FenceStriking Distance - Sarah Rees Brennan Page 0,21
sharply and disapprovingly together.
“I agree completely, Nicholas,” said Seiji. “Aiden shouldn’t be throwing parties! Do you realize what’s happening here? Because it seems obvious to me.”
“Oh, thank God, someone’s going to tell him,” Bobby murmured.
Seiji leaned across the table toward Nicholas, as though he might whisper to him and still be heard over the buzz of chatter rising to the rafters. Nicholas leaned forward to hear what was so obvious to everyone else.
“I suspect that if Harvard wasn’t being deprived of sleep by these social gatherings, the captain would be higher ranked among the fencers,” Seiji informed Nicholas earnestly. “Harvard might potentially be in the top ten rather than the top fifty. No wonder Harvard can’t find time to work on his low lines. I honestly can’t bear to think about how this irresponsible behavior is affecting the captain’s fencing.”
“… Oh my God,” Bobby whispered.
“Right, Bobby?” asked Nicholas. “We’re all shocked.”
There was another silence. Nicholas was pleased to see even Dante seemed stunned.
Seiji, making a visibly painful effort to be sociable, turned to Dante. Nicholas thought Seiji had selected Dante to address because Dante was the strong silent type, and Seiji found quiet more comfortable than conversation.
They all watched in horror as Seiji made his fatal mistake.
“What are your thoughts on low lines? When working with the épée, naturally.”
“I don’t care about épées,” Dante told him.
“Ah,” said Seiji. “More of a sabers man? Our coach feels the same. For myself, I prefer—”
Dante explained, “I don’t care about any kind of fencing.”
Seiji exchanged a slightly panicked glance with Nicholas. Nicholas shrugged, like Go with it. He found Dante’s attitude puzzling as well, but Dante was a good guy. Dante and Bobby were best friends. Seemed as if everyone had one of those. Nicholas wondered when a good time might be to bring up being best friends with Seiji. Possibly not soon, since Seiji was clearly finding a friendly breakfast to be a trial.
Bobby gave Seiji a look of rapt admiration, then, obviously torn, gave Dante a look of best-friend love. Dante’s attitude about fencing must be hard for Bobby to deal with, Nicholas thought with sympathy.
“Dante’s a great cook,” offered Bobby. “His whole family gets together and makes these huge meals. They cook the most fantastic Italian food.”
Nicholas did love pizza. The food at Kings Row was amazing, and the meals were so regular. The teachers actually got mad if you skipped any of them. Still, he really missed a delicious, greasy slice. Mom would give him the money for pizza sometimes, when she wasn’t gonna be home.
“Not really,” Bobby defended Dante, admirably loyal to his best friend even when addressing his fencing idol. “Cooking’s a more popular hobby than fencing.”
“They don’t have a Great British Fence-Off,” muttered Dante.
There was a thoughtful pause.
“Oh, that sounds like such a good show,” Nicholas murmured.
“I like your idea for a television show as well,” Seiji told Dante. “Why do you picture it being British specifically?”
Dante’s mouth opened and closed. No sound came out.
“Could be because of the European history of dueling?” Nicholas suggested, and looked to Seiji. “Like in the book you let me borrow. Did you know that if you killed someone in a duel back in the old days, you could run away to France, because in France, dueling was still a totally cool and legal way to kill someone you had beef with?”
Seiji nodded, pointing at Nicholas for emphasis. “I did know that, but clearly not everybody does. You’re right; the show would be educational for many people. Perhaps they could hold fencing displays in old manor houses and castles and châteaux? And, of course, in colleges such as Cambridge, Oxford, and Trinity, where the legacy of fencing students is so illustrious.”
Breakfast conversation was so awesome now that Seiji had joined them! Nicholas bet nobody else had as much fun as they did.
Dante had clearly given up on talking and was giving Bobby a silent, pleading look. Nicholas guessed Dante was shy. Seiji was pretty famous, so maybe Dante was overwhelmed.
“Speaking of cooking!” said Bobby with speed. “Don’t tell, guys, but Dante sometimes makes pasta sauce over a burner and we have a midnight feast.”
“Fun!” said Nicholas enthusiastically. “We should have a midnight feast. That’d be a good team bonding exercise.”
“More communal meals?” Seiji said. “For a team bonding exercise. Certainly.”
“I can fix us a midnight feast,” Eugene suggested.
He’d lifted his head from the table, intrigued by this new idea. Maybe Eugene, like Dante, cooked big meals