Sweet Summer Breeze

Violet checked her mail that Thursday morning and found a verbose thank you letter from Elliott for bringing him on her "fishing expedition" the previous day. While the farmer herself had not caught a sturgeon, Elliott hooked one and reeled it in close enough to shore that they could see the monstrous outline of the fish before it tore itself from the line.

The serene hum of the insects under the pine trees on the mountainside, bearing witness to the tiny minnows schooling in the shallows, and the company of a dear friend have all in combination rejuvenated my well-being. Elliott wrote to the farmer. I thank you again for allowing me to accompany you in experiencing the thrill that is fisherman's luck.

So, despite the failure, Violet enjoyed her time with Elliott. She could always try to catch a sturgeon again in the winter if she was not able to obtain one by the end of the season. The farmer would just have to be patient.

The second letter was from George requesting a hot pepper for his knee. Violet was not aware that peppers could be used medicinally, but she supposed she could set one aside for him when she harvested more the next day.

Today, the exciting crop for Violet was her first starfruit. She had planted it the evening of the Luau and it was finally ripened enough to pluck from the tiny tree. She smiled giddily as she held the fruit in her hand. It appeared to be better quality than the one Pierre sold her for the community soup, though perhaps that was because of her untrained eyes. Still, Violet was proud to have grown an exotic crop from seed to fruit successfully. While the agrarian had a sense of pride when harvesting her first parsnips, this satisfaction was on a completely different level.

For now, Violet wanted to save the starfruit for a special occasion, so she went inside to wash off all her crops and separate all the ingredients she wanted to keep for her own meals in her kitchen. As she turned to head back outside, the farmer noticed something small and brightly colored on the floor. Picking it up between her thumb and forefinger, it was almost velvety to the touch. Violet brought it to her face to inspect the blue scrap. "It's a flower petal…" she realized quickly. If there had been any doubt previously, Violet noticed there was a trace amount of pollen on the inner side of the petal. It was not a poppy petal, which would make some sense if Elliott's flowers were further along. But even poppies were not blue. "Where did this come from?" she asked the air.

Sebastian stood before the kitchen table, nervously twiddling his thumbs in front of his body as he waited for Robin to join him and Demetrius, who sat opposite to his step-son. "What's this about, Sebastian?" the man queried before taking a sip of his morning coffee.

"I'm sure Sebastian will tell us when mom gets here," Maru assured her father. She turned to Sebastian and grinned encouragingly. His sister knew exactly why Sebastian had called this family meeting, but she had already decided to keep her involvement from their parents. Besides, even if she had helped with the research, in the end it was her older brother's decision to make.

After what seemed like an eternity, Robin popped into the kitchen and took her seat. "Sorry for the hold up!" the red headed woman apologized. "What's the news, Sebby?"

The hoodie-clad man cleared his throat, "I uh… wanted to make an announcement," he verbalized. Ugh, this is the fucking worst. I hate speeches, Sebastian reflected, but Maru gave him a subtle thumbs up to try and make him feel more comfortable. He closed his eyes so he would not worry about his mom and Demetrius' expressions when he broke the news. "I've decided to go to college and finally get my degree," he reported quickly. "While I have been getting some freelance work, I've come to realize it's never going to get me enough to strike out on my own unless I have a degree to prove my credentials."

Thanks to Maru, Sebastian had realized that he had been vastly underselling his services, which had made a name for himself among other struggling young people who needed help with their own businesses, but also might make legitimate enterprises question his ability. Really, getting his degree was going to be a double-edged sword. Sebastian would check the right boxes for some new customers, but he might lose some of his current clients when he obtained the degree and demanded proper payment for his work. "So… I'm going to start by commuting to ZuZu University this upcoming semester and take some classes."

Robin lips pulled back toward her ears and she took Demetrius' free hand in her own before turning to her son. Perfect. His mom believed this had to do with the painful "heart-to-heart" she attempted to mediate between Demetrius and Sebastian two days ago. "That's wonderful, sweetheart," she praised Sebastian. But it was not his mother that Sebastian was trying to prove himself to at this point. He waited for Demetrius' reaction.

"The Fall term starts in less than a week," Demetrius stated, setting his coffee on the table. "There's a lot of leg work to do before registration, Sebastian. Are you really prepared to get back into academia after all this time away?"

