“Alright, Class. Today we shall deviate from our usual magical studies to delve into another field that has been recently incorporated within wizard’s education, and that class would be the ancient art of Alchemy! For our first lesson, we will be going over a few basic potion recipes using various organic ingredients in numerous forms and mixing them all together to make a lot of amazing drinks! That means, class, we also get to work with MYSTICAL LIQUIDS! For this exercise, I’ve decided to pair you guys up so it will both speed up the process and so you can learn off of each other with your work. And just for fun, I’m going to start with my favorite new guy. Gades, I trust your time thus far being weaned off of Rose has been good to you?”
“I’m doing just fine, Professor. No worries, here.”
“Perfect! This time I’m pairing you off with Sherri. I still feel I’m being a little lenient giving you one of our few students who’s had a bit of previous experience in this kind of stuff, but I’m going with the slight chance that maybe she’ll gain a little something in return. I don’t know exactly what, but here’s hoping.”
“Understood. I’ll try my best… at whatever it is you’re talking about."
Sherri Langley, huh? I’ve seen her in class a few times and maybe exchanged a word or two with her, but we’ve never really worked together, or even really talked to each other, up to this point. She seems nice enough. She looks like a sweet girl who has it all together. Today’s lesson might be really interesting, too...
Magical Quicksilver:
A Glance at the Ripening Cherry
The hour went by pretty fast. The first potion, a basic healing draught, was something I was already familiar with thanks my experience with remedies back in my hometown, but the rest were new to me: a magical energy restorative, a beast repellent, and an emergency acid? That’s some potent stuff for a first-timer! Luckily, Sherri ended up being a great partner without me having to mooch off of her, so I learned a lot! I assume some of this is new to her, as she admitted to me she hasn’t done a lot of the mixing yet, but we managed to add all the ingredients in precise amounts. It was a strange but meaningful time, too: I think this may have been the first time I’ve seen her smile and enjoy her self so much until now. Wow, I really haven’t gotten to know her all that well. Maybe she’s like this more often when I’m not looking. In any case, it was cleaning time, and we were just about done.
“You did a really good job cleaning up! Thanks!” Sherri cheered.
“No problem! I’m already used to this kind of work, so it isn’t a big deal.” I told her.
It sounded a little brag-ish to me, but then again, can anyone really take pride in doing menial chores well to a city of respectable people? I wouldn’t know.
“It was pretty neat of you knowing that 1st healing potion so well, and already being familiar with most of the ingredients we had to work, with too! Then again, I guess being around a lot of plants in your home town and being taught some magic stuff by your Dad would help, wouldn’t it?” she answered me with a silly little laugh.
“Yeah, all of that helps.” I added with a hearty chuckle. “It was also a really big help that one of the adults I knew had an extensive knowledge of the local specimens. I guess I owe her quite a bit for our success in today’s lesson, eh? Not that you deserve any less credit. You did well yourself. Impressive, actually”
“Oh, thank you…” she replied in a flattered tone.
It wasn’t the first time I noticed this, but it was much clearer to me at that moment: she was cute. The pinkness in her face just happened to catch my attention of that more than usual.
“Really! You were able to get the right ingredients and the right amount without a second glance at the list! You even knew how to set up the mixer without any help from the instructions! Where’d you first learn all this alchemy stuff, anyway?”
“It’s… not all that impressive, really. Just a few basic things a friend of mine taught me as a favor. There’s still a lot of things about brewing and general alchemy I could definitely improve on.” She told me.
“A friend?”
“Yes. An upperclassman, actually. I’m not as close with her as Marco, Mills, and Nina from our class, but she treats me well. She showed me useful and helpful Alchemy can be, so you could say she got me interested in it. She happens to be a dedicated alchemist in this academy, you know. Maybe… that’s why she’s also the top student of her class?”
If she had said it any other way, I would have taken it as a way of expressing her pride in sharing a strong connection with one of the most reputed students of the school, maybe even a method of bragging herself, but her head was bowed and turned too bashfully to tell me otherwise. Clearly, she’s feeling plenty of inferiority compared to this amazing student of hers. It’s a very familiar scene to me, but I’ll say it again: she made it look cute.
“You don’t happen to be talking about the girl in the year above us, do you?”
“Miss Mercedes?”
