Chapter 118:

Interlude: Learning from the master

The Y-files [GL]


Maura's POV

Of all days, today it had to be raining. Jonathan, my chauffeur had dropped me off, a block away from school, where she told me to meet her. It took some convincing to let my chauffeur drop me off somewhere else than school, but in the end, he had given in. Jonathan was still watching me with Argus' eyes from the car that was parked a little further.

“If anything happens to you, I'm dead. I'm willing to help you, but I will keep watch.” He had said. Like I couldn't take care of myself. I hated being treated like a fragile child by everyone.

What was taking her so long? I did not want anyone else to know we were meeting or what I wanted to talk about. God, this was so embarrassing, but she had told me before I could come to her for advice on these things.

Just when I was about to give up and walk to school by myself, she finally arrived.

“Will you finally tell me to what I owe this morning date, with this gorgeous beauty?” Valerie said, before kissing me on the cheek.

“D-d-date?!” Valerie was without a doubt one of the prettiest girls in school. Her tease went right through me. I started blushing and could no longer get a word out of my mouth. I hadn't meant this as a date. I just wanted some advice from a senior.

Valerie noticed my extreme nervousness and said “Calm down. If you keep acting like that I might really start thinking you want to confess. Especially after that message of yours.”

“C-c-confess?!” I recalled the message I sent. I just asked to meet outside of school because I needed to speak to her alone without any peeping eyes. Oh, no. So stupid of me. That did look like a confession, didn't it? Textbook even. I read enough yuri in the meantime to know that.

“Take your time. I won't go anywhere. But since it is raining, it might be best to give that to me.” Valerie said. She took the umbrella out of my hand and held it over the two of us. As I looked up at her, our eyes met. I gulped. She was awfully close to me.

“I-I need your advice on Fien!” I shouted out really quickly. I wanted this troublesome atmosphere to dissipate as soon as possible.

Valerie chuckled. “I thought it must have been something like that. Sorry for teasing you like that, I couldn't resist.”

I looked at Valerie full of disbelief. She had drawn me into her rhythm and had played me like a fiddle. I started to understand the existence of her fan club. She did not need that prince character. She was just a real natural at making girls' hearts beat faster.

I gave her a punch with my fist and said “You idiot! Hmph!”

Valerie rubbed the spot I hit and laughed even harder. Then she ruffled my hair and said “God, you are adorable. It's almost a shame to give you to Fien.”

Even though my skin is tanned, I think the blush on my face reached Guinness record levels of redness. If she kept this level of flirtatiousness up, I would never get the conversation to where I wanted it to go.

“P-please stop!” I begged her. I needed to get this done before class started. I could not be late since mom was giving the class, and that would get Jonathan into trouble who went out of his way for me.

I noticed Valerie turning more serious “Okay, enough joking around, what's up. It must be serious for you to call me out like this.”

“It's the ball tonight.” I needed her advice on how to proceed.

“What about it? You dance majestically, you really amazed me yesterday,” Valerie answered.

“I want Fien to accompany me. I want to know how to ask her.”

“Ah!... But didn't you ask her yesterday? I thought you were very bold to do it in front of everyone.” Valerie said a bit baffled.

“Yes, she said she would certainly dance with me. I don't think she got what I meant. I need to get the point across.”

It was really terrible. I had put all my effort into asking if she wanted to go to the ball with me. I always get so nervous around Fien, but Fien just reacted lightly, like we were just going to have casual fun. I even made us read a yuri novel with a scene about girls asking to accompany each other as a date to the ball together before asking, and she still did not get it.

“I think I understand the situation,” Valerie said with a smile. “Girls like Fien can be quite dense you know, but it makes it worth the effort when you finally conquer them.”

Finally a ray of light at the end of the tunnel. I was sure asking Valerie for advice had been the right choice. She would give me the means to get Fien to escort me to the ball.

I never had someone escort me, every year I had always just been the daughter of the lady of the house, and I had been forced to dance with the sons of various business connections of my parents. Oh, how I dreaded my mom's birthday parties. But now I had the chance to turn it into an evening to look forward to.

“It's really simple, actually. Ask her again, and when she replies nonchalantly, you reply “It's a date”. I guarantee that will knock her off her feet and make her realize that she promised something more than just a dance for fun.”

That sounded simple enough. “Wait, didn't you just do something similar with me?” Valerie really was a flirt expert. Everything she said seemed to be a build-up to the next flirt, and some flirts kept on coming back.

Valerie laughed and said “If you noticed it, you can copy it. That is how I learned to do it.”

“I-I'll try.” I don't think I can be as confident about it as Valerie though.

“Oh one more nice trick that might finish this off, afterward send Fien a mail with an invitation with both your names, putting her name first as the escort, then put a little note in it where you write some extra details down, and sprinkle it with your perfume.”

“I am calling you "master" from now on. Your skills are magnificent yet frightening at the same time.”

Valerie chuckled. “Fine my pupil. If that was all, let's go to school!”

We walked together under the umbrella. Jonathan came out of the car to verify who I was hanging out with. Valerie showed her Lyst security ID and said “I will escort her to school.”

That was so cool. The way she took charge of the situation was just so amazing! I hoped I could be as cool as her one day.

When we arrived at school, I noticed how things had changed around here. On the playground, I saw so many couples hand in hand. This school was really evolving more and more into one of those Catholic high schools from a yuri novel. I even noticed two girls exchanging a rosary next to the Saint Mari statue. I think that image came directly from the first yuri novel I ever read.

I walked over to the courtyard with Valerie in the direction of the office, when suddenly we were confronted by Fien and Mia.

“Where did you two come from, sharing an umbrella like that?” Mia asked.

“Don't you usually get dropped off in front of the gate?” Fien then asked. I noticed Mia nodding approvingly at that question.

“We met up outside of school. Maura wanted to discuss something with me in private.” Valerie answered.

“Let me guess, at the entrance of the park 2 blocks away?” Mia replied.

“H-how did you know?” I asked. Was she psychic?

“That is where Valerie takes all girls that want to confess to her.”

I started coughing. Valerie answered, “I think it is a nice-looking spot.”

“I just wanted some lessons from the master!” I blurted out. I couldn't take this pressure Mia was giving me, and to top that, Fien seemed to be imitating her. I felt I was breaking.

“Master, what is all that about?” Fien asked. Oh no... I wasn't allowed to lie to Fien. Why did I blurt out something so unnecessary?

“I wanted to ask you to the ball and did not know how to do it. So I went to Valerie for help.”

“But you asked me yesterday, and I told you I'd dance with you.”

“T-Then it's a date?” I turned my eyes upward to Fien full of hope. I noticed she was a bit taken by it.

“S-sure!” She said trying to look confident, but her stutter betrayed that she was nervous. “It's a date.”

Now I had to finish it off with Valerie's special move, I just learned.

“I'll give you the invitation to escort me later.”

I noticed Fien gulped, and was left dumbfounded.

After that Valerie nudged me and we walked together to the office. She gave me a little wink and a thumbs up. Fien had been left completely overwhelmed, and it took quite a few minutes before she and Mia arrived at the office after us.