Vol 7 Chapter 4 (1/2)
Chapter 4: The Witness
<how should=”” i=”” explain…=”” i=”” guess=”” i’ll=”” start=”” with=”” the=”” craziness=”” that=”” happened=”” once=”” school=”” opened=”” again=”” the=”” 4th=”” of=”” the=”” second=”” month,=”” fyi=””>
<what do=”” you=”” mean=”” by=”” ‘craziness’?=””>
<it finally=”” stopped=”” snowing,=”” but=”” that=”” didn’t=”” auto=”” norain=””>
<i see=”” what=”” were=”” things=”” like?=””>
<the snoas=”” piled=”” higher=”” than=”” a=”” grown=”” ed=”” to=”” clear=”” away=”” the=”” ates=”” to=”” the=”” class="" buildings=”” and=”” froates=””>
<that makes=”” sense=”” otherwise=”” no=”” one=”” would=”” be=”” able=”” to=”” get=”” into=”” the=”” buildings=””>
<in other=”” words,=”” everywhere=”” else=”” was=”” still=”” covered=”” in=”” snow=”” the=”” snow=”” they=”” cleared=”” was=”” piled=”” on=”” the=”” grounds=”” like=”” ym=”” class="" and=”” athletic=”” club=”” activities=”” i=”” to=”” use=”” the=”” gyhtly=”” to=”” watch,=”” but=”” fights=”” broke=”” out=”” all=”” the=”” time=””>
<but you=”” have three gymnasiums…=””>
<…that’s a=”” recipe=”” for=”” mass=”” tardiness=””>
<yep lots=”” of=”” people=”” came=”” in=”” late=”” on=”” the=”” first=”” day=”” back=”” and=”” because=”” everyone=”” had=”” to=”” travel=”” between=”” classes=”” through=”” the=”” buildings,=”” the=”” buildings=”” were=”” packed=”” too=”” i=”” felt=”” bad=”” watching=”” the=”” poor=”” first-years=”” and…=””>
<there’s more?=””>
<uh-huh distribution=”” was=”” paralyzed=”” because=”” of=”” the=”” store=”” of=”” fresh=”” food=”” so=”” the=”” cafeteria=”” had=”” to=”” cut=”” down=”” on=”” the=”” =””>
<funny we=”” had=”” too=”” etables=”” this=”” year=”” in=”” raputoa=”” the=”” harvest=”” was=”” so=”” good=”” we=”” had=”” to=”” deal=”” with=”” low=”” prices=””>
<the cafeteria=”” crisis=”” led=”” to=”” soh=”” after=”” the=”” =”” non-perishable=”” food=”” in=”” the=”” cafeteria=”” as=”” a=”” contingency=”” so=”” they—along=”” with=”” other=”” schools=”” and=”” coram=””>
<hht=”” products=”” from=”” sc=”” seron’s=”” company?=””>
<bingo they=”” purchased=”” chicken=”” sauté=”” and=”” haers=”” from=”” maxwell=”” frozen=”” foods=”” in=”” bulk=”” they’re=”” better=”” than=”” what=”” you’d=”” normally=”” expect=”” from=”” frozen=”” food,=”” so=”” everyone=”” likes=”” ‘em=”” i=”” bet=”” the=”” company=”” made=”” a=”” tidy=”” profit=”” from=”” all=”” this=”” too=””>
<that’s great!=”” for=”” his=”” family,=”” i=”” mean—but=”” what=”” about=”” sc=”” seron?=””>
<yeah, i’ll=”” get=”” back=”” to=”” that=”” in=”” a=”” second=”” the=”” biggest=”” source=”” of=”” confusion=”” at=”” school=”” was=”” the=”” messed-up=”” curriculum=”” hoould=”” they=”” make=”” up=”” for=”” all=”” the=”” classes=”” we=”” missed=”” over=”” those=”” snow=”” days?=””>
<it h=”” with=”” so=”” many=”” students=””>
<we had=”” a=”” couple=”” of=”” extra=”” classes=”” every=”” day=”” in=”” the=”” afternoon,=”” but=”” you=”” know=”” how=”” everyone=”” has=”” their=”” own=”” schedule?=”” obviously=”” people=”” had=”” overlapping=”” h=”” for=”” us,=”” but=”” the=”” first-years=”” had=”” it=”” really=”” rough=”” they=”” were=”” totally=”” lost=””>
<i can=”” iine=”” that=”” must=”” have=”” kept=”” sc=”” seron=”” occupied,=”” too=””>
<ra work=”” kept=”” him=”” so=”” busy=”” he=”” couldn’t=”” even=”” come=”” out=”” to=”” club=”” for=”” a=”” while=”” there=”” was=”” less=”” tiet=”” h=”” but=”” that=”” was=”” when=”” the=”” newspaper=”” club=”” received=”” a=”” request=””>
<like those=”” letters=”” you=”” got=”” in=”” your=”” locker?=””>
<yep let=”” o=”” back=”” to=”” a=”” few=”” days=”” before=”” the=”” request=””>
The 7th day of the second month
The student cafeteria at the 4th Capital Secondary School was empty
Most of the students had finished lunch, leaving the tables mostly deserted
Middle-aged cafeteria ladies wiped the tables and refilled napkins and condiments
