His bag of belongings slipped from his hands and fell with a bang to the floor. Without even looking up, Lyra held up her index finger, stopping any interruption before it could happen. Talking to Lyra when she was busy was always a bad idea, so Evren just stood there and watched.
She sat with perfect posture, her shoulders back, her slender back and neck formed a vertical line. Her long brown hair was combed until it shone like freshly spun silk. Her moon-shaped face and rosy cheeks, so elegant in their gentle curves and symmetry, which he could pick out easily in this glorious profile view, were focused with determination on the task at hand.
He still couldn’t believe it. He was with Lyra. Lyra!
She had always been a model student, well admired and respected by girls and boys alike. The boys used to ask what it was like living with such a goddess. The girls would remind him frequently of how perfect and beautiful she was, and how lucky he was to have her. That was until after the Winter Tournament, when she'd informed him that she would no longer be his.
But here they were, at the start of their Junior year, and they were reunited.
He was practically vibrating with the need to greet her, but not even an earthquake or a beast attack would compel him to interrupt her work.
A minute passed before she stopped writing with a magnificent flourish of the quill. Her fingertips, utterly clean despite the quantity of ink she’d used. She laid the paper to dry, then at last she turned to look at him. Her mouth tightened into a fine line, and he knew her well enough to read her response.
He could tell from the slight widening of her eyes and intake of breath; she was as surprised as he was.
“Hello, Lyra,” he greeted her, infusing his voice with as much energy as he could. She had often told him to be more energetic when speaking. “It’s nice to see you again after all this time.”
Only half a year had passed, but for Evren it felt like an eternity. She was different. Her face was youthful and pristine as ever, but with that was a learnedness and maturity that hadn’t been there before. Old feelings of admiration and adoration came flooding back. He felt the need to pick up where they’d left off, but he knew there was much to be said before that could happen.
As she rose to her feet, he noted that she’d grown a few inches and her body had filled out in some very interesting areas. He remembered her being a slim, wiry girl, but now she had curves. She looked more like a woman than ever!
“What are you doing here, Evren?” she asked. Her voice was still the same. Its timbre was full and enchanting, though her words were clad in cold indifference. He felt like a piece of misplaced furniture, wrongly delivered to her door and taking up space in her room.
“Don’t tell me, are you the boy they sent me for second year trials?” Her lovely lips pursed disapprovingly as she looked him over, her eyes took in every part of him. He had also grown in their months apart, He was 2 inches taller and had gained 30 pounds of muscle and bulk. She’d always said he had to lose weight if he wanted to look like a proper caster. What was she thinking now?
“I am,” Evren said simply. Then he paused as he thought about what to say next. He'd rather say nothing than say something wrong, and right then he could only think to comment on how she had grown more beautiful than ever. No, he shouldn’t say that!
She kept whatever thoughts she was having to herself, though he knew what she wanted to say. Lyra had often scolded him about how long it took him to string his thoughts together.
“I just found out about this, too,” he added finally, apologetically.
“Mmmm…” she hummed, turning back to her writing and casting what looked like a simple spell… to what? Dry the ink? That was new. And who did she have to write to on their first day back anyway?
He wanted to show her that he’d learned how to hold a proper conversation, but what did they have to talk about?
“I’m surprised you were entered into the trial pool with so many boys you had interested in you,” he said casually, stepping into the room and inspecting its layout. He noted that there were belongings here that were obviously not hers. Boys’ uniform parts and other clothing. “What happened to your other partner…”
Evren paused, wracking his brain madly, trying to remember the name of the boy who took his place.
“...Frederick.” Lyra completed his sentence bluntly, then she added, “He’s gone.”
“Gone…” Evren repeated, letting the word rest in the air. It was unlike Lyra to be so vague. She always preached honesty and directness.
“Gone where? Did he leave the Academy or did he get accepted into the Mage class?” he pursued with curiosity. Only the most promising support casters were considered for late admission to join the mages.
“He’s gone, Evren!” She stressed gesturing around the room, as if his not being there with them was evidence enough. “Why do you care so much?”
“I don’t care, I was just wondering what would cause a boy to leave a girl, as amazing as you, partnerless.”
