Vol 5 Chapter 2 (1/2)
The Love Letter
The 19th day of the ninth month
It was after school on the fifth day of class
“Too bad”
Only half the newspaper club was gathered in the office Jenny, Seron, and Larry (who had been the one to sigh) The reymnasium
There was a fierce rainstor outside
The rain had begun in the afternoon, and had grown stronger and stronger until the droplets and fog obscured even buildings next door and the ground seehts in the office were on
Seron sat on the office sofa, doing what he would have done in the library if he weren’t here—reading through a new textbook he had ordered to prepare for class
Larry was lying on the sofa opposite him
Jenny sat pouting at her desk, polishi+ng her large single-lens reflex camera and a spare lens
“Say Jenny Do we really have to push out a new issue thishis head
“What?! Then what do you suggest we do for the next ether, but what’s the point if they never show up? I don’t want to have to give two lessons on developing photos” Jenny groaned
“But they told you ahead of time Since they’re probably busy to on thisat it alone for a while, so you can’t co t helpers C’mon, Jenfie”
“Don’t call oodbyes to my past!”
“All right, all right Anyhat exactly goes intoa newspaper? Just some articles and photos?”
“Yeah But the photos have to clearly shoe’re trying to communicate, and the sentences have to be easy to read”
“That’s easy to understand So what about printing?”
“We can’t do it here, so we outsource it to a printing house We can get it printed in a day once all the manuscripts and photos are in, since we only make about 30 copies”
“Right Then the hardest part will be to post all the newspapers without the teachers’ notice, guerilla-style”
“Alone, yeah But it won’t be hard as long as we have enough people Which is why it’s such a buet things done? …We’re finished for today The rain’s not helping our case Go home, people”
Jenny waved them out Seron quietly closed his book
“All right” Larry said, pulling hiut
Jenny picked up the telephone and called her driver and bodyguard, Edward Kurtz He was an affablethe newspaper club camp that summer
“Looks like I’ their teacups and taking them to the sink He quickly washed the teapot and the cups, then wiped them down and put the it up to dry
The office was littered with valuables like cauitar Jenny, Seron, and Larry s and umbrellas
“See you” Jenny said cooly and left down the hall
“Sheesh I’d better get on going too, Seron Must be nice living in the dorms on days like this”
“I think so too But it ”
They had only taken a few steps forhen Larry suddenly stopped
“Shoot! I gotta drop by rab my math textbook or I won’t be able to do my homework”
“I’ll coet rained on if I go to the dors,” said Seron
“Thanks, man”
They turned around and went down the hall, in the opposite direction as the exit
The rain was hah another building and entered the
At the center of thewere the student lockers Hundreds of the, eraveyard
Larry and Seron went up to the one labeled ‘Larry Hepburn, 3rd year’
Larry quickly pulled open the door and looked inside He did not notice the envelope fluttering out the wide-open door
“Huh?”
Seron, however, did
As soon as he found the textbook, Larry shut the locker and turned, kicking the envelope in the process It flew about three meters down the dry hallway floor
Seron jogged over and picked it up
“What’s up, Seron? Dropped so?”
Seron showed Larry the envelope
It was a perfectly plain, ordinary envelope sealed with glue Written on it were the words ‘To Larry Hepburn’ in small letters
“It fell out of your locker”
“Out of my locker?” Larry repeated quizzically and accepted the envelope
His name was indeed written on it
“I didn’t notice Thanks, Seron I’d have just left it on the floor if you weren’t here”
“Whoever sent this must have stuck it in your door But they didn’t write their name”
As if on cue, Larry made to open the envelope, but Seron stopped him
“No, Larry Don’t open it until you get home Tuck it in your math textbook and read it in your room”
“Why?”
It was a reversal of the situation in the cafeteria the other day This ti the confused Larry
“Maybe it’s a personal letter”
“Huh Okay Sure”
Larry tucked the envelope into his
The next day
It was the 20th day of the ninth month, after school on the sixth day of the term
The rain had let up completely A beautiful blue sky spread over the Capital District
“Nice weather today”
Once afternoon classes were finished, Seron walked past the stone-paved pathway in the central gardens and headed for the club office with the occasional sunward glance He had arrived first yet again, and was just about to take out his key
“Seron! Seron! Seron! Seron! This is bad!”
Larry interrupted hi his na was unusual enough, but there was so even more desperate in his eyes
Seron turned, his eyes narrowing
Finally, Larry came to a stop next to him Seron slowly took out his key and unlocked the office
“What’s wrong, Larry? Is the planet gonna explode if I unlock the door?” He asked, thinking back to Jenny’s joke from the summer
“No, just open up the door quick! We’ll talk inside”
“Right”
They stepped inside Naturally, no one was in Larry quickly gestured Seron to the sofa They sat face-to-face
“Perfect tiet here!”
“Sure But there’s no rush Jenny’s classroom’s really far away, and the others are busy”
“Yeah, but still”
Larry paused then, and looked around to make sure no one ithin earshot And he lowered his voice
“About the letter from yesterday…”
The serious look on Larry’s face said it all Seron also lowered his voice
“So it really was a love letter”
“I knew you’d understand, buddy! Seriously, a love letter? For me?”
