The Secret Legacy of Pan - English Translation

Chapter Twelve

AT THE PUB

"Well, girly, got any news?", Mike asked as he always did when I worked at the pub at night. Mum sat in the backroom over some accounting books because of tax season. I would be alone with the three regulars Mike, Stanley, and Ed for the whole evening. I had named them the three Stooges in my mind. Despite the typical autumn rain, no one else had strayed into our pub except them.

"Are you still such a high achiever?", Mike asked. Stanley and Ed smirked.

"I wouldn't say that", I said honestly. Stanley and Mike began protesting loudly, Ed just shook his head. Even though the three of them already had a couple of beers in their system, I enjoyed their advocacy. Mike and Stanley began informing me of their own grades in school and that a lot of them had gone awry when pretty girls had started to become interesting. I did not pay them any mind and began cleaning the shelves behind the counter.

"Say, Felicity, do you have your eyes on a guy?" I watched through the mirror on the shelf-wall as Mike nudged Stanley with his elbow and winked at Ed. He then winked at me and took a sip of his beer.

"On the contrary", I answered and studied a sticky mug. "He even helps me when I don't know the answers."

"Who is it? That McKenna? A Scot can't fool our Felicity!", Mike shouted loudly. I did not bother with the explanation that Corey's ancestors had been in England for centuries.

"We have a new guy at school", I said instead. "He's really good."

"And he's the one you have your eyes on?" Again with the nudge and the winking. I smiled. The three of them were like young boys who wanted to know what Santa had gotten them for Christmas.

"Leave the girl alone", Mike said with a playfully stern voice. "She doesn't have to tell us when she finally falls in love."

"Well, I don't even know if she's fallen in love!", Stanley retorted.

"Of course she is. She's never talked about a guy that's better in school than her before." Oh, so now Mike was drawing conclusions from unsaid sentences. From experience I knew that protest would only lead to loud discussions I was destined to lose with their level of alcohol. So I let them talk. The discussions on my supposed admirer and beloved quickly got out of hand. Suddenly Lee was an IRA-Agent who needed a disguise to destroy all of London. He was cultivating my love to use my intelligence for his own purposes. I listened in amusement. Ed studied me in the mirror and rolled his eyes. When Mike yelled: "...probably looks like Brad Pitt. A sex object that gets laid by women in turn. Like in the film with Indiana Jones and that Irish sleeper", the door opened. In the first moment, I thought I was dreaming. Said sex object was steering in the direction of the counter with that inimitable elegant walk. Lee seemed out of place in this gloomy pub, like a swan among chickens.

"Hello, Felicity", he said and sat down in the empty chair beside Mike. "I thought you would be here."

"What are you doing here?", I asked gruffly. He should not be here. Not in this... Hole. Lee raised an eyebrow and smiled his charming smile. Felicity Stratton would have ripped her clothes off her body by now. I, on the other hand, felt terrible. I was ashamed of this pub. If the Star Club ever entered this place, I would never hear the end of it. They would bully me until I eventually gave up and dropped out. And Lee was part of the Star Club. At least to some extent.

"Since when are you back?", I asked in surprise.

"Did you miss me?", Lee winked. I groaned and tapped Ed a new beer. "I'll take one, too", Lee said and pointed to the beer.