Chapter 24

Arthur was so thankful that he was able to return to classes the next day.

Despite the fact that he had a day off yesterday, there's no rest when you are a student. He wondered if secondary schools like these are like a practice paper for students to buck themselves up for the real world.

But where does he stand?

He decided not to dwell so much on that idea and head straight to the gardening club, which became a routine for him before attending class. After all, he has packed some breakfast he collected from the cafeteria and has a thermos flask full of peppermint tea to wake him up today.

The soothing, wafting fragrance of the flowers greeted him the second he opened the door that let to the rooftop. He heard humming and the whooshing sound of the plants getting their natural drink from the water. He still can't understand the incoherent chatter amongst all of the flowers.

"Morning Arthur!" Haru called him. The bat smiled and his body was like autopilot when it came to tending the flowers. Haru was glad that he looked better, even with the stitch being so faint at the membrane. She was still trying to figure out how to hear her flowers just as easily as the bat was doing.

"So, did anything happen while I was absent yesterday?" asked Arthur, who was petting a flower's petal with a single finger. The dwarf rabbit thought he looked cute, cocking his ears at some of the bed of flowers and moving his mouth a bit without a sound coming out.

"Nah, the same things as always," said Haru, who was ticking off the tasks on her list. "Hey Arthur?"

"Yes, Haru?"

"Can you tell or know what colours are?"

Arthur's head faced hers, those eyes of his seemed to be like a thick fog at night. His expression looked neutral but there was a quizzicality in the mixture.

"Honestly, it's still a confusion concept to talk about. Even if you describe it to me, I cannot imagine it or understand why some objects are related to the colours since I can't put them together like a puzzle piece. An example would be if you tell me that the sky is blue and it's the same like ice, I still can't understand it. You know, because I can't see anything."

Haru never thought that even something as simple as saying the roses are red can be confusing to the bat. She never thought that having the ability to see was something to appreciate until now. Arthur, sensing the club president's disappointment patted her on the shoulder.

"Haru, it's okay. I learnt to accept the fact that I can never understand what colours are but it doesn't mean that I ignore it. To me, I can describe to you what certain sounds are to me or the direction of the wind changing when it howls. To me, I guessed that's my version of colours."

The dwarf rabbit sighed but nodded. Arthur smiled, his eyes were closed as his little leaf-like nose was snuffling about among the new plants she had planted yesterday. She smirked, placed both of her hands on her hips.

"You know what they are?"

"I didn't know you would plant these catmints and chamomiles!" there was a hint of giddiness in his tone. Haru couldn't help but smile at this strange bat. Arthur inhaled the scent of the new plants and nodded, his mouth moving but not a sound was uttered.

'A bat's thing, I guessed,' the dwarf rabbit thought to herself. She wished she could hear what her children are saying. After all, she's the one who planted them and watched them grow!

"I'm sure a bakery would accept these," said Haru. "I don't think either of us know how to dry them up before portioning them in bags. I just know that these two taste good when it's harvested."

"Plus, both of them are good for you to reduce stress," said Arthur, who was now taking off his shoes so that he can hang upside down on one of the rafters of the little greenhouse. "I wouldn't be surprised if those and the lavenders you planted are used in potpourri bowls and incense."

The dwarf rabbit was starting to understand why Arthur liked all of these types of herb and leaves. Not once has she ever seen him snap or lash out in anger. But he does get angry at some point in his life, right?

She might attempt to ask him if he knew that her bully was starting to have some interest in him. But right now is not the best time.

...

Arthur thanked Haru for the gardening tips and exchanging some plant stories to each other before he was ready to leave. He was not keen on the upcoming test for physics since the chapter involved light reflections and refractions...

Of course, not a day goes by now with some students commenting about him. This time, it wasn't just his eyes:

"Looks like the Vampyrum is back!"

"I heard that he and that tiger got into trouble! Do you think he ever bit that feline?"

"His eyes are more blurry than my own fogged up glasses!"

"Let's hope he doesn't turn all of us into the undead!"

