Vol 3 Chapter 1 (2/2)

“Me too It was a really busy day And who knee’d end up joining the newspaper club? I’d have laughed if you told me this time yesterday that I would”

Stripped down to his T-shi+rt, Seron pulled out a chair and sat down He remembered what had happened earlier that day and stared at his right hand

Larry looked at Seron, as as expressionless as ever

“It’s incredible Now you’re in the samica You can see her anytime even after summer break You should try and sound happier, buddy”

“Yeah… I know But…”

“But?”

“Now I’ about asking her before the practice caive up But now…”

“Ah… I see No need to finish that sentence You’re happy being around her You don’t want to risk that time you have I understand I won’t say a word to her about this Not even if they killed me or tortured me”

“Yeah Thanks, Larry” Seron smiled

Larry fell deep into thought

Neither Seron nor Larry spoke for quite a while Time passed in silence

“Oh, right”

Suddenly, Seron stood and took out a white cloth bag from his suitcase His na

The white bag was a laundry bag given to dormitory students Students could put shi+rts, underwear, and other pieces of clothing into the bags and leave them with the matrons, ould send the clothes to a laundro would be placed back into the bags and returned to the dorms the next day

“Do you have anything that needs washi+ng, Larry? I’ht close theat night during the su”

“Huh? Oh, some shi+rts and underwear”

“Do you ? We’ll be able to tell them apart?”

“No worries I’ve got my name written on allcaet people who steal socks when they run out of their own”

Larry leapt off the sofa and stuck his hand inside his duffel bag He drew a cloth bag similar to Seron’s, but labeled ‘ARMY’ instead

“Thanks, man”

Seron put the bag into his own laundry bag

“All right I’ll be right back Tell Nick to wait for us if he comes over”

He left the roo the door behind him Seron’s footsteps disappeared down the hall

Larry stood in the middle of the room, his arms crossed

“I just hope he doesn’t end up graduating without asking her out In that case, Ito turn hiht be better for Seron to just spend tiirl can throay her boyfriend and act as if nothing had ever happened… But if that happens, Seron’s going to spend the next three years crying with that blank face of his Hmm…”

Larry paced back and forth as he ruminated on his dilemma

Eventually,

“Is that so?”

“It makes him look like a bear in a zoo”

Seron and Nick caether

The dormitory baths were massive

They were built to be bigger than even hotel baths in order to let asthem wait as little as possible Rows of faucets were installed against the walls, and several large tubs drew elegant arcs along their edges A white porcelain sculpture of a chiseled hero was pouring water from the turtle atop its shoulders

Seron and Nick wrapped towels around their waists and stepped out of the change room Larry followed after them a little later

Seron and Nick were both on the slender side, but neither were particularly skinny

Nick had his hair done up It never shohen he was clothed, but he was all lean muscle, like a marathon runner

“You work out, Nick? Looks like you’ve been doing whatever it is for a while” Larry rereat interest in bodybuilding

Nick smiled

“Yes I perfore”

“You call that working out?”

“On the contrary, it takes quite a bit of energy Care to give it a try?”

“No thanks What’s that you’ve got with you?”

Larry was pointing at a large wooden basket in Nick’s right hand Three metallic bottles were nestled inside

“My usual hair-care products My hair sio all the way”

“If you were in the military, they’d have shaved you bald Tradition says any strand longer than a rifle bullet gets the razor”

“I do plan to cut it short should I ever enlist”

“Great! Why wait? I’ll bring you the papers tomorrow The Confederation Army wants you!”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to decline I haven’t yet decided on a career path I think we should turn this around and have you grow out your hair, Larry To be honest, I’m quite envious of your beautiful blond hair”

“The ancestors in our old portraits used to wear ‘e But I’m not really a braids man”

“What about you, Seron? Do you plan to grow out your hair?”

