At the end of third period Latin class, Alexander and Neil left the classroom together, heading to their next class.
“I seriously don't get Latin at all. Don't get the point of it, either. Why do we have to learn a language that's not even used anymore?”
Neil grumbled, looking bored as he clutched his tablet—an old, black, rectangular model about twenty-five by fourteen centimetres, containing all his textbook data.
In response, Alex said, “Mrs Jane told us in the first class, didn't she? If you understand Latin, you'll understand world history, philosophy, and even chemistry. That's why we learn it. It's a useful tool that helps you understand all sorts of fields.”
Mrs Jane was the female teacher who taught Latin at this high school. Her name was Miranda Jane. A black woman with long, straight black hair, sharp, crescent-shaped eyebrows, and full, plump lips that made an impression. Her classes were known for being easy to understand, so much so that the school's average Latin scores had risen significantly since her arrival. In fact, Alexander was one of the students whose grades had improved thanks to Mrs Jane.
But for Neil, whose Latin scores were always in the failing range regardless of the teacher, he just smiled cheerfully. Then, as if he had given up, Neil said, “You can't write a recipe for dinner rolls in Latin. It's useless to me.”
Alexander raised her own tablet and lightly bonked Neil on the head with the corner. It was her way of telling him to study. But Neil just cursed back, saying his only talent was for baking bread.
It was at that moment that a rather ominous sound came from down the corridor where they were walking.
“...What was that?” Alexander and Neil exchanged glances. Neil made a clueless face and offered his opinion.
“Beats me, mate. Maybe a biffo broke out? Well, it's none of our busin—” Halfway through Neil’s sentence, a loud crash echoed from down the hall, cutting him off. Clang, thud, crash. It sounded like heavy metal objects falling in succession, like dominoes. At the same time, they could hear a clamour of voices shouting.
—Hey, sicko! Playing the victim, are ya! We're gonna expose you for what you are!
...That is what they could hear. It did not sound like a friendly student chat.
“Wanna go have a stickybeak?” Alexander whispered. Neil nodded in agreement.”Yeah, let's go.” Having reached an agreement, the two of them ran down the corridor. They turned left at the corner and came to the lockers in front of a classroom. What they saw there made them gasp in shock.
“Hey, what's all this then...” What was happening there was nothing short of a group lynching.
Two burly male students from the rugby team were knocking over metal locker shelves one after another, deliberately making loud noises to intimidate. Clang, thud, boom. The lockers that had been lined up along the corridor wall were all toppled over. And several female students, likely from the cheerleading squad, were surrounding a single girl sitting on the floor. In the cheerleaders' hands were crumpled balls of paper—handouts, sticky notes. It looked like insults were scrawled on them.
Furthermore, a crowd of onlookers surrounded the rugby players and cheerleaders, even egging them on with shouts of More. No one was trying to stop them. Somehow, she had a really bad feeling about this. But next to Alexander, Neil muttered nonchalantly, “Ugh, my locker's been knocked over too! I had my lunch in my backpack. At this rate, the contents are probably all buggered.”
“That's a shame. It's tough for those who pack lunch.” Brushing off the carefree Neil Archer, who could only think about lunch, Alexander left him and moved forward alone. She forcefully pushed her way through the crowd, forging ahead. She grabbed one person by the shirt collar and shoved them away. She grabbed another's backpack and tossed it aside. She grabbed another's shoulder and pushed them back. In this way, Alexander cleared a path. A single path leading to the centre where the crowd was gathered.
Stepping over the fallen locker shelves, Alexander reached the centre. She stood with her chest out, glaring at the cheerleaders and staring down the rugby players. Someone heckled, “Here comes the beast Alexander!”
“Well, well, Alex. What're you doin' here?” the girl who seemed to be the leader of the cheerleading squad said, shooting Alexander a contemptuous look. As she spoke, she casually tossed the crumpled paper in her hand at the girl sitting on the floor. “We're just playin' with the girl here. Mind not interrupting?” one of the rugby players spat at Alexander. Then he knocked over another locker. The falling locker tipped towards the girl on the floor, but Alexander caught it with her hand.
