The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire)

“Hm.. You should know who the expert on healthy living is here, Rachel. If Poppy has put out her healthy living theories that make you lightweight, you won’t be able to argue anymore,” Kathy said mockingly.

“I’ll think about that input, Poppy. Thanks for bothering to think about me,” Rachel replied to Poppy who sighed tiredly from being teased by Kathy.

Poppy was impressed when she realized that Rachel wasn’t as scary as the rumours had been. In fact, the tall body girl had a fairly soft speech, although there was a firm feel in it. It turned out that Rachel was a nice person and easy to talk to.

Finally, Poppy opened a paper bag containing a collection of snacks and some merchandise that she had bought during her vacation to her grandmother’s hometown which happened to be abroad. They enjoyed a variety of snacks together and Poppy shared them equally with her friends, including Rachel.

Without realizing it, the four girls spent time together in the cafeteria until the next class was about to start. Even, Rachel didn’t realize how fast time had passed. Usually, whenever Rachel had free time, she would go to the health unit room to sleep. But now, she didn’t feel sleepy at all. It was probably the first time Rachel had laughed so much during her time at Jardin University.

“Looks like I have to go now,” Kathy rose from her seat and glanced at her watch.

“We should all go now, I guess. This place is actually almost empty,” Emma chuckled, didn’t expect them to talk that long.

“Thanks for the souvenirs, Poppy. I really appreciate this,” Rachel said sincerely. Previously, she had refused when the black irises girl gave her those things because she thought that they were just getting to know each other. However, Poppy kept pushing until Rachel finally gave in to refuse.

.....

Poppy smiled warmly, “It’s just a few snacks and little trinkets, Rachel. Of course, I’ll share them with my friends.”

Poppy’s words made a small tickle in Rachel’s heart. Maybe it was just a simple sentence for Poppy to say, but for Rachel who heard it, the sentence made her feel uneasy. Was it that easy to have friends? Rachel had better not let her guard down.

“Okay! I’m going now,” Kathy exclaimed. She seemed the most in a hurry because she tried to look good to her lecturer, so she had to chase the front row of seats for her to sit on during the class. But after taking one step, the red-haired girl turned around again, “Ah.. Rachel, I hope you would have lunch together again. More members make it more exciting,” she said with a wink before walking away at a brisk pace.

Poppy turned to the tall girl next to her, “That’s right, Rachel. If you still don’t have any lunch buddies, we’re open if you might want to join.”

“I.. I understand. Thank you.” Rachel replied awkwardly.

Finally, Poppy also left Rachel and Emma who didn’t seem too in a hurry to get to class. Of course, that was because the two of them had other important topics to talk about.

“They’re good girls,” Rachel muttered and was heard by Emma.

“We are all good girls. Therefore, we fit well together,” Emma looked at her with a smile, “I hope you feel comfortable with us, as much as we feel comfortable with you.”

Rachel just smiled faintly and cleared her throat a little, “Then, do you have any plans for tomorrow?” Instantly, the atmosphere turned serious. Earlier, they were meeting to talk about this before Kathy came to interrupt.

Emma nodded, “Looks like Chingsu District has great security since it’s a factory site. We wouldn’t have any reason to hang around there.”

“That’s true, Emma. Last night, I had a chance to ask my grandpa. The Creeper is actually a group of guards employed by the official Chingsu District management. So, if they suspect us, they won’t hesitate to arrest us even in the public. And, if that really happens, there will likely be nothing we can do to escape.” Rachel explained.

Emma nodded with her index finger on her chin, thinking, “That’s going to be a pain in the ass,”

“Actually, I have an idea, Emma.” The tall girl said. Emma then looked at Rachel’s face questioningly. “I was thinking, we could disguise ourselves as employees working there. That way, we wouldn’t be easily suspected since there are about ten companies standing in the Chingsu District area. I estimate the total number of employees working there could be around three thousand people. If you like the idea, I’ll ask my grandfather to borrow his female worker friends’ clothes.” She explained.

