Chapter Nineteen: Two Kinds of Education

 Narrated by Xanthe Masterson

Both Erytheia and I were creative souls, but where she was more into music (like Dad), I was more into painting. As a birthday treat to myself, I purchased an easel and positioned it in front of the window. Not only was it a great source of natural light, it also gave me a great view of the city and a peek into the garden below. 

As I stood in front of the blank canvas, deciding what to paint first, I felt suspiciously itchy. Looking down at my legs, I was shocked to notice a splotchy rash all over them... as well as the same thing on my arms! Creativity could wait, I needed to do something to get rid of the rash. I grabbed some medicine and gulped it down... it tasted gross, but I felt a lot better.

Downstairs in the living room, I suggested to Erytheia that we went out to grab some bubble tea.

"I hear it's really good. Why don't we go over to ThrifTea?"

"OK, yeah, good idea. I wonder what flavours they have?"

"Well, Evie Delgato told me there's some kind of drink with cheese foam, which sounds weird, but there are some fruity ones too," I said.

As it turned out, we arrived at the shop too late and the bubble tea bar was closed. A poetry event was going on, which neither of us were interested in. Still wanting our bubble tea, I looked up other locations and saw that there was a little bubble tea stand at Plumbite Pier nearby. 

I went for the mango milk flavour and Erytheia chose the lychee milk flavour, and Erytheia also grabbed a plate of fried chicken sliders. 

"Mmm, this stuff is amazing!" she grinned, taking a sip. "I've not really had lychees before. They're not very common in supermarkets."
"No. I wouldn't normally think to combine mangoes and milk, but it's a great combination."

By dint of being related to two Global Superstars, Erytheia and I were now considered "Rising Stars" within the celebrity world. This was slightly concerning to me, as I'd read about 'nepo babies' and didn't want to just be seen as riding on our parents' coattails. Even so, I realised that the paparazzi would be trying to take photographs of us whilst trying to go about our daily business.

With all of this in mind, Erytheia and I would need some way to de-stress. Mum recommended yoga and meditation, so we headed over to the Newcrest Spa to take a class. We were the only ones there, and had fun stretching and bending. I also tried a little meditation.

Summer Festival Day rolled around, and we went to stay in Sulani for a couple of days, in the villa where we'd been as children. Even the cats came, although Mum was worried about them scratching the furniture. 

After unpacking, we headed over to Ohan'ali Beach as was tradition now. It was always fun to swim in the ocean and eat barbecued food. Mum was able to catch up with her friend Lilliana Kealoha, who was Nani's mum, and Artemis had fun with her friend Malia. I didn't really know anyone outside San Myshuno - Nani and I weren't particularly close. 

Erytheia and I fancied working on our Outdoor Adventurer badge, so we went over to a fishing spot near to the villa.

"Looking forward to school next week?" she asked. 

"Yeah, should be fun," I replied. "I fancy joining the cheerleading club."
"Yep, sounds pretty cool," she said. "Hopefully we don't end up hurt, I heard cheerleading can be pretty painful if you're not careful."

We arrived at Copperdale High bright and early on our first morning. Once we'd spent a little time settling in and chatting to the other students, it was time for our first class - which, to my horror, was Maths.

"Who the hell schedules a Maths class for first thing on a Monday morning?" I heard Erytheia whisper in dismay. I sniggered. 

"Someone cruel, that's for sure," whispered the girl next to me.

The following afternoon, following a morning Social Studies class, we headed over to a career event at the school auditorium. Erytheia headed over to where a chef in full whites was standing. I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do after school, but I headed over there too. Being a chef could be fun, particularly if I worked with Erytheia. 

The main thing I'd been looking forward to about becoming a teenager was finally being able to access my magical powers. Finally, on Wednesday evening, Mum and Dad took us both to the Magic Realm to give us a little training. Of course, we could easily have practiced at home, but Mum and Dad felt it would be more fun to go to the Realm. 

I partnered with Mum, and Erytheia partnered with Dad. Dad was a little more advanced in his magical prowess, but that didn't make a difference to Mum's teaching.

"Casting spells builds up charge," Mum explained. "It helps your spells become more powerful. But you need to be careful, since increasing your charge level does also increase the charge of spells going wrong, and you may get cursed. You'll know you're charged because your limbs will feel warm, and your palms will start tingling. It's also possible to get overcharged, which can result in death if you're really not careful."
"Oh God, sounds terrifying!" I exclaimed.

"It takes a long, long time to get to that level. It's not physically comfortable, apparently - I've never been in that state. You'd be wise to learn the Discharge spell."
"So that's probably why we can't do magic as kids," I said.

"Precisely. Even a sensible kid could get over-excited and start casting spells all over the place."

Although Erytheia and I had been keen to join the cheerleading club, we'd realised that we couldn't do both that and scouts. So, once we reached Llamacorn Scout level, we sadly quit our troop and signed up for cheerleading. At our first session, we'd received our uniforms, which was fun. After a session one evening, back at home, Salim Benali came to visit.

"Oh, you must be, umm..." he faltered, looking at me.

"This is Xanthe," Mum explained. "She's got longer hair than Erytheia has. When she's not in her cheerleading kit, she's in something yellow."

"Ah, I've read about dressing twins in different colours," Salim nodded. "Wow, I remember when you were a little toddler in the flat across from mine in Medina Studios. How you've grown! I'm sorry, all adults tend to say that kind of thing."

"I don't mind," I smiled. "There are worse things."