Our room was lavish. I never remembered booking such expensive-looking rooms. I stopped right in the doorway of our room, mouth agape and staring.

"Kayel?"

"What?" He poked his head out from around the cupboard door where he was already stashing away his things.

"Are you sure we're in this room?"

Kayel shot me a mysterious smile. "Heh. Yeah, I'm sure."

"What's with the 'heh'??"

"Nothing." He replied hurriedly, ducking back behind the relative safety of the cupboard door. "Ask Miguel the next time you see him."

"What does this have to do with Miguel?"

"Just ask him." Kayel finished putting away his things and waved me at the cupboard. "Go ahead. Grab your things - we're going down to the beach soon."

Questions still running after each other in my head, I went over to the table beside the window and set up my unit on the table. The sea was plainly visible from the window and when the breeze wafted in, the tang of salt could be smelled on the air. I took a deep breath. It smelled of fun!

I grabbed an old shirt and shorts and went to change. I could already feel myself in the sea, feel the waves roll over my body. I grinned to myself.

"Ri, are you coming?"

All of us met up in the hotel lobby. We were mostly dressed in casual, worn wear, but Faye was sporting a new (and pretty cute!) swimsuit under the beach towel draped over her shoulders. I grinned when I noticed Galen staring at her. Maybe some sparks would start during the holidays, eh?

We started down the path, following the sign that indicated it as the way down to the beach. Letting the others walk on further ahead, I dropped back slightly to walk beside Miguel and Selina.

"What's your explanation?" I asked flatly.

"Explanation?" He asked innocently, tilting his head to look at me.

"I sure as hell didn't book this." I waved my hand vaguely in the direction of the resort. "And now I'm willing to bet that the beach is private."

"Not private." Miguel assured me with a twinkle in his eye. "Partly private."

I arched an eyebrow at him.

"Well..." Miguel shrugged his shoulders. "It's our first holiday off together, right?"

"That's not an explanation."

"Money wasn't a problem. I wanted to do it. Explanation enough?" Miguel grinned.

I sighed and gave up. I wasn't going to get anything else out of him, that rascal of a familiar.

Miguel was right - the beach was partly private. It wasn't so crowded as to give us claustrophobic phobia, but it wasn't so eerily isolated as well. We happily rushed into the sea, instantly dropping into the natural act of creeping up and splashing an unsuspecting friend in the face.

The day was hot, but the water was cooler than expected. Sean immediately suggested a swimming competition, of which everyone except Selina accepted enthusiastically.

"If I go out there, I'll drown." Selina smiled jokingly, and went back to patting the misshapen sandcastle that she was building.

Miguel won the swimming competition. He was blazingly fast. I watched in wonder as he streaked underwater, his black hair a contrast against the pretty azure of the sea. He didn't even look like he was straining himself. He took a deep breath when he surfaced, and waved at us.

"Blimey." Galen said.

We spent roughly about 2 hours in the sea, then flopped out for a meal at the resort. It was on our tab - we had a splendid buffet where we saw Selina's special 'talent' - eating! She packed away so much stuff! She ate more than Kayel and Faye and I put together!! I still don't how she does that! It's plain amazing! I caught the staff looking at her rather oddly - maybe they were worrying about their food running out.

We headed straight back to the beach and spend another hour lazing in the sea. We had a game of volleyball after that - four in a team. It was fun! I don't think I can go into much detail now, but suffice to say, it was fun.

We'll be heading to some more 'man-made' fun tomorrow. I can't wait!

All of us – Kayel and I, Isabel, Faye, Sean, Galen, and even Miguel and Selina – gathered at the train station early in the morning, all armed with suitcases. Most of us were dressed in loose clothes; we wore loose shirts and shorts, seeing as the weather was so hideously hot.

“So, what time do we have to catch the train?” Sean asked, sticking his head over my shoulder. I stared at the timetable I was holding, and thrust it to Kayel.

“You read that.” I ordered.

He grinned as he took it from me, but didn’t say anything else.

“It’s going to be so much fun!” Isabel smiled brightly up at us. She was extraordinarily excited at being able to go on the trip. Come to think of it, it was our first trip all together, without parents or anyone else hanging over our shoulders. Not that Kayel and I had had much of those.

