Nava nodded. ‘Yes. Yes, that’s probably a fair assessment. But for these six years I can live the life of a typical schoolgirl. And that’s all I want to do.’
~~~
‘So, Courtney and Kyle are an item,’ Mitsuko observed. The couple in question had left about twenty minutes earlier and Rochester had set off to escort Melissa back to her apartment a minute ago. It was approaching midnight and bed was calling even if none of them had lessons tomorrow.
‘You just figured that out?’ Nava asked.
‘Well, I thought it likely, but tonight confirmed it. Especially when she picked lint off his uniform.’
‘They seem to be rarely apart. He answers questions for her. She isn’t overly protective of him, but she shows more concern for his health than she might. She was more than a little grateful when I healed him after that explosion in the auditorium.’
‘Mm. Perhaps the more interesting question is which apartment Mel and Chess are going to end up in tonight.’
Nava began stripping off her dress as she headed for the bathroom. ‘Separate ones.’
‘You think? He’s being terribly gentlemanly. Escorting her here and back. He was always the one getting her a drink tonight.’
‘Oh, I agree that them ending up in bed together is likely, just not yet. They’ll both want the other to make the first move. If I had to make a decision, I’d say that Mel will snap first. I just hope it isn’t a disaster when she does.’ Nava laid her dress over one of the sofas and half-turned back toward Mitsuko. ‘Personally, I’m wondering whether Courtney has figured out what we’re up to when everyone’s backs are turned.’
‘Probably. Not that I mind in the least. You’re the one saying we should keep it quiet. Also, since Courtney and Kyle keep their relationship quiet, I don’t think either of them will say anything about us.’
Nava nodded. ‘Probably. I’m going to take a shower before bed. Join me?’
Mitsuko started toward Nava, grinning. ‘Always.’
235/4/16.
‘Siegmar Tate is out of rehab,’ Courtney reported to the council. Darius was back in his seat. Naomi was now the official chairman of the EAC. This was, effectively, the SSF’s after-action report on the Crystal Mana incident. ‘He’s returning home where his family can look after him. He’s convinced himself that he can’t work magic without Crystal Mana. He had a bit of a rough withdrawal.’
‘What about the other addicts?’ Naomi asked.
‘They aren’t as lucky as Siegmar. They’ve all been taking it long enough to develop a physical dependency. It’ll be about a month before they’re declared clear and we won’t know how it’s affected their abilities until then. In total, there are twenty-three students undergoing treatment, including four third years, two fourth years, and two fifth years, though those weren’t all down to Leland’s scheme. The rest are split between the first two years where Leland had the most influence.’
‘We’ve lost some very promising students to this.’
‘The school is treating each case on its merits. I think the upperclassmen will be expelled. Basically, they should have known better. For the others, well, they might be back, but I don’t know what state they’ll be in if they are. Leland and his distributors are being kicked out and facing charges from the ASF. We couldn’t avoid bringing the ASF in on this. It’s a hit to the school’s reputation, mitigated somewhat by us cleaning house ourselves.’
‘Well, we’re just going to have to work twice as hard to raise our reputation,’ Mitsuko said.
‘That isn’t going to be easy,’ Darius said. ‘We’ll be fighting against the perception that our students use drugs to increase their strength.’
‘Yes, we will. Yes, it will be hard. But nothing worth doing is ever easy.’
Part Four: Quintessential Terror
The Trenton Mansion, Shinden, Clan Worlds Alliance, 235/5/9.
The sun was hot, the sky was blue with a few wisps of cloud hanging on through grim determination, and Nava was lying in the sun, enjoying the warmth on her skin. Somewhere in the background, she could hear Rochester trying to teach Melissa how to play chess. It did not seem to be going especially well, but it did mean that he did not have to look at an excessive amount of female flesh.
It was true that Mitsuko had put some thought into ordering Nava a swimsuit. She had considered the fact that Rochester was going to be joining them on their two-ish-day visit to the Trenton Mansion at the end of the late spring break. Nava had suggested, on seeing the garment in question, that Rochester would die of heart failure and then Mitsuko would have to deal with the consequences. Mitsuko had then shown Nava what she would have ordered if Rochester was not a factor and Nava had had to concede that the eventual choice was better…
Hence, Nava was clad in something which covered all the bits required for public decency while still managing to look like it had come from a lingerie catalogue and probably deserved the name ‘monokini,’ and Rochester was teaching Melissa chess. Melissa actually had a bikini on under a blouse and shorts, but she had chickened out of taking off the outer layer once they had got outside. Nava had been a little surprised that the timid young woman had such a thing as a bikini, though her idea of a bikini was poles apart from what Mitsuko was wearing; there had to be three or four times as much fabric in Melissa’s version for starters. Nava had made Mitsuko walk behind Rochester on the way out to the patio they were using to avoid cardiac infarction.
‘We’ll go into town tomorrow,’ Mitsuko said. She sounded as though she was right on the edge of falling asleep and had decided to say something primarily to avoid doing so. She was lying on a lounger beside Nava. Another thing Rochester had had to be distracted from was the lengthy process Nava had gone through putting sunscreen on Mitsuko’s pale
