After class that same day, we (the Blue Lily society) gathered in our room in Maria Hall. Sol felt the need to apologize to Chloe for yesterday's little kerfuffle.

"W-Well... I'm sorry about yesterday," she says, meekly. "I may have overstepped my boundaries."

"N-No, it was my fault," Chloe assumes the blame. "I just lost my head."

Upon seeing the exchange, Painmangeur and Sapphire smiled cheerfully at the two girls. They had lapsed into a silence, both awkwardly smiling at the other and blushing out of embarrassment. 

"Ahem." Sol lightly cleared her throat and took control of the room. "Anyway... Starting today, we should meet here in Maria Hall everyday after class. But as we have club activities, it would be best to choose a cut-off point. I believe thirty minutes would be best before we disperse."

Chloe and Sapphire both agreed to those conditions without any fuss. Since I'm not enrolled in any clubs, I had no qualms about it either.

"Speaking of clubs," Sol says, turning to me. I don't like where this is going. Don't make me join a club. "Is there a club you would like to join, Seraph?"

"No." I give my answer as bluntly as possible. Hopefully she'd take the hint, and not force me into any clubs.

"They aren't mandatory at Vincennes," she tells me. "If you see one you like, you may join it." Yes! I nod in response.

"I-Is everyone here in a club?" I ask as naturally as I could. "I know Miss Sapphire is in the baking club..."

"Yes," Sapphire confirmed. "We have a large oven. It's all taken very professionally. Oh, that's right," she smiled brightly, brining her palms together. "I baked some bread in honor of our coming together like this. I thought that we could have it with tea." Painmangeur perked up on Sapphire's shoulder with a 'Kuu!' at the mention of bread.

"That sounds nice," Sol commented.

"When did you bake it?" Chloe asked. "Last night?"

"This morning, of course," Sapphire corrected her. "It wouldn't do to leave it over night."

"Is that okay for you?" Chloe's voice had a hint of concern in it when she asked. "It seems like baking bread would take a while..." 

"The initial fermentation takes place in the refrigerator the day before. Of course, I do have to get up rather early... But that doesn't bother me terribly much. And, after all, I do love making French bread."

"I see." Chloe's slight worries were easily erased.

"Uh, M-Miss Chloe. Are you in track and field here?" I ask her. I vaguely remember her mentioning that she ran track one time a few years back, so I thought I'd ask if that was still the case.

"Yeah."

"What club are you in, Miss Sol?" I ask her, so she doesn't feel left out.

"I am in the choir. It's quite a popular activity at Vincennes, perhaps due to the psalms. Anyway," Sol takes charge of the conversation; and thank god for that, I don't know how much longer I would've been able to hold out. "Now that you are our affiliates, there was something I wanted to give you, but..." She touched the blue ribbon that was tied around her upper arm. "It turns out that only official members are allowed to wear them." 

The rules were quite strict that only those who were elected could become Association representatives. "It's just that I see so few Blue Lily ribbons now," Sol lamented. "It's very frustrating."

"In the end, they all abandoned you?" Sapphire asked. 

Sol nodded. "There is nothing in the rules about resigning... but they still do not wish to participate. Rules cannot bind a person's feelings, after all."

"That is true..." Sapphire diffidently agreed.

"And you still see a lot of Red Rose ribbons around, huh?" Chloe huffed.

The room in Maria Hall was quite large, but it was easy to imagine it full of people and lively chatter. Now the size just emphasized how empty it was. 

"Seraph, are you continuing to socialize with others?" Sol asks me.

For a hot second, I got all excited. That's because I have been socializing, and I wanted to brag about it. Their names were Alexis, Chelsea, Ursula and Astrid. The only reason I don't start bragging about it is because they were the guardienne at the guard station. When Sol asks if I've been socializing, she's asking if I've been socializing with the students. Students who can vote. I haven't been interacting with any other kids, so...

"No," I disappointingly tell her. 

"Yes, it occurred to me that it might be difficult for you to make friends normally," she says, unintentionally hurting my feelings. It's weird that I'm a little offended by something that I wholeheartedly agree with. 

"That's true," Chloe agrees with her. "Vincennes is a girls' boarding school, after all... Even if you tried to talk to them, they probably wouldn't have anything to do with you, right?" 

"Mhm." I nod in answer.

"Then an unorthodox method..." Sapphire airily throws in her two cents. "To bring them to you, as one picks flowers..."

"N-No," Sol speaks up, a little flustered. "That's not what I meant, of course..."

"The more beautiful the flower, the more you wish to pluck it... to defile it... That is what they say, after all..." Sapphire was off in her own little world. She scares me. We all just kind of ignored her.

