Opportunity

Soon, Mamanan's mother arrived. She was slightly on the older side of middle-age and from the brief talks he had with her, she had four other daughters. Mananan was her youngest and probably her last. She took her seat beside him on the beach.

"Leo, good evening."

"Good evening back, Mrs. Nani. You look a bit weary."

"Ah, well, I do some tutoring on the side," Mrs. Nani said. "It can get taxing dealing with magic."

"Ohh, magic?"

"Ah, I haven't told you, did I? Well, that is what I do. I do tutoring for students at Arcadia Academy."

Huh? Wait…

"So you're a professor?"

Shit, too much?

"No, no, certainly not, although I was a student there. Graduated a long, long time ago." Phew! Good. No, great. Mrs. Nani smiled and turned to watch their kids playing. "Obviously, no matter the year, there are always students that struggle. Some of the professors know me and recommend me as the best option. It is more of a side-job than anything."

"That's amazing…"

"Haha, it's nothing."

"So, I'm curious…what's it like?"

He had to ask. He had to know. What was Arcadia Academy truly like? An academy that trained the youth into fully-fledged Wizards and Sorcerers...

"It's been over three decades since I graduated," Mrs. Nani said, "but I do visit from time to time. Some things have changed, others have stayed the same. Like, for example…"

Professors. Culture. 

Much of the conversation focused on Arcadia Academy, the professors, that sort of thing. Leo spent three hours asking and questioning, all under the guise of a curious single father. A local barista who had never done or learned magic. Not every single person could wield magic. Not everyone was born with it either. 

The stars were dimming in the sky. 

"It's getting late," Mrs. Nani said. She flagged her daughter over who pouted and shook her head. "Mananan, we have to go. We have to make dinner, remember? We promised I'd teach you."

"Okay, mother…" 

Pouting, Mananan walked over. Phoebe was next to her, smiling cutely at her father. 'Right, the plan.' 

"Ahem." Leo cleared this throat. "Phoebe, did you have fun?"

"I did! Mananan is my best friend in the whole wide world! We caught so many butterflies!"

The usually quiet, shy girl smiled upon being proclaimed as her best friend. 

"Daddy!" Phoebe made a whining proclamation and grabbed his leg. "Can we pweaaase have a sleepover! Please, please, pleeeease!"

"Oh, a sleepover!" Cue the dramatic gasp. "Phoebe, you know I can't do that. You have tutoring, remember?"

As if. Phoebe wasn't tutored. She learned to read and write with a mix of his guidance and her own natural intelligence. She was three years old but her mental and physical state was closer to an eight year old. 

"But Daaaad! You know I don't need it!"

"Mother, um, maybe me and Phoebe can read together?" Mananan suggested quietly. Ooh, nice, the daughter was on their side. 

'Good job, Phoebe. I'd give you a thumbs-up if I could.'

"Hrm…" Mrs. Nani looked between them and then met Leo's eye. "Leo, I don't think I've asked this before, but do you live closeby?"

"No, we live a fifteen minute walk."

More like a twenty-five minute walk. 

"Hrm. Then how about Phoebe sleepover at our place? It will be safer and closer that way." She didn't mean to imply that where he lived was dangerous so she backtracked. "My place is closer, is all. See?" She pointed to where it was, a short distance at the edge of the park where a row of homes lined the street. The Nani home was modest and well-kept.

'I know.' Leo smiled in his head. 'Success.' 

"That's fine. It's a bit of a spur of the moment but…" He looked at Phoebe. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"Mananan's been begging me all week!"

"N-no, I haven't," the shy girl replied, reddening.

"Hehehe, she definitely did!" 

"Okay, okay, so it's settled." Leo looked at Mrs. Nani. "I hope it isn't too much trouble?"

"It won't. I'm so, so glad that Manaman has made a good friend." The middle-aged woman wore a smile that was between relief and joy. She reached forward and offered Phoebe a hand. "So thank you, Phoebe."

Phoebe proudly shook her hand.

A couple minutes later, they were at their door. Phoebe and Mananan were inside and Leo was at the front door about to leave.

"Thank you," Leo said. In his head, he was pumping his fist triumphantly. Finally, he thought. A night—and a day—where he could focus on figuring things out.

"It's no trouble," Mrs. Nani said, glancing over her shoulder. "Well, maybe a little trouble. I expect lots of running. When my younger daughters had friends over, every single time no matter how they were, they ended up either playing tag or hide and seek. This little house can only take so many kids beating on its staircase."

"Knowing Phoebe…yeah, expect tag."

"I'll get them water ready in advance," Mrs. Nani said with a chuckle. 

Leo was prepared to leave. He would have if not for one teeny, tiny thing. He cleared his throat and leaned in. "Uh, I don't mean to…well, it's a bit…not that big of an issue but…"

Okay, damn it, sending her off like this suddenly made him feel nervous. 

"Don't worry, I've done this five times before." Mananan's mother said, smiling. "What's wrong?"

"Phoebe…struggles with potty training." Correction: her potty training was still in progress. She was three years old and although she looked and talked like an eight year, she wasn't. 

"Oh? Eight years old and still struggling, hm? That's no issue. I'll do my best."

Leo let out a genuine sigh of relief. "Thank you."