Den Lille Luftdatter

Solomon fidgeted with his tie. It was an easy way to relax himself, the school uniform in some way had always brought him comfort. It made him feel professional, presentable. Qualities that were very important to him, especially when something like a choir performance was coming up. It could be hard to manage, but extracurricular activities were fun excursions alongside the usual schoolwork and the occasional tutoring. In his mind, it would all only add to his resume post-graduation. Universities wouldn’t say no to dedicated honours students like him.

It would only be 20 minutes or so before each of them took their place on the podium, a crowd of 14-18 year old young men ready to perform. Solomon felt proud of what this was leading towards, he'd certainly taken the time to practice at every rehearsal, and whenever he had the free time to sing a few notes. Now if only a certain someone had the same diligence…

“It’s fine, it’s fine, we can do without one soprano…” Mr. Squib hastily mumbled to himself nearby, anxiously flipping a few pages of music sheets. Go figure that the choir director himself would be the most worried, he’d always been particular about every voice’s role in the entire ensemble. 

Though in all fairness, Solomon couldn’t help but feel this was expected in some way. Between the last couple of rehearsals, the missing choirboy in question had only arrived twice. The actual performance should have obviously called for some particular attention, but there was always the chance this would happen. Still, it was odd. From what he knew of the boy through tutoring, he seemed the type to actually dedicate himself to things. Or at least, to want to. Sure, the idea of skipping rehearsals wasn’t criminal, but going so far as to miss out on a school performance was just plain out of character.

Solomon could only grimace as he considered it more. Personally, he just didn't get that kind of mindset. To forget a responsibility surrounding a proper event like this? Not to mention, there was also...

“Ah, hello there.” Off the corner of his eye, he noticed Headmaster Andersen greeting one of the choirboys in passing, looking over the group briefly before then approaching Mr. Squib. “Excuse me, where’s-?”

“Not now! Too busy!” Mr. Squib pulled out his hand to his side, trying to block the Headmaster’s face from view. 

Frowning, the older gentleman turned his face and noticed Solomon. “Ah, Mr. Crabbe. Good to see you here. My apologies if I’m bothering you before the performance, but have you seen-?”

“Your grandson?” He finished for him, before letting out a small disappointed sigh. “No, actually. I was wondering the same thing myself.”

The Headmaster’s frown deepened. “Of course. Of course this happens, to him of all people. Just where has that boy run off to? I know it’s just a school activity, but doesn’t he know there's a responsibility involved?"

Solomon shrugged and laid a hand on his head in a show of frustration, though being careful not to ruffle his hair. “Actually, he's already made it a habit to skip several rehearsals, so apparently not. I understand your frustration. As his tutor, I’m as befuddled as you are.” He shook his head. “It’s unlike him.”

Mr. Andersen momentarily put his hand over his greying beard, before crossing his other arm in thought. “I just don’t understand it. I thought he was actually fond of choir, it was one of the only ideas he liked. But now this? I worry about him.”

“If it means anything,” Solomon eyed the Headmaster. “His studies have been going well. He has trouble with some stuff, but I get the sense he takes his academics seriously.”

He nodded in response, though with a tired expression. “Thank you, Mr. Crabbe. You’ve done enough. I’ll worry about my own problems. Go on with your performance. There’s still time, maybe he’ll arrive last minute…” He muttered that last part.

In response, Solomon lightly scoffed. “I promise you, if he has any sense to him, he will come.” It was just a matter of whether he'd remembered. That was what seemed the likelier explanation, unfortunately. Though a part of him didn't want to dash the Headmaster's hopes.

In response, the Headmaster just sighed, seemingly unassured. "Very well. I'll go find my seat."

Leaving him alone with his peers and an anxious Mr. Squib, Solomon couldn’t help but keep pondering over the circumstances. He hoped that boy would show up, not just for his own sake, though he had a strong feeling he never would at this late stage. Way to disappoint your grandfather. As if he wouldn’t happen to be expectantly waiting for the performance. Just what was he thinking?

Whatever the case, it was about time to get ready. Solomon took his place with the rest of his peers, making extra sure the tie was straightened. If he didn’t want to be a part of this, then so be it. The rest of the choir would have to do, and they'd handle it just fine. One missing soprano wouldn’t ruin things, even if he was a good one. Mr. Squib was already composing himself, so it seemed as if things would run smoothly, at least. Only a couple of minutes now…

Eventually, the curtains parted, and Mr. Squib made the introduction. Solomon remembered the first song perfectly of course, even the parts he wasn’t supposed to sing. As Squib turned back to face the boys and lead the start, he felt confident. The boy in the front led the first syllable, before others around him added their own voices to the chorus.

