Jake Barry
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Chapter 38
🕑 Added 2023-04-26 16:46:19 +0000 UTCThe sound of Dr. Lam's lecture echoes throughout the hall. I can hear her words as clear as day, and yet I can hardly make sense of them. It's like she is speaking an entirely different language. There are so many terms, most of which I have never heard before. I suppose that is only natural. I never got a formal education, instead learning things from my family and friends back when I was a Borrower. Since meeting people like our engineers in Magna Gratia, I have gotten interested in learning. I figure I'm a smart guy! It's never too late to learn new things. It made me think, maybe I should attend Jeannine's lectures and learn a thing or two?
Ahh, if only it were that easy.
University is on a whole different level. This is the fourth lecture I have attended, but I feel like I have hardly learned a thing. Without a solid foundation in the subject, I'm struggling to follow along. It's so frustrating! I wish I were not so lost. I suppose it's not my fault; if given the chance, I would have gladly gone to school. It makes me feel like I have missed a critical part of life. Then again, it's unfair to compare myself to them. I have lived a vastly different life. I have been through things that none of them ever will. In fact, I have been through more than most Lillis have. The ones that lived to tell the tale, at least.
I realize I'm zoning out again. I shake my head and try to refocus my attention on the lecture. I can just barely see the slides since Jeannine chose to sit in the second row. It's huge, but it does not compare to the screen at the movies. Now that was truly massive. I manage to follow what is being said for about one minute before I become completely lost again.
"Ugh! Speak English, your monotone, old bat!"
I suddenly hear Jeannine chuckle, struggling to hold back laughter. My face goes pale as I realize my mic was unmuted. I know that I'm supposed to be quiet during her lectures as not to distract her.
"Sorry." I whisper. "That wasn't intentional."
Jeannine moves a hand to her mouth to cover it as she whispers. Despite two people sitting directly next to her, she decides to respond to me.
"It's okay." She then fakes a quiet cough and clears her throat. "But please mute."
I do exactly that, ensuring I do not make the same mistake twice. Then I sink into my seat, groaning loudly in frustration. I wish I could talk to her. If we were not in public, I would be bombarding her with questions. She would happily answer them, as she has done many times this past week. She is patient with me, even when I ask such dumb questions.
"It's more important that she learns. She's the student who'll have to take the final exam, I'm just a guest."
With that in mind, I check the time on my watch. I watch the seconds tick by, seemingly slower than normal. While it feels like we have been here for hours, it has only been an hour and a half. There is still thirty minutes before the lecture ends. I sit up in my seat and try to concentrate one final time. I push myself to think, hoping that I can go home today a smart guy than I was this morning. To my surprise, I do recognize the diagram on the current slide. It's called a histogram. I'm familiar with that, since Daedalus taught me how they work when we were analysing the skills of our citizens. They use those to show information. This example is showing something to do with laws.
"What's a 'soft law'? Sounds familiar. Guess I'll have to ask her later."
The remainder of the lecture goes by faster than I expect. Some of the other students pause the professor to ask questions, which she answers in simpler language. It's clear enough that even I can understand. Before long, the students are dismissed. Jeannine collects her things and leaves the lecture hall. She must squeeze her way past some students, but eventually makes it to a place in the hallway with less people. At last, I can speak.
"That was an interesting lecture. Sorry again for forgetting to mute."
"It happens." She raises her finger to stroke the cabin. "I nearly laughed out-"
"Jeannine!" A girl's voice calls to her from behind. "I've been looking for you. How are you?"
Her finger quickly moves away as she turns to face this mystery person. "Hey, Myra! I am doing well. And you?"
It occurs to me that maybe she does know this person? Funny, she never mentioned her. I thought Sara was her only friend. Come to think of it, that does not make much sense. A smart, pretty girl like Jeannine must be popular. If not with other girls, then the guys for sure.
"Can't complain. The first weeks of the winter semester are laidback. No need to study or stress about deadlines."
"True. Same here."
"I have good news for you. The president of the club approved, meaning you are now a full-fledged member!" Myra smiles, reaching for Jeannine's hand. She holds it between both of hers.
"Wow! Thank you, I am honoured."
"Was this your last class of the day?"
"I've still got another in the afternoon. Why?"
"Then I say we visit the club now, during the break. Our meeting schedule tends to be all over the place, but we are active today. Everyone's there, so I think you should introduce yourself." She then begins to walk, pulling Jeannine along. "Unless you've got somewhere to be?"
"Nope, I am free. Lead the way!" She smiles.
The two of them go along, with me as a spectator. Jeannine's behaviour while in public almost makes me feel like she is forgotten I'm here. She is so good at keeping up appearances, that girl. I'm impressed! The other girl, Myra, eventually brings her to a room that requires a key card to enter. There is a door with a small, glass window which is too blurry to see through. An electronic pad is mounted on the wall nearby. She pulls a blank, white card from her pocket and scans it, unlocking the door with a 'beep' sound.
