Meg and Seron Vol 5 Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Cana

The 28th day of the ninth month.

It was lunchtime at the cafeteria.

“Is something the matter…?” Stella asked Larry.

Spread between them was a delicious homemade lunch. Omelette with plenty of ground beef—Larry’s favorite—along with boiled broccoli salad, bread, and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing,” Larry replied. But Stella was not fooled.

“No. You’re…acting strange, SC Hepburn. Yesterday too,” she said, “you look…tired. And a little sad.”

Larry’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe,” he paused, then opened his mouth, “Stella.”

“Yes?”

“About the 31st. The first day back after the weekend.”

“What is it?”

“I have something to take care of at lunchtime, so we won’t be able to eat together.”

“I see.”

“So you don’t need to make me anything. Don’t push yourself, okay?”

“All right.”

“But in exchange, could you give me some time after school that day?”

“…I…have to go straight home.”

“Just for a little while. It won’t take longer than one of those days when cla.s.ses end a little late. And if your family gets worried, I’ll give your grandfather a call and apologize. Or we can go apologize to him together. How’s that?”

“That…sounds fine,” Stella said with a nod.

“Thanks. Then let’s meet after cla.s.s on the 31st, under the same tree as before.”

Seron watched as Larry scratched his right ear, then the back of his head.

“All right. Depending on tomorrow’s results, we’ll take action on the 31st,” he said to Natalia, Meg, and Nick, who were sitting with him.

“Do you think it will work?” Asked Nick. Natalia and Meg looked at Seron.

“I believe in SC Linus.”

The next day. Very early in the morning of the 29th.

Because it was the weekend, the school was deserted that day. Seron walked out the quiet gates and left the campus empty-handed.

About an hour later, he returned through the quiet gates, entering the campus with a newspaper in hand.

He stepped into a telephone booth in the dormitory building lobby and called Jenny Jones.

“We’re good to go, Jenny. SC Linus really did it.”

In a corner of the newspaper in Seron’s hand was a small article.

‘3305 Whitfield Compet.i.tion Winner Announced: Linus F.’

His family name had been shortened to an initial, but Linus had indeed made it.

The name of the prize-winning wrist.w.a.tch was also featured in the article.

The 31st day of the ninth month.

It was lunchtime on the first day of school that week.

Seron quickly finished his lunch alone and headed to the newspaper club office.

“Hey there!”

“Come on in.”

Larry and Jenny were sitting in side. A large piece of paper was spread on the table before them. A black-and-white newspaper for posting on the wall.

Seron stood over the paper with his hands on the table and read its contents in one go.

Then, he looked up.

“Perfect.”

“Thanks. I got so pumped up I decided to print 50 copies this time. I can’t wait for cla.s.s to end.”

Breaktime, before the last cla.s.s of the day. In the hallway.

“Sorry, got some business to take care of. Put in a good word with SC Portman for me,” Natalia said to her orchestra club friends.

“Put in a good word…” “…with SC Portman?!” Her friends complained as Natalia set off for cla.s.s.

At around the same time, in a different hallway.

“I am very sorry. There is a job that can never be missed today, so I wish to rest from practice,” Meg pleaded, bowing to her chorus club senior-cla.s.smen.

“We understand. Don’t worry about it,” they replied.

At the same time, in another hallway.

“President,” Nick called, stopping Arthur Sears in the hall. He and Sophia Ulericks both turned.

“Hey there, Nick. What is it?”

“I’m afraid I will have to miss practice today. I have business to attend to at the newspaper club.”

After school. It was clear.

Students swarming in droves toward the gates.

But a certain part of the campus was separated from the ma.s.sive flow.

The grounds behind the school building were gra.s.sy with flower beds dotting the area. And standing prominently over it all was a ma.s.sive oak tree with green branches.

Jenny had once called it a legendary tree, which guaranteed that any confession made under its branches would be reciprocated.

A student walked over to the tree.

Sixth-year Linus Francis, his frame so large that his tie looked unnaturally thin, and his face so gentle it did not fit the rest of his body.

He was carrying his bag, which also looked disproportionately small, and a cloth bag containing a change of clothes. On this right wrist was a watch.

He looked as powerless as a man facing the gallows.

When he found no one under the tree, he looked around.