“I’ll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue.
And it’s, hey, to the starboard, heave-ho.”

Excellent, they were doing well so far. Then the rest would join in for the last line in the stanza, as rehearsed. 

“Look out, lad, a mermaid be waiting for you,
In mysterious fathoms below.”

But honestly, even as they'd started, Solomon still couldn’t help but think and wonder what that missing choirboy must have been doing right now. A boy like him, it was hard not to worry. One could only hope he wasn’t getting himself into any trouble, though that would be awfully unlike him.

 

---

 

“Ah, girls, girls, girls…” Adam suddenly stopped his walk, wafting his hand in his own direction. “It’s like an entirely different air here, isn’t it?”

Flynn gave him a judgmental look in response, raising an eyebrow. “Dude, it’s a hallway.”

“Ah, ah, ah, a hallway where girls walk!” He interjected, raising his index finger at his friend as if to reprimand him. “I mean think about it, some of them wear perfume and stuff, so the air here is like, way nicer just automatically, isn’t it?”

“I mean, I guess?” Flynn shrugged, cracking open his can of Red Bull. Adam had been unsure about letting him bring a drink here, but Flynn rarely went anywhere without one of those. He claimed the energy made up for his short height and unathletic body, but personally, Adam had his doubts. Still, there was no harm, and who was he to tell him what to do?

“So many of the guys back at Hanssen’s are all sweaty. Trust me, it’s a world of difference.” Adam insisted.

Flynn didn’t answer, only rolling his eyes as he took a good sip of his energy drink.

Sure, St. Hanssen’s Boarding School and St. Marie’s Boarding School were pretty similar on the surface, with their strikingly similar architecture, situated in the same town.

But there was a key distinction, in that one was a boys’ school, and the other a girls’ one. And the way Adam saw it? There was just something so much more interesting about the girls’s side than the boys. It made sense to him, so many girls were pretty as hell, most guys already knew this. Who wouldn’t be curious about the other side and what they were up to? You’d think it’d be normal for 16 year old boys like him to be interested in these things. But apparently some weren’t as curious, if Flynn was any indication.

Adam turned his head, darting his eyes around at some of the doors nearby. “Now where was that lost and found again…? It’s been a while…”

“Oh my god, you’re serious.” His friend looked him dead in the eye. “Adam, I know you have your… thing. But now that we’re actually here and you’re saying this… You weren’t kidding. This is actually where you got the stuff?”

Adam lifted his hands up, trying to dismiss the words. “Hey, hey, again I’ve only done it, like, three or four times. Besides, it's lost and found.” He started walking again. “No one will find out or complain if someone nabs a few items in there. They’re just being claimed.”

Flynn followed behind, “That’s not what I mean! Don’t you think that kinda thing looks weird? Taking stuff from girls? Do you seriously not have any idea what people will think if they find out about this?”

“We’ll be fiiine,” He reassured with an easygoing smile, walking ahead. “Trust me, Scott said they all got out extra early today after some big assembly. Barely anyone’s here, we can sneak a quick peek into the main building's lost and found without anyone noticing.”

“No, like,” Flynn sighed in frustration. “Don’t you think this might look… creepy?”

The comment almost made Adam flinch, but he kept walking. He didn’t want his friend to see the frown that had formed on his face. 

Of course he was terrified! Who wouldn’t be?! He knew that what he was doing was wrong, what people would think if they knew. But if there was one thing he'd taught himself, it was that stressful situations only got worse if you treated them as such, which was why he'd been smiling as he went through the hallway. He'd treat the situation casually, almost as if a shield. It was part of how awkward teenage boys like him who struggled to fit in could survive the boarding school life.

But naturally, that could only help lessen things so much. He was still invading a girls’ school, explicitly for reasons that many would deem creepy. The type of thing weirdos and perverts definitely went to hell for. Just… try not to think about it, pretend like there’s nothing wrong.

Adam darted an eye back at his friend, “Look, let’s just hurry. It’s at the end of the next hallway.”

