Chapter Text
"I've been meaning to ask…what's with the bandaid on your cheek?" Sampo asks, pointing a finger on Gepard's cheek a breath away from poking it.
Right, a volleyball landed on his face yesterday. It hadn’t been a big deal after his nose bled so he forgets it easily, only reminded of it when the head maid sticks a bandaid on his wound right before he dashes out of the house… and right now since Sampo brought it up.
“Got scratched by a volleyball,” he answers, hoping the other wouldn’t ask for an elaboration because then he’d have to say that he was spaced out and then he’d have to say why he was spaced out.
Sampo just hummed as a reply; Gepard internally rejoiced. They both lifted up their drinks and took a sip, a calm quietness enveloping the two. Too calm. Gepard can’t help but to set off overthinking.
- Is skipping class really a good idea?
- Of course not. What would father say if he finds out?
- Why agree to Sampo then?
- Maybe because of certain feelings. Because he’s scared of the consequences of being late that he chose to escape. (Admitting that was surprisingly easier.)
- It’s better than being late, no?
- Well, yes. Absence is better than not being punctual but only if you have an excuse. What excuse is valid enough?
He’s startled out of his contemplation when he felt something cold on his ear. When he turns on his side, he catches Sampo retracting his hand holding the cold can of coffee from his ear. Gepard raises a brow in question.
“Whatcha thinkin ‘bout, Geppie?”
“I don’t know what I’d say when they ask me why I wasn't at school today,” he answers honestly.
Sampo beams at him, coming up with an idea already, reminding Gepard with the fact that this is Sampo’s expertise—causing trouble and getting out of trouble. “How about this: ‘Due to the incident yesterday my well-being hindered me from attending class.’,” Sampo says earnestly, his posture straight and lips in a familiar frown, obviously imitating him.
Was that how he sounds like?
“Yes that’s how you sound like, Geppie.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes as he mulls over what Sampo said … is he actually considering his suggestion?! On one hand, it’s the most plausible one. But… it’s from Sampo—then again, is he not a pro at this? It would do him good to follow the advice of an expert!
“You know when you just got here,” Gepard snaps up in attention as Sampo speaks again. Are they changing topics already?! Is this discussion over?! His student council position is at stake here! Heck, he might even change schools if— “my first impression of you was the typical stuck-up rich boy.”
Gepard reels back out of the incredulity of that statement. “I’m massively offended—”
“It’s only a first impression!” Sampo quickly cut him off to amend the situation. “Besides, it was proven false already. You're a hard worker and you treat everyone politely. I see you as a very kind-hearted person now!"
"Thanks." Gepard mutters slowly, still in the midst of dissipating his irritation. "It's just… the word 'stuck-up' is my exact description to people that I'd rather not think about."
Sampo observes him for a second, nodding his head like he came upon a conclusion. "You're bothered. Venting out could help, y'know."
Gepard sighs, letting his emotions get the best of him, he decides to air out his frustrations. "I was a council member at my previous school and it was a nightmare. The president was such a huge jerk so of course he'd attract the same type of people in the organization. All of the officers pass their responsibilities to those below them which includes me because I was a freshman. I wasn't okay with it and I voiced that out. The pressure and competition in that school was insane, I did my best to keep up but adding work that was supposed to be done by others…I just…came close to breaking down but still I persevered because I didn’t want to show any of my shortcomings lest it reach my father’s ears. The last thing I want is to disappoint him and the others didn’t like it. It’s like they’re waiting for me to fail. So, they singled me out. I've put up with it until I indeed broke down. My sister had to beg my father to let me transfer. In the end, after much disputes, he agreed on the condition that I continue to be part of the student council in this school too."
It was the first time he said all of that and somehow, he feels like he can breathe easier. Gepard looks at the boy beside him, just the sight of him makes him feel so much lighter. As if listening to his troubles amounts to sharing the weight of it. Maybe that’s how it works? If so, he resolves to be a better listener the next time his sisters complain to him.
"I've heard a lot about that school. It's where parents send their kids to ensure their bright future. Well, you're already bright, Geppie! Your hair is blonde, your skin is pale—" Gepard rolls his eyes "—putting appearances aside, you're top of the class! You're good at sports! You help teachers and students out! I'd say you could even replace Miss Bronya as the president."
Gepard laughs at that.
Sampo smiles brightly, "Now that you're all cheered up, let's get going!"
"Where are we going next?"
"You'll see when we get there, Geppie."
"I'll go to the washroom first, be back in a bit."
Gepard stands up and makes his way to the public restroom in the park. Once there, he hears sobs coming from one of the cubicles causing his: 'instinct to provide assistance to anyone in need' to act up. He quietly walks to the cubicle to avoid startling whoever was inside.
