Chapter 6

NWI – Same Day 1500 hours

Ethan Blake's last class for today ended at 3 in the afternoon. He had nothing else to do so he decided to go to his clubroom.

The clubroom was located in the NGME building. It was more of an abandoned room than a clubroom since there were only two members in the currently unofficial club, The Exploration Club; hiking, camping, travelling, and etc. It even included survival and emergency measures. A year ago when he joined, there were a total of 6 members including him.

Being in the club was fun but unfortunately they were all graduating students, so after that he was the only remaining member. At the start of the year, he tried to invite new students but they only wanted to join because of the opportunity to get close to the King Mage. It was insulting and he knew they weren't going to take it seriously so he gave up. He tried to invite Allen and Anne but they won't quit the track team. The club was still standing due to his position being the King Mage and he had the place alone in there and deep down, it never bothered him for a fact that he was a loner. Since then he'd decided to invite those that would only be serious in the club. The second member, Kei, is on sick leave from an accident a month ago or so, despite being already recovered a week ago, so he was the only one there.

When he got to the NGME practice hall, the students there were playing catch-the-wisp, they were all girls too, all wearing the same blue Physical Ed uniform. The goal of the game was to throw the wisp again as quickly as you get it. The wisp is made to explode if touched for more than 2 seconds or if thrown too fast. It was a risky game, so players always put up protection magic beforehand. There was someone familiar sitting at the bench reading printouts and answering multiple papers, she had glasses on and wore the standard white uniform, she's probably a busy person, but she seems to be from the same class as the playing students, who were obviously mages. So, he thought that she's being harassed to do their homework. This was confirmed by his own eyes and ears.

"Mika! Hurry up and finish those before Mr. Verst leaves the school!" one of the players shouted.

He thought so, social hierarchy and discrimination. It was something widespread in this university. Though the student council banned this, some students ignore it and continue to do so. Just because one is weak and unpopular, they become the slaves of theose on the higher social level. Just because someone was different or beyond what was normal, they become treated as worthless or a monster. He was just about to pass through that cesspool of stupidity when the shouter earlier threw the wisp at Mika.

By instinct, Ethan raised his hand and manipulated the air around the wisp.

Taking the oxygen away from the wisp since it's a fire-element, made it disappear before it got close to Mika. The fact that he had been discriminated against since grade school made him into what he is. He could notice stuff before it happened. He became vigilant, meticulous, and above all, protective of others.

They all stared at him and there was silence for a while. The silence was broken when Mika got up and said "Ethan Blake, the King Mage of New World International." Her eyes were unexpectedly calm and it seemed like she was used to this kind of treatment. The others in the practice hall just stood there motionless, unable to speak because of fear, shame, or both.

"Yeah, that's right. Follow me to my clubroom upstairs, I have a proposition to ask of you."

"But I have to..." he knew that she meant her "friend's" homework.

He faced the shouter from before "You, what's your name?" She was pretty, he thought. But she had that same kind of face as the people that discriminated against him.

"M-m-my name? It's R-r-resa." she stuttered. He was sure she said a longer name but only heard Resa.

"People who can't do anything have no right to boss around those with talent. Hard work is good for you. It makes you better," he said while approaching Mika and asked "Are all of these Resa's?" while taking the papers in his hand. She replied with a simple nod.

"Burn." A simple spell which incinerated the papers.

He faced Resa and said "Next time do your own homework, those who don't put in their own effort but expect comfort in this world don't belong here."

He thought it was destined that he went through the practice hall today. He went out of the NGME building and noticed the new vending machine they installed the day before. He checked for any ice tea. They had a green tea variant. He decided to try it. It tasted good. Maybe he could use another favorite vending machine, he thought.

As he was walking towards the parking lot, he looked back to see Mika walk out of the NGME building and head to the vending machine where he had been, she wasn't wearing her glasses anymore. He then remembered why she seemed familiar. She was there at the hospital when he visited Kei some week ago. She must have been visiting someone too or had her own thing to deal with. He smiled at the fact that he met her again by coincidence.

"And so the name of Ethan Blake gains more infamy." said Lily from his vest pocket.

"I almost forgot you were there, Lily," he joked.

"You're obviously joking."

"I guess so." As his guardian, Lily is always aware of Ethan's environment and notices the faintest difference.

He opened the compartment and took out his helmet, put it on and turned on the engine. The HUD came to life as it zoomed in on his location. The time was 3:20. He should better take the SUV for getting his mother. She might have brought tons of souvenirs, he thought.

