Vol 6 Chapter 3 (1/2)

Meg and Seron VI: Student Life at the 4th Capital Secondary School - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Wherever you go, There you Remain

The 30th day of the tenth month, the year 3305 of the World Calendar

“Man, the weather’s great! What a place!” Larry cheered, his eyes on the clear blue sky and his white teeth glinting

“Yeah Perfect weather for being out I can even s at Larry’s smile

“It is a very lovely place! We will do our best work today! Heave-ho!” Strauski Megmica exclaimed, fists clenched in determination

They were standing in a sea of green

A thin woodland sprawled out under the clear auturass seemed to stretch on forever, with no wind to bloay the comfortable temperature

A wide plank ay snaked across the ground, leading from the square and into the woods

And next to the as a wooden sign

‘EAST CLARE NATURE PARK CAMPING, OPEN FIRES, SMOKING, AND FIREARMS ARE PROHIBITED’

They were not the only ones there

Gathered in the square were about a hundred boys and girls in identical sweats issued by the 4th Capital Secondary School

They were accompanied by about 20 faculty members in faculty-exclusive school-issue sweats

And finally, about a dozen security staff in black uniforms watched over them all

The grassy square was about 200cabin that housed the park staff, and a bathroos

Students sat around, rested on the grass, warmed up, horsed around, lined up in front of the bathroom, or simply waited

Next to the square was a large, neatly-paved parking lot that almost touched the trail that led into the woods Haphazardly parked there were three large buses that had carried the students to the park

Earlier The 11th day of the tenth month

The fall perforo, and the newspaper club’s supervisor issue had been addressed

The six athered in the office after school, elegantly partaking in tea

Because the office was so war the against the

“By the way, these notices were being handed out at the faculty office today,” Nick said, taking out a piece of paper fro it at the center of the coffee table

Five sets of eyes fell on the notice, but the text was so small all they could read was the title

Natalia leaned slightly forward, breaking her coainst the back of the sofa

“Let’s see ‘4th Capital Secondary School Orienteering Day’,” she read out loud “Man, this font’s too sht? Larry, read it for us”

“Sure, sure” Larry gingerly put down his flower-print teacup and picked up the notice

“‘4th Capital Secondary School Orienteering Day’”

“I just read that Or does it say the sa in Bezelese below?” Natalia joked

“Then I will read the notice!” Meg volunteered, though it was hard to tell if she was joking or serious Larry politely turned her down and continued to read

“‘Orienteering Day will test students’ endurance, knowledge, curiosity, and teaside members of their own clubs’”

The school’s very first Annual Orienteering Day would be held on the 30th day of the tenth month, on the first day of the weekend

The exact location would reuarantee fairness, but it would take place at a park about two to three hours by bus from the Capital District Naturally, the school would rent out the park for the day and security would be present

Participants were to gather on ca The competition would take place from 10AM to 1PM, and they would depart the park at 2PM The buses would return to the school between 4 and 5 in the afternoon, subject to traffic

Lunches would be provided, and there was no participation fee

The school would set its own custom rules for the competition

Students had to apply in teae But all three students had to be from the same club

There would be five possible set courses with different checkpoints, but the courses had some overlap All five courses were about the same in terms of difficulty

The checkpoints would all be located along the trails, and tea to the finish line

At each checkpoint would be a quiz station that would test students’ acades would be based on the time the team took to the finish line and the team’s performance at the quizzes

The names of the top three teams would be published in posters to be put up around the school, and some prize money would be awarded to their clubs

The application deadline was the 12th Interested students were to write down their names, student numbers, and clubs, and hand the forms to the physical education teacher at the faculty office

There were several warnings as well

Though the trails would not be difficult to traverse, students would have to be fit enough to walk for an hour or two

Students were to wear school-issue sweats, with their sweaters if the weather was cold

Students needed to bring bags—rucksacks preferably, to keep their hands free—to fit the provided lunches

There were no particular restrictions on ite

The event would be canceled in case of rain, and a notice would be posted the day before in case of cancelation

“That’s all,” Larry finished Natalia ended her series of sagely nodding with a question

“Question”

“Yeah?”

“What’s orienteering?”

