A Pound Sterling/Transcript
label en_L2: A POUND STERLING
scene bg school_dormhisao with locationchange
NARRATOR: ""Saturday. My second most favorite day of the week."
NARRATOR: ""This is almost entirely due to the fact that it is the day with the second least amount of school, with class ending at the beginning of lunch."
scene bg school_dormhallway with locationchange
NARRATOR: "I open my door confidently, myself being more than confident of being able to get enjoyment out of the fine weather and shorter class length."
scene bg school_dormhallground with locationchange
$ renpy.music.set_volume(0.2, 0.0, channel="ambient") play ambient sfx_footsteps_hard
NARRATOR: "I confidently stride down the hallway and down the stairs to the lobby of the male dorms."
$ renpy.music.set_volume(0.6, 4.0, channel="ambient")
NARRATOR: "I confidently look behind me to see whose footsteps are approaching."
$ renpy.music.set_volume(1.0, 4.0, channel="ambient")
NARRATOR: "I... lose my confidence in this day being enjoyable."
stop ambient play music music_kenji fadein 0.5
show kenji happy:
center xpos 0.4 easein 0.5 xpos 0.5
with charaenter
KENJI: "Hey man. Sup?"
HISAO: "Not much I guess, just looking forward to the afternoon. You?"
show kenji happy_close at center with characlose
NARRATOR: "He wraps an arm around my slumped shoulders far too comfortably. Something's up."
show kenji neutral_close with charachange
KENJI: "Let's step outside, shall we?"
HISAO: "I was just about to, before you stopped me."
show kenji tsun_close with charachange
scene bg school_dormext_full with locationchange
NARRATOR: "He doesn't take my reaction to his theatrics well. Ignoring him, I walk outside and start down the steps."
NARRATOR: "It doesn't take too long for him to catch up with me again. I wonder if he wants money, or to rant about another conspiracy. Maybe both."
show kenji tsun:
center xpos 0.6 easein 0.5 xpos 0.5
with charaenter
KENJI: "I've got a bone to pick with you."
HISAO: "Uh huh."
KENJI: "It's about that blonde. You know who I'm talking about."
NARRATOR: "Conspiracy it is. For a moment I contemplate feigning ignorance, but realize this will go quicker if I just let him get it all out."
HISAO: "Lilly? The one from your class?"
show kenji rage at center with vpunch
KENJI: "You're on first name terms with her?!"
NARRATOR: "He looks positively shocked at this development. Did he not expect me to be able to answer?"
show kenji tsun with charachange
NARRATOR: "He gathers himself and coughs into his fist. Dramatically, like everything he does."
KENJI: "Well, never mind that. I'm here to warn you. You know. Man to man."
HISAO: "Warn me about what? Lilly?"
KENJI: "Yeah. You don't know her, man."
NARRATOR: "It's mostly true. I've only known her and Hanako for less than two weeks, and even then we've just been exchanging banal chatter about school as we while away lunch."
HISAO: "I'm pretty sure you don't either."
KENJI: "That's not the point. You're the one spending inordinate amounts of time with her."
NARRATOR: "It distresses me that someone like Kenji, who's probably as far out of the loop as one could possibly get, knows about such a trivial fact as who I choose to befriend."
NARRATOR: "Then again... I am a transfer student, and she's not only the representative of their class, but also a tall blonde."
NARRATOR: "Maybe I should appreciate this ranting as a warning that the rumor mill exists in this school, and that I'm firmly within it."
HISAO: "It's just lunch. Nothing special."
show kenji neutral with charachange
KENJI: "Look, man, under the bridge. See this bridge? You're under it. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do to get intel."
show kenji tsun with charachange
KENJI: "I just want to make sure you don't end up too far under the bridge."
HISAO: "You're losing me, Kenji."
show kenji happy with charachange
KENJI: "That's okay, lots of people get lost. That's why I'm here to help."
scene bg school_gardens show kenji neutral with locationskip
KENJI: "Just be careful around her, okay? She looks all harmless on the outside, but I've heard shit. Bad shit."
show kenji tsun with charachange
KENJI: "You know the Student Council, right?"
NARRATOR: "He seems to involuntarily shudder as he says the words. Putting him and Shizune together in a room is an amusing mental exercise. I wonder if they've met."
HISAO: "Yeah, Shizune and Misha are in my class. I seem to have dodged the draft, though."
show kenji happy with charachange
KENJI: "Good man. Good man."
show kenji tsun with charachange
KENJI: "But this blonde? She was there. In the Student Council. Right. Damn. There."
HISAO: "I see. And?"
KENJI: "And she's not there now."
stop music fadeout 3.0
HISAO: "..."
KENJI: "Seriously, think about it. Something must have gone down."
NARRATOR: "I stop walking for a moment, giving the idea more thought than I probably should."
NARRATOR: "It would explain that fight the two had, at least in part. Wait, no, not really. Even leaving the Student Council would need a catalyst."
NARRATOR: "In the end, it doesn't explain much at all. Other than the fact that their feud goes back some ways."
