Vol 7 Chapter 7 (2/2)
“And what about you?” Jenny asked to the barely-present Seron Maxwell
“…”
“Nat, stuff a donut in his mouth”
“Sure Which flavor?”
“Doesn’t matter”
Larry gently elbowed Seron
“Huh?”
“Sorry to bother you,you a question”
“She is?”
“Yes About to the conversation Sound good?”
“Oh Er…yeah, sure,” Seron finally replied Jenny sighed
“So what’ll it be?” Asked Natalia “Chocolate or black tea?”
That evening, at the Strauski residence
Meg and her brothers were eating on their own as their parents were both out
On the table in the large dining room of the luxury apartment was a Roxchean-style meal prepared by the housekeeper
The etable salad, apple juice, and chicken-and- of cheese
It was Meg’s job to ratin into the plate and bake it in the oven
“More cheese, Big Sis! Y’gotta add more!” “Yeah!”
Kurt and Johan begged their sister
“Oh, all right”
In response, Meg durated cheese onto the dish As putting it in the oven would inevitably result in a cheese avalanche, she had to er dish
“May peace be upon the royal fa sun,” the siblings prayed in Bezelese before digging in
“GRATIN!”
“GRATIN!”
The boys were not quite young enough to stuff theratin in their excite a bite
“It’s sooooooo good!” “It’s good! I love cheese!”
The boys cheered as they cooled off their food just enough to not burn the the scrumptiously browned cheese into their mouths
Meg, on the other hand, siratin and the cheese for some time
“Your food’s gonna get cold, Big Sis,” Johan pointed out
“Hmph!”
Meg snorted and stabbed a piece of chicken through the cheese And she began to eat
She was not even trying to hide her anger at the cheese—or perhaps so else Kurt noticed
“Are you gonna overeat again and get sick, Big Sis? You stuffed yourself yesterday too,” he said in Roxchean
“No,” Meg replied in Bezelese She had gorged on food at her birthday party the previous day
“That’s good Hope you don’t hafta go back to the digestive ain today That would suck”
“Okay, okay I’ll eat slowly,” Meg replied, slowing down to a nor pace
“I guess being in secondary school is rough It’s good to be young”
“Kurt, you’re only in first year Don’t act like you know everything”
Brother and sister conversed in different languages over the dinner table Johan, ratin
“I’ Sis”
“It’s only going to get harder for you from here on out Stuff happens in school that’ll make your stomach hurt”
“Really”
“For exa down her fork, “I have this friend”
“What’s she like?”
“She says there’s this guy who likes her”
“It’s good to be young”
“But the guy just can’t work up the courage to ask her out”
“That’s stupid of hio up to her and say ‘I love you’!” Kurt mused
“I love you!” Johan parroted his brother, still wrangling his gratin
“Anyway, that’s what he’s like But one day someone found out that he likes my friend, and—”
“I see Other people got fed up with this guy being all wishy-washy and told the girl for him Must’ve made them feel better”
“Wh-why do you say that?”
“Obviously, cause it’s frustrating to watch Both the guy who can’t confess and the girl who doesn’t notice”
“…”
“Life is short You gotta get out there and get the girl or fail in a blaze of glory, basically”
“A ‘blaze of…’?”
“Oh, it ,” Kurt replied,in Bezelese to siratin into his mouth
“But it’s toopointed out
“Maybe,” Kurt replied,” but it’s better than just dragging things out forever And besides, love isn’t like a war Even if you lose you don’t die or anything You can just get back on your feet and ?”
Meg had been argued into subratin into her mouth
For some time the meal continued in silence
But Meg spoke once again
“About that girl”
“Huh? That friend you were talking about?”
“Yeah Apparently the guy didn’t actually confess properly to her even after he got found out”
“He’s such an idiot”
“Yeah I thought that was the end of that, but…”
“There’s more?”
“Apparently the girl doesn’t knohy, but she keeps feeling frustrated, she gets angry when she looks at hi cold to him She doesn’t know herself why she feels like that, which is frustrating her evensaid firmly, and very quickly
Kurt stopped mid-salad
“That’s it?”
