The wash room steams with hot water and damp wool. Lewis and the others crowd in at the basins, all elbows and school caps and tired breathing.
Martin is there already, sleeves rolled, soap on his hands. Tom and Will stand shoulder to shoulder by the next basin, while Edwin hovers nearby, careful not to splash anyone.
Martin
You look as if the field has had its say with you.
Will
There is room, if you want it. We have nearly finished.
John and Morris exchange a glance, then drift in closer, making a little island of boys and white steam in the middle of the room.
Edwin
It is better in here than outside, at any rate. Outside one has to remember everything at once.
Lewis rinses his face and hands. The water runs grey for a moment, then clear. For a few heartbeats, nobody is being watched.
Tom
If you are done, come and stand with us. We were just talking about what books are worth the trouble.
“Lewis takes off his shirt and tries to clean up as much of the sweat as he can before they have to return to the day. He asks what books they have decided on.”
Lewis peels off his shirt, dabs the damp salt from his neck and chest with a towel, and hangs the clotted cloth aside. Steam curls round the basins as he asks which books they have settled on.
Tom
A few worth the trouble, and no more. We were just arguing for the better sort.
Martin
Mostly stories with something under them, not merely noise. The kind that leaves a mark.
“Lewis says it depends what kind of mark they are looking for. He mentions they were discussing something similar last night in the dorm. He nods toward Parsley, John, and Morris.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +0)
C. S. Lewis
It depends what sort of mark they want. Lewis glances toward Parsley, John, and Morris. It is like what we were talking about last night in the dorm.
Tom
The right sort, if there is such a thing. Something that stays with you.
John
A book can do that, if it is honest enough.
Morris
And if it does not merely tell you what to think.
Will
That is the trouble with most of the school reading, all bark and no spine.
Edwin
Then let us have the sort with a spine. I am tired of pretending to admire rubbish.
The ring around the basins tightens by half a step, not in alarm, but in agreement. Steam drifts over bare shoulders and dark ties, and the boys look from one another to Lewis as if the answer belongs to all of them now.
“Lewis asks what they like reading, it gives him a place to start. He has a couple recommendations he has been sitting on.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +3)
C. S. Lewis
What sort of things do you like reading, then?
Lewis keeps his voice low over the hiss of the taps, and the circle holds on him. The question gives the others room to answer as themselves, not as prefects or rivals.
Tom
Stories with some courage in them. Not merely school prizes and dutiful lessons.
Martin
And books that let you see the underside of a thing, not just its polished face.
John
If Lewis has recommendations, I should like to hear them.
C. S. Lewis
Then start with MacDonald, if you have not. And Stevenson, if you want adventure that keeps its conscience.
That lands well. Will gives a small, approving laugh, and Edwin looks as if he has been handed a door out of the schoolhouse mood. John, for his part, glances at Lewis with quick interest, as though filing the names away for more than tonight.
“Lewis asks Edwin what kind of stories he considers to have spine?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +2)
Lewis turns his question toward Edwin, and the little circle goes still around the basins.
C. S. Lewis
What sort of stories do you think have spine?
Edwin
Spine... I suppose a story that stands up after you shut the book.
Tom
That is well put. Not something that folds flat at once.
Martin
Yes, something with a backbone, something that does not flatter you for agreeing with it.
John
Then we mean books that resist us a little, but repay the effort.
Edwin
And characters worth following, even when they are wrong-headed for a bit.
Will glances from one face to another, pleased by how quickly the answer becomes a shared one. The steam thins and the boys lean closer, as if the wash room itself has made room for them.
“Lewis mentions that his mother bought him a book called Tarzan last year that Edwin might like.”
SUCCESS (Good Etiquette, rolled +1)
C. S. Lewis
My mother bought me Tarzan last year. You might like it.
The words land lightly in the steam, not as a lecture but as a recommendation between boys who are comparing what lasts.
Edwin
Tarzan... I think I should. Does it stay with you after you close it?
John
That is the sort of book a boy remembers by instinct, not by rule.
Tom
If it has that sort of stride, then it belongs with the others.
Will
A story with a jungle in it may do better than half the school books we are fed.
A few of them smile, and the circle around the basins loosens into something steadier, as if Lewis has set another shared title between them.
“Lewis gives Edwin the basic premise of Tarzan without spoiling anything”
C. S. Lewis
It is a sort of jungle adventure, with a fellow who grows up among apes and makes his own way in the wild.
Edwin
That sounds splendid, and not the least bit like a lecture.
John
Lewis is good at finding stories that carry some blood in them.
