Vol 1 Chapter 2 (1/2)
Chapter 2: Larry
The 6th day of the seventh
The sky was covered corey clouds In only a day and a half, Seron was back at Capital West Station
Though trains in Roxche were infa late, Seron’s train had made it on time There was still quite a bit of time until noon
First, he decided to get breakfast at the station restaurant
The restaurant next to the lobby at the station entrance was croith people rushi+ng on their way to work
Seron, the odd one out in the crowd of commuters, slowly nibbled on his toast Meanwhile,
“Let’s see… Platform 4…”
A brown-haired girl in a light pink blouse, a pair of beige culottes, and a light beige jacket passed by him with two tickets for Bren Station in hand
Neither Seron nor the girl noticed each other
After finishi+ng breakfast, Seron drank tea and read to pass the time
When the department store opened afterwards, Seron went to the bookstore there and bought three or so more books, then sat in a coffee shop to read them
When the wall clock rang to signal the time, he left the coffee shop and took a taxi to the 4th Capital Secondary School
As students who attended secondary school in the Capital District tended to be from well-off families, entry to secondary school campuses was heavily restricted
Even during suates They were all aruns loaded with non-fatal—but likely very painful—rubber bullets
Seron flashed his student ID at the gates and entered the campus
The campus was just as deserted as it had been when he left the day before He didn’t see anyone Sports clubs usually held practice over the suun
Pulling his suitcase along, Seron walked along the tree-lined path to the dore of the campus
There were two hallways leading froht led to the boys’ wing and the one on the left led to the girls’ wing The building also housed a separate wing that was reserved for fa the campus
The dorms also included a separate cafeteria that remained open even when the main cafeteria was closed
The cafeteria was large enough to seat hundreds of students at once Long tables were lined up in orderly rows in the rectangular space, which was large enough to serve as a banquet hall in a hotel
Seron stepped inside
“That’s the last one!”
There, wiping the tables with the cafeteria ladies, was a boy with short-cropped blond hair He earing an apron over his shorts and T-shi+rt
“Nice ti up!”
Later, the black-haired Seron and his blond friend—
—sat side-by-side wearing nothing but towels around their waists
They were sitting on a wooden bench The bench was in a very big rooe bath full of piping-hot water
They were sitting in the boys’ co
The blond boy’s build struck quite the contrast to Seron’s slender frame
Though he was short, there wasn’t an ounce of flab on hiure ell-defined muscles
Beneath his military-style buzzcut shone a pair of blue eyes, which were quite coh he had fair skin, the boy’s arms and face were sunburnt and visibly darker than the rest of his body
“Nothing beats a good bath after a workout Eh, Seron?”
The blond boy’s energetic voice echoed throughout the room
“You can say that again, Larry Although it’sto the bath at this time of day”
Larry Hepburn was an upstanding young man
The Hepburn family was famous in Roxche for its 400-year history in the military They were practically nobility in the Capital District
In the past, they had served as knights to kings And after the founding of Roxche, the farandfather served as generals And though many career soldiers in Roxche eventually entered the political stage, the Hepburn fa with the military
Larry’s father—a 44-year-old soldier—and his uncle two years beloere already practically guaranteed positions as generals And Larry’s brother, as six years his senior, was currently studying at a military academy
Larry was 15 years old, just like Seron
Larry had been a boy scout since childhood He was very much accustoo into thebut a knife on hand and have the time of his life
His motto was, ‘a healthy spirit dwells in a healthy body’ Accordingly, he trained alle day He also swore by the phrase ‘an officer and a gentlereet everyone with a smile and an optimistic attitude
The school offered military science classes, and Larry naturally took the course every year
The week after finals, Larry had gone to a short-ter camp far from the Capital District as part of that class The students had been scheduled to return on theof the end-of-classes ceremony, but their train was delayed and Larry did not make it in time
Seron and Larry had happened to sit next to each other in the very first class of the first day of school in their first year, and they had been friends ever since Though fros, they somehow hit it off and could now call each other best friends
“Why were you working with the cafeteria ladies, Larry?” Asked Seron
“To work up a sweat!” Larry replied without hesitation “I get jittery if I don’t work out at least once a day So I came in early and helped out”
“Is that contagious?” Asked Seron
“Sure is! Now that we’re roouarantee that once you get ho to wonder, ‘Who are you and what have you done with my beanpole of a brother?’”
“I’ bigger uniforms”
“C’mon, Seron! We’re buddies!”
“I made oing?”