“What do you—”
“That’s totally siry?”
“Y-yeah, that’s why she consulted me in the first place!”
“Then tell her as soon as you see her to for the apple juice He sounded very bored “She’sfor hih she doesn’t even realize it”
“…”
“You okay, Big Sis?”
Meg stood
“I-I have to go to the bathroom”
“C’ took off
“We’re eating here,” Johan parroted his brother
<so the=”” day=”” finally=”” came=””>
<…>
<no, i=”” was=”” just=”” too=”” shocked=”” to=”” say=”” anything=””>
<it’s all=”” right=”” i=”” have=”” the=”” right=”” and=”” duty=”” to=”” listen=”” to=”” this=”” story=”” to=”” the=”” end=””>
The 16th day of the second month
On the day of the plan, heavy snow once again enveloped the Capital District
Though there was almost no wind, snow piled up endlessly on the roads that had only just begun to dry
It was lunchtime
“I guess he couldn’t possibly see us from here, so there isn’t much to worry about”
“The weather report says the snow’s going to ease up in the afternoon”
“I hope it does”
Larry, Seron, and Jenny were preparing the recording equipment
Snow fell in clurounds behind the building
“I’h soahow he had once cli two microphones in snowdrifts and one between the branches
They covered the microphones hite cloth and scattered snow on top to conceal them
“We have to dust off the snow once before we start using theht after class,” said Jenny
“Sure thing,” Larry replied with a smile
Their coats covered in snow, Jenny, Seron, and Larry buried the microphone cables in snow all the way back to the office It was not difficult—all they had to do was step on the length of the cables so that snoould cover the later on would cover the cables completely
The cables led directly to the newspaper club through an open
Jenny and Larry shook off the snow from their clothes and connected the cables to the recorder
The recording device was aout of it like aruards had received per
The desks against the wall had been cleared completely to make room for the recorder
“Wow I’d kill for one of these babies,” Larry said
“It’s my uncle’s You break it, you buy it”
“I don’t think onna cover this”
“Then you can pay once you’ve gotten ahead in life”
“Ah, so you think I’et ahead? Thanks”
“Correction Work off your debt working for free at one of our factories,” Jenny said, and proht Give it a try”
“Right”
Larry turned a flashlight on and off to signal Seron, as still outside
Though Larry was fluent in Morse code, Seron was not So they decided on several signs to use ahead of time
Because of the heavy snowfall it was hard to make out Seron in the distance
<testing testing=”” i’=”” at=”” normal=”” volume=”” can=”” you=”” hear=”” me?=””>
Seron’s voice was carried all the way through the cables and came out clearly from the speakers
The recording test was a success as well Larry signaled at Seron for him to return
Once Seron was in the office, Larry brewed tea Then the three club members had sandwiches from the cafeteria as a late lunch
“Good work, guys,” said Jenny, “and Seron Maxwell?”
Seron caught her glare mid-bite “Hm?”
“You better spill your guts before the others get here”
“What do you mean, Jenny?”
“Seron What are you planning?”
After school
The weather forecast was proven correct as the snow let up, slowing to a mild flurry
Larry took off the moment class ended to check the microphones First he dusted off the snow piled on the cloths, then covered theain
He even brought a broom with him, which he used to hide his tracks completely
When Larry returned to the office he found Jenny and Seron checking the recorder again
“I let SC Bridget know about the plan,” said Jenny, “and she said that SC Kenneth agreed to meet here today”
“Great!” Larry cheered
Seron nodded silently
“So we’re going ahead with the plan as scheduled I’raphy to you this time, Larry”
“Just leave it to et to use this baby,” Larry said, casting a glance at the sturdy tripod by theand the telephoto lens and single-lens reflex camera mounted on it
The other club members arrived earlier than usual as well
“Today’s the day! Here—nothing likeup a shopping bag stuffed with sweets
Then caood to see the weather has improved I hope the mystery will be solved once and for all today,” he re that there was a mystery to be solved
“Today the truth will co very hard to not make eye contact with Seron “I believe that !”
