Chapter 64: Ordinary
The academy grounds were almost empty by the time we stepped outside the administration building.
The sky had turned a deep shade of orange, and the last rays of sunlight stretched across the brick pathways before slowly fading behind the western hills. Volunteers were dismantling the remaining booths from the exhibition, stacking folding tables and loading boxes onto small utility carts. The lively festival atmosphere that had filled the campus over the past two days had finally come to an end.
Ryan stretched both arms over his head until several joints cracked.
"I think I can officially retire."
Marcus glanced at him.
"From what?"
"Standing."
"You’ll be standing again tomorrow."
"Don’t ruin this moment."
Daniel laughed.
"I thought your dream was to become a detective."
"It is."
"But detectives sit down when they’re filling out paperwork."
Marcus didn’t even hesitate.
"You’ve never filled out paperwork."
"I’ve watched people do it."
"That doesn’t count."
Ryan sighed dramatically.
"I swear none of you appreciate my experience."
Ethan adjusted the strap of his backpack and smiled.
"We appreciate your confidence."
"I’ll accept that."
Noah checked the time on his phone before slipping it back into his pocket.
"The buses should still be running on schedule."
Ryan looked at him.
"You’re really thinking about transportation after everything that happened today?"
"I don’t want anyone getting stranded."
Marcus nodded.
"Fair point."
For a while, we simply walked together in comfortable silence.
There was no urgency anymore.
No visitors waiting outside the club room.
No clues to reset.
No evidence board to explain.
Just six students making their way toward the academy gate after two exhausting days.
It felt... peaceful.
As we passed the central courtyard, Ryan suddenly stopped.
"I almost forgot."
Daniel looked at him suspiciously.
"What now?"
"The Culinary Club."
"They’re packing up."
"So?"
"They’ll have leftovers."
Marcus closed his eyes.
"I knew it."
Ryan pointed triumphantly toward one of the remaining food stalls.
"They can’t possibly sell everything."
Ethan laughed.
"You’ve been planning this since lunch, haven’t you?"
"I’ve been planning it since yesterday."
Noah looked toward the stall.
"They might actually have discounted food before closing."
Ryan’s eyes lit up.
"You see?"
"Our president understands economics."
Marcus sighed.
"He understands supply and demand."
"Exactly."
Five minutes later we found ourselves standing in front of the Culinary Club’s booth.
Ryan had been right.
Several trays of food remained, and rather than transporting everything back, the club was selling the leftovers at half price.
Ryan looked like he’d discovered buried treasure.
"I knew destiny wouldn’t abandon me."
The student behind the stall recognized us immediately.
"Oh!"
"You guys are from the Mystery Research Club."
Ryan proudly straightened his posture.
"The one and only."
"You were really popular."
Daniel smiled politely.
"Thank you."
The girl behind the counter pointed toward a tray of fried dumplings.
"Since you’re one of the clubs that attracted so many visitors..."
She smiled.
"...These are on the house."
Ryan stared at the tray.
"...I think this is what happiness feels like."
Marcus accepted the box before Ryan could accidentally drop it.
"Thank you."
"We appreciate it."
After thanking the Culinary Club members, we carried the food to a nearby bench overlooking the courtyard.
The six of us shared the dumplings while watching volunteers finish cleaning the academy grounds.
Ryan took one bite before speaking.
"I’m going to miss this."
Daniel nodded.
"The exhibition?"
"Yeah."
"It was stressful."
"But..."
He looked toward the old club building.
"It was fun."
Nobody disagreed.
Marcus broke the brief silence.
"We should do something during the semester."
Ryan looked at him in surprise.
"You mean club activities?"
"I mean something besides waiting for another exhibition."
Daniel smiled.
"That’s not a bad idea."
Ethan nodded thoughtfully.
"We could organize monthly mystery nights."
Ryan immediately became excited.
"We could invite other clubs."
"They bring teams."
"We prepare cases."
Marcus looked toward Noah.
"What do you think?"
Noah didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he considered everyone’s suggestions before speaking.
"I think..."
He smiled.
"...that’s exactly what a club should be."
Ryan pumped his fist.
"We’re becoming official."
"We were already official," Daniel reminded him.
"We’re becoming officially official."
Marcus decided not to argue.
I quietly listened to the conversation, watching everyone throw ideas back and forth.
It was strange.
None of this had existed in the original story.
The Mystery Research Club had been little more than a forgotten name in an old club registry.
No monthly events.