“Are you serious? …Well, it’s a sport where you walk around in the wilderness with a onna take a while to explain…”

Seron spoke up to lend a hand

“Think of it like running errands You use a map and a compass to reach your destination Generally, whoever arrives fastest is the winner”

It was a simple and clear explanation Everyone nodded

“That’s it Thanks, buddy,” Larry said, putting down the notice

“I’h,” Natalia admitted

“Nor a said

“Sucks for us, huh,” Natalia sighed She then gave Meg a deceptively serious look “Since Sou Be-Il is in the western hemisphere, are north and south by any chance reversed from Roxche?”

“Hht Larry explained the joke

“As if, Lia The cardinal directions don’t change no matter where you are”

“Tsk, tsk Can’t let preconceptions color your judge seriousness, “for all you know, your co east at some point”

“Obviously, depending on the place,” Larry replied, to Natalia’s surprise He brought his teacup to his mouth

“What?” Natalia raised an eyebrow “Finally going senile, Larry? Even I know that a compass always points north That’s primary school stuff”

Seron replied in place of Larry, as still drinking his tea

“Technically, a coraphic North Pole It points at sohtly out of line with 90° north So if you were to pull out a conetic Pole, the compass would point east”

“Yeah,” Larry nodded, pulling his teacup away, “but that’s not gonna happen unless you’re exploring the North Sea by shi+p or sled The difference is practically negligible from the Capital District”

“World’s a big place,” Natalia groaned, not having expected a lecture in response to a joke

Jenny grinned, turning to the silent Nick “I don’t care about the prize ot my attention”

“I knew you would say that, Jenny,” Nick replied with an elegant smile

“What do you

“Suppose ere to make the top three,” Nick explained, “our nahout the school, and the newspaper club would gain some much-needed attention as well”

“I understand!” Meg replied with a clap Seron watched happily with a blank expression

“So far, our only issue was the one covering Stella and the gorilla We could certainly use soested Jenny frowned

“And as it that kept ditching club after school last month?”

“Easy there, Jenny,” said Larry, “everyone was busy with rehearsals, and Meg double duty with the chorus club We should be thankful they still ed to drop by once in a while”

Unable to retort, Jenny held out her empty teacup Larry picked up the teapot and poured her more tea

“Hey, I’nored her

“What do you think, Larry?” Seron asked as Larry poured more tea The others waited for clarification, but Larry knehat he was talking about

“It’s not bad at all It sounds pretty good, actually”

“Oh?”

“There’s no rule saying we can’t go off the trails It’s looking pretty good”

“Great”

“Hey,” Natalia cut in, “speak in Roxchean so the rest of us can understand”

“All right,” said Seron, getting everyone’s attention, “the notice says we have to visit the checkpoints that are along the trails”

“Uh-huh” Natalia nodded

“I’ve read that real orienteering co but a map and a compass It’s an intense activity where every second counts”

“Exactly,” Larry added, “it was originally developed as a military exercise And normally, you have to pass the checkpoints in a certain order”

Seron continued where Larry left off, “trails and ere incorporated into the exercise when it was adapted for the general public According to those rules, you have to stay on the road”

“I get it,” Jenny nodded, but Seron continued for the others

“But the rules on the notice have been adapted for our school specifically We can go to the checkpoints in any order, and there’s no rule saying we can’t go off the trails In other words—”

Nick spoke up loudly “I understand Larry is accustomed to outdoor activities and could easily find the shortest routes that cut through the woods It would be no probleate the wilderness with a compass”

“I see” “I understand” Natalia and Meg nodded in unison Seron also nodded

“Yeah, but if we end up losing our bearings we’d have been better off sticking to the trails in the first place So we need an excellent navigator who kno to use a coet lost in the forest”

“Can you do it, Larry?” Natalia asked, eyes narrowing

“I can’t guarantee it until I actually look at the map,” Larry said, but detere”

“Oh?” Jenny s victory? No one remembers second place, you know It’s number one or bust”

All eyes were on Larry He fell into thought Then—

“I think so But no plan is completely foolproof If another club decides to do the sa as us, we’ll have to beat thee, and luck Just keep that in mind, yeah?”

“Hh she did not seem entirely convinced

“You’ve gotten so mature, Larry,” Natalia chuckled, “back in priuaranteed victory the second the chief asked Is Seron rubbing off on you?”

“Maybe By the e have to do this in teams of three”

“Indeed” Nick nodded

“Who wants to tea dibs on Seron”

“I see” “Of course” “Makes sense” Jenny, Nick, and Natalia nodded

“OhBut she quickly realized the answer “It is because of the quizzes! Now I understand Then Seron is the perfect mole! I mean, role!”

