Going Pro

Chapter 18: Visit

The month seemed to fly by. With the focus on studies and honing their skills, there wasn't much leisure time recently. When Jesse left his room one morning, many of the other boys were in the main room, which wasn't unusual, but they were particularly lively on this morning for a specific reason. Everyone was anticipating the events about to start later today.

"Jesse!" Ray jumped up as he greeted him.

"Hey everyone," he smiled.

Sean leaned back in the seat across from Ray. "Did you hear back from your mother?" he asked.

Jesse simply shrugged. He had. She wasn't able to come.

"But Family and Friends Visitation Day only happens once a year…" Ray whined.

"It's fine," Jesse said. "I told you I didn't expect my mom to be able to make it anyway, so it's not like it was a letdown."

"How come she can't come?" Ray asked.

"Ray, that's their business," Sean scolded quietly.

"I'm just curious," Ray defended.

"She just started a new job and doesn't feel right asking for time off so soon, it's just how things are," Jesse explained. He wanted to make sure his friends understood that it wasn't just that his mother didn't want to see him or that they have a bad relationship. "By the way, Kale," Jesse turned his attention to the older boy.

"What's up?" Kale offered a friendly smile as he looked at Jesse.

"Was your girlfriend able to come?" he asked.

"Yes!" Kale grinned. "She's arriving with my mom soon," he said.

"That's great," Jesse smiled. As they prepared for this event over the few days, Jesse learned from his classmates that normally just family came, mostly parents and siblings, but there was always some friends and significant others mixed in there as well. It was quite the trip for anyone and it wasn't much of a tourist location.

Daniel entered the cabin and brushed off some snow from his coat. It was only snowing a little, which had been occurring in the early morning the last few days.

"Foster's submarine just got here, so it's time," Daniel announced.

As they were instructed prior, they all donned their uniforms for the greeting. The entire school lined up outside in a perfect grid pattern by class and name and waited for the signal once the guests were gathered in front of the gate. They were to stand at attention with perfect posture to demonstrate the ridged military-like formality of their boarding school. Even though the school wasn't completely like that, this was the impression they had to make.

The gates opened, they announced the greeting in unison, and then were dismissed to greet their individual guests and show them around until the assembly presented by Chancellor Foster.

Jesse felt a little sad for himself. There was regrettably a pang of loneness while witnessing so many families and friends reunited. However, he was genuinely grateful the academy provided this opportunity and he was happy for his classmates. He knew he wasn't the only one without a guest to greet, and it didn't really bother him.

Returning to his cabin was probably the best route for him. He would be inside where it was warm, yet available if anyone needed him for some reason. There was a ton of studying he had to do for midterms. He still felt a little behind on some things and was burning himself out trying to catch up.

"Jesse!" Someone called out to him. "Wait!"

"Huh?" he stopped and turned back around and looked for who might have called for him. He didn't see anyone looking at him at first so he started to continue on his way, assuming he heard wrong. Then he stopped again as she thought about it.

"That sounded a lot like…" he muttered as he turned back to double check. Sure enough, he was right. "Julia?" His mouth dropped with surprise. He wasn't expecting her at all.

She hurried towards him and met for a big hug in greeting. In his excitement to see his friend again, he had picked her up and spun her while he hugged her, making her squeak in surprise. He quickly put her back down and moved away from her until his hands were on her shoulders.

"What are you doing here?"

"Your mom gave me her tickets because she couldn't come, she thought at least somebody should get to go, and my parents said it was okay," she smiled.

Jesse chuckled. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It was a surprise," she winked.

"I any case, I'm glad to see you, it feels like it's been forever," he hugged her again.

"Did you get taller?" she asked when they separated again.

Jesse shrugged. "I guess so, you feel shorter…"

"You better not be making fun of me…" She pouted as she punched his arm lightly. Then she bounced a little. "You weren't kidding when you told me it was getting cold here, I'm freezing already!" She said as she rubbed her hands together.

