Chapter 2.5

"ENOUGH!"

A commanding voice shouted out loud as a wave of energy blasted all the thugs away, blowing them like fragile leaves but not affecting Jason, Alina, and Michelle. As the gangsters lay on the ground groaning and screaming, the sound clip-clop striking the ground resonated and Ms. Silvia appeared at the entrance, her scowl directed at the intruders and the three of them.

"Jason," she said sternly with her arms crossed, enhancing her bust. "Your need for violence hasn't changed, I see."

"Why, Ms. Silvia, still as beautiful as ever, 'I see'. Besides, didn't you see how 'violent' I was a few days ago? Oh, don't scrunch your eyebrows like that. While it's adorable, you're prone to gain wrinkles early on," teased Jason in his sly voice, causing the remaining students to gasp at his remark; they hadn't seen anyone with the balls to tease Silvia so effortlessly before. More surprisingly, the latter did not retaliate violently at his taunts.

"You, Ms. Sage, Ms. LeBlanc, my office, now! You join us too, Ms. Cadwell," added Silvia gently at the end as she turned away, walking towards the school.

"Uh oh, I think you kids are in trouble," Jason said quietly in a sing-along voice causing Alina to roll her eyes.

"You're in trouble too y'know," Alina shot back faintly with a hiss, her arms crossed.

"Me? Nah, we go way back Silvie and I. Besides, you don't want to see how'd she punish me, trust me. It involves cuffs and -" Jason's voice and smile had a hint of lewdness as he spoke.

"Blargh gross, stop it! Stop it!" interrupted Alina as she shook her head, trying to remove the image that was fixated in her mind now.

"What? She'd cuff me and send me to jail. Geez, what did you think I meant by punishment? Tsk, tsk, girls these days, what gutter minds you have." Jason jokingly teased as Michelle and Alina blushed. Emily, on the other hand, rolled her eyes, her mood complicated.

"Ungh, you're incorigble," Alina stumbled on her words as she stomped.

"It's incorrigible and thank you, I'll take that as a compliment," Jason lazily corrected as they followed Silvia up the stairs.

The four eventually entered a large room with a sitting area and a desk surrounded by a window and four large bookcases, two on each side. All in all, it seemed like a relatively antique room that was not common in this time and age.

Jason, who had intentionally entered last, decided to lean on Silvia's desk when he saw all the chairs in the room were mostly occupied. Silvia shifted uncomfortably in her chair as Jason inclined towards her flirtatiously.

"It's a good room, Silvie. Perfect for your style and it compliments your stunning intelligence," Jason said smoothly, a smile on his face. "Speaking of which, you're still available right? Would you like to grab dinner tonight? I remember a great place by the -"

"Stop it, Jason. I know you're trying to distract me. I only want one thing from you: yes or no?" Silvia cooly interrupted Jason, and the girls listening in couldn't help but admire her composure and fortitude while dealing with a lady-killer like him.

"Tsk, you always take the fun out of everything Silvie, it's why you're still single," Jason got up from the desk and walked past Silvia towards the window. Looking out the courtyard, he could see students casually hanging out. Some were studying in groups and sitting on the grass, while others were couples sharing meals together on benches.

"Yes or no, Jason," repeated Silvia, her hands laying on the table, fingers crisscrossed together.

Jason didn't speak but continued looking out the window, his mind in disarray. "I … have other duties as well, and they take, uh, precedence."

"I know, Jason, I'm a member too," Silvia cryptically answered. [4]

"Those farts let someone as young as you in? Well, what'ya know, there is a God after all!" said Jason in a sarcastically humorous voice.

"Inheritance, Jason. They had no choice. Now your answer, please," Silvia pressured Jason, her posture not changing at all.

"One thing first," countered Jason as he turned to look at her. "Why me? I've never taught anyone and I have no academic education to boast of."

"First, that's a lie," started Silvia as she pushed her glasses upwards. "Ms. Alina here was obviously trained by you; her martial arts is incredible for her age. So incredible, in fact, that I had to use more than thirty percent of my powers to fight her. Second, you'll be teaching the combat course, a role completely suited for you considering your, ah, experience. Besides, I'll add a dealbreaker exclusively for you."