He knocks on the door before calling out, "What's the matter? Do you need some help?"
The sobs quickly turn into quiet sniffles until it's entirely silent. The door opens revealing a small boy staring up at him with eyes sore from crying out.
"My mom's gone."
"Gone? What do you mean gone?" Surely this kid can't mean— He sees the boy's lips tremble, fearing it would kickstart his crying fit again, Gepard kneels down so they could be eye level with each other. He pats the head of the boy softly, "Can you tell me what happened? My name is Gepard. I promise to help."
The boy, probably sensing his pure innocent intent to help him, concludes that Gepard is not a bad stranger who kidnaps kids like him. He's a good big brother so he could give him his name and tell him what happened. "My name is Zen, I am four years old." The boy says, holding up four fingers in front of Gepard's face.
He smiles, "Okay, Zen. Nice to meet you. Can you tell me what happened?" He repeats kindly.
"There was a black kitty. It was so cute! I wanted to show mom but kitty ran away," Zen sulks, pouting cutely. "I say we follow kitty to mom and we ran to follow kitty. When kitty stops, I say mom to look at it it's so cute but mom is not there. I think she got lost."
"Oh, no, poor child you're the one who's lost."
Gepard and Zen both look up at the newcomer. Sampo was leaning against the entrance of the restroom. Apparently, he's been there long enough to come up with that crass comment.
Zen hides himself behind Gepard, clutching Gepard's uniform. He puts a reassuring hand on the kid's back to appease his anxiety. "Shut up, Sampo," he chides. To Zen he softly says, "It's okay. He's my friend."
"Dear Geppie considers me as a friend!" was what the other retaliated loudly. He glances up at him seeing Sampo wiping off a fake tear. "What a lovely day!" Sampo's booming voice echoes in the restroom.
He rolls his eyes so hard he could see his brain cells dwindling by the minute as he interacts with this guy. "You're so noisy. You're scaring him, Sampo."
"Oh, fine. Sorry." Sampo bends down, hands on his knees, "I'm Sampo, what's your name?"
Zen, instead of introducing himself, hugs one of Gepard's leg pressing his face on it to hide away, breaking eye contact.
"I'm sorry for being loud and saying what I said earlier. I swear I'm not a bad guy. Let me make it up to you with this candy." He put his palm up with candy on top of it in Zen's direction. For a second, Gepard thought it wouldn't work because Sampo was acting exactly like those guys in the movies who pretends to be a saint but then turns out to be a criminal. But when Zen slowly steps out behind him, the scene he witnessed in the nursery yesterday flashes to his mind brazenly without his permission. Another reminder that this is also one of Sampo’s expertise: dealing with children.
"I'm Zen." Zen mumbles, keeping the candy he got in one of his pockets.
Sampo pats Zen's head before he straightens his back up. "So, we're on a mission to get Zen back to his mom! What's our plan, mission partner?"
He stares at Sampo wide-eyed. Then to Zen who looks up at him buzzing with excitement. It seems Zen completely forgot his dilemma and instead sees this as an opportunity for an adventure.
A rumbling stomach cuts off their stalemate.
"Big brothers, Zen's hungry."
Sampo took them to a fast food restaurant where they ordered a kid's meal for Zen that comes with a toy. The two teens watch as Zen happily snacks on his food while playing with his toy. He's in his own world, not a single problem in his way as if there's no mother probably distressed in concern for his missing son.
Gepard, gaining access to the small backpack Zen was wearing, rummaged through the contents of the bag—consent granted of course. He sees a tag inside the bag bearing Zen's name and address. It would've been better if there was an emergency contact number so they could inform the boy's guardian but this would do. He shows his findings to his 'mission partner'.
"Hmm," Sampo rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Are you familiar with the location?"
"Yeah, I pass by in the area on my way home."
"You've done well, partner! We'll be counting on you then!"
"Mission success?" Zen asks the both of them giddily.
Gepard chuckles at the boy's enthusiasm, "It will only be a success once we've reached the goal."
He laughs at his own silly remark. Why does it feel like he's in the presence of two kids going along with their pretend play? His carefree train of thought abruptly stops when someone approaches their table.
"Gepard? How low have you fallen? Was getting kicked out hit you that hard you've become a delinquent now?"
Delinquent? Well, he was skipping class plus there's a bandaid on his cheek, he falls exactly on the stereotype. He can't blame this person for assuming he was a delinquent. He stared coldly at the tall guy wearing the uniform of his previous school, the very president of the student council is right in front him, smirking, a face so smug he had this sudden inexplicable urge to serve him with violence.
