Ch 25: Weeks. . . to days. . . to hours. . . to minutes. . . to seconds.
"The entrance exam is in September, the kids must learn a lot in memory and practice at least one basic thing for the programs they want to go to.
We are in May. There's about less than 4 months before the entrance exam.
I gave a quick reading to every book each kid had in their hands and designed a study plan to make sure they feel safe, confident, and prepare.
The teacher from the local school came and started to try and take over my teaching plan, but then I explained the procedure and, well, she must have felt threatened because she then backed off and left. But of course, being the nice person that I am, I gave her cookies to bring home along.
Talking about cookies, I started to prepare the cacao that I got back in Jack Valley. Since the sun and temperature are high, I figured that I could try to make some chocolate.
But that's a subject from another matter.
For now, I shall focus in giving a schedule for the kids and at the same time keep myself occupied with the repairments of the sugar mill."
I closed the book and went ahead to make the schedule before almost slamming my face on the desk. 'Yeah. . . Eh. . I think, I'll finish tomorrow.' I yawned and face planted myself on the bed.
. . .
One week later. . .
"Week 1: Finished with neatness and surprises.
The businesses that I had with the townspeople have finished and as I have expected, not much money but at the sugar mill is completely repaired without any issues.
The good news is that I received a lot of things like:
— Vegetables.
— Ham.
— Potatoes.
— Fruit.
— Butter.
— Yeast.
— Sugar.
The town's mayor went to see it and liked how it turned out. He pretty much indirectly very directly asked if I was willing to sell it.
I said something along the lines of, 'if you are willing to buy it the full and right amount, I will consider it.'
It's safe to say, that I won't hear from the mayor for while.
In other news, Some kids from richer families were sent to me by the teacher of the local school. Apparently, she told them that I was better suited to teach the kids better the material.
I said, 'I'm not being payed by neither the government nor the town's mayor. Want a class? You pay for it.' I clarified. 'Per class.' I added.
They said that they would pay 120 copper per kid, I easily accepted after that. But I let them know that the books that I had were borrowed, if any kid was to steal or break them, then the parents are responsible of PAYING THE FULL AMOUNT.
They were scared but accepted the deal either way.
Next thing I knew, I had about 8 other children to teach besides my own. Each kid was to come at 8:00 a.m. sharp, and start reading what they didn't know nor understood.
At 9:00 a.m. I would give them tips to make notes and excercises to understand the material better.
10:00 to 10:15: free time to draw and play outside.
10:30 to 11:30: either math or grastronomy.
11:30 to 12:30: lunch. The kids were to bring their own lunch. If not, then the parents would have to give their kids pocket money or something in exchange. Some examples are:
—> An egg = a type of egg of choice.
—> A loaf of bread = Toast 2 slices bread on the pan with butter, with either goat cheese or compota.
—> Potatoes or sweet potatoes = roast them, add a bit of salt.
—> Bucket of water = a bowl of soup.
—> A bucket of milk, flour or sugar = three baked goods for breakfast.
—> A basket of fruit = fruit salad or a small pie.
That's just the small tip of the iceberg of what the parents are capable of making the kids bring to school in exchange for breakfast. One time a kid even brought a whole leg of turkey. That kid wasn't able to finished it all, but I preserved it for him to take home.
If they bring money on the other hand:
—> 5 copper: A cup of goat milk and either 1 cookie or 1 muffin.
—> 10 copper: A cup of goat milk and a slice of bread with berry compota.
—> 15 copper: A cup of goat milk + compota, and a choice of two loafs of bread and berry compota, 2 cookies or two muffins, or one of two choices.
—> 20 copper: A full meal of a cup of milk, a bowl with the soup of the day, a small bowl of salad, a sandwich of goat cheese, ham, & lettuce, and a choice of 1 cookie or muffin, slice of bread with compota or a slice of pie for desert.
—> Want anything extra: Use math to calculate what you need pay for.
1:15 to 2:15 p.m: History & Geography.
—> I decided to use a theater-type of strategy in this class. We would learn about a historic moment and replayed with a map from the Geography book and act as if we were part of the historical moment.
