The Great Escape Plan
"I want to eat pork cutlet," I said softly, hugging my bag tight. Since the dinosaur backpack already held a packed lunch Amy had prepared for me, my words were nothing more than a wishful pipe dream.
"Pork cutlet, you say?"
"Yes!"
But Hairi, standing beside us, nodded at my words, seemingly unaware of the situation.
Just as Amy’s eyes began to narrow, Rain, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly raised her hand and shouted, "I want hamburger steak!"
"I'll have whatever Jeff is having," Shine added.
As the menu items started piling up one after another, Hairi grew busy. He tapped away furiously on his phone screen, scrambling to write down our orders.
"Wait, what about the lunches I packed..." Amy sighed, her voice trailing off, but there was no way I was giving up on crispy pork cutlet.
"I'll eat it after I finish this!" I pleaded, clinging to Amy's leg. Looking up at her from my sprawled position, I saw the corner of her mouth twitch.
"Um... what about the two of you?" Hairi asked cautiously. The only ones who hadn't ordered yet were Amy and Victor.
"I'm fine," Amy said.
"None for me either," Victor replied.
And so, only Shine, Rain, and I would be getting food delivered. Amy pulled the packed lunches out of her bag right where she sat, while Victor fished a small energy bar from his pocket and popped it into his mouth. I swung my dinosaur backpack back and forth, eagerly waiting for the delicious pork cutlet. I wondered what the cutlet here would taste like. I was so excited.
After a brief wait, the door opened, and the pork cutlets and hamburger steak were delivered. My mouth watered automatically at the sight of the massive portions served on wide plates. Hairi took the plates himself and set them down in front of us.
"Thank you!" I yelled happily, grabbing my knife and fork.
"Jeff. Shall we move you to a different spot?"
I was just about to plunge my "sword" into the body of the pork cutlet when Amy stopped me in my tracks. Standing up, Amy picked up my plate and Shine's, then looked around the room.
"Is there a small desk we could use? It'll be a disaster if the kids spill food on the documents while eating."
"If that's what you need...!" At Amy's request, Hairi sprang into action. He dashed out of the room and quickly returned carrying a small table and folding chairs. He was incredibly fast.
Clack, clack, clack—
Without Amy having to say another word, a dining area was perfectly set up in the corner of the room for Shine, Rain, and me. Amy placed our plates on the table.
"Eat quietly, and don't spill anything."
"Okay~"
As I nodded in response, Rain also stood up, balancing her plate on top of her head. Keeping it perfectly steady with both hands, she scurried over and plopped down at our little table. And so, our meal began. I sneaked a glance over my shoulder and saw Amy, Victor, and Hairi deep in conversation about work. They didn't seem to be paying us any attention at all.
Nom, nom. The savory aroma of the pork cutlet filling my mouth instantly put me at ease.
"Rain."
"Mmph." Rain answered. Her voice was completely muffled by the salad stuffed inside her mouth. Her chubby cheeks puffed out as she chewed. I looked around and lowered my voice. Now was the perfect opportunity, while Amy's attention was occupied elsewhere.
"Hey, is there anywhere fun around here?"
"Fu—*gulp*." Rain tried to open her mouth to answer, but realizing she couldn't speak with her mouth full, she swallowed everything in one big gulp before replying. "Somewhere fun?"
"Yeah. It's so boring here," I said, looking around. It looked like a neatly arranged reception room, but there was absolutely nothing for Shine and me to play with.
"Hmm..."
"You don't know?"
"Yeah. I only ever came here for work, so I'm not sure if there's the kind of place you're looking for, Jeff."
"Then, Rain, how about we go on a building exploration after we finish eating?"
"An exploration...?"
"Yeah!" I kicked my feet in excitement. When you visit a strange new place, isn't it only natural to go on an adventure? Lucy always did that. Whenever she arrived somewhere unfamiliar, she would thoroughly prepare and then scout out the area.
"Amy will scold us."
"But Amy is busy right now. If we get back before she notices, won't it be fine?"
At my words, Rain let out an awkward chuckle and glanced over at Amy. Blink, blink. Rain's cute eyes blinked slowly. Her sky-blue eyes reflected the image of Amy working diligently.
"It's probably going to be hard."
"Why?"
"Amy is super sharp."
"Well, that's true..." I sighed, my shoulders slumping at Rain's words.
"Jeff."
"Yeah?"
Just then, Shine, who had been quietly decimating her pork cutlet, spoke up. She was already wiping her mouth with a wet wipe, having finished her food.
"I'll help you."
"You will, Shine?"
"Yes. Because it's what you want, Jeff."
"How?"
"I'll find the perfect timing. When I do, we'll open the door and slip out. No one will notice."
"Is that really possible?"
"Yes. Because you want it, Jeff. I'll make it possible."
To be honest, I didn't fully understand what Shine meant, but I was deeply touched that she was saying this for my sake. Clutching my chest, I gently leaned my head against Shine's shoulder.
"Thank you, Shine."
"Mmh."
"Wait, wait, hold on. Shine, Jeff. Do both of you really think that's possible?"
"Yes."
Rain, who had been slicing her hamburger steak, shook her head as she chimed into our conversation. She clearly didn't believe Shine.
"Rain, Shine can do anything."
"I know Shine is amazing, but escaping this room right under Victor and Amy's noses is impossible."