“No I’er Although I’ back to my old buzzcut”

They sat on wooden bath chairs in front of the e the wall There had been no other clothes in the change room, which meant the bath was empty Seron, Larry, and Nick had the entire bath to themselves They washed up at the faucets and then sat in one of the massive baths

“Hah…”

“That hits the spot”

“It certainly does”

Larry, Seron, and Nick sighed

For so in the water

On occasion they wiped the sweat from their faces with the towels they had on their heads Time passed

“I’m quite jealous that you have constant access to these baths, Seron” Nick said

“Agreed” Larry nodded

“Not many people know this,” Seron said, “but even non-dor the school year”

“Oh? That’s a pleasant surprise I suppose I should try it out next term”

“I had no idea”

“Sometimes people from sports clubs co as this place is, it’s still really crowded during the s You can’t really take your time because there’s always a lineup”

“I’ll retracttime to wash my hair”

“Me too Although a bath beats a shower anytime”

“Excuse me for a minute” Said Nick “I think I should wash my hair”

He stood from the bath, took his basket, and headed for the rows of shower booths He turned on the water and began to gingerly lather his long hair

“What do you say to so to his feet Seron shook his head

“I don’t think I can today”

“You’ll never becoreat soldier like that, buddy!”

“It’s okay I know you’ll be great enough for the both of us Roxche’s future is in your hands, Larry”

“Looks like I’ve got no choice …One! Two! Three! Army!”

One energetic boy began to loudly do push-ups on the tiled floor

One long-haired boy hummed to himself as he washed his hair in the distance

And one boy who loved to soak in the bath blankly gazed into the air

The porcelain sculpture said nothing as it poured water into the bath

“Is anyone here?”

A new voice joined them

The owner of the voice sat down at a nearby faucet theit hard to tell who he was

“Is that SC Arthur?” Seron wondered

“Sounds like hireed, and lowered his voice so as not to be a nuisance

Eventually, the newco up and came over to Seron and Larry He was tall, and his black hair ept back

“Hey there”

He was almost as well-built as Larry

“hello, SC Arthur You look very different without your glasses” Seron said Arthur did not look as soft-spoken when his hair was slicked back and his glasses gone

“That’s what everyone tells o without thenized you by your voice, Seron, but I can’t see your face at all” Arthur said, as laid-back as ever, and sat where Nick had been earlier He sighed and looked up at the ceiling

Once Larry had done 100 push-ups, he returned to the bathtubhis arms

“Hey there, SC Arthur”

“Ah, so you were Larry I wanted to ask you during the day, but why is your face swollen? Are you all right?”

“Oh… er… I got into a bit of a scuffle But don’t worry—it was outside of school”

“I see If you two are here, I guess our Black Knight must be around too”

“Yes He’s washi+ng his hair at the showers” Seron replied

“He was very good today I was impressed”

“You and SC Sophia were aweso about theater, but you two looked like totally different people up there”

“I’lad to hear that I’m sure Sophia will be too” Arthur replied with a smile That hen Nick returned

“Oh? SC Arthur”

He had a torapped around his waist, and also his head His long hair was concealed completely

Nick also see hair was concealed, he looked very masculine The towel on his head cast an odd silhouette

“Er… Nick, is that you?” Arthur squinted

“What’s with the hair? Is that how things work in your hoht over a bath chair from the faucets and responded

“The fibers of the wet towel stimulate your brain cells and make you smarter Would you care to try, Larry?”

“Thanks for the info, but if I get set rusty No, seriously though”

“I do this to keep h that the treatment will permeate into my hair”

“Heh No need for me to try, then”

Larry lost interest completely and sat waist-deep in the bath He looked at Arthur So did Nick

“Did you come alone, SC Arthur?”

“Yeah The other guys are hanging out with the girls in the coa line, then another person tries to repeat it withouta mistake It’s one of the drama club’s traditions”

“It irls in the club” Nick remarked Arthur chuckled

“You’re welcoirls beat us in uarantee you that you’ll start questioning the wisdom of democracy”

“I can already iine I’m afraid I’ll have to decline, SC Arthur It must be difficult for you”

“It’s not too bad Sophia pulls her weight and then sos would have been if Sophia had been president”

Seron stared in blank silence Larry did the sa more worried

“You’re a great president, SC Arthur” Larry said

Nick nodded “I agree”

“Thanks, guys I can’t stop being the president now, so I want to do my best with the job I have I practically stole away Sophia’s position, so I have to work even harder for her sake”