"Set destination: Signal Tower."

The HUD displayed the best route. He silently thanked advanced technology for solving traffic.

It took about 10 minutes to get back to Signal.

When he arrived at the underground parking lot, most of the parking space had been filled. The SUV was colored matte red and the license plate said BLAKE. He opened the door with the same card-key as his bike and entered the SUV. He hasn't used this since Lisa asked him to drive her and her friends to a summer camp last vacation.

He inserted the card key into ignition and started the engine. He went ahead and went to the gate again. "Please place your hand on the scanner." He did as usual. The screen ahead showed the usual profiling. Then it asked the password. He quickly said "The world may change but the heart and soul of mankind never do." Then the gate opened. It was 3:32. From now it would probably take about 25 minutes to get there. He activated the HUD display inside the car. "Set destination: PIA."

He got to the Philippine International Airport later than he expected. It was 4:21 now. He parked near the entrance and went inside the airport. The terminal was more crowded than expected. The notice board showed the flight from Russia bound for 4:25 hasn't arrived yet. He went to a Karbucks and ordered a small-sized iced mocha latte and a brownie. He went ahead to the waiting lobby and looked out to the planes on the airfield. He watched planes lift off while munching on his bought snack. The sky was too dark for the time of the afternoon, probably because of a monsoon. Then he saw it, a Roeing 858 with "Argus PH" painted on it. It was the inbound flight from Russia. He quickly drank the mocha latte and threw the paper cup in a nearby trash can. The P.A. announced that the inbound plane from Russia has landed at Gate 27. He went ahead to the waiting area and waited for the passengers to come out.

Philippine International Airport – Same Day 1630 hours

"We're here at last." John said. He looked over to Moon who was sleeping. "Moon, we've landed." he said while shaking her.

Moon woke up as if she was just born.

"I was having a fun dream." she said while stretching.

"Well, I'm interested to know what your dream is, but we better get to my apartment at Signal and set up our stuff."

"Why do you have an apartment at the same building as our target again?" Moon said while adjusting her disguise.

"My parents bought it before I met you when they visited the country, the place was good, and they wanted a place here. In the end they died, I got the place to myself and a whole lot of other goodies." he said sarcastically.

"Sorry for asking."

"Don't be, it's a good place."

The plane stopped moving and the pilot said in the P.A. "We have landed, folks. Please exit accordingly." Then, the plane door opened from the outside. A flight attendant with an obviously fake smile was on the other side. Everyone quickly took their bags from the overhead cabinets and went out accordingly.

John went ahead first and Moon quickly followed suit. They got to the Immigrations booths and John was the first to give his passport to the officer in the booth. A Filipino probably in his late-forties was stationed. The officer checked and asked "Mr. John Rivers, are you here for business or pleasure?"

John answered "A little of both." Then the officer stamped his passport and said "Welcome to the Philippines, Mr. Rivers." John took his bag and went ahead. He looked behind and saw Moon to be the one going next.

Moon gave her passport and waited for the officer to ask the usual question. "Are you here for business or pleasure, Ms. Eliza Crescent?" he asked.

"Neither." was her reply. Irritated by hearing her name being said casually. The officer in the booth gave her a puzzled look then stamped her passport and said "Enjoy your stay in the Philippines, Ms. Crescent."

Moon walked ahead to where John was waiting. "Why is it you always say the same irritating crap? Adults don't like cocky kids." asked John.

"I enjoy looking at their faces when I say that and you know I don't like it whenever someone would just casually say my name." Moon said while smiling.

They walked to the main lobby. There were a lot of people there. Most of them were reunited families hugging and kissing each other. Her trained eyes scanned through them for possible threats while casually walking. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Ethan Blake looking at her direction.

What? How? Why is he here?

She looked over to John and saw that he also noticed Ethan Blake. They both know that they shouldn't act weird to avoid suspicion but this completely took them by surprise. She saw Blake react and walk over to their direction.

He recognizes us?! How?

Ethan Blake walked past them and talked to another person that was on the same flight as they did. He had a striking resemblance to the woman he talked to. Moon deduced that the person he met could supposedly be Mia Blake, she was wearing a white trench coat, black slacks and leather boots. John and Moon signaled each other to keep moving. They went in Karbucks, ordered two coffees and sat at an unoccupied table by the window. They watched as Ethan Blake took his mother's personal travel case. It looked a lot like the one Moon had left behind, she thought. Seems like Mia Blake had brought a lot of souvenirs since an airport staff was pushing a trolley filled with a lot of other bags while following the mother and child. They walked to the airport entrance and left.