“Come on, guys, the train’s coming.” Kayel called out to us. We obediently grabbed our luggage and followed him. He was the more organized of the two of us – besides, he was the one who’d planned most of the trip in the first place.

The train trip took roughly 45 minutes, then we got off at this small station that was supposed to offer a bus route to the resort. We could already smell the sea as we stepped off the platform.

“That’s so invigorating!” Faye squealed as she stretched her legs after the long ride. “I feel like a dip in the sea now!”

Galen laughed at her, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

We found the bus and piled on. The bus was quite crowded already – we just barely fit into the vehicle, what with all our suitcases and things. We squeezed and crammed until the bus driver got on board, gave us a brief glance and took our tickets, then off we went.

The bus ride wasn’t as long as I’d feared. After only fifteen minutes, we arrived at the resort.

Apparently, everyone else on the bus also had the resort in mind.

I watched, with a growing sense of dismal, the scene before me. I could glimpse the beach from where I was, but the thing was, it was crowded. Absolutely jam-packed. There were crowds on the beach. There was no way we could have fun while fighting for a single square meter of sand from them.

I groaned and dropped my head. The private area of the beach to the right was blissfully empty, but I knew that we couldn’t have afforded the rent to keep people out.

I started to trudge down the path to the resort.

“You’re going the wrong way.” Miguel called out. I turned to look at him, confused.

“The resort is there.” I pointed.

“Not there. This way.” He insisted. I saw that everyone else was already trudging in the opposite direction. I shrugged, and followed them. It wasn’t as if I had an excellent sense of direction after all.

We entered this blessedly cool resort. There were a few people going in and out, but it wasn’t that huge crowd I’d expected. Kayel headed for the glossy and expensive-looking counter – the sort of counter you expect to see in those high class resorts – and talked to the person manning the counter.

“This is rich.” Faye said, impressed, as she looked around.

“Very classy.” Isabel nodded. She looked at me. “Didn’t know we’d rustled up enough to get a room here.”

I stared at her, then looked around. This looked markedly different from the resort Kayel and I had looked at.

I walked up to Kayel. “I think we’re in the wrong resort.” I hissed, tugging nervously on his sleeve.

Kayel looked at him, a twinkle in his eye. “I think we’re in the right place.” He contradicted me.

The receptionist returned with four sets of keys in his hands. He handed them to Kayel with a smile. “Enjoy.”



What??? The receptionist had our room bookings?? I thought we were in the wrong place!! Apparently not. Uncertainly, I gave the lobby of the resort another glance, then followed Kayel up to our rooms.

He handed Miguel, Faye and Isabel a key.

“I’m going to share a room with Faye, right?” Isabel looked at Kayel uncertainly. “Why do we need two sets of keys?”

“Because you’re not going to sleep in one room together.” Kayel winked. “I booked and paid for the rooms so cheaply because they had this special offer going on. As long as a couple stays in a room – one of each opposite sex – they’ll give us the rooms at half-price.”

“Eeehhhhh????????” Kayel had never mentioned this before!!!

“No way!” Four voices exclaimed at the same time. Miguel looked suitably blank – Selina looked amused.

“And of course, I’m sharing with my darling sister Ri.” Kayel smiled wickedly and drew me closer to him. “Miguel and Selina will definitely go together. That only leaves the four of you to pair up.”

Faye put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "I don't believe you!"

Kayel grinned back at her. "Disbelieve all you want. but I tell you - you're going to have to pay another whopping $700 dollars if you want to switch rooms!"

Faye glared at him a bit more before giving up, as he knew she would.

"Oh fine." She turned on her heels and march straight to Galen. "I'll get back at you later, Kayel."

"Come on, Ri. This is going to be fun!"

Because I simply had a lot to say, and didn't want to do one loooong post.

Kayel, leaning over my shoulder a moment ago, remarked that my blogging had become a lot more informal. "You sounded like an old woman at the beginning." He'd teased.

Maybe he was right. I don't know. I guess maybe I was, at first. I was new to blogging, after all, and I was wondering whether it was blog taboo to add informal things.

