Chapter 180: Mikaela’s Orientation at St. Ignatius Academy

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Ms. Petra," chuckled Natsumi, as Annette awoke in her bed, to find that she was hooked up to an IV drip.

"What happened?" asked Annette, looking around confused.

"It’s better that you try and remember, instead of me telling you," said Natsumi.

"Wait, how long have I been out? What’s today’s date? I was supposed to go to Mikaela’s birthday, and... oh yeah. I remember now. My brute of an ex-husband beat and threatened me to stay away! Me! I’m Mikaela’s mother!" said Annette, starting to twitch.

"OK, ok, calm down. Shh, calm down. Breathe," said Natsumi, pushing Annete back onto the bed, and holding her hands.

Annette, calmed down with deep shuddering breaths.

"That’s not quite what happened. You tried to crash the party in your usual protest outfit, Ivan gave you a rather violent choice to put on a dress, or stay away, you chose to stay away, and then, you proceeded to drink through your entire supply of wine. The puddle of piss and puke is still waiting for you to clean it up. Dr. Alexandria and I cleaned you up, and put you in the bed here, and I stayed over to keep an eye on your vitals, but cleaning up that mess is your job," said Natsumi.

"Ugh! You make me sound horrible! Excuse me for wanting a shred of agency in this prison I’m currently in," grumbled Annette, sinking further into the bed.

"Well, to answer your initial questions, you’ve been out for about 14 hours, and it’s the day after Mikaela’s birthday. The party is over, so how about you get cleaned up, and wish Mikaela on your terms? Despite the party rules, and Edward’s and Ivan’s enforcement of them, she still asked both me and Dr. Alexandria to check if you were OK," said Natsumi, disconnecting Annette’s IV drip.

"OK, Doc. I’ll try," sighed Annette, and heaved herself out of the bed.

"Also, I’m prescribing you some multi-vitamin supplements. Puking out alcohol like how you did last night can do a number on your digestive tract, so just water and these pills for at least a couple of days, and just water, Annette. Alcohol and caffeine can give you nasty side effects with these in the system," said Natsumi, handing Annette a jar of pills.

"Fine," sighed Annette, grabbing the pills.

"Oh, and you’ll need to take them at least once a day. You can skip today’s dose, because they were part of your IV drip, but those are essential vitamins that you don’t get from a vegan diet. They’ll also help with the mood swings," said Natsumi.

"Vitamins D and B12 right? Thanks, but no-thanks Doc. I’m not taking them," said Annette, handing the pills back.

"And why not?" asked Natsumi.

"Because plants are the only things I need. I don’t trust whatever those drug companies and their shill doctors say about vegan diets not giving you everything. I don’t see cows popping vitamin pills," said Annette.

"Cows have four stomachs to digest the grass they graze on. Humans are not herbivores Annette. If you don’t want to eat dead animal, the least you can do is supplement your vegan diet with perfectly safe and essential synthetic vitamin pills, or even fortified juices if you don’t want to pop pills," said Natsumi.

"Fine, then I’ll go the juice route. I’m not popping pills," said Annette.

--- ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"I trust that the protocol for dresses has expired, Captain? Am I now welcome in your home?" asked Annette, as Edward opened the door to her.

"Yeah, yeah, come on in," said Edward, Annette’s tone making him decide to not apologize for the previous night.

"Hey Mom. Good morning, Dr. Kitagawa," said Mikaela, as Annette and Natsumi entered the living room.

"Happy belated birthday Mikaela. I know now that I shouldn’t have tried to crash your party, but those rules really pissed me off. Anyway, now that it’s over, here. Your present," said Annette, trying to stay calm as she took in Mikaela’s dress and heels.

"Thanks, Mom. I thought of making an exception for you, but it didn’t feel right," said Mikaela, taking the package Annette had brought with her.

"Hmm. Well, since you’ve decided to play grown-up. I thought this book would be a good gift. But don’t tell your father, he might accuse me of trying to indoctrinate you and have me thrown in some torture chamber," said Annette, as Mikaela unwrapped the package to reveal a thick red paperback book.

"Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. What is it about?" asked Mikaela.

"Philosophy," said Annette.

"I wouldn’t call it indoctrination, but you could have at least gotten a hardcover version. Still, I suppose this is a good step in the right direction, since you’re acknowledging Mikaela’s intelligence," chuckled Natsumi.

"Yes, well. I’m a lowly middle school teacher at Boston Public. I can’t afford the fancy hardcover versions," said Annette.

"I understand, thanks Mom, I still appreciate it," said Mikaela.

"So? How was the party?" asked Annette.

"It was good. You want some birthday cake? It was made with eggs though," offered Mikaela.

"No, thank you. I’m good. Although, I’d like some breakfast, and help with cleaning my house of you don’t mind Captain? After all, my nervous breakdown last night was at least partially your fault," said Annette to Edward.

"I’ll be happy to lend you my services if you apologize for calling me a military brute," replied Edward.

