Eva ran a hand through her hair, peering out the window. “I’ve been to worse. Really. It’s okay.”
Felix snorted and then opened the door and got out of the car.
“No, no! That’s my job. Stop, get back in the car,” Andrea whined.
She hurried around to the rear of the car and pushed him back inside, slamming the door on him.
“You spoil her,” Lily said, smiling at him in the rearview mirror.
“Shut up,” Felix grumbled. Looking up out the window at the enthusiastic Beastkin, he waited.
Andrea opened the door and doffed her cap, holding it to her breast. “Sir.”
Felix sighed and got out of the car, giving Andrea a small smile. “Thank you.”
Eva exited behind him while Lily opened her own door and stepped out.
Andrea shut the door behind him and then folded her hands atop each other in front of her. “I’ll wait with the car, sir.”
Then she split into two people, another Andrea forming from the thin air beside her in the same outfit.
“And I’ll go with you!” she chirped, bouncing on her heels.
The new Andrea saluted the other, who returned the salute.
Lily was already walking ahead, snapping open her messenger bag and pulling out several papers. Felix took a few long steps to catch up to her.
“We should be able to take care of this quickly,” Lily said. Then she pushed open the front door and locked eyes with a woman behind a desk.
“Felix, guardian for Eva, here for Principal Meier,” Lily said in a clipped voice. She handed one of her papers over to the woman.
“Ah? Oh! Yes, he’ll see you immediately, he’s right through that door—”
Lily thanked the woman curtly and took the paper back. Then, without another word, she walked towards the door the woman had indicated.
Opening the very same door, listed simply with “Principal” on the outside, Lily entered.
“Principal Meier, Felix Campbell to see you in regards to Eva Adelpha.”
“Oh! Yes. I’m glad to see you, Mr. Campbell,” said a mundane-looking man in his forties.
“Yeah. So, can you tell me about your school?” Felix asked, shaking the man’s hand.
“Yes, yes. We’re actually a growing district right now. We’ve recently put in plans to expand the school with a new grant provided.”
Is that a clever way to say they’re overcrowded?
“How many students per class?” Felix asked, getting to the point.”
“I, uh, we’re happily at thirty-five per classroom. We’ve had great success with it—”
“Uh-huh. Can I see your PTA calendar?” Felix asked, holding out his hand.
“Oh, of course.”
The principal opened a drawer and then set a small flyer in Felix’s hand.
Felix read over it quickly. All the events were simple social things aimed at fundraising and little else. “What’s your current attendance count for the PTA?”
“Twenty-four.”
“And how many students?”
“One thousand two hundred, give or take.”
Felix grunted and then set the flyer down on the man’s desk.
“I’m going to go walk your hall real quick and take a peek in a classroom.”
“Now see here, this is unheard of. Our school is perfectly fine to accept your ward and—”
Felix growled and pressed a hand to his forehead, ignoring the man.
Damn Kit. Damn Lily. Damn Eva. I’m no parent.
He’d once had to help a young mother find a public school for her son. He’d done it because she’d been a good worker. So he knew a few things, but not everything.
“Sir, there’s a fight in the east hall again. They think they need the police,” said the woman from the front desk.
Oh, fuck this.
Felix left then, exiting the school and walking straight back to the car without a word for anyone.
Andrea saw him coming and popped open the door for him.
Felix waited for a moment, ushering Eva into the seat behind him.
The second Andrea slipped in close to the first one and she vanished into her.
Never going to get over that. Still freaky.
Getting into the car, he waited for Lily to get seated.
“Lily, solve this for me. Find a private school that’ll actually get her an education that she can attend without fear.
“I don’t care about cost. And if you get this taken care of quickly, and I don’t have to do much, I’ll get you that third power you wanted.”
Lily’s eyes lit up at that.
“You really can give people extra powers?” Eva asked, eyeing him again.
Felix ignored her. She asked the same questions over and over.
“Swear it?” Lily asked him.
“I do. I want it done soon. Like, two days soon.”
“I already did it,” Lily said, flipping open her bag and pulling out a paper. “I figured this might happen, so I took care of it. I just need your signature.”
Felix smiled and took the paper. Reading it over, he realized it was a school charter. Taking the pen, he signed it and handed it back.
“You’re beautiful, Lily. A beautiful genius. Hit me up tonight and we’ll get that power squared away.”
Andrea clambered into the car and turned the key in the ignition. Then she turned back to look at him, smiling and adjusting the cap on her wolf ears. “Where to?”
“I’m hungry. Weren’t we going to get pizza last night? I still want pizza.”
“I want pancakes.”
“You always want pancakes.”
Lily cleared her throat and held up a finger.
“I would suggest we call Dimitry. We just dismantled a large portion of his organization. It might be wise to provide him with information, as well as perhaps a peace offering.”
Felix nodded his head slowly. Some type of blood money wouldn’t be uncalled for. Might even be the best response in this situation.
“Worst case, we go back and finish the job,” Lily concluded.
Good point. It would be good to have him as a friend, if only to have a friend.
Can always use more sausage if not.
An hour later and Felix was still hesitating. He knew that this call wouldn’t go well.
Tapping a thumb on his desk, he shifted in his seat.
Lily stepped past two Andreas who were keeping him company, and dropped a brick of lead on his desk.
“Make this gold. I’m going to go buy those shops across the street,” she demanded. She put her left hand on her hip and shifted her weight to one side. Her eyes watched him, a small smile quirking her lips. “You can give me that power tomorrow. You have nothing else on your point calendar today or tomorrow.”
Another Lily invention. The point calendar.
A day planner that listed out all of his points and what he was scheduled to spend them on. It helped them plan out what the needs of the company were.
Things were changing, and Lily was at the forefront of most of it.
“I also have all the departments arranged for an appropriate corporation. I’ve submitted all the appropriate documentation for the company as well. Your first department head meeting will be next week, after the HR department gets everyone in the right spot.”
Felix gave her a lopsided smile and spread his hands out in front of him. “Thank you, Lily. You’ve definitely been pushing us in the right direction. I appreciate it. Without you, this would have taken considerably longer.”
Tapping the brick of lead, he converted it to gold and then looked back to her. “How are we doing finance-wise? All this gold and purchases have to come from somewhere and go back out.”
“Loophole. You’re now paying all your employees, who happen to be all your slaves. Effectively paying yourself for their work. They keep a percentage of it, but most of it comes back to you. This won’t work forever, as I imagine they’ll eventually close the loop. For now, it’s perfect.”