“Hm? What do you mean?” Larry asked Seron and Nick quietly waited for the answer

“The draender every year If a boy is the president one year, a girl has to be president the next It’s the opposite with the vice-presidency”

“Wow” Larry gasped

“Was last year’s president s and nodded

“Yeah At least, until he dropped out of school around the end of the year”

Everyone was quiet

Low grades were the most common cause of dropouts in secondary school, whether because of difficulties in class or being held back two years in a rohich automatically resulted in expulsion The second most common cause—which was not very common at all—was misbehavior or delinquency

Either cause would disqualify a student fro on to university, which would have presu to secondary school in the first place So students had every reason to avoid such things

“May we ask why?” Nick inquired cautiously Arthur noticed the mood and waved his hands

“Don’t worry, it wasn’t anything bad SC Joshua left for a very good reason The Confederation Theater Troupe recognized his skills and scouted hiht future instead of going on to university SC Joshua’s the eldest son of a family that runs a faainst their talented heir pursuing a different path in life, but heon more prominent roles now Sophia and I went to watch him the other day, and he was practically a star”

“That sounds incredible”

“I had no idea we had a senior-classman like him”

Nick and Seron remarked in turn

“Cool” Larry said Arthur nodded

“Definitely He was brave to make such an important decision I love theatre too, but if someone asked me if I wanted to be an actor, I could say ‘no’ with confidence I plan to go to university, then go to graduate school and ement so I can help out my family That’s the whole reason I came to this school”

“Your faht?” Asked Larry “My mother loves your family’s cakes She serves it all the ti the very edges”

“Thanks And I hope we’ll have her continued patronage Anyhen SC Joshua left, the then-vice-president stepped up as president for the rest of the year It was unprecedented, but since we had just gone through a female president, we had to pick a male president for this year I was the only boy in fifth year this year, so I was chosen to take over”

“I see” Seron nodded

“Then SC Sophia was meant to be this year’s president?” Asked Nick

“That’s right When I firstthe drareat actress, she was good at —her lines, and she was always ranted that she’d becoirls supported her And Sophia did her best to learn by helping SC Joshua and our previous president” Arthur said He was growing ia “SC Joshua being scouted was an honor for him and the drama club, but because of that Sophia was forced to take the vice-presidency instead She never complained about it, and I did my best with ht I know I’et a black-and-white answer, so all I can do is try my hardest hat I have And I want to reflect as much of Sophia’s opinions as possible when I make decisions as the president”

Seron, Larry, and Nick were silent

They beca from the porcelain sculpture

“S-sorry, guys” Arthur said quickly, trying to raise their spirits “I didn’t et you all down like that It’s just that I can’t really talk about this stuff with the dra out with practice I’ll see you guys tomorrow”

Arthur stood and left as the others bid hiht He walked away

“Must be tough, huh” Larry said pensively

Seron gravely nodded “I’ decisions in fifth year, too”

“Although in your case, you’ve got a big decision co before that” Larry commented

“Oh? And what ht that be?”

“Nothing for you to worry about, Nick”

“There you go again, Larry Please, aren’t we fellow members of the newspaper club?”

“Oh yeah, that was today I’et I’m in a club if I don’t write it down somewhere”

“Perhaps we should co?” Nick chuckled

Larry pointed a finger at Nick’s head “Nick That towel treat the brainpower out of you”

“Ah, I’d alotten about my hair Thank you, Larry”

Nick stood and walked back to the showers

“The arhtly

“We’re only in third year” Said Seron “It’s okay I have time”

“You sure about that?”

Seron gave Larry a very serious look

“Yeah Probably I’m sure Definitely”

Larry thought for a moment Then,

“Seron Don’t tell me…”

“Yeah?”

“Are you feeling faint ‘cause you stayed in the bath for too long?”

“…Yeah”

Just as Seron cooled off in a tepid shower—

“I’ out of time…”

A fifth-year girl wasto herself alone at the desk in her dor her forehead against her clasped hands

The only light in the roohtstand The moon was not yet out and it was still dark outside, the world lit only by lights fros

The girl wore a headband and had a freckled face

Sophia Ulericks, the vice-president of the draht

Then,

“Okay! I’ll do this! I’ her determination

“Tell hi in with a towel over her hair

Sophia screa

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