Larry nodded Seron, who had flinched at the word ‘ed to say, “thank you”

“You’re very welco replied

Jenny cast a glance at Seron, the happiest student in the rooonna be member number three?”

“Soested

“I’ll pass I’m too delicate and frail for this,” Natalia said No one reacted

“Hht President’s orders: Megmica will join Larry’s team”

“Yes! I may look like this, but it isreplied with a clumsy salute

For several minutes Seron sat as still as a statue

But his heart was already galloping through the woods

All club activities were suspended for midterm preparation Then came the midterms themselves And finally, the 30th day of the tenth month arrived

“Show ‘e

“We have high hopes for you,” Nick joined in

“Don’t let your guard down for even a second I don’t need any second place losers in our club,” Jenny warned

Seron, Larry, and Meg were sitting on the grass Larry grinned

“Got it! We’re aiuys than us, actually”

“We will take our tiht stroll”

“It’s just a bit of walking,” Natalia added, “even I could do that much You do remember hoalk, Larry? Just stick out your hands and feet one after the other”

“Do your best, guys Don’t worry about us,” Jenny finished

“Worry, huh” Larry whispered to her, “don’t overdo it, Jenny”

Meg tilted her head

The six members of the newspaper club were all in school-issue sweats, but they were equipped differently

Larry and Seron earing s nothing

Larry wore sturdy h leather boots

Larry had advised theood shape is crucial Buy yourselves so shoes and thick socks, and break in the shoes before Orienteering Day”

So they had done as they were told, taking walks in their new shoes to break them in

Natalia and Nick, s, and Jenny a leather ca shoes

“Line up!”

When the students gathered, the teachers handed out their lunches

The lunches cah to be quite heavy

Each pack also contained a 700-milliliter bottle of juice with snap-top caps that prevented the contents frorape, and other flavors—students were already exchanging bottles ast themselves

Lunch included a cheese-ham-and-lettuce sub sandwich, a piece of fried chicken, a small pack of crackers, a small tube of jam, and a chocolate bar Tissue was also included

“That’s all? I need rumbled when she opened the box But the others knew that she had gorged on snacks on the bus, had filled her bag withof snacks on the bus labeled with a note saying, ‘If you touch this bag I will beat you to death with a violin bow’, so they showed no reaction

The students put their lunches into their own bags But—

“Seron Megmica Take out the juice,” Larry said, and received Seron and Meg’s bottles Then he took the out the lunches

“Not gonna get thirsty, Larry?” Asked Natalia Larry put his and Meg’s lunch in his own rucksack

“We brought our oater bottles The bottles they gave us are too heavy”

“I see But you don’t think that sub sandwich is too heavy for you, Shortie? I can hold on to it for you”

“I’ll enjoy it once we cross the finish line first,” Larry replied, putting on his rucksack In his right hand was a coht wrist

The compass was a model used in the military, oiled to perfection so the needle would move smoothly It had a sturdy brass case and lid There was a groove through the center of the lid with a wire going through it, used to act as a guide The colass for ease of reading

“Is that your secret weapon, Larry?” Asked Nick Larry nodded

“Yeah It’s froht it from home But it’s super expensive—I’d cry if I lost it”

“As much as if you had lost the watch you wear?”

Larry smiled “Nah”

The Whitfield waterproof military whirred smoothly on Larry’s left wrist

After the break, the students gathered at the edge of the square, at the entrance to the park

Students of all ages were in attendance, froht difference between the different ages

ForDay was simply an opportunity to enjoy nature with their friends It was more of a picnic than a competition The physical education teacher yelled into thestudents to not shove one another

They had received most of the instructions about the day’s activities on the bus ride

Students were per other teao off the trails if they were confident in their skills But if they did so, they had to watch out for ponds and streams

There were no dangerous animals in the park, and because the property was co too far

Teao to the checkpoints designated Park staff would be at the checkpoints to hand out the quizzes, and students had to write down their answers on their answer sheets at the checkpoints Once they visited all the checkpoints on their route, they would return to the starting point to finish

Students who decided to give up could return to the starting point as well, or they could report to one of the checkpoints

The time limit was three hours At 1PM all students would be forced back to the entrance

“We’re handing out the nal,” said the teacher

Each team received one

The faculty finished handing out the maps and answer sheets The teacher at the front looked at his watch

“It is currently 10:30AM! The coins at 10:40!”

