Into The Orchard

XII

- Max you are a life saver. - Said Bobby, who was just going through the hangover of life as the rays of the morning sun illuminated his face. - But taking a gun to school is a terrible idea.

- Do I have another choice? Besides, shut up. Someone else will hear. - I replied, trying to swallow a bite of scrambled eggs while in the kitchen.

Did I have another option? Pyra and Myra had been scouring the house for the casket all morning. Wherever I hid the gun, one of them would eventually find it. I knew that they also had plans to comb the entire neighborhood around the house, and leaving Apolonia's property outside the property could run the risk of someone actually stealing it. It was a no-win situation. Although taking an unloaded gun that was currently a museum exhibit still seemed like the worst possible idea, what other option did I have? Holy shit, I know what you guys are thinking. You guys think I don't know how idiotic an idea this is? But what the fuck am I supposed to do? Let Bobby get fired? Say I took the casket? I mean, Apolonia would tear me to shreds. I dread to think what the other Von Rostovs would think of me. After all, no matter how I explained the incident, it was still theft. The situation was dire, but on the other hand, how unlucky would I have to be for someone at school to find out I had a gun? Fucking hell. How does that even sound? I, Maxwell Porter will take a gun to school. Laughing in the fucking auditorium for fuck's sake. I hope this situation teaches Bobby that you can't keep your hands on things that aren't yours.

What was puzzling, however, was how Apolonia got a gun signed with Nazi lightning bolts. I don't know history well, but even a child knows what the fucking Waffen-SS was. The thought occurred to me to tell Gregory all about it. He certainly didn't realize that old Apolonia Von Rostov might have been a Nazi in wartime. Except that it didn't make any sense from the other side. I remember Kevin telling me that the Nazis wanted to liquidate the entire royal family of this country, and Apolonia was downright enamored with the entire monarchy. If she was a Nazi, wouldn't she have wanted them dead? On a third note, this would absolutely explain why she has an aversion to me and my mother. We are Americans, and as everyone knows, the US contributed enormously to winning the war. But it still didn't make sense. If she were a Nazi, I think Russia would be the last place she would flee to. I would aim that a reasonable escape point would be South America, maybe Asia. But to be a Nazi and stay in Europe after the war? That's crazy.

I talked to Bobby about this earlier. But he told me not to freak out. He said that maybe Apolonia was ashamed of her past and was hiding the truth from her family. Bobby explained that the Nazis brainwashed people and made them their pawns. Maybe Apolonia was one of those pawns for a brief moment in her life? Maybe she regretted it deeply and wanted to bury that fact underground at all costs? That would make sense, given that the old woman's family itself knows very little about her. It's true that we all make mistakes, but that many? To say that I have now begun to fear Apollonia Von Rostov is like saying that walking on glowing coals is troublesome.

Bobby was not at all bothered by this fact. Even in a situation like this he remained stoically calm, which in this case was unnerving. He advised me not to do it. He said he would try to hide the gun and if he failed, he would suffer all the consequences of what he had done. I knew, however, that the consequences of his act could be much worse than just getting fired. After all, what could Von Rostov do to me? Ground me? Yell at me? Threaten the finger? Stop practicing dance with me? Well, that's what. That was what I feared the most. Although if you thought about it, I had nothing to lose. If Apolonia had been a Nazi in her youth, then I didn't have the slightest desire for someone like her to continue training me.

- Did you wrap it in cloth thoroughly? - He asked himself again just to be sure.

- Yes. - I said emphatically wanting to end this topic as soon as possible. - It's safe in the backpack. No one will find out.