Then he leaned against the trunk and waited nervously.

“He’s here.”

Larry Hepburn was keeping a watchful eye on Linus as the latter leaned against the tree.

He was watching from very close by.

“He is there…”

Meg, Seron, Jenny, Natalia, and Nick were also watching as Linus leaned against the tree.

They were watching him from a distance, through their binoculars.

“I must say I am getting rather used to this kind of activity,” Nick remarked. The five students were each holding binoculars, pressed against the office window as they watched Linus.

This time, the three girls were half-kneeling on a soft rug under the window with their elbows on the windowsill. Seron and Nick stood behind them.

Mounted on a tripod to Jenny’s right was a camera equipped with a long telephoto lens pointing at the tree. Jenny was holding the cable release.

She took a shot and wound the film.

“We didn’t give Larry a script,” Natalia said, “is he gonna be all right? He’s not gonna run off at the big moment?”

“Actually, he gave me a telephone call yesterday afternoon,” Nick answered, “he asked me the secret to giving a good performance. So I gave him an answer.”

“What did you answer him with?” Asked Meg.

“‘You must be bold’.”

“Oh my goodness.”

“Nick, you’re the one who lied to get SC Gorilla out there, right?” Asked Natalia.

“Indeed I am.”

“What’d you tell him to get him to skip technical school? He looks like he’s about to faint.”

Nick flashed an elegant smile.

“I’m afraid I cannot say. It would be a shame if our friends.h.i.+p were to be ruined over such a trivial matter.”

“Scary,” Natalia said with a grin, “so now the rest is up to Larry.”

“It’s gonna be all right,” said Seron, “Larry’s not going to run.”

Just as Jenny smiled at Seron’s remark—

Linus’s anxious voice filled the newspaper club members’ ears. He had a deep but frail voice.

The voice was coming from the speakers on the table behind the club members. The speakers were hooked up to a tube amp, whose tubes were glowing a dull orange.

A long cable was connected to the amp. It ran out the office window, towards the tree, before it disappeared into the ground.

At the end of the cable was a microphone sealed in a buried box.

“Sounds great. The marvels of civilization, eh.” Natalia commented.

“Obviously,” Jenny replied, “it was tough planting the cable and the microphone over lunch break.”

“And thanks to your efforts, we will be privy to the truth of the situation. Thank you, Jenny. Your efforts are much—”

Nick stopped.

“There! Our star has arrived!” He cried.

Everyone stared hard into their binoculars.

Through their lenses they saw Stella’s pet.i.te form, next to the building behind Linus and the tree. Linus was facing away from her.

Stella did not seem to have noticed Linus. She walked briskly to the tree.

Larry heard her footsteps.

“Whew…all right.”

With leather gloves on his hands, he tightened his grip on the rope.

Stella’s voice filled the office.

Stella had drawn close to the tree and noticed the boy leaning against it.

Linus’s cry of shock followed.

Jenny smirked. “Now let’s see what you’re made of, Sir Hepburn.”

“Huh…? Whoa!”

“Wh-what are you doing here?!” Stella demanded as Linus flinched.

“…Er…I…” Linus could not manage a proper word. Instead he shook his head slightly and held his bag in front of him with trembling hands.

Stella quickly looked around.

“Y-you have to go, now!”

“B-but…I…”

“Please, you have to leave!” Stella said, and reached into her bag.

She pulled out her wrist.w.a.tch.

As Linus watched, she put the watch around her left wrist.

“Please, you have to do as I say! You can’t be here!”

“But I—”

Then came a third voice.

“Whoa there, calm down!”

The voice had come from above.

“Hm?” “Huh?”

Stella and Linus looked up in unison. The first thing they saw were the branches of the oak tree and its splendid foliage.

Larry had been hiding inside. A rope came down from the branches, its end touching the ground.

“Hah!”

Larry rappelled down the rope.

“Whoa!” “Ah…”

Larry appeared before the surprised couple, dressed in camouflage gear.

He was wearing a Confederation Army uniform with a pair of combat boots. He also wore a hat and a camouflage scarf over his face.

The rope was wrapped around his waist and thighs, fixed to metal carabiners. The rope pa.s.sed through the carabiners and slowed his descent.

