Welcome to Vale High - Chapter 1 (Patreon)

While I would classify WDU as angst/romance, I would classify this as fluff/romance.  With that said, let's get this show on the road!

***

“Bye Yang!”

“Bye guys!” 

Smiling, Yang waved to a couple of friends while they ran past her to meet their parents.  After watching the two girls hop into their dad’s car, she grabbed the straps of her backpack and looked around.  The front lawn of school was packed with kids right now - some walking home, some running to catch the bus, and others waiting for their parents to pick them up.

She’d go home in a bit, but first she needed to wait for...

“Ruby!” she called out, standing on her tiptoes and waving when she spotted her little sister tumbling through the front doors with another group of students.  

“Yang!”  

Separating from the crowd, Ruby ran over to Yang - the cute little monkey tail on her backpack swinging all over the place while she tried to get her short legs to move in some sort of coordinated way.  

“Woah there!” Yang said right before Ruby plowed into her for a hug.  

Seeing as how Ruby didn’t slow down one bit, she knocked Yang backward a step in the process. After regaining her balance, she wrapped her arms around Ruby’s thin shoulders and squeezed extra tight - because that’s what family was supposed to do after being separated for a whole day.  If they missed each other, they were supposed to hug extra tight - that was the rule!

Only when Ruby was sufficiently squeezed did Yang let go.

“How was your day?” she asked, holding Ruby’s hand and leading them away from the entrance of the school.

That was another rule - hold hands when near cars or the street or anything Ruby might accidentally fall into, over, or on top of.  It was hard to figure out when Ruby might trip over nothing though, so Yang held her sister’s hand basically all the time - just in case.

“Today was good!  A lot better than yesterday!”

“Oh yeah?  Why’s that?”

While they walked towards the edge of the school’s playground, Yang looked down and found Ruby’s brow creased in deep thought at the question.

“Because...today is Tuesday.  And yesterday was Monday.”

After waiting a few seconds, Yang giggled when it became obvious that Ruby had nothing else to say.  

Sometimes, Ruby never ran out of words.  Sometimes, she ran out of them really fast and made up her own.  Most of the time, she was just a little weirdo...

“Tuesday is better than Monday,” Yang agreed, leading them off the sidewalk so they could cut around the side of the school.  

Unlike a lot of the other kids, Yang and Ruby lived in one of the neighborhoods right behind the building.  This meant they could walk home instead of waiting for a ride or taking the bus, which was really lucky! That’s what Dad said, at least.

But they had to walk alllll the way around the building to get home.  It wasn’t too bad most of the time, especially when the weather was nice.  Like today, it was nice and sunny. Plus, Yang liked walking with Ruby! Or running with Ruby, if it was raining.

“What’d you learn today?” Yang asked, allowing Ruby to swing their joined arms high in the air with each step.

“Multiplication!” Ruby answered, grinning that gap-toothed smile she’d had ever since losing one of her front teeth last week.

“Oh yeah?  Then what’s one times one?” 

“One!”

When Ruby hopped while she answered, Yang smiled and nodded.

“And two times two?”

“Four!”

“Eight times seventeen?”

“Yangggg!  That’s no fair!”

Yang giggled while Ruby pouted up at her, those puppy dog eyes shimmering in the sunlight.  

That was an unfair question, but what if Ruby could answer it?  She’d be a genius! A math wizard! And then she could help Yang with her homework. 

“Ok, ok.  Three times three?”

This time, Yang watched Ruby count to three multiple times using the fingers on her free hand before shouting “Nine!”

“Good job!”  Turning to the side, Yang gave Ruby a big smile while Ruby beamed up at her.

She was about to ask another question when something made her pause – something out of place in their normal walking-home routine.  School buses in the distance, voices from the front of the school, Ruby humming softly to herself, but there was something else…

When they reached the rear of the school building, she figured out what it was.  

There was a group of kids standing behind the school, tucked out of view unless people were walking home through the neighborhoods like Yang and Ruby. Usually, no one was back here - which was why Yang thought it was strange - but it was just some kids talking. Four boys and a girl, all around her age.