Well, I know better now.

Professor Rowen is retiring!!!! I don't know why, but he said that he was going to stop blogging and go away on a long holiday altogether!!! Perhaps he got tired of teaching? He just said he'll be going away for some time, and Liyel's going with him as well. I don't know if they're going to come back...well, I hope they do, at any rate.

Right now, we're just starting our two-week holiday from mage college. The sense of fun is so thick in the air that everyone bubbling! We were planning to go do some mountain climbing (we being Kayel and myself, and the usual gang - Faye, Isabel, Sean, Galen, and the latest addition Selina and Miguel) but in the end, because it was summer, we HAD to have a typical summer holiday.

Which meant a two-week holiday to the BEACH!!! We've already rented a small unit near the beach, which meant that we had 4 rooms to ourselves as well as a private tennis court. Not a bad deal for $650 a week. Considering that eight of us are going....

The beach is probably going to be crowded, but hey...the sun, the sea, the wind...it's going to be so much fun! I love playing on the beach! I'll have to bring my unit along, so I can give you a first-hand account on what's going on!

"Why don't you get a quieter and more private beach?" Miguel asked as he appeared between Kayel and myself, who had a brochure between ourselves, since we were the official planners of the trip. "A crowded beach isn't any fun."

Kayel looked up at him. "But we can't afford a private beach." He said reasonably, pointing at the colourful brochure. "Ri and I haven't got that kind of money."

I tilted my head back. An odd look crossed Miguel's face, but he didn't say anything else.

"Hey, Selina, how's life in the town going for you?" I turned to asked the girl, who was admiring some photos Kayel had put up recently on the wall. The latest one had also included Miguel and Selina.

"Oh? It's fine." She turned to smile at me. "I've gotten a job at a restaurant, now, and Miguel joins me sometimes when he has the free time." She laughed suddenly. "Sometimes, the boss gets so annoyed that he's just hanging around the front door, and lets me leave early."

I laugh with he. In the short time that I've come to know Selina, I've found that she was a lively, bouncy girl, but she ate a lot. A lot. She can put away food faster than even the boys, and even more, and she's not the slightest bit plump. Man, I envy her sometimes. I'm not exactly fat but even I have to watch what I eat from time to time.

"That's good then." I remarked absentmindedly. "I'll go visit you when I have time."

"You and Kayel work at the same place, right?"

"Yep. Ri and I both work at the town library, although she also works at a small cafe." Kayel told her. "She actually enjoys flirting, I think. If I hadn't stopped her, she would've went to work at the bar."

"Kayel!" I hurled a cushion at his head.

Phew! My exams are finally over! It's been almost a month since my last post! I've been away quite a bit, haven't I? Besides, my mistress has been a bit busy as well, although I notice that she doesn't fail to update her blog basically every day. *frowns*

Anyway.

I got my exam papers back today, and I aced all of them except History of Magics. I mean, History of Magics is so boring. I know that all the previous mages were excellent in spellcasting and things, but I don't see why I have to learn about them when I'm planning to be better than them. The History teacher always whacks me over the head with some sort of rolled up paper she keeps specially for me. That sucks. Well, at least she didn't fail me. I got a measly 78%.

I also did my practical exams that day, mainly testing to see if I was in control of my power. I was...I think. Kayel laughed when he found out that I'd managed to pull in this whole shower of dry leaves from the lawn outside into the Grand Hall. Well, I thought a pretty autumn effect would be effective, but I sort of called in too many leaves and it ended up messing up the Hall and I got marked down for that. Still, did pretty well, if I may say so. Now all I have to worry about are the end-of-year exams which are reputedly very difficult to ace.

Miguel and I have been hanging out together lately. Well, hanging out with everyone else, I guess. He still doesn't really trust anyone else with Selina, and even I can see that much. He stays with her most of the time, but at least he deigns to be with us most of the time. He actually likes speaking with Galen a lot more than any of us, because Galen studies martial arts too, and Miguel is fantastic at martial arts. I've seen him practicing against Galen, and he pwned him like that. I admit, Galen isn't the best of martial artists, but he's fairly good, and Miguel's movements are just....fantastic.