Jesse scratched the back of his head. "It's not so bad when you get used to it, but come on, I can show you where I've been staying," he said and led her off. "The dorms here are set up in cabins, I'm in the Celtic Guardian Cabin, which is where a group of us from Scandinavia are from. I think one of the guys is originally from Finland, another from Norway, and then one is from Denmark that I know of."

"Do you compare languages?" Julia asked.

"Just a couple times, mostly to make fun of how we speak in our native languages," he grinned. "On that topic, I'll start learning Korean next term."

"Wow, that's interesting," she said. "Are you going to be learning more languages so you can travel more for dueling?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "I'm pretty good with language, so I'm going to try to learn as much as I can, and it really helps that this school is international."

They reached the cabin and he led her inside. It was empty since everyone else was still outside, so he took Julia to his room. "You can warm up in here," he said as he opened the door. His room was clean, so there was nothing to worry about as far as appearances or smells go.

"It's okay to leave my shoes on?" she asked.

"It's fine, we will go outside again soon anyway," he said and sat in his desk chair while he gestured for her to sit on the perfectly made bed if she wanted. It was really the only comfortable spot to sit as the desk chair was a plain wooden one. She accepted the offer and neatly sat down as she removed her gloves and place them in her lap. "So how are things back home, we haven't talked in a while."

"It's pretty much all the same," she said. "There really isn't anything new to discuss…" she thought deeply as she tried to think of something, anything, she could tell him.

"As long as nothing bad is happening," he smiled. "How are things going with you personally?"

"Personally? Well um…" she thought and shifted. "I've been working hard, to better myself," she explained. "To be smarter, nicer, more personable, but I haven't progressed very much at all. In fact, I think I've taken a step backwards, but you know what they say, one step forward and two steps back!" Julia was putting on a confident face. Jesse knew something was up.

"Why are you trying to get better in the first place? Did something happen?"

Julia shrugged like it was no big deal. "Some girls said some things to me after you left that day, and it got me thinking," she said. "I just need to become a better person."

"I don't know, you're already a pretty good person, I'm not sure how you would get better, like who is there to compare that to?"

"Jesse, you know."

"Know what?"

"How much I've looked up to you," she said.

Jesse stopped. "To me? What for?"

Julia laughed behind her hand. "Exactly," she said and he was about to question her again, but she continued. "You don't even know how good you are, it's like there isn't a shred of darkness in you."

Jesse looked down as he thought about that. He wondered if it was true. No darkness in him? He was sure that wasn't the case. Everyone had some. Even if some were like him and didn't even know what their personal darkness was yet. Maybe it was his loneliness as a child, or his regrets, or even his grief. He was sure there was something that would be considered his darkness.

"You are you," she finished and he looked back up at her. He could see that she knew he was beginning to think too hard on it. It made him feel a little lame to be worrying over such a thing all of a sudden.

"Isn't that just a nice way of saying I'm weird?" Jesse grinned.

Julia promptly reached under the covers of his neatly made bed to take the pillow and throw it at him. "Of course not!"

He laughed as he caught the pillow. They both sat there and laughed over it. He didn't even care his bed was messed up as he tossed the pillow back to its general place. "I've been called weird all my life," he chuckled. "I was that kid that liked bugs and had too many imaginary friends."

"That doesn't mean everyone thinks you're weird, and it doesn't make you any less of a good person," Julia pressed. "Come on Jesse, I thought you would have gained more confidence by now."

Jesse shrugged. He didn't really know what to say. Confidence never seemed like an issue before, but Julia was a smart person, so maybe it was something he should think about later. He knew his mind would wander back to it eventually.

"Anyway, tell me about what it's like living here, how do you like having roommates?" Julia asked.

Jesse smiled. "It's been good," he then frowned as he remembered how someone stole his cards and threw them over the campus wall. He never told Julia about that incident, and he wasn't going to yet. "My roommates are pretty great too."

"You've only told me a little about them the last time you emailed me, do you see them much?"