Because the cafeteria was connected to the central gardens, students could eat outside when it was not raining But in spite of the clouds and ind, it was very cold outside and the garden still served as a duround for snow
Nine snowh in coht in the evenings
At one of the long cafeteria tables sat a girl with long brown hair and a girl with long black hair All the tables around them were unoccupied
“So you asked when everyone was in the office, huh,” said Lillia Schultz, the brown-haired girl She was speaking quietly in Bezelese to make sure no one could eavesdrop
“Yeah,” Meg replied, downcast, “and Seron left the office I was so glad that the neas just ht have been right”
“Hm…”
“I don’t knohat’s what anymore”
“D-don’t cry, Meg!”
“I know But I want to My stomach hurts…”
Half of Meg’s clam chowder, bread, and salad was still left on the tray
Lillia, who had finished her meal, looked up
“Say, Meg”
“Yeah?”
“Try it again just one more time!”
Meg was silent
“This time make sure no one else is around so you can have a serious conversation together I think that’ll be for the best”
“Y-you think so?”
“I bet Seron wants to apologize, too! He ht have been too shy in front of the rest of the club, but I betcha he’s still sorry foryou worry”
“Really?”
“Yep! There’s no har, at least Communication is key”
“Right…”
“You can’t ask in front of other people, so don’t talk to him about it at the office Maybe when you run into him on campus instead”
“Yeah…”
“And this time, make sure it’s just the two of you! That’s the important part None of us want you to worry yourself sick over this, Meg You have to eat right”
“All right Sorry for worrying you, Lillia”
“Not at all! I’m just worried because I’m your friend Justtalk with hiives you!” Lillia nodded Meg’s expression softened
“Yeah… I’ll do that”
“Do your best!”
“Thanks for listening to me, Lillia”
“No problem!”
“I’o to her next class—which was further away than Lillia’s
“See you!”
Lillia’s classroooodbye, but immediately after she wrapped her hands around her head
“Is this ry And I hope I haven’t s up for them What to do…”
That evening, a thick layer of snoas still upon the grounds
“Hah…hah…hah…”
Seron was running
To be h snow
The snow reht, and dozens of centimeters of fresher snow had been piled up on top of that
Seron kicked away the snow and sometimes tripped with sweat on his brow as he moved forward
He earing school-issue sweats with a cardigan underneath, and a pair of rubber boots He was dressed a little lightly for below-freezing weather, but did not seem cold
Larry followed several meters behind him
“I suggested a light jogging routine, not a hed
Larry earing a coat and had his backpack slung behind him On his feet were boots ooden snowshoes, which allowed hi
Froround Larry looked down at Seron’s back
“No one’s watching, buddy You don’t have to push yourself so hard”
“No…I want to run at least one lap…haven’t run at all for days…”
“Sohed, but he did a lap around the field with him anyway
By the tiates, Seron’s lower body was covered in snow and his sweats were drenched Because he had fallen several ti to his upper body and hair
Sweat dripping from his face, Seron finished the last few meters of his run
“Good work,” Larry said, taking off his snowshoes, “you better go on in and take a bath, Seron If the sun goes down on your you ht freeze to death”
“Right…” Seron replied between gasps, “hah…hah…”
“I’”
“Thanks…”
“Why’re you thanking otta have confidence You’re a strong guy”
“You think…I can deflect bullets at this rate…?”
“That ood either, so avoid theet into trouble”
“I won’t ”
“Please stop trying to surim reaper, Seron”
Seron and Larry walked down the cleared path to the dorms
Though Larry could sio home, he walked Seron all the way back to the dorms
The sun would set soon No one else was visible on campus
“Look, Seron,” Larry began, looking at Seron’s profiled face, “try not to let anyone knoho you have a crush on And don’t let people know that you do like someone It’ll be a headache if people find out”
Seron nodded “Yeah, I will But what if someone asks?”