No, I'm not falling in love with him. *retorts* That would be so cheesy.

Anyway, we've done quite a lot in the space of one month, considering the fact that I and probably most of the other college students had exams looming over us. After the exams, I taught Miguel some simple spells. Technically, as my familiar, he's not supposed to delve into the complicated spells reserved for the mages themselves, but you know me. I break the rules. I'm planning to teach him like another mage, simply because I can tell he'll be awesome in a battle.

"Why do I have to learn this?" He gave the thick spell books a blank glance.

"Because." I heaped two of them into his arms, and the dust rising from them made him sneeze and wrinkle his nose in disgust. "I'll be needing you in the future should I engage in spell battles. Humans are so much more cleverer than animals - another reason why mages who get humans as their familiar try to get the most use out of them as possible."

"That makes me sound like a doll." Miguel remarked.

I looked over at him. He didn't seem sad, or angry, or resentful. He was simply curious. I sighed.

"You're not a doll, okay?" I told him, picking up some books myself. "At the very least, you're a slave."

Miguel chuckled. "Somehow, that sounds worse."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "I was just kidding. Let's practice the Art of Summoning, then you'll read those books tonight."

I brought my familiar around the Academy today so that he could, well, get familiar with the surroundings. He remembers things really quickly. It's like he has a photogenic memory, only I know he doesn't because he doesn't put things back exactly where he took them from, like people with photogenic memories do. But he sure remembers a whole lot else!

Seeing as I'd only wanted Miguel along on the 'tour' today, he left Selina back at the house. He didn't seem quite happy to leave her alone, although I assured him that Kayel and his friends were probably already on the way to intercept her in a welcoming party, along with Faye and Isabel. Man, they sure do enjoy their fun.

"This is the library." I pointed out a vast, immense building (come to think of it, I have never seen a 'small, tiny library' before) where many students could be seen milling in and out of the building. Around the library were shady grooves of trees where students could sit and relax or even do some quiet studying in the more secluded areas.

"Nice area." He commented, almost wistfully, as he looked at the sprawling area of trees, land and concrete. "Peaceful."

I gave him a weird look. What sort of teenager uses 'peaceful' as an adjective nowadays? They all settle for 'cool' or 'swell'. He is one weird kid.

"Well." I shrugged. "It is pretty nice, I guess. Want to see the inside?"

"Not today." He turned to pinpoint the highest building in the Academy grounds. "Where's that?"

I looked at where he was staring.

"Oh, that's the old clock tower." I replied, seeing his dark eyes squint up at the tower. "The clock's still running - it's being maintained by some workers from the town. It's pretty old, really, and it's almost like a historical monument around here."

"Can students go up there?"

"No. Strictly speaking, that is. Sometimes, the kids sneak up there for a fun ride - the view up there is said to be splendid - but otherwise, no, we're not supposed to go up in the tower, otherwise we'll mess up the clock's workings."

Miguel gave me a rather sideways look then.

"Have you been up there?" He asked in a playful, teasing tone.

I grinned back at him. "What do you think?"

"I think you have." He tilted his head, still looking sideways at me like I was a mystery to be solved. "Oh, you most definitely have. You're blushing!"

"Am not!"

I whacked him one around the head, and he subsided, still grinning. I glowered at him.

I took him around the rest of the Academy then, and it took almost the whole day. I only realized that it was five in the evening when the clock struck, five deep, resounding booms.

"Ah!" I exclaimed when I heard the gongs.

"What?" Miguel whipped around. I noticed that his body was extremely tense - no, tense wasn't the word for it. He was....alert. He was comfortably on guard, as if he was expecting something...bad...to happen.

"I promised Kayel that we'd be there by half past!" I exclaimed. Without wasting time, I grabbed Miguel's hand and started running.

"Where are we going??"

"You'll see." I yelled back. "Just concentrate on running for now. We need to get to the town in 30 minutes' time and damn, it's far from here!"

"Race you there!" Miguel laughed.

My familiar is a pretty cool guy, I guess. He can be quiet, and polite, and detached, but I do think I'm beginning to see under his facade.