The Hermit's Picture

The sewer cover moves and rests at a side. From the round hole on the ground, Odd emerges and looks around.

Odd: (getting out of the sewer) Yep, it's here.
Jeremie: Excellent. Having an entrance from the sewers will ease a lot of things.

Jeremie and Ulrich get out of the sewers and return the cover to its place. All of them stand looking at the cottage, located about 25 feet from the sewer entrance.

Ulrich: It's true that this has a sinister feel.
Odd: You should at least watch out for foxes. (looking at the rest) So… who goes first?

Silence, broken by a sigh from Jeremie, who takes a flashlight out of his bag.

Jeremie: I guess I'm the only one who brought a flashlight, correct?

The other two look at each other.

Odd: Seems like it, Einstein!
Jeremie: Okay, I'll go first then.

Jeremie goes over some piles of rubble and enters the house from the hole that the broken wall left. Once inside, he recognizes a dining room next to a living room. The table is on the floor, with two broken legs, and the drawers from the furniture are misplaced or on the floor. Small sprouts of vegetation cover some sites between removed floor planks. Each step that the kids take make a noise or creak, or moves something.

Jeremie: At least there's not much dust, due to the ventilation. But this place is brought down.
Ulrich: Hey, Jeremie, these table legs are like the ones you were looking for. Should we take them with us?
Jeremie: Maybe before we leave, but it's a good idea.
Odd: Hey guys, I found the stairs.

Odd draws a curtain aside and reveals a large pile of planks and rubble that partially covers the access to the stairs.

Odd: I need a hand with this, though.

The three boys remove the rubble and the planks. A mouse comes out from the pile, startling Ulrich, and flees to the outside.

Ulrich: Curse that rodent!
Odd: Huff, there we go! (points towards the stairs with his palms) Ulrich, would you do the honors?
Ulrich: Hey, Jeremie's the one with the flashlight.
Odd: (mocking) Then why don't you ask him for it?
Jeremie: Don't sweat it, guys, I'll go.
Ulrich: Be careful, Jeremie.

Jeremie turns on the flashlight and starts walking upstairs, followed by Ulrich and then Odd. As they go up, they have to cover their noses due to the dust.

Odd: (coughing, covering his mouth) You spoke too soon about the dust, Jeremie.
Jeremie: (mouth covered) We'd better open some windows, or we'll have a terrible time the whole way.

Once upstairs, they find a narrow corridor with a large broken window, covered by a pair of shutters in bad shape. Ulrich reaches it and violently pushes the shutters, first the one on the left, and then the one on the right. The afternoon light illuminates the place.

The kids make gestures to make the dust go away. After a minute, they uncover their faces.

Odd: Excellent! What now?
Jeremie: I see four doors. Anyone for exploring them?
Odd: Totally. But we only have one flashlight, so I guess we'll go together.
Jeremie: I guess so. Let's go.

They open the first door and see a large-sized room with a double bed in ruins and a curtain bar fallen over it. At one of the corners, there's a wall piano with a broken edge.

Jeremie: A piano! Now that does contain some useful parts. We'll see what we can get from it.
Odd: But maybe it still works! Let's test it before breaking it apart.
Jeremie: Uhh, okay. Ulrich, you know how to play it, right?
Ulrich: Uh, yeah, but…
Odd: Go on, play something!

Ulrich approaches the piano, and plays a C major chord. It sounds terrible.

Odd: Never been a big fan of contemporary music.
Ulrich: It's totally out of tune.
Jeremie: Okay, let's leave it for now. Let's go to the next one.

The kids go to the next room. It's a bathroom. Both the W.C. and the bathtub are torn apart. No bad smells, but a lot of dust. Jeremie coughs.

Jeremie: Nothing interesting here. Next one.

The third door is a small room, with a short bed and night table, both broken. Similarly to the rest of the house, the fabrics are faded and torn.

Jeremie: This looks like a child's bedroom.
Odd: Looks like it.

Jeremie hovers the flashlight over some parts of the room, but doesn't find anything useful.

Jeremie: Anyway, let's look at the last one.

When they open the last door, a dust cloud overwhelms them, making them cough more strongly than before. Some moths fly away with the dust.

Odd: Moths!
Jeremie: Ah, this must be the study!

Indeed, Jeremie illuminates inside, and finds a room a bit larger than the smaller bedroom, with a gigantic bookshelf, full of torn and moth-eaten books. Some of them lie on the floor, mingled with wooden splinters.

Jeremie: Maybe we'll find something interesting here. I'll raise the light a bit more.