Sebastian, thanks to Maru, had prepared for this. They spent their free time the last few days getting the necessary paperwork together. He would still have to drive his motorcycle out to ZuZu University to complete a few forms and meet with his advisor to complete late registration. "I've got it handled," he pledged to his family members. Truth be told, the programmer also scheduled a meeting to attempt to convince the department to allow him to test out of the lower-level courses. While Sebastian was serious about getting a degree - both to get Demetrius off his back and as a proven credential when negotiating compensation for his work - the freelancer had another, equally pressing goal in mind. If he was going to be in the city on a frequent basis, he may as well attempt to find his biological father in his spare time. Sebastian wanted answers and he was convinced that his missing father would have them.

"When you decided not to go to college when you graduated high school, we gave you your college savings," Demetrius reminded Sebastian in a monotone voice. "So, I'm afraid we will not be able to provide any more assistance."

Sebastian expected that much, at least. While he had not spent it all wisely, as a teen he did use a portion of the funds to buy himself a decent computer to get the freelancing gig started. "I still have some of that money," the programmer informed his stepfather. "And I've been saving up, too."

Robin glanced at her spouse and urged him to speak up again. The man sighed, yielding to his wife. "Very well, Sebastian," Demetrius conceded, extending a hand to shake Sebastian's. "I look forward to attending your graduation someday."

Sebastian hesitated slightly before accepting his stepfather's gesture. "I'm not big on ceremonies, but I can appreciate you saying that."

Robin could sense her husband bristle slightly, so she pulled him out of the kitchen. "Let me know if you need anything to help you prepare, Sebby!" the carpenter called from the hallway as she led her spouse outside to chat privately. But even from there, Sebastian and Maru could hear her hushed words. "I didn't go to my graduation either, honey. It's not an insult to you personally."

Maru waited until the sounds of her parents disappeared before turning to her brother. "See? I told you they would accept it more easily if you simply told them your plans, rather than seek their approval before taking the first steps yourself."

Sebastian frowned slightly but nodded. "I guess it's a good thing I haven't been pestering Mom about her promise to tell me about my dad before this or she might have suspected I had other reasons to head to ZuZu a few days a week." He chuckled under his breath. "It works out better when they assume I'm doing this because my fight with Demetrius motivated me to 'do better' or whatever."

His younger sister patted his shoulder. "I'll keep them off the scent if they ask, Sebastian. Don't worry," Maru confirmed confidently. She winked at him behind her red-rimmed glasses. "Besides, I may not have as much time for all my fun side projects if I get to run Harvey's clinic for a season or two!"

The hoodie-clad man snickered. "I thought I told you to tell Harvey you were bored, not to mutiny and take over his hospital," Sebastian teased her.

Maru beamed. "If Doctor Harvey takes the temporary residency opportunity at another hospital, he'll entrust me to keep the residents of Pelican Town healthy."

"You think he's going to take it?" Sebastian wondered aloud, taking up his dishes from breakfast and washing them in the sink as he spoke.

The tinkerer looked pensive, tapping her fingers to her chin. "I get the impression that something major is holding him back," Maru testified. "Perhaps he's worried that Evelyn or George's health might decline while he's away?" Those two were the only older folks in town who needed regular medical attention, even if the sole reason was their advancing age. "But even if Doctor Harvey decides not to take the job, I still fully intend to take on more responsibilities at the clinic."

Sebastian sniffed in amusement. "Well, at least you won't be stuck with just paperwork all day."

"Yes, that is exciting! Even if it means less time for my personal projects for a while..." Maru's eyes lit up, as if she just recalled something. "Oh, Sebastian. I've been meaning to ask," she began in a questioning tone. "Did you notice anything weird going on last night?"

Her brother froze. Last night Krobus came to visit, but he knew the shadow creature was a bit afraid of Maru. He could not rat out his friend without a good reason. "Not really," Sebastian replied casually, placing a now-clean frying pan in the drying rack. "Why do you ask?"

"I've come across two different kinds of strange readings from one of my new inventions recently," Maru told him, fishing a small device out of one of her overall's many pockets. "Since I don't have WICCa anymore, I've been tinkering with something more hand-held to simply alert me to odd energy signals in my immediate area." The scientist flipped through her notebook to find a specific set of data. "The first night was the evening of Sam's birthday..." Maru reported, "but I wasn't quick enough to follow the source before it disappeared."