Shooting a glance their way, Yang pulled Ruby towards the path cutting between two houses - the path leading them home.  Before they left school grounds behind, however, her feet stopped.

Something about this bothered her, but what was it?

Turning around, she took a closer look at the kids to see if she recognized any of them.  

They were in her grade but in one of the other classes so she didn’t really know them.  She only kind of recognized them from passing them in the halls and stuff.  What she did know was that the boys were loud and kind of annoying, and people called the girl ‘book girl’ because she was always reading - even at lunch.

Yang didn’t know them, but from what she did know, it didn’t make sense for them to hang out together.

“What’re they doing?” she muttered to herself, watching the interaction unfold with more and more concern.

Deep down, she already knew what was going on, but she liked giving people the benefit of the doubt.  Maybe book girl helped the boys with their homework! Or maybe they were teaching her how to be a bully?  Because that’s what they were...

“Yang?”

Glancing down, Yang found Ruby staring up at her with an expectant expression, waiting to hear what they would do next.  It was the innocence in Ruby’s eyes that made Yang turn away from the group, knowing that they should just go home. This wasn’t any of their business.  If Ruby wasn’t with her, she might go see what was going on, but...

But she knew what they were doing.  The boys’ laughter gave it away - it was the type of laugh that was supposed to make other people feel bad.  And then there was the way they stood - surrounding the girl instead of including her.

They were picking on her.

It had happened to Ruby a couple of times when she started school, and it was the same every time.  The bullies were always bigger, stronger, and traveled in a group. They picked someone small and innocent to tease or push around.  Yang hated it. She didn’t get mad often, but she hated seeing people get made fun of for no reason.

When Ruby got picked on and Yang found out about it, she’d stepped in to help - and got in a lot of trouble.  That was for Ruby though. They were sisters. Yang didn’t even know this girl... 

“They’re mean…” Ruby whispered from beside her as another chorus of cruel laughter cut through the air.  Seeing Ruby’s downcast expression, Yang immediately frowned.

Maybe she didn't know this girl, but she wasn’t going to walk away - that was for sure.

“Hold on, Ruby.  Stay here.”  

Dropping her sister’s hand and clenching her teeth, Yang walked towards the group.  

“Yang!” Ruby immediately called out, stumbling through the grass after her.  “We should find a teacher!”

“A teacher won’t be any help.”

“Dad said no more fighting!”

Yang cringed at the thought of making Dad mad again, but he was the one who taught them to do the ‘right’ thing.  And the ‘right’ thing was what felt right.  Well, this felt right.

Closer to the group now, she could see the boys jeering at the girl while rifling through a backpack that probably wasn’t theirs.  It was purple, which didn’t seem like their color, and they were still wearing backpacks of their own.

“Dad said no more fighting when you’re involved,” Yang explained before holding out a hand to keep her little sister at bay.  “Wait here.”

Thankfully, Ruby froze in place, and Yang walked the last few steps alone.  

The boys were pulling everything out of the backpack - books, notebooks, pencils - and tossing it all onto the dirty ground.  All while laughing at someone else’s expense.

Maybe Yang didn’t know this girl, but her tearful eyes were more than familiar.  It was the same look Ruby had the last time this happened - filled with sadness and fear.  It was the look of someone who wanted to disappear, even though they hadn’t done anything wrong.

Dad said it was important to stand up for what was right, no matter how hard it was.  Doing the right thing wasn’t always supposed to be easy, he said. Sometimes it was one of the hardest things to do, but they still had to do it.

This wasn’t the hardest thing to do, but Yang knew it would get her into trouble.  She didn’t want to get in trouble, but she wasn’t turning around now. She’d just explain to Dad that what they were doing was wrong.  And if it was wrong, she couldn’t walk away.  She had to try to help.

“Please,” the girl begged the boys in a quiet, sniffling voice.  “Just give it back...”

The boys only laughed harder at her plea and threw all of her school supplies onto the ground by their feet.

“Ohhh what’s this?” one of them asked, pulling out what looked like a regular book and flipping through the pages.  “Why do you carry all these books around, huh? No wonder they call you book girl!”  

