Chapter 6: School

Did you like school trips? For me, they were a very mixed experience. On the one hand, I could escape the responsibilities from home, but on the other hand, I had to spend time with my classmates.

Why am I asking? Because I will go on a trip with Miko. Her promised boot camp would be held in a school for mages.

"You are still sure to lend us your car?" Miko asked Eliza for the third time this day.

"It's fine, and I trust Kayla to drive like a sane person," while talking, her gaze wandered to Lilith, who was slurping from the latte I bought her earlier.

"I am sure everything will be fine," I said with a forced smile. It was for the best that I did not mention that I made my license around two years ago and never drove a car again after that.

"I could try to create a portal for you," Lilith added.

"Sadly, they aren't safe and forbidden too; please just go to prison before you try to kill us with your spells," Miko replied.

"Just go now before we jinx something," Eliza said, smiling. "And don't forget to call us occasionally; we need to know if Miko is behaving."

"Since when am I the one who needs supervising? Just for you to know, I am Kayla's Master, not the other way around!"

"Master? What do you two actually do when you're alone?" Lilith asked, narrowing her brows.

Before this conversation could go any further, I grabbed my travel bag, threw it over my shoulder, and pulled Miko's hand, dragging her with me.

"Be careful on the road." Eliza reminded us before we left.

We were in the packed car and ready to go a few minutes later. All our bags were stowed in the trunk, and we put an electric cooling bag in the back seat.

The weather got fairly hot recently, expectable if you consider that we just hit June some days ago.

"Did you bring a bikini?" Miko asked while we were driving on the freeway.

"Of course, the school is close to a beach, so I thought we could go swimming or something like that."

"You know we're going there to work? I'm not sure you will be able to swim after I'm done with you."

"Please be gentle with me, or I will break down again," I said, chuckling.

I never disliked working out or practicing in general. The positive feedback from my dad and teachers was the fuel to get me through school...

Until now, we were listening to the radio, but Miko started pressing some stuff on the display to connect her phone to the car's audio systems.

"Is there any genre you hate? I will consider not playing it if you tell me."

Wow so considerate

"I am open to anything, but I don't enjoy this electric stuff that just tears apart your eardrums." Of course, there are more genres I don't like, but I don't want to deprive Miko of her music.

And luckily, she decided to play some pretty generic pop music, some English songs, some Korean, some in Japanese. The only thing I noted was the beautiful, strong voices of every single vocalist. 

"They are great, aren't they? The songs."

"Definitely enjoyable."

"Can I sing along?" she asked shyly.

"Why not."

Somehow, I expected her to be a good singer, she always seemed kind of perfect in everything she did, but it comforted me that she barely hit any tone.

Don't get me wrong, listening to her singing was not painful. I would describe it as cute how she could just let her go in front of me, somehow sharing a weakness.

At some point, Miko fell asleep, and after she suddenly awakened, she said, "We got ice cream. You want some?"

"Yeah, sure, let me look out for a rest stop."

"Nah, you don't need to. I feed you."

"I don't think so, that sounds very distracting, and that means dangerous."

"You just missed an exit..."

"Yeah, thank you for the info."

"Shit, the next stop comes in 15 kilometers."

"You know that this isn't really far at all…?"            

"I want the ice now."

She was starting to get on my nerves, and it was hard for me to focus on the street, the signs for rest stops, and her whining. It did not help that her voice sounded like she wanted to make me angry.

"Just eat your ice. I can wait."

"Nah, that's unfair. I can't be that cruel to my little apprentice."

Just shut up

Normally I enjoy every kind of attention I get from Miko, but I regret sitting with her in this car right now.

It took just some minutes before we reached the next stop, and guess what… Miko, who put the cooling box in the car and filled it with ice cream and drinks, forgot to plug in the power cable. 

"I definitely plugged It in," she said.

"Just confess that you forgot it."

"I will neither confess nor deny anything."

By now, I really wanted that ice cream, too. The thought of something cool and sweet made the whole ride a bit more tolerable, but my so-called Master failed completely.

"I go to the toilet and cry a bit," I exclaimed, still disappointed.

"Take care," Miko said, staring at the molten ice cream, deep in thought.

When I came back, I saw her grinning happily. I did not expect anything good from this expression.

"You still want some ice cream?" she asked, snickering.

I looked into the box and found a solid block of ice surrounding every item inside.

"I swear it was the first time I tried ice magic," she explained proudly.

Did she expect praise? I sighed. "Will you cut it out with fire magic, or what is your plan?"

"I could try to." She said, still smiling.

It felt like Miko evolved into an idiot the moment we sat in the car this morning. Why exactly did I admire her before?

We ended up not eating anything. I just wanted to arrive at this school already. This road trip with Miko was stressing me out a lot.

"I'm sorry," she said in a silent moment. "It felt like you are a bit tense, and I suck at being a funny companion."

She did not need to apologize. Now, I actually felt bad for thinking negatively about her.

"It's fine. It is my fault for being so sensitive," I said, smiling slightly.

"Come on. I'm trying to apologize to you right now. Don't tell me it is your fault." It seemed like she was struggling a lot to get these words out.

"You are suffering right now, aren't you?" I asked to tease her.

"Don't be so cheeky, or I will take it back."

"No, please don't. I appreciate your apology, Master."

"Please don't call me like that in the presence of anyone else. It gets more embarrassing every time you say it with a straight face."

"But, Master, how else can I show my deep love for you?"

"Keep talking, and I take over the wheel to steer the car into the next ditch."

 "OK, OK, I am sorry," I said, laughing. Was it so hard to get this kind of atmosphere from the beginning of the trip?