2014. Monday

 

School starts again and Clare is on her way to Beaux Bâtons alongside her friend and the son of her father's new love interest. It's not like she doesn't appreciate Stella, she does, the woman is very likeable, but to think her child is also wizard and one of her close friend is a twist that she wouldn't have expected.

"Sounds like a plot from a shojo manga."

"Exactly my thoughts. I mean, how did they even meet?"

Because they're now living in Switzerland and last Bri checked, his mother was still working in Roma Hospital.

Yeah, he's Bri, now that she knows his actual name. Something she will not share with said person to not hurt his feelings, and promising herself to be more attentive from now on.

And what was her father doing in Switzerland anyway? Was he really trying to find a place to treat Estelle and came across Stella (now that she thinks about it their name do sound alike) who happen to know Geneve Hospital? Those were the questions she kept pondering for the last few days and which were misplaced now that she has to return to magic world.

She certainly doesn't need more trouble, now that she's back at the Academy at the exact day school starts. But Bri says that he's used to it (how could he be celebrating Epiphany with his mother every others years if he had to return to Beaux Bâtons when school start before? Exactly, he has authorization to use the portal just before the actual lesson begins) and she doesnt have to worry about the fuss there will be once on the school's ground.

That doesn't stop her shuddering when her eyes meet the president of the student council, who's the one checking in the students using the portal as he's the one giving the authorization.

"Don't fret and just keep going on."

"Easier to say," she mutters to her step-sibling.

Well, future.

And probably just in the name because she's not sure that the marriage wouldn't end like the one with Estelle. And Stella seems to be a woman who knows about relationship failure if her former partner, the one Bri didn't like to talk about, is any sign.

They urge themselves inside the French class and Bri focuses on the lesson as he realized his level is really so-so during the time trying to talk to Ian. Seeing him making so much effort for the sake of her brother put her at ease to know they would go along well.

Some wild stare in her back reminds her that her late appearance to the lesson won't be so easily dismissed.

 

Corinna doesn't waste any time to comment about their appearance first thing at the break.

"You came together?"

"Yeah," she thinks about adding something but then doesn't know what so she just says: "yeah."

Again.

"We run into each other a lot during holidays," Bri just adds.

That wasn't a lie per se, they just omit that they were also together the night before and the same morning to feast Epiphany with the galette des rois (which none of them got the kings bean even cutting the cake in five parts).

 

For lunch, Beaux Bâtons' chefs prepared a feast for the holiday and everyone could choose their piece of galette and reveive the title of king or queen. Doesn't mean they could boss everyone around but maybe inside their own friend circle. Clare happened to celebrate it at the primary school when she was in France but no one care about the 6th of January at Hogwarts so she totally didn't expect it when Emmanuel at their table got the kings bean. To mess with him, Lara transfigures a napkin so he has his king crown.

"So, are you gonna give us your order, your majesty?" Corinna plays along too.

"Are we really going to play it?"

"Why not? It's all fun and game!" Lara pips.

"Till it's not. If you recall how the actual King's Game ends."

Bri shoots an annoyed look at Côme like everytime the guy would retort something kind of dark. But Clare who got a phone for new year from Bri so she wouldn't shame him as relatives knows that Côme is talking about the new manga who got recently published in france. It says the last book will come out in February.

Lara confirmed, as fellow manga reader. "As if your boyfriend would end us like that."

"If we follow your logics, my boyfriend would listen to what I say, so I will be the one giving the orders."

"What a twisted logic," Corinna replies.

That's Côme for you.

"Well, for now, please, no spoil," Clare just says.

"You can read it on scan."

"I don't have the network for that."

Or even the internet as the phone is actually a flip phone (Bri's former one before he got the modified smartphone, formely a sliding phone).

"So you got yourself a phone?"

"Yeah," she said while putting it in exposure. "Well, I don't actually have a sim card but could we exchange number now that we're at it?"

"It's not like we could actually use it anyway, my parents actually didn't want to buy me a phone saying that I will be at school 24/7, but we compromised and they let me have the smartbook during school periods and pay the phone charge during summer."

As Côme explains it, he slides his number to her and while she's registering the contact, she remembers that's actually the same for Bri who's the one who didn't need the devise as he didn't want to burden his mother to pay some pointless bill. Still, Stella wants to know the whereabout of her son and would give him the phones she didn't use (including the flip and the sliding one, as she now has a smartphone -not modified).

"I don't have one," Lara utters. "My family isn't that much fond of muggle technology."

This girl is really a mystery to Clare. First, she's a Fujoshi for 2D gays, now, she's an otaku while being in a pro-wizard family. How did she got here?

"I'm just like Côme, my mother would only pay for the bills during summer. Besides, we can't use network outside of lesson."

She registers Emmanuel's contact before pocketing her phone and resumes to their talk.

"So, where did you get the phone? I thought you didn't see the point?" Corinna pries.

"Oh, it belonged to Bri."

Her friend makes a face that Clare interprets as 'again?' about her shady link with Bri over the holidays. And to prove her right, Corinna snorts.

"What happen this last week? You take leave together and you're suddenly the best of friend?"

"Well, I wouldn't say bestfriend, but we did bond thanks to this week," Bri says lightly.

He seems to enjoy messing with Corinna.

"What? You got to spend New Year together or what?"

"Yup."

"Oh yeah? I thought you were Italian," Lara inquiries.

"He is. Which is why I still don't get his nickname of Brice."

"It's a short of Frabrice, which is a derivation of Frabricio, his actual name, but I'm not sure how he got it," Côme supplies as he's the only one who know him the longest.

Not the best, though.

"And I thought you have to go to Bordeaux?" Corinna brings back to the actual subject.

"Yeah, no, as I said, there was a change of last moment and I went to Genève instead."

"That still doesn't explain how the two of you got to meet in the last days. Didn't the punk said he's from Roma?"

"The punk can travel during the holiday. And it just happens his destination is Genève."

"Comme par hasard," Corinna can't help but let it out in French.

"Some huge coincidence."

And they didn't know the best yet.

"What's more?"

Did she think out loud?

"Our single parent are seeing each other, we're now on the verge of being in the same family. So we can only got close, you see?"

Even if single would be a word too nice for her father. He didn't actually divorced Estelle and is already having an affair with someone else.

"What a twist turn of event," Emmanuel could only comment.

True.

Clare actually feels like her whole sixth year is a plot twist one after another.

She just wishes Ake won't suddenly jump in and tells her they're actually childhood friend or any of that kind.