Vol 1 Chapter 8 (2/2)
Seron took Jenny’s limp arm and forced her to her feet, and left the darkrooed her by the arm to the cafeteria and sat down at a table
“daonna kill whoever stole that filnize hih with hih to pull out her hair She stared a hole through the cafeteria table
“Can we get an explanation now?” Natalia de at Seron across the table
“Indeed, Why the sudden change in attitude? Why the sudden aze from Jenny in front of him to Seron on his left
“I want to hear an explanation, too” Larry said, turning to his right
Finally, Meg—sitting across froe dark eyes
“Seron…”
Seron looked the girl he loved in the eye and replied,
“All right” He said Then he turned “Jenny?”
“Whaddaya want, ugly? Sorry for being a liar Forget it Just leavewalk off a short cliff” Jenny spat, hanging her head
“No, Jenny I’ such harsh things”
“Oh, now you feel sorry for ed your mind?”
“You were telling the truth all along, Jenny The film was definitely stolen”
The others raised their eyebrows Jenny looked up, her eyes wide
“What’d you say, pretty boy? Say that one ry at you”
“The film was definitely stolen I’m sure of it”
“…”
“I acted that way back in the darkroo in with aI’m sorry Maybe I’ve read too many mystery novels”
“Interesting I forgive you, Seron” Jenny said, s
“I get it” Larry nodded Nick agreed
“Seron, why not jointhe drama club? We could always petition Ms Krantz to add a new character”
“I’ to have to decline”
“Not bad” Natalia said
Finally, Meg smiled
“I was very surprised But now I am happy I am happy that you are not a horrible person, Seron”
Seron looked at her, his expression unchanging Larry quickly cut in
“So who do you think stole the film, Seron?”
It was the question on everyone’s minds Five sets of eyes were on Seron
“Who but the six of us knows about the photograph? Only two people”
“No way…”
“My goodness…”
Natalia and Meg gasped simultaneously
“Mr Murdoch, and thisLarry jumped to his feet
“It must have been—”
Seron shook his head
“We don’t know yet We can’t say which one of theether They both had the time to do it”
“What? Seron, Mr Murdoch’s a teacher”
“We’re just discussing possibilities here We can’t exclude Mr Murdoch Take a seat”
“Right… all right” Larry replied, sitting back down Jenny leaned forward
“So nohat? Do we nab ‘em and torture the answers out of them?”
“Feel free, but I’ involved Dunno about Mr Murdoch, but Hartnett’s gonna give you one heck of a fight” Larry said quickly
“What’s your plan, Seron? Any ideas?” Asked Natalia Meg desperately looked at Seron
Seron slowly spoke
“I still have no idea which one of them did it, or if they’re both behind this And I have no idea why an adult—who really should know better—would steal the filo and ask in person”
“Oh? And who ht we ask?”
“Good question, Nick We ask the man we have to rescue”
Larry looked up “You mean…”
“The ot no other options at this point We’ll go down there and look for him, and tell him in person that he’s in trouble And—”
“We will rescue him, yes? We will, Seron?”
“Well…”
Seron trailed off for a moment Then—
“…Even if he says he doesn’t want to coet hier”
“I agree! I agree noher hands
“Great! I’onna interview him! I’ll print a special edition with his photo ‘Mystery Man Hiding in School Base the school ter like an ordinary newspaper club member
“Not like anyone’s gonna believe you…” Larry muttered
“What’d you say, blondie?” Jenny glared
“Nothing” Larry replied, looking away
“But hoe get in there?”
“Indeed The doors were chained shut”
Natalia and Nick pointed out the obvious Seron pointed with his thumb at his best friend
“Larry will take care of it”
“What?”
“Really?”
An aard expression rose to Larry’s face
“…All right I got it I’ll take care of the lock I can probably get us in there”
Natalia furrowed her brow
“How? I’ry if you tell e it, though”
“All right… but you’d better keep this a secret, okay?” Larry pleaded before he disclosed any more information “I can probably pick open the lock with a hairpin”
“How do you kno to pick locks?” Natalia quickly asked
“I learned it…”
“What? From who?”
“From a CO… in the Confederation Army”
“What?”
“Please don’t tell anyone, okay? Until about 20 years ago, back when the as still going on, the Confederation s and hotwire vehicles in case of an e to the front lines, like special forces, scouts, and pilots in the Air Force”
“…Wow”
“When the war ended, the et was slashed and a lot of career soldiers lost their jobs And some of them used the techniques they learned in the military to steal cars or break into houses So theskills like that But you’re always going to find at least one old soldier ants to pass down his skills to the young’uns…”
“Crazy…”
“Don’t get the wrong idea, Lia I’ bad with these skills”
“Anye’re counting on you” Said Seron
“I got it Just leave it to me I’d like to check out this basement, too Lend me a hairpin later, Lia?”
