NOVEL NEXT Chapter 97: Teething Troubles
“Tis I, Carmen, Queen of Monsters!” Carmen cackled, glaring at the children in front of her. “Tremble in despair!”
Mary, Carmen’s teacher, grimaced. This was the third time this week that Carmen had insisted the class play “heroes”, and she had made a point of always being the Queen of Monsters in their play. Normally that wouldn’t be an issue, kids liked to play pretend, and someone had to be the villain in their game, but Carmen got a bit too into it.
Looking at the sheepgirl, Mary could almost believe she was the Queen of Monsters. In most circumstances, she would take that as a sign that the child in question should become an actor, but…the issue was with her role and her age. Carmen was in kindergarten, and no kindergartner should have been able to come up with the kind of schemes Carmen had “enacted” in their games.
And then there was the vocabulary; while it wasn’t crass or vulgar, it was too big for a child of her age and academic ability. And, more notably, in all other aspects, Carmen was completely typical in both vocabulary and…deviousness.
Mary was forced to assume that Carmen was getting fed these lines and schemes from an outside source, and that was something she couldn’t ignore. It would have been one thing if she was imitating, say, the High Arbiter or one of the heroes, but Carmen was adamant; she wasn’t going to play the hero, in fact, she hated the heroes. She much preferred the Queen of Monsters or any other role.
Carmen seemed to almost be idolizing the Queen of Monsters, one of the most dangerous figures in recent memory, and someone was feeding her information on how to act like her. If left unchecked…that would almost certainly prove detrimental to her long term growth.
Mary debated with herself for a moment, then heaved a sigh, picked up the phone at her desk, and dialed the school’s office.
“Thanks for coming, Mr. and Mrs. Meyers.” Mary said, ushering them into her classroom. “I know it’s short notice, but I think this is something best addressed as soon as possible.”
Carmen’s parents shared a worried look. “She hasn’t hurt any of the other kids, has she?” Mr. Meyers asked. “I know she’s a much higher level than them, but we made sure she was able to control herself before letting her come here.”
Mary shook her head, sitting down behind her desk. “Please, sit.” She said, motioning at a couple of chairs she had brought in. “No, she hasn’t hurt anyone, she’s been a perfectly normal student…for the most part.”
Carmen’s parents shared yet another look as they sat. “So…what’s the matter?” Mrs. Meyers asked. “Miss Jensen told us that there was some worrying behavior when it came to her games with the other kids, and if that’s not it…”
Mary sighed. “If I may be direct, I believe someone has been feeding her problematic behavior when it comes to the Queen of Monsters. She seems to have some sort of weird obsession with her, and she has outright said that she hates the heroes, and I’m just concerned about the repercussions this might have on her future. Do you two know where this influence might have come from?”
To her surprise, a relieved expression crossed Mr. Meyers’ face. “I imagine the school hasn’t told you about us, then?” He asked.
Mary frowned. “No?” She prompted.
“Anna and I were actually part of the few who made it to the Queen of Monsters’ castle.” Mr. Meyers explained. “And Carmen was, unfortunately, without our company for much of that journey. We left her in the care of a close friend, and she’s had some…odd ideas about things ever since.”
“We didn’t really want to, but we felt it was our duty as strong people to at least make an attempt.” Mrs. Meyers added. “We didn’t want Carmen living in a world where the Queen of Monsters was a constant threat, and I’m happy to say that we succeeded in that goal.”
Mary gave them a dumbfounded look. It was hard to believe that the two innocuous parents in front of her were part of the elite few that had saved the world.
“Please, feel free to analyze us.” Mr. Meyers said. “I know it’s an outlandish claim.”
Mary reluctantly activated her analysis Skill and almost flinched as she looked over their stats. They were the strongest people she had ever seen, leagues above the many adventurers Mary had known. They certainly had the strength to back up their claim, but… “Be that as it may, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a child so vehemently hate their parents’ occupation, much less one who idolizes their parents’ mortal enemy.”
Mr. Meyers sighed. “She’s upset that our job took us away from her for so long.” He said. “And I don’t think she really understands the threat that was the Queen of Monsters. She looks at her like she would some mythical creature. Surely you’ve had kids pretend to be vampire or werewolves or…” he paused, then smiled sheepishly, “well, I suppose those are very real, but you know what I’m getting at, right?”