“You ”
“No, but this isabout! The le confession in the past two and a half years at this school! I checked over and over again to see if this was a case of mistaken identity I even went to the faculty office to check if there were any other Larry Hepburns in the school!” Larry raved He seeotta help me, Seron I really don’t wanna let the others know—especially not Lia She’ll never letand closing his eyes
“What’s this about now?”
“About the love letter I got—” Larry replied reflexively, before realizing his mistake
The question had come, not from Seron, but the door
And the question was not in Seron’s voice, but—
“Now this sounds interesting I want details”
—the tall girl walking in through the doors Her eyes glinted
“L-Lia…”
Larry realized that he had just est mistake of his life He went as pale as a sheet
“Yes, I’m Natalia Now about this love letter…et one in your locker”
Natalia, on the other hand, was bri with amusement
“What is this conversation? Will Larry learn to write a love letter from Seron?”
“A love letter, you say? I suppose I haven’t misheard the word ‘blood-letter’?”
“President’s orders: I want details now Looks like my teacher picked the perfect day to end class early”
Nick, Meg, and Jenny followed Natalia inside, one after another Before Larry knew it, the entire newspaper club was assembled
“Wh-why is everyone here today?” He stammered
“Cause we’re club members and this is our office” Natalia replied
The newspaper club took their seats on the sofas Cups of tea were set before them
“Tiuts, Larry Hepburn,” said Jenny All eyes fell on Larry, who sat at the end of one of the sofas
The club office felt like a court of law, or a questioning roolance
“This is personal,” Larry protested
“But you asked Seron for help What’s wrong with a few more sets of ears?” Natalia shot hirown-ups here We’re not gonna tell anyone It’ll be a club secret”
Larry looked around Natalia see Jenny listened intently with eyes glinting, and Nick was santly
“Darn it…fine” Larry finally relented “Someone left this letter in my locker yesterday”
He took out the letter fro, but did not hand it to anyone He seemed to be ready to take it away the moment anyone made a move
Natalia noted Larry’s narave question
“You can be honest with us, Larry How many razorblades did you find inside?”
“What the heck, Lia! None!”
“That’s funny”
“The only thing that’s funny is your head, Lia”
Seron, who had been approached first by Larry, spoke up
“What did the letter say? You don’t have to tell us all the details”
“Right So it’s froirl in second year—”
“A girl?!”
“Easy there, Lia Just shut up for a sec It says…well… ‘I saw you in the hallway on the first day of fall tero out with me’ But she says she’s never dated anyone before, so she’s not co alone outside caether, and et to know each other…and talk…and stuff like that!”
Larry cut off, unable to hide his e, too eain
“How lovely,” Nick coreed
“That girl, she had worked so hard to write that letter to you She has squeezed her courage like a dishrag! It is very proud!”
“And how are you supposed to respond?” Jenny asked ht?”
“Huh? Er, yeah How’d you know?”
“Hoould anyone not know? So? Spill it”
“She wants to get the answer in person, so she asked rounds behind the school after class on the first day after the weekend…”
The others’ eyes lit up “Yeah, I know,” Larry said
“The tree behind the school, with its perfect confession success rate Perhaps you will be the star of its second legend Or perhaps your receiving the letter means the confession has already taken place What do you think, Larry?” Nick asked,out theLarry’s response was immediate
“I dunno”
A beat
“That’s why I was trying to ask Seron for advice”
“Ohasked naively Everyone froze, unable to respond Silence filled the office
Knowing the conversation would go nowhere unless someone answered, Jenny spoke up
“Because Seron’s so popular with girls He’s got plenty of experience turning them down”
“Oh ”
Seron froze yet again He fell into deep thought He thought And he thought some more
“Anyway! Somebody—I don’t care who—please answer me What should I do?” Larry asked
“Go meet her”
“I think that you should meet with her”
“You should meet her”
Natalia, Meg, and Nick replied, one after another
“That sounds like the best course of action,” said Jenny, “ else comes later”
“Yeah You’re right… But you think she’s serious?” Larry wondered, “I’ve never gotten a love letter before in irls like Seron—er, like other people But…”
“You think this ht be a prank?”
“Don’t glare at ht be For exa in the distance to take photos of rin on my face—”
Larry stopped, his face taking on the look of a funeral-goer
“I’ to prank me You’re not, are you?”
“Sounds like it’d be a blast, but unfortunately, no” Natalia replied
“A blast?! Unfortunately?!”
“We have practice after school on the first day back No time to peep on anybody Today too We have to head to the drama club pretty soon”
“Setting that possibility aside,” said Seron, “as the sender? Someone you know?”
“No You knohat? What the heck I’ve coht as well tell you the rest Every heard of a second-year named Stella Whitfield?”
“No”
“Don’t think I’ve ever done a story on her”
“I do not know this girl”
“Me neither She’s not in the orchestra, at least”