Chapter 40 - The Governess Solution

The Wilde's celebrated the reconciliation between the sisters with a feast the following day, followed by a huge announcement. The results for class placements were out and all three children would be attending the same class. After Mr Wilde discussed it with both Jasper and Scarlet, they decided to slow down on their progress so that they could enjoy school life with Alex. Naturally, such a thing was kept from the Wilde princess who was overjoyed when she found out they would be attending the same class.

Claire gave them their uniforms and Alex was surprised when she received hers. "It's a skirt? I don't have to pretend to be a boy anymore?"

The head maid nodded. "The mistress said that with Scarlet and Jasper with you, there shouldn't be any problems. Besides, you have a very small class, and interaction with the other classes will be more of a common thing. You won't be made to interact much with any fixed classmate you don't wish to for extended periods of time. The special stream only takes in about ten students, but for us, they've made an exception and accepted a total of twelve students this year."

Scarlet was surprised. "Only twelve? That's a very small class..."

Claire smiled stiffly. "For an ordinary class, it would be. However, this is a special class. The school has to cater for twelve very special students, and that is a lot of resources that no ordinary school would not have the budget for. Joyville International is a school with many strong patrons and that is the only reason why it is possible. Your father has made a sizeable donation to make it possible for all three of you to get accepted."

Scarlet blushed when she heard the maid refer to Mr Wilde as her father. It was still difficult to get used to being the other Wilde daughter. Thankfully, Jasper's question pulled everyone's focus away from her.

"What will we be learning?"

Claire blinked. "There won't be any teaching involved, at least not much. Here is the timetable. For you to continue enjoying the benefits of the special class, you must contribute to the school's prestige. It can be through competitions, accreditations or accomplishments in the professional field. Apart from some structured classes required by the government and basic curriculums that you can opt for self-study, you can choose your area of specialisation."

Scarlet looked through the timetable. The hours looked exactly the same as any regular school and there wasn't a lot of differences. Classes started at eight in the morning, but it wasn't a daily thing. Scarlet soon realised that the timetable had many shaded out slots.

"Why are there huge periods of blanks?" she asked.

Claire handed out another printout with a list this time. "That is what you will have to decide what to do. The list contains the number of vacant rooms you can apply for booking as well as a schedule of teachers you can request for. The school allows you to make the bookings from a week prior to one semester prior. Of course, the confirmation of a venue is subjected to changes from the principal."

Scarlet looked through the list and thought about it. The computer lab looked mostly empty and so did the music room in the morning.

"Can I bring my laptop to school?" she asked. Claire nodded.

"We have permission from the principal. You will be given the school Wi-Fi's password to bring it along to work on your novel and research."

Jasper flipped the printout and saw a list of clubs. "What's this?"

Claire calmly explained the concept of clubs and Alex pointed out that they couldn't join them after school because they had to help Mr Wilde out at the company as interns.

"Don't worry, Mr Wilde has made it possible so that you work around the timetable. As long as you can commit two afternoons, the rest can be rescheduled."

Scarlet was pleased to know that and looked through the list of clubs, hoping to find one that would help her with writing. Sadly, there weren't any clubs close to what Scarlet wanted. The mass media club was just about it but the blogger wasn't interested in writing story scripts for plays and films. Meanwhile, Alex and Jasper had already shortlisted the clubs they were interested in. Claire was helping them fill in the club application forms while Scarlet frowned over the lack of choices.

"Is there something wrong?" Tina asked. The blogger looked at the soft-spoken motherly maid and sighed.

"The school has a hundred and seventeen clubs or extracurricular activities but there isn't anything I find interesting..."

Claire overheard it and blinked. "What is it that you're looking for, Scarlet?"

The blogger explained that she was looking for something that could help her with the novel she was working on.

The head maid listened and nodded. It isn't something the school could help Scarlet with. Unlike Jasper and Alex's interest, Scarlet required more professional help.

"Understood, I'll see what can be done about it. In the meantime, you should plan the classes you would like to take and the subjects you want to study for the tests."

The children looked through the curriculum and decided that they would choose some fixed lessons to take together while going to separate electives. Jasper chose to take extra math and business courses while Alex opted for art and design classes. Scarlet looked through the list and chose all three available electives - history, geography, and literature. The girls decided to take home economics for one term to try it out while Jasper decided to go for the ten-week programming class for beginners.

Satisfied with their choices, they returned the filled up form to Claire who entered it into the computer for submission. At the same time, the head maid sent an update text to the group chat, reporting the results.

Benjamin was the first to see the text. He suggested engaging a private tutor to teach Scarlet what she wanted to learn at home after school instead of going for extracurricular classes. Jenna saw the lawyer's suggestion and agreed. However, Mrs Wilde had a different idea.

Ice Queen: | What do you think about a governess? |

Jenna was sceptical.

Lady Butler: | Where would we find such a governess, milady? Not all governesses are apt novelists. |

Married To Work: | Don't worry, I think I know just the person for the job even if she's a little weird. This is a colleague of mine who was recently married and left her day job as a lawyer... She's working freelance as an editor and helping writers to self-publish. |

I Love My Girls: | Can she be trusted? The Wilde household isn't looking for just an editor or a novelist, we need a governess who will nurture our children as well. |

Benjamin wanted to sigh at Wilmer's choice of nickname. When the man wasn't working, he was a hopeless romantic with a severe daughter-complex.

Married to Work: | Don't worry, you can contact her for an interview. She's currently on a holiday, but I will send her a text if you are interested. |

Mrs Wilde had no objections to it and Mr Wilde set a time so that he could interview the lady personally.

Claire looked at the group chat and decided that it was better not to reply. She just wished that the person Benjamin spoke of could help heal Scarlet's heart as well and not just tutor her.