“Gotcha” Natalia nodded
“We’re counting on you” Said Jenny
“Noe have a way inside” Said Nick “But what if Hartnett and his crew are working inside? They’ll naturally try to chase us out”
“I don’t think they’ll be working on the building anymore today”
“And why do you suppose so, Seron?”
“Because they did nothing yesterday or earlier today, even after announcing their work yesterdayany tools or equipment, either”
“That’s definitely strange Was there a mistake, you think?” Larry wondered Seron nodded
“It’s likely, since they’re working for thefrom a distance, and if we don’t see anyone, we’ll move in”
“Right So do we get ready now?”
“We can make preparations, but we should wait until after lunch Let’s wait until the food is served and make our move after we eat”
“Good call Don’t want to get hungry while we’re exploring the basement”
“That too, but I had another reason in mind”
“Like what?” Larry wondered
Meg spoke up ecstatically
“You wish to give delicious lunch to thein the basement!”
Seron’s eyes ’s, for a moment But he quickly looked away and nodded
“Excellent idea He reed
“I get it” Larry clapped his hands together
At that moment—
“I don’t understand, sir!”
Hartnett was in a faculty lounge so into a receiver There was no one else in the room, and there were no other telephones there
<what is=”” so=”” hard=”” to=”” understand?=”” you=”” cannot=”” proceed=”” today=”” return=”” for=”” now=””>
Co from the speaker was the voice of a calm, older man
Hartnett was livid
“I don’t see e can’t move in today, sir!”
<…look we’ve=”” received=”” co=”” that=”” you=”” were=”” too=”” inti=””>
“Wh-what? But it’s summer break, sir There aren’t any students around”
<the drama=”” club=”” is=”” there,=”” is=”” it=”” not?=””>
“I—yes But do I really look so suspicious?”
<whatever the=”” case,=”” try=”” to=”” be=”” more=”” sensitive=”” we=”” can’t=”” push=”” the=”” issue=”” to=”” the=”” point=”” that=”” the=”” ministry=”” of=”” education=”” decides=”” to=”” stop=”” cooperating=”” with=”” us=”” reet=”” inside=”” unless=”” they=”” open=”” the=”” lock=”” for=”” you=””>
“We can easily cut the chains with our tools”
<hartnett you=”” are=”” at=”” a school=””>
“We won’t get anything done at this rate, sir And—”
<there’s no=”” point=”” to=”” arguing,=”” hartnett=”” the=”” plan=”” to=”” send=”” in=”” our=”” men=”” and=”” equipment=”” has=”” been=”” canceled=”” come=”” back=”” for=”” now=”” and=”” we’ll=”” think=”” of=”” another=”” way=””>
“…I understand, sir”
When theup, Hartnett slae
“da out into the lobby
The sun was shi+ning from the center of the sky It was noon
Seron, Larry, Nick, Meg, Natalia, and Jenny were behind the old building at the edge of the campus, beside the north door
“All right No one’s around, and no one’s watching It’s going well so far” Larry grinned There was a pack of gear on his back
Before lunch, after they had decided on their plan—
“I’ht need” Seron said He asked Larry to collect things like work gloves and flashlights, along with some rope, a first-aid kit, and water bottles just in case
Larry went to their dorather the items And he quickly returned He fit theo been using at thethe backpack on his back
The cafeteria ladies began preparing to serve lunch The six students helped the out of their way to clean tables and set out plates and silverware
“Such hardworking children Roxche’s future is bright if students like the to become the movers and shakers of society” The cafeteria ladies mused, moved by the students’ actions Unfortunately for the lunch to start earlier
“It’s no trouble at all,students” Larry said with a smile No one said a word about their true intentions
The dormitory cafeteria finally opened Students had a choice between etable soup and bread, and roast beef sandwiches with a side of salad
The six students grabbed theand ate to their hearts’ content Natalia and Larry, as usual, de both options
Seron, however, did not touch his sandwich Larry asked him if he was satiated with just the salad
“Yeah But you know…”
Seron had ordered two servings of sandwiches
“…I feel kind of bad It’s like I’ to bait him with food”
Seron stuffed the two sandwiches into a wisteria lunchbox
“Don’t think like that, buddy Just tell yourself you’re treating him to a niceover a serving of soup
He poured the soup into his canteen and tied the lid down so it would not leak He also filled a large water bottle with tea
Meg finished eating faster than usual
“Let’s go! We six people are the only people who can rescue theon everyone but Seron, who had already finished eating
Once everyone was done, around the time the drama club entered the cafeteria, the six students left the building
A pair of eyes watched the six students walking across the deserted campus
The man realized that the students were headed for the old building
“Argh! What are they planning to do over there…? damn it!”
Theaway from the
A pair of eyes watched theaway from the
“damn it…”
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