"All the time," he chuckled. "Where should I start? Ray's really friendly and hyper, he's always running in here without knocking to tell me something or waking me up. He's a first year like me, and if you see him, he's the one with the dirty blond hair."

"Is he the reason you said you were thinking about installing a bolt lock on your door?" Julia laughed, referring to an email Jesse had sent her not long ago.

"Yep. Now… Sean, he's really calm and smart and always has the most random facts, it's hard to believe he's such good friends with Ray sometimes. He's easy to spot in the cabin, he's the only one with orange hair. He openly admits to dying it by the way."

Jesse was about to continue when he noticed her eyes fall on something beside her as she began reaching down for it. It appeared something was sticking out from under his bedsheets. Jesse didn't remember leaving anything on his bed and had no idea what it could be.

The moment she lifted the item up into view, he remembered and immediately panicked. In a flash, he lunged across the room and snatched the item from her hand just as her eyes fell on the cover. He laughed awkwardly as he hid it behind his back while she looked at him confused.

"…Jesse?" she began.

"Y-yeah?"

"Was that a..." she trailed off, trying to pick her words carefully. "A dirty magazine?" Her gaze dropped.

He was busted and he knew it, so he may as well tell her the truth. "It's not mine," he said. As soon as he said it, he realized how stupid that probably sounded. It was the most obvious excuse in the book! There was no way anyone would believe that was truth. "I mean the guys gave it to me, but I haven't looked at it, I completely forgot about it actually."

She looked at him seriously, but broke into laughter. He was confused, that was not the reaction he expected. Honestly, he had no idea what to expect.

"I'm teasing!" she laughed it off. "I should've known better than to pick it up, I mean, it was under the bed for a reason, I don't know why I thought it was a notebook."

Jesse shoved it under his textbooks behind him, at least he was pretty sure it was the textbooks, he didn't bother turning around to check. He could still feel his ears burning.

"Isn't it kind of weird for someone to give that to you?" she asked.

"Uh well, he gave some to everyone here, we're not supposed to have them but with the internet being so–I really don't want to talk about this!" he was turning red.

"Sorry, sorry," she chuckled behind her hand. At least she found it more amusing than offensive. It was possible she was playing it cool, he had no idea either way. "I was just surprised, that's all, but I'll change the subject," she started. "You have to show me how your dueling has improved."

With that he grinned. "Is that a challenge?"

"Sure," she said. "I've got a deck."

He found that in the next hour they spent dueling each other, she had several new cards and he was excited to see what they could do. Not only did his dueling improve, but hers did as well.

"Have you been studying?" Jesse asked jokingly, but was serious.

"A little," she winked. "Can't fall too far behind, you know?"

He didn't. "What you do mean?" She was about to answer when someone knocked at the door. "Hold on," he said and got up to open it.

He found Ray and Sean on the other side. Jesse wasn't surprised to see they were the ones who knocked, they were pretty much the only ones that ever did.

"Hi!" Ray waved.

"We were going to remind you about the assembly, buffet, and the closing ceremony after," Sean said.

Jesse looked at the time. "What? It's that late already?"

Sean shook his head. "You still have nearly an hour," he said. "We just thought you'd like to know since you two have been closed up in here the entire time."

Jesse tilted his head to the side askingly, hoping Sean would clarify what he meant by that since Jesse could have sworn Sean was smirking and had a funny tone, like he was trying not to laugh. "…Okay, thanks for reminding me," he said and closed the door again.

At some point during their games, she had slipped off her shoes and was now putting them back on so she could go outside. "Before it's over, I'd like that tour," she smiled

"Right!" Jesse grinned.

The campus was not particularly large by any standard, but there was still plenty to see and talk about. Julia asked questions about the buildings and what kinds of classes were held in each. Since Jesse was a first year, there were still a lot of basic classes required by the curriculum, such as math, science, history, and literature. There were only a couple buildings dedicated to those subjects. Places like the simulation labs, student shop, duel courts, and the multimedia center were much more interesting for Jesse to talk about.

