A new year at Nine Petal Academy means a new crop of students, including a boy who can't control his magic, a thief, an angel, and even a suit of armor? Adela, Lei, and their friends are tasked with welcoming the new class of first years and helping...
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"Aren't these too many snacks?" I asked as I tried to balance to avoid a can of potato chips from rolling off the top.
"We're a pretty large group, so we need a lot," Alto said, laughing.
I smiled. He seemed to be more cheerful now than he was during most of the break. It made me wonder if he missed school.
"Think that I'll get to face Iah?" Alto asked.
I averted my gaze. He didn't know about what happened at the ruins as he wasn't there when Nyima told the rest of us.
"No, none of us will," I said.
"Huh? Why? Is he sick?" Alto asked, looking over his shoulder.
I shook my head. "No, but he is on a trip to find himself."
"Find himself? Is he trying to become a sage? Hmm, maybe I should do that."
"Well, it's a bit more complicated than that. Nyima can tell you all of the details."
Alto frowned. "Sounds serious. Hope the trip helps him with what he's struggling against."
"I do too," I said, staring back at the large pile of snacks.
"You two look like you're struggling. Need some help?" a familiar voice called out.
Our eyes widened as the owner of the voice came close enough for us to make out. It was Aban.
"Aban? What are you doing here?" I asked, running over to him. Some of the bags and containers rolled out of my arms and would've fallen into the floor if not for floating hands of dirt catching them.
"Woah," Alto said. He glanced back at Aban. "When did you learn to do that? Secret training?"
Aban snickered as the earth hands brought the fallen snacks over to him. "Yeah, something like that."
"Is that a yes or a no?" I asked, tilting my head.
Alto smiled. "Not that I'm not glad to see you here, but why are you here? Better yet, why didn't you join us on the way here if you were coming?"
Aban walked over and took some of the snacks from me. "I'm not allowed to tell."
"Not even to your best friends?" I asked, blinking.
He smiled slightly. "Yeah, not even to you."
"Bummer," Alto said. He passed by Aban and laughed. "Oh well, it's nice to have you here. Makes up for the bad news I just got."
"Bad news?" Aban asked, glancing at him.
"One of the friends I made at this school isn't attending right now. Seems he's having issues of his own. Well, it's probably not fair to compare mine with his."
Aban balanced the snacks with one hand and put his now free one on Alto's shoulder. "Sounds rough, buddy."
