‘There could be more of those things waiting for someone to find them,’ Courtney said.
‘Oh well,’ Melissa said after a second, ‘it’s not like I need sleep…’
Part Five: Death’s Handmaiden
Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery, Shinden, Clan Worlds Alliance, 235/7/24.
‘The next item is the summer dance,’ Melissa said. She did not actually have to check her agenda notes for this, but she did so because she felt it made her look efficient. ‘We now have two weeks remaining to finalise everything.’
Mitsuko sighed. ‘Half a year gone, just like that.’ She shook off the sudden flash of melancholy and turned to Naomi Himura. ‘Music.’
Despite the brevity of the implied question, Naomi knew exactly what she was asking. ‘The Music Club has a line-up of three acts organised to appear. Each represents a different genre, I’m told. Brandy Scherer Voll is handling things. She’s been running the Music Club for three years, so she has a good handle on what’s needed.’
‘That seems to be covered. Decorations?’
‘The Art Club is on that. I’m told it’s a combination of fixed physical art, lighting, and static and animated illusions. I’ve seen a few of the concept sketches and they look good. I’ll send them around for you all to look over, but I don’t see any problems.’
Nodding, Mitsuko turned to the treasurer, Marie Royce. ‘We’re keeping to budget?’
‘So far, there have been no unplanned expenses. I managed to negotiate a small discount with the school’s catering department, so we may even come in under budget this year. However, I’m not going to officially say that just yet. Two weeks is a long time in accounting.’
‘Accounting jokes? Really?’
‘Accounting is never a joke.’ Marie’s poker face was ruined when Melissa giggled. Melissa’s giggles always seemed to ruin Marie’s normally dour expressions and, as far as Mitsuko was concerned, that alone justified Melissa’s inclusion in the council this year. ‘Being serious,’ Marie went on, ‘it looks like we won’t have any issues with the budget this year. We haven’t needed to dip into the slush fund at all. So far.’
‘Well,’ Mitsuko said, ‘we can hope. Mel, when are we getting the menu for approval?’
Melissa checked her ketcom again, this time because she needed to. ‘That should arrive on Monday. I’ll forward it to everyone as soon as it arrives. Oh, and the final bill for renting the hall came through. I’ve sent that on to Marie.’
Maire nodded. ‘It’s as expected. No surprises.’ The student council organised two parties each year, the summer dance and the winter ball. Each was held in the school’s theatre with the chairs removed, and the school charged the council for ‘rent’ of the facilities. Since the school largely financed the council, most of this was handled as an accounting exercise rather than the actual transfer of funds, but the council also got money in from alumni and even a few organisations with an interest in sorcery education. For example, the ASF provided an annual grant to the student council since many of the students at the school would eventually join up.
‘Good,’ Mitsuko said. ‘Security?’
‘My people are briefed and ready,’ Courtney replied. ‘Obviously, we’ll be holding additional briefings on the run-up to the event. There’s rarely any trouble at the summer event, but we’ll have it covered.’
‘We do want the SSF members to have some time to enjoy themselves too.’
‘I have some auxiliary members, people who make up the numbers if we have people down with illness and the like. They’ll all be taking a shift so that the regulars can relax for a while.’
‘Excellent. Anything else we need to look at? Darius, are you aware of any issues?’
Darius Miller shook his head. ‘Nothing, President. Everything seems to be moving along smoothly.’ There was a slightly bitter edge to his tone. Increasingly, Darius was being side-lined when it came to council matters. He was, essentially, superfluous and he knew it. It was not sitting well with him.
‘Good. I’ll be counting on you to give me some time to actually enjoy this event, Darius. I don’t want to be watching that things are going well for the entire time. That said, we’re also both going to have to make some sacrifices for the greater good.’
Surprise registered on Darius’s face. Whether it was from the sacrifices comment or that Mitsuko was actually planning to have him do his job was unclear. ‘Sacrifices, President?’ The question did not really clarify his thought processes; he was hardly going to admit to surprise at being delegated some responsibility.
‘Yes. We’re both going to have to dance with the important and the shy. Some of the higher-status students are going to expect a dance from the student council staff. I’m afraid this will partially apply to you too, Mel and Marie, but it’s me and Darius to a greater extent. Courtney can probably escape by faking an emergency.’
‘Can and will do,’ Courtney put in, provoking another giggle from Melissa.
‘I’d also like us to try to get the wallflowers involved. Not in a pushy manner, but if there’s someone clinging to the sides and not dancing, it would be appropriate to issue an invitation. I’m sorry about this, Darius, but as our only man, aside from Naomi of course, you’ll be busy.’
‘Uh, okay,’ Darius said. ‘But can’t Naomi lend a hand in that respect?’
‘Have you seen Naomi?’ Everyone looked around at the big, stoic-looking chairman of extracurricular activities. He looked stoically back. ‘If Naomi asked a shy girl to dance, she’d probably either run screaming or melt into a puddle.’
‘It’s true,’ Melissa said.