Upon entering the room, I see that is it a lab of some sort that has been partially remodelled. Some lab benches remain, but the larger equipment is nowhere to be found. The other students in the room greet Myra as she enters, each of them busy chatting or working on their laptops.
"Everyone, meet Jeannine." She gestures to her. "Jeannine, everyone."
"Hey guys. It's nice to meet you all." Jeannine waves at them. "Thanks for letting me join. It's so nice to be around likeminded people for a change."
"We're happy to have you." A male voice says. Jeannine turns to look, as one of the guys in the room walks over to her. He is about the same height as her, but much wider. He is well-built and particularly good looking. He has Almond colored eyes to go along with his brown, curtained hair. He extends a hand. "I'm Luca, the President of the Lilli studies club. Myra spoke very highly of you. Nice to finally meet face to face."
"Did she now?" Jeannine smiles at Myra, who responds by looking off to the side. She then shakes his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Luca."
He does a half turn and begins pointing to the other group members around the room. He goes around, starting from the left.
"The guys working on his laptops over there are John and Trevor. They're our Secretary and Treasurer, respectively."
"Yo!" John acknowledges her with an upward nod.
"Welcome to the club." Trevor says without looking up from his screen.
"The redhead sitting on the lab bench is Lani, our Historian."
"Sup." Lani says, before hopping off the bench and going over to speak with the two guys.
"...and Myra is our Vice President."
"You never told me you were the Vice President, Myra."
"That's because I wasn't until this semester. I got promoted after our old Vice Prez graduated."
"Is this everyone?" Jeannine asks, gesturing to the others around the room.
"All five of us. Six, now that we have you." Luca explains. "Five members is the bare minimum for a club to be recognized by the university, as well as to fill the necessary roles. Speaking of which, we need a Publicity Officer. Are you interested?"
"I might be." Jeannine nods enthusiastically. "Let me think about it?"
"Shouldn't you be telling her about the club before you ask her to accept the position that literally everyone else didn't want?" Myra rolls her eyes. "You're unbelievable, Prez."
"Excuse me for trying to finally complete our club!" He says sarcastically, walking over to a poster on the wall. The two girls follow close behind. I see the silhouette of three people, each of distinct size, superimposed on one another. The phrase, 'All Sizes Matter' is written on the bottom. I suppose the figures are supposed to represent the three races. The symbol is familiar. I must have seen it during one of Jeannine's lectures. "This is what we're all about. We believe that the people of this world are strikingly similar. Despite what we look like, we all experience joy and excitement, pain and grief, all the same. Anyone with a shred of biological knowledge knows that. The science doesn't lie."
"That's why we're interested in Lillis." Myra cuts in. "They're really interesting! If they were as feeble as most people think they are, they certainly would not have lasted until today. Like, looks at all those Remnants out there. They are resilient!"
"Definitely!" Jeannine agrees. "I think we could learn a thing or two from them. Speaking of which, is this club more interested in culture, or history, or...?"
"All of the above." Luca tells her. "It really depends on what you want to do. We all study what we like and share it with the others. Do you happen to have a preference?"
"Umm. I already know quite a bit about their culture and history. Maybe I could start by sharing that with the others?"
"Excellent idea. I think that would be great."
"I agree." Myra smiles cheerfully. "Something tells me you've got loads of stories to share. Do not hold back on us!"
Jeannine hesitates, but they do not seem to notice. I can guess how she is feeling. This might be the first time in her entire life that she is around people like this. She is dying to share her stories, but she cannot, as they must be kept secret. I suppose she could alter the details, but she will have to be careful. Despite how nice these people are, we do not know them all that well. Maybe she could share more somewhere down the line, but not on the first day, you know?
"It's mostly things I've read in books or watched in documentaries. I wish I could visit Lilliputia myself, but that isn't possible."
"Oh my gosh, same! It would be a dream come true." Myra sighs.
"Have you ever interacted with the Lillis in the capitol?" Luca asks.
"No, I haven't. Have you?"
"I have, actually. The little folk are ridiculously nice. It can feel forced at times, probably because they're afraid."
"It's understandable."
"How about Remnants?"
"I have seen my fair share. My Mom and I used to find them in our kitchen a lot, when I was little. She would always kill them, which never sat well with me."
Luca and Myra exchange glances, with a similar look of pain of their faces.
"I'm sorry you had to witness that. It's too common these days." Myra puts a hand on Jeannine's shoulder.
"I never found any in my parent's house, but I am sure they would have done the same thing." He shakes his head slowly. "Let's change the subject. I have some exciting news to share."
"Ooh! You're going to love this." Myra bounces on the balls of her feet.
