∞ Ş ∞ Ş ∞ Ş ∞

She was standing in the central secretary's office, technically speaking, she was on the bottom floor of the clock tower. The square room appeared more spacious than she remembered it, but that might have something to do with the pastel blues and greens surrounding her. To her left was the elaborate looking teacher-cubby where the network of small wooden boxes painted in blue, and silver. On the left side behind the front left desk, was a sliding door where three guards disappeared out of view. Closer to the back door of the tower were, and the opposite of the last desk was a large expansive shelf of office supplies for the secretaries. Behind the front right desk, the long string of cubbies and shelves ended. Leaving the rest of the wall to be occupied by neat wooden shelves. In front of her was Thirteen, back straight and amber eyes focused as she typed away on the main laptop at the front of the secretary office.

"I'm sorry, you want me to do what?" she asked again, trying to figure out if this was indeed the reason she had been escorted from the train station. She had ended up leaving Sitara on her own first thing in the morning, she didn't want to imagine the bruises the girl was going to have when she saw her again.

"Mr. Azarolla has gotten lost for the fourth time today," Thirteen drawled dully. "You are to provide him with guidance for the rest of the week."

"um, I have my own rank-related duties to do during the day," she huffed. "How am I supposed to keep my station and babysit the albino-corpse?"

"Is that what you children have been calling him?" Thirteen glanced at her with a raised eyebrow, her fingers never pausing as she continued to type. "While the name is fitting, it is hardly accurate. He's still living after all."

"Not for much longer," she shot back. "If I stick around Albino-corps for an entire week, he'll end up on the easiest to take out list' before the month is over."

"Then, I guess you should do your first-rank responsibilities and make sure Mr. Azarolla doesn't become a target." Thirteen retorted blandly.

"Uh-huh, I'm a target!"

"Mrs. Moriyama, this is an order from the principal." Thirteen drawled tonelessly. "You can hardly risk refusing this task. Not unless you want to lose your position."

"Not without a fight," she snarled.

"Then make sure Mr. Azarolla figures out the school layout before the week is over," Thirteen glanced at her again, a challenging look in her amber eyes. "Or are you not capable of watching out for one more little duckling?"

"The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I hope you didn't think the staff didn't notice your tendencies to disappear and reappear randomly and yet coincidentally always around the same time as your siblings leaving their classrooms for one reason or another." Thirteen turned back to her computer, still typing away as fast as any robot could. She glanced behind herself at the assemble of other secretaries, each person cringed and hurried to pretend like they hadn't been listening in on the conversation. "I don't care how you do it, Mrs. Moriyama," Thirteen spoke dully. "just make sure he doesn't end up in the farm-house, waste deep in cow-dung again."

"I don't wanna know," she shuddered and turned for the front doors. "I can't believe I have to do this for the sake of my title."

"Lose your 'demon' title then, little Nyx," Thirteen hummed. "Well, if you can live with the fate you'll be writing for your siblings."

"Are you aware of how much I hate you?"

"Do you think I'm surprised?" Thirteen looked at her over the monitor of her computer. "Go, Mrs. Moriyama. Mr. Azarolla does not have the patience of your peers."

"Can't believe you'd call them patient," she scoffed and left the clock tower.