This ti watches Those without wristwatches had pocket watches hanging from their necks, as the school-issue sweats had no pockets

Larry looked at his watch and rotated the bezel, le indicator was pointed at the 40-minute mark

Now he simply had to look at the numbers marked on the bezel to check how much time had passed There was no need for calculations and no worry about forgetting their starting time

“Noill do our best for the first place!” Meg chirped, her pigtails swishi+ng “But I need only to do as we planned I will follow Larry everywhere!”

Seron nodded blankly

‘Aw, man He hed, but he turned to Meg

“I’ve got this We’ll stick to the plan”

“Thirty seconds!” The teacher began counting down The students stirred So warm-ups, and some stood in spirited huddles with their teammates

“Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Begin!”

Nearly a hundred students set off at the signal With maps open they headed into the trail

At first, there was a massive bottleneck because everyone was on the sa or shoving

Jenny’s teah entering the school gates in the

Larry’s team, meanwhile, did not take a step

Larry quickly had Seron and Meg hold the round He opened up his compass and had the others turn to match North on the compass with the map

The other teams hurried past as Larry scrutinized the map

The th and width, and was at a 1/10,000 scale One centimeter on the map was equivalent to 100 meters

Marked on the s, streaend on the bottoht corner

Ponds dotted the landscape, and streams connected thee pond and a entle slopes

Trails crisscrossed the map like a maze

The trails began at the botto point was

At the beginning of the trail was a bridge that went over a strea path that led to a fork The trail broke into three at that point and branched out—from dozens to hundreds of meters—and wound and swerved in every direction like the alleys of an old city

The checkpoints were numbered and s A rabbit, a bear, a fox, a deer, and a squirrel They were all clearly colored differently as well

“They are very adorable,” Meg remarked

“Yeah The gaht out of primary school can enjoy it,” Seron pointed out

Larry counted the checkpoints There were six per course

It was difficult to tell with just the h the shortest possible route

“Hroaned

“It’s more complicated than I expected,” Seron commented Larry nodded

“Yeah But this e”

Meg looked up The other students were already disappearing, those in the lead already crossing the bridge anda turn Their school sweats painted a unifor the ays

Larry had declared earlier that they would confir line And yet Meg still cast hilance

With his short blond hair glinting, Larry stared at the er over the routes

Three rass Soave the and waited with anticipation

“All right!”

Finally, Larry reached into Seron’s rucksack and took out a crayon wrapped in cloth to keep it fro marked in pink on the map

Larry put his left hand under the map as he drew their route

He had chosen the ‘rabbit’ course

The route entailed passing through the rabbit checkpoints Larry’s pink line followed the trail to a certain point, but it cut straight through plains and woods where the trails took the long way around The lines naturally avoided all ponds and wide streams

The pink line went through all the checkpoints efficiently, finally returning to the starting line along the trail

Larry finishedtheir route and checked one more time to see that they had not missed a checkpoint

“All right! I think this is it!” He looked up, and put away the crayon “Seron Megmica”

Larry looked at his two tea up the map

“Will you trust me?”

“Of course” “Of course” Seron and Meg replied almost simultaneously

“Good luck!”

As the teachers waved, Larry’s team headed for the trail

“We don’t have to run—a fast walking pace is fine This is closer to alined up behind hiround

Just outside the square was a plain and a streae over the strea it for a time

The stream was deep for its width, ater so clear the small fish inside were clearly visible

“These fish re, we lived in a place in Sou Be-Il with e field It was a place whereremarked

“I’d love to hear more about your hoht, Seron?”

“Y-yeah”

“Then I will tell you very much!”

Ahead of them, between the trail and the stream, stood a rod

The rod was about 10 centi between red and white every 30 centi was attached to the top

The rod was sticking out of astopped before it

“What is this stick?” She asked

“Hood look

“I think it’s a marker,” Larry said

“What does it indicate?” Asked Seron But Larry did not give him the answer

“All right Pop quiz Look around you”

Seron and Meg looked around

The rod was stuck at a point where the trail turned left and diverged fro the way, the trail disappeared into a deep forest

“I think I got it,” said Seron

“It is surrender,” Meg sighed

“All right, I’ll explain Think about it fro fro really hard, hindering visibility What would happen if the person ht ahead?”

“Ah!” Meg’s eyes widened “He would sink! The river is very low In the winter, his life er!”

“Exactly The rod is like a sign saying that there’s a strea or a lantern from the rod when the weather calls for it”