"I did find something interesting the next day, though," she explained, pulling her phone out from another pocket, and scrolling through until she found the picture she needed. "Do you see these scorch marks on the dock here?" Maru pointed to the photo of a plank that must have been part of the dock. The weak spot that Violet fell through that night. The thing was, it did have the gnarled appearance of burnt wood, even if it did not have the charcoaled effect. Perhaps this was part of the dock that went into the sea.

"You think someone set a fire?" Sebastian asked to clarify. He was not sure where his sister was going with this.

Maru shook her head. "No, these marks are more congruent with acid burns," she enlightened her brother. "I took another piece of the dock wood, since there was already a hole anyway," the woman indicated, only slightly guiltily. "I burned it normally just to make sure and compared the two. Even after dunking the fire-burned sample in salt water for a few hours, they didn't quite match."

"So… what does that mean?"

Maru radiated with excitement. "I don't know, but I'm going to find out!" she exclaimed with determination. She waved her hand at her notes. "But I'm getting off-topic," Maru scolded herself. "The reason I asked you was because I got another energy reading last night while working on a long-term project here at home." She huffed in annoyance. "I went outside to check out what it could possibly be, but I couldn't find anything in the area."

Sebastian paled. Shit, was it Krobus? he thought to himself. Luckily, his sibling had not burst into his room to ask him for help, or he might not have gotten any answers from his shadowy friend. Sebastian felt a little bad keeping Krobus a secret from his sister, but the monster was not a fan of Maru and her inventions. They made it more difficult for him to remain hidden, after all. Perhaps he could talk Krobus around to meeting with Maru at some point?

"I'll keep my eyes peeled for anything weird going on," the dark-haired man promised his sister half-heartedly. He grabbed an envelope full of paperwork and gently slid it into his bag. "But either way, I need to drop all this off at ZuZu U's Office of the Registrar today. I ought to get going."

"Oh, right!" Maru realized, slightly embarrassed that she might have made her brother late. The brunette practically pushed Sebastian out of the house. "Go turn those in and meet with your advisor right now!"

Emily answered a knock at her front door, expecting Shane to be on the other side, but instead the spiritualist found the pastel-haired farmer. Violet was surrounded by her strong, ephemeral aura as usual. "Good morning, Violet!" Emily chirped like a songbird. "How are you this morning?"

The shorter woman smiled. "I'm doing well," she countered politely. "I came here to let you know I got that log cleared for you. You shouldn't have any troubles getting deeper into the forest now."

"Oh, that's wonderful news, thank you!" Emily exclaimed, throwing her arms around the farmer in an appreciative embrace. Breaking contact, the sapphire-haired woman gestured to Violet to wait. "Let me get your payment, stay right there."

Violet gently held Emily's wrist. "No, no! It's really okay," the farmer insisted. "I actually did a little exploring and found something I needed in the woods," she pulled a tiny bundle of fiddlehead fern from her bag as proof. "I would have never known it was there otherwise, so thank you."

Emily hesitated, but nodded in acceptance. "If you insist…" the amateur seamstress responded.

The farmer laughed. "If you really don't like it, think of it as payment for the new outfit you let me keep from the clothing therapy session. I don't want this to be a one-sided friendship."

While the artistically inclined woman intended for those clothes to be a gesture of gratitude for all those who attended her trial run, Emily could accept these terms more easily. "Alright, alright," the woman in the red dress agreed. "I suppose if it makes you feel better to be 'even.'"

"It does!" Violet swore earnestly. Her dark blue eyes flickered toward the inside of Emily's house, as if checking to see if anyone else was around before she spoke. "So… I noticed that you and Shane seem to be a thing now."

Emily grinned giddily. "Yes, we are," she admitted freely. "I'm glad he gained the confidence to ask me himself. I almost asked him, truth be told, but after some meditation, I realized it was best to wait until Shane considered himself ready to receive the kind of love I wanted to give." Her warm eyes winked at the farmer. "I think the patience was worth it. Shane is a doting boyfriend, it turns out."

"Aw, that's sweet," Violet cooed in reply. Emily could see from the corner of her eye that Shane was approaching from the west but did not want to be rude and shoo the farmer away. Luckily, Violet also noticed and gave Emily a quick "goodbye" before heading to the general store.

