It was, at long last, the day when she and Valencia were visiting the academy with Estelle. The problem, though, was that Astrid had to leave the warmth of her bed before any “academy visiting” could happen.
Sliding out of bed like a slug as she lamented the disappearance of her warmth, she just laid on the floor. Hugging her few remaining blankets around her, she felt her back freeze as it pressed against the cold hardwood floor.
One flip later, Astrid the Slug sat upright before grabbing the side of the bed. Pulling herself back onto her feet, she meandered her way to the restroom. Halfway to the restroom, she took a side quest and hugged Valencia for a couple seconds to recharge on warmth before continuing forward.
Finishing her long, extensive, and treacherous journey to the bathroom, Astrid splashed some water on her face and went through her morning routine. Once done, she got dressed and made her way downstairs as the smell of food and the sound of cooking wafted through the second floor.
“Good morning, Cia,” Astrid murmured, hugging Valencia from behind. “Do you know when Estelle’s coming?”
“She texted me saying she’ll swing by in a couple minutes to pick us up. I assume she’ll want breakfast first though so I'm making her a portion too.” Valencia clarified, pointing to the extra plates and utensils she had put out for her.
Taking a seat at the counter, Astrid poured out a cup of tea. Before long, Valencia finished plating the food and took a seat beside her.
Making some idle conversation as they began eating—albeit, at a slow pace—Astrid and Valencia were interrupted by the door opening within a couple minutes.
“Did you miss me~?” Estelle cheered as she swung open the door. “We have time though, take your time eating.”
Doing a double take as Estelle walked over, Astrid paused and lowered her food back to its plate. “Estelle... I didn’t know you had this in you.”
After hanging out with Estelle for the past couple of months, Astrid was beyond amazed at how well she could clean up. Estelle, in their little friend group, was known for her commitment to her fashion style. Baggy jackets, baggy pants, tank tops, basketball shoes, baseball hats, the list went on. Estelle was consistent as always with matching every streetwear advertisement in the world.
Yet, today? Estelle was dressed in a sharp suit, heels, and a pair of thin glasses. Her hair too! Estelle avoided hair ties so much that Sylvia theorized she was allergic. But today, up in a sleek high ponytail.
“Why so surprised, Astrid?” Estelle spun with a grin and a wink. “Didn’t expect me to ever dress this nice?”
“Yeah, I didn’t at all...” Astrid trailed off, looking Estelle up and down, “You give off a totally different air. It’s like, it’s like you’re responsible all of a sudden!”
Taking a shot to the heart, Estelle clutched her chest as she wiped away a fake tear. Stumbling over to the counter Estelle took a seat before grabbing Valencia’s hand. “Your girlfriend can be so savage...”
Ignoring Estelle’s crocodile tears and fake complaints, Valencia pushed a plate and a cup of tea forward. “We have some breakfast for you too if you’d like.”
“What is this turn in attitude?” Estelle gasped, bolting back upright as if nothing happened and pressing a hand to her chest. “Why is Astrid suddenly the savage one and you... well... the nice one.”
“It’s... way too early for this amount of energy,” Valencia grumbled, leaning against her girlfriend while taking a sip of tea. “Just eat and we’ll be on our way.”
---
One more energetic than usual breakfast later, the three started on their way. Because Estelle was on a tighter schedule due to official business though, they took a company-provided car from the Library of Truth to make their way into the heart of the city.
Plus, with Estelle in stilettos and Astrid in some low heels, everyone was thankful to have the car.
Weaving their way through the morning bustle and traffic of Marcen’s Cliffs downtown, Astrid took in the morning crowds as people commuted to work, bought coffee, and did whatever else people did in the morning. Maybe lamenting the fact they had to wake up so early?
Zoning out, she felt her jaw drop as they drove up to the academy. Passing through a set of huge gates, the car drove down a path and around a large loop circling a gargantuan center fountain.
With the car coming to a smooth halt, Astrid, Valencia, and Estelle stepped out to face the towering academy front doors. Built out of a light-colored stone, the academy took on a more baroque style as ornate decorations marked the academy.
Feeling and hearing the crunch of gravel under her feet, Astrid couldn’t help but admire the... brightness of the academy. Unlike the rest of the city, this academy felt cordoned off, like it was its own little fantasy world. The grass was so green, the fountain’s water was so clear, and the decorations marking each windowsill, doorway, archway, and column were so shiny.
The entire academy gleamed.
Putting aside the random observations, Astrid spun to look at Estelle. With Estelle just standing there shading her eyes, Astrid raised an eyebrow. “I’m impressed with how you’re able to walk in those heels. My heels aren’t that high off the ground and the heel itself is large enough to not worry about gravel but... you’re in stilettos.”
“Another day, another way,” Estelle yawned before flashing a grin. “Don’t worry, I’m experienced. I could even dance right now, but I won’t because I have an image to keep up during these inspections.”
“Y-Yeah... please don’t...” Astrid moved forward, putting a hand on Estelle’s shoulder. “I trust that you can, but I’d rather not risk seeing you slip and crack your head open right before an important work inspection.”
“She’d be fine anyway,” Valencia interjected with her arms crossed. “Her skull’s so thick she’d probably crack the ground instead.”
“Now this is the dynamic I’m more used to, I knew kind Valencia and mean Astrid were both fake!” Estelle laughed, taking out a clipboard and pen as the group of administrators began walking down the steps to meet them. “Anyhow, look smart, the bozos who run the academy are making their way over.”
Thanking the heavens that Estelle hadn't shouted those words, Astrid brushed her hair behind her ear as the group made their way over.
“Estelle?” A shorter, stout man laughed, extending his hand to offer a handshake. “Pleasure to see you today, we’d be honored to give you and... these two? A tour today.”
“Don’t worry, I’m just letting them look around. Think of them as assistants.” Estelle clarified before returning the handshake. “Let’s get this show on the road, do you have an itinerary planned?”
“O-Of course,” The man stumbled for a moment, his wish of warming up to Estelle to get an easier time painted clear across his face. “Follow us in and we’ll get started.”
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Thanks for the chapter!
Hahaha, now I'm wondering how Astrid and Valencia are going to send this "routine inspection" off the rails in grand fashion.
I GOT TO 100K WORDS WRITTEN ON THE YEARRRR WOOOO
Wowww, congrats!
Thank you for writing.
TFTC!!!