Pulling the scarf off his face and unclipping the rope, Larry greeted Stella and Linus.

“Hey there! The name’s Larry. Larry Hepburn.”

Larry landed safely between the large boy and the tiny girl.

And he threw out a line straight from a radio drama.

Natalia could not keep her composure, her hand over her stomach as she trembled in barely-suppressed fits of laughter.

Jenny continued to take more photos. “Going good so far.”

“He will do a fine job, so long as he remembers my advice,” Nick said with a smile.

“Do your best, Larry!” Meg cheered.

“Wh-what are you—”

“SC Hepburn?”

Larry looked at both Linus and Stella.

“You want to know why I’m wearing this? Obviously, I’m dressed for combat!”

“PFFFFT! AHAHAHAHA!”

Back in the office, Natalia finally burst out laughing. But as Larry could not hear her, he continued.

“Stella!” He cried without warning.

Stella flinched.

“I’m going to save you!”

“What…?”

“From him!”

With his gloved hand, Larry pointed an accusing finger at Linus. It was bad manners from anyone’s perspective, but he continued regardless.

“I started hearing these weird rumors after we started going out.”

As Stella and Linus stood in silence, Larry continued his monologue.

“I heard that a senior-cla.s.sman named Linus Francis was bothering you. So I asked some good friends of mine to investigate, and it turned out the rumors were true. We have eyewitness accounts from people who saw you with this guy in deserted places on campus.”

“Er…I…” Linus stammered, shrinking.

“You were stalking Stella!” Larry accused, finally lowering his hand.

Linus flinched. But Larry’s onslaught was not yet finished.

“Granted, Stella is really cute! But SC Linus! You took advantage of how shy she was and followed her around when people weren’t nearby! The reason she asked me out this term and asked me to hang out with her as much as possible on campus was because she wanted to avoid you! Not because she was in love with me!”

“Can’t breathe…someone save me…” Natalia wheezed, almost in tears, but because Larry could not see her he continued without stopping.

“This is unforgivable! A real man doesn’t coerce or stalk girls!”

“I…erm…”

“Have I made myself clear? Don’t ever bother Stella again! I’ll deal with you personally if you get near her! I realize it’s wrong of me to use my military training to hurt a civilian, but I’m willing to make an exception when it’s against someone who hurts a woman! Do you have anything to say for yourself, SC Linus?”

Larry was firing on all cylinders. Linus was struck dumb. But Stella managed to speak up.

“Er…SC Hepburn.”

“What is it, Stella?”

“Er…I—”

But Larry intentionally cut her off.

“Don’t worry, Stella. I’ll protect you.”

“What? But I—”

Stella was beginning to panic. But Larry—

“I’ll make sure you don’t regret choosing me.”

Larry narrowed his eyes, for once telling the truth. Then he suddenly raised his voice.

“That’s all I have to say, SC Linus! Leave Stella alone, and don’t get near her on campus until the day you graduate! She’s got bodyguards off-campus and me on campus to protect her. Don’t you forget that!”

Though Linus had shrank back with his head bowed, and looked like he was on the verge of tears, he refused to run.

“I…” he said, finally opening his mouth, “I…I can’t…”

Stella was looking at Linus. Linus was looking down.

And as a result, both missed the sad look in Larry’s eyes.

“Good on you,” Jenny whispered, taking a photo of his face.

“Which one are you talking to?” Asked Seron.

“Is that even a question?” Jenny snapped, before mouthing, ‘both’.

“Man, this is killing me…” Natalia snickered as she finally came back to life. Five binoculars turned in the same direction for a glimpse of Larry’s heroics.

“What? Do you realize what you’re saying, SC Linus?!” Roared Larry, who knew exactly what he was doing. He took one intimidating step after another towards Linus. “Fine by me! I wanted to back down here for honor’s sake, but you leave me with no choice!”

Larry reached out. Linus was two heads taller than him and his arms were thicker, but Larry was not daunted in the least.

“I’m taking you to the faculty office, stalker! Don’t blame me if I break an arm or two!”

“NOOOOO!” Stella shrieked, shoving Larry.

“Whoa!” “Ah!” “Eek!” “Oh!” “Wow.”

The club members in the office flinched.

“Huh?”

Larry flew through the air and landed on his back.

“Gurk!”