“I…think so, but that doesn’t explain why she seems so knowledgeable on the Queen of Monsters and her behavior.” Mary said. “Are you sure there’s no one that might be getting to her? Some…I don’t know, cultist or something seeking to get revenge on the heroes through their families?”
“Absolutely sure.” Mrs. Meyers said firmly. “The only time that could happen is here at school; we are very choosy in who we allow into our home. As you might imagine, our security is top of the line, so we would know if she was sneaking out or if someone was sneaking in.”
“Then where is she getting this behavior from?” Mary protested. “It has to come from somewhere.”
“It’s got to be our other party member, Eve.” Mr. Meyers said. “She’s very fond of telling stories, and Carmen is fond of listening. We’ll have a talk with both Carmen and Eve and make sure things don’t get too out of hand. We know better than anyone how dangerous the Queen of Monsters is, so we’ll set the record straight. If she keeps showing this behavior, let us know, alright?”
Mary sighed. “Very well. Before you go…might I suggest enrolling Carmen in some acting classes? She seems to have a natural talent for it, and it would be a shame if she didn’t explore it more thoroughly.”
Mrs. Meyers gave her a surprised look. “Really?”
“Really.” Mary confirmed. “The kids love playing pretend with her, she makes them feel like they’re really fighting the Queen of Monsters. She’s a rare talent.”
“Oh.” Mrs. Meyers said. “We’ll look into that, then.”
Mary gave her a weak smile in return. “Thank you.” She said. “Have a nice rest of your evening, Mr. and Mrs. Meyers.”
Mr. Meyers nodded. “Same to you.” He said.
Mary saw them out of the classroom, then collapsed back into her chair, heaving a sigh of relief. That wasn’t anywhere close to how she had expected the meeting to go, but…she had made her effort. Hopefully, Carmen would start to show signs of improvement, but if she didn’t…then Mary would have to go back to the drawing board. Unpleasant though it may sometimes be, it was her duty to make sure her students grew up healthy and well-adjusted, and she wasn’t about to shirk it.
“You’re back!” Carmen said, running over and giving each of her parents a hug. “What did Miss Stokes want to talk about?”
Anna picked her daughter up, tousling her hair. “She was worried about you.” Anna said.
“Why would she be worried about me?” Carmen asked, clearly confused.
“She thinks someone is teaching you bad things.” Anna said. “And we need to talk about that.”
“Fenrir, will you do me a favor and grab Eve?” Jameson asked. “We need to talk to her, too. We’ll be in the living room down the hall.”
Got it. Fenrir said, giving them a nod and padding away.
Anna carried Carmen into the living room Jameson had pointed out to Fenrir, then sat Carmen in one of the chairs before taking a seat across from her. “Miss Stokes said you like to play Queen of Monsters with your classmates, right?”
“Yup!” Carmen said happily. “They all have a lot of fun with me!”
“But…you’re always the Queen of Monsters. Why is that?”
Carmen tilted her head to the side. “Because Aunt Eve is cool?” She said. “And because you guys helped her, I should help her too!”
Jameson sighed. “You don’t tell the other kids that she’s one of the good guys, right?”
“But she is a good guy!” Carmen protested. “They just don’t know it! But…no, I don’t say she’s the good guy.”
“They’re not supposed to know it.” Jameson said gently. “She’s supposed to be the bad guy, so it’s good that you don’t tell them she’s not.”
Anna gave an internal sigh of relief. They had worked a little magic on Carmen to prevent her from accidentally leaking anything classified, such as Eve’s identity, but that magic wouldn’t have stopped Carmen from simply stating her opinions, even if she couldn’t explain them. “Why don’t you ever play the heroes?” Anna asked. “They’re pretty cool too.”
“No!” Carmen said, pouting. “They’re big meanies, I hate them!”
Anna frowned. “Why?”
“They got really mad at you and Aunt Eve even though you were doing the right thing! And then they said you were doing the wrong thing! That’s not fair!”
