By the time Morgan reached his room his feet were basically dragging behind him and his mind felt foggy as if he had not slept in days. He did not know how he had gotten into bed nor for how long he had slept but when he awoke, the sun had already started its slow descent. His stomach rumbled and he got out of bed still feeling a bit sluggish but not enough to hinder him. Lucky for Morgan the second cafeteria was very lenient with the times it served food. The other cafeterias only served food at designated hour but the second served food all day, even if it was not freshly made.

Morgan felt conflicted as he received a normal sized plate from the serving lady. He was not sure if he should be happy or a bit sad, well it was the normal size for the second cafeteria. Which obviously meant it was massive. However as he looked up and heard the conversation between said serving lady and one of the cooks in the back he immediately walked away forcing the entire encounter out of his mind. “I heard nothing, I heard nothing.” He told himself this over and over forcing the thoughts of the plump serving lady and the pale Master of ceremonies out of his mind. He found that the cafeteria was almost empty now that lunchtime had long since passed and dinner had yet to start and unsurprisingly he did not find any of his friends.

Sitting alone at the table Morgan felt strangely empty. He had eaten alone since he got to the Academy and even now he did not talk much when he ate with the others, yet… He looked around at the empty seats.

He felt more alone now than he had in all the previous months at the Academy “I guess humans do adapt very quickly” Morgan though frowning. Sitting there by himself he did not really think of anything in particular as he ate the lukewarm food. He had no idea when it had happened but his plate was suddenly empty. Looking down he saw that he had finished his food and for once did not even feel like he was about to puke due to the excessive amount. He might even have been able to eat a bit more. This was a puzzling thing as only yesterday this amount of food was an insurmountable task for Morgan.

Having finished a very late lunch Morgan could either show up late for his afternoon class which was math, or be early for Alina’s class. At this point he remembered something. “I haven’t been to the library in days!” This came as a shock to Morgan who had until today not missed an opportunity to go to the library once and before he even knew it Morgan’s feet were already carrying him to the library. As he walked he wore a natural smile, the lonely meal already forgotten. After an hour or so of reading in the library Morgan made his way over to Alina’s class. Standing in the empty hallway he saw that he was the first to arrive and was happy he had borrowed a book from the library. He had not been reading for long when he heard a familiar voice.

“Are you really gonna participate in martial class the day after you get out of bed?” Morgan looked up at Marith who frowned down at Morgan shaking his head. “And dressed like that as well.” His comment made Morgan look down at his clothes.

“Ohh…” Dressed in the standard Academy uniform, the blue and white robe with matching long pants and undershirt. “I umm… I forgot to change clothes.” Morgan laughed embarrassed.

“If you really want to take part I suggest you run back and change, the others confirmed that Alina is almost always late so you should be fine if you hurry.” Marith said as he helped pull Morgan to his feet. Morgan nodded, and started jogging back to his room. Marith was about to call out to him since he was not sure that he would make it unless he ran. But thinking back to their run now three days ago he was not sure Morgan could manage to run back and forth between the classroom and his dorm room even under the best of circumstances. So instead he chose to just wait and inform adept Alina of Morgan’s likely late arrival. As Marith was thinking this Ross, Rina and Mary-Ann arrived and a large smile formed on Marith’s lips.

Morgan returned to the classroom and was by now well aware of how optimistic Marith’s assumption that he could make it back in time really was. The Academy was not small and it had taken him the better part of half an hour to run back, get changed and return. Even if Alina had been late the class would have started long before he got back. So it was with rather heavy steps he entered the hallway leading to the classroom. His only solace was that he had met Marith before class so he would at least have told Alina that he had just gone to change clothes. When Morgan entered the room he was met with the usual sight of the six students barely managing to keep their balance on their logs and Alina reading in her usual spot.

“Oh? You decided to show up today Morgan?” Alina spoke in an uninterested voice as she flipped the page. Morgan gapped and turned to Marith who looked back at him confused. Morgan could physically see as it clicked for Marith and he lost his balance and laughed sheepishly at the angry look Morgan gave him. Luckily Alina did not chastise Morgan any further and he simply took a log and joined the others. He felt a bit miffed that Marith had not informed Alina that he was running late because he had forgotten to change clothes and had to run back to the dorm to do so.