2:15 to 2:30: free time.
2:30 to 3:30: Art & Knighthood outside.
—> The kids would practice art with what they could see and the kids who wanted to be knights, would practice with their wooden swords.
3:30 to 3:45: Free time.
3:45 to 4:45: Science and Medicine.
—> Those who are interested in science, know which anatomy might be hurt and how to cure it with whatever means & tools necessary, while medicine know the correct technique and or methods to introduce the cure to the body.
4:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m: Time go either go home or to wait for the kids to be picked up.
After all that, the parents gracefully pick their kids up from by door in their "so high all-mighty" chariots.
It's exhausting. But on other good news, Charlie is seen to be know more especifically interested in both knighthood and gastronomy.
I hope he aces them.
As for the money:
120 x 5 = 600 copper.
10 + 15 + 20 = 45 copper.
In total: 645 copper."
I put the book down and face planted against the bed.
. . .
Another week passed. . .
"Week 2: Finished.
Now turns out I do a better job than the teacher of the local school and now the mayor wants to hire me so the teacher can go take a job inside the capital.
No wonder it smelled like a trap.
I said, yes, but only from Tuesday to Thursday, the rest of the days are off and even though I'll be payed for the teaching, that payment will not be cover the food, therefore I let them know that they still need to pay for it.
The twins people said yes and now I have 102 students to take care of.
I would have been doomed had I not thought about it quickly and asked for volunteer assitance.
The mayor asked about it, and I explained it to them. The volunteer is basically free labour BUT it can go well for the community's image and if you work hard and give results, you can use me as a reference employer for when you apply for a real job.
As I thought, not a lot of people were thrilled about it, with the exception of a few seniors. A old lady called Lady Oak offered herself with the explanation of being bored out of her mind after her husband died.
It's not much but it's still a great help.
The week continued without any major issues after that.
As for the money:
The eight rich kids of the town + 5 commoner kids bought the 20 copper meal.
20 of the commoner the 15 copper deal.
15 of the poorest bought the 5 copper deal.
The rest just brought their own lunch or grave me something to make a meal out of it for them.
8+5 = 13 kids in total. 13 kids x 20 copper deal = 260 coppers.
20 common kids x 15 copper deal = 300 coppers.
15 poor kids x 5 copper deal = 75 coppers.
In total: 260 + 300 + 75 = 200 + 300 + 60 + 70 + 5= 500 + 130 + 5 = 635 coppers in total.
As soon as I got the money, I invest it all in new big table sets which were needed for the classes."
I closed the book and went to sleep tired.
. . .
Another week after. . .
"Week 3: Finished. May is done, we are now on June.
Not much to say, for the exception that the weather is getting hotter and some of my food supplies were starting to rotten, so I decided to let the gastronomy kids bring their culinary creations home so it doesn't spoil.
I also tend to give Mrs. Oak free lunch and food to get home, as a reward for being a good assistant.
The good news, is that I've got new assistants. These are older kids, around 14 to 16 years old, that decided to help out and keep order from when I wasn't looking. I made sure to let them know that even though I could not reward them with money, I could reward with a free meal here and a snack to bring home. The deal seemed to soothe them and get them to both work hard at their homework and at being my assistants.
Other good news is that I finally have a bathroom inside the sugar mill and a workable kitchen to both cook and bake recipes. Of course, I don't let the kids know the cinnamon roll recipe or anything more complicated than that (the source of income might drop if I do), but I still use the sweets to bribe the kids for good behavior and as punishment of not having it if they cause trouble.
Another good thing is that Lottie has magic abilities! She was able to get a pen to float with her finger which is impressive! According to the history book and witchcraft book, it's almost impossible for a wizard or witch to use magic without a wand.
Now everybody is afraid of Lottie after she threatened to levitate a mean boy to the moon if he did not stopped being mean.
Lottie also used her magic to practice some science stuff by making levitate her tools whenever another kid would want to take her things without permission. In other words, she can now even levitate things with her eyes and mind. Even I find it terrifying, but I don't stop her.
—> I wonder if one day she can enchant an umbrella or a broom to fly around.
