"So," I deadpanned, propping my head up on the table with my hand, "care to explain why you're here? Again?"

Rosa sipped her cup of water in absolute leisure. "Glitcherman- wait, no. What was his real name again?" She seemed to think about this for a moment. "The knight guy. You know, the one we talked about."

I frowned, lifting my head up a little. "Um. Zerningman?"

"Zimmerman, that's right." She nodded. "Zimmerman's practicing out on the fields again. Couldn't risk it."

"Didn't you say the same thing last week?"

"Mmhm. Can't have the first meeting event happen." She shuddered so hard that the water in her cup spilled a bit over the rim.

I dropped my head back on my hand with a sigh. "Aren't you being a little too, I don't know, paranoid about this guy? He hasn't even done anything to you yet."

She looked at me seriously. "And I intend to leave it that way."

Heh, that was so Rosa-- so stubborn that Roly Poly had long given up trying to convince her of anything. "Why do you hate him so much again?" I asked, blinking up at her lazily. "All you told me about him is that he's a playboy. Is that so bad?"

Rosa sipped her water for a second longer. She placed the cup down gently on the table, then leveled me with a look so dead that I momentarily gulped. "Filian, Filian, Filian," she sighed. "You're only saying that because you don't know him. There is nothing in this world that is as annoying as Gli-- as Zimmerman, Filly." The yellow of her eyes had never been as dull as it was now. In a fast, soft voice, she said, "If he sees me, he'll flirt, he'll say something cheesy, because he chases every single being with a skirt on and I am the heroine with a skirt on and also absurdly pretty which means that I am number one priority for his chases and when that happens, if I flirt back he'll like it, and if I reject him or ignore him he'll say I've never been ignored before how fascinating and chase me and it will never end, and then at least two people will be at risk of dying all because I met him one time, one time, and he thinks he's the best guy for me at the graduation ball and lives are at stake here, Filly. Lives!" She drew in a deep breath then exhaled out slowly. "And that, my dear Filly, is why I'm here."

"...hng," I said, very coherently. "Oh. Wow. Um. That... that sounds, uh, important."

"That's right."

She took a few more sips of water. I craned my neck to look at the window behind her. Ah, what a good day. The chirps of the birds were so pretty today. Autumn was coming along. Leaves were turning colors, weren't they. I watched the path of a yellowing leaf falling slowly and gently to the ground. What a peaceful afternoon to--

"Wait, wasn't there something super arrogant in that long speech she just said?" I muttered to myself. "Something about being absurdly pretty?"

Rosa acted as if she hadn't heard me, but she flipped over a silky strand of hair with a suddenly coquettish expression.

I straightened up, my frown deepening. "And isn't your argument weird? For people to die just because someone likes you? At first sight??"

She shrugged, suddenly finding her cup absurdly interesting and worthy of deep and close inspection.

I slammed my hand on the table. "Hey!" I cried. "Was I agreeing to your rant?"

"You agreed, not me," Rosa shot back. "And forget it. You wouldn't understand anyway. It's the burden of the preordained heroine." She raised the cup of water to her lips and peered at me huffing over the rim. After she swallowed, she said, "And come on, even if you don't really get my hatred of the Glitcherman--

"The what?"

"--there's nothing really wrong with me visiting you weekly."

"Yeah, but school started last week, and you need to catch up! You should be studying for your classes, not playing around like this."

She brightened at the mention of classes. "My other reason for coming!" she crowed, suddenly jumping up. She beamed. I batted the sparkles away with practiced ease. "I came here to tell you how well I'm going along with my plan!"

"Blegh," I replied immediately. I drew back and made a face. She only laughed, like the lunatic she could be.

The previous week when she had come down, I'd told her in all seriousness about the letter and how suspiciously it had been stolen. Rosa had looked sheepish and had reluctantly said, "That was part of the plan, but I think I forgot to tell you."

I'd almost flipped a table myself.

"I still haven't forgiven you for the letter thing," I warned her, now that she'd reminded me of that.

At least she knew to wince at that. "Okay, yeah, that was really bad of me. But please, Filly? Won't you hear me out?" She sat back down and looked up at me with pleading eyes. "You're the only one I can brag to about all of this! Nobody else would understand!"

I turned away before her sparkling eyes heartlessly drew out a 'yes' from me, like the countless times Rosa used this expression. "I don't understand either," I retorted.

She scurried over to where I was facing and clasped her hands together. "Please? Please? Please?"

"No! Go away! I need to put medicine on my back!"

"I'll put it on for you!"

"No need! Go away!"

"Please!"

"No."

"Pleease!"

"No!"

"Pleeaase, Filly? Filly!"

I shook her off me. "Guh," I growled. After glaring at her for a moment, I kicked her in the shin. While she hopped around yowling, I sniffed and turned my head away. "I'll be back in ten minutes. You can talk to me then."

