Where Dreams Come True


Chapter 5: Day Out


Disclaimer: Own nothing, I do.


Erk rolled over sleepily, rubbing his eyes. Fumbling slightly, he quickly located his glasses and slid them onto his face.

Right. No classes today for him. He might as well get in some extra studying done on Anima theory.

Standing, he walked over to his desk, flicking on the room lights as he did so. A quick half-hour study period, and then he would go get breakfast.

He chose to ignore the tiny voice in the back of his head reminding him that these 'half-hour' sessions had a tendency to blossom into four hour endurance trials, and he'd probably miss breakfast completely.

Oh, well. Reaching over, Erk slid open the drawer, reaching in to pull out his notes, and discovering to his utter consternation that the drawer was empty.

Glancing up, he did a quick runthrough over the room with his eyes. Nope, his notes didn't seem to be anywhere in the vicinity. And he probably couldn't get into a more thorough search without waking up the slumbering Nils.

Just then, the door opened softly and Legault's head appeared in the doorway. "Ah, good, you're up. Could you step out here for a minute?"

With a helpless shrug, Erk complied.

The instant they were both in the hallway, Legault slid the door shut and turned to Erk. "You've probably noticed your study materials have vanished. I stole them."

"Wha-!"

"No,no, shut up and listen first. Your Uncle Pent didn't just dropkick you out the car door and leave you here. He hoped a change in environment would help alleviate your apparent obsession with studying-"

"I am not obsessed!"

"Will you hear me out? Anyway, he authorized me to take what measures necessary to ensure you don't go overboard if the change in environment proved insufficient. It has. And today, I'm putting that authority into effect."

Erk glowered at Legault, who cheerfully carried on. "And as part two of my grand master plan comes into effect, we're dragging you off to the mall to spend the day slacking off and doing nothing in particular."

"You can't make me do this, Legault." Erk growled.

Legault shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid the Almighty commands it."

"What?"

"Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, not your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." Legault rattled off the Commandment from memory.

"…It's not Sunday. Or if we're going to be technical, it's not Saturday either."

"Yes, but you're way overdue." Legault gave a disarming smile. "Besides, you wouldn't want to let the rest of the girls down, would you?"

"We're ready, uncle Legault!" Came Nino's voice as she rounded the corner, dressed in street wear.

"You too?"

"Are you kidding? There's no way we're missing out on a day trip where Uncle Legault pays all the expenses!" Nino grinned.

The purple-haired youth shook his head. "I feel betrayed." He mumbled.

"Come on, then!" Legault said brightly. "To the truck! By the way, do you want air conditioning or not?"

"Um, yes, of course I do."

"Then sit in the back and enjoy the wind. The air conditioner's broken."

Erk forced himself to suppress a groan.


Fiora glanced up as she heard the knock on the door of her dorm room. "Come in." She called.

The door creaked open, and a smile blossomed on Fiora's face as she saw her younger sister step into the room. "Florina!"

"Hi, sis," Florina smiled shyly. "It's been so hectic lately this is the first time in a month that I'll be free for the day. I decided to come over to see how you were doing."

"Well, orientation was a complete mess, but luckily things have calmed down some." Fiora chuckled. "I think I see why you recommended this university so strongly."

"Mmhm. It's great, isn't it?" Florina then glanced around the tiny quarters. "Where's Farina?"

"Oh, she left earlier. You know her. She doesn't like cramped spaces."


"I need a game that is suitable for a nerdy workaholic that doesn't play games. And if you say Brain Training or any variants of said game, I reserve the right to bop you on the head with a strategy guide."

Franz shook his head as he turned back to the shelves, rearranging the positions of the games. "Would 'Mario' do?"

"Hmm… maybe something of a more lasting fare."

"Right. I'd suggest 'Pokemon', except we all know it isn't out yet-"

"Path of Radiance?"

"You don't even own a 'Cube, Legault."

"I'd buy one if the Wii weren't coming out so soon. By the way, any luck on PS3 preorders?"

"I'd be lucky to get a single 'tard pack. You know independent stores always get shafted."

"I'm no sure of the accuracy of calling 'em "'tard" packs when HDMI is now standard-

"Force of habit, sorry. And wasn't the discussion about buying a game for your grumpy friend over there? Just get him some Playstation 2 RPG. Final Fantasy X or something. Easy to get into, long lasting…"

"Excuse me, sir. Some service, please?"