“Yeah, I think that’s her name. Everyone keeps saying she’s this cold, calculating girl who doesn’t waste her emotions on anybody, but I have yet to meet her. Some of the same things have been said about my mother one time, but those guys were way off.”
She gave me a shaky laugh in response to what I had to say.
“No! I can understand the rumors, actually! She’s not really all that bad, though! Maybe a little weird, but she isn’t a ruthless villain! It’s… well, she’s hard to explain, but she really is a decent person! You have to know her well enough to understand, though.” She explained to me.
“I think I have some understanding. You’ve certainly got me curious.”
“Ah, that’s nice. She just might really like knowing you.” She told me hopefully.
“You seem like the kind of guy that could interest her.”
“That seems to be the case for a lot of people around here when it concerns me. I’m the new kid who managed to wedge himself in this special class, after all.” I clarified for her.
Wait, did I say something that sounded like bragging again? Honestly, I want to stop. Arrogant people annoy me. I’m even more annoyed when I sound and act that way myself.
“No kidding. You seem to be the biggest cause for gossip around here ever since everyone knew you were coming over! What’s the big word about you know? You’re Lady Rose’s---“
“Sidekick.” I interrupted. “I’m Miss Rose’s sidekick, and proud of it! Any other assumption is a big lie! We’re all still a bunch of boys and girls here!”
I assumed a few people thought I felt lovey-dovey towards her or something like that. My deep interest in Elfish Culture does not help my argument, but I assure you, I’m just best friends with her. She just happens to be really fun to work with, you know? I don’t have some massive crush on her that would make me want to have her all to myself or anything like that. My classmate Marco, on the other hand…
“Hey, we all happen to like her as a sister! It’s probably the jealous ones that are thinking that way!” she told me as she laughed again.
Weird, I still can’t deny it, but she’s still cute. Usually when I think that way about a girl, I feel strange and tense around them. Even with Yula, my best friend from the old village, I felt this unusual feeling when I became more comfortable around her. But with this girl, I feel just fine seeing her this way. Completely at ease, actually. Maybe because for once, the one I’m talking to is the shy and humble one?
Wait a minute; I just realized this moment she was shy? And why does that keep drawing me towards her?
“You’re a like sort as well, Sherri! I mean, you’re very pleasant, you’re easy to talk to, and you know plenty of fun and interesting things! It was a pleasure to really finally get to know you!” I said.
“W-wow… Thank you, Gades. But, that’s laying it on a bit thick for flattery, isn’t it? That’s… a lot to say.” She answered me, sounding a little embarrassed.
True, I may have sounded too eager in complimenting her, but that seems to be a strange habit for me whenever it’s a first-time deal with somebody. Still, that makes me feel like I’m eager to please, when that’s not entirely true. What I did next; however, might have really been pushing it.
“I think not. Actually, I happen to think you’re quite cute, too.” I told her most cheerfully.
Okay, if I had honestly been thinking that for the past few moments, there is just no way it can be embellished flattery, and most certainly nothing to be shocked about. Clearly, Sherri thought otherwise. She looked as though I had had deprived her of breathing air, and her face started going from pink to red. And gee, the whole thing was still very cute. It was all too adorable that I wanted to take her in right then and there and hug her.
Holy… am I becoming my father? No, please, stop thinking like that…
“Alright, Class! Clean-up time is over! You can all retire for the day!” Professor Hunt announced.
Thank goodness! I nearly made a girl I can talk to without any qualms much more uncomfortable, too!
The Professor’s cry managed to return her to normal as she merely swallowed away her sudden burst of anxiety.
“W-w-well, it was… really nice working with you, Gades. Maybe… sometime … we could… talk to each other again?” she struggled to say while being flustered.
“It would be my pleasure.” I simply replied.
The two of us just sort of stood there, then we gave each other a final nod before we went our separate ways.
“It was nice meeting you.” She told me more comfortably.
“Good Day, Sherri.”
“Farewell…”
I figured I should have just went ahead and move on with the rest of my day, but something urged me to get one more good look her. All that time I had actually felt something else about her, but after finally getting to know her a little, I could now sense it very clearly: she had a very familiar aura to me, and it was because it was similar to my own somehow.
It was like if we both had pairs of wings, hers would like a lot like mine by some unusual twist of fate. Perhaps there was something we both wanted to overcome by soaring higher…
 Chicken Yuki · Fri Aug 01, 2008 @ 10:32pm · 3 Comments |