As for Charlie, he seems really good with the sword and has become a mini tutor for those who are struggling. He's also a very good chef, one time I fell asleep and woke up late, I hurried downstairs and found Charlie boiling eggs while frying his eggs, ham, and toast, all while pulling out a large badge of applied cinnamon muffins.
I think the muffins Charlie made turned out better than when I make them. Makes me feel both proud and sad.
As for the money:
The 8 rich kids + 10 normal kids payed for the 20 copper meal.
30 common kids payed for the 15 copper meal.
10 not so-good (economy speaking) kids payed for the 10 copper deal.
20 not very well off kids (economic speaking) payed for the 5 copper deal.
18 kids x 20 = 360
30 kids x 15 = 450
10 x 10 = 100
20 x 5 = 100
In total: 360 + 450 + 100 + 100 = 300 + 400 + 200 + 60 + 50 = 900 + 110 = 1, 010 copper in total."
Closed the book. Face planted on the bed and knocked myself out.
. . .
Another week of June. . .
"Week 4: Finished.
I finally opened my own bakery and mini restaurant. Today I was able to make 250 copper in total. It's not much, but it's a start.
As for the teaching, I forgot to add that at first, the rich kids did not liked me for not being of their status, so I left them to go home to their parents since they did not want to learn from me.
A few hours later, their parents showed up a bit angry but then I told what happened by basically saying, 'how do you expect me to teach your kids if they don't want to learn anything?'
The parents were both embarrassed and angry, but not at me anymore.
The next day, a few kids returned with a few punches (two with even a black eye) and looked more "eager" to learn things. I decided to be the nice teacher who you could rely on ever since I noted that the parents just don't want to deal with their children. They want to boast about them, but they did not want to be the ones to blame if their kids fail.
Basically, I was the escape goat due to my kindness and generosity.
I decided to use it against them, and started to be more motherly to the children. Not just the rich and problematic, but to those who were well behaved since day one of the whole school thing will be shutting down.
Also, the parents assured me that I was just "tutoring" their kids until a real teacher came along. But if I'm being honest, I'm basically being used.
But I also don't need to worry, I'm just using the space until I make enough more money to be able to establish myself on another place.
Once that happens, the parents and the mayor (not in that order) will be left to deal with the consequences.
Just as they made me take care of the next generation's problems and education without warning or preparation, I will leave them to deal with the aftermath without any warning after.
And yes, I am laughing maniacally as I'm writing this."
. . .
Another 2 weeks of June passed. . .
"Week 5 — Week 6: Finished.
So many kids had been asking more and more to their parents to eat my food more often for lunch, that they decided to give my bakery and mini restaurant a try.
Thanks to that the business is blooming Monday Friday and Weekends.
The menu is divided in side dishes, snacks, breakfast, lunch, dinner, beverages and desert.
I went to the local newspaper printer for him to print a few menus plus public the menu in the local newspaper.
Every since then, the business has been going up steadily, especially with the workers on weekdays and families on weekends.
The business money has gained up to the 4,500,000 digits at this point, which is really good and Halfway expected due to doing part-time teaching three days and cooking and baking the rest of the weekends.
Of course, I decided to make some "holiday" days for the kids. Summer holidays will include the summer festival and July and August free of school. Of course, I still get to teach the kids who want or need to keep studying for the entrance exams, but I will add the 120 copper fee to do that again.
The summer holidays will allow me to go full-time on the business and experiment with food and entertainment for a while.
Also, since my twins will need some pocket money at least for the first weeks of school (I really hope they get to enter), I decided to offer them get experience in the restaurant.
Charlie is very skilled with his gastronomy and multitasking skills, so he'll help me with the orders and beverages, as well as making baked goods whenever is necessary.
Lottie needs a more rigid role, therefore, I decided to put her in the cashier & host position, that way she gets to practice math in real life and her communication skills.
They get 12 copper per day. It's not much, but I can't risk giving them the same money rate as others in case the business starts to slow down or worse, fail. It's still too early to establish a decent salary and my goal is to get them to work on themselves while understanding the value of money and hard work.