"Sorry, gotta go." Franz gave Legault an apologetic look before dashing back to the counter.

"Yes, I'm looking to buy a game for my son." The middle-aged woman declared as she held up a box. "Could you tell me if this is for the Playcube or the Gamestation?"

"Uh, neither, ma'am. That's for the Game Boy Advance."


Erk glanced down at the plastic bag swinging in Legault's arm as the two of them walked through the mall. "So that's the game you want me to play?"

"Indeed."

"And you're not going to tell me what it's called."

"It's not going to mean anything to you anyway. You've never even owned a single gaming device."

"And yet you're going to force me to play a game you picked out for me."

"Right. I'd have waited a couple months for the new console – one that's apparently aimed at you filthy nongamers – but drastic measures are necessary for the time being."

Erk groaned and rubbed his eyes. "Why me?" He mumbled under his breath.


"Hey, Neimi. Isn't the Colm over there?"

Neimi glanced over, her eyes widening as she caught sight of Colm in the vicinity, strolling casually through the food court.

"Doesn't he have a part-time job?" She wondered aloud. "Why isn't he working?"

"Break, maybe?" Rebecca shrugged as she took a drink from her cup. "Maybe he just wants some lunch."

"Yeah, but his job's supposed to be at the other end of town."

The two of them watched curiously as Colm glanced furtively around him, before turning and walking away from the food court, hands tucked deep into his pockets.

"Weird." Neimi mumbled to herself as she returned to her meal. "Maybe I can ask him about it later…"


Nino flipped through the thick tome before replacing it on the shelf. "Why is it so hard to get good medical texts?" She mumbled.

From the bookshelf beside her, Serra shrugged. "Maybe because you've already bought and read all the good ones?"

"Heh, yeah, maybe." Nino chuckled. However, as she reached over to pull another book that caught her eye, she heard a tiny squeal of disgust coming from Serra. Glancing over, she saw her pink-haired friend brushing frantically at her dress.

"Spiders!" The abruptly, her tone changed from frightened to incensed. "Who runs this lousy store anyway? I'm going to give that person a piece of my mind!"

"Um, Serra, that was a piece of lint – Serra? Serra!" Nino sighed, reshelved the book, and hurried after her friend.


"Franz?"

At the sound of his name, he glanced up, his face breaking into a smile as he caught sight of his friend entering the store.

"Amelia! So you came with Legault? How's things?"

"Fine, if a little stressful at work." Amelia let out a tired sigh. "How's your thesis coming along?"

"Almost done." Franz smiled. "A couple of edits to my conclusion, and I can turn it in to the professor."

"Hmph." Amelia playfully stuck out her tongue at him. "Any chance you could help me out with mine? I could use a few words of advice."

"Sure." Franz shrugged. "Saturday good for you? I'll come after lunch."

"Great. It's a date."

"Franz?" Kyle's voice came from the backroom. "I'm not opposed to you developing your social life, but could you not do it on company time? Don't you have to label all those budget titles?"

Amelia gave a wry smile as she cocked her head to the side. "And hello to you too, Kyle!" She called gaily.

"Darn kids need to get off my lawn." Kyle shot back.

A short chuckle, and Amelia turned towards the exit. "See you later, Franz."

"Yeah…" He said softly, trying not to focus on the way her golden hair swished around her neck, glowing almost pure white as they caught the rays of the sun. "Later."


"Everyone ready?" Legault said as he surveyed the rest of his troupe. "Alright, let's get on the truck. Time to head home."

"Why couldn't we just find our own ways back later?" Rebecca queried.

"Because you're doing it on my time and money. Now forward, march!"

"That's funny. I didn't know Matthew worked at the bookstore." Serra commented as she boarded Legault's vehicle.

"I don't think he was very happy to see you." Nino observed. "At least, not after you started yelling at him about the nonexistent spiders."

"Hey, are those cheese crackers? Hand me one, would ya?"

"Ninian and Nils should still be at the Lodge waiting for us."

"She really should hang out more. She's difficult to talk to, you knoe?"

"Hey, Erk!" Rebecca said brightly. "What's that you've got there."

"A game Legault picked out for me." Erk said in a bored voice. "He's going to force me to play it when we get back to the Lodge."


"Talk about your awkward silences…" Erk mumbled to himself as he opened the door to his room.


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