How did his train of thought go from a goofy adventure to fighting off against evil? Is he on the path to becoming a delinquent instead? Gepard inhales to calm down This must be puberty, he thought. His hormones are getting crazy, taking him on a literal rollercoaster of emotions.
"You look tired. What, you don't have someone to shirk off your duties to since I left already?" Gepard enunciates each word scathingly, eliciting a stifled snort from Sampo.
"You—"
Gepard gets his uniform grabbed which forces him to stand up from his seat. Sampo was quick to take action however, he immediately grabs the other guy's hand breaking his hold on Gepard. He pushes Gepard behind him, shielding him away from his upperclassmen.
Sampo turns to Gepard as he whispers menacingly, "Take Zen away, I'll handle this villain."
Gepard could only nod. He wears Zen's backpack and carries the boy in his arms for a swift exit from the scene.
"We leaving Sampo?" Zen asks, his head placed above his shoulder, looking over the fast food restaurant's direction.
"Yeah, uh, he has to defeat the villain so we can complete our mission successfully," Gepard relays as what Sampo stated a while ago. He chuckles at the hilarity of it all. He just hopes everything will turn out alright.
It's a day after the very eventful 'Gepard's skipping out day for the first time' and it's lunch break already and there hasn't been once a mention of his absence yesterday.
He was able to get Zen home safely. There was a maid to greet them; the mother was out searching for his son. When Gepard arrived at his own home, having been informed by Sampo via a text message that the 'problem was taken care of ;) let's go home for the day see u tom, geppie! ', the head maid fussed over his unkempt appearance and 'why was there a new scratch on your chin?! ' which he's fairly positive that he got from when he was grabbed back at the restaurant.
There was also an hour (or maybe two?) long talk with Serval when she got home from school about his misadventures for the day. Of course, being the greatest big sister ever, she made no mention of any of it during their talk over dinner with their parents.
Now, a decorated officer with two bandaids on his face, Gepard cautiously listens to the speaker in their classroom as a teacher calls for him to proceed in the faculty office.
It was a sweat-inducing, nerve-wracking, walk to get to the office. His mind's gears were overheating from so much overthinking generating a million of what-ifs per second. He shakes his head before opening the door.
The teacher who called for him owns the table right in front so he's greeted with the teacher's face right as he enters. The teacher gestures for him to take the seat across. Gepard complies, his movements stiff. The teacher notices this, "Don't worry. You're not in trouble, Gepard."
The teacher's smile was gentle but Gepard has half a mind to remain skeptical.
"I called you in because a woman came by a while ago during one of your classes offering her thanks and leaving a contact number for you."
The teacher hands him a calling card and two paper circles with some art on it. He takes both of it with caution. He places the card on his wallet, to be scrutinized later. For now, he focuses on the paper circle. The paper circle was apparently a medal handcrafted with the words "thank you for your service-Zen" along with some cute symbols surrounding it.
Gepard smiles, the other medal must be Sampo's then.
"She wants to express her heartfelt thanks to the kind highschooler for taking care of his son yesterday. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to get a contact but her maid told her of the school the boy goes to as she recognized the uniform."
Oh, right. Gepard left in a rush planning to go back to the restaurant before Sampo texted him there was no need.
"She said it was a Gepard Landau and asked me to relay a message. She has some urgent things to attend to but she stopped by here to make sure you could contact her anytime so she can repay you for your good deed."
Gepard nods, understanding the situation, relief slowly floods his system.
"But why were you not at school yesterday if you were wearing your uniform?"
Gepard momentarily panics. He grips the arm of the chair as he sputters out a response, "I was planning on going but due to the incident last time during p.e., my well-being hindered me from attending class," he can't believe he's saying that. "On my way home, I stumbled on Zen so I took him back first," he adds to make his excuse more valid.
"Understandable."
It worked?! Sampo's a genius—not that he'd tell him about it.
"There's another thing we have to discuss. Are you okay with having that discussion now? Or do you prefer to postpone it later after dismissal?"
"No, I'm perfectly fine with it." He'd rather get whatever this is over with instead of stressing over it the rest of the afternoon. "I've already eaten my lunch so I'm free." That's a lie because he can't even stomach a spoonful of food lest he puke it out of sheer nervousness.
"Okay. Let's talk about you joining the student council."
Gepard stops breathing. Then he feels like hyperventilating the next second. The teacher smiles at him, congratulating him for his achievement erasing all doubts he misheard any of it.
He smiles giddily. Even amidst his slowly staining track record, he managed to reach his goal. He could finally relax a bit, a small pressure taken off his back as his stay in this school will be cemented with his father's condition fulfilled.
Mission success!