If they are really capable of entering that school, they will need to work elsewhere because they will not be getting that much money from me from time to time. With this in mind, getting work life experience will help them get them a good resume for a starting point and (with luck) with a much better salary than the one I'm offering.
Speaking of the summer festival, I should really start with sending letter to my friends about where I am and where to look for me. I might as well make a decent amount of money by selling my goods in the festival.
Time to experiment with pies and deserts."
. . .
A few weeks later. . .
"Weeks 7 - 9: Finished. We are on July now.
People from other towns are starting to come to my restaurant now. The summer festival was celebrated for 4 days and the festival was held in two different cites. One being in Silverwood, and the other would be in a bigger town called Barrenvale which is in the other side of the city and its walls.
I went to both of those. 2 days in Silverwood and 2 days in Barrenvale.
I made 2,000 copper/ silver coins in Silverwood and 3,500 copper/ silver coins in Barrenvale!!
I also traded and bought some things. The list will be put here:
— 4 sacks of potatoes.
— 2 sacks of carrots.
— 3 of varios vegetables together.
— 7 sacks of flour.
— 6 packs of jars that made a dozen each pack: 1 pack of big ones (1 gallon each jar), 2 of regular ones (1/4 of gallon/4 cups/32 oz per jar), 2 packs of small ones (2 cups/16noz) & 1 pack of mini jars (1 cups/8oz).
— 2 big baskets of apples.
— 2 big baskets of lemons.
— 1 Baket of bananas.
— 3 baskets of berry: 1 basket of strawberries, 1 basket of blueberries, & 1 basket of raspberries.
— 1 big jar of vanilla extract.
— Cookie molds: stars, diamonds, human (gingerbread type) bodies, flowers, circles, triangles, and rectangles.
— Meat:
—> Deer: a whole leg of it, the flank and a chuck part.
—> Rabbit: 3 whole bodies. Already skinned and cooked.
—> Duck: 2 Breasts, and a thigh.
—> A whole turkey. Again. Fortunately this time it was already dead and skinned though.
—> 2 crabs.
—> 2 Pigs: The arm and shoulders for ham, the ribs, the side for bacon, the back legs.
—> Bison: the flank.
— 5 sacks of sugar.
— 3 big jars of honey.
— 10 barrels of decent wine.
That's about it. Although, due to fearing of some of the meat going back on the travel back home, I used the rabbits to eat along the way , the flank of the bison for a stew to sell, and the pork's shoulders for picnic ham when we went to see the fireworks.
Of course, as a bigger village, Barrenvale had its own small brothel. So as you know. . . Well. . .
I made about 2,5000 copper and 100 silver coins by just midnight. And of course, I didn't brought the kids along, I left them in the inn where we were staying and actually bought a dagger for each of them.
And guess what? The heir of Talonwing was in the brothel!! Drinking and having a million women over him as he didn't have any shame!!
Thank goodness Stella gave me a new dress and a new mask as a farewell gift and I decided it to use it wisely today.
But I'm pretty sure he wouldn't remember me for all the alcohol he drank.
And you know, as the petty, pretty person that I am, I got Talonwing to drink four times he alcohol that he had digested, helping him to "convince me" to give him a "chance" in bed and he brought me to his bedroom.
As he stripped from all his armor and clothes, so his tongue went loose and started to brag about all the money he brought to waste.
I asked him where did he put the money, and he even showed me! How sweet!
It was gold. Freaking fucking gold.
Talonwing literally bragged about the money being about 250,000 gold coins LEFT inside the treasure chest.
I went to a full level of petty and said, 'Want me end inside me?'
'Can I?!' Talking wing asked excited.
'Yes, but you must pay pay me. . .' I thought about it for a moment. Giving me the whole money is just asking to be searched and being jailed in the end. There was also the risk of him remembering everything and then still go after me. So I smiled as I stripped and said loud and clear. 'Give me the 45% of the gold that you have and these are for you tonight!' I showed off my huge breasts.
Just to note: 250,000 ➗ 0.45 = 112, 500 gold coins,
It was a risk, but then again, knowing his level of stupidity, the moment he freaks out about it, the smarter ones will remarked the actual value of the 45% out of the 250,000.