"I apologize Captain. I understand you were only following orders," said Annette.

"I wasn’t only following orders. I performed my duty as party bouncer, knowing full-well the social and interpersonal risks of preventing a parent from seeing her own daughter, weighed against the social and interpersonal risks of spoiling an 11-year-old girl’s birthday by allowing said parent to make a scene. Nevertheless, your apology is accepted," said Edward.

"I have to study for my entrance exam tomorrow, so see you later Mom. And thank you for taking care of her, Dr. Kitagawa," said Mikaela, standing up.

"Your welcome, Mikaela," said Natsumi, and she left with Annette.

---

Mikaela nervously entered the Vice Principal’s office at St. Ignatius Academy, her heels clicking nervously on the polished floor.

"Welcome, Ms. Zakhrov. Ordinarily, you would take an exam with other students while entering either fifth grade, or ninth grade, but since you are transferring into the sixth grade, this is basically the same end-of-year test that our regular students take," said Catherine, inviting Mikaela to sit.

"I see," said Mikaela.

"You have 3 hours to finish the test," said Catherine, handing Mikaela the test papers and workbook.

"Ok, I’m ready," said Mikaela, pulling out her fountain pen.

"Time starts now. I’ll check in on you periodically," said Catherine, and left the office, her heels clicking smartly on the floor.

Mikaela checked the questions on the first test paper.

"OK, these seem simple enough," she said, and began to answer the questions on physics, chemistry, math, biology, computer science and English.

---

"I’ve finished, Ms. Cormac," said Mikaela, as Catherine came back to check in on her during the final 15 minutes.

"OK. You can take a break while I go over the answers and grade them," said Cathernine.

"Can I just wait here?" asked Mikaela.

"Yes, you can," chuckled Cathernine, and sat behind her desk to grade Mikaela’s test.

"Wow, you have very neat handwriting," remarked Catherine, as she went over the answers.

"Thanks, Ms. Cormac," said Mikaela, blushing slightly.

"Let’s see... that makes it... 95%. Excellent work Mikaela," said Catherine, smiling.

"Thanks, Ms. Cormac. Where did the 5% go wrong?" asked Mikaela.

"Thorough, are we? Over here, you got two math answers wrong, these two chemical equations are incorrectly balanced, and you’ve made a couple of spelling errors in your English answers," said Cathernine, showing her the workbook.

"OK, thanks, Ms. Cormac. I know that St. Ignatius is merit based, but I still needed to be sure, I hope you understand," said Mikaela.

"Of course, Ms. Zakhrov. Your father explained the situation already, and let me assure you personally that St. Ignatius is and always will have the highest meritocratic standards. Here, your acceptance letter. You can go and meet Fr. Abel, our guidance counselor for your orientation, and then order your uniform," said Catherine, printing a slip of paper and handing it to Mikaela.

---

"Come in, Ms. Zakhrov," said Fr. Abel, smiling as Mikaela entered his office.

"This office feels different from the others I’ve seen," remarked Mikaela, noting the bookshelves filled with psychology textbooks, as well as brightly colored children’s books.

"Yes well, a little color is nice to see once in a while, particularly in a place like this," said Fr. Abel.

"Here’s my acceptance slip, Father," said Mikaela.

"Yes. As you know, St. Ignatius is a catholic school, which means that you’ll have to attend a compulsory ethics class, while your catholic peers get the full-blown religious instruction. Aside from that, we have a zero tolerance policy on hazing and bullying. You get caught, you’re out, regardless of how high your grades are, or who your parents are, or how much money and influence they have. With me so far?" asked Fr. Abel.

"Yes, Father," said Mikaela.

"Aside from that, the uniform code is strictly enforced, we conduct uniform inspections every morning, after recess, and after PE. So make sure that you are always well-groomed, or you get fined. Try and argue or protest the uniform code outside the proper grievance address channels, and you get expelled. This here is your student ID, it gives you access to classrooms, clubrooms, the library, and other facilities, as well as acts like a debit card. Since you have qualified for a scholarship, a weekly stipend is deposited in your account that you can use at the school stores, or even outside. Fines are charged to that account, and if its balance hits zero, it is billed to your parents’ account. On the flip side, maintaining high grades will increase the stipend. So be careful with how you use it. Any questions so far?" asked Fr. Abel, handing Mikaela the black NFC smart card.

"Yes, but not about the rules. Why do you have guards on horseback? Wouldn’t bikes or go-karts be more effective?" asked Mikaela.

"Motorcycles and go-karts can have their utility, but horses provide our campus security with something far more than simple speed. They can move independently without the guard needing to use his hands, making them far more versatile for patrolling the extensive grounds," chuckled Fr. Abel.

"Hmm, I suppose that makes sense," said Mikaela.

"Any other questions?" asked Fr. Abel.

"No, I think that covers it," said Mikaela.

"Very well, feel free to come to me if you have any problems settling into your classes. You may go get your uniform now," said Fr. Abel.

Mikaela stood, gave him a curtsy and left.