November wanted to toss himself into a pool of ice-cold water. Exhaustion was gnawing away at his bones. Even though he had missed classes yesterday from oversleeping, he was still plagued with the desire to close his eyes! His feet were dragged upon the pavement under the low morning sun, dread following his steps as he inched closer and closer to the university.
He blamed the dreams. The dreams he'd been having lately were extremely interesting! The book had done a marvelous job of inspiring his imagination. And that in the land of dreams he was able to live out fragments that really brought the story to life. It was seriously amazing!
November couldn't help but feel like he was getting to a very pivotal point in the plot. Lorn was his favorite character even though he was probably just a side character, one of the many colorful personalities that surrounded Queen Cecilia. Meanwhile his least favorite would definitely be the Royal Mother…she had so much animosity towards Lorn even though Lorn had done nothing but aid her in her endeavors! Sure they never saw eye to eye, but how could she fail to see his kindness and his patience? November almost felt personally offended!
A sigh drew out from his lips. He dragging himself through the front gates and made his way towards class and really had to leave this fictional world behind him and focus on reality. And the reality was, was that he missed a full day of school! This would be the first mark on his perfect attendance up till now! What would his old man say if he found out? Or wait, did November even have a father?
The jarring thought startled him and he froze in his steps. Students walked around November to get enter the classroom but none asked him to move. It was only a bright voice that snapped him out of his stupor, "Hey, piano-boy!"
He instantly recognized the Princess. November wouldn't have thought he was the one being addressed if it wasn't for how close her voice was to his ear. He flinched and saw that he was nose to nose with the gorgeous Princess Ceci. She was still as breath-taking as when he first saw her and it made his heart leap wildly in his chest.
But November had more of a grip over his mind this time and was able to muster a smile and a little bow, "Good morning, Your Highness."
She beamed at him and a halo of light seemed to surround her so. He followed her into the classroom and found their seats. "You weren't there yesterday," she mused as she sat down. With a twirl of her wrist, she summoned a heap of notebooks and papers. November marveled at her magic. "I thought you could use a copy of my notes…sorry if it's a bit messy!"
She handed over a small notebook and November had to blink three times before he accepted it from her hands, "Oh…thank you. That is most kind." When he opened it up, he saw that each segment was color-coded and there were cute outlines and drawings around the topics.
Princess Ceci flushed and flailed, "Wait! Don't look at it now! Please look at it in private!"
November was a little surprised, but soon he smiled at her and nodded, "Alright, as you wish."
The Princess let out a sigh of relief and settled back in her seat. The class was about to start and November tried as he could to focus but his mind was elsewhere.
He was thinking about the Princess that was seated next to him. And he was also thinking about the Little Queen in the book he was reading. They could not be more different. The princess's red hair sparkled gold in the light and fell around her in luxurious waves, while the Queen was described to have straight black hair that sat close to the scalp and was even a bit thin. Where the Princess's skin was sun-kissed, the Queen was so pale that she was often mistaken as sickly when she wasn't and had constellations of freckles that spanned her body.
And yet. November couldn't stop comparing them. Especially the way how the little Queen Cecilia in his dreams would blush easily and tilt her head ever so curiously at him. The Princess did that too, didn't she? But she wasn't nearly as shy or reserved as the Little Queen.
At the end of the say, there were only trivial similarities. November still wondered if perhaps the Little Queen in his imagination was modeled after the very real Princess Ceci?
The entire class went by with his head up in the clouds. Students were filing out of the classroom including the Princess herself, followed by a huge mob of students. November didn't even quite register that he was waving goodbye to her until his chair received a sharp kick.
"Ack!" The abrupt movement made his heart skip in his chest. "What was that for?" He turned to face Huit.
"What do you mean what was that for!?" Huit pushed his glasses farther up his nose and grimaced, "Since when did you become close to the Princess!?"
November had no idea what he was talking about, "We're not close." He finally began to organize his belongings and put them away in his messenger bag.
Huit rolled his eyes, "Don't lie! She gave you her notes dude and she even remembered that you were absent the other day. And here I was, working so hard to make you a copy of mine. Who knew the Princess would do it for you! Dude, that's practically a national treasure you have there in your hands."
Was Huit always this talkative? Luckily, November was patient and gave his friend a shrug, "I'm not certain why she did it either… Perhaps…she likes me?" He smirked at his friend.
"As if!"
They walked out of the classroom and made their way to the university courtyard. The two friends had both decided to keep this part of their schedules clear so they could spend more time together. He knew Huit for longer than he could remember so it felt right that they made time in their respective schedules to be able to hang out more often.
There was a little gazebo tucked in the back of the courtyard, almost lost in the wild hedges that surrounded it. November and Huit liked to spend time there, so long as no one else was there first, "Have you joined any clubs?" Huit asked, taking out a small container of fruits and began to stuff his face with pieces of apple, pear, and oranges.
November also stole some because in his drowsy state that morning and had forgotten to pack himself a snack. He liked to believe that he wasn't always so disorganized. "No, I haven't put much thought into that."
"Hm, since you like reading so much, why not join the Reading Club. We have Marilyn."
November raised a brow. He had no idea what Marilyn was. "I'm surprised you of all people joined the Reading Club.
Huit shrugged and offered November the last piece of pear. He fixed his glasses and explained, "Well, books have always been your thing. But the Reading Club isn't just about books, it's about fun too!"
"What?" November furrowed his brows, not quite understanding what his friend was going on about.
Huit snickered and his glasses almost dropped off his face. He took a moment to push them back up the bridge of his nose, "I mean what I mean, November. Us, Reading Club kids have the most fun! Here." He went into his bag and fished out a pamphlet.
It was a weird pamphlet, that featured a snake looking up at a crescent moon. November frowned and found that the image was oddly familiar. Where had he seen it before?
Huit nudged him in the arm, "C'mon, just give it some thought okay? I promise that you'll like it."
November wasn't so sure about that.