I really hope that the smarter person is his father or elder. It would give much more pleasure! Hahaha!!
'YEEESSSS!!' He planted face to my breasts immediately.
And yes, I gave myself to him for the rest of the night. Not my proudest moment. But hey, at least I got 112, 500 out of him + he was excellent at sex. It's clear that he is experienced.
As I returned with the pain on my hips in the middle of the dawn, as a dog tugged on my skirt. I looked at him, it seemed worried.
I asked what was wrong and he guided me to a huge pile of trash. From there, I could clearly hear a small cry.
I panicked and let the bag of money that I took for myself to the ground and went to search through the smelly trash and. . . I found a baby girl. I took her in my arms and she cuddled for warmth.
The dog whimpered to me.
As you know, I have a soft spot for children. Therefore, I quickly took her to the inn, (with the mask on and baby hidden of course) and bribed he clerk so he wouldn't tell that Velvet was here.
I entered my room and saw the kids all asleep and alive. Not in that order. I also let the dog enter and gave him small pieces of meat's leftovers.
I gave the baby girl some goat milk and water. Then I cuddled her and myself to sleep with the dog sleeping next to the bed.
A few hours later, I woke up and found the twins staring at me, the baby and the dog every now and then.
Since I was exhausted (and needed to law low for a while) I decided to tell them a small, kid friendly version of what happened.
It was something out of the lines of: 'So, as I partied, Talonwing was there and since he didn't recognized me, I offered myself to give him some "services." I practically took economical advantage of him and said that I would only do it for 45% of the gold he had in his treasure chest."
The kids went wide-eyed and their mouths opened in surprise. It seems that they really knew just how the percentages work, because they looked at me half like they were proud of me and half like I was a monster.
I continued with: 'He, in his drunkenness, or maybe even his stupidity, accepted without thinking much and he got me to do the "favors," that took all night. Afterwards, I left him sleep and took the correct amount that we accorded. No more, no less. And then went back.
Charlie pointed at the dog while Lottie pointed at the baby.
I talked about it afterwards. In 20 minutes, they were helping me with breakfast, hanging with the dog and cuddling the baby.
The baby girl has the most beautiful emerald green eyes, freckles that looked like little trails of road, and the hair was of a sunset orange that would make everyone melt under her with her.
I'm thinking of a name, but it's hard. The doctor in Barrenvale told me to wait until her first birthday, because it was not garranteed that she would survive despite being born during the summer. He also calculated the baby's age around 2 or 3 days. She's still tiny so I'm going for barely 2 days of life.
I took her and the kids + plus the luggage back and we re-established the routine back home. I'm also going to make new temporal limited dishes and beverages.
Lottie learned an ice magic trick that gave the idea of a colder warehouse for the summer. Sure, she's still new to it, but we can use this to strengthen her power and practice with it.
Charlie on the other hand, has been a great babysitter and has bragged his new sister to the other rich children who are primarily only kids.
Some of the kids started to get sibling fever and even asked out loud to their parents "when am I going to get a sibling?!" And the parents faces become red of embarrassment.
Although, one lady took a look at my new baby girl, and got baby fever, driving her to give her husband a look. The husband looked at me, I looked at him, he looked at his wife, his wife smiled mischievously, and then she gave me back the baby.
I did kinda helped out the husband a bit saying something like: 'you might want to wait a little. If you get pregnant you might have to give birth in the middle of winter, and that isTWICE the danger than giving birth in summer.'
The families around nodded in agreement
The lady asked me when did I think it was a good idea to get pregnant. I told her that if she wanted to give birth safely in spring, summer or at the start of fall, she should get pregnant from September to December. If there were still no signs of pregnancy and she still wanted to try after a bit, then up to January and February, but afterwards, it would just be asking to give birth in mid-cold season.
The lady nodded at my answer and literally said, and I quote: "Josh, how would you like a sibling for your next birthday?"
We adults stifled a laugh, while the husband blushed. I put a hand on his shoulder and patted it. His little Willy was going to suffer big time for a while.
