Chapter 361 - Barbecue Chef and a Chat
Juliet summoned the rest of the teachers to explain the change in police officers.
They were a mix of men and women, and between twenty and forty years old. They were clearly both experienced and energetic, or they wouldn’t be able to keep one hundred kids under control.
After they exchanged greetings, Luke asked what he should be doing the next day.
Juliet said with a smile, “Actually, the officer’s training is done. You just need to help keep an eye on the kids. Also, if there’s an accident, we may need your help. You’re a professional, after all.”
Luke nodded. “Okay, I’ll have dinner first.”
Juliet said, “Let’s go together. We usually eat at that small fast food place.”
Luke quickly shook his head.
In such a beautiful environment, he wasn’t keen on having fast food.
“I can barbecue something. Would you like to join me?” he asked with a smile.
Juliet hesitated. Luke looked at her expression and said, “The other teachers can all come if they want, but I don’t have that many ingredients with me. Is there a place here where I can get fresh meat?”
Looking at his friendly face, Juliet eventually accepted. “Thanks. I can buy some meat from the fast food place. There’s firewood behind the building; I’ll let them know, and you can take some first.”
So, she would be supplying the meat, and Luke just needed to cook it.
After all, they weren’t that familiar with each other yet for Luke to treat all of them to dinner for free.
Luke nodded. “I’ll get started first.”
He had seen a flat area near the lake that had no grass or trees. It was the perfect place for a barbecue or a bonfire party.
Luke found firewood, and moved equipment from his car to the empty area near the lake. He then set up the grill.
By the time he was done, Juliet had come over with two male teachers, and they were carrying a lot of meat.
Juliet left after dropping the meat off. As the camp supervisor, she was quite busy, and the two male teachers were left behind to help Luke.
It only took Luke twenty minutes to marinate the meat. Then, after telling the two teachers what they should pay attention to next, Luke was free.
He took out a folding chair from his car and sat down by the lake with his laptop.
He brought two bottles of beer over for the two male teachers in passing, while he sipped on hot tea that he had just made and read his files.
The two teachers chatted over the cold beers in the evening breeze from the lake.
Just like that, the sky turned dark after six. Nothing except a faint red glow could be seen on the horizon.
Luke put his laptop away, and after asking the teachers, learned that the kids were having dinner, which meant that it would soon be time for the faculty to take a break.
He had the teachers skewer the marinated meat and start the fire.
While the two teachers roasted the meat, Luke continued reading the files.
The noisy campsite fell quiet around seven. Most of the kids had returned to their dorms.
Juliet came over with six men and women and greeted Luke. “Thank you very much, Luke.”
Luke said with a smile, “No, no, Joey and Duncan did most of the job. I was only responsible for marinating the meat.”
He greeted the people who came with her, and everybody sat down.
All of them had brought their own utensils and plates, and Luke chopped the meat on the grill into chunks small enough to fit their plates.
He was done in less than five minutes.
There were no rules for an outdoor barbecue party. Everybody simply gathered round and talked to each other.
Juliet sat next to Luke, and another two female teachers sat on the other side. They were clearly interested in him.
They found Luke’s age, looks, job, temperament and behavior very interesting.
Nobody asked any personal questions, and Luke simply talked to them about unimportant issues.
On the other hand, the teachers’ conversation was an eye-opener for Luke.
Maggie, one of the female teachers, said, “It’s actually at night that we’re more likely to have trouble. I caught two troublemakers last night who actually wanted to go for a midnight swim. The water might be shallow, but there won’t be anybody around to save them if they have an accident in the middle of the night.”
Lily, another female teacher, also said, “At least you managed to stop them before they went in; when I was on duty the other night, two of them had already been skinny dipping for a while before I spotted their clothes on the bank during my patrol.”
Juliet nodded. “That’s why this is the best campsite. After all, this Moon Lake is basically a pool. Even the deepest part is only 1.5 meters deep. There’s less chance of an accident happening here than upriver, where the water is deep.”
It wasn’t until then that Luke learned that the lake was called Moon Lake.
Everybody left over an hour later after they were done eating and chatting, except for the two female teachers, who helped clean up.
Luke talked to them while they were cleaning up, and learned that he wasn’t assigned night duty or patrol.
He was here mainly to deal with possible emergencies.
For example, if dangerous wildlife appeared, he could use his gun to deal with it.
The school had already informed the police about their program beforehand, and Luke was free to use a gun on camp grounds if necessary.
The cleanup was soon done. Tactfully refusing Lily’s offer of coffee, Luke took out a tent and a sleeping bag from his car and returned to the fire by the lake.
He was going to make camp here; he had checked the room at the inn, and it wasn’t anything spectacular.
He also couldn’t be bothered changing the previous officer’s bedsheets, so he decided to camp out next to the lake.
Since the teachers had mentioned that students might sneak out to swim at night, he could keep watch from here. After all, he only needed two hours of sleep.
The night got darker. There was nothing but Luke and the bonfire next to the lake.
The insects were blocked by the tent’s mosquito netting, and Luke enjoyed hot tea and read files inside the tent.
Except for the lack of a beautiful female companion, all was right with the world.
At midnight, the fire outside the tent died out, and Luke pulled open the tent’s outer layer.
He crawled out of the tent and walked to the edge of the lake, looking at the ripples on the surface of the peaceful water.
Suddenly, he heard faint footsteps on the other side of the lake.
Luke turned his head silently, and couldn’t help being amused.
