His View

Creak. The boy opened the door slowly… only to find the records room empty and still. He was surprised since he would have expected his impatient partner to have arrived before him. As he gently pressed the door shut behind him his eyes scurried around looking for any sign signs of life.

The warm room was centered by an abandoned sturdy espresso-colored desk in the middle facing him and two oversized armchairs bulging with packing. The armchairs faced the large desk and the walls were floor-to-ceiling file cabinets essentially.

Oddly enough, I feel more welcomed in this room than when I step into the bookshop, then again I suppose this one is not housing a weasely boy like Neil.

Suddenly his eyes went dark and there was immense pressure over them. He could hear a familiar breathing cadence behind him and was sure whose arm had covered his face. Everything about her was distinguishable to him, be it her subtle scent of orange blossoms or her quick soft steps.

“I see you already found your way here.” Though his voice remained flat he wondered if she noticed his subdued satisfaction when he felt her arm loosen over his eyes after his rapid response.

He watched as she sighed, her nostrils puffing out dissatisfaction. “You are no fun. Couldn’t you have at least faked a nervous response?”

Fumbling around in his pocket he produced a small key. “I’m not brainless enough to give you a chance to claim I cannot identify my partner.”

Studying her expression, he could tell this comment entertained her to a certain degree.

“When did you arrive, I don’t think you’d have any business in an empty room with no key.”

Sure she could certainly have hidden intentions but with no access to the files, what damage could she do? Suppose she had picked the locks instead… no she wouldn’t waste effort when there was little payoff. She already knew everything about the young nobles and the minority information on merchants and commoner youth would hardly intrigue her enough to warrant secrecy. Besides that was what they would be reviewing together anyway, no reason to look into it on her own.

“I can tell from your face you’re racking that mile-a-minute brain of yours but you can stop overthinking it. I only came here a few minutes earlier than you, just like usual, you were late.”

He thought her casual shrug and dismissive expression would have been a bit irritating had it been another person but in this case he figured it meant she was either genuine in her words or she didn’t need any help in achieving whatever alternative goals she had.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“Fine. You arrived here earlier than me and did nothing while you waited.”

It wasn’t that he had no curiosity about her thoughts but more so that there was no point in asking a question that wouldn’t be answered. It wasn’t like he was always straightforward with her either. After all, when they were younger he even got her involved in his conflicts with other SHOP kids with little to no explanation. Since she had always helped him without asking anything more about the situation, he often decided to not pursue her secrets too much.

He was pulled away from his thoughts by the girl's tiny hand briefly gracing him with heat as she snatched the key. The emptiness in his hand was soon filled by the girl placing her gloves in his pocket.

“No one’s around so I might as well get a break from these stuffy things while I can.” She rolled around her wrists and stretched her fingers.

He pulled out a large notebook from his briefcase and opened it up to the first blank page while she strolled around swinging the key around her finger.

“I’ll start at the records in the A category then. Since I’ve memorized more SELLERS information, it’ll be easier if we just record what I haven’t seen in our files.”

He had to admit she had more knowledge in the category but he was reluctant to accept all the writing responsibility.

“Do you think we’ll compile all of this in a few hours?” He asked wryly, anticipating how painful the task would be. Moving to the desk he lazily pulled out the chair with his empty and took a seat.

“Well, we have to return a few times to get all the information copied. It would be way too much to record today.” Turning the key into the lock there was an audible click and he watched as she pulled open the drawer and pulled out the first folder.

Whenever she was focused on something her eyebrows would scrunch slightly. As he watched he finally set the gloves down neatly on the table. With the sun's rays filling the room, the girl's reddish brown curls shone. He noticed her eyes panning from the top down to the bottom of the pages without a twitch of her mouth, she must not have seen any new information yet.

It’s a shame people here only see the facade of Constance since her appearance without the orbs spell is much more... On second thought maybe that’s a positive.

“This might be important to note, are you going to continue baring a hole through my head, or will you at least pretend to focus and pick up a pencil.” Her appetite for catching him off guard could never be satiated.

He winced a bit with embarrassment before picking up the pencil and burying his stare in the pages of the blank notebook.

“Go ahead then, read it.” He couldn’t possibly be distracted after that.

“You know you’re a lot more endearing this way.” Clearly intending to get another rise out of him, the boy tried his best to hide his reaction from her.

She began reading the records again showing little interest in what she was doing or how fast he was writing to keep up with her.

“All right we’re on D now.” She was now fully leaning against the file cabinet wall. He watched her yawn before picking up the next file.

“Arthur Damien, age 17, from the notorious merchant turned aristocratic family.” He saw her hold the first page in the folder closer to her face squinting.

“Don’t we already have several sources about the Damien family? Why do we need to re-record his story?” He shook out his hand and held his wrist.

“Oh we don’t, I just think he looks a lot more attractive in this school photo. That reminds me, isn't he the student representative advertising that Academy party?”

More attractive?

He frowned at her nonsense remarks.

“Don’t waste our time looking at useless things.”

She rolled her eyes ignoring him, and turned her attention back to what the boy thought could only be more unimportant ideas.

He could hardly hear her muttering, “…might work, I’ll have to check out the student council at some point…”

Is she really distracted by some subpar schoolboy? She’d rather investigate him than… Maybe it’s because we weren’t given an interesting task so that boy is a substitute to escape boredom? If she ends up getting too involved in this should I stop-

“Christian Delian, age 18….” Unaware of the inner turmoil she'd caused him the girl started reading again. He picked back up the pen flustered and tried to catch up.

The sun's glow burned a deeper shade of marigold, the plush chairs still beckoned for visitors, and the girl was still as charming as usual. The boy tried his best to focus on her reciting while attempting to balance his anxious thoughts. The room may have been comfortable, but his mind was not.