"Oh? What's that?" asked Jason interestedly, his ears perked up.

"I won't condemn any teacher-student relationship you might have, provided they're an adult. Meaning 16 and up only, [5]" A devious glint lit her glasses as spoke, a finger lifting the bridge of her glasses again.

"The hell that's a dealbreaker!" Alina stood up and retorted in a loud voice.

"Deal!" replied Jason without even thinking as he raised his hand to seal the deal with a handshake.

"Screw your deal, don't reply so quickly!" shouted Alina before collapsing onto the sofa behind her. "You were planning to accept the position anyway weren't you?"

Jason turned to look at her with his head tilted. "Yeah, but I needed to sweeten the deal before joining so I played hard to get."

"Damn lecher," Alina muttered under her breath before turning to look at the other two. "See what I mean? That's why I told you -"

Alina stopped when she saw Michelle looking at Jason with naked admiration glowing in her eyes. Thankfully, Emily looked unimpressed as she started playing on her phone. However, moments later, she noticed Emily looking at Jason from the corner of her eyes while she tapped her screen half-heartedly.

Oh c'mon! Wait, that's not good. If Emily plays hard to get, she could get Jason's interest! Damn, she's good, thought Alina.

Alina sighed for the hundredth time today as Jason signed the papers, transferring the necessary IDs onto the terminal on Silvia's desk. Ms. Silvia, however, took this time to scold Alina and Michelle for joining Jason in the battle.

***

"I hate you," pouted Alina as she got on the bike behind Jason.

Due to the fight, Ms. Silvia gave Michelle and Alina detention that was in the form of repairing the damage caused in front of the school grounds whilst Emily was instructed to oversee them. While it was a simple task thanks to their SEC devices, their Psionic Aether was exhausted, causing them to feel fatigued.

"Till dinner, you mean," corrected Jason, amused, as he placed the helmet on her head, before turning and speaking to three girls gathered nearby. "Well, it seems like I'll be seeing you lovely ladies tomorrow at school. Remember to get home safe."

Jason put his helmet on then stepped on the petal, zooming away while Alina waved her hand at her friends.

"Aw, a single hot teacher and I'm too young to date him. For the first time, I wanna be older than I am! Why couldn't I be a college student, argh!" Asami grabbed her head with both hands while stomping her both feet though she was discreetly watching Michelle from the corner of her eyes.

"Un," nodded Michelle as she looked at path Jason had left to; she had been uncharacteristically silent since Jason had shown up, mostly nodding.

"C'mon guys, give it a rest. You're stressing Alina out," admonished Emily.

"Comme si tu pouvais parler. You couldn't take your eyes off of him!" Michelle shot back faster than Asami could retort.

"What? No, it's not like that," Emily replied in a small voice while fidgeting.

"Right…"

"C'est ça…"

Both Asami and Michelle said in unison as Emily stuttered.

"Whatever, I'm heading home, catch you guys later," Emily finally managed to say, as all three said their goodbyes and left in separate directions.

[1] SEC Device: Spellcasting and ESP Conjuring, is a device that comes in many forms and is used by those who have Psionic Aether or ESPer abilities. For ESPers, it helps to control and regulate their abilities. While for Spellcasters, it aids them in constructing the formula needed to convert Psionic Aether into energy and matter, such as a fireball or a metal shield.

[2] Onesie: A derogatory nickname for level one ESPers, used by Asami in a joking manner.

[3] VP12: An advanced version of the VP9, a Heckler and Koch pistol.

[4] A member of the Council, the governing body that effectively rules the city of Sanctuary.

[5] Thanks to WWIII, teens become adults at the tender age of 16 as opposed to 18. You know, cause they were killing each other so fast that they need to conscript youngsters. Also, I'm pretty sure Silvia and Jason are joking about the deal. (Looks at Jason's devilishly sheepish smirk) I think...