A Tale Of Two Magicians

2. The Relationship Seminar

About an hour later, we were all gathered in the mess hall, listening to David telling us about today's first camp activity. "Alright everyone!" he exclaimed, cheerful as always. "Today we'll be doing something very special. Poetry!" Everyone (myself included) groaned, with Max's being the loudest. David rolled his eyes playfully in response. "No need to whine, this is fun! You'll be writing a poem about your favorite word. This can be a hobby, an animal, a movie, anything you like!" David continued to explain while Gwen started handing out lined papers and pencils to everybody.

I looked over at Preston, who was standing about a foot away from me trying to fix his dark auburn hair with a comb. I haven't had the chance to apologize to him yet, but he actually didn't seem that bothered with me. Maybe he forgot about it?

"Harrison!" Preston suddenly exclaimed. "Do not think what happened this morning went by unnoticed!"

Or not.

"One does not simply walk out on moi, Preston Goodplay! I shall not tolerate such a crime." Preston delicately spoke, pointing his comb at me. He then inhaled deeply before sighing. "But, you are my best friend. My noble companion in times of glee and grief. So that is why.. I suppose I could let it slide this once."

I softly gasped. "Wow, thanks Preston. That's uh, very kind of you."

"Yeah I know, I'm so forgiving and benevolent. A gift to the world. Spare me the details." Preston bragged, looking at his nails. "Moving on, I suppose we should get started on this 'poetry' thing.. Do you think 'Lams' counts as a word?" I gave Preston a confused look, raising an eyebrow. "And Lams is.. who exactly?"

Preston facepalmed in irritation, shaking his head. "Do I really have to explain it to you? Again? I've only told you a million times! Lams is a ship! A ship is like peanut butter and strawberry jam: good one it's own, but beautiful when together. You still following me?" I simply smiled and nodded as if Preston hadn't just spouted nonsense. "Good. Anyways, Lams consists of two people. There's John Laurens, who I'm assuming is the strawberry jam, because he is sweet and.. has freckles..? The other one is Alexander Hamilton, he's the peanut butter, because he is.. peanut.. buttery? Yeah I don't know, but that's why—"

While Preston kept talking about his 'ship', I tuned him out and started to think for myself. Considering he had a tendency to get off topic quickly, I wasn't missing out on anything important. My thoughts however were soon interrupted when I heard Preston say, "Speaking of which, there she is." He pointed in the direction of the something he was talking about. Or in this case, someone.

Nerris.

I couldn't help but stare at the elfkin girl. She had these beautiful cyan eyes that I kept finding myself get lost in. And a bright smile that lit up the room. I didn't care how cliche it sounded, it was just the truth.

"Harrison? Are you there?" Preston waved his hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking again." I quickly apologized. Preston sighed as he rolled his eyes. "It's Nerris again, isn't it?" The tone in his voice made me groan in denial, blood rushing to my cheeks. "Come on, you've been drooling over her all day. How hard can it be to just talk to her?" I looked over at Preston, crossing my arms. "Have you seen her? She's way out of my league. Besides, she hates me, remember?" I reminded him. Preston gave me a confident smile, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Fret not my comrade. For I, Preston Goodplay, shall help you on your quest to win the girl's heart." A gasp escaped me at those words, a spark twinkling in my eyes. "Really??"

"Of course! I happen to know a thing or two about flirting." Preston chuckled. "It's all about patience. You just have to wait for the right moment to strike, and BAM! A chemically imbalanced romance shall blossom forth."