“Doesn't look like you're playin' to me. And what's with this mess of lockers? Who's gonna fix this? The janitor, the cleaning staff, or you lot?” Alexander pushed the teetering locker back upright and looked at the rugby players and cheerleaders. Then another cheerleader threw a crumpled paper at the girl on the floor.
“I said, don't interrupt. This has nothin' to do with you, right?” Another piece of crumpled paper was thrown at the girl on the floor.
“I don't know if you're a beast or what, but do you want a flogging?” Another locker was knocked over, but this one seemed intended as a threat towards Alexander.
“It does have somethin' to do with me. I can't have you knocking over my locker. In fact, my mate's locker has already been knocked over.” As Alexander spoke, another crumpled paper was thrown at the girl on the floor. The lead girl glared at Alex and said to her, “Fine, Alex. We won't touch your locker, right? So, rack off.” But Alexander neither nodded nor backed down. Alexander picked up one of the crumpled papers from the floor and read the words written on it. Shameless. That is what was written on the paper she happened to pick up.
Alexander then held up the paper so the lead girl could see the words written on it. Then she grinned and provoked the lead girl. “Don't you reckon the words written here fit you perfectly?”
“—You take advantage when I'm being nice, cut the crap, you bloody bitch!!”
Finally showing her true colours, the lead girl yelled at Alexander with a demonic expression. But Alexander just smiled defiantly. Then Alex picked up a few more wads of paper and started juggling them. Tossing and catching the paper wads in the air, Alexander said, “Aren't you ashamed of doin' this? Or does it not matter 'cause your rich mummy and daddy will make it all go away?”
“Shut up, you bitch! —Victor, Jean, get her!” the lead girl shrieked, her fake blonde hair flying, ordering the two rugby players. The rugby player who received the order cracked his knuckles and tried to intimidate Alexander clumsily. But a punk's intimidation had no effect on her.
That is because she had experience from the boxing gym she had attended until she was fifteen. In a match, her opponents, even if they were kids, were always intimidating, and she was the same way. In other words, she was more than familiar with intimidation and provocation. That is why Alexander said, “Fine, if you want a go, bring it on. I'll make sure you don't get hurt.”
“Talk is cheap!” One of the male students, taking Alexander's bait, lunged forward and threw a wild punch at her. It was a punch with wasted momentum, lacking accuracy and failing to utilise his considerable size. Alexander smoothly dodged the attack and sighed in exasperation. She caught the boy's outstretched arm under her armpit and held it tight. Taking advantage of his surprise, Alexander swept his leg. As the male student lost his balance, she released her grip, letting go of his arm. The male student slowly fell backward onto the floor.
“See, I made sure you didn't get hurt.” As the male student fell with a clumsy thud, Alexander smiled at him. Perhaps frightened by her smile, the male student scrambled to his feet and ran away with his tail between his legs. All his earlier bravado was gone.
As the hot-headed boy quickly fled, the other large rugby players followed him and ran off. Alexander gave a small wave to the retreating boys.
Next, the entourage of cheerleaders followed the departed rugby players and disappeared, and the bored onlookers also dispersed. In the end, only the lead girl, Alex, and the girl sitting on the floor remained.
Alexander crouched down slightly and extended a hand to the girl on the floor. Alexander urged her to stand. Just as the girl took Alexander's hand and unsteadily got to her feet.
“Right then. What exactly happ—huh?” As Alexander stood up to help the girl, she intended to speak to the lead cheerleader, but the girl had already vanished. All that remained were crumpled papers, fallen lockers, the staggering girl, and Alexander. It seemed Neil had disappeared at some point too.
Just as Alexander sighed at the scene of devastation, the bell rang, signalling the start of the next class. Alexander's shoulders slumped.
“Haaah. What am I supposed to do with these lockers...” Alexander kicked one of the fallen locker shelves with the toe of her sneaker. Then she turned her gaze to the unsteady girl. Alexander asked her, “So, you. Yun, was it? Why were you gettin' hassled by them?”
