Vol 1 Chapter 6 (1/2)
Chapter 6: The Man Looking This Way
Morning The 8th day of the seventh month of the year 3305
It was the second day of the practice camp The sky was a clear blue, and there wasn’t a cloud to be seen
Seron Maxwell and Larry Hepburn sat in the dormitory cafeteria
Like the previous day, they were in their school sweats And like the previous day, they sat at a table far from the drama club
On Seron’s tray was a plate of bacon, eggs, boiled vegetables, and toast On Larry’s tray was the other breakfast etable salad with stea of cereal and milk
As usual, Larry prayed for the war dead
“Thanks for waiting Let’s eat” He said
“Of course It’s only proper to do justice to the moniker ‘the most important meal of the day’” Came an answer
“…I wasn’t talking to you” Larry said, looking at the long-haired boy sitting next to Seron
Nicholas Browning wore a shi+rt e hair was tied up in a ponytail, and like the previous day it was impossible to tell that he was a boy from appearances alone
Nick and Seron were sitting side-by-side with the same menu before them
Seron seee He took bites out of his toast with blueberry jam The toast crunched loudly
Nick smiled
“I’ll also be staying at the dorle room, unfortunately”
“Doesn’t mean you have to eat breakfast at school today too”
“I et an early start to doret started sooner than later”
“Doesn’t mean you have to eat with us Go sit with the drama club”
“I siht it seemed fatally lonely over in this corner of the cafeteria”
“Thanks for your concern I suggest you get your eyes checked Get well soon”
“I was si a joke To be honest, I’m showered with so many questions when I sit with the dra I do appreciate all the attention, still”
“Just like Seron, huh”
“I suppose so But not a few of the girls seem to have their eyes on you as well, Larry”
“It’s too early in thefun of people, y’know”
“No, no I’ to say that you should be more aware of your own charms”
“…Don’t tell irls”
“Not at all And even if I did, you wouldn’t be my type”
“Are you trying to pick a fight?”
“Nonsense I’hts”
“Even if I liked guys, I’d still turn you down”
“Ah, then we’re in agreeht be ‘birds of a feather flock together’”
“I’m a soldier, not a poet”
“Yes, I know about that Everyone’s heard of the Hepburn family”
“Thanks I don’t know a thing about your family”
“My parents are both professors at Confederation Capital University My father is a professor of linguistics, and my mother a professor of economics I also have two sisters—tho are four years older thana women’s university”
“By ‘I don’t know a thing about your family’, I meant, ‘I don’t know, and I don’t really care’ Did I mess up my Roxchean? Ask your father for me sometime”
“I will Shall I give you an invitation to our house sometime?”
“How did you get to that conclusion?”
“Then perhaps just for Seron I suppose I’ll have to instruct the maid to prepare only one extra cup of tea”
“What, so Seron’s already going?”
“Considering the flow of the conversation, I assume so”
“Please tellin, Nicholas”
“‘Nick’ will do, Larry We’re friends, after all”
“Friends, eh? That’ll be 100 sit-ups and 200 push-ups every day, Nick Think you’re up for it?”
“I’ll be perfectly content to sit back and watch”
“Don’t be shy Co session of your life For your information, my brother—the ultimate musclehead—is set to come home pretty soon”
Larry and Nick’s banter went on for some time
“Larry Nick You’d better finish eating if you don’t want to be late for practice” Seron said, having finished two pieces of toast
“Oh, shoot! Ms Krantz is pretty scary when she gets mad”
“She certainly is Let’s hurry”
Larry and Nicholas quickly finished their food
The drama club and the three helpers had just put away their trays and were heading off to the gymnasium when they received the news
“SC Arthur!” One of the girls cried, running into the cafeteria
“What’s wrong? Did so over to her
“Ms Krantz can’t make it to practice today!”
“What? Why?”
The drama clubas the girl explained the situation
“Apparently herand hurt herself badly She broke her leg Ms Krantz had to go straight over, and she just called Mr Murdoch at the faculty office”
“Where’s Ms Krantz’s hoain?”
