Where Dreams Come True
Aiyiyiyiyi… I have no idea why it took so long for me to update this. It's supposed to be my primary FE work. (Especially after Priscilla's Diary was deleted. Sigh.)
In any case, the new chapter's up! Enjoy, I hope.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 1: Things of Note
The social scene was something that Sain was exceedingly familiar with. It was, after all, in his nature, to eat, drink, and be merry. For was that not the purpose for which man were placed on this earth?
And of course, you couldn't forget about the women.
Ah, gorgeous beauties, yet unparalleled anywhere in the vast globe! But one heart would scarce be enough to bide such passion!
Or so Sain thought. And as of yet, he hadn't been with any female of their species long enough to ascertain that fact. Still, he was pretty sure of himself.
A tap on his shoulder jerked him from his favourite pastime, that of daydreaming about (what else? ) beautiful women. Beside him, Kent, best friend and roommate stared at him with a tired expression on his face.
"Sain, don't we have a class to attend?" He questioned. Sain, lying on his bunk, opened one eye and grinned at his red-haired friend.
"C'mon, we've plenty of time!" He chuckled. "Why so worried, Kent?"
"Plenty of time?" Kent shook his head. "It starts in twenty minutes, and it's practically on the other end of campus! You haven't even changed! C'mon, up! Get dressed!"
Sain shook his head and leaped to his feet. "Ah, my boon companion! Were we not placed on this world to enjoy ourselves?" He opined as he threw on a shirt. A cursory sniff proved that the smell wasn't toxic. Yet.
Kent didn't bother to reply, he'd already strode out the door. "Hey, wait!" Sain called. Struggling into a pair of pants, he stumbled out the door after his friend.
Class was just about to start when Kent and Sain stumbled into the lecture hall, sheepish looks on their faces. The professor gave them an annoyed look, but nothing more as they slid into their seats, next to the rest of their little gang.
Sain put on what he believed to be his most charming smile as he turned to face Lyndis, sitting beside him. "Hark!" He crowed. "Lyn! Your overpowering beauty is as strong today as it ever were! What is the secret behind such elegance, such poise in your form and grace?"
She'd heard it all before, and so proceeded to let it go with a friendly shove to Sain's head. Kent, meanwhile, nodded a polite greeting to Wil and Florina before pulling out his notebook; ready to copy down whatever the professor was talking about.
Just another typical day in Etruria University…
Nino leaned back in her seat, absentmindedly jotting down whatever Mr. Pent was saying in practically ineligible shorthand. Not that she'd ever read any of it- She had long since been known to possess accelerated learning and mental development capabilities, which was a fancy way of saying she could remember stuff practically word for word after hearing it once.
Which served to explain why she was the youngest person ever to study in Etruria. At the age of fifteen, most would be more inclined to be in high school, gossiping over the latest fashions, and who got whom as a boyfriend. Not her. She had already won two scholarships, and was top of every class she studied.
Beside her, Erk was neatly jotting down everything his adoptive father was saying, neatly and concisely. It never failed to amaze the younger girl how hardworking her best friend on campus was. She'd probably die of boredom if she ever had to study that hard to get good grades.
But it works for him, I guess. She giggled slightly to herself. He actually seems to enjoy it!
The session ended, and students streamed out. Erk grabbed his notebook, said goodbye to Uncle Pent, and walked out of the classroom, Nino at his side.
"So, how was the lesson?" She asked him.
"Oh, the usual." Rubbing his head, he leafed through his notes again. Some of this stuff is really high-handed, though. I'd have to reread it again tonight, just to make sure I understand it." He looked up, a slight hint of tired resentment in his eyes. "You're probably going to go home and play Playstation 2 nonstop, and you'll ace the next test, as usual."
"Don't be hatin'" Nino grinned at him, both hands cupped behind her head. Erk held his expression a moment longer before chuckling slightly.
"Getting highest in everything… I'll beat you one day, sister! Just you wait!"
"Ha ha ha…" The two of them laughed as they strolled out of campus. Lessons for them were over for the day. As they passed through the gates of the campus, he accidentally bumped into a girl rushing past, clutching several files in hand.
The girl stumbled, and her papers flew everywhere. Years of good manners having been thoroughly drilled into him, Erk stooped down and scooped up most of the sheets, handing them back to her.
"T-thanks." She stammered. He smiled, nodded in reply, and continued on his way.
Meanwhile, the female stood, absentmindedly tucking a strand of crimson hair behind her ear. With a slightly anxious look etched onto her face, she hurried into the campus.
They had been doing nothing in particular, just hanging out at a one of their local haunts, when he saw them.
Perfection, in the form of a pair of females, striding along, talking and laughing with each other.
Leaning over to Wil, Sain whispered. "Who are those two?"
Wil shrugged, but Lyn overheard and grinned. "They're Florina's sisters, just came here the other day." Then she smiled a sweet smile, one that every one who knew her as more than a passing acquaintance learnt to fear. "Sain… should you happen to try anything, such as, shall we say, chatting them up, you are in for a world of hurt. Are we agreed on this?"
"Sure, sure- OW! Leggo my ear!" He howled, to the laughter of both Wil and Kent.
Released from Lyn's crushing grip, he mumbled something under his breath and turned to regard the two of them, walking closer to their little group.
"He aims… he shoots… he scores!"
SWISH!
"Nothin' but net, ladies and gentlemen!" Hector crowed as the basketball bounced back into his arms. A second later, slow, mocking applause sounded from the back of the court.
He didn't turn around. He didn't need to. "Mocking me, Eli? I'd like to see you do better."