Morgan found it a bit easier to balance than it used to be which he found very surprising. At first he was even sure he was imagining it but after some time he was confident that there was indeed a slight difference. He might still be the worst in the class but he felt that he was improving. He was feeling rather good about himself until his legs started wobbling badly enough that he found it hard just standing. By this point he was about to ask if he could change to the stick but Alina ended the class. Morgan was surprised that he had lasted the full lesson but soon remembered that he hadn’t. Feeling a little down he gave Marith a hard stare that froze him in his attempt to follow Mary-Ann.

“You could have at least told Alina that I was running late.” Morgan said in an obviously annoyed voice.

“Umm well…” Marith’s eyes shifted involuntarily towards Mary-Ann and the other students as they passed the corner.

“Hey.” Morgan’s voice was cold and Marith jumped slightly. “Don’t tell me that you ‘got distracted’ and forgot.”

“Ehehe, no umm.” Marith flinched at the sharp look he got from Morgan. “I-I umm, I’m sorry.” He hung his head.

Morgan sighed heavily, he felt like he was getting a rather good hold on Marith’s character, he was by no means a bad friend but he was simply easily distracted especially when it came to girls. “Well at least he apologized.” Morgan thought with a shake of his head.

“Well, let’s go eat.” The two hurried after the others but with Morgan being tired and just generally slow they did not catch up until they reached the cafeteria serving line. As they arrived Morgan was shocked by how many people that stood in line.

“What’s going on?” Morgan asked shocked by the sheer amount of students. The cafeteria was close to full and the queue was almost four times longer than what Morgan had ever seen and there was a buzz in the air from the excited students.

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“Ohh!!” Marith exclaimed in an excited voice with eyes sparkling. “Pork with butter fried vegetables!” Marith gleefully pointed at a sign on the wall just inside the cafeteria. Marith looked almost like he would start bouncing up and down like an excited child but for once Marith’s excitement did not cause the entire room to stare at him. This was simply because most of the students were almost as excited as him. Morgan looked at the sign that listed the day’s meal as they slowly made their way forward. He wondered how he had never noticed it before. After some time of glacially slow movement Morgan began to wonder if they would be able to find a place to sit with how many students there were.

“They set out extra tables outside when they serve special meals or in the auditorium now that it is getting colder.” Morgan must have mumbled his question as Marith answered with a smile. That eased Morgan’s unease, he was not keen on having to stand around to get a table nor would he like to sit outside when the sun was setting. It might be in the early fall but even if the Academy was somewhat further south than Morgan’s home of Bluevale it was by no means in the south. So at this time of year it would not be very pleasant to sit outside without the warmth of the sun.

Marith was humming happily as they reached the front of the line and Morgan had to force a twitching smile as he saw the same plump serving lady from earlier. Fortunately neither Marith nor the serving lady noticed his stiff expression and they got their food and headed to the auditorium. It did not take them long to find their friends as Ross and Rina were having a rather loud argument that drew curious and annoyed looks from the surrounding tables.

“Sis you can’t just say that!” Ross sounded almost angry.

“Why not, it is true is it not?!” Rina snapped back. The twins' shouting was the first thing that they heard when they came close enough to hear.

“There are better ways of going about things like this!” Ross leaned forward angrily. “You keep doing this! Even if you have good intentions, if you keep telling your friends that they should simply give up on everything they aren’t making any progress at, you will run out of friends!”

“If they can’t accept honest advice they are not my friends to begin with!” Rina said, crossing her arms and snorting loudly. Ross was unable to find the words he needed to convince his sister and ended up just groaning. He Sat back down and tiredly massaged his temples as he noticed the two new arrivals and looked up with a faint smile.

“Umm, Hi again.” Morgan said as he subtly looked over at the adjacent tables and the many gawkers. Following Morgan’s eyes Ross let out a pained groan and rested his head in his hands before speaking more softly.

“Sis… I’m just worried about you.” He looked at Rina sadly. “I’m worried that if you keep driving your friends away like this you will simply run out of them…” He trailed off giving Rina a pleading look.

“Brother.” Rina narrowed her eyes. “I think you are underestimating my friends.”

“Hihihihi.” Mary-Ann’s giggle drew a confused look from Ross and a flat look from Rina. “I’m sorry.” She tried and failed to suppress her giggle. “Your brother really cares for you Rina. It is almost making me jealous.” She said suppressing her giggle and gave the twin a roguish smile. This caused the two to sputter and Morgan found himself laughing along with Marith, this however did not last long as they got an angry glare from Ross and a cold stare from Rina. This however only made Mary-Ann burst out laughing prompting Rina to give her a sour look and Ross to scowl. This unsurprisingly did not dampen her laughing.