“Oh Evren…” she sighed. Then she pointed to the bed across from hers. “That’s where you sleep. You can get rid of all Frederick’s things. I doubt any of his clothing would fit you anyway.”
Evren opened the wardrobe and rummage through it with curiosity. He held up a toga cloth that would barely cover his brawny midsection, let alone his whole body. He felt Lyra watching him, and he turned to see her eyes fixed on his arms.
Her cheeks bloomed red and she turned to her own wardrobe, saying, “It looks like you haven’t stopped growing yet. I thought you were already wearing the largest uniforms they had in freshman year.”
“I was. My mother had two pairs of my pants and two shirts magically enlarged. She made me promise not to rip them, as I won't be back home again until winter break.”
“And has your mana pool increased as well? You were already the top of the class at the Freshmen Games. It should’ve since holding capacity is based mostly off of body weight.”
Evren turned and smiled. “You saw me at the Games?”
She scoffed and replied, “Of course, I watch all the boys’ events. How else would I keep up with the rankings?”
“Uh, about my caster rank…”
“I know, Evren,” she interjected. Her voice was gentle and kind this time. “I saw your duels in the Spring Tournament as well. You worked well with that girl…”
“Aria.”
“You worked well with Aria, but you're still slow to start. Did you change up your defense?”
With the subject shifting to casting duels, a subject he could talk endlessly on, Evren found himself growing more comfortable. Speaking animatedly and responding faster.
“I have. I completely reworked most of my opening moves. You remember how I was tiring myself out trying to maintain the ‘Impenetrable Wall?’ Well, I've been working on a ‘Bubble Shield’ strategy that’s served me much better. With its low cost and my supply of mana, I can maintain the Shield nonstop and I was still able to cast binding spells without tiring.
Lyra whistled in appreciation. Her eyes held a glimmer of pride in him, and he wondered for a moment if this second chance was a good thing. Maybe this time their partnership would work.
“How about you, Lyra. I heard that you were among the Top Ranked Casters in the Spring Tournament.”
“I was ranked second overall,” Lyra replied with a note of bitterness. “Frederick and I were defeated by Tonya and Stanley, but it wasn’t even close. Their support was flawless, as they’d been partnering for the entire year, while I’d only been working with Frederick for four months.”
The insinuation hung in the air, but neither of them acknowledged it. If she had stayed with Evren for the winter term, then they would’ve been together for the whole year as well. But she had chosen to leave.
“And now, I have to start over again,” she sighed once more, rolling up the paper she’d been writing, and corking the ink. She walked to the entryway, only to find Evren standing in her path. He was too wide for her to pass by easily. She gestured to the left side of the room, in an effort to get him moving.
“Do anything you want with your side Evren, it’s your space,” she instructed, “But please keep yourself neat and try not to be noisy in the evenings.”
Evren let out a short, dry chuckle. “You know me, Lyra, I’m always neat and quiet.”
Yes, I know you. I’ll see you at the Junior Welcoming tonight okay.” Try to be a little less ‘you’ at the Dance, okay?”
“All right, I’ll try.”
Lyra walked out. Where was she going? There weren’t any courses being held today. Maybe she was meeting friends and catching up. It was not necessary for them to get to know each other. Out of all the Casters in the Nexus, he knew Lyra the best.
Moving his meager belongings in took only a few minutes. Then he was finally able to sit down. The old wooden chair creaked under his weight, as he sat down at his new desk. His life had taken so many turns over the past few hours, and his thoughts had yet to sort themselves out.
An old, familiar sense of discipline settled over him. He had his work cut out for him if he wanted to hold onto Lyra this time around. Or was it already too late?
Was Lyra out there looking for his replacement right now?
Evren sighed. Perhaps he should do the same thing. He could probably catch up with Lisa at the Crystal Field and propose that she request him as her partner. Would she go for it? For freshmen, having a Junior as a partner is like a status symbol. Not only is it a great way to level up quickly, but you are independently ranked when it comes to Tournaments.
He would have to try to talk with her before his sister, Mabel, arrived and ruined things for him once again.