“I can see how that can be an issue,” Travis spoke up. “It’s a good thing that your mom was okay with you staying over.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Monroe seemed to have understood Mila’s decision better. He let out a “Sorry,” after a quick sigh.

He looked like he was about to walk out of the room, but he paused and looked over at us for a moment. “I’m gonna go get breakfast, do you guys want anything?”

We all looked at each other, almost expecting someone to reply. Travis cleared their throat and told Monroe what they wanted. Mila and I were still quiet. I wasn’t even sure if I was hungry—in that way, and not the vampire way, I guess—after all the snacks I ate last night. But the tension I felt growing in my chest after that phone call also seemed to be putting my hunger to the side. I didn’t expect Mila to get something either, since I wasn’t asking for anything.

“You know I already ate,” I heard Mila tell Monroe. It was oddly relieving to hear, she wouldn’t normally eat when she was stressed or upset.

Monroe nodded, and once he looked at me, I could feel something out of place with his gaze. It could be because of his seeing impairment, or maybe he was suspicious of me being around Travis. Or it could be something else, but I’m pretty sure he might not like me—or vampires, for that matter.

I shook my head to let him know I didn’t want anything, and he left the room. He didn’t seem to be the good-bye type, but that’s fine.

Travis let out this long sigh. Mila and I looked at them, not sure of how to read the situation.

“He does this,” Travis told us, noting our confusion. “He tries to make up for his apologies by buying stuff. Or doing something for someone.”

Mila seemed intrigued, in a way. “Does he do it a lot?”

Travis nodded. “More that I’m willing to admit. People mistake us as a couple when they see him do this in public. Believe me, we are definitely not each other’s types. And we grew up together, so that would just be really weird. Plus, he’s too old for my taste.”

I could hear Mila let out a soft chuckle, and the atmosphere of the room started to calm down.

“He seems like the type to like older dudes,” Mila told Travis. “I kinda get that vibe from him.”

It was almost unreal how quick topics change around here. Is this how actual conversations with people that aren’t family are? I had no idea.

Also, was this considered talking shit about someone, since they were talking about Monroe and his taste in men while he was out of the room? No one is saying anything bad though, so I guess not. Is this something friends do with each other? I guess.

“You’re very spot on,” I heard Travis tell Mila. “You seem to have an eye for this kind of stuff.”

Mila shrugged. “It’s just luck or something.”

Travis nodded, as though agreeing with her. “It definitely is something. Though, I suppose it is easy to tell what kind of guys Monroe tends to gravitate towards. Ever since we started our first year of college, he had become much more open about dating preferences.”

Wait, I thought. Travis was in college? I was certain that they were in high school.

“Aren’t you like 17 or something?” I recalled hearing the TV in the hospital stating their age the night before.

Travis shrugged. “Yeah, I graduated pretty early due to my grades.”

“What year are you two in now?” Mila asked. “Con and I are starting our first year here.”

Travis paused and tapped their fingers on their lap like they were counting. “Monroe and I are actually starting our fourth year at the Academy.”

There was something in the tone of their voice that told me this didn’t mean much to them, but after seeing the visible shock on mine and Mila’s faces, they immediately said, “I’ve been going part-time, so I don’t take many classes each semester. Monroe is part-time as well, but he takes more classes than I do despite working all the time.”

That didn’t make us any, uh, “less shocked”.

“So… you’ve been going to college since you were 13?!” I looked over at Mila after she made that remark, seeing that she did the math on her fingers.

“Well, 12 and 11 months, but that’s not important—” Travis corrected Mila but tried to dismiss the discussion about them altogether. Their hands waved around like they were trying to physically swoosh the conversation to any other direction.

“What are you two thinking of majoring in?” They asked us this and their hands made their way back on their lap before they started picking at the cuffs of their sleeves. “Are you looking to just get a basic degree, or is there something specific you have in mind?”

I shrugged. I’m pretty good at math and cooking, but I don’t consider myself passionate in those areas. I never thought much about it.

“I dunno. Probably a basic degree.” Mila said pretty much what I was thinking. “We weren’t really sure we were gonna go in the first place, until our dad got a job offer here. He thought it would be ‘fun’.”

Travis seemed to not understand Mila’s tone for a second. “Fun?”

Then they realized what Mila meant. “Ah. Not fun.”

Mila was not the best when it came to sarcasm.

“I’d say the Academy is more… tolerable? Enjoyable?” Travis was thinking hard, and I could tell with the expressions they made. “Maybe, both? But I guess it could be fun, too. Maybe.”

I noticed that Mila was looking a little confused for a second. “What’s the Academy like?” She asked Travis. “You’ve been there for awhile. Con and I might be a little less stressed out if we knew what we were getting ourselves into first.”

The mixed expressions on Travis’ face immediately switched to delight. Or excitement. Maybe both?

“It’s a very unique place,” Travis began to explain. “Not because of all the supernatural and non-supernatural classes, but because it’s like it’s own community—like a city of its own if that makes sense. Rose Cross is really big, and it’s not just a university either. There’s one building dedicated to infants and children up to kindergarten age, and there’s another building for elementary students, and another for secondary education, and then a whole other building for high school students as well.”

They sprung up and dashed toward a desk with a bunch of pens and notecards everywhere. They grabbed one of each and started scribbling before they came back to show us. There were a bunch of squares in this circle or whatever circular shape they drew.

As they were going on with all the different buildings within the campus, Mila and I just watched and listened. Travis was already telling us so much information that I think if we were to interrupt their train of thought, it would not end well.

Travis was very much correct when they said this place was huge. The number of people that have attended could literally form their own state if they wanted to. There was enough housing on and off campus for everyone and their families, as well as a whole shopping center and a lot of smaller shops if anyone wanted to shop there instead.

Think of like, modern day American Hogwarts, but with a less castle-like structure and a whole lot less Harry Potter and wands and Golden Snitches. Also, add in like a bunch of small restaurants and fast-food joints right in its very center, the shopping quarters across from that, the daycare on the other side, a Special Ed program, and even a building or two for the housing outside of the buildings for learning. I’m sure this place could even be the same size as Hogwarts.

And it also made me kinda wonder if the magic that is taught there is somewhat similar to that of the H.P. Universe. Or maybe it’s something more like The Magicians. Or it could be something completely different from those things. Or maybe you just study about it and how to use it and whatever, but don’t get to personally try it out.

I wasn’t too sure what to expect from a place like this.

“The semester starts in a few weeks,” Travis said, scribbling some more stuff on the back of the notecard. “This is my and Monroe’s numbers in case you need anything. Also, here’s the numbers of some of the Professors, like Professor Antonucci and Professor Starratt. They’re both amazing and are some of the founders of the Academy!”

They flipped the back of the card to us and showed us a list of even more numbers. “Also, here’s the number to our Counselor. Their name is Avery Castro. And this is Mal’s number—she’s a good friend of ours—and her dad Sheng’s number—he’s also a good family friend.”

They paused as if they just remembered something. “That’s right! Mal is coming over later in the day, so you two can finally meet her!”

I noticed Mila was studying the notecard hard like she was taking a test. “Isn’t that Sheng dude the doctor that called us, about what happened to Constantine?”