The other two boys get inside the room and start picking up books, while Jeremie raises the flashlight. Some moths flutter around the beam of the flashlight. Jeremie picks up a book in relatively good shape, brings it to the light and dusts it.

Jeremie: "The Viking Culture". Hmm, sounds interesting, but half the pages are eaten.

Odd picks up another book, but once he opens it, he finds that it's full of larvae. He drops it immediately in disgust.

Odd: I think I'd rather see the hermit's ghost than having to see that again.
Ulrich: Hey guys, what do you make of this?

Ulrich approaches with a picture frame, that has a broken glass cover. Once he gets it in the light, they are able to see a bit of an image inside that's still intact, under the remaining glass piece. It shows the face of an adult man, with an abundant but short beard and moustache, relatively short and messy hair, and a pair of thick glasses.

Jeremie: Bingo! This is a lot more interesting. I bet someone recognizes this man.
Odd. What do you mean?
Jeremie: Well, the legend tells that the hermit was a teacher in Kadic, right?
Odd: It's true… Do you think it's a picture of him?
Jeremie: It's likely… I'll show it to Mr Delmas. If it's indeed a teacher, I'm sure he'll know about him.
Odd: Good idea. Anything else we want to see here? I think I've dust in my veins already.
Ulrich: Yeah, it's been enough. Let's get out of here, and let's come back some other day. It's not like this is gonna vanish soon.
Jeremie: Yeah, let's go.

Yumi knocks on Sissi's dorm door. The Japanese girl hears how the principal's daughter puts her feet on the floor and walks towards the door to open it. They stare at each other.

Sissi: Ah, Yumi! Welcome.

Yumi just waves her hand. She looks inside the dorm.

Sissi: Come in, come in, please!
Yumi: I wasn't greeted by your welcoming committee this time.
Sissi: What do you mean?
Yumi: Nicholas and Herve.
Sissi: Oh! There was no need. Imagine, you'd be scared away. (gesturing to come in) Are you gonna stay there? C'mon, get in here!

Yumi finally comes in. Sissi closes the door behind her.

Yumi: (sniffs) Rose perfume…
Sissi: My favorite! (gives a worried look) …You don't like it?
Yumi: I'm not really fond of ambient perfumes, but I'm not bothered by it.
Sissi: Oh, but I don't wanna make you uncomfortable! Gimme a sec…

Sissi opens the window.

Sissi: There! Goodbye to the ambient perfume. (looking at Yumi) Take a seat! What do you prefer, the dresser's chair, or the bed?
Yumi: (raises her hand) Wait, Sissi… Before anything, I need an explanation.
Sissi: (frowns) Explanation of what?
Yumi: Why did you ask me to study with you?
Sissi: Well, I already told you, because you're older, and I think you could help me more th…
Yumi: Sissi, I don't know how foolish you think I am, but I'm not that foolish. We don't get along particularly well, your bodyguards have tried to intimidate and even hit me. Unless you state your purpose clearly, I doubt we'll go somewhere today.
Sissi: Okay, okay!

Sissi sighs and lowers her head.

Sissi: My dad's been talking to me… About, you know, my relationship with you all…

Yumi relaxes her posture and looks at the other girl as she frowns.

Sissi: …And well, I wanted to try… well, for us to try to get… to get along a bit better, you know.
Yumi: And why me?
Sissi: Well, because you're the girl of the group… I guess that makes some things easier, you know… girl talks and all that.
Yumi: Hmm, and why study?
Sissi: Well, Yumi, I can't say I know you too much… I thought an instance like this… well, could help us get to know each other better… Maybe later I'll come up with something more of your taste.

Yumi looks around, and sighs.

Yumi: Alright. And is it true you have a test tomorrow?
Sissi: (guilty face) Yeah, that is true. I could have the help, if I'm honest.
Yumi: (gives up) Okay, let's get to it, then. (puts her backpack on the floor and takes out her notes) Louis XIV you said? One of the greater exponents of absolutism, right?
Sissi: Absolutism?
Yumi: Yeah, a government type where the ruler is unique and obeyed unquestionably.

Sissi raises an eyebrow, interested.

Jeremie heads to the principal's office. After scheduling a meeting with Ms Weber, he waits for a moment. Then, Ms Hertz gets out of the room, joined by Delmas.

Delmas: See you later, Suzanne.
Ms Hertz: Goodbye, Jean-Pierre, good afternoon.
Delmas: (notices Jeremie) Jeremie! It's not often that you come here. I hope it's not because you've got yourself in trouble.
Jeremie: Hello, Mr Delmas. No, I've come on my own.
Delmas: Hm? And what's your purpose?
Jeremie: Uh, I'd rather talk about it in private.
Delmas: (raises an eyebrow) Very well, let's get into my office.