Though preparations were coo before Bridget and Kenneth were scheduled to arrive
“Let’s eat!”
So they had no choice but to follow Natalia’s suggestion The newspaper club sat around on the sofas and relaxed
“This is taking the wind out ofan eye on the oak tree with a pair of sunglasses and binoculars The oak tree simply stood alone in a world of white
The hands of the clock continued to tick and tock, and the macarons disappeared into mouths at a rapid pace until it was five nated time
“I’ up
“Hurry back or you’ll miss the conversation,” said Larry
“It’s all right We’re recording everything anyway,” Seron replied, grabbing his coat froer
Then he turned and called the nale word all day
“Megmica”
“Y-yes!” Meg replied, looking up
“Do you believe in SC Kenneth?”
For several seconds Meg looked into Seron’s grey eyes, unable to answer
Seron waited without averting his gaze
Eventually Meg gave her reply
“I do! Because he does not look to be a bad person!”
“I see I think so too”
The others thought they saw a hint of a smile on Seron’s lips
The door opened Then it closed
Once Seron had taken his coat and left—
“Let’s get into position I hate rushi+ng at the lastto the recorder
“Sure”
The otherson the floor by the , they squatted or knelt and wiped the glass and adjusted the lace curtain for a better view
Finally, everyone picked up binoculars from the desk and checked their lenses Larry checked the oak tree once h the camera viewfinder
The hands on the clock continued to move until it was one minute to the scheduled time
“You think they’ll get here on tilances out the
“Yeah” “I am certain they will” Jenny and Nick replied simultaneously
“Really? Why?”
Jenny let Nick explain
“Sc Kenneth seems almost serious to a fault He will arrive exactly on tiet, however, I wouldn’t put it past her to arrive late”
“Right,” Natalia said with a nod, reaching for a macaron on the desk—
“There! SC Kenneth, from the left,” Larry hissed Everyone picked up their binoculars
“Mhm?” Natalia picked up her macaron anyway and put it in her mouth
Jenny put a hand on the record button, but did not press it
Kenneth appeared in the scene beyond the binoculars, crossing the snowy grounds fro the oak tree There was a hint of anxiety on his handsome face
“SC Bridget’s not here yet,” Larry said, shaking his binoculars left and right
The others looked around for her as well, but Kenneth was the only person in sight
When he reached the oak tree, Kenneth checked his watch The nated time at that very moment
“Talk about accurate!” Natalia exclaimed
“It is rude, being late after calling out so snapped to so up her cheeks
“By the way, it see quite a while in the bathroom,” Nick noted The others finally remembered Seron’s absence
“Maybe he’s got a sto for his friend, “we’re practically done anyway, so let him off easy”
Five minutes passed in bored silence
“How er?!” Natalia complained
The club members waited in the office, and Kenneth waited by the oak tree in the cold
Not once did Kenneth look back down at his watch He stood upright, his breath rising in puffs, as he quietly waited for Bridget to arrive
“Hey, there she is!” Larry cried, discovering their second target “That’s gotta be SC Bridget Jenny!”
“Right”
Jenny began the recording The reels began to turn with a click
And sound flowed from the speakers
The sound of footsteps crunching into the sno at a slow crescendo
Beyond the binoculars Bridget walked towards the tree, wearing an expensive coat and carrying her bag
“She’s here!” Nataliaa macaron in one hand
“This will be interesting Let us keep our ears on their conversation,” said Nick
Meg glared into her binoculars
The footsteps suddenly came to a stop
In the distance, Bridget stopped about three meters from Kenneth
<hey kenneth=””>
The first thing to co
Bridget’s voice carried across clearly The tape recorded everything
And as Meg, Natalia, Larry, Jenny, and Nick listened, Kenneth’s voice eed from the speakers for the first time
<the hell=”” do=”” you=”” want,=”” you=”” whore?=””>
</the></hey></testing></it’s></no,></so>