When he laughed, his buddies followed suit.  None of them had noticed Yang walking over, especially not the one she guessed was the ringleader - the one with his back turned towards her.

“You’re such a nerd,” he added before passing the book to his friend.  The second boy briefly flipped through the pages before unceremoniously dropping it on the ground and laughing.

“Whoops.  My bad.”

Hearing everything they said, Yang felt her frown deepen.  They were taking advantage of their size to push the poor girl around, and she really didn’t like that.  It made her mad, but that didn’t mean she wanted to fight them. She just wanted them to stop.  

So she tapped one of the boys on his shoulder, causing him to spin around in surprise.

“Give her her stuff back,” she ordered as calmly as possible.

Up close, he was bigger than she anticipated - several inches taller than her and far heavier.  But even when he smirked down at her, she refused to budge.

“Who’s gonna make me?” 

“We are!”

Smiling at the sound of Ruby’s voice, Yang felt a surge of confidence flow through her.  She didn’t know why all sisters didn’t get along like they did, because Ruby was her best friend - they stuck together no matter what. And, even if Ruby was way smaller than any of these boys, she wasn’t afraid - just like Yang taught her.  Don’t be afraid, but don’t do anything stupid. Stand your ground and wait for Yang to come help.

But Yang told Ruby that she wasn’t old enough to help yet, so she had to stay a safe distance away.  Her moral support was all the help Yang needed.

Ruby’s words caught the attention of all four boys though, turning each of them towards Yang.  The leader shoved the backpack into his friend’s stomach and raised another book high above his head, out of her reach.  His grin said that he knew Yang would have to jump to get it and, if she tried, he would just move it away.

“Why don’t you take it then?”

Narrowing her eyes at the dare, Yang quickly decided what she would do next.  Thankfully, if there was anything to love about a bully, it was that they were usually pretty dumb.

Sure, he could hold the book high about his head, but it only left his face more open.

While he smirked at her, Yang swung her fist forward and punched him in the nose as hard as she could.  Yelping in pain and surprise, he dropped the book and doubled over clutching his face. The other three bullies briefly looked confused, but that only lasted a second before the other boy threw the backpack on the ground and ran towards her.

He tried to grab ahold of her, but she threw her fists everywhere.  It didn’t matter what she hit as long as she hit something.  One of them pulled her hair, making her yelp in pain, but then she stomped on someone’s foot.  Whoever the foot belonged to howled before hopping away, leaving just two against one.  

One of them grabbed her by the wrist, and she couldn’t pull away because he was too strong.  When the other one swung a slow punch towards her, she ducked and then slapped him hard across the cheek.

“Stop!  Stop it right now!”

The voice was loud and filled with authority - and they all froze at the same time, their fight coming to an abrupt end.  The boy holding her wrist dropped it like it was on fire before backing sheepishly away from the teacher now towering over them.

“What do you think you’re doing??” the woman asked, her voice shrill and her posture demanding.

“She started it!” one of the boys whined, pointing at Yang.  The woman glanced at Yang with stern eyes before looking at the four boys, the girl still cowering by the building, and Ruby standing off to one side.

“All of you come with me.  Now.”

Hanging their heads in shame, the four boys obediently followed the teacher while the rest of them fell into step behind them.  

Even though the fight had been brief, Yang’s heart hammered and her hands shook with adrenaline. A large part of her was relieved it was over, but she hadn’t expected it to end by a teacher showing up… 

“Don’t worry - we won’t get in trouble!” Ruby quipped from beside her while they walked towards their doom.  “We were just doing the right thing!”

Smiling at Ruby, Yang reached down and held her sister’s hand again.  

It was always ‘we’ with Ruby.  They were in this together, no matter what.  If Yang got grounded, Ruby would ground herself too - then they’d sit in Yang’s room coloring or drawing until Dad said they could watch TV again.

Trudging back into school, Yang glanced behind her at the other girl, who stared at the ground while shuffling along.  She clutched one of her books in her hands while her backpack swung from her elbow, still unzipped. Turning around, Yang sighed as they were led into the office.

