After spending a bit more quality time with me, Lucia begrudgingly went back to her classroom, due to her lunch break coming to a close.

I, on the other hand, just continued lounging around inside my room before accidentally falling asleep at my desk.

Since I couldn’t get much sleep the night prior, I ended up sleeping until it was 4:30 in the afternoon.

And I probably would’ve continued sleeping until it was about noon, if I wasn’t roused awake by someone who’s slightly more punctual than me.

“Hey Otto, wake up.” 

Lucia said with a hint of annoyance in her voice while gently shaking me.

“Eh, it’s 5:00 already?”

I replied after rubbing my eyes a little.

“Nah, it’s 4:30, but we should probably get going if we want to get there before the store closes.”

“Alright, let’s get going then.”

I said before stretching my arms and grabbing my coat off my bed.

In turn, Lucia just nodded before locking arms with me.

“Just making sure that you don’t get lost on the way there.”

“I’m not a kid, you know?”

I said with a bit of a smirk on my face.

“Please, you’d probably get eaten by some sort of carnivorous plant on your way there if I wasn’t coming with you.”

“There are plants that eat people?”

“Some plants eat whole buildings, Otto. Of course, there would be ones that eat people.”

Note to self, never go to a botanical garden. 

“How has humanity survived this long…”

“Fire.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” 

“Anyhow, morbid facts about the world aside, are you ready to go, Otto?”

“Yup, lead the way.”

I said with a hint of optimism in my voice.

In response, Lucia just smiled and started leading the both of us towards the academy’s gates.

And for some reason, I started to feel a little anxious.

Maybe it’s because it’s been a bit since I’ve been outside the school.

Now that I’m thinking about it, I don’t think I’ve even seen a glimpse of what's beyond the school.

“Hey, uh you good, Otto? You look kinda queasy.”

Lucia said before tightening her grip on my arm a little.

“Hmm? Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about how it's the first time in a while since I’ve been off campus.”

“Ah, your teacher hasn’t taken you on any off-campus trips yet?” 

Lucia said while walking me through the school gates and towards a building that was halfway across the cobblestone street.

“Nah, I haven’t been on one ever since I got here.” 

“Weird, I could’ve sworn there was some sort of rule that made it so that each teacher has to take their students on at least one trip each semester.”

“I feel like you just made that up on the spot.”

“No seriously, I’m pretty sure someone got fired because of it.” 

“Still, why would a rule like that even exist in the first place?”

“Apparently, keeping people cooped up in the same spot for a long amount of time causes their brains to rot.”

“Can’t say that I really relate.”

“That’s because you’re not the average person, Otto.”

“Ouch.”

“I meant it as a compliment.”

Lucia said before playfully rustling through my hair.

“Yeah, yeah.”

I replied with a bit of a smirk on my face.

In response, Lucia smiled as well and continued to lead me towards the place that she wanted to show me.

And about 20 minutes later, we made it there.

“Looks like we’re here.” 

Lucia remarked after gesturing towards the towering building that was now currently in front of us.

It was as if I was looking at a windowless shopping mall made entirely of wood and granite. 

“Woah.”

I uttered in surprise, after taking a good look at the structure in front of me.

“Never seen one of these before?”

“No, I can’t say that I have.” 

“Yeah, that makes sense, they only really operate in our town so if you’re not from around here, I doubt that you’d even heard of it.”

“Gotcha… and does this place have a name? I don’t see a sign anywhere.”

“The place is called Zumly, and there isn’t a sign because the owners are superstitious. Apparently, the first time they tried putting up a sign, it fell over and put one of them out of commission for about a month.”

“Yikes.”

“But enough dawdling, let’s find you something nice to wear.” 

Lucia remarked before tightening her grip on my arm again and dragging me through the massive doors to the Zumly building.

Inside, there looked to be at least twenty sections chock full of clothes, each with their own unique theme and style.

“Alright, let’s start with something simple, how about we get you a simple sweater?”

“I’m fine with whatever, though are you sure that you’re really okay with buying things from this place for me? I mean, some of this stuff looks pretty expensive.”

I remarked while looking at a couple price tags.

“Like I said before, it’s fine! Just consider it an early birthday present… and speaking of which, when exactly is your birthday, Otto?”

Lucia said while rummaging through a pile of jackets.

“Oh, it was yesterday.” 

“...Sorry, I think that I misheard you, when did you say that your birthday was?” 

“Yesterday.”

“...And you didn’t think to say anything?” 

“Honestly, I’ve never really celebrated my birthday, mostly because nobody in my family really cared enough to celebrate it, either.”

“Hey, Otto.”

“Yeah?”

“First off, happy late birthday, and secondly, I’m going to buy you all the clothes that you want today, and you don’t get to say no, understood?”

Lucia said with a bit of intensity in her eyes.

“Loud and clear.”

“Good. Now, do you want a jacket with or without a hood?”

“I think I’ll have to go with the one with the hood, so my head doesn’t get drenched on rainy days.”

“I feel like you’d still need an umbrella if it’s pouring outside.”

“Eh, the worst that could happen is that I get a cold right?”

“...Looks like we’re getting you a new umbrella today as well.”