Lizzy smiled when she saw her best friend stop.
"Ally, please explain to my father that I am not suitable to be a teacher!?" Lizzy begged.
She continues, "My father respects you so much because you're the number one student in our school. I'm sure he will listen to your suggestions. You are his favorite student, so I bet he would listen to and consider your suggestion, too..."
Lizzy blinks her eyes several times, trying to bewitch her friend to agree. "Please, Ally—"
Allynna could not believe what she heard. "No way, Lizzy! You need to explain it to your dad. How could you ask me?" She continued walking ahead, ignoring Lizzy.
"Lady Allynna Frost, please. I beg you. I want to continue my studies in art. I want to be an artist, not a scientist—" He ran after Allynna, who was fast walking.
...
Their home is within walking distance of the school. Every day, they walk together. They only need to walk about 5 minutes along the road by the beach, empty of tourists as night falls.
The island is not too big. Some even consider it small. When the sun goes down, not many vehicles pass on the street.
The locals use bicycles or just walk around the island to go from one place to another. On every road on the coast, bicycles and pedestrian paths are available for tourists and residents. There are public buses on the island. But it only operates at certain hours during the morning until 6 PM. The buses are not a lot, either.
After a little bit of running for a while, Lizzy could catch up with Allynna. But her best friend still ignored her. A brilliant idea came into Lizzy's mind.
"Ally, if you help me this time, I promise to clean your house and backyard for the whole week. What do you say, huh?" Lizzy said while smiling happily. He looked at Allynna with a hopeful look.
"Are you serious about your offer?" Allynna narrowed her eyes to see if Lizzy was really serious or just kidding.
"Yes, I am serious!" Lizzy nodded excitedly.
"Alright, I will talk to Uncle Arathorn."
Lizzy jumped in her place. She was delighted. Finally, she was able to persuade Allynna to talk to her father.
A faint smile graced Allynna's face before she continued, "But I will talk to your father after you finish cleaning my house. Liz, I don't take NO for an answer. Do you agree?"
Lizzy immediately nodded.
Allynna could only chuckle inwardly. She actually lies to Lizzy. In the first place, she had no intention of talking to Uncle Arathorn about it—all she wanted to do was teach her stupid best friend.
Why should she go into art when she's smart enough to major in science? What's wrong with science?
Allynna wanted to test this spoiled child's fighting spirit for what she wanted.
'Don't joke around, Lizy! Are you strong enough to clean my house for a week?' Allynna silently scolded Lizzy in her mind. She was pretty confident that Lizzy would give up on doing labor in her house. She might only last an hour, let alone a week.
A mischievous smile flashed across her face at the thought of her best friend giving up after an hour of cleaning her abandoned backyard. The grass grows unattended after her parents die. She never even looked at her backyard. She has many memories of her loving parents there.
After walking a few minutes, they stopped their track.
Allynna's eyes gazed at the calm ocean and sky in front of her. Then, her eyes see the twilight in the sky, making her mind more relaxed. She was mesmerized.
Lizzy, standing beside her now, also saw the same and felt like her best friend. She was stunned to see the twilight in the sky.
"Wow! The sky is stunning—" Lizzy murmurs.
They stood silently for a while.
"Liz—" After a while, she calls her best friend beside her. Lizzy turned her body to face her. Now, they are staring at each other.
Allynna smiles before continuing her words, "I Will miss this beautiful island. However, I will miss you and your family the most. I'm not sure when I can come here again, but even as I haven't left yet, I already feel lost..." Her voice was soft—anyone who heard it would feel how sad she was.
Lizzy was surprised to hear Allynna's words. She tried to figure out the meaning of her friend's sentence and why she was so sad.
After a few seconds passed by, she finally realized Allynna's words.
"Ally, what do you mean? Are you moving out of this island? Won't you come back here again? Can you please explain to me?" Her eyes stared unblinkingly at Allynna.
Allynna smiles, looking at her panicked friend. After Lizzy stopped asking, she said, "Why are you so panicked, Liz? I went to the capital to continue my studies. I'm sure your father has told you that, right?"
"I know, but why are you saying as if you are leaving this island for good and never coming back again? You scare me, Ally." Lizzy knew her best friend was still grieving the sudden loss of her parents, but if she thought about leaving this island forever to forget her grief, it didn't make sense.
They faced each other and looked without speaking. Allynna doesn't know how to tell her about her plan to find her real family in the capital. Until now, no one knows about her identity as an adopted child except Uncle Arathorn.
And she has told Uncle Arathorn to keep it that way. No one else needs to know about that fact. She doesn't want her parents to be the talk of the locals.
"My friend, it looks like... you need to check your ears' condition. I didn't say it like that—"
Lizzy puzzled.
Allynna chuckled and lightly patted Lizzy's shoulder, "Hey, it's getting dark soon. Let's go home, Liz..." She then strolled past Lizzy, who was still standing frozen in her place.