Talking to Kay, Wallaby could feel a presence behind her. Turning around, she could see a tall girl with straight black hair and soulless eyes giving a small child a piggyback ride.
"Hey Nonna, hey Katya, how are you girls doing?" Wallaby asked the two, as the small girl looked at her.
"Do not shorten my name. I am the great Katyusha," she said, annoyed at Wallaby.
"Yeah, sure, what do you think of the barbecue?" she asked. Katyusha looked around from her elevated position while Nonna continued to stare into Wallaby's eyes, her stoic gaze somewhat scaring Wallaby. Katyusha looked at her again.
"Katyusha likes this barbecue, but I cannot see any pelmeni or stroganoff anywhere." Nonna looked up to Katyusha, before speaking.
"We do have some pelmeni. Nina and Alina were tasked with carrying it over here." As she finished, Wallaby could see two short girls wearing ushankas despite the warm day, as Nina and Alina carried a large container with its lid taken off. Peering inside, Wallaby could see stacks and stacks of what looked like dumplings, which she presumed were pelmeni, as a taller blond girl walked by.
"I have the non non-alcoholic vodka!" she shouted, as she carried two large bottles, one in each hand. Nonna said something to the girl in a foreign language, before the blond girl placed the bottles next to the rest of the drinks brought by the other schools. Barrels of non-alcoholic beer from Kuromorimine, fermented grape juice from Anzio, saké from Chi-Ha-Tan, as well as a barrel of non-alcoholic whiskey from St. Gloriana, beside their tea collection. Now, Wallaby watched as the students from Pravda began to mingle with the other students already there, with Maho chatting away with Nonna as Katyusha got down from her piggyback ride. Now on the ground, Wallaby could see really how small Katyusha was, as she was barely able to see over the various stalls set up. Suddenly, Wallaby could see Maho, as she climbed up onto a stage, holding a pint of beer in her left hand and a microphone in her right.
"I would like to thank Koala Forest and all the other schools who made this possible," said Maho, as she stumbled around. Reaching down, she dragged Wallaby onto the stage, who was still holding her can of non-alcoholic beer. Handing the microphone to Wallaby, she clearly meant for her to make a speech.
"Uh, I'd like to thank everyone for coming, especially the girls from Anzio for helping to set this whole thing up, and the girls from St. Gloriana for a wonderful match. She looked to the girls below, all holding various liquor, before turning to Maho, the two sharing the microphone. Lifting their drinks up into the air, the two girls shouted into the microphone.
"Prost!"
"Cheers!"
Eyre walked over to all the commotion at the center of the barbecue, as she saw Maho from Kuromorimine, as well as Wallaby standing proud on the stage holding a microphone, as Wallaby began to thank the various schools for coming. Gibson and Murray followed close behind, as they squeezed through the crowd of people blocking their path. Suddenly, Eyre stopped, along with her two compatriots, as they saw a massive stockpile of drinks brought by each school. Glancing over the drinks, Eyre found her eyes drawn towards a sticker on the barrels of beer brought over by Kuromorimine. Examining the sticker closer, she could make out the words 'alkoholische getränke'. She immediately realised it was German, as Gibson took out her phone and began to translate the words. Quickly typing it in, the translator spat out its answer. Now, she showed her phone to Eyre and Murray, with the translator showing the words, 'Alcoholic Drinks'. She was shocked by this new revelation, as she inspected all the other drinks. Checking the ingredient lists, she could make out the words 'Alcohol' on all the other bottles and barrels, except a single bottle of saké, with the words 'non-alcoholic printed clearly on the front. Grabbing it, she snuck it away within her clothes, before turning back and walking the other way.
Chugging down her drink, Wallaby could taste the bitterness of her drink, as a slight nauseous feeling rushing over her. Now, she could feel Maho's arm around her, as her own pint was emptied.
"This is great," she said to Wallaby. "It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a party like this." Wallaby laughed, as the two made their way off the stage, nearly falling down. As she stepped off the stage, she could see Eyre and Gibson walking away. She was glad that they weren't doing anything bad, especially now, when everyone was enjoying themselves. Now, Maho had reunited with Erika, as she filled the empty pint with beer as well as handing Wallaby a new can of the Victorian Bitter she had brought. The two quickly found a table to sit down at, with Anchovy pouring herself a glass of the grape juice she had brought with her. Now sitting down, the two faced Anchovy as she put the bottle of juice away and raised her wine glass.
"To the prosperity and the future of Anzio, Kuromorimine and Koala Forest," she said, as Wallaby and Maho raised their own drinks.
"Cheers!" the three of them clinked their glasses together, before drinking. Wallaby and Maho quickly drank their drinks, as Anchovy slowly sipped her juice, as if it was wine, as the three continued to drink.
Weaving through the crowds of people, Eyre continued to make her way out of the crowded center of the barbecue, as Gibson and Murray snatched a few unused glasses and put it in their bags, before they finally emerged from the sea of people. Finally, she met up with Victoria, Tanami, and the others. Finally reunited, the eight of them sat down again, before Eyre told them of the news.
"You know how we messed up the distribution and now all the beer we brought was alcoholic?" she asked, as each of the girls nodded their heads in agreement. "Well, it turns out that literally the drinks brought here were alcoholic, whether it was intentional or by accident." The girls all grinned slightly. As far as they knew, they were the only people that knew what was happening. Eyre now took out the bottle of saké out from underneath her jacket, as Gibson and Murray brought out glasses that they had snuck away. Pouring the saké into the glasses, Eyre could hear Victoria as she asked her a question.
"How long do you think this is gonna go on for before someone blacks out?" Now, the other girls began to blurt out different answers, each more ridiculous than the other. Handing out the glasses of non-alcoholic saké to the other girls, Eyre began to talk over them, shushing them all down.
"There's like a quarter of the bottle left. Whoever guesses the closest time gets the rest of the saké." The girls all nodded in agreement, before clinking their glasses and drinking their saké.
Author's notes
Considering that this chapter will he published at the same time as the previous chapter, there isn't much to say. The one thing I will say is that the updates on the story might be a bit longer than usual, since I am having to juggle two stories right now. As always, if you see it fitting, leave a review, so I know where to improve and to answer any questions.