The Last Light Keeper

Chapter 4: Practice Makes Perfect

Aster slept straight through the whole night and by the time she finally woke up she could tell she was running somewhat late. She hurried into her uniform, smoothed out her hair, and gulped down some water after cleaning her teeth before heading out the door without even looking at the clock.

Aster could definitely tell she was running late when she noticed Sebastian fast walking towards the direction of homeroom. She hollered at him and jogged over. When she got closer, she got a better look at his face. The bruise under his left eye remained, but the swelling was pretty much non-existent. He definitely looked better.

"You seem to be running late?" he chuckled as they kept up a brisk pace.

"I overslept," Aster panted, "I didn't even eat breakfast."

Sebastian reached into his pocket and pulled out a lumpy granola bar, stretching it out to Aster as they moved. "Here. I always eat on the go."

"I don't want to eat it if it's your breakfast."

"Don't worry, I've got extra food. Sometimes I get so busy, I even miss lunch. I'd offer you my peanut-butter sandwich, but it got a little smushed in my pocket."

Aster laughed. "The granola bar is perfect, thank you."

They walked into class with only a second to spare before the bell sounded. The two empty seats were the same seats they sat in the day prior. Aster had noticed one more empty seat; Huck's.

Aster made it through the first two class hours without much fuss. Potions class wasn't as eventful as the first two days, either. Professor Heathcliff assigned silent reading for the entire class hour. Fourth hour and lunch both went pretty smoothly as well. As soon as sixth hour rolled around, Aster felt the butterflies in her stomach as she practiced what she wanted to say to Huck. She wondered if he would even show up today, since he ditched out of homeroom and she didn't notice him at lunch either.

Luckily, as soon as Aster entered the classroom, Huck was already sitting in the same seat he had yesterday. They were early enough to have a good few minutes to chat. She hurried over and took her spot next to him.

"Hi," Aster smiled at him.

Huck managed a polite smile and nodded.

"How is your hand?"

Huck's eyes trailed down to his fist that had come in contact with his former best friend. It was slightly red, but other than that it wasn't too bad.

Huck shrugged. "It's all right."

"Well, Sebastian is okay if you're wondering," Aster told him.

"I figured. He's been through worse than that."

Aster wondered how to tip toe around the subject, but after a moment she decided to get to the points. Huck seemed like a straightforward guy.

"Do you think you guys will ever reconcile?"

Huck's face slightly grimaced. "I'm assuming he told you what he did."

Aster didn't say anything, she just kept her eyes in contact with Huck's glower.

"Hmph. Of course he did. I'm assuming he told you about my lineage?"

Aster's face turned red. Even if she wanted to, she knew she wouldn't be able to deceive him.

"I should've known."

"The only reason he told me is because I'm trying to help," Aster countered. "He knows that you both can trust me."