Aida ran into Sue outside their rooms the next morning as she was about to go for her morning jog. Sue was wearing her tracksuit bottoms, although she opted for a white tank top instead of the school-issued T-shirt and track jacket. Even underneath the layer of fabric, Aida could see the light definition of abs.
“Morning, Sue,” Aida said brightly, trying to stifle her jealousy. “You’re up early.”
“So are you,” Sue smiled. “You’re running?”
Aida looked down at her full get-up: tracksuit. “Yeah, it’s usually kind of cold and breezy near the Lake.” She looked back up. “Do you want to come with?”
“Oh, no thanks,” Sue said quickly. “I was going to do some light exercise in the gym, before I went out to practice on the dummies.” She made a face. “Running is so mind-numbing.”
Aida laughed as they began heading towards the stairs. “It really is. But for some reason, being near the Lake is soothing.”
Sue affectionately swished Aida’s ponytail. “It’s because it’s Water! I’m glad you found motivation in the lake. It’s really nice, but I just get sleepy around it. We should have a picnic one day near there, though.”
“Good idea,” Aida said enthusiastically. “Maybe tomorrow? It will be our last day of freedom before we start our new schedules, and don’t get to see each other as frequently.” A pang of loneliness reverberated through Aida’s chest. The notice board had posted schedules for the third years - the only year where the students were further split into separate groups for educational purposes. The top five students (Class 1) had their own schedule, ranks 6-15 (Class 2) had their own schedule, and the remaining students (Class 3) had their own schedule. The primary difference, other than shuffled classes, was that Class 3 had their evening period as a mandatory remedial period; for Class 2, it was a free period; and for Class 1, it was an advanced studies period, where Class 1 was to receive additional focused tutoring time. The notice board went on to say that in the new sun cycle, two moon cycles hence, the advanced studies period would become Affiliate Affairs, where presumably the top five would have an hour and a half of unfettered access every weekday to meet with the Affiliates seeking to recruit them.
That wasn’t to say the top five monopolized all of the Affiliates; the board had posted encouraging words to Classes 2 and 3, reassuring them they would have plenty of opportunities to meet with the Affiliates as well. Class 2 would have two days of the week to meet with Affiliates, and Class 3 would have one day of the week. The subtle warning was that Classes 2 and 3 shouldn’t slack, so that they could make a good impression on the Affiliates.
Aida was frankly relieved at the thought of only having to shmooze with recruiters twice a week instead of every day. She would have preferred just one day, but acknowledged that two days in a more intimate setting was probably the best balance she could hope for (compared to jostling with fourteen other students for attention for one day).
Sue was nodding excitedly. “Yes, let’s do tomorrow! Who did you want to invite?”
“Well, Caleb, Ezra, and Levi, I suppose. Lily and Vanita. Is there anyone else you’d like to invite?”
Sue shook her head. “Nope. I’m happy with the guest list!”
Bidding each other a good workout, and promising to alert any of the guests they run into to the pending picnic the next day, they split off at the ground floor.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
The next afternoon, Aida cheerfully changed into the most picnic-appropriate attire in her dresser: a plain, oversized pale blue T-shirt, and black cotton shorts that had a string tie instead of elastic. Rest days were the only time Maglica students could wear the clothes they brought from home, so even though she knew her clothes were less nice than what everyone else would likely wear, she relished being able to actually choose comfortable clothes. Looking at her reflection, she decided to tuck her shirt into her shorts, since otherwise she looked like a child wearing her father’s shirt. She still looked childish swimming in all that fabric, but at least she looked like she had more adult proportions.
Sue was waiting outside her door, her hair done up in a half ponytail, wearing a pink sundress with flowers on it. “Aida! You look so cute!”
“Speak for yourself,” Aida responded, smiling. “Is the kitchen ready for our picnic?”
“Yep! Let’s go get ready.” They headed down to the kitchen, their arms linked and chattering. They lugged the three massive baskets away from the dining hall (Nolem, the kitchen worker Aida was most familiar with, had winked as Sue and Aida retrieved their baskets. “Three boys? You need all that food.”), taking breaks as they heaved the baskets down to the lake.
