~♫♪"
She turned to me as if asking if she did well – as she couldn't see the crowd's reaction. I nodded while smiling at her antics. She got more confident and brushed her hair to the left side before singing again.
"♫♪He sees them talking with a big smile
But they haven't got a clue
Yeah, they're living the good life
Can't see what he is going through♫♪"
She turned to look at me, but I just smiled. Jenna looked worried for a bit before she decided to push the thought to the back of her head and decided to focus 100% on Alex at her moment.
♫♪They're driving fast cars
But they don't know where they're going
In the fast lane, living life without knowing~♫♪
"EVERYONE!" I shouted. The crowd then sang together with Alex.
"♫♪And he says
I wish that I could be like the cool kids
'Cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in
I wish that I could be like the cool kids
Like the cool kids!!!♫♪"
Our voice reverberated throughout the school. Alex went to Billie and shared a microphone with her as they continued the song.
♫♪I wish that I could be like the cool kids
'Cause all the cool kids, they seem to get it
I wish that I could be like the cool kids
Like the cool kids♫♪
Finneas slowed down the beat while I strum the guitar slowly. Alex laughed and wore back her glasses before shouting, "EDWARD NEWGATE EVERYONE!" The crowd cheered at my name, and she did the same thing with Billie and Finneas, making our name etched for eternity in the school grounds.
"♫♪And they said
I wish that I could be like the cool kids
'Cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in
I wish that I could be like the cool kids
Like the cool kids♫♪"
[Jenna's and Elsa's commentary]
"So, he did a song about us? After all, we're the most popular girls in school." Elsa said with a thick face. Jenna laughed and said, "I know right?"
[Commentary ends]
♫♪I wish that I could be like the cool kids
'Cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in
I wish that I could be like the cool kids
Like the cool kids♫♪
♫♪I wish that I could be like the cool kids
'Cause all the cool kids, they seem to get it
I wish that I could be like the cool kids
Like the cool kids♫♪
I played the outro with the band member while Alex was huffing her breath and raised her arms out to the crowd. "CROWD SURF-"
But before she could do something to embarrass herself, I grabbed her and snatched the microphone from her. "No crowd surfing! Enjoy your lunch everyone!"
We all needed to run away quickly after singing the song. I said to the crowd, "Next will be a performance by Finneas O' Connel. He will be singing a song that he wrote by himself. Stay tuned!"
.(Just recommending the latest and first original novel of my friend @Kismet.
It's a cultivation novel without the brain-dead Chinese characters. It's comedic, funny, and serious when it needs to be. Check it out and show him some support! I hope you'll enjoy it.
Synopsis:
Imagine a Xianxia MC. Imagined? Good.
You might think he fights other young masters, face slaps them, gets the jade beauties that aren't actually green, and becomes an immortal. If you have imagined that, congratulations, but that's not who I am.
I'm apparently Demonic Sect Elder, Type A. Crippled, and in severe need of disciples. Help.
----
"Demonic Sect Elder, Type A" by [Kismet] - make sure it is this one
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/73508/demonic-sect-elder-type-a )