"It is more about opinion," Sol clarifies. She turns to me. "As you know, I have a very high opinion of you, " she lies. "But it goes without saying that the other girls here do not share that opinion. That's the key. As government economics has its 'rising tide' strategy, we must make Seraph rise in the same way." Okay... but that just begs the question...

"...How?" Is it even possible to have a high opinion of me?

"Hmmm..." Sol fall into thoughtful silence at my question. "Well, that is the matter up for discussion." She gave up. I don't blame her, though. It's impossible for anything to make me look good. "But if more things happen like what happened today, we should make sure that it show up in the newspaper."

"What happened today?" Chloe and I both ask simultaneously. 

"Have you forgotten already, Seraph?" Sol asks me, a little shocked. I replay today's events in my mind. I can't think of anything that happened that would improve someone's perception of me.

"I guess I must've, yeah."

"It was during gym class..." Sol then went on to explain about how I caught a ball... That's it... That was the thing. I caught a ball. There was literally nothing impressive or special about it, but for some mysterious asinine reason, the girls found it impressive. I can't even.

"Has your hand recovered?" Sapphire asks, unnecessarily concerned.

"It was never hurt in the first place."

"Allow me to see." What is it with her and hands? I don't exactly have a reason to refuse, so I dubiously held out my hand towards her. She starts to poke at it. "My... It's so rough... and hot... and swollen with redness..." 

"Phrasing, Sapphire." I make sure to warn her.

"...I know that's not what she's talking about, but..." Chloe forces a smile with a nervous laugh, seemingly thinking the same dirty thoughts I am. 

Welp. This  has to be one of the most awkward moments I've ever been in. Luckily, a knock at the door saves me from this unfavorable situation. 

"Come in," Sol tell the door. The door opens, and the one who enters is none other than my self loathing personified. It's Luna, just in case you didn't get that.

"Saluta-" She stops in the middle of her greeting as she looks around the room. "Oh my," she murmured, clearly surprised to see four people here.

"Salutations," Sol welcomes her. "Can we help you?" 

"Oh, ah..." Luna stammers a bit. "I expected to find you alone here with Seraph. Can it be that you've joined the Blue Lily society, Bijou Bleu?¹'Blue Jewel.' Sapphire's title"

"Yes." Sapphire tells her with a smile and without hesitation.

"But only those that are elected can serve as representatives..." Confused, Luna turns to Sol for answers.

"We're aware of that," Sol admits. "But as you can see, they aren't wearing ribbons. They are - like Seraph - affiliates. They have chosen of their own volition to help us."

"Affiliates?" Luna clearly had qualms about this. "I've never heard of such a thing."

"You certainly haven't. After all, I thought of the title myself." Sol spoke with nothing less than total smugness grace. Luna let out a resigned sigh.

"...That's just like you. Always so self-serving..."

"You have no reason to be angry," Sol tells her. "Please, have a seat. Calm down and talk to us."

Luna angrily took a seat at the table. Then, she looked again at Chloe. "I am Luna Knight," she politely introduces herself. "I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other from now on. A pleasure."

"I am Chloe Shirley. A pleasure."

"I'm honestly surprised that you of all people would be helping them."

"Yeah, I guess I don't seem the type. It's only been a year since I started coming here, after all..."

"Ah, no, that isn't what I meant." Luna's interest was genuine, and Chloe wasn't sarcastic in her response. This is all very confusing to me. "But, after all..." she glanced at me. Then she pointed at me. "You did slap him."

"Ah haaaa..." Chloe forced a small chuckle and looked down at the table, a little red with embarrassment. 

"When I heard about that, I thought for sure that Seraph was a Serpent Séduisant.²'Seductive Serpent.' Seraph's title." Don't laugh don't laugh don't laugh. "Someone that we had to be rid of at any cost..."

"Ah, well, that was just a little bit of a misunderstanding," Chloe tells her with a crack in her voice. "It's nothing like what people were spreading rumors about..." 

"...Really?" Luna says, a little shocked. Before Chloe could answer her, Luna continued to herself in a whisper. "Yes, I suppose that's true. If it weren't, you wouldn't be sitting with him here..."

"Yeah." Chloe enthusiastically nods, seeing that she's clearing up the misunderstanding she caused.

"Oh, that's right," Sol forces her way into the conversation. "Thanks to the newspaper article, everyone knows what Seraph did, but they don't know yet that they've cleared up the misunderstanding. Perhaps we should get that into the newspaper."

Is that really necessary, though? Chloe seemed to think it was.

"I'd feel a little embarrassed..." she says. "But I guess we have to do it. After all, I don't want Seraph to be labelled as Serpent Séduisant forever, either." Don't laugh don't laugh don't laugh. 

"Then, I will speak to Tabby about the matter myself," Sol says.

"Sapphire." Luna cut off their little conversation and addressed Sapphire. 