Jesse could clearly see how cold she was already, so he decided to end the tour and lead her to the cafeteria. "I feel like I've been talking too much," Jesse chuckled. "What are you thinking?" he asked

"It's all pretty amazing," she smiled softly. There was something off about her smile.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"No, it's just…" she paused. She wasn't sure how to put her thoughts into words. "I think I have realized something." Jesse tilted his head, silently asking her to continue. When she didn't, he nudged her. "Well, you're going after your dreams, working hard, meeting new people, and learning new things, all things that wouldn't have been possible back home."

"It's an amazing opportunity."

"Exactly, and I have been thinking lately about doing something with my own life," she said.

"How so? Aren't you planning to go to college?"

"That's all a few years from now, and I feel like I should be doing something else," she said. Her words struck him. He knew that feeling all too well, and he was sure she knew that. "I want to study abroad too," she finally said.

Jesse blinked and then grinned. "That sounds great!" he said. "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know yet for sure, but I was thinking about going to America or Canada," she said.

"Cool!" Jesse was surprised Julia had come to this decision. She never seemed all that interested in travel before. "Once you know for sure, you should tell me," he smiled.

Julia smiled back and nodded.

"Looks like the assembly is about to start soon," Jesse noticed others gathering in the courtyard. "Let's go."

They met up with his dorm mates and got to meet their guests. It was polite conversation until Chancellor Foster started the assembly. He spoke of the curriculum and the successes of the recent graduates from North Academy. They would continue to aim high for greater success for the future in the ever growing multimedia entertainment disciplines so the students would have even more options to further their education or careers after graduation.

Overall, it was a short assembly. Afterwards, the buffet was opened. Once the closing ceremony ended, which was concluded with a duel demonstration by two third-years, it was time to head out. That night, everyone returned to the submarine and was taken back so they could fly home. It was a crazy tight schedule, but it was what they had to do.

When Jesse returned to the cabin once everything was quiet again, he found the others were not far behind.

"So Jesse," Kale started. "What was your girlfriend's name again, she's really cute!"

"Julia's not my girlfriend," Jesse sighed. He was getting kind of tired of this sort of thing.

"Yeah, whatever," Kale brushed it off. "Good thing I already have a super cute girlfriend!" Jesse nodded along with him. When he saw her earlier, he was surprised. The girl really was a petite human doll. Kale wasn't kidding about how cute she is.

Jesse took a little more teasing from the other boys about how Julia was in his room alone with him so long and finally told his friends to shut up about it. They laughed about it anyway.

At the end of the night, Jesse went back to his room and sat at his desk to study a little before bed. He gathered up his books and found the magazine underneath them. Just as he was about to throw it in his desk drawer, he paused as he remembered how he still hadn't looked at it. He had forgotten all about until now.

He put it back on his desk and stared at the cover. Finally, he curiously started to open it. He wanted to see, but it was embarrassing. Just a peak though.

When he heard a knock at the door, he jumped and threw the magazine in his desk drawer. "What?" he shouted quietly as he moved to open the door. It was Ray. It was always Ray. "What's up?" he asked him.

"Could I borrow your math notes? I spilled hot chocolate on mine," he begged.

Jesse sighed. "What about Sean's?"

"He's not answering his door…"

Jesse picked up his math notebook and gave it to Ray. "Just copy what you need and bring it back tomorrow morning," he said.

"Sure thing! Thanks a ton, you're a life-saver! I really owe you one!" Ray gushed. "Night!" With that Ray was gone.

Jesse decided he was done for the night and flopped on his bed after turning off the light. He wondered what Julia's final decisions would be. Where would she go in the world? When he had the chance, he would have to call his mother and let her know he was doing okay.

- - - - - - - - Line - - - - - - - -

Author's Note:

Sorry for the update delay. If you read my profile updates, you know I had other things going on and definitely didn't discontinue this story.