The girl Alexander was looking at had short white hair, white skin, and red eyes. It was undoubtedly the same girl she had seen at the bus stop that morning. But the girl kept her head down, staring at the floor. And she did not say a word. Her arms and legs were trembling. Seeing this, Alexander crossed her arms and fell silent, wondering what to do.
Just then, three people rushed over to Alexander. One was Neil, who had disappeared at some point. Another was the Latin teacher, Miranda Jane. The third was an albino female student with long white hair in a braid and red eyes—a girl Alexander did not know.
“I came when I heard the commotion... Alexander. What on earth happened here?” Seeing the corridor in a state that looked like a natural disaster had struck, Mrs Jane raised one of her crescent-shaped eyebrows. Alexander could only laugh. “The rugby team and the cheerleading squad were roughhousin'. By the time I got here, the corridor was already in this state. I just stopped the commotion.”
“...Alex, is that true?” Alexander told the truth, but Mrs Jane's suspicious gaze was fixed on her. Then Neil backed Alexander up. “It's true, the rugby players and cheerleaders were goin' wild. That's a fact.” Neil said with a goofy grin. It seemed that Mrs Jane believed them, for now.
“I see. I'll take your word for it... Haa, I can't believe something like this happened. I've been teaching for a long time, but this is a first.” Muttering this, Mrs Jane looked at the corridor again. Then she said to Alexander, “Alex. You don't have to go to your next class. Instead, put these fallen lockers back where they belong. As quickly as possible... If you do, I'll talk to the principal for you.”
“Thank you,” Alexander said, expressing her gratitude for the time being, and gave Mrs Jane a slight bow.
The thing is, Alexander had probably done something that could have gotten her suspended for a few days. At worst, she could have been expelled. Even if she had cleverly stopped the commotion, she was still involved in it.
But Mrs Jane said she would talk to the principal. She had to be thankful for that. That is why Alexander bowed to Mrs Jane, but Mrs Jane's response was this: “Alex. If you want to thank someone, thank her.”
As she said this, Mrs Jane pointed to the braided girl. Then she introduced the braided girl to Alexander. “This is Yuni. Yuni Ertl. Yun's twin sister over there. If she hadn't explained the situation, there would have been no leniency.”
“Oh, really?”
“That's right. Well then, I'm taking Yun to the nurse's office. Alex, you take care of the lockers.”
“...Righto.” Mrs Jane offered her shoulder to the girl standing with trembling legs and led her away towards the nurse's office. After watching them go, Alexander looked at Neil and the girl named Yuni who remained in the corridor.
“Don't you two have to go to class?” When Alexander asked them, they both shook their heads. Neil said, “I'll help too,” and the girl named Yuni also said, “Please let me help.” Then Yuni added, addressing Alexander, “Thank you so much for helping Yun.”
“It was nothin', really.” Alexander scratched her nose in embarrassment. Then Yuni moved closer to Alexander. Alexander noticed that Yuni's eyes were welling up with tears.
“She's been recovering from her illness and finally managed to come back to school. She loves studying, so she was so happy. And then, just three days after coming back, this happens... Thank you, truly, thank you so much.” Large teardrops fell from Yuni’s red eyes as she spoke. Alexander gently handed her a handkerchief. Just as Yuni accepted the handkerchief with an apologetic yet happy smile towards Alexander, Neil, who was opening his own fallen locker, dropped to his knees in despair and let out a roar.
“Aargh! My lunch is totally smashed, just as I thought!” Neil Archer opened his lunch box wrapper and held his head in his hands. Watching him, Alexander and Yuni looked at each other and laughed.
The three of them managed to put all the fallen lockers back in place on their own. And so, they were able to have lunch safely.
“So, what kind of illness is it?” In the cafeteria located on the school grounds, Alexander, Neil, and Yuni were sitting around a table.
Their lunch menus were all different. Alexander had randomly bought a meal from the cafeteria, choosing three items: salmon meunière, penne with a thick layer of gooey cheese, and a Caesar salad. Yuni was eating three slices of a sandwich she had brought from home, and had bought a latte from the cafeteria separately. And Neil was eating his smashed three-tiered lunch box with a sigh.