As Shane approached, he noticed that Emily's eyes were still transfixed on the path from which Violet disappeared into the distance. "Is everything okay, Emily?" the man asked quietly.

The sapphire-haired woman turned to face her boyfriend. "Oh, I was just thinking to myself how you and Violet both had very similar problems."

Shane appeared doubtful. "I didn't think the new farmer was a recovering alcoholic…" he stated sheepishly.

Emily shook her head. "Oh, no. I didn't mean it that way," she clarified. She glanced back toward the path following the river. "I was referring to the fear of receiving genuine love from another living being," the woman explained, petting Shane's head absently. "If I had to guess, I think Violet's nearly there now, too. I can see it in her eyes..."

Leah sat along the rocky edge of one of the eastern beach's tide pools, sketching out the hardscape and plant life before she added in the tiny creatures that liked to move and ruin her chances to make a proper watercolor painting. In her experience, the sea life should always be added last, in case they completely relocated before finishing the rest of the details. The little minnows were especially quick, but they could be added in later as tiny specks rather than with the level of detail Leah sought with the striking anemones and coral formed among the rocks.

The artist noticed that on most days she came to the beach, Haley was on the opposite end, laying out in the sun to absorb its warm rays to deepen her tan and lighten her long, blonde hair. Leah was guilty of sketching Haley on the beach a few times this summer but made sure not to be obvious about it.

In her defense, Leah also sketched Sam and Vincent a few times when they came to the beach and Alex during his jogs on occasion, but Haley was the one who frequented the beach most often when Leah was also present. Perhaps she should ask Haley for a proper sketch at some point. It made sense, since Leah had posed for those outdoor portraits for Haley during the first week of Summer. Now that she remembered, Leah never saw how those photos turned out or the results from the competition. Maybe now was a good time to ask?

Shutting her sketchpad and threading the pencil through the metal spiral that bound the pages together, Leah tucked her art supplies under her arm and decided to approach Haley. The blonde saw her coming and sat up to greet her. "Hey, Leah! How's the sketching going?"

Leah was almost surprised that Haley noticed her activities on the beach. "Oh, I'm not feeling particularly inspired today," the ginger confessed. "But it's important to keep practicing."

Haley removed her giant sunglasses and replaced them with an oversized sun hat to better see her companion. "You're welcome to sit with me a while, if you want."

The artist sat down on the beach towel beside the blonde and looked out over the ocean. "It's a really nice day today with the sea breeze." The gentle wind tousled their hair, as if responding to the kind words.

"It's days like these I might accidentally fall asleep on the beach," Haley giggled shyly, resting her head on her knees still facing Leah as she closed her blue eyes. "It's just so relaxing."

Now that Haley was leaning forward, her curly hair fell to one side and cascaded down the side of her body, just off the shoulder. Leah sprang to her feet. "Haley, don't move!" the ginger ordered. "I want to sketch you right now; your pose is perfect!"

Haley blinked her large blue eyes in surprise but nodded only enough to indicate her understanding. "Just be quick about it, I can't sit like this too long," the bikini-clad woman requested.

"You got it!" Leah vowed, hastily drawing lines across the rough surface of her sketchbook. Her grey eyes flickered from the page to Haley quickly as she worked, filling in smaller details once she had the rough shapes she wanted.

About ten minutes later, Leah was finished to her satisfaction. She handed the notebook to Haley to inspect for herself. The younger woman scanned the page and grinned. It was as if someone had taken a photo and somehow enhanced all the natural beauty in Haley's features. It still clearly her, of course, but the blonde was almost embarrassed with how perfectly a sketch could capture her ideal self. "You really did me justice, Leah," the photographer asserted happily, handing the artwork back to its creator.

Leah beamed in return. "You're a much more cooperative model than a wild animal," she snorted teasingly. "Besides, while I do like landscapes, I think drawing the human figure is something that speaks to everyone in its own way." She tucked the sketchpad away in her brown leather messenger bag. "I've been meaning to ask; how did your photos do in the competition?"

Haley's face colored slightly, though the artist was unsure of her reasoning at first. "I was going to surprise you once I heard something more definitive, but we've made it to the final round."

Leah nearly burst with excitement. "That's awesome news, Haley! Congratulations!"