"Hehe. Yay!" she cheered weakly, still rubbing her shin. "Totally worth it!"

For the next half hour, I had to listen to her rambling on and on about all the times she avoided Glitcherman and an Elias Richards. I wasn't sure who he really was, except that he was a teacher and wore glasses. Oh, and he had green hair. 

"Which reminds me!" she said, bouncing in her seat happily. "Want to go to the Midelus parade with me next week? I need an excuse to avoid everyone else's invitations."

"You got invitations to the parade?"

"No, but I might. You're my backup plan."

"Wow, thanks," I said dryly. But since I had no reason not to go, I agreed.

"Let's see, have I already told you about the guy who always dies?" She tapped her chin. "Leonard Avelaide. Have I talked about him yet?"

I shook my head. "You only talked about Glitcherman and the green-haired guy."

Rosa ran her fingers through her hair, inspecting her curls. As if there could be anything wrong with those always-perfect-I-literally-wake-up-like-this waves of hers. "He... hasn't come to classes yet," Rosa said slowly, furrowing her eyebrows. "That's strange, he's supposed to... hmm. Maybe this is proof of my plan working. Eh," she shrugged. "Whatever. He's supposed to be in my honors class."

"Your mathematics class?"

Rosa nodded. "He's supposed to be a genius, like Prince Alexander."

I whistled. "The Crown Prince? Have you seen him yet?"

"Of course I did! I told you last time, didn't I? That I need to go his route?"

Well, yes, but not everyone just announced they were after the Crown Prince and was confident they'd make him fall for them. And I still wasn't very sure what his 'route' meant. I chuckled. "And? How far have you progressed?"

"I haven't actually greeted him yet. It's not my time--"

"What!" I gasped, feigning betrayal. I put an offended hand on my chest. "Excuse you! And you say that you're going to attract his attention how?"

She rolled her eyes at me. "I was saying, it's not my time to meet him yet. That will happen in three days, when I lose my notes." She held up three fingers, as if that would help me understand what she was saying.

"If you say so," I sighed. "Just don't make him mad, Ro. Don't want to be caught up in prison," I half-joked.

"Oh, that would be horrible," she responded. "The royal jail rooms are full of rats, you know. And ticks." She made a face. "Ticks sound just awful."

The smile on my face froze. How did she...? "I don't even want to know," I mumbled, shaking my head a little.

The bell tower outside started clanging right at that moment. "Looks like it's already five," I noted, standing up. I stretched my arms. "Time to go down and get ready for work."

"You have the afternoon shift today?"

"Yeah." I squeezed my eyes shut and squared my shoulders. "Oh right, did I tell you?"

"What?"

"I think we have a new regular." I rolled my head around, groaning at the pain it caused my neck. "He's super quiet and always orders nonalcoholic cocktails, but I'm betting with auntie Dela and Mother Lily that he's actually a government official. He has that kind of, you know," I wiggled my fingers at Rosa, "that high-off aura, you know?"

"Does he dress super nicely?" she asked, standing up as well.

"No, and that's the weird thing." Rosa hugged my mom goodbye and we walked downstairs together. "He has pretty shabby clothes, almost like he's one of the row people"-- the people in the row three streets down from here were always in dire straits, more so than the rest of the town-- "but then he doesn't smell bad like them."

Rosa considered this as we clomped down the stairs. "How often does he come?"

"Every day. And, get this, not even auntie Gret knows anything about him." Rosa raised her eyebrows at this, and I nodded, a grin quirking up my lips. Auntie Gret knew everyone and everything that happened in town, and even if she didn't, she would know about it in three days, max. "We're thinking he's actually here to rate the restaurant."

"Whoa, is Cook getting his big break?"

I laughed. "You should see him go! Cook acts like he doesn't know all the rumors, but he's been polishing his pots and pans with so much satisfaction these days. I'm just hoping we aren't making him expect too much from something so little."

"Try talk to the guy," suggested Rosa. "Maybe he'll drop a few more clues."

"On it," I winked, grinning at her. "But for now, go check on the little ones and Mother Lily, will you?" My smile dropped off my face and I gave her a worried look. In a quieter voice, I said, "Ryan's been getting hurt a lot, you know. He tries to hide it from the smaller ones, but all his clothes keep getting ripped. He won't show us if he's getting hurt anywhere, but last week after you left, Mother Lily found a giant bruise above his knee."

"Oh, Ryan," Rosa sighed. "'Kay. I'll see if I can get anything out of him." She grimaced. "But he's been so rebellious these days, he hates talking to me. I can't guarantee anything."

With that, she left out the front door, and I went to the back, totally forgetting to mention what Paul had said about Idel's pursuers for the second week in a row.