Morgan trying to avoid another death glare from Rina focused on his food which tasted amazing. The pork was tender and lightly spiced, the vegetables almost melted in the mouth and the abundance of butter gave them a wonderful taste. It was not only Morgan who enjoyed the food. Soon the entire group was eating in silence which was a clear indication of the group's hunger as well as the quality of the food. Morgan was a bit startled when he despite having eaten not long ago, was still able to finish his serving by the time Marith returned with his second serving. He had eaten a bit too much for his own good but at least he did not feel sick and as the plates were emptied conversation started up once more.

“So anyone got any plans for tomorrow?” Ross content with the food now wore his customary casual smile as he spoke.

“I was planning on going to buy some winter clothing in town.” Mary-Ann offered. Hearing this Marith hurried to swallow his food.

“I need to get a set of winter clothing as well, the winters here are brutal!” He smiled, eyes almost twinkling. “Would you mind if I tagged along?”

“It’s Sunday tomorrow.” Morgan said looking at Marith.

“Yeah? Obviously otherwise we wouldn't be free to go to town…” Marith gave Morgan a confused look. The two looked at one another for quite some time with one wearing a confused look and the other a flat look that was a mixture of disappointment and exasperation.

“What about Kaya?” Louie said wearing an expression similar to Morgan’s. Marith's face froze in an expression of shock, his mouth opening and closing. Morgan noticed that his eyes were darting in between Louie, himself and Mary-Ann. It was rather funny and Morgan had to fight to keep a straight face. He had a suspicion that Marith had forgotten his date with Kaya, not that he could understand how he had managed to do this considering the danger that missing the date posed. Marith looked like he was not sure if he should be angry with Morgan for his interference or grateful for the warning. As Marith was trying to make up his mind Ross spoke.

“Well I’m going to sleep.” He stretched tiredly. “Mistress Cromora has been running us ragged the last couple of days and I'm haggard.” He rested an elbow on the table and rubbed his neck with his free arm.

“I really wish I could make fun of you for that…” Rina said, sighing heavily.

“What about you Morgan, what are you going to do?” Ross asked.

“Umm I was going to the library to read, the Archmage told me to go to his office after lunch though.”

“Morgan you're from up north right?” Rina asked to which Morgan nodded. “Mind helping us out with our shopping, I have no clue what clothes I will need and I think it is the same for Mary, Right?” Rina simply decided that she would tag along with Mary-Ann and even invited Morgan and as Rina looked over at Mary-Ann she bobbed her head with a smile.

“Brother will probably be happy to have another boy along anyway.” Rina added, seeming pleased with herself.

“Wait!” Ross stood up in alarm. “I said I was going to sleep tomorrow!” He added desperately, making it clear that he had no intention of going along with his sisters fancies.

“You won’t sleep all day anyway, besides you need winter clothing too.” She paused, a wicked grin spreading on her lips. “That is, unless you don’t mind if I pick out your winter clothing?” Ross’s eyes grew wide and he slumped back down into his seat with a groan.

“By the Stormfather.” He looked up at the ceiling with unfocused eyes. “Anything but that…” Ross took a deep breath gathering his resolve. “Fine but only until lunch! I’m leaving with Morgan you hear!” His voice sounded lacking of confidence even to himself.

Morgan just sat there blinking as the conversation progressed without him, not even noticing the jealous stare he was getting from Marith. Internally he was struggling, one part of him was feeling very happy to go out with friends on his free day. Another part was sad that he would not get to spend all day reading. The last part was terribly nervous! His first outing with friends and two girls at that! He suddenly felt a bit sick and this time the food had nothing to do with it.

As Alina’s class had not gone terribly over time today there was still a bit of time left before they needed to go to bed especially since tomorrow was Sunday which was a day off for all students. Normally Morgan would spend free time like this reading but now he sat here and chatted with his new friends. Well not that he really spoke much. Morgan was not sure of how much help he would be with buying winter clothing, he had after all never bought his own. He decided that he would have to take a look at his own winter clothing to get an idea of what would be good. “I hope that I can help them.” He thought, now feeling even more nervous. As darkness descended the group returned their trays to the cafeteria and saying their goodbyes they splitting up. Morgan did noticed that Marith was deep in thought and he somehow got a bad feeling but was not sure why. But as Morgan went to his room on the third floor and Marith continued up to the fourth he caught a look from Marith that made him sure that he was planning something. Morgan had only barely gotten into bed when he fell into a deep slumber. He did not even open the book he had borrowed.