“I remember she was using a cane. Is something wrong with her leg?” Alexander asked Yuni as she cut a piece of salmon meunière with her fork. Yuni swallowed the sandwich in her mouth, took a breath, and then said, “No. It's not that kind of illness.”
“Then what is it?” “How should I put it? The problem isn't with her body. It's, um, well...” Yuni looked a little awkward. Alexander frowned slightly as she put a piece of salmon meunière in her mouth. Neil, too, stopped his relentless eating.
Neil's gaze shifted from his lunch box to Yuni's face. And Yuni, after confirming that no one around was looking at them, finally confessed in a whisper that was barely audible. “...It's a brain disorder.”
“Oh.”
“...It started right after she started primary school. We've been dealing with it for almost ten years. Her primary doctor said the symptoms are very similar to Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease or Alzheimer's. But it seems to be slightly different. Honestly, nobody really understands it.”
The unfamiliar disease name made both Alexander and Neil tilt their heads slightly. The only word they understood was 'Alzheimer's,' but that word alone carried a heavy weight.
It must have been so hard. For the girl herself, and for the family that supported her. It was not hard to imagine. It was one thing for an elderly person to develop Alzheimer's, but for a child not yet ten years old to develop a disease like it was beyond pitiful.
As Alexander and Neil wore sombre expressions, Yuni, perhaps relieved to finally meet people who showed understanding, revealed more to them... or rather, she may have just wanted someone to listen.
“My mother worked in a profession where she was exposed to Abaddoselenium for a long time, so primary doctor said it might have damaged her DNA sequence and caused an abnormality. My uncle, who is an Abaddoselenium researcher, also says that might be the case.”
“So Abaddoselenium really has that kind of effect...” Yuni nodded at Alexander's muttered words. She replied, “I heard that the reason we sisters have albinism is also because of Abaddoselenium. Because we have so little pigment, our eyes are red. It also affects our vision, and we have trouble seeing well even with contact lenses.”
Lately, it was even said that Abaddoselenium light was more harmful than radiation. The pale blue light that the substance Abaddoselenium was said to emit was also said to be very beautiful, but at the same time, it was a malevolent presence.
Although scientific and medical evidence had not yet been presented, there were a not-insignificant number of children born with albinism in Alusthogrun now, and the trend was on the rise. Considering that the parents of albino children had a high probability of being employed in jobs that handled Abaddoselenium, there was likely a causal relationship between Abaddoselenium and babies born with albinism.
...The Yuni sitting in front of Alexander as she thought about this was also an albino. Her appearance, with even her eyelashes being white, had an almost sacred feel. But she was just a human being. So was her twin sister, Yun. The sisters must be feeling very insecure in this situation.
“...If you ever need anythin', just let me know. I'll help out as much as I can.” Alexander looked Yuni in the eye and told her this. Yuni's cheeks flushed slightly as she said a single word, “Thank you.” And next to them, Neil teased Alexander.
“Ooh, Alex, playin' the hero. Woo-hoo!” As they talked, time passed. The bell signalling the end of lunchtime rang throughout the school.
People gradually began to leave the cafeteria. Whilst vaguely observing the flow, Alexander began to rummage through the backpack she had placed on the floor. She took out a pencil case from the backpack and from it, a single business card. Then Alexander handed the card to Yuni.
“This is my contact info. Take it.” Yuni took the business card, though she was bewildered. It was because the card said 'Colt Detective Agency'. To the bewildered Yuni, Alexander explained the situation.
“My agency, well, it's my old man's agency, but you see. We don't get many cases. So, my old man is usually free. So, if you ever need me for anything, just leave a message with my father.”
“Alex... Are you a detective?” “I'm just an assistant. Well, I'll be taking my leave now.” Placing her finished plate in the return slot, Alexander slung her backpack over her shoulder and left the cafeteria. Then she headed to her next class with plenty of time to spare.
↑