Tones of Grey (Lady Lesso x OC)

Stepping in mud

Sofía's POV:

Lady Lesso and I walked together to the dining room and sat on our chairs. Dovey and Kyla were the only ones missing, even when all the Evers were there.

"I'm pretty sure she is trying to convince her to drop out of the competition," whispered Anemone in my direction. She always sat on the other side of Dovey, so it wasn't hard to listen. I was pretty sure that Lesso was hearing it too, but pretended to start a conversation with Sheeba on her other side.

"That frightened of me? I like that," I replied with a small grin.

"Well, she is in the wrong, even if I shouldn't admit it,"

"You teach beautification. Isn't that a bit contradictory? Mostly because your classes are based on stereotypes," I pointed out.

"Not because I want to," she sighed.

"Why don't you change it?

"It's not that easy."

"The Headmaster?" I asked, feeling a knot of concern forming in my stomach. I didn't like that at all.

"I couldn't admit it even if I wanted to." she replied, her expression troubled.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"You are entitled to have an opinion."

"I'm going to change things around here, Emma, I promise you that," I said firmly. "I'm still trying to figure some things out, but I'm not going to stop until I do."

"I like your confidence on that matter," she remarked with a smile.

"Took me long enough to find it, I better use it well," I said, and she laughed. "By the way, this is the perfect opportunity to ask you if I can invent a nickname for you." She looked at me, surprised.

"A nickname?" Emma asked and meditated the idea for a second. "Hm, it might be nice having someone calling me something different than Professor Anemone all day long, apart from Clarissa. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I've come up with Mona and Nemo thus far. Though I do like Nemo best. Because your surname refers to the underwater creature and where I come from there is a..." I thought of how to explain her the situation. I couldn't tell her what a movie was, because she wasn't supposed to know I wasn't from that land. "...theater play, in which the protagonist is a fish named Nemo who lives in an anemone. So I find it quite appropriate."

"Then Nemo it is. I like it. And I like how you related it with something from your culture."

I laughed for myself. Well, I guess Finding Nemo was part of what I would call general culture, so she wasn't completely wrong.

Lady Lesso's POV:

As Clarissa and Kyla entered the hall, Sofía and Anemone were still talking to each other. I was starting to get a bit annoyed, barely listening to what Sheeba was saying to me. Anemone laughed at something Sofía had said just before Clarissa sat in between them, and asked what was so funny.

"Oh, So was just telling me how she twerked to get those bees out of the Special Talents' classroom yesterday. I wish I could have been there," she said. Sheeba also overheard the conversation and joined in, so I was stuck in the middle as well.

"Believe me, it was as hilarious as it sounds. A student almost dying at the hands of a Reader being saved by a newbie in our customs by twerking in the form of a bee and on the very first day? I've been teaching here for as long as you Anemone, and we hadn't heard or seen anything that wild yet."

"Yes, perhaps stories from the old days, but never something so chaotic and funny at the same time."

"Precisely my point. This year is certainly going to be different."