(POV: Sophia)
---
It started out as a perfectly normal afternoon.
Which, in hindsight, was my first mistake.
We were gathered in the cafeteria again — our sacred ground of chaos and carbs — casually debating weekend plans. Ethan was lobbying for a movie night (popcorn already on standby), Ava was threatening to drag us to an art exhibit ("for culture, you uncultured swine"), and Leo, as usual, was silently dismantling his lunch box like it owed him money.
That's when Ava frowned at her phone.
"Hey, have you guys noticed how expensive vanilla has gotten lately?"
Ethan blinked. "Like... ice cream vanilla?"
Ava turned her screen toward us. "No, like actual vanilla beans. Look at this article. Prices are skyrocketing. Apparently, it's one of the most expensive spices in the world now."
"Wait, vanilla is a spice?" I asked, betraying my GPA slightly.
Leo finally decided to grace the conversation with his voice. "Yeah. The supply's been unstable. There've been crop failures, cartel involvement, black market trading... stuff like that."
I paused, mid-sip of my juice. "Cartel involvement. With vanilla?"
Ava narrowed her eyes. "Leo. Why do you sound like you're speaking from personal experience?"
Leo blinked, like that was a weird question. "Because I am?"
We all froze.
Ethan was the first to speak, very slowly. "...Elaborate."
Leo sighed, already sounding like a tired professor explaining gravity to a brick. "A few months ago, I was looking for high-quality vanilla beans. The usual stores were overpriced, so I asked around."
"Asked around?" I repeated.
Leo nodded. "Yeah. Eventually, someone gave me a contact for a guy who imports directly from Madagascar."
Ava made a strange sound in her throat. "You mean... like a vanilla dealer?"
Leo tilted his head. "I guess? He had good reviews."
"REVIEWS?!"
Leo sipped his tea. "Trust is important in the spice trade."
Ethan practically slid out of his chair. "THE SPICE TRADE?! What century are we in?!"
I held up both hands, trying to keep up. "So let me get this straight. You networked your way into some underground vanilla operation, talked to a guy with 'good reviews,' and just... bought contraband?"
Leo looked mildly offended. "It wasn't contraband. He had certifications. And it wasn't even that shady. We met at a farmers' market."
Ava clutched her head. "Leo. You met a vanilla smuggler at a farmers' market?!"
Leo frowned. "He prefers the term 'independent importer.'"
I buried my face in my hands. "Okay, whatever. How much did you buy?"
Leo didn't even blink. "Three kilos."
Ava gasped. Ethan choked on air.
"THREE KILOS?!" he sputtered.
Leo just kept eating like he hadn't just casually confessed to running a boutique spice cartel. "Yeah. It was a bulk discount."
I stared at him. "Leo. Do you have any idea how expensive that is?"
He nodded. "Which is why I split the cost with some chefs I know."
"Some chefs you know?!" Ava repeated, sounding more and more like she was about to either scream or become a private investigator.
Leo thought for a second. "Well, technically, one of them is a pastry chef, and the other runs a dessert bar in Shibuya."
Ava slumped back in her chair. "You're lying."
Leo looked at her blankly. "Why would I lie about dessert?"
Then, like it was the most normal thing to do he pulled out his phone and showed us a picture. There he was standing with some very professional looking chefs wearing whites.
I gaped. "Leo, why do you know them?"
He just shrugged, "I guess because sometimes I bring good things."
I honestly had no answer for that.
Ethan sat up suddenly. "Wait. Does this mean... you've been acting as a middleman in a gourmet vanilla trade?!"
Leo poked at a piece of rolled omlette. "I mean... I wouldn't say middleman. More like a cooperative distributor."
Ava pointed a dramatic finger at him. "That's literally what a middleman is!"
Leo shrugged. "Potato, po-tah-to."
"I don't even like potatoes anymore," I mumbled.
Ethan leaned over the table. "So… what happened to the rest of the beans?"
Leo pulled out his phone. "Still have some. Want a few?"
Ava and I looked at each other like we were considering a dark deal with the devil.
"…Yes," we said in sync.
Leo nodded. "Cool. I'll portion some out tonight."
Ethan looked like he was going through all five stages of grief at once. "I just… I just wanted to watch a movie. And now I'm in a gourmet smuggling ring."
Leo raised an eyebrow. "There's no smuggling. It's all legal. Just... inconveniently acquired."
I don't know why, but that made it worse.
Ethan shook his head. "Leo. Be honest. Do you also have access to truffles?"
Leo paused. "Not always. But I know a guy."
I turned to Ethan, deadpan. "You jinxed it again."
Ethan slammed his head onto the table. "WHY IS THIS MY LIFE."
Meanwhile, Leo calmly finished his tea and stood up. "I've got to go check on my kombucha fermentation. Catch you guys later."
We watched him walk away like he hadn't just casually confessed to being the spice world's most relaxed crime boss.
Ava was still frozen. "...Did he just say kombucha?"
I nodded. "Let it go. Let it all go."
___
End of Chapter 33.