Lo and behold, his memory was correct. The lost and found wasn’t really a big room or anything, just seemed to be a storage closet refit for a different purpose. Whatever the case, there was indeed more stuff there. Textbooks, writing utensils, the occasional random art of clothing or piece of school uniform…

While he wasn't ready to admit it, Adam's heart was pounding like crazy just being in here. Same as the other times. But he just had to try and keep an easygoing mind…

“So what are you looking for?” Flynn asked.

“Oh, just something interesting, something only a girl might have…” He replied, scanning through one of the shelves. It was the one with more random items in it. A brush, a comic issue, some barrettes… Oh! 

He picked up something small and cylinder shaped, “Look at this!”

Flynn perked an eyebrow. “What? What is it?”

It took only a bit of finicking to open a capsule, revealing a small stick with some kind of brushes wrapped around at the end. “Uh-huh, very interesting…”

“What is it?” Flynn repeated.

“Dunno,” Adam responded with only a simple smile and shrug. “Pretty sure it’s makeup. Not sure what kind, though. Maybe Scott knows.”

Flynn frowned, “Don’t tell me you wanna use it…”

“What?! No!” Adam hastily answered. “Makeup is for girls! I’m a guy! Guys can’t wear that type of thing.” Geez, he knew Flynn thought he was weird for this, but Adam understood that much! Someone like him wasn't meant to...

“Uh-huh,” Flynn nodded with a sarcastic look. “But you’re gonna take it anyway.”

Adam put back on a proud smile on his face, closing the cap. “Yep!”

“Great, so we’re leaving or what?”

“Hold on, I still wanna check on some stuff!” He rushed to the other end of the room, to a small basket full of some clothes and fabrics. 

Flynn waited and looked on at Adam as he went through the basket, shuffling various pieces aside. He held a hand to his forehead, “Gimme a break, you want clothes too?”

Adam pointed a quick finger at a paper sign above. “It says they’re free to take! No one’s bothered reclaiming any of this in over a month! Besides, I’m looking for…” Aha! He'd found it! “There it is!” He proclaimed, taking something out to show off to him.

It was a long yellow skirt in a flowery design.

“Now this is the good stuff!” Adam declared. That’s right, most of the articles of clothing found in here were socks or parts of the school’s uniform, which weren’t nearly as interesting. Pieces from a non-school outfit were rare, and something cute like this was even rarer! “I noticed this the last time I came by, but I was a bit too nervous to bring it back. Besides, it’d be a shame for the girl that owned this if she couldn’t find it, so I wanted to wait for it to be unclaimed.”

Flynn had an unamused look on his face that said he’d seen enough, so he just nodded and took a few more sips of his Red Bull during Adam's explanation. “Well, alright then. So are we heading out?”

The boy carefully wrapped the skirt up as he walked on over to the door and opened it. “Yep, better be quick about it. Wouldn’t want to-” 

Suddenly, he stopped, hearing vague footsteps in the distance.

He looked at Flynn, and he looked back. He’d heard that too.

Flynn quickly downed the rest of his drink, flattening the can and tossing it aside. “Run!”

He didn’t need to tell Adam twice, he knew what that meant. Of course, Scott’s info couldn’t guarantee that literally everyone was out. It had been stupid of him to assume that! It could very well be that some girls were studying somewhere, or that there would at least be a teacher or two roaming around.

They dashed to a corner as fast as they could. Thankfully they both remembered the way out through these hallways. Again, the layout at Marie’s was really similar to Hanssen’s. Practically the same architecture.

“Hey!” Adam heard a voice call out from the earlier hallway.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Flynn panicked. “Why did you let me come with you for this?! Who knows what they’ll do if they catch us!”

Suspension? Expulsion? Adam wasn’t sure. Even if his grandfather was the headmaster over at Hanssen’s, he knew privilege and nepotism could only go so far. He’d be disappointed no matter what. Hell, that’s definitely an understatement, he’d probably be livid just knowing what he'd been doing here. The fact that they were still wearing their uniforms was bad enough, since it meant word could definitely get back to him!

Finally, they entered the classroom and closed the door behind them. “There we go!” Adam exclaimed. “Shouldn’t find us here!”

“Like that means we shouldn’t keep running!” Flynn responded, already heading towards the window. This classroom's window had been how they'd snuck inside in the first place. A random window on the ground floor had been left open. Lucky circumstances like that were the reason it was even possible for Adam to sneak in every once in a while.

Flynn was climbing up and about to jump down when more footsteps were heard. “Shit!” He jumped down.