"That was a shock." commented John.

"More like electrocution rather than just a shock. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest." Moon said.

"I never expected his mother to be on the same flight as we did. That was the weirdest coincidence I've had in my life."

Moon pondered for a while before saying, "There might be a reason for why this happened."

"You think it's a sign that they were here at the same time we arrived. Kind of like what the Scholar mentioned before."

"It's just another reason to take this one more seriously." Moon said while finishing her coffee.

Moon got up while John finished his coffee. "We should go now." John said while getting up himself. They walked out of the airport and into the Philippines. They got a taxi and asked the driver to go to Signal Tower. The driver said "Too far", and then John said to take them as far as he can. They removed their wigs while the taxi was moving. The driver dropped them off at a street not far from New World International. John then asked the driver "How do we get to Signal from here?" The driver said in a bad accent "Take bus at NWI," then he drove off.

"He forgot to tell us how to get to NWI." commented Moon.

"Let's just ask around." John said.

The street they were in was rather undeveloped despite the recent progressive decade. It was obvious they were in the slums, the worst place a foreigner should walk around in. The solar-powered lamp posts here needed repairs or replacing. Moon could feel stares from the darkness. Then she asked John, "Do you think that the taxi driver deliberately dropped us off here, thinking we'll get mugged or something?" John replied "No, probably not." He then heard shouting in the distance. "Though I'm starting to suspect that might be the case. Anyway we should get to a more crowded place."

Moon put her guard up just in case danger appears. As if replying to her thoughts someone spoke in badly spoken English. "You lost tourist?" A dirty unshaven young man with tattoos on his body appeared in front of them. He was only wearing a green tank top and shorts. John replied "No, we're not."

"No, you lost." said dirty tats. "Need help tourist?"

"Beat it, creep!" shouted Moon. The "creep" didn't react to this well and said "Give up your stuff." John expected this and quickly lunged forward, thrust his fist into the guy's gut and finished with a spin kick, all of that in just less than two seconds. The thug was far less than a challenge. He didn't even have a protection barrier up. But this attracted a lot of attention. More thugs started to appear. Most of them were even too young.

"You are in the wrong place at the wrong time." said a guy in his mid-twenties. He was the only one wearing something that passes as decent clothing. Both John and Moon concluded that this guy is the pack leader. "Beat the American up, the chick is mine." was his orders.

It posed a problem for the authorities that almost anyone has magic now. But even with the awakening of the New Generation, some don't naturally gain abilities. They have to learn how to do it. There are those who abuse this power, victimizing weaker magic users or espers. Such example was this group, even though most of them don't know how to use their abilities.

"You wouldn't want to mess with us, asshole." John said.

"I think I do." Hooligan Alpha raised his hand and conjured fire from his hand and formed a fireball. He threw the fireball toward John but John dodged before it hit. Basic pyrokinesis. "He's just an amateur," John and Moon thought.

The other hoodlums shouted stuff like "You got lucky!", "You're dead.", and "Give up!" then charged towards them though John made quick work out of all of them.

The hooligan's leader threw another fireball but John caught it and made it larger. Some of the hooligans got surprised and was scared away. John raised the newly improved fireball and threw it towards the remaining thugs including their leader. They were all able to dodge and the fireball exploded behind them, though John never intended to hit any of them. But the explosion incapacitated the rest of the rabble.

An alarm rang loudly signaling the detection of a fire hazard.

"Ah, damn. We should get going." Moon said.

They left the flame-illuminated street and continued walking away. An automated fire truck went pass them and headed to where they've been to. After a few minutes they saw the University. The gate was intricately designed and a "NWI" was welded on it. There were two bus stops, one across the street and the one near the gate of NWI. The bus stop that they needed to get on to was right across the street from where they were. They got there and looked at the schedule for the bus posted on the bulletin board, besides them there were two girls also waiting for the bus, probably students.

"There's one coming in 5:30, it's 5:21, 9 minutes left." Moon said while reading the route the bus takes. It goes through the upper section of the district. Mostly, there are stops at nearby famous residential establishments such as the Lotus Gardens, Silverwood Estates, and Signal Tower. There is a 30-minute cycle for the arrival of a bus at every stop.

"Do you want to see more specifics about Blake?" asked John.