“That’s a really good idea, Rachel. You’ve even got the data ready. You’re amazing,” Emma praised. Then, she nodded quickly, “I totally agree with your idea. Ah.. but, are you going to tell your grandpa about your plan?”

Rachel shook her head, “Of course, I will not, Emma. They’d strictly forbid me if they found out about this dangerous mission. Maybe, I’ll tell my grandpa that I’m going to wear the uniform for college course needs. He’s too old to suspect things.”

“Ah.. I see. Alright then. I count on you with this, Rachel.”

***

The long-awaited day had arrived. Emma rode on her black motorbike and stopped at an old abandoned bus stop on the back street of Jardin University. The street was very quiet, so Emma and Rachel decided to meet there.

When Emma arrived, Rachel, who was also wearing all black, was already standing at an old bus stop that looked like it had never been cleaned, so the snow was still covering parts of it. From there, Emma learned one more thing about Rachel Markway. She was truly an on-time person, of course, apart from being late for ballet class. Maybe, on the one hand, Rachel didn’t really think that ballet class was as important as her nap.

Emma’s black motorbike stopped in front of Rachel. Previously, they had exchanged phone numbers and agreed to ride a motorbike. Because of that, Rachel also brought a black helmet that she had bought a long time ago, but never had the chance to wear.

“Let’s go,” Emma said before pulling the throttle when she felt that Rachel was already sitting properly.

When viewed from the outside, no one would have thought that the black sports motorbike was ridden by women. Emma Hilland and Rachel Markway, the both of them managed to disguise themselves as men, just like there were now two ‘Black’ figures in Handway City.

The black motorbike arrived in an area that Emma had never been to before. The area had a wide, long road and was occasionally passed by trucks carrying intermodal containers like the ones Emma had seen in the port area. Chingsu District was located in such a vast land area. Emma didn’t think that Chingsu District was indeed great.

Previously, Emma had read the history of Chingsu District, which was actually a paper company called Chingsu Paper which had now gone bankrupt. Emma was amazed, imagining how successful a company was to be able to own such a large area. However, it turned out that the successors of the giant company acted like thorns in their own father’s flesh. Out of greed, they turned the company that his father had built with blood and tears into bankruptcy in just a few years.

“To enter the Chingsu District area, we have to pass through the main gate or the back gate that has a guard post. Usually, guests have to leave their ID cards if they want to enter. But of course, we can’t do that if we don’t want to be caught.” Rachel said beside Emma’s ear.

“Then, how do we get in?” Emma asked, about to pull her motorbike aside.

“No need to stop Emma. Keep going straight this way. I know a secret shortcut.” Rachel said.

“Nice!” Emma exclaimed. It seemed that she had not mistakenly decided to be in a team with Rachel. It turned out that she was so reliable.

Emma’s motorbike sped down the main road which was getting more and more deserted. The further they rode, the more they could see how large the land belonging to the Chingsu District was. Then, Emma saw a swamp ahead with frozen water. On instructions from Rachel, Emma stopped her motorbike there.

“Is this the secret shortcut you told me?” Emma asked in a robotic voice because of the noise masking device on her helmet.

Rachel nodded by opening her full-face helmet. Then, she stepped up onto the side of the road and walked toward the wide swamp. With just a few seconds of gazing away at the ice, Rachel immediately returned with a look of delight.

“Follow me. I know where we can hide your bike,” She stepped back down onto the asphalt.

Emma nodded and rode the motorbike slowly to follow Rachel’s fast, wide steps. After walking a few meters, they arrived near a large tree that grew a few meters from the edge of the swamp. On the other side of the big tree, there was a giant wall, built high and long like a fortress. It was a wall that separated the Chingsu District’s territory from the rest. The wall looked old but was still strong.

“We have to get the bike up on this ground. Would it be alright?” Rachel asked after they reached a dead end.

“Sure. I’ll turn off the engine first,” Emma nodded before she turned off the engine and got off the iron horse.