Lady Misfortune: Daddy, I'll Be A Righteous Villainess!

Ms. Mirabella continued to ramble on while Lady pondered over what Weiss wrote back.

"I appreciate the compliment. To answer your question, all things end eventually," has been his reply – which is also what she's mulling over at the moment. 

She recalled being told earlier about how he was really smart and all that. That brings up the question when and why those people have come to that conclusion. He had been absent yesterday, yet she reckoned she had seen him during the opening ceremony. Now, she wonders if he can teleport.

Lady thinks of writing that down – just to see if Weiss will confirm it or not. But then, Ms. Mirabella begins striding down their aisle. 

So, she quickly shoves the paper deep into the pocket of her skirt.

"William Shakespeare…" Ms. Mirabella said while glancing at Weiss. 

"He was a great writer. His literary genius is considered legendary."

Lady stifles a yawn. As soon their homeroom teacher spins around, continuing her musings, she pulls out the note from her skirt pocket and scribbles down, "Ms. Mirabella likes dancing a lot. I kinda like her," before she passes it to Weiss.

"Kinda…" his reply read, making her roll her eyes. 

"And yes, you're right. She doesn't walk. She twirls."

Lady tries hard not to laugh as she writes down, "I think it's because she has a crush on Shakespeare." Then, once more, she gives it to Weiss while still covering up her snickers.

"She's an English teacher. Go figure," he responded.

This time, she has to bite down on her lower lip to suppress her laughter. Some of her giggles still end up coming through, though. They're soft enough not to alert her class adviser but loud enough for her seatmate to hear. 

He turns his head a little to steal a glance at the girl sitting next to him. In doing so, he sees how the clouds give way for just enough sunlight to shine through the windows and bounce off her sheeny blonde hair. Her whole face is beaming, her purple eyes filled with mirth, and her shoulders are shaking with barely contained laughter. She's laughing at a quip he'd made, he marvels.

'And it hadn't even been that funny!'

Lady turns to look at him and flashes him a grin. It's huge and bright and genuine. Weiss can't help but blush, a little bit flustered.

Then and there, he decides that he really does like this girl. Maybe a lot more than he thought all those years ago.

In the end, their homeroom teacher also decides to give them all a reading assignment.

---

The school library appears to have a brand new assortment of books.

'Wait, something's missing in that sentence,' Fallon thought with a scowl.

Indeed, the school library has a brand new assortment of 'hormonal' books. Nothing lewd, of course. But he's quite sure that it's inappropriate for a school library to have more than a few dozen romance books. After all, they're in middle school. They shouldn't be exposed to this much obscenity. It's almost scandalous.

"Have you found anything yet, Fallon…?" the librarian asked from the counter. 

"You better decide on something soon. Else, the lunch rush will pummel you to the ground."

"I never come here during lunch…" he answered, rolling his eyes. 

"Lesson's learned. You know that."

"Oh, I'm just teasing. Let the old lady have some fun."

"Yeah, yeah."

Fallon sighs. 

After years of perusing the school library, he had struck up an odd sort of friendship with its caretaker. But he had never actually bothered to learn her real name – then again, he thinks nobody really knows who she is. To most of them, she is just the school librarian. 

She is this elderly woman who wears glasses with no rim, ties her long reddish-orange hair in a braid, and sports four layers of faded clothing. Like all school librarians tend to do, she hides in the background. However, while these people are the kind who can be summoned only by noise, this one has always talked to him by choice. 

And to some degree, Fallon appreciates that.

"Yo, why does the new shipment suck?" he inquired with an unamused face while the librarian tipped her glasses and considered his question. 

"What do you mean? I checked the quality of every book. All of them are in good condition," she answered, puzzled.

"But they're all romance books! I've read some before, and they're all the same! They're boring!"

"If you're still salty about Romeo and Juliet-"

"I'm not! These love stories start the same and end the same. That's all! I just like books that let me learn a few things – not stir up my hormones for no good reason."

"Well, young man, I don't know what to tell you. There won't be another shipment for a while. I believe you're aware of that. Besides, it's that other librarian who'll be taking my place. She's the one who ordered the new books."

"Pinning the blame on someone else, huh?"

She laughs at that. He frowns.

"You got me." 

He wants to assault her a little more for being catty, but then, her laughter eventually subsides. With that, she looks at him again. Something close to sadness lights up in her eyes. Whatever emotion she's showing him now has made him shut up. 

"But it's true, you know. The academy hired a new librarian. She's coming in next week. I'm just here to…" she said then trailed off, sighing softly. 

"Well, to say goodbye to this place."

"Oh…" was all that he could say.

"How unexpected."

"That ruined the mood, didn't it? Well, I'm not so sorry for that."

"You're really retiring? You seem a little too young to be retiring."

"Yeah. But life got in the way." 

Her eyes seem to glint then. It gives him the impression that she's keeping a secret. 

"Anyway, I'm pretty sure there are some non-romance books over there," the school librarian started again after a brief pause. 

"I looked through everything. They're all romance books. If I have anything to say about it, I bet that this new librarian ordered them according to what she wants. She's probably just going to read during class hours," he commented, which earned him a snort from her.

"You're being hilarious."

"What? What else do librarians do when everyone's in class?"

"You'd be surprised, Fallon."

"Uh-huh."

"Just pick a book to reread from the other shelves. I'm certain you'll find something for that big brain of yours. Besides, this place is huge. You couldn't have possibly finished them all."

Fallon takes time to contemplate.

He opts to follow through with her suggestion. But then, he stops to consider something.

"Hey, I bet you've read the new books already. Do you want to recommend something?" he asked.

"Why, Fallon!" she breathed out, astounded. 

"What?"

"I thought you didn't like those books."

"I figured I'd let you give me a goodbye present."

"My, it'd be my pleasure."

The school librarian ended up giving him some sort of mythology book. He grimaced, knowing for himself that he's never been a fan of this particular genre. 

'Just why am I doing this to myself?' 

At least, it'd be better than all those weird guidebooks that Lady made for Fallon.

---

Fallon is completely invested.

Unexpectedly, he found the stories quite interesting. He's nearly halfway through the book by the time lunch comes around. Even at this point, it doesn't seem as though he's ready to put it down.

It was Belle who first found Fallon in this state.

"I got us some ham sandwiches, Fallon. Orange juice too," she informed him as she tossed him the sandwich and juice without even checking to see if he looked up from his book. 

He catches it, nevertheless. Still not looking, she continued, "Hartigan seems to be coming late. His teacher before lunch turns out to be a menace. On the other hand, Lady is probably not coming today. She said she's trying to look for someone."

It was then that Fallon finally looked up. He's taken aback. Lady has always spent lunch with them – heck, he makes sure she does ever since first grade. She also likes catching up with Belle and Hartigan, considering that they don't walk to school together. It's literally her favorite time of the day, so she's never missed a single lunch.

"Who's she looking for?" Fallon asked while Belle shrugged.

"The new student, it seems. Apparently, they did end up in the same class. She told me earlier that she wanted us to meet him."

"Oh, snobby rich boy."

"Now, now. Don't be grumpy. Seriously, you're too protective of Lady."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" 

"That's exactly how you treated Hartigan when he's still starting to hang out with us."

"I've been arguing with that guy since we're in diapers. That's only expected."

"Well, how do you explain this? People are having a hard time approaching her because you're always with her – and you just won't get rid of that grouchy look on your face which seems to repel them most of the time."   

Fallon huffs indignantly at Belle's accusation.