After that, the rest of the weeks went uneventful.
Oh! And we called the dog "Scout!" For being a good scout!"
I put the book away and face planted on the bed.
. . . .
Three weeks after. . .
"I haven't got time to actualized because it's busy nowadays.
Weeks 10-12: Finished. We are in August now.
The Vice principal came to town to let us now that the exact date of the entrance exam has been moved to about 2 weeks from now. Turns out that there are so many more students that they previously expected that they decided to make the entrance exam earlier so the first day of school is not moved to a later time.
The good news is, that my twins seemed to be just fine. As well as the other kids who are still under my tutoring.
As for the restaurant, the average income is from 500 copper to 1,000 weekly, it's still not much, but at the same time is a small town, so it makes sense that there's not that much clientele, but I already made a few regulars, which is just fine for now.
It was also enough for me to let the assistants and my twins have 12 coppers per hour instead of per day for the test of what was left of the turtoring weeks. That and plus tips. They might want to buy themselves something inside the city or something for their families.
As for the twins, I went to the local potter maker to make piggy banks. That way, the twins put the coins inside, it looks good and they save money. I gave it to them as an early birthday present.
The twins and I don't know when were they born (let alone where) since they only remember the salve trade. Therefore, I put their birthdays on the last day of July.
I made each of them a small cake and got them new outfits to wear at the entrance exam. I also promised them that I would let them have each one thing from my grandmother's keepsake if they get the Sapphire scholarship by minimum.
They became extra obsessed by it. And also bragged it out to the rich kids. Seriously, they need to stop bragging about it like their lives depended on it.
Scout has been a good dog and has scouted and captured several rabbits and foxes. I will get the twins a pair of fox scarfs and a pair of rabbit mittens and boots soon for winter.
The baby girl has been a joy to be with. I don't who is her mom and I don't care. Finders keepers."
I closed the book and hugged the baby girl to sleep.
. . .
Two weeks after. . .
"Week 13 - 14: Finished. The kids are in the Bismuth Academy for three days.
It's hard to be without the twins and the rest of those rich children not being here. I practically anticipated this because I sent to make a specific long cloth to make myself a baby carrier out of it so I could do things easier.
It's still hard without the kids' help.
I decided to make some announcements for servers before the twins leaved, as I didn't really trusted anyone with the maths as I trusted Lottie. There was also the possibility of taking advantage of my generosity and trying to take money without me looking.
2 young ladies and 1 young gentleman who were around 16 to 18 years of age, offered because the payment was 12.50 per hour. It's not that much still, but the business is till new, and even though I can afford it, It would like to make a stable profit before giving luxury.
A little girl (no more older than my twins age) who went by the name of Minerva offered herself as a Minnie nannie and I would let her have 10 coppers per day. Each day she helps me from Monday to Friday, which makes 5 days. Therefore, I pay her 50 coppers per week.
Each person in the restaurant would receive their payment per week.
The youngsters who help are of great help and the young man even gets the horses to take a walk before opening and after closing.
The girl #1 helps me with cleaning and distributing the dishes.
The girls #2 helps me with putting more food on the shelves to sell as well as to take people's orders.
The young man's primarily work is to make sure no man even tries to think about taking advantage of the hardworking ladies. That, and to help me getting the animals ready to feed, herd and clean their barns and places.
Since they help from 8 a.m. sharp to 5 p.m. sharp as well, that makes 9 hours in total.
9 hrs x 12.50 copper/ = 112.50 day.
112.50 copper/day x 5 day/week = 562.50 copper per week.
562.50 + tips. Usually.
When I say usually, I mean they can let me keep the tips in exchange for food. For example, I tend to make discounts for the food that I NEED to get out of my hands before it spoils.
And a little while back, I noticed that the youngsters + the Minnie nanny were stuffing their faces with the food that had hours before being sold or throwned out.
So I offered them the chance to take some of the food home, in exchange for the tips and a little of their paychecks if they want to eat here if they don't have their lunch or anything with them. Depending on what they bring home (- tips) and what they want for lunch (- paycheck).
