Vol 5 Chapter 2 (2/2)
“Nor the drama club Quite the mysterious star we have on our hands”
The others shook their heads
“What do you ave her a smile
“‘Stella’ e”
“Oh ood now!” Meg screa like stars
‘I knew that too! I should have said so! I bet that’s what Seron’s thinking right now,’ Larry thought, but did not say
“It is a cool thing to have a star as a name There is a star name called ‘Cana’ in Bezelese There are many Bezelese words to mean ‘star’, but the only name word is ‘Cana’!”
The others were impressed Natalia nodded
“So Sou Be-Il isn’t that different after all”
“I’ve heard the name ‘Whitfield’ before,” said Seron, “I wonder where?”
Nick was the first to reply
“Of course, Seron The name is on your left wrist”
“Huh?”
All eyes fell on Seron’s left wrist
A black leather strap and a thin silver case with a si hands It was a luxury wristwatch Seron’s ht him when he first started secondary school It was his favorite—and only—wristwatch
As of the year 3305, quartz clocks existed but were still the size of refrigerators
Wristwatches were traditionally s connected to a spiral spring They were also very expensive A regular watch cost about as her-end models could cost as much as a car
Even at the 4th Capital Secondary School—with its wealthy student body—only about a third of the boys wore a watch on a daily basis The proportion was even sirls Larry and Nick had worn their watches to the newspaper club camp, but not to school that day
Seron, the only one in the office with a wristwatch, scrutinized his watch and discovered the words ‘Whitfield-Farkas’ in a neat, tiny font at the bottom of the face The second hand ticked and tocked over the words
“I see now,” said Seron
“It’s just like you to never notice even when it was on your wrist the whole time,” Larry chuckled, “Whitfield is really famous in the industry, you know”
“Didn’t know that”
“I did not know that either”
Natalia and Meg chimed in
“Then allow ive you a brief explanation on Whitfield, the fa a beat, “Whitfield is based in the Republic of Farkas Its products are highly precise and sturdy to boot, earning them the title ‘most practical wristwatches in Roxche’ Whitfield was founded about 60 years ago, which puts it behind the 200-year veterans of the Roxche clockeenerations The founder’s sons almost split the company in two at one point, however A prime example of a family feud”
“Figures you’d know that stuff, Nick”
“And I would not be incorrect in assu you did as well, Larry?”
“Uh-huh But you can explain I’ood as you”
“Then allow me to continue The family feud is quite irrelevant, so I will skip theAcademy’, where future watchmakers are trained in the craft The acaderaduation rates are low, but all graduates are autouaranteed a position at Whitfield Ein by training at the academy Another point of entry would be the annual Whitfield Co neatched on the e Winners are guaranteed a position at Whitfield, no matter who they erate, even a 10-year old could find e as they were sufficiently talented It is a method of employment for those confident in their own skills I believe the results of this year’s competition will be announced soon That is all I have to say”
The others nodded, impressed Larry chimed in
“I’ve been kinda wanting a Whitfield watchsession, with how s”
“Then the Whitfield waterproof model is the one for you, Larry A sturdy, accurate and automatic model that can ‘withstand any battlefield impact’, or so the advertisement says Why not purchase one?”
“As if it were that easy It’s a satch, but I could buy a motorbike with that much money”
“Ah, so you’ve checked”
“Yeah, you got ue I could find cause I wanted one so much”
“And you gave in?”
“How could I not?”
“Hey!” Natalia cut in, “that’s enough guy talk You’re getting off-topic here Are you actually girls? What’s next, going to the bathrooether?”
“Sorry, Lia”
“Excuse me”
All eyes were on Natalia She brought the conversation back on track
“So this ‘Stella’ is probably a daughter of the Whitfield fae of the capital and Farkas is just west of us You just hit paydirt, Larry!”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Lia”
“What is the paydirt? Is is a very good soil?”
“You don’t need to know this stuff, Megmica”
“It reat fortune The potential to marry into a very rich family I’m quite jealous of you, Larry I wish the two of you happiness”
“Hey, that last part was uncalled for Especially with that grin!”
“Heh heh…so the first headliner of the ter I have”
“Oh no you don’t, Jenny!”
Larry was exhausting himself Seron spoke up
“You’re going to have to meet her”
“Yeah, I guess I should I’hed, and sipped from his usual flower-print teacup
“Are you gonna go out with her?” Asked Jenny Larry put down his cup and put his hand on his head
“I dunno I ht it’d be cool to be popular, but I have no idea what dating soo out with someone you like, but I don’t even know if I’ll like her or not”
“Perhaps you will know once you meet her And if she happens to be your type, you could start off there,” Nick suggested
“Yeah, but what if it’s the opposite? If she’s not my type? Do I just tell her that and turn her down? Is that all?”
“That’s all,” Jenny responded, “and if she’s really not your type, tell it to her straight There’s nothingout with someone you don’t even like”
Jenny was looking very serious Larry fell into thought
Then—
“All right I’ll do that Thanks for all your advice, guys,” he finally said with a smile
“Oh, now a love will begin in front ofvery fast! It is a great thing to love and confess someone! I hope that everyone will confess very much from now on!”
