A Young Academic Named Blathers

Chapter 4

The sun was setting and it marked the start of a new day for Blathers and his family.

'No classes today' Blathers thought to himself as he checked his calendar. He opened up his agenda and glanced over his to-do list. There was a knock on his door.

"Time for breakfast, sweetie!" his mom called out through the door.

"I'll be right there mummy!" he replied as he opened the bedroom door.

Celeste was stepping into the bathroom, "Be roite thur mummy!" she teased and laughed as she shut the door and started the shower.

Blathers shut his door with a look of indignation. She often teased him about being a mama's boy, but he always tried to brush it off. Only sometimes would she successfully get under his skin.

He went back to his to-do list, he needed to organize his notes, read from the book he signed out of the library and prepare for his Entomology class the next day. He was dreading that class so he decided to put it at the bottom of his list as to put it off for as long as he could.

At breakfast his mother asked him to give Celeste a hand in deciding her plans for university, "You're her big brother and you've got quite a bit of experience with these things already."

"But she doesn't want my help, mum."

"That's right, I don't need help sorting this out." Celeste objected as she walked into the kitchen.

"Nonsense! You've had plenty of time to think about your plans, all summer in fact, and haven't made up your mind. Blathers will help you and that's final!"

Celeste ate her breakfast in silence, clearly annoyed. Blathers didn't mind helping Celeste, but her personality was very much different than his. Her independence was very important to her, so doing this work together would be a challenge. He wrote it on his to do list, just above his preparation for Entomology class.

"I've got a few things I must attend to, but it shouldn't take too long. In the meantime you can gather whatever information you have regarding the universities you want to apply to and we'll have a look."

Celeste rolled her eyes and went into her room. Blathers went into his and got started on organizing his notes. He had a bit of OCD and had to ensure everything was perfectly put in its place. His notes were already organized well, but for Blathers it wasn't enough. It needed to be perfect, colour coated, alphabetized, and neatly tucked away in his file folders.

Once he was done, he took a step back to admire the supreme level of organization.

"Very good. Now, where's that book."

He pulled the book on aquatic life out of his knapsack and sat at his desk. He spent the next few hours between reading and snacking. He'd gotten so lost in the book that he didn't realize he'd also lost track of time. He took a break from the book and went to check on his sister. He gave her door a knock but there was no response.

"Celeste? May I step in?" he inquired through the door. There was still no response.

He turned the knob and was surprised to see her bedroom empty. He checked the kitchen, the living room and the rest of the home. He couldn't find her anywhere.

"Must have gone off with her friends." He thought to himself. Just then he passed by one of the windows and noticed Celeste was sitting out in the yard staring up at the sky. Of course. She'd often spend time sitting in the yard and looking through her telescope and writing things in her little purple journal. Blathers went out and asked if he could sit next to her. She nodded.