Unfortunately, she was a little too familiar with this room.  Big chairs lined the walls like the waiting room in a dentist’s office, but this was a lot worse than the dentist.  At one end of the room was a door with a window that you couldn’t see through - and that was the office you really didn’t want to get called into.

“Sit,” the teacher ordered them before heading into the office and shutting the door behind her.  

Under the receptionist’s watchful gaze, each of them picked a side of the room and plopped into the seats to await their punishment.  Yang and Ruby sat along one wall with the boys directly across from them - the big, bad bullies now sniffling and wiping away tears. The other girl sat as far away from them as possible, tears still in her eyes while she hugged her knees to her chest and stared at the floor.

Rubbing her knuckles, which were red and starting to puff up, Yang glanced at Ruby to make sure she wasn’t hurt.  But she was perfectly fine - actually, she was pretty content sitting in the giant chair, swinging her feet. She wasn’t tall enough for her feet to touch the ground yet - kind of a shrimp for her age - but hopefully she’d grow soon.

A few minutes later, the teacher stormed out of the office.  

“We’re contacting your parents,” she said, leveling each of them with another stern glare.  “Wait here until they arrive.”

Sighing again, Yang took off her backpack and dropped it on the floor in front of her, prepared for the wait.  Helping Ruby remove her own backpack, Yang set her sister up with one of her coloring books and some crayons to keep her entertained while waiting for their dad.

Ruby had just started coloring a big green and purple toucan when the first of the boys’ parents showed up.

“Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for you?” the woman demanded of her son.  “Only to find out you’re getting into fights??”  

When the principal appeared just inside the doorway to his office, the woman turned away from the rapidly-shrinking boy and heaved a big sigh.  Without another word, she walked into the office and closed the door behind her. Glancing at the boy, Yang found that he now refused to look up from his hands while the rest of his friends sat in silence beside him.

A few minutes later, the woman stormed back out.  Grabbing her son by the arm, she ushered him out of the room with a quiet and stern, “When your father hears about this…”

Based on that response, this wasn’t looking so good for Yang.  Ruby better not get in trouble though, because she didn’t do anything wrong!  Yang was the one to pick a fight. She’d make sure to tell the principal that.

While Ruby colored - happy with her afternoon activity - the other boys’ parents quickly arrived.  Maybe they were already on their way to pick up their kids when they got the phone call from the school.  Or maybe they lived really close. Either way, each of them spoke briefly to the principal before dragging their sons out with some variation of “What were you thinking?” or “Have I taught you nothing?”  One of the moms even made her son apologize to all of them on the way out, which he did with a trembling lower lip before disappearing outside.

Funny how they weren’t so tough anymore.  If only they’d been like this when Yang asked them to give the girl her stuff back...then no one would’ve gotten in trouble.

“Dad!” Ruby suddenly cried out, kicking her feet in excitement.  

Glancing over as their dad walked through the door, Yang straightened in her seat and did her best not to hold her breath.  She wasn’t afraid, but she was pretty nervous about what he’d say to her this time.  Last time he was pretty firm…

Finding the two of them, he hurried over and knelt on the ground in front of them.

“Are you ok?” he asked, looking Ruby over for any injuries before turning to Yang and doing the same.  He gently touched her knuckles and the red finger marks on her wrist before looking up at her.

“What was it this time?” he whispered.  When Yang turned towards the girl still sitting alone in the room with them, her dad followed her gaze.  After looking confused for a second, he finally shook his head and sighed. “How many?”

“Four.”

“Four?” he repeated in disbelief.  

Yang didn’t know what she was supposed to say to that.  And it sucked waiting for a punishment. She knew that she was going to get in trouble - she wished he’d tell her how much trouble already.

“When will you stop doing this?” he asked instead, his eyes pleading her to listen to him.  “Were they even picking on Ruby?”

“No,” she answered, feeling her brow furrow.  “But that doesn’t matter. They shouldn’t be picking on anyone.”

“We couldn’t just walk away, Dad!” Ruby piped in.  “We stand up for what’s right, remember? Even when it’s hard!”

