Talk to the girls, one by one.

You don’t have classes on the third period, so you decide to use that time to talk to the girls alone. There are a couple of rooms for teachers to talk to the students and parents, so after asking permission to the history teacher to take the students out for a while, you call them into the room individually.

First, Vanessa Lindbeck.

She sits across from you, with a desk between you in the small room.

“I want you to give me your honest opinion. What do you think about your group for the written play?”

She leans forward, rests her elbow on the desk and her chin on her hand.

“I don’t like it. Not only do I have to work with Erica, but also with the control freak that is Veronica. I was looking forward to this, but now…”

Wait, what?

“You were looking forward to it?” you ask curiously.

“Yeah! I got home yesterday and could stop reading the book you recommended, The Great Gatsby,” she says, looking more excited. “They only ever made us read boring stuff here, but this one’s really good! Okay fine, I didn’t really understand at first, so I watched a few videos online…” she admits. You can’t help the disappointed expression on your face. Veronica notices this and immediately continues. “But! They were talking about all this symbolism and depth in the story that I thought was seriously cool!” She giggles excitedly. “So I kept reading and noticing all these things they talked about in the videos and it made it so much easier to understand!”

You sigh and give her a defeated smile. “Ideally you would’ve pieced it all together by yourself, but if you’re enjoying it, then I’m happy.”

“When you said we’d be writing something, I got excited because I wanted to try it out. But if I have to work with them…” She doesn’t finish the sentence.

“I think I understand why you don’t want to work with Ms. Young, but what about Ms. West? What about Ms. Chase?”

“I don’t speak to Wendy much. Barely know her, really. But Erica… I don’t really have a problem with her. It's just…” She clears her throat. “Our parents work together sometimes. My dad has warned me not to get close to her.”

What? Why would her father warn her of getting close to a classmate?

You sigh. “I’ll talk to your group mates before deciding what to do about this, but can I ask you to have a good disposition if you do end up working with them?”

She clicks her tongue before answering “Fine.”

You tell her she can leave, and as you see her go through the door, you remember the Affection Multiplier thing. You look at your phone and see her score.

L. Vanessa – Aff. 25 (+10)

Next is Erica West.

She sits across from you as well, legs and arms crossed. You’re thankful she’s wearing jeans and not a skirt.

“Be honest, please. What do you think about your group for the project?” you ask her the same question.

“I hate it. Mr. Sinclair, Vanessa and I don’t get along and Veronica’s gonna be a pain to work with!”

“Why would working with Veronica be a pain?”

“Because she’s a hard ass who wants everything to be perfect! Always has been! She thinks she’s too good for our class.”

“Alright, I see your point. But bear with me for a second here and think about this the other way. Isn’t it better to have someone reliable in your group? Someone you are 100% sure will do their part of the work?”

Erica groans as she shoulders slump. “I guess so.”

“I’ll talk to her as well, and if she gets too unbearable you can tell me and we’ll change groups. How does that sound?”

“How can I be sure you’ll believe me?” she asks with narrowed eyes.

Somehow, you feel that the answer ‘because I’m your teacher’ won’t do it here.

“Because I’ll speak to everyone on your group before coming up with a decision. If everyone had a problem with you, you’d like to speak your mind too, right?”

Erica’s expression softens. She accepts, even if reluctantly.

“And can I ask why you don’t get along with Ms. Lindbeck?”

“Sorry Mr. Sinclair. I can’t really tell you. I’ve known Vanessa since we were kids, but our family situation is… complicated.” She grimaces.

“Very well, Ms. West. I won’t pry. However, I want you to understand that I care about all of you. You don’t all need to be friends, but you’ll always find people you don’t like and you’ll have to learn to work with them. That’s what I’m trying to teach you here.”

Erica looks as if she’s trying to suppress an expression of annoyance.

“Again, if you have problems with her while working, talk to me and we’ll fix it together.” You give her a smile. “And I hope one day you’ll trust me enough to tell me what truly bothers you.”

Her eyes widen a bit and she seems taken aback. She only nods in response and silently leaves when you tell her she can go back to the classroom.

Again, you can’t shake the need to check the app.

W. Erica – Aff. 21 (+10) / Love. 4 (+4) / Lust. 8 (+8)

…

I’m sorry? Love? Lust?

You read the glossary for these things yesterday. Love and lust scores are supposed to show up when the person actually starts having those feeling towards you. You sigh. You guess it’s not uncommon for students to develop a crush on their teacher. You’re closer to her age than any other teacher in the school, too. Well, if this thing is telling the truth, then you’ll have to watch what you do and say in front of her.

Alright, next girl. Ms. Veronica Young.

The blonde girl sits properly in the chair in front of you and waits for you to start.

“Ms. Young. How do you feel about the group you’re in for writing the play?” you ask.

“I’m really thankful that you’re asking our opinions, Mr. Sinclair, but I don’t want to work with them.” She grimaces. “Actually, I don’t want to work with anyone. I’m sure I’ll do a better job if I work alone.”

“Why do you think that?”

“You’ve seen them in class!” she says, pointing her hand back at the door to the hallway. “Vanessa hasn’t taken up a pen in her life, Erica is too much of a diva to work at all, and all Wendy cares about is drawing in her notebook.” She lets out a drawn-out sigh. “They all hate me, anyway. So it’d be better for them, too.”

“Why do you think they hate you?” you ask with confused, narrowed eyes.

The expression Veronica gives you wordlessly says that was a stupid question. “Please, Mr. Sinclair. I don’t fit in in that class. I’m the only one who cares about their academic results there. Just because I’m serious about school and they aren’t they think they know me.”

You give her a small smile. “I don’t know you either, Ms. Young. I’ve only ever seen that earnest, hardworking side of you. Maybe that’s all your classmates have seen of you as well?”

“…” She looks down and doesn’t answer.

“I understand your interest are different to those of your classmates, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get along. You don’t need to be friends with them if you don’t want to, but I promise things will be easier for you if you manage to form good relationships with the people around you.”

“I understand, Mr. Sinclair. I really do. But… it’s not that easy.” She grimaces.

“I know it isn’t. But how many times have you tried?”

“…”

“Try to work with your group on this project. I’ve already spoken to Ms. Lindbeck and Ms. West. They are both willing to at least try. I’ll tell you the same I told them. If you have problems with your group, bring them to me and we’ll sort things out together, okay?”

She sighs. “Okay. Thank you, Mr. Sinclair.” She starts to get up, looking a little downcast and thinking the conversation is finished, but you stop her.

“Wait, Ms. Young. I don’t want to see you leave looking like that. I want you to understand that your dedication to your studies and sincere effort you put into everything are great qualities to have, and they’ll take you far, no matter what you chose to do in the future. However, if you only do what you can do you will never be more than you are now.”

Veronica sighs once more, a long drawn-out sigh, letting your words sink in before she cracks a smile for maybe the first time since you’ve known her.

“You stole that last phrase from a movie,” she states.

“Well, is it wrong?”

“No… it’s not,” she she admits and shakes her head.

“And is the movie bad?”

“Heck no! I love that movie!”

You smile. “Go back to class, Ms. Veronica.”

She shakes her head as she leaves, smiling as she thanks you once again. She’s a good girl.

Y. Veronica – Aff. 28 (+9) / Love. 7 (+7) / Lust. 2 (+2)

Dammit! What was it!? You’re just trying to be a good teacher, do your job! Urgh!

Ok. It’s fine. It’s just a small crush. It’ll go away with time.