Adam hurried too. Again, he knew in just how much serious shit he'd be in if anyone caught him doing something like this. Okay, up at the ledge.

Then right as he heard a knock on the door, he jumped down. Flynn was thankfully there to help him straight back up and recover from the light fall, “Come on, let’s go!”

But Adam realized something had slipped from his grasp. “Wait, the skirt!” He looked back up. It had gotten snagged on the window’s handle as he'd jumped down. But it was long, so if he could get just a little bit higher…!

“Who cares about the stupid skirt, just run!” Flynn was off, but Adam could only look back up. He'd been thinking about that skirt for a while, he was looking forward to his next opportunity to sneak back in just to maybe get his hands on it. He just couldn’t…!

He jumped up, using the wall to give himself the quick boost he needed to grab the end of it. Yes! Just pull it down, and…!

The door in the classroom opened, and Adam wasted no time. He ran as fast as he could to catch up with his friend.

Before he knew it, the two were off school grounds, out of breath. 

“You think… we’re safe…?” Flynn asked between huffs.

“Huff Better head straight back to the dorm, just in case they try to follow us out.” 

Flynn nodded, “Yeah.”

Neither of them had the energy to talk much as they went on their way. Adam could tell that Flynn was especially unhappy with the circumstances, he obviously didn’t have the same interest in any of this. Flynn probably didn’t think they'd actually do this when he'd suggested coming along this time. Adam might have also been a bit overconfident after not getting caught any of the last times...

Adam looked back at the skirt, wrapped back up again. “Man, that was close though.”

Flynn looked back at him, “I can’t believe you actually risk doing this stuff. Seriously, never let me join you on one of your little trips again.”

“Yeah, sure, fine.” Adam responded. “Think I definitely need a while before I ever head back in there anyway.”

“So you’re really doing it?” He raised an eyebrow. “You actually want to do that again at some point? After almost getting caught?”

Adam shrugged, “I mean, yeah. I’ll find another opportunity. Maybe. We'll see in a couple of months.”

In response, Flynn could only shake his head. “You’re weird, you know that?”

“Mm, I guess so?” Adam answered, thinking to himself. Again, when he thought about it, being interested in girls was supposed to be normal, wasn’t it? Even if most guys didn’t want to go that far. Then why did some part of him like doing this? Sneaking in just to grab some random girl stuff to keep?

“...I dunno, maybe it’s just the thrill. I feel like… I’m crossing some kind of boundary, doing something I’m not supposed to be doing. It’s exhilerating, somehow.”

“Just a heads up, that definitely sounds like something a pervert would say.” Flynn commented.

Adam grimaced, tucking the skirt back under his arm. Yeah, it really did. That was probably just it. He was weird and gross like that, all the more reason never to tell people about any of these complicated thoughts jumbled up in his head. Flynn had promised to keep his mouth shut when he first found out, him being his roommate, but that’s totally what other people would think too. 

“But it’s just…” Adam began. “I don’t know, that’s not it…”

“Hm?” Flynn eyed him.

“I don’t know how to explain it. I just get this weird feeling inside when I think about this stuff, and not the perv kind…” He looked down at the ground, embarrassed that he was even daring to voice these thoughts. “Like it’s trying to fill some bottomless hole…”

“...” Flynn didn’t respond at first, though he eventually sighed. “Look, let’s just move on and hide that thing back at the dorm. I don’t get it, but I’ll mind my own business. Just buy me another Red Bull tomorrow.”

That felt reassuring, at least, coming from him. Adam formed a soft smile on his face, letting out a light chuckle. “You know that’s unhealthy, right? You literally just downed an entire can earlier.”

“Hey, it gives you wings.” He shrugged with a little smirk. “Who am I to argue with the marketing?”

“And that’s supposed to help with…?”

“Um, everything, duh!” He pointed at Adam with a smile. “You can never have enough sugar or caffeine! It’s like having gas or batteries in your system. It's like the world starts singing!”

Adam laughed, “No seriously, that mindset is way too unhealthy. You-” He stopped in his tracks.

Flynn stopped as well, two steps ahead. “Dude?”

“...Singing.” Adam's face grew pale. “The choir performance. It’s today.” He held a hand over his mouth. It had completely slipped his mind somehow. And here he was, sneaking off into another school to snatch a skirt and some makeup. How would he even explain this?

He was so dead...