“Then maybe you should lie and say you don’t like anyone?”
“I’ood liar, but I’ll try”
They parted ways at the dormitory entrance with a wave
The 8th day of the second month
It had been five days since classes resu up, but Seron was as busy as ever helping out the first-years
Before dawn, he oken up to the news that a student was sick and throwing up He took the boy to the dormitory office, where his condition worsened So he called an aes of clothes Then he contacted the boy’s parents and explained the situation to the student’s floor
Morning classes began without giving him the time for a relaxed breakfast
Seron spotted a dorotten lost on caan—and guided hi up tardy for his own class
And though it was not his job, at breaktiirl to the nurse’s office after she slipped on the snow and sprained her hand Countless other girls sent jealous gazes in their direction, but Seron did not so much as blink
After ot to eat at the cafeteria The ers
“They taste better when you defrost theuess they wouldn’t have that kind of time at the cafeteria,” he remarked to himself
That hen a first-year dropped his tray with a resounding clang, and almost burst into tears Seron went over to help him out
After afternoon classes and twostack of reports to the science office with a teacher and handed them in Only then was Seron finally free
The Whitfield watch on his wrist told him it was four in the afternoon
The white clouds that had covered the sun all day had gone grey It was snowing hard enough to o white
Three seconds of contemplation later, Seron turned not towards the newspaper club but the dorms
Fro, he headed for the central staircase
The new building was a five-story structure that had been erected n about 10 years ago
The central staircase at the center of the building was surrounded by large glass s that offered fantastic views of the grounds
With quick steps Seron strode down the dim, deserted halls
When he reached the central staircase, he began to descend—
“Hmm…”
When he spotted a girl at the landing between the third and second floor
She was sitting at a low stair by the ith her legs outstretched
Her legs clad in black pantyhose were in full view, but she did not seeht of Seron
The girl was elegant in bearing with long, wavy golden hair Her countenance was both lovely and sharp
She was clearly older than Seron, most likely a sixth-year student Scattered haphazardly next to her was her school bag and an expensive-looking fur coat
Her light blue eyes rey
“Hey, are you busy?”
A clear soprano voice stopped Seron
He descended the stairs and stopped at the landing, irl
“No”
“Good Could you help ?”
Seron accepted yet another request in his busy day
“Of course What is it you’re looking for?”
The girl swept back her long golden hair and exposed her right ear A slinted there
“I lost ”
Seron looked at the striking red earring and the sulations prohibit the wearing of accessories for non-religious reasons”
The girl stared for a moment, but a smile soon rose to her face
“You’re sounding like a regular RA”
“Because I am”
“Interesting What’s your name?”
“Seron Maxwell I’m a fourth-year”
“Maxwell, as in the red frozen food?”
“Yes, that’s right”
“Wow! I’ve been at this school for more than five years, but I don’t think I’ve et Bridget Are Aren’t you curious at all about what my family does?”
“It’s a pleasure tosomewhere around here?” Seron asked mechanically
Bridget’s eyes widened again
“Cool as a cucu conversation, does it? My fahfare in the north Have you heard of it?”
“No”
“You don’t have to be so cold We’re fa dresses, so don’t hesitate to coive you soht now I’ club”
“I see”
“And now I’ I’ on campus”
“I’ll help you look Where did you drop it? It would be unfortunate if I were to accidentally step on it”
“Never mind”
“Pardon me?”
“Never mind I just realized I don’t even know for sure if I dropped it here I probably didn’t I suppose I was a little out of sorts and ended up asking you to help for no real reason But thanks anyway”
“I haven’t done anything deserving thanks”
“You’re such a good boy”
Bridget slowly rose and approached Seron She was tall for a girl, alht as him She drew so near her breath reached his face
“Do you have a girlfriend, Maxwell?” She asked out of the blue Seron replied aze
“No”
“Then what about a crush?”
This time, he could not answer immediately But Seron recalled his conversation with Larry the other day and ed to reply
“No”
“Really?”
A s
She brushed back her hair with her right hand, leaned slightly to the left, and slid closer to Seron
Then she closed her eyes and kissed him softly on the lips
Seron stared blankly as Bridget’s face drew near Their lips met, and parted He waited for her next course of action