TBBS 03

Chapter 03…..

Olivia’s room was identical in layout to mine.

The only differences were the little lamp with a pretty shade on her nightstand, and some small decorations like a mirror, a picture frame, and a snow globe.

But nothing struck me as a luxurious item.

A model of the nobility that Scandinavia and Jante would approve of. Of course, it could just be that I lacked the eye to recognize something valuable.

Olivia sat down on the edge of the bed and casually patted the spot next to her.

“My room’s a bit messy. Sit down and open the WG app. I’ll help you with the dorm verification.”

According to Olivia, a new password for dorm verification was issued once a month.

With her help, I successfully completed the verification within minutes.

Once I entered the bulletin board, anonymous posts tagged with each dormitory name popped up in a long list.

Olivia giggled and tapped the very first post.

WGStudentbostäders

Title: [Lagerlöf] Anyone know why W quit swimming?

Not a personal curiosity, but… does this mean our school just lost a swimming medal?

Reply
[Tiselius] If it’s not personal curiosity, then you better be on the swim team or at least Siegbahn, right?
↳ [Tiselius] Bro, chill. Don’t make Lagerlöf cry.

[Siegbahn] W quit swimming? For real? First I’ve heard of it.

↳ [Hammarskjöld] If you don’t know, stay out. News about W would be something the RS (*ROYAL-Sällskapet: noble club) kids know.

[Lagerlöf] You’re not RS or Siegbahn, so shut up, Tiselius.

[Tiselius] Lagerlöf, are you actually crying?

After reading all six comments, Olivia shook her shoulders with laughter.

“Siegbahn is Erik’s dorm, you know. Ugh, I swear, all of Lagerlöf’s shame comes from Christina Oxenstierna. She embarrasses us every single time.”

I recalled what Christina had said earlier and asked cautiously:

“If she really wrote this, do you think she would’ve said the same thing openly at the table just now?”

“Of course.”

Olivia nodded vigorously.

“Didn’t you see that girl fussing over her earlier? Karin Rapaport. She does anything Christina wants, like some handmaiden of Queen Christina from the 17th century. I bet Karin’s the one who wrote this.”

Naturally, gossiping is one of the easiest ways to bond with someone.

But since today was my very first day at Brängel, I felt a little uncomfortable.

Olivia seemed to notice my expression and quickly added, as if coming to her senses:

“Sorry! I think I just gave you too biased a picture. Honestly, if it weren’t for Erik Brängel, Christina wouldn’t bother with us at all. She wouldn’t even care.”

Really? As far as I knew, the Salviuses were also an esteemed noble family. But still, maybe not on the same level as the Oxenstiernas?

Then again, would she care if a scholarship student happened to be working three times a week in the same place as Erik Brängel?

I didn’t have to ask—I already knew the answer.

So instead, I forced down a sigh and said politely:

“Thanks for showing me the dorm board, Olivia. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve gone the whole semester without even knowing this existed.”

Finally erasing her awkward expression, Olivia giggled.

“Just don’t set up keyword alerts for ‘transfer student’ or anything. Sometimes it’s better not to know.”

Keyword alerts?

That thought had never even crossed my mind…

I gave a dry laugh and let her words pass.

The next day, after school.

On my way to the library, I desperately hoped that—for whatever reason—Erik Brängel’s internship might have fallen through.

But no such luck.

Erik had arrived before me and was already sitting at a large desk.

Across from him sat the librarian, and on his left, what looked like a senior intern. Which meant I had to sit on his right.

The older intern kept sneaking startled glances at Erik.

Well, Erik Brängel certainly did look out of place in a library.

But the librarian clapped her hands as if nothing were unusual.

“Wow, our Brängel library finally has a full set of interns. I’m so glad. Right, Maya?”

While the one called Maya gave an awkward smile, the librarian quickly introduced us all.

“This is Maya. She’s a veteran intern in her third year, though she works Tuesdays and Thursdays, so you won’t see her often. This is Vivi, a second-year transfer student with prior library intern experience, so I trust she’ll adjust well. And then…”

She looked at Erik and sighed with a half-smile.

“Erik, Maya knows who you are, of course. But just so you know, your reputation won’t be much use here. Being famous won’t make missing books magically fall into your hands. Got it?”

Rather than favoring the heir of Brängel, she seemed to be warning him. But Erik only shrugged, completely unfazed.

“Still, you won’t regret hiring me. If you ever want to rearrange the furniture, make sure you wait until I’m around.”

Ah. Considering his shoulders looked broad enough to span the Atlantic, that did sound convincing.

And with that one line, Erik Brängel effortlessly won the librarian over again.

Beside her bright smile, Maya pushed up her glasses with a serious expression.

“Since we have more people now, we might even be able to hold a collection during the semester.” (*collection: a display of books grouped by theme, regardless of classification)

“Exactly, that’s wonderful! Alright, let’s divide the tasks.”

And with that, the librarian eagerly began assigning duties.

Once we’d each been given our sections, I looked up to find Erik staring blankly at his.

Typical of someone brand-new to library work—he didn’t even recognize a DDC (*Dewey Decimal Classification) code.

The librarian chuckled and, unfortunately, said:

“If you have questions, ask Vivi first, Erik. You’re in the same class, right?”

I tried not to sigh out loud, but then Erik’s gaze locked with mine and I flinched.

How long had he been staring? Those deep green eyes looked straight into me as he said:

“Sure. I’ll be counting on you, transfer student.”

That was the second time he’d told me he was “counting on me.”

With a sinking feeling, I lifted one shoulder in a shrug.

“Well… if it’s something I know, I’ll help.”

That very night, just before bed, I glanced at the dorm bulletin board and saw a post with a headline that stood out.

WGStudentbostäders

Title: [Hammarskjöld] Amazing news for all the crying Lagerlöfs!

I saw W in the library today—wearing an intern badge.

Reply
[Tiselius] What nonsense. Did Hammarskjöld eat poisonous mushrooms at dinner?

[Siegbahn] As if W would ever work as a library intern, lol.

[Hammarskjöld] I saw it with my own two eyes. I’ll bet my next semester’s grades it’s true.
↳ [Tiselius] ??? Aren’t you graduating this semester?

[Siegbahn] Speaking as Siegbahn: false info. If we’re talking about that W, I know he already maxed out his EC credits. Much less in our school library? Everyone, get a grip and focus on your applications.

[Siegbahn] [RS Announcement] Using the anonymity of the board to publicly—or falsely—post private information can result in legal consequences.

[Lagerlöf] I’ll ask the library to confirm. Thanks!

At times like this, my grandfather had a favorite saying.

Ah, yes. Out of the frying pan, into the fire.