"Gari, Gari, Gariiii! Can you believe that the formal dance event is going to happen in three months? I've been waiting all year just for this!"
Sixteen year old Garinette, also known as Gari to her friends, sat near the fountain located in the south end of Geffen City, playing with a spark of lightning in her hand. No longer had she heard a young girl's voice shouting out her name, she swiftly turned around to see fifteen year old Juwina running towards her, bubbling with excitement.
The high wizard groaned inwardly. Juwina had been waiting all year to gush about how her hard work on improving herself would pay off and that she would knock the socks out off everyone who was unfortunate to attend this sorry excuse of an event. In any case, she wanted no part of it, no matter who showed up at the event. There were only a handful of guys that were still affiliated with the Geffen Magic Academy that caught her eye, and they were all extremely talented spellcasters, but the chances they would bother to acknowledge her for her magical prowess was next to impossible.
Speaking of talented spellcasters, there was one particularly annoying high wizard who she had randomly encountered showing off near Geffen Tower. She heard him boast that there was no other high wizard nor scholar around his age that could beat him in a duel and they were all shoddy amateurs, which pushed her to challenge him on principle, alone. Whoever that guy was, he must have shoved his head so far into his ass that there was no way to convince him that he wasn't the only sole talented high wizard out there. The duel had ended up in a draw, though by then the two spellcasters were sore from being pelted with each other's magic relentlessly. She had done her part to lessen the voltage of her wind magic in the form of lightning. The guy, on the other hand, paid no attention to the intensity of his water and earth magic, knocking the wind out of her as she was pelted with earth spikes and blizzards
"Hey, are you even listening to me?" Juwina interjected.
"Yeah, yeah, I heard all about it. So why is it such a big deal, again?"
"What do you mean 'why?!' I finally get to show of my fabulous body in public and dance with my Myri all night! The days of Juwina the Fatty are officially over. I'll make sure that everyone who made fun of me will pay in spades! Don't you want to watch me wipe their smirks off their faces? This is going to sooo worth it for me! I get to dance with my boy and have my revenge all at the same time! How sweet this is."
"I guess you got a point there," Garinette sighed. "Maybe I'll stick around for the first half or so for you, but once that's done, I'm out of here."
"Gari, you are such a killjoy! It wouldn't kill you to dress up for once in your life, for goodness' sake. You're always super focused on honing your magic and fighting monsters. It's not like you do anything else that I know of, anyway."
"Says the girl who's always eyeing every single eatery and restaurant in town, even if she's actually a competent mage in summoning earth spikes all over the place."
"As they say, food is the window to the soul. Besides, I don't just eat all day. I've been training in Payon Forest and travelling more with Myron to other cities these days. It's hard to experience things differently if you've never set foot in the other cities. The atmosphere is so different compared to what we have here...wait. Didn't you tell me one time that you once met some crazy know-it-all high wizard who beat you up in a duel?"
"That dude didn't 'beat me up.' I lowered the intensity of my Jupitel Thunder in order to paralyze him temporarily but that loser had the nerve to pelt me with Heaven's Drive and Storm Gust relentlessly. If there was the slightest chance that he'd show up at the event, then I will consider it."
"Hmm, I see. You don't happen to know his name, do you?" Juwina teased. "The event is open to all of the alumni, regardless of whether or not they showed up at the academy for the announcement, so the chances of him hearing about it are preeetty high to me. Considering how competitive he sounds, he'd probably want the opportunity to show off his magical skills. Or dancing skills? You'll never know unless you come, though."
"Nope, I have absolutely no clue," Garinette shrugged. "As tempting as it sounds, I don't want to bother with shopping and dancing. Couldn't the principal allow us to wear our uniforms instead? It's such a waste of time to me, trying out different dresses and whatnot. I have more important things to do then spend half of the day at the shops here."
And the better the chance I won't have to deal with that loser.
"If that's your only complaint, why not leave all the shopping to me? I'll pick an amazing dress for you in no time. Unfortunately, you're on your own with the dancing. I promised Myron we'd find an instructor together and practise on our spare time."
"You, choosing an outfit for me? I, uh, appreciate the offer, but-"
"No buts! I know you couldn't care less about this, but as your friend, can't you just come along with me? I appreciate your kindness when I was overweight and all, but I don't want to be the only girl without a friend to talk to at the dance event. Pretty please?"
Garinette ruffled her hair in frustration. "Ugh, fine then. I'll go to the freakin' dance event with you, even if it means embarrassing myself in front of everyone else," she facepalmed. "Are you happy now?"
"Very!" cried Juwina, with tears of joy in her eyes. "This is going to be so much fun! I'm sure you won't regret it!"
The two friends then briefly said their farewells before they agreed to head back to their homes. This year was going to be an interesting one, for better or worse.
"Hmm, I see. You don't happen to know his name, do you?" Juwina teased. "The event is open to all of the alumni, regardless of whether or not they showed up at the academy for the announcement, so the chances of him hearing about it are preeetty high to me. Considering how competitive he sounds, he'd probably want the opportunity to show off his magical skills. Or dancing skills? You'll never know unless you come, though.
"Nope, I have absolutely no clue," Garinette shrugged. "As tempting as it sounds, I don't want to bother with shopping and dancing. Couldn't the principal allow us to wear our uniforms instead? It's such a waste of time to me, trying out different dresses and whatnot. I have more important things to do then spend half of the day at the shops here."
And the better the chance I won't have to deal with that loser.
"If that's your only complaint, why not leave all the shopping to me? I'll pick an amazing dress for you in no time. Unfortunately, you're on your own with the dancing. I promised Myron we'd find an instructor together and practise on our spare time."
"You, choosing an outfit for me? I, uh, appreciate the offer, but-"
"No buts! I know you couldn't care less about this, but as your friend, can't you just come along with me? I appreciate your kindness when I was overweight and all, but I don't want to be the only girl without a friend to talk to at the dance event. Pretty please?"
Garinette ruffled her hair in frustration. "Ugh, fine then. I'll go to the freakin' dance event with you, even if it means embarrassing myself in front of everyone else," she facepalmed. "Are you happy now?"
"Very!" cried Juwina, with tears of joy in her eyes. "This is going to be so much fun! I'm sure you won't regret it!"
The two friends then briefly said their farewells before they agreed to head back to their homes. This year was going to be an interesting one, for better or worse.