That's all for now. I hope to see my kids soon. Little baby is searching for them very now and then."
Book closed. Went to sleep.
. . .
Three days after. . .
I was preparing the things I had for Monday's menu and checking what I needed to buy Tomorrow evening at the latest.
Hihihi. Little baby giggled suddenly.
'Eh? Do you want something?' I asked looking at her.
Little baby rubbed her face at my chest and tugged her little hands on my clothes.
'Aw, you want to give me a hug.' I hugged her back with just one arm back because I had a sack of flour on the other.
*PAM!!* The kitchen door was slammed opened and two figures came in.
I gasped lesving the sack of flour on the floor and ready to kill someone with my kitchen knife, when I saw two familiar faces. 'Charlie?! Lottie?!' I gasped once more putting the knife on the table counter. 'You came back!! How wonderful!' I trotted to them and hugged them softly because I was still carrying little baby with the especial cloth. 'How did it go?! What did you guys do?! Did the results came almost immediately or do we have to wait— wait. . . Are two crying?' I asked frowning worriedly.
Charlie was sobbing on my skirt while Lottie was tearing up while tugging on my arms.
'What's wrong?! Did you not make it?!' I asked them.
'W-We. . . We missed you!!' Charlie exclaimed as he cryied out loud.
Lottie started sobbing. 'I-It was too long! I-I don't know if I can survive without mom there!' She sobbed hard and sniffed her mucus in.
'There, how about we have all calm down and get ourselves a nice cup of warm milk with honey.' I smiled to them.
They nodded and agreed.
. . .
20 minutes later. . .
They drank slowly their milk and slowly they calmed down. It took a while but at least they were smiling again.
Oh! And also, the coachman of the chariot that brought them home also brought in a few things that the kids both received and bought.
Turns out. . . They got into the TOP 5!! Wooooo!!
'I'm so proud of you!!' I exclaimed kissing them nonstop. 'I prayed and hoped that you guys got in!! Way to go you two!!'
'Yeah, thanks mom.' Charlie smiled a bit sad while taking out his new school uniform.
'Yeah, thanks.' Lottie murmured as she did the same thing as her brother.
Looked from one twin to the other and frowned. 'Okay, what's wrong? You guys were able to finish your goals, what's up with the long faces?' I asked them.
They looked at each other. 'It's about the housing.' They admitted.
'The housing?' I asked confused. 'Oh! You mean the Amethyst Tulip, Ruby Rose, Jasper Sunflower and Tourmaline Dahlia, right?' I asked and the twins nodded. 'What's wrong with it?' I asked about it.
'Well, turns out that the top 5 are previously putted through a mini exam before they even decided whether they officially want to enroll or not, in order to see which house they would fit the best in.' Charlie explained sitting on the chair. 'Which is why we came back late. We were supposed to arrive today in the morning, but instead we arrived in the afternoon.' He added.
'Oh.' I nodded to him. 'I still don't see the problem.' I admitted.
'The situation was fine, at first, until we met the other 3 who were higher than us.' Charlie raised three fingers.
'Oh, so you guys made between fourth and fifth?' I guessed.
'Yes, Lottie fourth and me fifth. But that's wasn't the issue.' Charlie crossed his arms. 'The issue came with the other Top 3, all of them, were "unsurprisingly" nobles. The eighth son of this Kingdom, the daughter of an Archduque, not Talonwing thank goodness, and the son of a rich Marquis. The three of noble, neutral about us as we were neutral about them, we all ignored and made space around each other. . . Until. . .' He slammed himself on the table.
'Hey! Be careful with you forehead!' I scolded him by taking his head up with my hands. 'What happened?' I asked getting worried.
Charlie sighed once again and just took a letter from his pocket and gave it to me. 'It. . . It-urg. . . Seems. . . That I finally understood what you me at to tell me about running my mouth through the mud. . .' He shrunk in his chair afterwards.
Oh no. I looked at him. Then at the letter with a magnificent unicorn with wings wax stamp on the letter. Next I looked at Lottie who was blushing for something she was bound to tell me.
Oh no.
OH NO!!!!