Vol 1 Chapter 3 (2/2)
Observant people like Seron, Meg, and Arthur quickly realized that Natalia and Portood terms, and that most of the problems between the orchestra and the chorus club stemmed from the orchestra side
“Dearie h she had simply stepped on Natalia’s foot by mistake
“Please don’t let it bother you, SC Portman It never bothered me, either”
“That’s very kind of you, Natalia Steinbeck”
“Enough of the fake apologies, SC Port you’d matured a little”
“Oha psychiatrist in the future, Natalia Steinbeck? I’ when you put yourfor you”
“Notany names, but I’m not sure I have what it takes to look after self-centered patients I’ to have to turn down any offers from medical school if it means I have to suffer into adulthood, too”
“Of course With your skill, I suppose you’re destined for a career in music And ayour talent”
“But I could never beat you for music criticism, SC Portman”
If Port respectively, this tied in a fierce battle
The orchestra club, clearly not wanting to get involved, shrank back
“Girls’ fights are scarier than a war” Larry whispered to Seron
Silently, Seron nodded
“Although I don’t know much about wars” He added quietly
Arthur, who had been in the background of the conversation for quite soently elbowed Ms Krantz
“Oh! Er… Yes That was great!” She said “No objections here! We have high hopes for both the orchestra and the chorus club Let’s all enjoy ourselves and play nice! All right, everyone? Yes?”
The club representatives had a schedule set for the
The drama club would do voice projection exercises and practice blocking, or make costumes and props in the clubroom
The orchestra would start off with a full practice in their usual haunt, music room 1
The chorus club would go to practice at their usual location— from music room 1
Ms Krantz would supervise the co the day after tomorrow
As for Seron and Larry, they would continue to work as gofers
Just before they set off for e,
“Here” Seron said briefly, handing Meg her bag
“Thank you very much”
Politely, Meg bowed her head Then she left the gymnasium with the other chorus club members
“…”
Seron watched in silence until Meg’s bouncing pigtails disappeared
“All right Let’s go” Larry said, giving him a push
The orchestra club walked ahead of Seron and Larry as though in a funeral march
Including Natalia, the orchestra club numbered at over a dozen h the building in complete silence
Soon they arrived at music roo The orchestra ently placed their luggage on the desks
“Thank you You’re free to go” Portman said
“Feel free to call us if you need anything else!”
Seron and Larry left the music room with the carts
Natalia glanced at Larry as he departed
“Hmph” She snorted
When they returned to the gyo on an errand The dra tape faster than they had expected and needed more rolls Seron and Larry received thedistrict about a kilometer away
Te in time with the season, but because of the low humidity it was not very uncos were refreshi+ng
Seron and Larry walked out the gates and into the residential district Because it was still , the streets were practically deserted
Larry suddenly pointed at Seron
“Seron! You’re the luckiest guy in the world! This is great! So that was Strauski Meg eyes and all And she’s an incredible singer, too! She’s perfect for you! Ask her out next tiot it! You can ask at lunchti her own lunch!”
Larry’s hands and feet were tre in awe But Seron—
“W-wait That’s a bit sudden…” He said sadly
Larry stopped
“Er… you can keep walking, Larry —I, well… I don’t plan on asking her out right away And please don’t say a word about it to her Please”
“Wh-why?” Larry sta his walk
“The practice caht?”
“Yeah”
“So if I ask her out today—”
“Aha! Then you could go on caether every day for the next seven days! You can tell SC Arthur that you’re helping out, but stick with the chorus club all week long I can do both our shares of work, and—”
“No, I et a positive response”
“You mean…”
“If she turns me dohat am I supposed to do for the next seven days?”
Seron’s attitude had darkened so quickly it was almost scary
“Whoa, whoa Wait a sec here You have a point, Seron But—but you’re a good-looking guy I think you’ll be fine”
“That doesn’t necessarilyto be interested in me Remember what you told me before? ‘Don’t ever roll out a plan under the assus will turn out for the best’”
“Well, yeah…”
“So please don’t tell her anything, Larry At least, not until the last day of the practice camp …Please”
“Seron… you really like Strauski Megmica, don’t you?”
“I love her!”
“…”
Larry’s jaw dropped at the prompt response, but he soon nodded to himself
“So you’re happy just being around her …All right I got it I promise I won’t say a word” Larry said, then added, “But until then, I’ether If you think you see your chance, ask her out! Sound good to you?”
Seron and Larry ca Arthur had asked for, but there was no work for them to do
“I think we’re good for now, so you’re free to leave if you’d like See you in the afternoon” Said Arthur
With the drama club’s voice projection exercises behind theymnasium
Larry suggested that they drop by the chorus club, but Seron vetoed the idea because it would be too unnatural So they went straight back to the dorms
The usual hustle and bustle of the campus nowhere to be heard—it was tranquil in the school that day
It was rare to see the campus so deserted, but this was one such rassy field spread quietly across the grounds
Seron had seen such sights often, living in the dor the unusual atmosphere
“Hey, wanna check out that old building?”
At Larry’s suggestion, they took the long way around and headed for the old building that was used as a storehouse
As on cas Around it was a stone-paved path and a small flower bed
The storehouse’s wall and foundation were rey stone, and its roof was covered with red tiles It was shaped like a rectangle, longer fro was about 30 ht it was about two stories tall, and the roof was very steep Next to it was a steeple that could serve as a lookout tower
The building was a rens of repair were clearly visible
Because the storehouse was old, foreboding, and far fros, not many people approached it—especially not students, who had nothing to do with the storehouse
There were n there when the school was first built But the rest had been deemed unsafe demolished
“They et rid of all the historical buildings This storehouse was built over 300 years ago There are other old buildings around here, but this one tops them all”
“I see Thanks for the info This is the first time I’ve come so close since I took a peek back in first year”
Seron and Larry circled around the building toward the northern side
“Who’s there?!”
An angry male voice echoed from around the corner
“Huh?”
Larry stopped So did Seron behind him
As their eyes adjusted to the shadow, they spotted threeat them
The e from their twenties to their forties And they all wore the sa Not so nicely, they looked positively
The 4th Capital Secondary School took appearance and approachability into account when hiring even the security guards People like these three were a rare sight on campus
Seron and Larry had already seen one of them earlier
“Ah, it’s you guys Froymnasium earlier” Said Hartnett
Seron and Larry nodded
“As you can see, we’re working Leave”
“Right, Mr Hartnett —Do you enuinely curious Although he didn’t expect an answer
“Oh, this? Orders fro off the latticed s Can’t have any little kids falling inside, right? Even if no one falls in, it’d still be trouble if anyone got stuck”
Though Hartnett looked asas ever, he answered Larry’s question with little reservation
There s along the wall, low and close to the ground
The ere about 40 centiular 1-meter intervals in the wall and were dozens of centilass, they were installed with bare-bones iron bars
The building baseh up on the indows that let in light and fresh air
“A basement, eh? Wish I could check it out” Larry said curiously
Hartnett said no more to Seron and Larry He turned back to his coworkers for a discussion
“Let’s not bother them C’mon” Said Seron
“‘Scuse us” Larry nodded, turning on his heels
Watching therimaced
“This isn’t good A drama club practice caet entry during summer break…”
The man in his forties chimed in,
“‘It’ll be fine because the sports clubs aren’t practicing yet’, they said This is ridiculous”
Hartnett finally spoke
“No use coo into the basement First, let’s double-check the lock”
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