Chapter 17 - P.D.F. Debut

That morning Jasper, Scarlet, and Alex turned up at school together and it became the hottest topic on campus. By noon, the trio became dubbed as the P.D.F. as a short for Prince, Doll, and Freak.

The rumours reached Scarlet's ears and she wondered why Jasper got the Freak title. She would have gladly claimed it for herself. It must be the new hairstyle that Mr Beyonce gave her that got her the Doll title.

The attention they got everywhere disrupted classes so much that the teachers allowed the trio to go for a self-study session in the library. Scarlet did a little dance in her head to celebrate ditching boring lessons. The teacher said that as long as they kept their grades up, the school would not take their attendance into consideration. The power of fame and influence was truly amazing.

This time, Venessa and Sadiya weren't as surprised when the three little school superstars made their appearance while classes were still in session. apparently, the balding school principal passed down a chain of command to treat them like precious royalty.

"Would you like to have a private room? I think we're able to block the room permanently for your use if you'd like. Do you have any preference?" the young librarian asked.

Alex blinked and Jasper shrugged, leaving the decision entirely in Scarlet's hands. Scarlet thought for a while. The elementary section of the library was on the first level and had no privacy with so many people walking in and out. Fortunately, the higher floors of the library were restricted to the bigger kids who were in college. However, they couldn't access it without a card. The atmosphere there was more silent and better for studying with many small private rooms but it didn't come with computers.

"Grandma... are we able to book any room in the library? Even those on the upper floors?"

Grandma Sadiya smiled. "Of course. We've readied your passes to. Also, I thought that you might require a private room with a computer for research purposes. Can I recommend a room that I think you would like?"

Grandma Sadiya's eyes were shining and Scarlet raised a brow. Scarlet didn't think that such a room existed in the library. Still, she wouldn't turn it down if such a room existed.

"We have a librarian office at the back but Venessa and I hardly use it. It's where returned books are shelved and new books are kept for barcoding before being introduced to the system. It's also the only place that has a side door exit to the toilet with a pantry that you can have snacks in."

"Sounds like a good deal," Scarlet admitted. "Is that even allowed?"

Sadiya rolled her eyes and snorted. "I'm the head librarian. If anyone has an issue they can take it up with me... I'll shove my foot so far up thei-"

"Don't say such things! The baby can hear you!" Venessa chided and the head librarian piped down again while grumbling.

Scarlet snickered while Alex looked scandalised by Grandma Sadiya's foul language. The matter was quickly settled and all three children were given special access cards before they were shown to the office. Scarlet had some difficulty reaching the card scanner and had to jump to tap the card. Alex thought that it was adorable but kept the comment to herself. Jasper said something about Scarlet's size and was given a merciless kick to the shin. She didn't want to mess with the school Doll no matter how cute she thought Scarlet was.

After getting cosy with milo and biscuits, the trio was finally given some privacy. Scarlet took five minutes to clean the plate off food while the ancient-looking bulky computer whirred to life. It was very slow, but it did the job. Scarlet tapped her fingers impatiently while the screen loaded and Alex wondered what the fuss was all about. Jasper didn't care so much and started flipping through a new book he picked out from the neatly stacked cardboard boxes.

A few minutes later after many rapid clicks and tapping on the keyboard, Scarlet let out a triumph cry.

"Ok, now we can commence our secret meeting. In today's meeting, we shall decide on a team name and the plan to become independent financially and socially. For starters, I will let you know who I truly am."

Jasper put the book down, interested in what the odd girl had to say for herself. Alex was confused but went with the flow. Scarlet showed them a very dull looking weblog page and signed in. neither of them recognised what that was but from the background stats, Scarlet had a few hundred subscribers. That was a rather good pool of followers for someone so young. They were more surprised when Scarlet admitted that she hasn't started the Human Observation Journal too long ago.

"Yes, it is I - Pirate S. the captain of this blog. As you can see, I think I have a flair for writing so the first part of the Grand Plan towards freedom would be to publish a book because books make a lot of money right?"

Jasper and Alex shared a look. Was Scarlet serious?

"I don't know how to write books, I can't even do a proper essay..." Jasper admitted. While he excelled without effort for Math and Science, the same could not be said for language.

Alex shook her head when Scarlet looked at her. "I don't know anything about writing books. Ah! I could help you draw the cover if you'd like. I've been secretly watching videos about drawing using a software and I find it fascinating."

"We only have one computer here and it isn't going to work very well for drawing," Jasper pointed out.

Alex smiled brightly. "Don't worry about it, I'll just ask for a laptop from my father. He should have many spares lying around in the company, it shouldn't be difficult for him to get a hold of one for me."

Jasper and Scarlet looked at Alex with raised brows although the boy's eyebrows were hidden beneath his bangs. For all the shortcomings Alex had, being rich was probably a redeeming feature in a group like theirs.

"That's actually going to help us a lot... thank you Alex!" Scarlet smiled plastically but Alex thought it was the sincerest thing in the world and blurted out that they should feel free to request more things from her if she could be of any help.

"How about packed meals?" Jasper suggested. "That way we won't need to waste time queuing in the cafeteria for food. I don't think the librarians will mind if we eat there as long as we don't make too much of a mess..."

Scarlet took out a foolscap pad and pencil case from her bag. She wrote in big letters at the top of the page things that they required. Jasper and Alex threw in ideas that seemed great at first but a little more ridiculous after ten minutes when Alex suggested bringing a spare luxurious Italian leather sofa from one of her guest rooms for sitting comfort.

"Ok, let's take it slow and stop for now... we're only starting to make a plan so that I can convince your mother. Let's start thinking about the Team name so that we can publish the book."

"I'm not going to be of much help here," Jasper pointed out and Scarlet shook her head before pointing the pencil in his direction. "You're going to help us with research and tutor us before the exams. Although we're given special privileges, I don't think Mrs Wilde will be pleased if it starts affecting our grades."

The boy shrugged. "I guess I can do that then. How about using the name the school gave us? P.D.F.?"

Scarlet thought about it and frowned. "Sounds too geeky. besides, Prince, Doll & Freak sounds like a very random author name. Nobody will take the story seriously..."

"What is the story you're going to write?" Alex asked.

Scarlet grinned. "I'm going to write about a super-being who lost his memories and goes on an adventure to find out who he truly is. I haven't decided on the title yet..."

"I still think I like P.D.F. because it represents the three of us... how about keeping it but changing the initials to something like Pretty Dancing Fairy?"

Scarlet cringed internally at Alex's naming sense and Jasper coughed to disguise his laugh. That kind of name with the storyline didn't match.

"I think we need something more suited for the story's genre... how about something like Permanent Discovery Fantasy?"

Scarlet frowned. "Sounds too much of a mouthful. Permanent Fantasy?"

Alex shook her head. "We don't want this to just be a fantasy, do we? Permanent... Freedom?"

While it sounded close to what they wanted, Permanent Freedom sounded odd. "Freedom always comes at a cost," Jasper reminded them.

"Freedom and cost huh..." Scarlet sighed and reflected on the events that happened yesterday. While the other two children were thinking hard, an idea hit Alex hard and she clapped her hands with excitement.

"Frost! It's short for the phrase 'Freedom comes at a cost'! Permanent Frost, how does that sound now? It's like our own secret code too..."

Jasper patted Alex's head. "That's a good one, I like it. What about you?" he asked Scarlet who was nodding too.

"It's actually really good. Who knew that you had it in you?"

Alex frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," came the innocent reply and Scarlet wrote down Permanent Frost on the paper.

Finally, they were truly a team.