After staring at Ruby for a long time, he patted their knees.

“You’re both your mother’s daughters,” he commented as the principal stepped into the room.

“Mr. Xiao Long.”

“Mr. Ozpin.  I was hoping we wouldn’t see each other again so soon,” their dad replied, standing and walking towards the office.  He didn’t step through the doorway, however, without first turning back to Yang and Ruby. “I’ll be right back.”

Nodding, they stayed put in their seats.

As soon as the door closed, a man and woman rushed into the waiting area.  From the matching dark hair, they had to be book girl’s parents. The woman fretted over her daughter, kneeling down and checking every limb as if she might be injured.  The girl kept saying she was ok, or that’s what Yang guessed she was saying, but her mom continued to check.

“What happened??” she asked loudly.  

The girl explained in such a quiet voice that Yang couldn’t hear a single word that was said, but at one point the girl nodded towards Yang and Ruby and both adults immediately turned their way.  

Caught staring, Yang immediately looked at Ruby’s coloring book and tried to watch the interaction out of the corner of her eye.  Once book girl’s side of the story ended, her parents shared a look before striding across the room and knocking on the principal’s door.  The next second, they disappeared inside to join Mr. Ozpin and Yang’s dad.

With all the parents accounted for, Yang took the opportunity to slide out of her seat and walk over to the girl, who was staring at the floor again.  Waves of black hair fell over her shoulders, creating a pseudo-screen that kept the rest of the world out, but Yang wouldn’t bother her for long.

“Hey, are you ok?” Yang whispered, and the girl finally looked up.  Her amber eyes were rimmed in red from crying, but at least the tears were gone for now.

“Yes...thank you…” she replied with a soft sniff and rub at her nose.  The sight pulled at Yang’s heart - the same way it did whenever Ruby was teased.

“I’m sorry they were picking on you.”

“Not the first time…” the girl directed to the floor, clutching her knees closer to her chest.

“But the last if I have anything to say about it!” Yang replied with a smile before looking at the book still clutched in the girl’s hands.  “Book girl, huh?”

Sniffing again, the girl wiped her nose with her sleeve and nodded regretfully, as if the name was something to be shamefully admitted to.

“That’s super cool!  Like a superhero name.  She saves people with knowledge.”  When the girl looked up again, Yang smiled and tapped the top of the book.  “Reading isn’t nerdy, so don’t stop, ok? You’ll be a genius someday, and they’ll still be idiots.  Geniuses are way cooler.”

When the girl actually smiled at the words, Yang’s grin widened.

“Yang.”

But the sound of her name made her flinch.  Looking over one shoulder, she found the principal gesturing her into his office while their parents re-entered the room.  Before she left though, she gave book girl one more glance.  

“Guess I gotta go now...” she said, smiling when she received a small smile of encouragement in return.

Taking a deep breath, she followed the principal into his office.  Her dad gave her shoulder a soft squeeze when she walked past, but that was all the reassurance she got before Mr. Ozpin closed the door and gestured towards one of the chairs in front of his desk.  She’d already tried both of them and neither seemed luckier than the other, so she picked the one on the right and plopped down. Mr. Ozpin sat across from her and put both elbows on the desk, clasping his hands together while watching her intently.

“Miss Xiao Long...can you tell me what happened?”

Their conversations always started like this - he always asked for her side of the story.  Shouldn’t he already know though? He was the principal, after all...

“They were picking on her,” she answered anyway.  “I asked them to stop and they wouldn’t. So I punched the tall one in the nose.”

Her response made him sigh.

“Can you explain what goes through your head when you see someone being picked on?”

The question made her brow crease in confusion.  What went through her head?  

“I...don’t like it.  And it’s not the right thing to do,” she answered unsurely.  “So I want them to stop.”

“Why don’t you find a teacher?”

“Teachers scold them, but then they just do it again.  Only worse because you told on them.” She tried that before and then Ruby lost a week’s worth of lunch money, so she already knew that didn’t work.  “Sometimes words don’t work. They just need a punch to the nose.”

Mr. Ozpin leaned forward in his seat, his eyes never leaving hers.