"Why?"
"Just watch." Rain said, setting her knife down on the table. "They probably can't even hear our voices from over there, right?"
"Yeah." And indeed, the three of us had been whispering as quietly as possible.
"At first glance, it looks like they aren't paying attention to us at all, right?"
"Yeah." I nodded. Neither Victor nor Amy was even looking in our direction.
"But they are." Rain said, slowly moving her arm across the table. With a subtle nudge of her hand, the knife resting on the edge of the table slipped and fell toward the floor.
Or so I thought.
In that split second, a subtle current rippled through the air.
Electricity. A blue line.
A straight beam of blue light shot out and wrapped around the falling knife. I didn't perceive this with my eyes. I only recognized it because Victor, who shared the same ability as me, had activated his power.
Crackle!
The blue current flickering in the air caught the knife before it could hit the ground.
"Rain."
"Yes?"
"Be careful."
"Thank you!"
The knife hadn't fallen. It was just floating in midair. An almost invisible, faint current of electricity was stretching out from Victor's hand. When Rain reached out toward the knife, the current wrapping around it vanished in an instant. The knife dropped safely into Rain's hand.
"See?"
"Whoa..."
"It's not just Victor. Amy is the same way."
I could only nod blankly. I felt a little touched by the fact that they were keeping such a close eye on us while pretending not to. But separate from that, I felt a bit sad that we wouldn't be able to explore this massive building.
"Shine, I guess we can't do it."
"No, I can do it." Shine shook her head.
To me, it just sounded like a child's stubbornness. I silently patted Shine's head.
"I'll show you later."
"Show me what?"
"How to leave without anyone noticing."
"But Shine, you saw that too. There's no way we can escape Amy and Victor's eyes."
"It's fine."
Shine merely wore a confident expression.
After devouring the delicious pork cutlet, I started eating the packed lunch Amy had prepared while drawing up our plan. Of course, this was strictly hypothetical—based on the assumption that we actually succeeded in slipping past Amy and Victor's gaze. Shine, Rain, and I agreed on how we would move if we made it out.
"There's a training ground on the floor right below us," Rain said.
"A training ground?"
"Yeah. It's probably similar to the place where you trained, Jeff."
"They do that kind of stuff here too?"
"Mmh. There are some minor differences, but the general idea is the same."
"That sounds fun."
"It is. It's pretty fun watching the young trainees."
I pulled a sketchbook out of my bag and began drawing a map. It was a map drawn entirely based on Rain's memory. At the very top, I drew Amy and Victor. This was the floor we were currently on. Right below it, I drew a spacious training ground.
"What's the layout like inside?"
"It's not much different. Aside from the training equipment being a bit different."
"Hmm."
I roughly sketched out the training ground, piecing together the details.
"Perfect."
Since I didn't have a pen, the map drawn in crayons looked incredibly charming. Shine, who was watching from beside me, nodded in satisfaction.
"What's below that?"
"Hmm. I think there was a lounge."
"A lounge?"
"Yeah. They said it's a space built for the staff working here to take a quick break."
"What's in there?"
"Lots of drinks and snacks. And some simple arcade games?"
I pulled out a red crayon and drew a big circle right below the training ground. This was our destination.
"Alright. This is where we're going."
"Assuming we can get out, that is."
"Yep."
The plan was perfect. I hid the map inside my backpack and hugged it tight. The big dinosaur on the bag flapped its arms as if it were suffocating.
"So, how are we going to get out?"
"Hmm..."
Although our mealtime was completely over, their work-related conversation showed no signs of ending. I watched them nod as they exchanged words.
"Just watch."
Shine packed her lunchbox back into her bag and stood up. Rain and I sat side-by-side, watching to see what Shine would do. Standing straight up, Shine glared into empty space.
"Shine is glaring at nothing," Rain whispered.
"Yeah."
The direction she was glaring in was right toward Amy and Victor.
"Hah!"
With a tiny battle cry, Shine thrust both her arms forward.
"Shine is trying to do something!"
"Whoa!"
Rain and I clung to each other, holding our breath in suspense. Shine's outstretched arms began to tremble. Her tightly squeezed eyes shook with effort as well.
Yet, nothing seemed to change with Victor and Amy.
Phew—
Just then, Shine let her hands drop and exhaled a small sigh.
"We can go now."
With that, Shine walked toward the door with light, airy steps.
"Ah, Shine...!" I called out to her in a hushed whisper. If she walked out so openly, Victor and Amy would definitely notice.
But... wait. What was going on?
Strangely enough, absolutely no one paid any attention to Shine's movements. Walking briskly, Shine placed her hand on the doorknob and looked back at us. She raised her small hand and gestured for us to follow, as if telling us to hurry up.
Rain and I rose hesitantly and began to waddle toward Shine with awkward steps. My legs were shaking so much I could barely walk. Rain seemed to be in the same boat, trembling as she clung tightly to my arm.
"If Amy catches us, we're going to get it."
"Yeah."
"Amy's noogies really hurt..." Rain muttered under her breath.
But despite her worries, even as we approached the door, Amy and Victor didn't turn their heads once.
"Let's go!" Shine said energetically, flinging the door wide open.
Rain and I gasped and clung to each other in terror at her bold action, but absolutely nothing happened.