Curiosity killed the cat, and it even got Nicholas Cox out of bed early in the morning. Nicholas climbed out from under the covers and into his clothes, though since Seiji had made a crack about his appearance, Nicholas made sure his tie was even more haphazard than usual.
When he stepped out from behind the curtain, Seiji’s face went dark with surprised disapproval. It was possible that Nicholas literally throwing his tie over his shoulder had been a step too far.
“I was thinking,” Nicholas offered. “Now that we’re friends, maybe we don’t need the curtain at all? I could take it down.”
Seiji clung to the curtain as if it was a security blanket and he was a big baby. “I need the curtain.”
“You need me,” said Nicholas.
Seiji blinked. “What?”
“You require my presence?” Nicholas reminded him. “You said so five minutes ago, on the other side of the curtain. What do you require my presence for? Is this about fencing?”
“Oddly,” said Seiji, “no. I want you to come sit at breakfast with me.”
“But we eat breakfast together every day?” Nicholas pointed out.
“It’s very strange you characterize something that only started last week as a regular appointment,” Seiji said. “In any case, I wish for you to accompany me to Eugene’s weight-lifting acquaintances table.”
Nicholas raised both eyebrows. He would’ve liked to raise just one eyebrow, to be cool and sardonic, but whenever he tried, he just ended up raising both. “I’d characterize them as his weight-lifting bros. Why do you want me to do that?”
Seiji gave him a measuring look. The curtain fluttered in the breeze from the window that Seiji insisted on opening every day, for fresh air. Yellow ducks rippled on the blue surface, as though they were escaping downriver.
“I wish to speak with Eugene on an urgent matter, but I don’t find the weight-lifting bros to be congenial company. You must not let any of them fist-bump me,” said Seiji. “Warn me if they make any sudden movements. Chad hits me on the back.”
“Slaps you on the back?” Nicholas asked. “So do you mean, like, he likes you?”
“I don’t like it!” Seiji exclaimed. “Will you come or not?”
Nicholas didn’t understand why Seiji was resisting popularity. Nicholas thought it would be awesome to have lots of people admire you, but apparently it stressed out Seiji.
“I will come with you and protect you from the bros’ friendship,” Nicholas promised. “I will be your social bodyguard.”
Social secretaries organized people’s social appointments, and Nicholas figured social bodyguards prevented people from having them.
After a moment’s consideration of this proposition, Seiji nodded. As they walked together down the halls and the back staircase, Nicholas studied the ceiling, which was all white with twirly bits like a wedding cake. He had a troubling thought.
“You hate fist bumps?” he asked. “But you’ve fist-bumped me and Eugene.”
“I don’t mind if it’s you,” said Seiji. “And I don’t mind much if it’s Eugene. But not Chad!”
“Okay, not 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.