[29.1] The Master Procrastinator

I stuck my head out of my window and took a deep breath. I let out a groan, "I am SO BORED! There's nothing to do!"

Zephyr, who had been lounging on my bed, raised his head lazily, "Aren't you supposed to be studying or something?"

I flopped down on the bed next to him, "I'm not studying on my only day off."

He yawned, "This is why you're dumb."

I glared at him, "I don't want to hear that from you."

He snickered, "I can't wait until you fail and embarrass yourself in front of that golden-haired brat."

"Why would I get embarrassed?"

He smirked, "Because you'll realize that a kid half your age is actually smarter than you."

I stared at the ceiling with a blank expression.

I shook my head, "I-I can't do worse than him. That's not possible… Right?"

He looked at me without confidence, "...You should study."

I forced on a smile, "B-But if I study now I will forget… Isn't it better for memory if I study the night before?"

Zephyr stared at me without expression.

I jumped up abruptly, "I wonder where Mummy is right now."

I strolled out of the room and down the stairs, checking each of the rooms in the tower. I frowned, "Where is everyone? Even the snowman isn't in his office…"

I poked my head into the kitchen, but couldn't see my Mummy cooking any sweets. Confused even more, I opened the cupboards, but couldn't find anyone there either. I put my hands on my hips, "Did they just leave without saying anything to me? How rude."

I noticed movement outside of the window and looked out to see the Headmaster sitting on a blanket beside my Mother. The two of them were seated beneath a tree in what looked to be a nice picnic scene.

However, the Headmaster was so stiff it was almost painful to see.

I opened the window and stuck my head out, "What are you two doing?"

My mother smiled happily, "I thought your father was getting pale, so I brought him outside to get sunlight."

His expression stiffened, "I was doing my work."

She gave him a look, "You're always doing your work. It's not healthy to lock yourself inside of a single dusty room every minute of your life. You need fresh air."

He muttered to himself, "I'm not always doing my work. We eat dinner together every night."

She smiled at him in a way that was not quite a smile, "What was that?"

He let out a cough and looked away, "Nothing."

I laughed at their exchange, "Blink if you're being held captive, Papa, and I will come to save you."

He looked at me and blinked quickly.

My mother turned to smile threateningly at me, "Shouldn't you be studying, dear?"

I averted my eyes, "I-I am taking a break."

She tilted her head, "Would you like to join us in the sunshine? I can help supervise your studies."

I forced a smile, "N-No… That's okay. I'm… I'm just going to go back to studying now."

I closed the window quickly and abandoned the Headmaster to the wolf.

I walked around the tower for a little while before growing bored of that too. I groaned, "Ughhh… So bored… Should I try to study?"

I walked over to my schoolbooks and opened a page.

I promptly closed it, "Good job studying, Reika! You deserve a break. A walk outside will be good for rejuvenating the mind."

I stood up and walked out of the tower, being extra careful to avoid my mother's eyes. As I walked along the school grounds, I noticed Felix leaving the dorms and walking toward the city.

I ran over to him, "Oi! I'm bored. Come play with me."

Felix let out a laugh, "Shouldn't you be studying? We have an important test tomorrow."

I stuck out my tongue, "Don't wanna. So will you come? Hazel told me that there is a haunted house outside of town that has hidden treasures inside."

Felix shook his head, "I can't. I have to go help my father with the family business."

I looked Felix up and down.

He stood with an uncomfortable smile as I assessed him.

This poor kid. He does whatever his father tells him to.

He needs to rebel!

He needs to experience what it's like to be a teenager!

A wicked smile crossed my face which made him visibly more uncomfortable.

Time to corrupt his poor innocent soul.

I stepped over to him and wrapped my arm around his neck, pulling him closer. I smiled at him mischievously, "Listen, Crybaby. You need to live now while you can. Being young doesn't last forever. So come on. Let your hair down."

He looked away uncomfortably, "But my hair is already down…"

I let out a sigh, "It's a figure of speech. Now come on."

His expression paled as I pulled out my wand and summoned the ice chunk. He gulped, "Can we at least walk?"

I gave him a wink, "Nope!"

I grabbed his arm and pulled him up on the ice chunk. As we flew through the air he cried out and clung to me. I raised an eyebrow as I watched him anxiously look at the ground. I clicked my tongue, "You're practically an adult now. Why are you so scared?"

He forced on a smile, "Reika. You do realize that not everyone is great at magic like you are?"

I grinned, "You think I'm great at magic?"

He let out a sigh, "I can't think of a single person who can switch from fire to water attacks so abruptly like you. You really are in the rare percentage of people who can actually do that."

"I'm sure that you're capable of that too."

He shook his head quickly, "I can't. I can only heal and grow plants. I can't fight and I can barely even protect myself. If I get thrown off of this, I will die. So naturally, I'm scared!"

I stared at him closely before slowly coming to a stop. I lowered us to the ground and held out my hand to help him off. His legs wobbled slightly before he let out a sigh on solid ground.

He looked at me timidly, "T-Thanks."

I reached out and rubbed his head, "I'm sorry I didn't respect or recognize your boundaries earlier. I shouldn't have forced you through that."

I pulled my hand back and continued to walk towards town. Once I realized he wasn't following, I turned around and noticed he was staring at me with a look of surprise.

Hm? Why does he look so shocked?

Did flying on an ice chunk really scare him that much?

I tilted my head, "Are you okay? Did I really scare you that badly?"

He jogged up to me with an unreadable expression, "Y-You don't think of me as less of a man?"

I laughed, "Why? Because you're scared of heights? That would be stupid."

"But I'm the son of a duke. I represent my family and yet I'm such an embarrassment. If I show a slightest sign of weakness the other families will use that against me."

"Oooh." I nodded in understanding, "So that's why you're always a different person when we are at those annoying parties… But why do you act so differently around Cyrus and me?"

He scratched his head awkwardly, "Well… You two are my friends, so-"

I laughed and gave him a playful shove, "You're my friend too!"

His eyes lit up, "R-Really?!"

I nodded, "Yeah. Did you think you weren't?"

"You are always calling me a crybaby, so I thought you hated being around me."

I pursed my lips, "I called you that because you were always crying. I could never hate you."

…Especially since you saved my life.

What kind of person could hate their savior?

His eyes watered as if touched, "You really don't hate me?"

I let out a sigh, "If I hated you, would I drag you into town with me?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. Some of the things you do make no sense."

I flicked his forehead, "Come on. Don't make me regret bringing you."