"Of course." Moon took the folder in her hand and read Ethan Blake's file. "Ethan Blake lives alone with his sister most of the time. Their mother comes home rarely due to her job. He's also the King Mage of NWI. His specialization is Reformation but he can also use other specialties to a certain level."

Reformation as defined in a dictionary is to change one form to another. When defined as a magic specialization it is control over matter, usually but not limited to solids. Its strength is defined by the user's own physical and mental limit.

"He's one of the 78 people in the country that has more than one specialty and is also one of the 14 S-ranked currently registered in the country," continued Moon.

"My gut says he'll be interesting." John said.

The bus was coming up now. John and Moon picked up their bags. It was a second or so before the bus came in and slowed in front of them, then the doors opened. They went inside the bus. There were a lot of people in the bus, and they decided to sit at the back. The two students also sat at the back next to them. Moon's instinct told her that they purposely sat next to them. The bus moved ahead when one of the students talked to her.

"We overheard you talking about Ethan Blake, so we couldn't help but ask if you know him. Oh, where are my manners my name is Theresa Beckett." she then added, "And this is my friend Mika Yuzuriha." she said while referring to the other student beside her.

"We're both students at NWI. We met Ethan Blake earlier this afternoon."

Moon was interested to know how students see Blake so she asked "How'd you meet him?"

"Well, I was playing catch-the-wisp with some of my other friends when he humiliated me in front of them."

"He's a bully?" asked Moon.

"No, it was my actually my fault. I bullied Mika then. I was making her do my project when I..." Resa looked ashamed then so Mika continued.

"Resa threw the wisp at me and Ethan dispelled it before it got close."

"So Resa's the bully and Ethan is the hero, huh?" remarked Moon. "Then why are you two together?"

Resa recovered and took the lead again. "Well after he saved Mika from being hit by the wisp, he destroyed my papers and said 'If you don't do your own work, how can you learn?' or something like that. After he left, my other friends left themselves. Mika was the only one who stayed behind to help me calm down. We've always been friends since we were kids, I don't know why I became horrible to her… Because of my encounter with Ethan Blake, I found out that the friendships I had made abandoning Mika was a lie and my eyes opened a little, I guess."

"So by meeting him you changed to a better person," John said.

"Um, who are you again?" asked Mika.

"By chance, were there rumors of a new instructor and a transfer student coming in tomorrow?" asked John.

"Yes, a lot of students were talking about something like that." said Mika. Both Mika and Resa seemed to mull over this for a while before Resa said "No way, you're the rumored instructor and transfer student?"

"Yes, we are the rumored instructor and transfer student. We'll be joining you guys' tomorrow." John said. "I'm John Rivers," and patting Moon's head he continued, "and this is my sister Eliza."

The bus driver announced "Silverwood stop coming up."

"Well, that's my stop." said Resa.

"Don't worry. You might be able to see us tomorrow." John said.

The bus stopped and Resa hugged Mika before saying her good-bye. She walked out and waved to Mika before she walked home. The bus started to move again. It was awkward to be beside someone like Mika. She emanated that I'm-a-quiet-person-and-I-have-the-courage-of-a-chicken-nugget-so-please-don't-talk-to-me feeling, so it was hard to start a conversation with her. The silence bugged Moon and she spoke.

"Can I ask something?"

"O-of course. What is it?" said Mika.

Moon rarely talked to someone in her age group so she doesn't know how to converse well herself. But this was her chance to know more about Blake. "So, what course are you in?"

"I took NGME RDI. I'm a first year." NGME RDI or New-Generation Magic and ESP: Research, Development, and Innovation is one of the only three magic courses together with NGME Anti- Crime and Investigations and NGME Special Forces and Service. NGME RDI is a program for students that want to maximize their potential and have a mutual relationship together between modern technology and magic. While NGME ACI is focused on anti-crime police work, NGME SFS is focused to military applications.

"I'm transferring to the second year of ACI, too bad. What club are you in?" Moon said. John faked her records so that she can get into the same class and course as Ethan Blake and with help from the headmaster of NWI, he was able to make sure that she got there.

"I'm not in a club but I'm thinking of joining one I got interested in today."

"Which is?"

"I feel like I'm being interrogated, though."

"Sorry."

"The Exploration club, Ethan Blake and one other person are the only club members so it's an unofficial club."

"Ethan Blake sounds like a good person, what do you think of him?"

"People say he's a scary person, but I think he's actually nice."

"You like him?"

