The Memories

It was summer break after sixth grade. The sun was high in the sky, and everyone was either sleeping or traveling. Cleo was going to summer camp.

"Hey, Cleo! How are you?" Mr. Ray said, giving Cleo a high five. "The sun's not getting to you, right?"

"No, I'm good."

Cleo walked towards the shade to put down her bag, and just as she turned around, she saw a boy walking over. He was tall and slim. His short, brown hair flopped a bit in the light breeze, and his soft, brown eyes smiled as he high-fived the teacher. His smile was genuine, compared to the judgmental and condescending smirks Cleo saw at school. But the worst part was that she already knew him. She had met him first during an interschool event that had happened shortly before the end of the school year.

Cleo looked away as he walked over. She did not want him to catch her staring.

The summer went on. Cleo became friends with the boy. They spent almost their entire time at the camp together. Eating lunch, having fun, and telling each other jokes. But one summer cannot last forever.

"Cleo, there's something I've been meaning to tell you..." the boy said to Cleo one day. "I...I know that you like me, but I don't think we're meant to be."

Cleo blinked. "Oh...okay."

A moment of silence passed.

"Then..." Cleo bit her lip. "Can we still be friends?"

"I'm sorry, Cleo."

He walked away.

A few weeks later, the school year began. Cleo was on her way to school, when she heard a few girls giggling in a small alleyway. She could hear their shrieks of laughter as well as a voice that was all to familiar to her.

"I knew she liked me, so I decided to humor her."

They were talking about Cleo.

"Oh, you're so funny, Nathan!" one of the girls said.

Cleo sucked in a breath. Surely this was not Nathan. He was not this kind of person.

"I can't believe she really fell for it."

Laughter echoed through the alleyway.

"I've never seen anyone as dumb and naive as she was."

***

Cleo woke up gasping for air. She was still in her clothes from last night. Her hair was a mess, and she had no idea what happened with Rosa. She stood up, brushed her hair, and changed.

A knock sounded at her door.

"Theo?" Cleo said, opening the door. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry about last night. I didn't know that Cecil would act out like that."

"It's fine," Cleo motioned for him to enter the room. She closed the door.

The two of them made their way to the balcony, and there they stood, looking over the path below. It was already midday, and the sun was shining brightly over the academy grounds. A gust of wind blew past, ruffling Cleo's hair.

"I hate him," she said, leaning her elbows on the railing.

"What do you mean?" Theo asked, mimicking her position.

"Cecil."

"But you seemed to like him enough before. What changed?"

Cleo turned around, resting her back on the side of the balcony instead. "I liked him because he was perfect. Because he was a character in a book that had no flaws, since he didn't exist. But now that he's real, he's not the same anymore."

She looked down at the floor. "He's vulnerable. He's emotional, and he's..."

"...human."

Theo nodded in understanding. "I spent so much time with him before everything in the main plot happened. You could imagine my surprise when I found him running around his room trying to find his underwear like any normal person."

Cleo laughed. "He's different, alright."

"I think you should talk to him. Resolve your issues."

"No..."

"I think he'd like that."

Cleo stood up. She began making her way back inside. Theo tried to follow, but she flicked him over the side of the balcony with her magic. Then she closed the door behind her.

As Theo struggled to steady himself and soften his landing, he heard a single phrase.

"No, he wouldn't."

***

That day, three students died while sparring because someone had put poison on their swords. Now, only sixteen of the original twenty kids remained. The academy was in an uproar. Nobody knew what had happened, and who had done it.

Cleo was not fazed. Everything was done by the librarian, Julius Augustus. She had been avoiding the library on purpose in order to not bump into him, but now the only way to sort everything out was to go find him.

***

The ceremony for Rosa and the three boys was over. Cleo made her way to the academy's library. She opened the grand, polished wooden doors, and walked up the ornate, marble steps until she reached the highest floor of the building. There, she continued all the way down a hallway lined with portraits of previous headmasters, until she was standing before a small, simple door at the end of the hall. She opened the door.

On the other side was a small study with walls lined with bookshelves. A large, floor to ceiling window covered the far wall. A man seemingly in his forties stood by it. He had dark brown hair that was tied into a ponytail, trailing down to his waist. He stood there, hands clasped behind his back, facing away from Cleo. He turned slowly, his glasses catching the reflection of the sunlight, momentarily keeping his eyes from view.

"Cleo!" the librarian said.

Recognition struck her like a bolt of lightning. "You-"

"It's been too long."