“Hakuba-kun?”
“Ne, Hakuba-kun?”
The young detective glanced up from his book, blinking, to see two girls standing in front of his desk. It was lunch time, and though an apple rested at the corner of his desk, it was untouched. How long had they been there? What time was it?
Hakuba glanced at his pocket watch before looking back to the girls, brow rising. "Ah… yes?“
"Could you do us a favor?”
“Yeah, could you say Valentine?”
More blinking. Hakuba bit his bottom lip, looking between the girls, then glanced around the room. No one was paying them any mind, so it didn’t appear to be some kind of a trick. An odd request, surely, but the girls did seem hopeful and his profile for them didn’t include malicious behavior.
So, after another moment of hesitation, he offered a quiet, questioning “Valentine?"
This was rewarded by giggling as the girls clung to each other, and though it took a moment, Hakuba realized that they weren’t laughing at him, they were genuinely pleased.
"What’s so special about Valentine?” he asked, a smile slowly spreading on his face, one corner of his lip slanting upward. “Come on, fess up. Is it the holiday itself, or…?”
“No!” The darker haired one said, then laughed again. “Well sort of!”
“You have more of an accent when you say English words.”
“It’s really cute!”
“She actually thinks it’s hot.”
“Stop that! Oh my god!"
He watched them bicker, elbowing each other, giggling, and leaned back in his seat. "So you like my English accent, do you?”
Blushing, they both nodded.
“I’m more than happy to say a few more things for you, I suppose, before class starts… Do you have any requests~?”
The girls looked at each other and then shook their heads. “Sorry, we don’t really know much english…”
Hakuba pursed his lips, thoughtful as he considered something to tell them. He had his little black detective book on him, though he didn’t think that they would appreciate hearing all about murder and suspects. Not that they would understand it, but it didn’t seem terribly enchanting.
“You could read from your book?”
He glanced down at the volume in his hands and gave a small, helpless laugh. “I’m not…” Hakuba looked back to the girls, their large eyes full of hope, dark lashes batting, fingers clasped together as they waited, breaths held. He sighed. “Well, all right, I suppose a little reading couldn’t hurt…”
He waited for their squeals to die down before reading, using his best and most proper British accent. Posh. Refined.
“In the Ripper’s case the process of transference was, typically, ‘an outgrowth of fear and mystery. Fear inspires a search for meaning, while mystery virtually assures that none will be found.’ The principal mystery enshrouding Whitechapel Jack was how he contrived such uproarious violence within an encapsulating silence…”
With pauses for giggles and swooning sighs, Hakuba managed to get through three paragraphs before their sensei returned. He chuckled as they offered their thanks, bumping into each other as they retreated to their desks, and gave a contented sigh as he settled in for the rest of the day.
Perhaps things weren’t always so miserable…
–
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