The nicest thing about graduation, Bea thinks, is that in the brief window after breakfast and before the flames burn through, most of the mals are migrating down to the graduation hall. So it's possible to let one's guard down slightly more than usual and not feel too bad about it. And if you go two to a room instead of separately to wait for the cleansing to finish... it's not like curfew's being enforced.
The drawback of a group celebration is Luthien can only give her sister an entirely insufficient kiss...
Her lips twitch into a small smile despite herself. "Normally friendship is more than that."
"Rock music, flashy magic, pretty people. Love poems, adventure stories. I followed football and basketball outside."
"...I used to hike and camp a lot, and to hunt - both archery and rifles, and shot competitively with both. Though guns are harder to find good youth programs for, everyone at them's obnoxious, and nearly everyone's a sore loser. So, I didn't really keep up with that. But..."
"I was turning 15 Induction year; my birthday's in December. And I'd qualified for the Cadet bracket in the World Archery Youth Championships; the year you turn 15's the youngest you can really go international. Competition was going to be in August. My coach thought I had a pretty good chance at gold. Was planning on Archery World Cup or Youth Summer Olympics - or both - the year after."
"It's hard to have a lot of other interests when you're going for the Olympics. So I guess that prepared me for the Scholomance pretty well."
"...Not something you did. And this shit's been good practice, if nothing else."
It's taboo to mention what you'll do after graduation, which Shinta thinks is silly and only goes along with to avoid getting hissed at. But.
"I'll still qualify for the Junior bracket in the Championships when we get out of here - and I'll be eighteen. That's enough for the full Olympics."
"I will. The only question is what medals I take home. ...And how much of a pain in the ass returning will be."
"I could hook up some new documentation, if you wanted? Or reinforcement for a cover story?"
"...My disappearance hit the news; so did Luisa's - I asked the new freshmen in sophomore year about that."
"And I'm not... Leaving Luisa's family without any closure."