"Stop calling me that, Hecteyes." Eliwood replied easily as he relieved the ball from his friend and swished it through the net without pausing to aim. "Keep practicing so much and you'll end up losing what little grey matter you have left."
Hector rolled his eyes and slumped his way onto the bleachers. Eliwood, hands in pockets, approached him again. "You really sure you want to go through with it? I mean, heck, if the bottom falls out, the onus is on you to fix it."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure." Hector mumbled grumpily. "It'll be way better, no matter what else, then listening to my brother bemoan every single thing I do."
" 'Sall for your own good." Eliwood laughed. "Alrighty, then. I'm just popping over to submit the application. Wanna come along?"
"Why not?" The blue-haired youth shrugged. Getting back up to his feet, he set off after his fiery-haired friend.
"So you're leaving?"
"Yep… the decision was made a long time ago, really."
"Can't say we won't miss you. Take care of yourself, girl."
"Yeah… you too."
Lyn whistled to herself as she pushed aside the door to the center, mouth stretching into a grin as she noted Eliwood and Hector both there, looking exceedingly bored.
"What?" She smirked. "Sorting through the paperwork proving to be too much of a strain for your simple minds? Ah, what a pity. If you like, I could help you."
"Greatly appreciated, Mrs. Lyn." Eliwood snapped as he tossed a brick of paper into her arms. "Start reading and try figuring out where we went wrong in our calculations. Apparently we owe them more than we originally figured."
Lyn raised an eyebrow. "How much more."
"Three dollars and seventy two cents."
"And you consider that amount worth sifting through mountains of paperwork for?"
"It's the principle of the thing!" Hector replied grumpily as he jammed away at a calculator.
Lyn shook her head at the incorrigible stupidity of it all, and began reading.
A hand landed on her shoulder. With a tiny gasp of surprise, she whirled around.
The guy standing in front of her ran a hand through his messy green hair. "You look lost." He said in a friendly tone of voice. "Can I help you?"
She stood staring dumbly at him for a few seconds before it clicked in her mind. "Oh! Ah… um… yes…" Blushing for the fool she had apparently made out of herself, she cast her eyes down. "Well, I'm looking for a place to stay, you see…"
"Hm?" He questioned. "Why don't you stay in the dorms? It's subsidized for students." He grinned. "You are a student, aren't you?"
She winced at the bluntness of his question. "Well… no, I mean, not yet…"
He didn't reply, just continued staring at her, waiting for her to continue.
She sighed, and it all came out. "I… I've failed my entrance exams once already. My parents were never very supportive about me studying in Etruria… and I couldn't deal with all the negativity…" Is that even a word? She thought to herself. "So… I… I decided to come out here and find a place to stay while I study for this year's entrance exams. Problem is, the rates at the dorm's too high, and anyway, they're no vacancies." She shrugged. "I really don't have much money, is the problem."
Story over, she shrugged her bag further up her shoulder and turned to leave.
"Wait a tick." The guy called to her. "I have a room… if you're really looking for a place to stay."
She glanced at him tiredly. "I don't have money, all right? I just told you."
He laughed. "No prob. You just provide your own food and stuff like that, and you can stay there free. Just don't mess up the whole apartment, and we have a deal."
She stared at him for a few more seconds, dumbstruck. "Why?" She finally managed to blurt out.
"Ah, it gets lonely having an apartment all to yourself… You can stay there until you find a dorm or lodge or something that has suitable rates." He shrugged. "Whaddya say?"
She stood there for a few minutes, considering her options. On one hand, this was a stranger who was offering her a room, and it sounded suspicious.
But on the other, she needed somewhere to stay, unless she wanted to return home and admit defeat. And given the nature of her adoptive parents, it'd mean never being able to enter Etruria…
She glanced at the gleaming white tower of the main building, it's windows glinting in the evening sun. Then she turned to him. "Deal."
"That's good, then." He laughed again. He seemed to like doing that a lot. "My name's Heath, by the way. What's yours?"
She smiled. "My name's Priscilla. Nice to meet you, Heath."
He grinned and started walking. "Allow me to lead the way to my humble abode, fair maiden."
Erk sighed with frustration. He just couldn't get it.
"What's wrong with me?" He mumbled as he stared at his notes in front of him. "I can't concentrate at all."
And he had had a bad headache since he got back from school too. But stopping wasn't an option. He had to make sure he knew all the material before tomorrow.
"C'mon, focus." He murmured. "Focus… focus… focus…"
Louise sighed. "So when are you leaving?"
Pent scratched the back of his head. "Best estimates rate about sometime next week. I'll be away for the rest of the term. You know how these conferences are."
Louise chuckled slightly. "Well, considering this trimester has all of two weeks left to run…"
"Mm." Pent nodded his agreement. "And then it's a long, long break of two months." Leaning back in his chair, he continued. "During which eighty percent of the students will return having completely forgot anything and everything they learnt last year."
His wife laughed. "Not Nino. And definitely not Erk."
"Yes… about Erk…" Pent sighed heavily. "I'm starting to worry about him. He's eighteen, Louise. It's just not healthy for him to have his nose buried in a book twenty-four seven."
"Living in a house with a Professor can't be helping matters." Louise replied sagely.
"Exactly. And that's why I've been considering-"
Thud.
Pent frowned. "Did you hear that?"
"It came from upstairs." Louise said worriedly.
Hurrying upstairs, his attention was drawn to the open doorway of Erk's room, and more importantly, of his adoptive son's unconscious form on the floor.
"Erk!"
Ended chapter on a slightly tense note… but, aw heck. If all goes well, my next update should take less time than this one. (Thank goodness.)
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