Last day of term at the Elite Academy of Magic

Augustus Remmington James, sat on the wide empty steps outside the library of the Elite Academy of Magic. As always, he was flanked by his two best friends whom he’d met on the night of their first year, four years ago - Carrie Bench and Naruhito Sato.

Carrie - fiery and brown - had been taller than both of them in their first year, back when they’d been 13 years old, but at the end of their fourth year, at 17, she was now the shortest of their trio. Aside from height, she hadn't changed much. Though there was the incident with a fire golem in their third year where her thick bush-like hair had been singed to more of a bird's nest. At the end of their fourth year it was now just long enough to be made into two braids which strayed more out of the braid than in it at the end of the day, lending her the look of a scarecrow. 

Her choice of dress hadn't changed at all. While her school uniform was always crisp, tucked and pressed, her after school clothes were more on the casual side. On that particular day - a lazy friday afternoon and the last day of the semester - she wore a faded yellow dress and odd socks with scuffed mary-janes. She was reading a ragged novel as they waited for her mother to pick them up.

She was used to her mother being late to pick them up in the family van at the start of vacation, after spending nearly every vacation since school started on the Bench’s farm - they all were. In fact, it was normal for them to still be waiting at the academy long after all their other classmates had left.

On the other side of Augustus, sat Naruhito. In ways, he could be considered the polar opposite of Carrie. He had come into their first year, small, pale and bespectacled. However, after inheriting the famed Knights sword of Medlocke at the end of his second year, he’d filled out remarkably, and by their fourth year he’d earned his place amongst the most respected warriors and eligible bachelors of the school. 

Tall and tan with wavy black hair which fell perfectly on either side of his forehead, he had his own fan-club by third year. And though he still wore glasses they had been swapped out from the boxy black pair he’d worn all through first and second year, to a pair of elegant tortoiseshell ones. To the amazement of his classmates he seemed to have an unending supply of this specific pair of glasses - a godsend considering how often they broke throughout the year. 

His sense of style had also gained him his esteem with most of the girls (and a few of the boys) on campus. Outside of school he wore vintage band shirts and ripped jeans with the same classic sneakers. In reality, all but the shoes were second-hand or thrifted finds charmed to fit him perfectly, but only Augustus and Carrie knew this. 

During their third year, he had briefly strayed from their friend group due to his new found popularity, something which proved to be a wedge between him and simple-minded, loyal Carrie. Augustus had been afraid their trio would never return to the way it was before but before the end of the year, when worst came to worst (as it so often did for them at the end of their school year) Naru had found his way back to them, and by their fourth year, they were closer than ever. 

One thing that had remained consistent with Naru was his deep and unrequited love for Carrie which he had harboured in his heart from the moment he saw her in their first year. Everyone in their school, including all of his past girlfriends, were aware of his crush. Everyone except Carrie, who remained completely oblivious.

 Meanwhile, Augustus considered himself to be fairly average, at least when compared to Naru and Carrie. While his marks were decent, Carrie was top of the class half of the time, due being gifted with the high intellect that could only be born from being raised by a serial reader. While Naru was top of the class the other half of the time, this being from the high intellect which came from hours of devotion to his studies. How he found the time for this inbetween going on dates with the prettiest girls in class and battling monsters and murderers with the trio whenever the threat arose, no one knew for sure. 

When it came to looks, Augustus considered himself to be average too. Pale and freckled with floppy brown hair and awkwardly long limbs. His dress sense wasn’t much better, between super-naturally handsome Naru and messy-cute Carrie, he hardly made any waves in his cut-off shorts and baggy t-shirts. 

Their magic skills were on about the same level though, he was pleased to admit. Augustus himself had worked hard on luck runes, a skill which had probably helped keep them alive more than anything else. Where his natural talent lay was still unknown to him, though Carrie had theorised it was connection magic, due to the way he could get along with anyone from strangers to elves to dogs and how he’d held their trio together despite the best efforts of Carrie’s fiery temper and Naru’s unpredictable emotions. 

Augustus himself wasn't so certain. He often joked that the only reason he kept them around was because they were the only people he knew who called him by his preferred ‘August’ instead of ‘Augie’, or worse ‘Gus’. But truthfully, they were like family to him and he could never repay Carrie for all the holidays he got to spend at her family's farm. All of his holidays during his schooling career in fact. And he had Naru to thank for always being ready for whatever August and Carrie couldn't or wouldn't do, be it catching a roach in his and August’s shared dorm room or decapitating a giant. 

There were also all the times he set August up on dates, though those were hit-or-miss enough that he couldn't be sure if they were blessings or curses. 