No friendships.
No shared meals after exhibitions.
Just another abandoned possibility.
Yet here we were.
Planning a future that had never been written.
"...Adrian?"
I looked up.
Ryan was staring at me.
"You disappeared again."
"...Sorry."
"What do you think?"
"About what?"
"The mystery nights."
I thought about it for a moment.
"I think people would enjoy them."
Ryan grinned.
"I knew you’d say yes."
"I didn’t say yes."
"You implied yes."
Marcus folded his arms.
"He’s interpreting optimism."
"It’s my greatest talent."
Daniel laughed.
"I thought eating was your greatest talent."
"I can have two."
The conversation drifted naturally from one topic to another.
Ryan wanted matching club jackets.
Marcus immediately rejected the idea because of the cost.
Daniel suggested simple badges instead.
Ethan thought personalized notebooks would be more practical.
Noah quietly wrote every suggestion into the notebook he carried with him.
"You really are writing all of this down?" I asked.
He looked up.
"If we don’t record ideas..."
"We’ll forget them."
Ryan nodded seriously.
"That’s wisdom."
Marcus looked at him.
"You’ve ignored half the ideas."
"I’ll remember the important ones."
"You said club jackets were the most important."
"They are."
The laughter returned once again.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the campus lights flickered on one by one.
The last of the exhibition booths disappeared beneath protective covers, leaving the academy looking almost exactly as it had before the event.
Almost.
Near the entrance to the old building stood a large notice board displaying photographs taken throughout the exhibition.
Students had already gathered around it.
Ryan immediately stood.
"We’re famous."
Marcus sighed.
"We’re on a notice board."
"Exactly."
Curiosity won, and we walked over.
The photographs had been printed remarkably quickly.
There were pictures from every club.
The orchestra performing on stage.
The Robotics Club demonstrating one of their machines.
The Art Club’s gallery.
The Culinary Club serving visitors.
Near the center of the display was our group photograph.
Ryan had somehow managed to keep a perfectly serious expression in the first picture.
The second one showed him proudly wearing the detective hat while Daniel laughed so hard he was leaning against Ethan, Marcus looked thoroughly unimpressed, Noah smiled openly, and I...
I stopped for a second.
I looked... happy.
Not relieved.
Not pretending.
Just happy.
Ryan noticed my expression.
"Good picture, right?"
"...Yeah."
"It is."
Daniel smiled.
"We should ask for copies."
"I was thinking the same thing," Noah replied.
Before anyone could continue, footsteps approached from behind.
Professor Ellis smiled as he reached the notice board.
"I thought I’d find you here."
"Professor," Noah greeted.
"I wanted to congratulate you all again."
He looked toward the photographs.
"The principal spoke very highly of your club."
Ryan whispered quietly,
"...I like hearing that."
Marcus replied just as quietly,
"We noticed."
Professor Ellis folded his hands behind his back.
"I also wanted to let you know something."
Everyone looked at him.
"The academy has approved your request for a permanent club room."
Noah blinked.
"...Permanent?"
Professor Ellis nodded.
"The room you’ve been using will officially belong to the Mystery Research Club beginning next week."
Ryan froze.
"...Wait."
"...That’s our room now?"
"It is."
For a brief moment, nobody said anything.
Then Daniel smiled.
"I guess we really do have a place now."
Ethan looked toward the old building.
"It’ll be nice not having to borrow classrooms anymore."
Marcus gave a small nod.
"We should take care of it."
Ryan looked unusually quiet.
Finally, he grinned.
"...Then let’s make it the best club room in the academy."
Professor Ellis chuckled.
"I was hoping you’d say that."
After exchanging a few more words, he excused himself and headed toward the faculty parking area.
The six of us remained standing before the notice board.
The campus was almost empty now.
Only a few lights still burned inside the buildings.
Noah looked at each of us.
"I know everyone’s tired."
"But..."
He extended his hand into the center of our little circle.
"...Thank you."
Ryan placed his hand on top without hesitation.
Marcus followed.
Then Daniel.
Ethan.
After a brief pause, I added mine as well.
No one made a speech.
No one counted down.
For a few seconds, we simply stood there, six hands stacked together beneath the academy lights.
It was a small gesture.
Simple.
Ordinary.
Yet as I looked at the people beside me, I couldn’t help thinking about what the principal had said.
Stories don’t survive because they’re written.
They survive because someone remembers them.
Perhaps...
This was one of those moments worth remembering.