TCOTRB: The Case of The Red Bubble

🔴🏵 Chapter XI: Odval

Chapter XI: Odval

"The Regal Lady Chronicles."

Milo tried finding the book except his request was denied. They have entrusted an AI (artificial intelligence) to run the virtual library throughout the holidays.

After all, there are some students who'd rather access the library than be out in the streets to celebrate Diwali.

The robotic female voice reminded him that the autobiography wasn't available at the moment. It is possible someone else had already borrowed it or the library hasn't availed for any copies yet.
They only had a single copy of that book. It had a rare velvet cover with Miss Odval's floral signature in golden ink at the bottom part.
Since it was digitally published in Mongolia, it's only available in Mandarin Chinese, Russian and Mongolian. The AI is built with a program to translate any foreign language for other users to understand.

Her only name is 'Odval'?

He assumed that the person only chose to give out her first name or possibly run by a pseudonym for privacy reasons. The name is usually given to people of Buddhist faith.
He tried looking up for Mongolian naming traditions and it's here when he found out that in their country, surnames are uncommon. This goes the same for their passports. If they were to have a last name, it would be the region they came from.
While browsing along the Internet, a piercing sound of firecrackers startled him.

"Was the town under attack?" he thought.

Hades came darting towards the bed and cowered beneath the sheets. Milo popped his head to see what's going on outside.
He hadn't noticed it was already evening. The streets glimmered with neon lights, lanterns and fireworks held by children running down the streets.
From above, he could see their neighbor Mr. Patel and his family dancing together on their lawn. The Patels are trying to celebrate the holiday for they will be visiting India tomorrow.
Milo quickly docked once he caught sight of Jonathan and his friends wandering around the streets. "Now what are these guys doing here? Of all the places they could have picked, it had to be our neighborhood!" he groaned.
They were conversing loudly that he was able to hear them moan about "the Malik guy" refusing to accept their stolen lunch card. They assumed nobody would suspect them of anything, but Malik is Chirag's older brother.
The group of seniors realized they are dealing with a different enemy. You can't pick fights with an adult, especially with someone who's taller than you. The last thing they'd wanna be in is to admit defeat and appear callous in front of people.
If Miss Odval were to find out about her students' behavior outside of campus, it's doubtful that she would do anything.
Milo thought about why couldn't they just move into the indigo dome island (Circa II) where they are able to thrive in such an elitist society. However, the small island already has plenty of schools and businesses competing with each other.
The surrounding neighborhood is owned by the middle class, a concept which the most wealthy community claim is simply a misnomer. In other words, they don't exist.
At least here, there isn't any competition for schools catering to the rich.
Milo hopes to access the book he has been looking for. He quickly shuts the windows to keep out the noise so he can focus on his job.

Then, Chirag e-mails him the copy of the book he has been looking for ...