“Yeah, that seems about what I expected,” I said. The mixing of the cream was a bit sloppy, due to my idle-minded distraction while I was preparing it.
“Matthew, are you ever going to be a baker—?”
“No.”
Why would I waste my life baking cakes and cookies for other people when I never wanted to do that sort of thing?
“But they taste so good,” she sulked, taking another bite. “Were you making something else?”
“What, you want more? Getting a bit greedy, are we?”
“No, I mean I saw you putting something away down below.”
I’d been quick about it, but she must have heard the sound. If anyone saw the evidence, I would have to kill them.
April lived in Gray Neighbor. She had to be aware of Release and the danger it posed. And she was a good, kind girl. If she found out someone she knew was using it, she would do everything she could to stop them, no matter the consequences.
“Was it a mix for more sweets? What sort?” she asked curiously, reaching for the cabinet handle. I grabbed her hand.
“Sorry, it’s not finished. You have to let it sit, or the flavor will be ruined. Once it’s ready, I’ll let you have some.”
“Okay, great,” she said, backing away obediently. On the inside, where she couldn’t see, I let out a sigh of relief. Living with April was bad for the heart in various ways.
I left the house the following morning.
“I’m going to go check on the guild. You stay here and watch over April.”
I had a lot to do that day. I planned to pay a visit to Vincent, too, to see if I could get some information out of him about the old man.
“Wait,” said April hastily while I was preparing to leave. She rushed down the stairs. “You’re leaving, right? I’ll go with you.”
“Listen…”
There was no point keeping her sheltered in our home if she was just going to stroll around town.
“You already have a job, April. You need to take care of Oliver.”
“But I’m worried about the orphanage,” she said.
“You can wait until things have calmed down just a little bit before you go.”
That argument did not convince her, however.
“Fine,” I sighed. “Let’s go together.”
She was going to have to face the truth sooner or later.
“But we’re not going out to have fun.”
“Of course.”
“I will join you, then,” Arwin announced. So it was to be the three of us once again.
We were still the center of attention, like before. But there were more stares at April this time. The stories about the old man’s arrest and the seizure of the mansion had spread far and wide, but it was more than that. Some of those stares belonged to mobsters, and they looked like wolves with prey in their sights.
April did not seem comfortable with this. But the fact that it was on a main street and Arwin was walking right next to her only made it feel worse. I took April by the hand. If we had to match her steps, it would take too long.
“Sorry, we need to move faster. Keep up.”
“O-okay,” said April distractedly.
“C’mon, hurry,” I said. Arwin took April’s other hand, and we rushed her along.
The orphanage was being rebuilt. It had been destroyed in the stampede, but the children and workers were unhurt. They were living in temporary tents and huts in what had been the orphanage courtyard.
It had originally been an old mansion and was redesigned for housing many children. Its rebuilt design was going to be more like a boardinghouse. It was scheduled to be completed the next month.
“I’ll go talk to the teacher.”
“No, don’t rush ahead!”
April tore off impatiently, and Arwin hurried after her. I started to follow but stopped myself.
Behind me, some children were peering warily out of their temporary housing. Kids tended to be frightened by giants like me. But I’d been there many times when accompanying April, and it was well known in general that I was just a pushover. Maybe they were playing hide-and-seek, but they didn’t seem to be having fun.
“Yo.”
“Oh! Matthew,” replied a boy with light brown hair named Luke. He had the potential to be a kept man in the future.
“What’s going on here?” I asked.
“Um, you’re not supposed to come in here.”
“Says who?”
“Mickey and Joey.”
They were among the oldest orphanage kids. I brushed Luke aside and went around the side of the building. Three kids were huddled up there, using wooden boxes as seats. When they saw me coming, a blond kid clicked his tongue and shoved something into his pocket.
“Hey!” I snapped. The snotty-looking one stood up. I seemed to recall his name was Eddie.
“What? What do you want, Matthew?” Eddie growled in a squeaky voice, flexing his shoulders. He’d picked up quite an attitude since the last time I saw him. I could easily imagine he was getting into scraps and petty theft.
“What are you doing back here? Discussing some board games?”
“Shut up! It’s none of your business,” he shouted, putting on a pointless tough-guy front to keep the world from taking advantage of him for being poor and having no parents. I recognized it because I’d been that boy, too.
Then I noticed the haze of smoke behind him and smelled it, too.
“Tobacco?”
I could guess where he’d gotten it, but there was only one thing to do. I knocked the cigarette to the ground and stepped on it. “Kids shouldn’t be using this stuff. It’ll make you stupid.”
“What are you doing?!”
The kids stood up and started whaling on me. My weakness was well known here, too. Despite my height advantage of well over an entire head, they fearlessly swung at me. Because of that size difference, they didn’t knock me off my feet, but they did get me to falter and pinned me against the wall.
“Pay me back for that.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll have the teacher cough up the dough. Just come with me.”
“Screw you!”
They kicked me in the stomach this time. Of course, they were just children who barely knew how to fight. Even Ralph hit harder.
“Do you guys think this makes you cool? Every single thing you’ve said is like the starter pack of weak scrub quotes. Haven’t you ever seen a play? You’re acting like the guys who bluff and act like a big deal, then get destroyed by the knight in shining armor at the end.”
“I’ll kill you.”
“If kids like you could kill me, I’d have died long ago.”