Speaking of curses, that was Carrie's favourite type of magic. It usually manifested into explosions, fire or their enemies just happening to get splinters under their fingernails - that particular horror had been the fate of one of Naru’s bullies back in first year. However despite her proclivity for violence and her hard earned talent for it, they all knew that Carrie’s true talent lay in her mother's brand of natural magic. Indigenous herbs, charms and moonlit rituals. 

Naru, on the other hand, had developed a skill for fighting magic after earning his enchanted sword - meaning he always had the upper-hand and the perfect opening in any fight. That, along with his natural talent for any sort of combat with essentially any weapons, proved him an integral member of their trio but a terrible opponent for late-night dorm room wrestling. 

His natural born talent, to their surprise, was the rare art of transformation magic. It was something he had only used once in the previous year when Carrie had been critically injured and needed to be flown to the medical bay. It had been quite the saga at the time. After almost a year of ignoring her and distancing himself from them, Naru had turned into a dragon without any previous experience in order to save her life. It had been just the thing to bring them all back together.

Their fourth year hadn't been any less eventful but once again, they’d made it through to the other side. Their years always ended this way, waiting on the library steps for Carrie's mother to fetch them for a summer on the farm. Well, except for the summer when the library had been destroyed by the same fire golem who had fried Carrie’s hair. That year they’d had to wait at the fountain by the front gates. 

August was certain nothing could tear them apart. Though they had their differences, it was evident they couldn't survive without each other, and more than that, they loved each other in the deep way which could only grow from being in multiple near death situations together. Though their final year loomed large in the distance, no doubt filled with future threats - probably worse ones than they had ever faced - at least they had an uneventful summer to look forward to. One filled with picking tomatoes and loquats and swimming in the nearby lake. Of course, as it always was with their trio, the unexpected always lurked around the corner.

Carrie set her book on the suitcase between her knees. “I think I’ll get a boyfriend next year,” she announced. Though August liked to consider himself unflappable, he found himself reeling back at the unexpected remark. He quickly wiped the surprised look off his face before Carrie could do it for him. Naru wasn't as lucky. He comically spat out the mouthful of juice he’d been sipping in the early summer heat.

 Carried snorted and passed him a handful of crumpled tissues from her dress pockets. “Let's not overreact,” she sneered. “Why so sudden?” Naru asked, feigning nonchalance as he wiped at the juice dripping off his straight nose. “Is it?” Carrie asked, absently checking her cracked smartphone. August decided to step in, if only to cover Naru’s tracks, a habit he’d fallen into years ago when he realised the boy could not be pushed to confess, no matter the situation. “Is it sudden?! Well yeah, you’ve never really shown interest in dating before”.

Carrie shrugged exaggeratedly, hands raised and palms facing upwards as she considered her answer. “Well it will be our final year” she said and then ,with a wry smile, “and up till now I thought Naru was doing all the dating for the trio, but it seems his career as a serial dater is finally on hiatus”. She shot a grin in his direction, to show that she was joking. As Naru laughed half-heartedly, August glanced at both of them. Between the comically defeated Naru and the ever oblivious Carrie, he decided he had to butt in again.

 He elbowed Naru conspiratorially. “Yeah dude, you’ve been single for a record breaking year now, any specific reason?” he pressed. Naru shrugged, his head hanging between his shoulders dejectedly. “I don't know, maybe”. He raised his head “how about you Carrie? Anyone you have your eye on?” he asked aloofly. August held his breath. The constant yet unfruitful back and forth between his friends had been a constant sense of turmoil to him for years.

He wasn't much of a casa-nova himself, he’d had his fair share of missed opportunities and moments of cowardice in relation to his past crushes. But to pine over someone for four years was where he drew the line. 

Carrie, as always, was oblivious to the tension surrounding her answer. “Well, I did have a thing for Cliff Stenburg”. Naru scoffed “so that's your type, huh? The reliable big brother”. Carried sighed, ignoring his ridiculing tone. “Funny you should mention that, he actually rejected me for that exact reason - I’m like a little sister to him apparently”. This time both August and Naru reacted in the same way of looking sharply towards her. “Are you saying you confessed?” August asked when it seemed like Naru had been rendered speechless. Carrie had not shown a speck of interest in romance or confessions before that afternoon. 

“Well yeah, though I knew it was a losing battle even before I asked. He’s obviously into Malina Adeyemi and she has that gorgeous dark skin and those millions of tiny braids she does by hand” Carrie fingered the edge of her stubby straw textured plait. “I never stood a chance”. Naru huffed while August leaned forward expectantly, fully expecting Naru to say something, at least, borderline romantic. Instead, what he said was “should I duel him on your behalf?”. 