“Is that why we’re not getting through to you?” he asked softly.  “Because we’re scolding you when what you really need is a punch to the nose?”

The response made her frown while thinking through her options.

“If I did something wrong, then yes.”

“Fighting with your classmates isn’t wrong?”

“If it keeps them from bullying again, no.”

For several minutes, he just looked at her - like he was trying to read the thoughts going through her head.  Before walking in here, she was positive her way of thinking was right, but under his gaze, she squirmed uncomfortably.

“They call her book girl,” she finally said, her throat tightening as fear and sadness finally caught up to her.  “They told her that reading was dumb. They threw her books on the ground!”

Book girl hadn’t said or done anything to those boys either - Yang would bet on that.  They just decided that she was an easy target because she was quiet. Why couldn’t they just leave her alone?  If she wanted to read, then let her read. Why did it matter to them?

Frowning, she looked back at Mr. Ozpin.

“If they keep teasing her, I’ll keep fighting them,” she said defiantly.  

The reply didn’t seem to surprise him, but he sighed anyway.

“Then it’s a good thing she’ll be transferring.  One less child to worry about...” Standing up, he paced behind the desk for several long seconds before turning back to her.

“I understood when it was your sister, but are you determined to be a vigilante for everyone who gets picked on?”

Yang didn’t understand what a ‘vigilante’ was but hesitantly nodded - and he nodded, too.

“That’s what I thought.  Then I’ll give you a warning today, and I suggest you heed it - you only have a couple of years left in this school.  I recommend you fulfill your mission using words and only resort to fists when absolutely necessary.  Am I making myself clear?”

Even though Yang wasn’t sure she fully understood what he was trying to say, she nodded, feeling pretty grateful that she wasn’t getting in serious trouble today.

“Very well.  You may go.”

Not wanting to risk staying any longer, she shot out of the seat and rushed into the waiting area without another word.  Her dad and Ruby were the only ones still around - and apparently Ruby had convinced Dad to help her color the picture of the toucan while they waited.

“Can we go home now?” Yang asked, receiving a nod and small smile from her dad in return.  While she grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder – ready to go home and put this day behind her - her dad helped Ruby pack up her things before leading the way.  

On their way out of the room, however, Yang noticed something sitting on the chair that book girl had been sitting in.  Dashing over to check it out, she discovered that it was a book.  Even though book girl was gone, the book was sitting on the chair by itself.  

Grabbing it and running to catch up with her family, Yang flipped it open to see if there was a name inside so she could return it.  

There wasn’t a name, but there were some words written inside the front cover in - scrawled in a slightly-slanted font.

To Yang - thank you for standing up for me.

Grinning, Yang slipped the book into her backpack and followed her dad and sister to the parking lot for the short drive home.

“You’re lucky, Yang,” her dad scolded her while she got into the front seat and buckled her seatbelt.  “That girl’s parents threatened to complain to the school board if you were given any sort of punishment.  Next time, you might not be so fortunate. Even worse, you could’ve been seriously hurt! What if one of those boys actually knew how to fight?”

Avoiding his eyes when he got into the vehicle beside her, Yang stared out of the window instead - which only made him sigh.

“We’re getting you into boxing lessons…” he muttered while putting the car in drive.

“Can I have boxing lessons too, Dad??” Ruby immediately asked from the backseat.

“When you’re a little older, Ruby…”

While they left school behind, Yang rubbed her knuckles and slumped into her seat, knowing that she was going to get a long talking-to when they got home.  

Maybe she was supposed to feel like she did something wrong, but she didn’t feel that way at all. She’d do it again tomorrow. And the next day.

But she still felt guilty.  Not for the boys she fought with, but for book girl.  Maybe she should’ve been book girl’s friend before today.  Maybe she shouldn’t have waited for a moment like this before stepping in.  How many times had she passed the girl in the hall and not said anything - too busy talking to her own friends to spare a minute to say ‘hello?’  Maybe that would’ve helped keep the bullies away.  

She couldn’t go back in time, but she could try to be better going forward…and if she had to hit some bully in the nose again, she would.