Reality Bites - Wattys 2018 Shortlist

Chapter 80 - The Most COMFY Underwear Ever!

Lissa was absolutely jubilant – and I wasn't too far behind. Our very last theory exam was behind us, and thanks to Baba I think I'd done ok on it. It was Lissa's final high school exam ever. The rest of us had practical combat or magic exams in our final week, however as the only known spirit user at St. Vladimir's, there was no-one qualified to assess Lissa, so she'd scored her last week off. Probably just as well, as it would take her the entire week to sort and pack her belongings to be shipped to Santa Monica ahead of us leaving for Europe.

I was chowing down on my after examination chocolate donut, lovingly provided by Dimitri, and was in a fabulous mood. Because neither Lissa or I had any exams on Friday, we were flying out to Court tonight; Baba, Mom, Pavel, Suzanne, Lissa, Kirk, Dimitri and me! I was so excited, as was Lissa.

The plan was shopping with Lissa, Mom and possibly Suzanne on Friday, dinner with Adrian on Friday night, visiting Lehigh on Saturday, dinner again Saturday night, enjoying breakfast and whatever Court had to offer on Sunday morning before flying out later Sunday to be back at the Academy and ready for my practical exams on the Monday. I said a quick goodbye to Lissa as she headed back to her dormitory to grab her bags for the trip and to say goodbye to Christian. I was so excited, I was actually skipping back towards the unit – much to the amusement of Kirk and Dimitri.

At the unit I quickly threw what I'd need for the weekend into a bag, not forgetting the most important thing – the credit card Baba had given me! Kirk was in his room packing a few things - he was looking pretty happy, too. As we'd be at Court, probably the safest place on earth for Moroi and Dhampir thanks to the sheer number of Guardians based there, he was getting the weekend off other than the Lehigh visit.

In half an hour Dimitri, Kirk and I were ready to go and were walking over to the guest quarters to meet up with Mom, Baba, Pavel, and Suzanne. I was talking a mile a minute, Dimitri walking beside me carrying my bag as well as his own with a relaxed look on his face. Lissa joined us halfway to the guest quarters, and the two of us were chatting excitedly about all the things we wanted to do at Court.

We'd be traveling in two vans, as a few additional Mazur Guardians would be accompanying us – using the opportunity of a free ride to and from Court to spend a weekend's leave away from campus. Baba noticed our arrival with a concerned expression on his face. Coming straight over to Lissa, Dimitri, Kirk, and me he drew us away to one side.

"Don't get upset sweetheart – it's only for the flight there and back – but one of the Academy Guardians needs to head to Court, and Kirova asked if there would be room on the plane for them to travel with us. I couldn't exactly say no after how many allowances she's made regarding your security. Just remember you two need to keep your hands off each other" he said, gesturing to Dimitri and me. "And it's probably not prudent to discuss Europe. Just say we're going shopping and for Lissa to check out Lehigh."

I sighed. There went my plans for a three-hour make out session with Dimitri on the plane. Still, I had Lissa with me, and we'd be able to fill three hours with chat. And hopefully whoever it was would sit far enough away that we didn't have to be too careful with what we said.

The vans were just pulling up outside the guest quarters when I saw someone hurrying over with a duffel bag slung over their shoulder. Fuck me. It had to be Stan, didn't it?!

"Guardian Alto – will you be flying across to Court with us?" Lissa asked politely as he approached our group.

"Yes Princess Dragomir," he said courteously, before turning to thank Baba for providing the opportunity. Baba was the height of hospitality, assuring him he was very welcome and saying how fortuitous his travel plans had aligned with our own. One look at Dimitri's amused face, and I knew my own must be looking anything but welcoming.