“I think it was Lajimdt City”
“That’s about 100 kilometers from the Capital District” Arthur remarked
“Yes Ms Krantz says she’ll be gone until the evening, so she’s going to cancel practice today She says she’s very sorry about this”
“I see… Well, there’s not much we can do at this point I heard Ms Krantz’s father passed away a long tio, so there’s probably no one else who can look after her mother”
“What do we do, Arthur?” Sophia asked, concerned
“We can’t practice without Ms Krantz We’ll have to take the day off today We can go ahead and continue building set pieces in the clubroom The orchestra and the chorus club are probably here already, so we should explain the situation and have them do independent practice or take a break” Arthur instructed withouta beat
“I see That sounds good” Sophia nodded Then she asked several drae to the other clubs
The ers quickly left the cafeteria
“What about us?” Larry asked Arthur
“You and Seron—and Nick too—can take the day off Sorry this happened on such short notice Enjoy soymnasium”
“Didn’t think we’d have so much time on our hands”
“Yeah”
Larry and Seron remained in the cafeteria
The draone The cafeteria ladies were not there either, as they were taking a break before preparing lunch
The cafeteria was quiet and deserted, save for Larry and Seron—
“Let’s chat and pass the tiether”
—and the s Nick There was a teapot and cups of tea on the table between them
Larry picked up his cup and pointed at Nick, who sat beside Seron
“Why didn’t you go with the drama club?”
“Because I am not a member” Nick replied immediately
“Hed his tea
“I don’tinfor you two, huh? Do you want to go watch a fil I’d like to drop by the bookstore”
Larry and Nick grinned
“Sure!”
“That’s a wonderful idea”
“You’re co too? Sure, whatever”
“Then we’ll leave once we finish tea” Seron nodded
At that moment—
“Ah! I knew it! You’re here!”
A powerful feh the cafeteria
Seron looked up So did Larry But Nick spoke first
“And who ht this be? Could you introduce us?”
Stepping into the cafeteria was Natalia Steinbeck Unlike the previous day, she was in co-sleeved shi+rt
Natalia walked between the aisles and caht up to the boys
“Good , Nat”
“Hey, Lia”
Seron and Larry greeted her
“Hey, you two —C’ aside
“Er… Good ”
There stood Strauski Megmica
“Private Hepburn, some clean cups and a pot of warm tea, on the double! Don’t make the ladies wait”
“Ah… argh…”
Larry stood, unable to put up resistance against Natalia’s military-style commands
Natalia took Larry’s seat and sat Meg down next to her Meg was in sweats today, just like the boys Her family name was embroidered over the breast
No one sat across fro did not object
Seron took a deep breath He looked at Meg and—
“GoodIt’s a pleasure to , a third-year student Please call me ‘Nick’ I came in yesterday afternoon to help out with the draantly Seron quietly exhaled
“For a second there, I thought you were Larry’s girlfriend The name’s Natalia Steinbeck Third-year Just call me ‘Nat’”
“My namica I am a person from Sou Be-Il I am also a third-year student It is a pleasure tosaid, a little tense
“Oh right, I’m from the orchestra club We’re supposed to providehere’s from the chorus club, also here to help”
“I see We’ll be counting on your support, Nat Megmica”
Seron looked up at Larry But he did nothing more
“Here, Lia Sorry to keep you waiting, Meg out cups for the girls,than Natalia
“Talk about discrimination Thanks”
“Thank you very much, Larry I will enjoy this tea”
“…My seat?” Asked Larry Natalia did not miss a beat
“Go across This side belongs to the girls Or were you one of us, Larry? Short hair’s not bad on you”
“Argh…”
Larry walked all the way around the long table and to the other side
“…”
He considered switching seats with Seron to give hi, but that would stand out too much So he did not
“Tch”
Larry sat next to Seron—in other words, across fro
Natalia held out his cup to him
“Thanks You heard about Ms Krantz, right?” Larry said, receiving the cup Natalia nodded
“Yeah Right after I got to school So independent practice today, but we decided to take the day off Everyone left their instru Must’ve wanted a break”
“The chorus club is resting today as well My senior-class to phone call my driver, when I met Natalia on the campus”
“So I brought her over Thought you guys’d be pretty bored too”