HISAO: "I guess you have a point. I'm not seeing how that really affects me, though."
show kenji neutral with charachange
KENJI: "Okay, now field this one. Lilly's foreign, obviously."
HISAO: "Obviously."
KENJI: "Now, what nationality is she?"
NARRATOR: "I open my mouth to give the answer, but realize that I have none. In fact, I've given the matter very little thought."
NARRATOR: "Given that she has no accent and acts perfectly Japanese, I suppose it never really seemed important. Now that he mentions it though, I am rather curious."
HISAO: "To be honest, I don't know. Maybe English? They like tea."
NARRATOR: "I probably shouldn't resort to stereotypes, but that's the only lead I have."
show kenji happy with charachange
play music music_kenji fadein 1.0
KENJI: "You're not thinking. Luckily, you have me here to think for you."
HISAO: "Gee, thanks."
NARRATOR: "He brushes off the quip effortlessly."
show kenji neutral with charachange
KENJI: "Now answer me this: who has lots of social power, is filthy stinking rich - you know blondes are all rich, right? - has a long history of disputes and used to belong to a much larger organization?"
HISAO: "The Roman Catholic Church?"
show kenji tsun with charachange
KENJI: "...Well okay, there's that."
show kenji neutral with charachange
KENJI: "But there's also the Mafia. Come on. Rich, foreign, there's no way she doesn't have connections to them."
NARRATOR: "I have reason to doubt the logic of his deductions, but he shows no sign of stopping."
scene bg school_hallway3 show kenji neutral with locationskip
KENJI: "So do you know where I think she's from?"
HISAO: "Italy?"
show kenji tsun with charachange
KENJI: "Mainland Italy's small-time, dude. She has to be from Sicily. All those mafioso types come from there."
show kenji happy with charachange
KENJI: "Wait, no, Russia. Damn, this could be bad. The Mafia there is serious business, man; Ex-KGB everywhere, paramilitaries, hardcore smuggling, and—"
HISAO: "Wait, wait, stop, just slow down a sec. What point are you trying to get at here?"
show kenji neutral with charachange
KENJI: "You don't know what she'll do, man. I won't get in your way - agents don't operate like that - but I just want you to be careful."
show kenji tsun with charachange
KENJI: "When the time comes, we'll need all the help we can get. I don't want to lose you, comrade."
NARRATOR: "Well, at least he's concerned for me. Kinda."
stop music fadeout 4.0
show kenji tsun:
center easeout 0.5 xpos 0.6 alpha 0.0
with None
NARRATOR: "I wave goodbye to him as we separate out to our respective classes, but I'm not sure that he sees the gesture."
scene bg school_scienceroom with shorttimeskip
play ambient sfx_crowd_indoors fadein 2.0
NARRATOR: "Piling my books into my bag, I catch a glimpse of the library books I'd borrowed last week. I might as well return them, considering they took all of two days to finish."
NARRATOR: "I briefly consider inviting Hanako along to the library, but she's already gone. It'll probably be better for my studying if I'm alone anyway."
NARRATOR: "With a quick stretch and a wave to a couple of classmates who give the same to me, I make my way out of the classroom."
stop ambient fadeout 1.0
scene bg school_library with locationskip
NARRATOR: "As I open my bag and shove the books through the returns slot in the front counter, I notice a strange person behind the desk. Old and graying, she must be Yuuko's replacement when she's working at the café."
NARRATOR: "I begin looking for a free table, a task made somewhat difficult considering that, despite there not being many students in here, they're all sitting at their own tables."
NARRATOR: "Noticing a familiar head of hair, I walk over to one near the Braille section."
show lilly basic_smileclosed with charaenter
NARRATOR: "It's hard to tell whether Lilly's concentrating hard or not, her placid expression holding perfectly still as her finger slides across the dot-filled pages of her book."
HISAO: "Hi. Mind if I sit here?"
show lilly basic_surprised with charachange
LILLY: "Hmm? Oh, no problem at all..."
NARRATOR: "She trails off, evidently still focused on her business at hand."
play music music_lilly fadein 10.0
show lilly basic_smile with charachange
LILLY: "Ah, Hisao."
show lilly basic_smileclosed with charachange
NARRATOR: "She gives a nod of greeting as I sit opposite her at the table, pluck a chemistry textbook out of my bag and quickly thumb to the chapter we're covering in class."
NARRATOR: "For a while, we sit there and read, each in our own way."
NARRATOR: "Seeing her reminds me of what Kenji said this morning, though. That and the fact that I've never seen someone read in Braille before makes me keep throwing glances at her."
NARRATOR: "I kind of feel guilty about it, given that she has no way to realize I'm doing so, so I decide to just ask her about it. Her lineage isn't exactly a state secret, after all, and there is another thing I've only just noticed from her movements."
HISAO: "Hey Lilly, mind if I ask a question?"
show lilly basic_smile with charachange
LILLY: "Not at all. Is anything wrong?"
