FenceStriking Distance - Sarah Rees Brennan Page 0,69
Chad,” Nicholas soothed, and grinned at the back of Seiji’s head as they entered the dining hall. Seiji was wearing his mended watch again today, Nicholas couldn’t help but notice.
He mouthed an apology to Bobby as they passed their table, pointing to Seiji. Dante eyed Seiji and made shooing “take him far away” gestures.
Dante didn’t seem to enjoy Seiji’s company. Nicholas wasn’t sure why.
The weight lifters’ table was easy to spot since their combined muscles almost formed a landmass.
Chad was the first to see them coming. “My man! Up top!”
He lifted a meat hook. Alarm unfurled but didn’t get a chance to blossom on Seiji’s face. Nicholas swept in between them to deliver the high five in Seiji’s stead.
“Yo, Chad!” he said, and sat down firmly between them. Seiji slid quietly onto the bench at Nicholas’s side.
“Hello, Eugene,” Seiji said in a voice that was cool, distant, and relieved to be separated from Chad.
Eugene jumped convulsively, and then landed with a heavy thump, like an electrified rhinoceros.
“Oh my God, what?”
“Just wanted to say good morning,” said Seiji.
“Good morning, bro,” Eugene muttered into his plateful of eggs.
“Morning, dude!” said Chad.
“Morning,” Nicholas chorused, since everybody was doing it.
“Let’s make casual conversation at the breakfast table,” continued Seiji, while Eugene squirmed as if Seiji had said Let’s make a bomb. “I heard a rumor.”
Eugene dropped his fork.
Nicholas loyally tried to participate in the conversation. “Where’d you hear the rumor?”
Seiji frowned at him, which Nicholas found unfair. Nicholas was only trying to help. “From one of my other social acquaintances!”
“Uh,” said Nicholas. “Okay.”
Seiji nodded with decision. “Here’s the rumor. I heard a large amount of watches went missing from Weirs Fine Jewelers in Kingstone.”
Eugene reached for his protein shake and missed.
His voice squeaked as he asked: “How—how many watches would you say went missing?”
“I’m glad you asked! A very large amount of watches,” Seiji replied promptly. “Practically all the watches in the store. Isn’t that interesting?”
“Is it?” asked Eugene, but Chad and Julian were already nodding.
“Totally wild, bro,” said Chad, grinning widely.
“But there’s more!” announced Seiji, unlikely fount of gossip. “I heard two boys in particular were seen in Weirs just before the watches went missing.”
“Oh my God,” said Nicholas. “Me and Eugene were totally in there a few days ago!”
“Bro,” Eugene exclaimed. “There is no need to make this worse!”
Seiji gave Nicholas a look of disappointment. “I do not see why you feel the need to make yourself a suspect.”
“Well, Eugene and I obviously didn’t steal a huge pile of watches,” said Nicholas. “Who does that?”
Eugene moaned. “Who does do that?”
“Perhaps it is merely a rumor,” said Seiji, and Eugene sagged with relief. He seemed really wound up about these watches. “But perhaps it’s true,” Seiji continued. “I heard the two students in question were left alone in the store by clerks fetching them trinkets from the back room. They were pretending that one of them was buying their father a birthday present. I heard a rumor they might have stashed their ill-gotten goods in their very own room, right here at Kings Row, and some concerned citizen spotted them doing it.”
Nicholas was shocked and thrilled by this tale of larceny. Why would anyone in Kings Row steal stuff? They were all super rich.
On the other hand, he’d seen rich people do dumb things for kicks before. Back in the city, kids would total the shiny cars their parents bought for them, or total someone else’s car. Some rich kids seemed to have a hard time understanding that the whole world didn’t belong to them, and they wanted to break the world as if that would prove their ownership.
“The concerned citizen should report these guys,” Nicholas muttered.
“Maybe he will in time,” murmured Seiji. “Or someone else will. Rumor has it, people are keeping their eyes peeled for any signs of these miscreants’ hoard. Didn’t you hear this rumor?”
He bent a coolly inquiring gaze on Eugene, who squirmed like a distressed salmon on a riverbank.
“I did,” Eugene gasped. “I think I did.”
“Oh, I get it,” murmured Nicholas, as everything became clear. That was why Eugene had been babbling about master criminals at the fair.
He supposed Eugene was distressed because he was worried about the crime reflecting on the honor of their school or something. He reached over the table and gave Eugene a reassuring pat on the arm. There were bad apples in every bunch. It wasn’t as if the master criminal was actually on their fencing team.