Mika blushed at what Moon said and she nervously replied "It's not like that. It's just that I owe him from back when he protected me. I just see him as a hero."

Moon stared at Mika while grinning and said "It fits his name."

"Excuse me?"

"His second name, Yuusha. It means hero in Japanese."

Mika then asked, "By any chance, are you after Blake?"

This question hit home, but neither John or Moon flinched at this though Moon didn't know how to answer.

"Yes, that's one of the reasons we went into this country," John said. He then looked towards Moon and said, "You see, Moon is a very gifted girl and we thought it would be best for her to develop her skills and learn at a better environment."

He looked back at Mika and continued, "I was going here anyway, so when I heard that an impressive mage-in-training was in NWI, it was the perfect opportunity for Moon."

"Nice job, Arc. You just saved me." Moon thought.

"Signal stop coming up." was the bus driver's Announcement.

"Well, that's our stop." Moon said. "I hope I get to see you tomorrow, Mika"

"Same, let's meet again soon."

John and Moon got out of the bus and they both waved at Mika in the bus when it left. They walked over to the gate and a guard approached them.

"Sir, where's your I.D.?" asked the guard.

John scuffled through his bag and took out an I.D. He then gave it to the guard.

"Sir, your I.D. has been expired for 7 years now."

"The apartment belonged to my parents. It was passed on to me later on. I went here once to complete the ownership papers. Then I went back home and never returned until now." explained John.

"Just wait a moment sir, we'll just call someone from the office to verify you."

A few minutes later, they received a call telling them to direct John and Moon to the office.

"After you get to the split road, go left and you'll see the office there." said the guard.

"I know. I've been there before." John said.

They walked over the cobblestone path, found a split road up ahead, and went left. They found the it but it looked more like a two-floor office building. There was a guardhouse beside it. They went inside the door and asked the receptionist if they were expected. They were directed to go to the room on the left. The door had "executive manager" written on it. They went in and an old man in a suit greeted them.

"My name is Harry Cloudborne, but you can call me Manager Har. The residents at the tower call me that."

"I'm John Rivers and this is my sister, Eliza."

"Yes, we've met before. Condolences for your deceased parents, they were valued patrons." He sat down and motioned the two to sit in front. "You will have to renew your I.D. if you want to stay here, it's just procedure."

"I understand. What do I need to do?" said John. This guy clearly doesn't waste time, thought Moon.

"A renewing fine is needed, 1,500 kowls per year, so 13,500 kowls. Your sister will need one too. A new one costs 750."

"That's understandable, what else?"

"We'll also have to update your residency status. Another fee is required for this, about 1,500 kowls each."

"Okay. Is there anything else?"

"We also have to re-connect your electricity and water supply, 3,000 kowls each. All your furniture is still there untouched but you will need to clean the apartment before you get in. We have cleaners here available but you pay them for every job depending on the size of your apartment. Your apartment is a two floor three-bedroom with two comfort rooms, one bathroom, a kitchen, balcony, and a family size living room. That's 4,500 kowls."

"Okay, send those guys in while we're still talking so I don't waste any more time."

"Er, yes of course." Manager Har went to his phone and dialed a three-digit number.

"Send a cleaning team to apartment 2847, pronto." He then dialed another three-digit number. "Re-connect electricity and water supply in 2847."

"You seem to be used to this." John said.

"I've been the manager here for a long time. Now then there's one more. You and your sister will need to be registered in our security system to prevent one of those 'unknown person alerts', another fee of 2,000kowls each, a total of 30,250 kowls."

"I'll pay through credit if you don't mind." John said as he flashed his card.

"Of course, you can do that in the accounting and records office." Manager Har led them out of the room and directed them towards a room in a different wing. The room itself looked like a small bank complete with their own vault.

"What's in the vault?" inquired Moon.

"Documents from the Tower residents, some keepsakes, and the usual cash."

"Why do you need it? The residents can just go to a more secure bank." Moon said.

"Our security here parallels that of any other famous bank. We even have a few tough mages as guards here."

"Where do I need to pay?" asked John.

"The cashier booth there." Har pointed to a small window on the wall.

They approached the booth and talked to the cashier on-duty. They paid their "fees" and went back to the manager's office. There was a middle-aged woman waiting in front of the door holding a manila envelope.

"This is their documents, yes?"

"Yes, manager." replied the person.

Har took the envelope in his hands and said "Carry on now." The woman walked away quickly. "This envelope contains your new residence I.D.s and two identical cardkeys. You can go to your apartment. The cleaners are probably finishing by now." Har went inside his office.