HISAO: "I was just wondering... you're at least part foreign, right?"
show lilly basic_giggle with charachange
NARRATOR: "She gives a small giggle before setting down her book."
show lilly basic_cheerful with charachange
LILLY: "I've always been amused at how squeamish people are about that. Akira's mentioned how much she and I look different from most others before."
show lilly basic_smile with charachange
LILLY: "The details are a bit complicated, but I'm half Japanese, half Scottish."
NARRATOR: "...Scottish? That was not exactly my first guess. It takes some effort to not blurt it out loud."
NARRATOR: "I try to conjure images of the place in my mind. I think as far as the UK goes, Scotland isn't bad to live in... but I'm not really sure."
NARRATOR: "My first guess of England was surprisingly close, at least geographically. That does leave another question though."
HISAO: "But you have no accent...?"
show lilly basic_weaksmile with charachange
LILLY: "That's where the details begin. I was born and raised in Japan, despite my mother being foreign."
HISAO: "Ah, I get it."
NARRATOR: "Hold on, if she moved to the dorms simply due to Akira working longer hours..."
HISAO: "So they don't live near the school?"
show lilly basic_reminisce with charachange
NARRATOR: "She gives a small sigh, as if she didn't expect me to go any deeper. Was her previous frankness just a front?"
LILLY: "Not... exactly. It's been a long time since we've actually met."
NARRATOR: "I feel like I'm not getting the whole story, but I don't really want to go unduly prying into her situation. Her about-face shows she feels kind of awkward about it."
HISAO: "So... do you speak much English? To be honest I don't know that much about Scotland, but at least I know that's the main language there."
NARRATOR: "It takes her a moment to collect herself, appreciating the change in topic."
show lilly basic_smileclosed with charachange
LILLY: "That's right. My family mostly used Japanese around the house when I was young, but they made sure Akira and I knew our Scottish side just as well."
show lilly basic_smile with charachange
LILLY: "I'm fluent in the language, but I'm also studying it in school. To keep my skills up and to have the qualifications on paper, mainly."
HISAO: "So you're bilingual? That's pretty impressive."
show lilly basic_weaksmile with charachange
LILLY: "I wouldn't go that far. Having parents who can speak the language is a large advantage, and English books in Braille aren't too hard to buy or import. With Yuuko's help, at least."
show lilly basic_smileclosed with charachange
LILLY: "There's a relatively high demand for local English teachers here anyway, which also helps give me some motivation to learn it well."
NARRATOR: "Demand for English teachers? For a moment, I wonder why she brought this up."
HISAO: "You're planning to be an English teacher?"
show lilly basic_cheerful with charachange
NARRATOR: "She gives an enthusiastic nod."
NARRATOR: "It must be nice, having such a definite future in mind. I've never really given much thought to mine, so I'm kind of envious."
HISAO: "Hmm..."
show lilly basic_smile with charachange
LILLY: "What's wrong?"
HISAO: "It's just... I could see you as a teacher pretty easily. It suits you."
show lilly basic_emb with charachange
NARRATOR: "For a moment, she's speechless. She lowers her face a little and lets out a nervous giggle, something I've never seen her do before."
NARRATOR: "With Lilly's role as a class representative and her dependable nature, teaching does seem to be a line of work fitting her personality."
HISAO: "Sorry, that was probably a little much. It is true, though."
show lilly basic_weaksmile with charachange
NARRATOR: "Waving her hand in front of her face dismissively, she quickly recovers."
LILLY: "It's not that, it's just that... only one person's ever said that to me before."
stop music fadeout 8.0
NARRATOR: "A short, somewhat awkward silence follows the discussion. Without knowing it, I ended up steering into a troublesome topic again."
NARRATOR: "I should try to cheer her up a little. It was me who went and got her brooding, after all."
HISAO: "Want to go grab lunch at the cafeteria after this?"
NARRATOR: "It might perk her up a bit, or at least take her mind off her apparently complicated family situation."
show lilly basic_planned with charachange
NARRATOR: "Going by her smile, it seems to have the intended effect."
show lilly basic_ara with charachange
LILLY: "I appreciate the thought, but the food there..."
NARRATOR: "Quite a quick redirection of the conversation. She does have a point though - the food there isn't the greatest."
HISAO: "Maybe the Shanghai? We could ask Hanako if she wants to come as well."
show lilly basic_surprised with charachange
LILLY: "Ah..."
HISAO: "What is it?"
show lilly basic_weaksmile with charachange
LILLY: "I almost forgot, until you reminded me. Hanako's birthday is coming up soon, and I was going to go shopping in the city for a present tomorrow."
HISAO: "If that's an invitation, I'd be happy to accompany you."
NARRATOR: "The ability to get more used to the layout of the city would probably be a good thing. I have barely set foot in there, so I'd be hopelessly lost by myself."
show lilly basic_smile with charachange
NARRATOR: "She gives a nod, signaling that she happily approves of this plan for Sunday."
NARRATOR: "We eventually get back to our books, though before I begin reading again I steal one last glance at her."
NARRATOR: "Maybe I've been thinking on my situation too much. After all, everybody here would have their own unique circumstances."
NARRATOR: "The chance to get outside and clear my head will probably do me good."
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