Carried leaned over August's head to clip him on the shoulder, accidentally elbowing August in the head in the process. “What do you think, Naru?” she asked sarcastically, ignoring August's squawk. Naru leaned away, out of her reach. “I know, I know, he's a great guy and has never done anything wrong in his life as your beloved mentor” he said, only half joking. It was common knowledge that Cliff was a favourite of everyone on campus, Naru included, and it was no wonder the tall dark skinned athlete was drawing the attention of Malina who was one of the most beautiful girls on campus. 

“Maybe I’ll ask Josh Verona out” Carrie mused after a moment. August scoffed. “That rich kid? If you don't mind old money then why have you been tormenting me about my family for years?” he complained. “That's because your family is terrible” Carrie softened the blow with a kiss on the cheek, an affectionate, sisterly habit she’d developed, though only towards August, to Naru’s great displeasure. August nodded in reluctant agreement, his family was terrible. 

He’d known it for some time but became especially aware of it when he’d brought his new friends back with him over a holiday in his first year and became blatantly aware of how classist and racist his family was towards his more middle class friends of colour. It was part of the reason why he loved staying at the Bench’s farm with Carrie's loud, welcoming mother or even Naru’s modest home where his perpetually busy, yet kind parents always made time to ask him about the semester during the short times they were off work. 

He was interrupted from his thoughts by Naru asking “so why Josh? We never knew you liked him”. It was true, while it was no big surprise that Carrie had liked Cliff, who despite only being a year older than her, had taken her in as a mentee in her first year partly because of her being the only other black, middle class student in both their years. but Josh was news even to him. Carrie waved a hand vaguely. “Well I guess I don't really like him that much but he's nice and he makes a good lab partner and I just really want to date at least one guy during my school years” she admitted. 

August was on the brink of protesting her logic when Naru spoke again, almost too softly for him to hear it. Evidently it was too soft for Carrie to hear too because she said “what?” loudly. Naru chuckled at her bluntness, his prince-like aura donned like a shield after his initial shyness. 

“Well, if it can just be anyone, how about me?”. Carried leaned forward so that she could look past August into Naru’s determined face. “What?” she asked, softer and less sure of herself. “If you don't have anyone particular in mind, how about dating me?” Naru asked and then, with the squaring of his shoulders, “why not become my girlfriend?”. 

August subtly leaned back, doing his best to stay out of the way and keep himself from squealing the way girls did when Naru breathed a certain way. To his relief, they seemed to have forgotten he existed.

 “Are you serious?” Carrie asked, her expression was that of someone reevaluating everything she thought she was sure of. Naru nodded “I like you. Would it be impossible for you? To develop feelings for me too?”.

 Carrie almost stumbled forward, going from sitting on the step to half kneeling in front of them so that she could get a better look at him. “What? Since when? How would I not know this?” she asked breathily. Naru shook his head as he too leaned forward on one knee. He took her hand gently. “How long it was doesn't matter, but your answer does. If you don't like me the way I do you, we can just forget this ever happened” he said with an easy smile. August had to resist the urge to clap his friend on the back in pride.

Carrie seemed frozen in place, her eyes fixed on her hand clasped in Naru’s. Naru’s composure began to slip slightly when she remained silent. “Well? Is it no good?” he prompted. Carrie shook her head even before he stopped speaking. “No, no, um, probably not”. She looked into his face again, her shock seemed to be wearing off only to be replaced by her usual blunt decisiveness. “Well, okay then. Yeah” she said, nodding slightly, the look on her face a mix between lingering surprise and fresh determination. 

Naru bit his lip, a failed attempt to hide his grin. “Yeah, what?”. A matching grin crept onto Carrie's face. “Yeah, I'll be your girlfriend”. Naru made a strangled excited noise before pulling Carrie across the short distance between them and planting a loud kiss on her forehead. Carrie laughed, leaning her free hand on the ground to steady them. 

It took entirely too long before they remembered August was there. “What's with that look?” Carrie scolded him though her expression was just as ridiculous. August only grinned harder. “Noooothing” he teased. Naru smiled fondly at the exchange, clutching Carrie's hand tighter in his own. She had since moved to sit in between him and August on the step. She pulled her hand free from Naru’s grip only to wrap it around his shoulder, her hand weaving into the smooth hair at the base of his neck. Her other arm wrapped around August’s back.

“I have a feeling this is going to be our best summer yet”. She kissed August on the cheek before doing the same to Naru, albeit longer and louder. “And not just because we might die next year”. 

August grinned. “Sounds like the average school year to me”.