"Yes?" 

"I am surprised to see you here. Chloe is his childhood friend, so it is natural that she should be here now that they have reconciled. But you..." Luna narrows her eyes towards her, as if studying her. "Well, why are you here? Tell me, Bijou Bleu. What are you doing in the Blue Lily society?" 

"Naturally, it is because I agree with Sol's goals." She answered without even giving the question a second thought. Luna is shocked into silence. Honestly, I am too. I just thought she joined because she was asked too. Sapphire didn't seem like the type to think about... well... anything, really.

"I didn't know you were such a progressive person, Sapphire," Luna comments.

"I simply never considered the matter before. But now that I've made a close friend..." She trailed off and smiled at Chloe as she spoke. D'aww, friendship!

"I see..." Luna mumbles. She let out another sigh. "I expected to come here and see you despondent."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," Sol boasts. "I've gained more allies and our prospects have never looked brighter."

"Well, I won't stop you from dreaming," Luna claps back at Sol's hubris. The air froze over as Sol stared Luna dead in the eye. It didn't seem like she could take a joke.

"So you are against school reform after all, Luna," Sol says, disappointed.

"After all? It's obvious that I am."

"It's just that you've never spoken to us about it."

"...The subject has simply never come up."

"That may be the case, but... there is one thing I've been wondering."

"What is it?"

"Your opposition to school reform..." Sol hesitated for a bit before continuing. "Does that really come from you, Luna?"

"...What do you mean by that?" Luna was seething. It sounded like she already knew the answer. 

"That is Marie's position, and so that has become your position. Is that not the case?"

"That is NOT the case!" Luna exploded out of her chair in a fit of rage. With the exception of Sol, we all stared at her in shock. It feels like I'm watching another domestic dispute, and I stop breathing because I've Pavlovian Conditioned myself to do so whenever I hear someone shout in an argument. After all, if my parents remembered I exist while they were angry at each other, I was the one that got beat. It's much easier to be still and invisible. "I've always felt this way! Marie maintains the neutrality of the student council. That alone makes your theory obviously wrong."

"Are you certain of that?" Sol gravely asked.

"What?" Luna was appalled at the insinuation. 

"Does Marie really maintain neutrality? I'm not so certain of that, myself." Sol just keeps on pushing.

"...I won't forgive such slander against the president..." Luna's words were harsh, but her voice had no power behind them. She stared downwards, trembling. 

"Capitaine de la Garde,³'Captain of the Guard.' Luna's title.is it?" Sol spoke the title with a slight hint of disgust in her voice. "I believe that your earlier title was far more beautiful..."

Luna bit her bottom lip and shook her head very slightly. Then she looked down at me. I feel my heart stop beating as my mind flashbacks to my childhood. I'm honestly expecting to get a belting at this point. "Well, I hope your enjoying your life at the academy for now, Seraph Thorne." She spat my name as if it were venom. "Because one term of it is all you're going to get." With those parting words, Luna left the room, closing the door behind her with a bang.

Now, how do I breathe again? Was it one breath in, two breaths out?

"Did Luna ever have a different title?" Chloe asks, breaking the silence looming over the room. "By the time I got here, she was already Captain de la Garde..." 

"She acquired her current title around the time we entered Final Course," Sol tells her.

"What was it before?"

"Larme de la Lune. It means 'Tear of the Moon' and refers to the mole under her eye. Don't you think it's lovely?" I gotta admit, I personally think that's a beautiful title. It fits her name and everything. "And now she is 'Captain of the Guard.' I don't know who she is anymore." Sol was despondent.

I'd seriously like to ask Sol about the history between her and Luna, but I still haven't remembered how to breathe. All I can do is assume. My current theory is that the two were friends - maybe best friends - up until last year when Luna met Marie. Luna started hanging around Marie and started spending less time with Sol, which, in turn, made Sol jealous. From the way Sol was talking about Marie earlier, I don't think Sol is very fond of her, so my current hypothesis holds for now.

If I'm being honest, I don't exactly like Marie from what I've seen of her, either. It's not for something petty, like how she kicked me out of my room before sunrise, it's for something I can't exactly put my finger on. It's something about the way she constantly smiles as if she's correct about everything. And the look in her eyes. It's obvious she can see things, but it's also like she can't see anything. Too be more accurate, I just don't think she cares about what she sees, if that makes any sense. She also has this air of righteousness and confidence constantly about her. I know there's nothing wrong with self confidence, but where does she get such confidence from? Is it because her faith in herself is that strong? Or does she blindly place her faith in someone else, so there's no need for her to question if her actions are correct? She's just so creepy to me. 

Wait... Why did Luna come here in the first place? To talk shit? Who knows. 

The mechanisms of another's reasoning and thought is labyrinthine to me.