The blonde's lips turned upward coyly. "I'm sure the judges aren't biased by the redhead in the photos," she teased sarcastically. "I only captured a moment of beauty in the world, after all."

"Hey, what did I say about negging yourself?" Leah scolded the aspiring photographer. "You did all the work, I just sat there. We just switched places today, that's all."

Nodding, Haley accepted the compliment humbly. "Thanks, Leah…"

Now that the bikini-wearer had moved, Leah noticed a patch of red between Haley's shoulders. "You're getting sunburned!" the artist warned, immediately yanking a bottle of homemade aloe salve from her bag. "Here, let's get something on it now and get you out of the sun ASAP!"

Haley was completely caught off-guard by the sudden contact, but Leah tenderly applied the cream to the burn and then twisted the jar shut before handing it to the blonde. "Here, I have more at home. We redheads tend to burn, so I carry some with me all the time."

Noticing the red tinge on Haley's cheeks, Leah immediately took back the jar and made a few quick, but gentle swipes across the photographer's face. "It looks like you got more sun than I thought," the suspender-wearing woman said with a nervous laugh, handing the salve back to the blonde. Leah did not realize that it was not the sun that made Haley's face flush.

Sebastian slowly rolled his bike into the designated corner of the concrete lot for motorcycle parking before swinging his leg over and deftly engaging the kickstand. He removed his helmet and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to shake out the shape of his helmet. Shouldering his bag, Sebastian realized a gathering of what he presumed to be students hovering close by and giggling at him.

The dark-haired man blushed, not used to the attention, and tried to hide his face. But, to his surprise as he turned, he caught on that the women were not looking at him, but more likely the man pulling up behind him on a blindingly shiny midlife crisis on wheels. The leather-clad man hopped off the monstrosity gracefully, however, so Sebastian could tell this was not his first bike. Off in the distance, the women stole glances as the mysterious rider removed his helmet to reveal salt-and-pepper hair and stubbly face. His steel grey eyes rested on Sebsatian's own motorcycle. "Nice Harley, kid," a gravelly voice complimented the younger man. "Dyna Wide Glide, 2004?"

Sebastian felt a bit less self-conscious talking to a stranger with a shared interest. "Good eye," he praised the man casually. "Is that a Hayabusa?" he asked, tilting his chin toward the enormous aerodynamic motorcycle.

The man chuckled, his lips stretching into a friendly smile. "Looks like you know your way around a bike, kid. What's your name?"

The programmer hated introducing himself to new people, but after a brief hesitation he answered. "The name's Sebastian. And I'm not a kid."

Grey eyes scanned Sebastian quickly. "Yeah, I guess you don't look as young at the kids fresh outta high school," the middle-aged man conceded in his gruff voice. "So, what're you in for then?"

Sebastian sighed. "I gotta turn in some paperwork to officially enroll and then head over to meet with Badgecock for an advising appointment."

The man visibly winced hearing the name. "Oh, that's rough. 'Cocky has one foot into retirement at this point. What heinous crime did you commit to get assigned to that old bastard?" he cackled, enjoying his own joke.

"I guess late registration will do that," Sebastian professed, slightly embarrassed by the whole predicament now. "I uh… outta get going before I'm late, mister…" the soon-to-be-student hesitated, realizing just now that the stranger had not given his name.

"Doctor Edge," the man introduced himself, offering his hand to shake. "I'm with the mechanical engineering department. Gotta give myself an excuse to keep working on my babies, ya know?" he pointed a thumb over his shoulder back at his beloved motorcycle. "The aerodynamics on the Hayabusa are killer. Cuts through the wind resistance like butter."

Sebastian glanced at the professor skeptically. "'Edge?'" he repeated, raising one eyebrow.

"Hey, man, don't knock a given name," the academic insisted casually. "Besides, it sounded much cooler as a young man. Now it just sounds like I'm trying too hard," he acknowledged with amusement. "Ah, well. Anyway, see you around, Sebastian. Best of luck with your appointment."

Sebastian was not sure what to think of the man. He was nothing like any teachers he had ever encountered. Maybe if he had given college a try it would not have been so bad if he knew there were guys like Edge teaching. At least it would have been bearable if your mentors saw you as a human being rather than repulsive bundles of hormones.