Seron silently looked into the distance
The 23rd day of the ninth month
It was the ninth day of the new term, with two days off in between The sky was clear and the as calm
The student cafeteria at the 4th Capital Secondary School took up a large area inside the ardens
On clear days, table and chairs were placed on the tiles outside Students who enjoyed the outdoors or disliked crowded areas tended to frequent the garden
Students who brought their own lunches could use the cafeteria as well, but not many of them did because it was easier for them to simply eat in their classrooms
Seron was sitting alone at a table for two in the gardens He had just started on his lunch when Larry called out to him
“Hey there!”
Larry was carrying his tray, as energetic as ever He set it down and sat across from Seron
“Hey Larry You look nervous,” Seron said immediately Larry blinked
“Oh Is it written on ?”
“No, but—”
Seron pointed at Larry’s tray He had ordered the sa of fish soup and pasta with salad
“You’re only eating half your usual”
“Hah hah hah! Yeah I’m definitely nervous”
Larry prayed before hisin at the same time
“Well,” Larry said between bites, “I’m still not convinced this isn’t a nasty prank If it is, I can just give the prankster a nasty arm twist, but if it’s for real…”
“Hm”
“…You know, I’irl would say she likes me Wonder what she’s like I can’t wait for class to end”
“Then o see her”
“I know Jenny once said love is a battle, right?”
“Yeah When we took SC Sophia’s request”
“Then I gotta get out there and give it hts of Hepburn ne’er shall turn’!”
Seron smiled
“Yeah Good luck, Larry”
“Thanks By the way, not being able to turn isn’t the sa allowed to run away”
“The motto sounds cooler without the explanation”
“I don’t ”
After school
Larry Hepburn alking in the grounds behind the school, face set and eyes determined
He could see students heading horounds behind the school were not popular with the students, and was therefore silent
Larry finally arrived at the tree He took a look around, and when he saw no one was there, leaned against the trunk to avoid the sunlight
“Hm…”
And he waited for a girl who ht never arrive
First he checked to see if anyone had set a trap for hiht he could even see the newspaper club office, but no one was clinging to the ith binoculars over their eyes
In the gyan to play
“Lia’s not gonna get in the way, at least…” Larry muttered to himself, and waited
Tio cold Larry pushed away from the trunk so he could take a seat
“Er…I’m sorry I’m late”
A soft voice
“Ah!”
Larry turned quickly All he saas the tree trunk
“Wait, what?”
For ato hi behind it
She stood with her back to the sun The girl was clad in uniform, and was petite She was only a little taller than Jenny Jones, with short black hair and light brown eyes
Her face was inscrutable like a doll It was hard to tell if she was happy or sad or nervous She had pretty features but didn’t stand out, which was a perfect fit for her quiet bearing
Larry said nothing, but smiled His cheeks went pink
The girl also said nothing Her mask-like face simply looked at Larry’s
Ten seconds passed, and then some
“Hm…?” Larry Hepburn mumbled He furrowed his brow and his eyes narrowed
“Is so the matter?”
The girl seemed nervous Larry shook his head
“Oh! Sorry! Just zoning out for a bit Talking to myself So, er…are you Stella Whitfield?”
“Yes Please call me Stella, SC Hepburn”
Though she was standing right in front of him, it was almost impossible to hear her voice Her tone was muted and the blanks between her words were almost audible
“I read your letter,” Larry said, and paused
Stella did not say a word She simply waited for Larry with a blank expression
“Er…about the stuff you wrote Did you really mean it?”
A moment later, Larry frowned ‘I shouldn’t have said that’
“Yes,” Stella said briefly
“I…I see! That’s good to hear! Yeah”
“Yes…”
“Sorry, I was just a little surprised”
“It’s…all right”
“Er…right So Well…”
Stella was so reticent that Larry had to think hard about how he should continue the conversation before he finally settled on a typical question
“Have we met before?”
“Yes After summer break, outside the dormitory cafeteria…”
“Hh to startle anyone
But Stella did not even blink She stood as still as the tree next to them
“You ith the girl who asked Seron out!”
Stella moved her chin up and down by about three centimeters In other words, she nodded almost imperceptibly
“When I saw you…I thought you were really attractive”
“I-I see… Thanks …You said you only wanted to ht?”
“Yes I’ve never…dated before I’ alone…outside of caave her the best smile he could muster
“All right!”
“Huh?”
“It’s cool that you can honestly stick to your guns like that! It’s really brave of you! I wish somebody I knew could be more like you!”
“Huh? Oh…right”
“W-wait, I was just saying that to myself Anyway, I like you, Stella!”
“Th-thank you…”
“Then let’s hang out whenever we have tiht?”
“Yes…thank you so much”
Larry looked at Stella, then at the newspaper club office
There was no one at the
Looking into Stella’s blank face, Larry nodded
“Pleasure to meet you!”
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