Chapter Twenty-Four: A Taste of Independence (And A Little Studying)

 Narrated by Alexander Paraskevas

And so, just a short time after leaving Copperdale High School, Erytheia, Xanthe and I moved to Honeydew Fields in Britechester. We moved in early, before term started, so that we could get used to where everything was before we started lessons. 

Not long after we'd arrived, Evie Delgato came for a visit.

"Hi, Evie! How's it going?" I asked.

"Not too bad, thanks," she replied. "Which degree are you applying to?"

"Language and Literature. Hopefully I manage to get into the distinguished degree, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if I don't."

"No," she agreed. "I'm still not really sure what I'd like to do."
"Well, taking a gap year is always a good idea," I said. "And if you decide not to go in the end, that's fine too. I just feel like university would give me some good story ideas."
"Yeah, there aren't that many stories set at university," Evie nodded. "I'm sure you'll come up with some good ones. When you publish your books, I'll be first in line to buy them!"

Although I was sharing a house with two future Culinary Arts students, I felt it would be a good idea to brush up on my own cooking skills, so that the onus of creating meals wasn't always on them. I started off with a simple garden salad, so that I wouldn't risk burning the house down. I had to be careful with the sharp knife, but luckily I finished the salad without lopping off any fingers.

Of course, the main thing I'd been looking forward to was sharing a house (and bed) with my girlfriend. We hadn't been particularly interested in sleeping together as teenagers, mainly since we hadn't felt comfortable doing so in either of our apartments due to parents and younger siblings being around. 

"So... how about we go about... uhh... testing out the bed?" I asked. I cringed inwardly, thinking I could've put it better, but Erytheia didn't seem to mind. 

"Sounds like a great idea!" she grinned. 

The following day, Helen popped over for a visit.

"How's university?" she asked.

"Well, we haven't started yet. But I'm looking forward to it," I replied.

"I bet it's fun being able to live with Erytheia," she winked.

"That's none of your business," I said, grinning anyway. I should've known she'd say something like that. "But yes, it's great living with a future Culinary Arts student. We'll probably be the only students on campus getting a decent diet!"

Erytheia had long wanted to visit an 'experimental' restaurant, so we headed over to the recently-refurbished Chez Llama in Newcrest. 

"Hmm, I can see what they mean by experimental," Erytheia said. "I can't make head nor tail of most of these dishes."
"I guess we'll have to just take the plunge and order," I said. "I'm sure it's all edible, or this place would have gone out of business ages ago."

Erytheia ended up ordering Volcano Pasta, and I went for Savoury Bacon Love Petals.
"Well, the presentation's good," she said, glancing over at mine. "It's not so easy getting the presentation right with pasta all smothered in sauce, but it smells great so that's all that matters to me."

That Sunday was Erytheia and Xanthe's high school graduation. I hadn't gone to my own, so I was interested to see what it would be like, particularly since Erytheia was the valedictorian. We hadn't been told to wear formal clothing, and there weren't a huge number of people there, so it seemed like it was a fairly casual affair.

I watched as Erytheia gave her valedictorian speech. She didn't sound very confident, and - by her own admission - hadn't really practised, but it didn't really matter. I was still proud of her.

The following afternoon, we all headed over to the Magic Realm, which I hadn't really been to before. Erytheia said she wanted to buy me a familiar, which I knew would be helpful when it came to both learning spells and using them in duels.
"Ooh, thank you!" I grinned, opening the box. "We'll have to make time to practice magic in between classes and homework."

Later that week, during a hot spell of weather, we decided to head over to Darby's Den, which was the student gathering spot for University of Britechester students. I'd decided to join the Debate Club, so felt it would be a good idea to practise. I felt a bit silly practising arguing on my own, but if I could push through that feeling, it would stand me in good stead.

The summer weather had given way to a more autumnal chill, and the first term was finally upon us. We had all made it onto our chosen distinguished degrees, and decided to get ahead on our homework.

The term flew by, and before I knew it, it was Harvestfest, and time for gnome-appeasing. Interestingly, all the gnomes were the same this year, and I knew that Mr Floppy enjoyed salad. Sure enough, he seemed pleased with the offering.

The final day of term had arrived, and I still hadn't submitted either of my term papers... oops. Mum had often nagged me about my below-par organisation skills, and now I realised what she meant. 

I worked on them both on the downstairs computer before heading off to an exam, before heading upstairs straight after in order to finish them off. I didn't have much confidence in them, but I still submitted them anyway, figuring that it was better to submit something rather than nothing.

That evening, at around 6pm, I received a message saying that I'd achieved all A+s in my classes.

Huh, obviously my paper was better than I thought, I muttered.

Even so, I vowed to try and be more organised next term, so that I'd avoid this last-day panic.