Creating a new Roxchean exclamation for pain, Larry rolled and hit the tree trunk back-first. His hat went flying. Finally, his head hit the tree with a resounding noise and his body slumped forward on reflex.

He fell on the gra.s.s and stopped moving.

“That an act too?” Natalia wondered. From the office Larry looked like a giant frog.

“I don’t seem to recall teaching him that particular technique. Although I am quite tempted to adopt it for my last fight scene,” Nick remarked.

“S-Stella…?”

Linus was first to break the silence.

“Er…I…what do I do…?”

He was clearly bewildered at the sight of Stella shoving the belligerent boy.

“Ow, that hurt…”

Larry slowly rose. He rolled over to his side and leaned against the tree.

“I…I…”

Stella stammered, finally lowering her hands.

Larry looked up.

And he looked at Stella, his sky-blue eyes s.h.i.+ning.

Several seconds later, he broke into a grin with blades of gra.s.s in his blond hair and dirt on his face.

“Good job.”

Stella did not understand.

“Wh-what do you mean…?”

“Good job, Stella. You win,” Larry replied.

“Huh?”

“You’re a really strong person. You beat me.”

Meanwhile, in the office.

“Why’s he still in that pose?” Natalia wondered.

“It makes sense,” Seron replied, “you can’t look at a star unless you’re looking up.”

“Wow! It is very romantic, Seron! It is very cool!” Meg exclaimed.

Seron’s thoughts came grinding to a halt.

Stella slowly stepped forward, towards Larry.

Larry looked up at her.

“I knew from the start.”

“Knew what?”

“That you weren’t in love with me.”

Stella was silent.

“And I found out after doing some investigation that the guy you really like is standing over there. SC Linus. And that he feels the same about you.”

Stella and Linus’s eyes met. They both looked away.

“They’re trying to figure out who spilled the beans. It’s written on their faces,” Natalia remarked.

“We figured it out ourselves, though,” Jenny said proudly.

Larry said,

“C’mon, get a grip, Larry! When else are you gonna get to s.h.i.+ne?” Natalia jeered.

“Er…so…basically I was lying when I said you were stalking Stella, SC Linus. I’m really sorry!”

Stella was silent, but Linus stepped forward to be next to her. He gave Larry an awkward look.

Larry looked at the two wrist.w.a.tches before him. One on the left wrist and the other on the right.

“You two must’ve met not long after Stella started school here. And you fell in love. Probably because you both love watches. Right?”

Stella nodded silently.

“So I was right. Yeah. You love watches, Stella, and SC Linus, you like watches enough to make some of your own.”

Shock spread over Linus’s face. Larry answered the unspoken question.

“I’m really sorry, SC Linus. I tailed you after cla.s.s and found out you were attending Balfour Technical School.”

“I see…” Linus said, finally breaking his silence. Larry continued.

“You love each other enough to want to pledge your futures together. But there weren’t many places you could see each other. Off-campus is out of the question, and even on campus, people would spread rumors if they saw you together. Which is what really happened. And—”

Larry’s calm explanation filled the office.

Nick, still holding his binoculars to his eyes, quietly repeated what he had told he others several days earlier.

“The Francis family was founded by the brother of the current Whitfield CEO after the family feud split them apart. In other words, the Francis family and the Whitfield family were originally one.”

“You two were second cousins. Stella’s grandfather and SC Linus’s grandfather were brothers, but they had a such a bad falling-out that SC Linus’s grandfather even changed his name. And they’re still on bad terms. They don’t even contact each other, let alone meet in person. That was the reality you two were facing.”

Larry looked at Stella, who wore a completely new expression. She had a determined, powerful gaze.

Linus stood beside her, also looking at Larry.

“You met by coincidence at this school. And you were free to see each other in secret here. But if your families were to find out, well…honestly, I can’t even imagine, but…er…it couldn’t be good. I think.”

“d.a.m.n that Larry! Can’t you set up a microphone on this end, chief?! This guy’s butchering his delivery!” Natalia fumed.

“It is finally the starting,” Meg said, trying to calm her down.

“Indeed,” Nick nodded, “if not for one problem.”

Seron, who had finally come back to life, whispered along with Larry’s voice.

“Winning the Whitfield Compet.i.tion.”