"Guess what we found in the forest behind this building? A Remnant settlement! If anyone got word of it, they might have destroyed it. We managed to save all fifty Lillis before that could happen." Luca explains proudly.
"That's wonderful! Where are they now? What do you plan to do with them?"
"We've got them in that plastic container. While it's not the best accommodation, it's all that we could provide. We've given them plenty of food and water too." He says, gesturing to it, sitting on one of the lab benches. "Truth be told, we're not sure what do with them yet."
"You should contact Lilli affairs. They're better suited to overseeing these types of cases."
"And risk some greedy officer trafficking them? There is fifty of them. That's easily a couple thousand dollars on the black market, Jeannine." Myra explains. "We can't trust just anyone with so many undocumented lives."
"You might be right..." Jeannine frowns. "So, what will you do?"
"We plan to take them to the right people ourselves next week." Luca tells her. "It's the only way to guarantee their safety."
"I see. Then they're in good hands." Jeannine cheers up. "If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know."
"Definitely. Hopefully these people can start new lives in the capitol, or in the worst case, be returned to their land."
As I listen to Luca speak, I cannot help but smile. He seems earnest and caring, just like Jeannine. It's like there is this glowing, warm aura around him, though not as radiant as my giantess friend. Myra is the same, I think. I already like them a lot.
"Hey, Jeannine." I speak to her after being quiet for so long. "Can you ask them if you can take a close look? I'd like to see them."
She gives me a subtle nod, complying with my request. "Would it be okay if I took a look at them? I promise not to touch."
"Sure. We trust you'll be careful." Luca says. "But try not to scare them. You may not realize, but we're a lot bigger to them than we realize."
"I will keep that in mind." Jeannine says, trying to hide her smirk.
She walks over, leaning over so that she is eye-level with the container. She turns her head slightly to allow me a better view. At this distance, I can make out several large groups of people sitting around.
They seem nervous, beginning to move around when Jeannine gets close. It's nothing new to us. After rescuing so many settlements together, this kind of reaction has become the norm. From what I can tell, most of them look well, if not slightly dishevelled. The members of the Lilli studies club have been treating them well. They have even brought in a large part of their settlement, likely dug out from the dirt. Everything seems to be good until I do a headcount.
"Wait a minute. Something is not right..."
"What's wrong?" Jeannine whispers, her back to the others so that they do not see her lips moving.
"There's a lot more than fifty here. I see at least seventy-five people."
"They probably miscounted. Cut us Brobs some slack, we aren't as good at seeing the little things as you are."
"I guess? Still, that is a lot more than they mentioned..."
"You worry too much, Nick." Jeannine touches her earring, affectionately. "Isn't it better that there are more of them? That's even more Lillis who will be saved."
"You make a good point."
Despite what I say, I cannot shake the feeling that something is off. I don't have any logical reason. It's merely a hunch. It's clear to me that Jeannine is over the moon right now. She is so happy that I cannot bring myself to spoil her mood. Seeing her smile like this is precious. I will keep my unfounded suspicions to myself. At least, I will for now. Jeannine stands up straight and walks back over to them.
"They look well. You clearly did a good job in transporting them."
"That was all Myra, I can't take any credit." Luca admits.
"Thanks, Jeannine. I did my best not to injure any of them." Myra says, checking the time on her phone. "Oh, Prez, I've got to go. I'm meeting up with someone in a few minutes."
"You're dismissed. Lunch is almost over and several of us have to get to class so let's lock up for the day." Luca raises his voice to address everyone in the room. "Alright, people. Let's clear out."
Myra leaves, followed by Jeannine, the others, and lastly, the President. He locks up the room, waving everyone off.
"I'll see you on Thursday, Jeannine. Please consider the position. We're desperate." He laughs awkwardly.
"I certainly will! See you soon, Prez."
With that, Jeannine walks to her next lecture, with a noticeable skip in her step. Though it jostles me a little, I don't complain. In fact, I couldn't be happier for her.
Comments
Jake Barry
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Haroon
Like Nick, I think something is fishy. Time for Nick to go into spy mode!!!!!!!
Jake Barry
Glad you liked it!
G
You know one would think a club with Brobs who âCare for Lillies Livesâ and âsee them as Human beingsâ wouldnât have miss counted the number they saved supposedly. I'm starting to believe to think that maybe Jeannine is the only Brob that cares about saving Lilies at least truly but who knows you got Sara but that took a bit to get her alone to understand. Anyway, Great Chapter Nick continues to be the MFâing G.O.A.T and Jeannine bless her heart and I hope it doesnât get shattered when the truth about the club is revel and feels alone in this battle of ideologies and making this world a better place. Maybe thereâs a black sheep in the club lying to the other group members *Cough* (Luca) about some things.
