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“THIS has got me way more panicked than I thought,” Oriana mumbled to herself as she ambled down the cobblestone path all alone.
She never dreamed one of her friends was already considering their future even though they were still only in their third year at the Academy. Perhaps even Kai and Heidemarie, who were the most mature of their group, already had a clear vision for what they wanted in life too.
But what is it that I want to do?
If she kept going with the flow and letting it take her wherever, would she still be able to find something she wanted to do? She was beginning to feel like scum for having no dreams or ambitions, and that in itself came as a shock. Her mind was blank as she meandered absently down the path, not noticing the step until it caught her foot and tripped her.
“Aaah!”
I’m going to fall! Fortunately, no sooner had she thought that than someone grabbed her by the arm. The impact must have loosened the band around her books because all of her texts went scattering across the ground.
“Sorry. Thank you for… Miguel!” To her surprise, he was the one who’d saved her from her fall. He had a lollipop stick protruding from his lips as his large hand held fast to her arm.
“Heya. If you keep swinging back and forth like a pendulum as you walk, you’re liable to fall, y’know.”
“Was I that unsteady on my feet?” Oriana asked with a laugh.
“Yep. About like this,” Miguel said, mimicking her movements by staggering back and forth, almost like a drunkard.
“You’re exaggerating way too much.”
“Okay, so more like this then?” He continued his weird pendulum motion, though with less speed this time, and Oriana burst into laughter.
“What are you doing all the way out here, Miguel?” she asked.
“Helping Vincent out.” Miguel pointed a finger in the direction of the forest. “The ink for his converter ran out, so I came to get a refill.”
“If it’s an inkwell you need, I have one.”
“Mm. We can borrow that then. I bet you were heading out here to see Vincent anyway, right?”
For a moment she wondered how he knew, but thinking about it, students only took this particular path for one reason. The only thing that lay ahead was the Herbology facility. Oriana had looked for Vincent in the study hall and the library but hadn’t found him there, so she intended to check the Herbology fields next. They hadn’t seen each other in almost two weeks by now, and as friends, she’d hoped to see his face again.
“Wanna go together?” Miguel offered.
“I won’t be in your way?”
“Don’t see how you could be. Though, on the other hand, you’ll probably get your clothes dirty.”
“Again?”
Miguel wasn’t in his work clothes today, but his robes were covered in splotches of dirt. They were probably doing more experiments in the field and trying to collect data, she figured.
Vincent was, as usual, tilling the fields with his magical implement. He spent half of his free time studying and the rest of it he dedicated to his invention. Oriana could see why he hadn’t managed to make any other friends besides Miguel these past three years.
Oriana had pitched in with the development of his invention several times now. Most of it involved her drawing magic circles for him, so lately, she’d kept magic paper and a pen stuffed in her sleeves.
“Want some candy?” Miguel asked.
“No thanks. If I’m going to help, I’ll be getting my hands dirty.”
“Sure are eager to pitch in. How kind of ya.”
“Really? You think so? Hm, but you could stand to praise me more,” Oriana teased.
“Yep, you’re practically a saint. You know you’re gonna get dirty, but that doesn’t bother you, and you’ve memorized a bunch of circles you’ll never use again just to help out. We’re lucky to have you.”
“Oh, come on, enough of that,” Oriana said. “You’re actually going to make me blush…”
“That’s what I was aiming for.”
“Urgh! You’re way too good at this!”
“Hahaha!”
Though she had no idea when he’d started helping Vincent, Miguel was an impeccable assistant, and the two made a perfect team. That naturally meant Oriana’s experience, knowledge, and even talent for the role of helper was nowhere near Miguel’s level. Nonetheless, it was precisely because Miguel and Vincent were so accepting of her as she was that she didn’t lose confidence in herself. That was why she wanted to be useful to them, why she studied various circles, why she made sure she could draw them off the top of her head as needed. It was a bit embarrassing, desperately pouring in so much effort for the sake of others, but seeing how delighted they were by the results made her happy.
I wonder if Miguel’s also thought about his future.
Perhaps, since he was so involved with Vincent’s experiments which fell out of the purview of their normal studies, he also already had his own vision. Oriana clenched her jaw, folded her arms, and twisted her body, groaning. Her face puckered as she peered over at Miguel. “Oh, pardon me if you would, Mister Miguel.”
“Yes, whatever could it be, Miss Oriana?”
“Well you see, Mister Miguel, I was wondering…um…do you perhaps already have a dream for yourself?”
“Huh?” Miguel blurted back, dropping the act. “What’s this all of a sudden. You quizzing me on what I plan to do in the future?”
“No, uh, hehe… It just seems like most people have already made up their minds. So I’m feeling kind of embarrassed for myself since I’ve just been going with the flow with no real thought for what I want to do…”
“Mm? You think so? I bet Lucian’s got no clue what he wants to do.”
“But what if he actually does? I might fall into a coma from shock. What are you going to do then? Will you look after me if that happens?”
“Sure. Wanna get hitched while we’re at it?”
“Oh no!” Oriana slapped her hands over her cheeks, swaying back and forth. “You mean to tell me I’ll be an earl’s wife in the future?!”
Miguel laughed. His teeth crunched down on the candy in his mouth, a crack echoing. “Well, I am the oldest son in my family, so it’s not like I’ve got a lot of choices. My mom’s from the Azure Dragon house, so I’ll probably get married to a girl from there, I figure. And that’s about it.”
As a noble, Miguel was expected to dip his hands into politics and shoulder the burden of overseeing his family’s territory. His future was already predetermined, so maybe he wasn’t really in a position to give it much thought.
“The present is more important to me than what’s ahead,” he said. “Without the now, there would be no future.”
It was so obvious she had never given it any deep thought, but as his words gradually sank in, Oriana gave pause, surprised.
“Don’t you think you’re worrying a little too much about what’s ahead?” Miguel flashed his usual mocking smile at her. “If you’re so eager to figure out what you wanna do in the future, why not enjoy what you can right now? They’re basically the same thing, after all. To find something you wanna do means to find something you enjoy, right?”
Perhaps this was what it meant to have an epiphany.
Oriana recrossed her arms over her chest, her shoulders feeling much lighter now, and glanced up at Miguel. “Huh… Can I call you my life mentor?”
“Aw, knock it off. I’m happy just being friends with you.”
“Oh, no! Be still my heart! How dare you say something so adorable! You’re killing me with cuteness over here. It goes without saying we’re already best buds. You’re going to have me grinning like an idiot in a second, so pass over some of that candy.”
“Certainly.” Miguel slipped a grape-flavored lollipop from his sleeve.
Oriana grinned and thanked him for it. The sweet flavor rolled over her tongue when she popped it in her mouth, and she suddenly felt empowered now that she’d kicked her anxiety to the curb.
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“Viiiinceeent!” She waved her arms through the air with exaggerated flourish, standing on her tiptoes.
Vincent had been crouching on a rock at the corner of one of the fields, glaring down at a piece of paper spread across his lap. When he heard her voice, he lifted his chin. He gave no reply, but illuminated by the evening sunlight, his cheeks looked redder than normal as he gazed straight at her. He seemed to be spacing out. Oriana had never seen him like this before. Despite being a handsome young man, the look on his face was like that of an innocent, lost boy.