“Should we wait for one of them to find and help us?” Aida asked breathlessly. They had just reached the crest of the hill that would slope down to the Lake. The sparkling surface was a deep, calm blue, and the lush greenery around it swayed gently in the wind.
“No way,” Sue said grimly. “What kind of hosts would we be if we made our guests help us set up?”
Conceding the point, they continued transporting the bulky baskets down. Aida plopped down, leaning back against the gently sloping grass. “Let’s take a quick break; I can barely breathe.”
Sue flopped down next to her, also panting. “That’s some really good conditioning.”
“I really thought about using mana for that,” Aida admitted. “But I thought that was a bit ridiculous…and such a waste.”
Sue giggled. “We wouldn’t have to tell anyone! We can tell them we did it all on our own.”
“Hey, you guys got here so early!”
Sitting up, Aida saw Lily and Vanita making their way down the slope towards them. Lily was wearing a green-striped T-shirt and jean shorts, topped with a bucket hat, and Vanita was wearing a demure yellow cardigan over a coffee-colored dress. “We meant to set up the picnic before everyone got here,” she said apologetically. “Sorry you saw us being slobs.”
Stolen novel; please report.
Lily giggled. “No worries. Vanita and I came early to help set up.”
Between four hands, the feast was quickly set up. Nolem had also included a large picnic blanket for them in one of the baskets (“No wonder the baskets were so heavy! We’ve been carrying cotton.”). Aida tried to examine the names of all the dishes laid out, but the notification boxes utterly overwhelmed her. She recognized some of her favorites, such as Brinestrone and Spicy Soy Sponge Stew (“No wonder the baskets were so heavy! We’ve been carrying liquid.”), and others she recognized as Sue’s favorites (mainly all the red spicy items, as well as the taco things that she and Sue had in Buddington Town).
“Wow, what is all this?” Aida looked up to see Levi heading the approaching group of boys. He was dressed in a dark-green short-sleeve button-down, with the top two buttons unbuttoned for the collar to lay on his chest in a V-neck. He wore dark pants underneath, and an accompanying black bucket hat.
“Levi! Fashion breach! I’m already wearing a hat so you can’t!” Lily screeched.
“Who’s gonna stop me?” he retorted. Lily began jumping at him like a grasshopper, trying to snatch his hat away as he dodged her groping hands.
Aida smiled at Ezra and Caleb, gesturing for them to sit down. Ezra was wearing the same color-blocked bomber jacket from their visit to Shale Port, but underneath he was wearing a U-neck white shirt with a thick silver chain across his throat. He also apparently decided to dress up today, because he was wearing white pants. What Annie would normally have clocked as “who does he think he is,” on Ezra it looked like “I’m trying to be respectful and look nice.”
Caleb wore a simple white T-shirt over dark jeans. He was kind of like Aida: fabric floated around his waist, since he was wearing a shirt that fit across his shoulders. If Aida didn’t know him, she would have assumed he was carrying excess weight underneath all that material. She clucked internally. Ezra should recommend him a tailor.
Sue handed out bowls and chopsticks (“No wonder the baskets were so heavy. We were carrying dishware,” Sue grumbled), and everybody settled down. Vanita had arranged all the food in such a way that everybody was able to grab what they wanted with minimal crossover.
“We should do this more often,” Lily said, her mouth full.
“The whole reason we’re doing this now is because we won’t have time to do it later,” Sue responded, laughing.
“We can make it happen,” Lily insisted. “Just set aside one rest day every moon cycle. Everybody better make it!” She glared around the circle impressively.
Aida smiled to herself sadly. Sounds familiar. Her friends had made the same declarations, but time would always erode good intentions. But that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the time as much as she could. “I’m down for it. Once every moon cycle. I mean, why not, when the kitchen is willing to pack a picnic for us?” Aida gestured at the three baskets that were now stacked behind her.
“That’s true,” Vanita agreed. “We may as well take advantage of these experiences while we can. Once we leave school the effort is much greater.”
Vanita’s sobering words brought a damper to the party, and they picked at their food quietly.