The two of them walked out of the office building and went straight for the Tower.

"That guy Har had a lot to say about fees but not a lot about goodbyes, doesn't he?" remarked Moon.

"You should have been here when we fixed up my ownership papers." John said.

The two of them were now at the entrance. The place looked normal except for the oversized fountain up front. They flashed their I.D.s in the scanners and went inside. They went ahead to the elevator. There were ten of them, five to the left and five to the right. They approached an unoccupied elevator when Moon said "Is that a bar and a pool?"

John looked to see what Moon meant and was amazed by what he saw. There was now a deluxe Olympic-sized pool beside the tower and a large bar by its side. "Wow, this is new." John said. There was only one person in the pool and three people drinking at the bar. One of the people in the bar looked familiar too.

"You didn't say there was a bar here and an extremely large pool."

"Well, 7 years ago the pool was supposed to be behind the tower and it wasn't this big and there wasn't a bar then."

The elevator dinged and they went inside. The elevator became different too. The walls were now glass and they could see what was outside. Behind the Tower was a small park with paved roads and a pond. "They certainly had a lot of improvement in the past years."

They reached the 28th floor and went out. The place itself looked new. The maintenance crew must cost a lot. They went ahead to apartment 2847 and used the cardkey in the scanner. The room was newly cleaned and they could clearly smell the air freshener.

"Everything looks the same as it had before." John said.

"You sure those guys didn't take any souvenirs?" Moon asked since there weren't any decorations.

"I'm sure. I took the decorations back home. I only left the furniture."

John opened the window to the balcony and looked outside. The sun was setting now. He could see the pool clearly from there. The only person swimming in the pool was still there.

"Where's my room?" asked Moon.

"The second door on your right."

Moon entered her room. It was a small one with a bed and a cabinet. There were only gray sheets on the bed and her pillow was uncovered. "We probably should go shopping tomorrow for fixing this place up." shouted Moon. They also needed more clothes since they didn't have enough.

John was in the kitchen checking the electric stove. It refused to work and John said "Yeah, we also need a new stove and some utensils." They were planning on staying here even if Ethan Blake wasn't the successor.

"Let's order pizza for dinner tonight, or maybe some Chinese take-out?"

John took out a brochure he got at the airport and dialed the Pizza-King number. "What pizza do you want?"

"Meat."

"Okay, we'll order a 16' Meat Lover's and a 16' Deluxe Caesar." he said to the terminal.

Moon changed her clothes. She now wore a tank top, shorts, and flip-flops. What was under it was a swimsuit. She walked to the door and said "I'll go check the pool downstairs."

"Take care."

Moon walked over to the elevator that was going down and pressed the button. The elevator opened and a girl about 14 years old was there wearing a t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops. She had dark hair and her eyes were blue. Moon went in as the girl stared at her hair. The elevator closed and it went down.

"Hey, you new here?" asked the girl.

"Yes, I just moved with my brother."

"I thought so. If there was a beautiful silver-haired girl in this building, I should have known."

"That's quite the compliment. Are you going to the pool?"

"Yeah, and seems like you too."

The elevator stopped at the 25th floor and a couple entered. They were going to the 15th floor. The elevator started going down again. The couple was talking to themselves and the girl with blue eyes said, "My name's Lisa Blake, I live two floors above you."

Moon's heart skipped another beat. It seems like coincidence has been following her since arriving in the country. She tried to hide her surprise and said "Oh, is that so?" and then she chuckled. She thought to herself, if this girl is going down to the pool then there's a good chance the familiar person in the bar is Mia Blake drinking to her heart's content and the swimmer in the pool might be Ethan Blake.

"What's the matter? You spaced out for a while there."

"Oh, it's nothing. My name is Eliza, but call me Moon."

The elevator stopped at the 15th floor and the couple walked out. The elevator closed and it moved again.

"You should meet my brother. He only has a few friends, so it'll be good for him."

"Is he at the pool downstairs?"

"How'd you know?"

"Just a guess."

Lisa stared at Moon again before saying "Wow, just now you reminded me of my brother. You're smart and good-looking too."

"Then you can call me big sis."

Lisa smiled and remarked, "You really should meet my brother. You two could make a good match."

They reached the ground floor. They went out and Lisa said "Well, if you need help or anything, tell me okay?" Lisa then ran off toward the pool and jumped in it.