The communal bath was located in the base 30 h to prevent dor to use the facility The architecture incorporated sweeping curves and intricate designs, much like the communal baths of ancient times
In the bath was a white porcelain sculpture of a chiseleda turtle atop his shoulders Water poured out of the turtle and into the large bathtub
Supposedly the girls’ bath was decorated with an equally naked statue—but theirs depicted the Goddess of Beauty
So the two statues, but at thethe swap
The dorms and its communal baths received a steady supply of hot, clean water froe of careenhouse, and the the faculty apartments
There was no one else in the communal bath Finally, Larry broke the silence
“All right Let’s get in”
He stood from the bench So did Seron
Placing their towels at the edge of the tub, they slowly lowered the bath And they stretched their ars
“Phew…”
“Hah…”
In unison, they sighed
Larry looked up at the tall ceiling and slowly spoke
“Baths are nice… The Confederation Ar you could ever need in a war, but it didn’t have any baths Just lukewaruess you couldn’t really warm up so much water in a state of war You knohat’d be the best? Outdoor-use baths No aruy can dream”
“Hoas the training camp?”
“It was good Learned a lot, as usual Fell in love with tanks this tih the usual stuff came up”
“Shucks Must be tough dealing with them” Seron said
Because the Hepburns were a well-respected uaranteed a shi+ning career in the military This hy ood graces while they could, which bothered Larry greatly
It was a nor and straightforward, Larry had a hard ti with such people
On the other hand, Larry had unwavering respect for the tough-as-nails drill instructor, a sergeant who showed him no preferential treatment
“Caonna be a blast! More than anything, this whole backstage business sounds really interesting, don’t you think?”
“Me too We’ll have a lot of fun starting tomorrow”
“Yeah! So in that spirit—”
With a spirited cry, Larry loudly stood and stepped out of the bath He stepped onto the tiled floor and put his towel around his waist
“—it’s time for pushups!”
“Pushups?”
“You too, Seron! Awithout his health! C’mon!”
Seron gave a wry grin as he stood fro back his wet hair, he put his hands down next to Larry
“Here goes! —One! Two! Three! Army!”
Two students doing push-ups in the coe sight, but thankfully no one was there to see
“Four! Five! Six! Army!”
Larry’s voice drilled them both as they continued
“Seven! Eight! Nine! Ar!”
“Like what?”
“Anything! Anything you want to yell!”
“Got it! —One! Two! Three! Friendshi+p!”
“Atta boy! Put some spirit into it!”
“Four! Five! Six! Forget about girls!”
“Yeah! Forget about girls!”
In the end, Seron kept up with Larry for 50 counts
“Sorry, Larry… I’hed
“I’oes!”
Larry did 50 more
They stayed in the bath until they started to feel dizzy, then went up to their assigned dorm room
A cool northerly breeze wafted into the comfortable room Seron and Larry snored away
The rooer than those in the student wings
The room was furnished with two dressers, two desks and chairs, and two beds ooden frames There was also a sofa that could be converted into yet another bed
Seron and Larry woke up just in ti their school-issue T-shi+rts and shorts, they rushed to the cafeteria
The draroup about 30 strong with students ranging froirls irls for every two boysSeron did not recognize any of them
Soan whispering ast themselves when they spotted Seron One boy frowned visibly
Larry and Seron got their food at the counter
Students did not have a choice of menu today Everyone was served beef steith tender chunks of ot bread, salad, and beverages for their trays
Seron grabbed a pot of tea, and Larry grabbed two bottles of ned their names on a student record sheet to indicate that they had eaten at the cafeteria
“Hey Larry Thanks for co to help us out Come sit with us”
A boy with glasses, who seemed to be the oldest member of the drama club, waved Larry over
“SC Arthur! Glad to be of service Oh, this here’s my buddy Seron”
“It’s nice to meet you My name is Seron Maxwell”
After exchanging greetings, Larry and Seron sat doith the bespectacled student, who gave the over dinner
Arthur also introduced himself He was a fifth-year student at the school and the new president of the drama club, he said
“And this here’s Sophia” He added, introducing the fifth-year girl who had been sitting next to him Arthur then went on to introduce several of the crew e of the set pieces
The play they were to perforhout Roxche It chronicled the adventures of a certain king in his youth as he traveled incognito, rescuing oppressed peasants with the help of his friend It was a classic tale of good versus evil
Finally, Arthur explained the basics of Larry and Seron’s duties as helpers
“—and that’s about it This play we’re doing has a lot of characters, so we’re a little short on hands backstage But the dra jobs You’re just here for support, so on’t saddle you with anything too annoying Also, we’re going to have an afterparty on the last day of the cauys join us”
The dra for the dorirls ere silently appealing to be introduced to Seron departed, crestfallen
Arthur told Larry and Seron to meet the club at breakfast time the next day, and stood from his seat
“Whoops, al more helpers tomorrow—I’ll introduce you when they arrive” He said before leaving
After dinner