Anna sighed. She wasn’t sure how to explain the nuance of the situation to a child, and even if she was able to, she doubted Carmen would really get it. “They said sorry.” Anna said. “Bruce and Ava were over just the other night, remember?”
“Well…Anala was pretty mean!”
“Anala…had some things to work out.” Anna admitted. “But she’s coming around.”
“What’s up?” Eve asked, walking into the room, Fenrir following close behind. “You needed me?”
“Aunt Eve, they’re trying to tell me I should stop pretending to be you when we play games!” Carmen said, clearly hoping Eve would be on her side.
Eve paused. “You’ve been pretending to be me when you play at school? Is that why you always ask me for plans to beat heroes?”
“Yeah!” Carmen said. “And they all like it a lot!”
Eve cast a questioning glance towards Anna and Jameson. “I will admit that makes me really happy to hear, but…what’s the issue?”
“Her teacher is worried someone is planting bad ideas in her head about you.” Jameson said. “She seems to like you too much, and it’s bleeding into her school life.”
Understanding dawned on Eve’s face, and she walked over to Carmen. “Carmen,” she said, looking directly into her eyes, “I need you to do something for me, okay?”
Carmen frowned. “What do you need?”
“At school, I need you to pretend that you don’t like me, and I’m the biggest, baddest, evilest person you’ve heard of.” Eve said. “If people know you like me, then they’ll think you and your mama and papa are bad people.”
“But…”
“It’s a special mission from me, okay? You’ll be my spy in the school, so it’s really important that no one knows that you’re working with me, and you have to act like all the other kids for that.”
Carmen’s eyes lit up. “Really?!” She asked.
“Really.” Eve said. She paused, turning back towards Anna and Jameson. Anything else I should tell her? She asked telepathically.
Tell her that she needs to play hero too, sometimes. She says she hates them because they’ve been mean to us.
Eve nodded, turning back to Carmen. “I understand that you don’t like the heroes, but they’re good people.” Eve said. “Have you ever had a fight with your friends?”
Carmen paused, then nodded. “Y-yeah.”
“We just had a little fight.” Eve said. “They’re my friends, so it’s okay to pretend to be them from time to time. Besides, it’s important to share the role of being me. If some other kid wants to try being me, you should let them.”
“Fine.” Carmen said. “Will you still give me ideas?”
Tone them down quite a bit if you do. Anna instructed. The ones you’ve apparently been feeding her have been too good so far; her teacher is questioning why she’s so good at pretending to be you.
“Maybe sometimes, but it’s important to think of your own plans, too.” Eve said. “If you want to be a really good minion like your parents, you have to know how to do things for yourself, alright?”
“Okay.” Carmen said. “Fine.”
“Good, we’ll make a proper minion out of you yet.” Eve said approvingly. “Now, I have some important business to attend to, so listen to what your parents say, alright? Even if something they say is different from what I say, I expect you to listen to them.”
Thanks, Eve. Anna said. That’s all we should need you for.
Don’t mention it. Eve said, blushing slightly as she began to walk out of the room. This is sort of my fault, so I should help take care of it.
“Um, sweetie…how would you feel about taking classes to help you learn how to play pretend better?” Jameson asked. “Miss Stokes said you were really good at it, and she thinks you can be even better.”
“School’s boring, why would I want more classes?” Carmen said, standing up.
“These aren’t normal classes.” Anna said. “They’re all like playing pretend. If you don’t like them, you don’t have to go, but will you try one or two for us?”
Carmen paused, then sighed. “Fine. Can I go play with Mai and Aria now?”
“That’s fine, sweetie.” Jameson said. “Just be careful in school, alright?”
“I will!” Carmen promised, running out of the room.
“Do you think she really will?” Jameson asked softly, watching her go.
“I think so.” Anna said. “She’s a little overeager, but she knows how important this stuff is to us. And if she gets too out of hand…well, we’ll deal with it then.”
Jameson chuckled. “You know, I didn’t imagine my life as a parent would be filled with issues stemming from not having our child leak classified information, but here we are.”
“Me neither.” Anna said. “But life has a funny way of not going how you plan. Now…what say you and I go get some food? I’m starving.”