Arthur shook his head at the nonsense these students were theorising. He bets that Bill was also facing the same problem both in and out of the drama club. He may not know the big cat well but just by his tone and sound of the body movement, he had a gut feeling that Bill was experiencing some sort of anxiety.

The Honduran white bat thought none of it and made his way to the auditorium where he was seated six feet away from other students since it was the perfect distant when doing the test. Unlike the other students, his paper was already translated in braille so all he had to do was input the answer through his brailler machine.

"How are we going to concentrate when grandpa over there is typing morse code!" he heard a student behind him hissed her whisper.

"That guy's either born too early or too late in his life," another voice mumbled.

Arthur had his ears back, trying to focus on his paper rather than the idle gossips amongst the other students.

...

The Honduran white bat was thankful that he had finished the paper before the time was up. He wasn't confident in the light refractions since he himself is bad at drawing and interpreting how the object was seen at the angle where the light rays were shone.

He decided to find a place to have a cup of tea from his flash when a large claw-like hand touched him by the shoulder.

"Hey Arthur!" the booming voice of Bill greeted him. Arthur turned around towards the sound.

"Hello Bill. Feeling better after that incident?"

"Fine. How about you? These herbivores kept thinking that I was going to eat you."

Arthur laughed. "I think you'd be coughing up more hairball if you do. So, I hope we don't experience that again."

"Agreed! I was going to be a rug and you are probably a trophy. Anyways, let's just have lunch to make up for that incident. Plus, I promised you ice cream, remember?"

Ah, Arthur almost forgot about that!

"There you are!" the sound of Aoba's voice made Arthur cocked his ears. "I could use something to eat after that test."

...

The three of them seated themselves at the cafeteria, having the carnivore meal of rice in a bowl with eggs simmering on top. Arthur listened to Aoba and Bill discussing about some scenes from their drama club.

The only time Arthur ever wished to see would be to understand films or theatres.

Just by the soundtracks and scores alone, Arthur could tell that the story will be amazing. Whether it's an epic adventure, a whimsical musical or a dramatic fanatic play with a soliloquy. He knew the music that accompanied the stories were enough to let him imagine.

Even though his imagination doesn't make sense!

"Anyways," said Bill after gulping his milk. "Do you think we might even get a chance to choose what kind of plays we're doing after Adler?"

"It's not for us to decide," the eagle spoke slowly. "You know that's up to Louis and Sanu, right?"

"Yeah..."

Arthur wished he could do something about this but it is not something he is capable of since he is not a member of the drama club. But it wouldn't hurt if he tried to cheer his friends up?

"Can you tell me the story about Adler?" asked Arthur, his cloudy blue eyes were wide with wonder but both eagle and tiger swore that they could see sparkles on the glassy surface.

"You wanna know the whole plot and the characters?"

Arthur nodded. "If you don't mind telling me. Is it like the Sharkspeare Company? They have a few tragedies and a setting that made you feel like you're in the Golden Age."

Seeing his friend's curiosity, Aoba told him what their play was about. The Honduran white bat listened with interest, turning his head back and forth from the exchanged conversation between eagle and tiger. He was starting to sense that Bill was slowly calming down even if he's masking it behind that confident boomed voice.

...

Later, Arthur decided to retire to his room with Aoba following behind.

He brewed the both of them some Lady Grey tea with some honey to accompany it. He didn't sensed a small parcel near the door but the bald eagle certainly did.

"You got a package, Arthur," his friend informed him. "It's from your old school in Gryphon Cross."

"Oh? I wonder what is it," Arthur murmured curiously as he felt the solid frame of the unknown object that was wrapped in a crisp paper that he was so familiar with whenever he went to the post office.

Unwrapping it carefully, he used his two fingers to traced the object. He sighed softly.

"It must be a picture frame. It's nice but I don't think I really need it. I can give it to my dad when I have the time."

Aoba looked over the bat's shoulder and almost held back a laugh. He figured this picture was taken at least three years ago.

Who knew he looked adorable in a scout's uniform!