The boys share a small laugh, steam beading on their collars as the knot around the basins settles into easy, borrowed confidence.
“Lewis tells Edwin to swing by their room tonight and Lewis will lend it to him.”
SUCCESS (Good Etiquette, rolled +0)
Lewis leans in a little more and makes the offer plain. The steam softens the edges of the room, and Edwin’s grin widens at once.
C. S. Lewis
Come by our room tonight, and I’ll lend it to you.
Edwin
Gladly. I should like that very much.
John
That is the right sort of generosity, Lewis.
Morris glances toward the doorway, then back, while Martin’s smile turns knowing. The little circle around the basins holds together, easy and unforced.
Will
Then it is settled. We have a proper lending library among us now.
“Lewis tells Edwin he's happy to share. He looks around to check that Morris and Parskey are still safely nearby.”
C. S. Lewis
Lewis says he is glad to share it.
He glances past Edwin into the steam, checking that Morris and Parsley are still safely nearby. The knot at the basins holds, loose shoulders and small smiles all around.
“Lewis puts his shirt and blazer back on and ask Edwin, Tom, Martin, and Will if they've been getting on ok? Any problems?”
SUCCESS (Good Etiquette, rolled -2)
Lewis pulls his shirt back on, then shrugs into his blazer while the steam dampens the cloth at the seams. The little circle around the basins keeps its shape, close and listening.
C. S. Lewis
Have you all been getting on all right? Any problems?
Edwin
Nothing bad, sir, only the usual scrambling for space and soap. It is better in here than most places.
Tom
We manage. A room like this makes a boy speak plainly, which is a comfort.
Martin
And if there is trouble, it is easier to say it when everyone is already standing shoulder to shoulder.
Will
We are getting on, Lewis. But if anything starts to sour, I should rather hear it early.
As he settles the blazer collar, a wet sleeve brushes the basin edge and leaves a dark smear on the cuff. Across the room, the chair scraping deeper among the stacks gives a small, ordinary reminder that someone is always listening.
“Lewis ruffles Edwin's hair ad”
Lewis reaches over the basin line and gives Edwin's hair a quick, friendly ruffle. Edwin grins, ducking his head, and the little circle loosens into laughter for a moment.
Edwin
That is fair, I think. It proves I am included.
The steam curls higher around their shoulders, and the boys stand easier together, as if the room has agreed to keep them on the same side.
“Lewis grins and tells Edwin not to call him sir.”
SUCCESS (Good Etiquette, rolled +1)
Lewis grins, the wet cuff dark against his wrist, and tips his head toward Edwin in easy warning.
C. S. Lewis
Don’t call me sir.
Edwin
Right, then. Lewis it is.
Tom
That sounds far better in here.
Martin
The room keeps its promises when they speak plainly.
A few laughs slip through the steam, and the little knot around the basins tightens again, less formal now, more equal.
Will
There, that is settled. No one need be grand in a wash room.
“Lewis snorts and tells them they should sit with his friends in the dining hall and catch up every now and then.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -3)
Lewis gives a short snort into the steam, then jerks his chin toward the doorway and the darker room beyond. The joke lands as an invitation, not a dare.
C. S. Lewis
You ought to sit with my friends in the dining hall now and then.
The circle stills for a breath. Edwin’s face opens with surprise, then pleasure, while Tom glances at the others as if weighing the idea aloud.
Edwin
Gladly. If there is a place for us, I should like to know it.
Tom
And if Lewis is there, I expect the talk will be better for it.
John
That is the sort of arrangement that makes a school feel less like a machine.
Will lets out a quiet, approving breath. The boys shift closer by instinct, as if the sentence has given them a shape to stand in together.
Martin
Then it is settled. We shall not pretend to be strangers when the tables are full.
A basin drips in the hush, and Lewis’s wet cuff catches on the edge as he lowers his arm. The dark smear widens a little, a small cost for making the room feel suddenly more certain.
“Lewis tells them he is looking forward to it as he leads Parsley, John, and Morris from the washroom.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +0)
Lewis answers with a quick, easy line, and the last of the laughter seems to travel with it. The knot by the basins loosens at once, then shifts into motion.
C. S. Lewis
I am looking forward to it.
Parsley moves in beside him, then John and Morris fall in with the same quiet readiness. Together they turn from the steam and start out, shoulders nearly brushing.
Will and Tom give space without fuss, while Martin glances once toward the doorway as if to count the moment in his head. Edwin lingers half a step, smiling after them.
Edwin
Then we shall meet there.
The wash room stays warm behind them, but the boys carry its new ease into the corridor. The habit of scattering is broken for now.