“You know, even though school’s been a slog, and I’m in the bottom half of the class,” Lily said slowly, her chopsticks suspended in the air. “I’m still really glad I came to Maglica. The coursework is intense, and they drive us so hard, but we all still managed to become friends.” Lily slammed her chopsticks and bowl down, burying her face in Vanita’s sympathetic arms.
“You know what they say,” Levi said, aiming for levity. “Like spirits wander ‘til they bonder.”
“That’s not how that saying goes,” Caleb said, half-amused and half-worried.
“You mark my words,” Levi said, pointing his chopsticks in Caleb’s face. “I’ll be a Master one day, and everything I say will become written record.”
“Are you sure becoming a Master won’t be too much work for you?” Ezra asked dryly.
Levi pursed his lips. “Yeah, you’re right. Don’t worry, Ezra - when you become Master, I’ll have a whole book of quotes for you to spout out whenever you want to make a point.”
“Really,” Vanita said disapprovingly as she patted Lily’s back. “You’re too casually blasphemous.”
“It’s okay,” Lily said, pulling back from Vanita with a watery giggle. “Levi’s right, I was being silly.”
“Yeah, you’re acting like this is a gathering for the end of the school year instead of the beginning!” Sue teased. “Should we all agree that we’ll have a picnic once every moon cycle? Say, the first or second rest day?”
Everybody nodded at Sue’s words, with varying degrees of excitement.
Aida pulled out her wand, summoning a stream of water from the lake to rinse out her bowl and clean her hands.
“Ooo, can I get some?” Lily held out her bowl.
Aida acquiesced, smiling. She poured water into seven bowls, everyone rinsing their utensils.
“Aida, you’ve gotten so good at Water Manipulation,” Sue said admiringly.
“Yeah, thanks to Ezra!” Everyone looked to him, and a slight flush crept up his neck. Hurriedly, Aida pulled another stream of water from the lake. “During the first major training session we had, I actually managed to surprise him.”
Shaping the stream into a ball, Aida tossed the ball around the heads of the group, making some of them flinch. It was almost second nature now, like checking both sides of the road before crossing. She threw the water and caught it, treating the water as a familiar tennis ball she tossed from hand to hand. She didn’t even have to track it with her eyes anymore.
A mischievous thought crossed her mind. Why not? She glanced at the boys, who were all sitting together, watching her play with her mana. Ezra had a content expression, Caleb was smiling, and Levi had his characteristic half-smirk on his face. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, and sent the ball of water rocketing into the sky. Completely disengaging her mana, she put her hands over her eyes.
Amid the cacophony of shouts and laughter, Aida peeked through her fingers to see who the unwitting victim was. It seemed like Caleb had taken the full brunt of the water, and was now sopping wet. His white shirt was completely soaked through, clinging to his muscular shoulders and outlining his pecs. His head was dipped, the water flowing along his nose.
“Bad luck, bro,” Levi tittered on the side. “Maybe you should take your shirt off, so you don’t get a cold.”
“I’ll make a fire,” Sue said, her voice wavering. Her lips were twitching as she tried to keep from laughing. Her eyes sparkled. “Levi, Lily, can you grow some firewood?”
Caleb slowly lifted his head, fixing dark purple eyes on Aida. His face was grim. Aida gulped. “Um, sorry about that, I thought it would be funny…” she slowly began backing away at the look on his face. “I said I’m sorry, okay?!”
“Not good enough,” Caleb growled as he lunged forward, clearing the empty plates and picnic blanket in one leap. Aida shrieked, activating her Mana Surge to escape. Unfortunately, she only managed to take one step before Caleb’s thick arms snaked around her waist, hoisting her into the air. Aida immediately felt water seep through her shirt.
“You’re wet!” she wailed plaintively. Caleb had lifted her over his shoulder, and she was looking back at the group. Everyone had some variation of shock or laughter on their faces. Levi looked delighted.
“Actions have consequences,” Caleb said from behind her. He was striding purposefully away from the group.
“Wait, let’s talk about this—“
“We are beyond the time for talking.” Caleb brought her forward, so that she was hanging in his grasp with her feet dangling above the ground. “This is war.” With that, Caleb threw her away.