Mirabe walked through the front door, and Delh shot her a knowing nce.


    "Hey, sweetheart, you seem to be in a great mood today," Delh said with a smile.


    Mirabe grabbed a ss of milk from the table, took a sip, and mumbled, "Do I?" "You do," Delh insisted, her tone earnest, before heading back to the kitchen. Mirabe pulled out a chair and sat down, quietly starting her breakfast.


    After eating, she went back to her room for a quick wash, then pulled out the list of herbs she had drafted the night before from her desk drawer, pondering for a few seconds.


    Then, she grabbed a pen and swiftly added about a dozen more herbs to the list.


    Once finished, she deleted the photos of the list she''d takenst night from her phone and took new snaps of the updated, densely-written herb inventory. Soon after, she opened Messenger and sent the picture to her neighbor.


    With that done, Mirabe put away her phone with satisfaction and, backpack in tow, left her room.


    *


    On the other end, when James got the message on Messenger, he promptly replied with a ''Got it'' to Mirabe. He then opened the image, scanned the list of herbs, and without much understanding of their uses, forwarded it to Wyatt.


    Wyatt had juste in, carrying a bag of freshly baked bagels and cream cheese for breakfast. His phone buzzed as he set the breakfast on the dining table, calling James over to eat while he checked his messages.


    His eyes widened as he perused the list of herbs on his screen.


    Looking up at James, who had just approached, Wyatt asked hesitantly, "Is this what Ms. Mirabe requested?"


    Mirabe''s handwriting was mboyant and distinctive; Wyatt didn''t even need to ask to know who had sent the image.


    James''s expression was as serene as a morning mist, ncing over with a slight nod, pausing for a few seconds before adding, "Make sure it''s prepared promptly."


    Wyatt scratched his head, his face contorted with concern, "Some of these herbs on the list aren''t exactly easy toe by."


    The first few items were manageable, but the dozen or so added at the end were both expensive and scarce. Wyatt, familiar with rare herbs due to James''s chronic health issues, knew that several on the list were exceedingly hard to find.


    Without looking up, James simply stated, "Then they must be found."


    Wyatt''s lips twitched. This kind of directive, while making sense, gave him the impression that James was unreasonablymitted to fulfilling all of Ms. Mirabe''s requests. If this were ancient times, he mused, such indulgence might have been deemed the folly of a misguided ruler.


    Feeling James''s piercing gaze, Wyatt quickly conceded, "Alright, alright, I get it. I''ll get on it right away."


    **


    At noon, in the school cafeteria.


    Mirabe and Jenna were halfway through their lunch when a ssmate approached. "Mirabe, someone''s looking for you at the school''s broadcast room," they said.


    Mirabe lifted her gaze, her delicate features clouded with curiosity.


    The ssmate, shyly avoiding her gaze, ventured a guess, "It might be your... mom."


    Delh was looking for her?


    Mirabe''s eyes narrowed slightly, then she thanked the messenger.


    Once the ssmate had left, Jenna, chewing thoughtfully on her food, looked


    over at Mirabe. "Marian''s looking for you; you better hurry."


    Mirabe mused for a moment before responding, "There''s no rush."


    If Delh truly needed her, she would have called directly.


    Seeing Mirabe''s calm demeanor, Jenna didn''t press further and continued eating.


    After finishing their meals, Mirabe headed to the broadcast room while Jenna returned to ss.