The principal moves aside so Jeremie can come in. After he does, Delmas closes the door behind him and goes sit in his desk. He offers Jeremie a seat and the kid sits down as well.

Delmas: Does this have something to do with Sissi?
Jeremie: (giggles) No, no, not at all. Since last time, things have gone a lot better. Thank you, by the way.
Delmas: You're welcome, Jeremie. Being daughter of an authority does not give her permission to conspire against her classmates, even less when it comes to exceptional ones. But I digress. How can I help you?
Jeremie: (looks in his bag) You see, Mr Delmas, I've been investigating some information in the library for Physics class, and among some books I found… Hold up… Ah, here it is! (takes out the picture without the frame, offers it to Delmas) Do you know who he is, by any chance?

Delmas holds the picture in his hands, adjusting his glasses. When he looks at it, he raises his eyebrows and opens his eyes in surprise, but then hides it immediately and frowns.

Delmas: Ah! Yes, I know who this is. It's a former teacher from this establishment. Where did you say you found it?
Jeremie: In a Physics book in the library.
Delmas: Do you remember which book?
Jeremie: Uhh, not really… But it was big, maybe larger than four hundred pages.
Delmas: Okay. Your finding is interesting. Must have been a book that he contributed to the library.
Jeremie: What was his name?
Delmas: His name was Franz, Franz Hopper. He was a rather kind man, and quite smart as well. His students spoke well of him.
Jeremie: (frowns) Franz Hopper…?
Delmas: Yes, that was his name. Germanic, for sure; despite his excellent French, you could still recognize an accent somewhere.
Jeremie: When did he teach here?
Delmas: A few years ago… (looks to the ceiling) About six or seven, I think. He did not last long, only a few months. You didn't get to meet him, I presume.
Jeremie: I doubt that, I only arrived here three years ago. What came of him?
Delmas: Honestly, I don't know. One day, he did not come to school without a warning. I went to look for him to his house – he lived in the hermitage next door, or so he said – but he never showed up.
Jeremie: How curious.
Delmas: One of the most curious things I've lived. Maybe something happened to him, or he wasn't who he claimed to be and came here for a short while… But if so, nobody in Kadic knew about it.
Jeremie: Do you remember whether he had a family?
Delmas: I honestly don't know, Jeremie. He was very reserved about his life outside Kadic. Why are you interested in this, Jeremie?
Jeremie: Oh! It's nothing, I just wanted to confirm a version I recently heard about the hermit's myth… You know, the myth about the cottage next door, where you said Mr… Mr Hopper lived.
Delmas: Ah, yes, the myth of the hermit. Well, it's true that the myth came to be shortly after Franz's disappearance.
Jeremie: Is that so? Why?
Delmas: As I recall, several students and a few teachers said to have heard noises that came from the other side of the eastern wall, especially at night.
Jeremie: Wow… What sort of noises?
Delmas: Any kind: footsteps, voices, objects breaking or being tossed… But after a while, I stopped hearing those reports. I can see that the myth trascended and got to your ears.
Jeremie: I see that as well. And you never heard those noises?
Delmas: To be honest, I never experimented them by myself; when I got informed of them, the noises had already faded once I got there. Besides, given they were mostly reported at night, it wasn't that easy to find me, as you'll imagine.
Jeremie: And what do you think those noises were?
Delmas: I suppose they must have been thieves that found out the house was abandoned. Any other option – and I can assure you I've heard all sorts of versions – sounds conspiranoid, if I'm being honest.
Jeremie: I see. Okay, that's all I wanted to know. Thank you for your time, Mr Delmas, I won't bother you anymore today.
Delmas: Thank you, Jeremie, I must continue my work. (stands up)

Jeremie takes the photograph from the desk. Delmas looks at him as he frowns.

Delmas: You want to keep the picture?
Jeremie: (drops it) Can I, sir?
Delmas: It's a picture of a stranger, why would you be interested in keeping it?
Jeremie: (smiles) It's not any stranger, it's the hermit's ghost. It's a souvenir of great value among Kadic's students.
Delmas: (sighs) Alright. I would ask you to keep it between you and your closer friends, though. I'd hope you would not show it to anyone, but I guess your friends have already seen it.
Jeremie: No problem, Mr Delmas. I promise its existence won't be known outside my circle of friends and you.
Delmas: Thank you, Jeremie. (heads to the door and opens it) Have a good afternoon.
Jeremie: You too, sir. (goes out)

- END OF CHAPTER 23 -