My Friend Paul: First Spark

Chapter 9 Arguments

C.9 Arguments

"This is stupid," Matt murmurs for the thirtieth time. He's been reading my letter for an excruciatingly long hour. Paul, out of boredom, is now talking to a portrait of a man at the back of the room.

"Why can't we just verify it to the council?" Erna suggests pacing back and forth between tables, a hint of doubt in her voice. "Everything seems not to conform to standards. Or maybe that's the reason why they paired me with you, because one of them is a Falcon."

"Her letter is sealed with our badge," Matt says, not to Erna but more to himself. "The scribbler is a joke. How could he write a falcon to an eagle's letter? This is stupid... I will flank if I failed to enroll one of them... Mom will surely kill me..."

Matt stands up, flopping my letter on his hands and staring blankly at nowhere.

"Okay," he announces suddenly. "We will still be going to the Confed's Registrar's Office. Keep your letter with you Lory," he says handing me the parchment and envelope. "We will use the remaining balloons to get us there in the shortest time."

"Don't be stupid Mateo," Erna snaps. "We can't go straight to the Registrar's Office without verifying Lory's lair. She needs her staff if..."

"Oh shut up old hag," he cuts. "This is all your fault. Maybe you paid the scribbler for this, did you? To complicate things. Well you're mistaken to think I'll go easy on you after this. No. Not this time."

Erna was taken aback. The tears in her eyes are dangerously swelling but she is determined not to let them flow. "Unless you can't see it," she says in a choked voice. "I'm the one who's helping you here. And I can't understand how you come up with that nonsense." She paused, brandising her snakelike hair. "We just need to verify her lair so we could get her staff if ever she's with my league."

"She'll be in our league," Matt exhails. "Heaven knows we need more of us eagles especially this time. Don't you know that?"

"'Course I know. What I'm just suggesting is a quick verification, you won't be hurt by doing so. Just your clamshelled pride." Erna only whispered the last sentence, hardly audible. Matt seem not to overheard that.

"Oh fine," he says irritatedly. "Paul, you go with me. (Paul looks at me, worried.) You take Lory with you to the Scribbler's Department. And don't dare to put her name under your sponsorship." Matt sounds threatening. Erna says nothing but a small nod. I'm not sure what they agreed upon.

"Did he mean we'll be splitting in two?" I ask her.

"Yes," Erna answers. "But don't worry. I do what I can to enroll you on your rightful lair. Let's go."

"Lo'," Paul whispers at the back of my ear. "Everything will be alright. I promise. Just do what she told you and you'll be good. Okay?" I nod, not sure what to say. "You'll help her, will you?" He asks Erna.

"We'll be fine," she answers.

"Swear it."

"I promise."

"Good."

"Let's go," Matt says, grabbing his bag and untying the string in Paul's arm. The innocent blue thing floats above his head. I almost forgot the balloon Erna gave me. It's still loosely fastened on my right arm. I can hardly feel it on my skin.

After the curtsies of the portraits and a quick farewell to the old couple, or to their duplicates whichever they were, we are outside on the dimly lit corridor with randomly numbered doors. I'm expecting we will be splitting up sooner, but we're still in one troop until we reach the small hidden space between the two gray buildings. No one says a word, and it was Matt who made the first grunt in his attempt to stupidly wrestle Paul's balloon. He clamped the poor thing between his legs, squeezing it more with his hands and fingers which cut deep into its gummy shell.