Rhapsody

Chapter XI | Vacation.

3:08 PM- Mark Denzle

34.2525313, 12.1217999

-MPD

3:10 PM- Mark Denzle

I'm not sure which one's which, though. The negative, I mean.

-MPD

3:27 PM- Mark Denzle

Never mind, I found it.

-MPD

Joy read all three of Markel's text messages with a sigh. Of all the places the Rhapsodies could've buried their stuff, it had to be the one place that Joy would never try to set foot into.

But instead of telling Markel that, she replied,

Cool. There's a sponsored trip to Crisis Island last time I checked. Students with As in all their classes can apparently tour the Federation of Islands to learn about their culture and history. I'm fine, what'd you think?

4:10 PM- Mark Denzle

I think I can make it. Does it cost money?

-MPD

Aside from airline tickets and just normal spending money, I don't think so.

4:16 PM- Mark Denzle

...I'll check the costs for the airline tickets. When is the trip?

-MPD

Winter Break 2.0- because it's open to all of the university's students. But I think only the first thirty to register get to go.

4:22 PM- Mark Denzle

So December 11-January 5? That's nice of them. How long has this thing been open?

-MPD

About a week or so. No one's really paid it any mind, though. Sign-up is in the Headmaster's office- or via private email.

4:50 PM- Mark Denzle

All right, I send him an email. Does Xavier want to go?

-MPD

'Xavier, Golden-Eyed Tiger, your roommate wants to know if you want to go to Crisis Island?' Joy's voice echoed through the mostly-empty cabin for a few seconds before a muffled reply came from underneath the bathroom door.

'Tell him yes! What about you?'

Joy counted to ten before replying, against her better will, 'I'll go.'

He said yes. So three slots.

5:02 PM- Mark Denzle

The Headmaster said yes. Last three slots are taken by us. Miraculous.

-MPD

I know right?!

Joy wished, deep down in her heart, that Markel would be able to sense the fear already creeping into her texts. But it was, after all, just texts, mere lines of words strung up together in a sentence that was not delivered face-to-face. If she'd wanted to clue Markel to her emotions, she'd have to use more than an emoji.

5:12 PM- Mark Denzle

All right. See you Wednesday.

Post-script: Tell Xavier that I apologise for tearing apart one of his beloved daisies. My bluebells are open for payback if he wants it.

-MPD

Why? What happened?

5:40 PM- Mark Denzle

Nothing of immediate concern. Don't trouble yourself over my issues.

-MPD

He didn't seem to want anyone to pry, so she decided to not push him until he wanted to release. Instead, she set the phone down onto the counter and slipped out of the cabin to the dock, where she took a small canoe and rowed her way to the small island in the middle of the large lake.

She moored her boat on the beach so when Xavier was done with his business, he'd know where to find her.

A/N: Phew! Shortest chapter so far... let's keep it at that. This chapter was written mainly using text messages because 1)lack of inspiration, 2)got distracted so I'm also writing a bit of a conference to use as a sounding board for my own thoughts, 3)unwanted crashes of this laptop (AKA it's running slower than usual) and 4)an even-more-unwanted crying session brought on by emotions! Let's hear it for the most annoying thing on Earth! (But really, Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core tore the metaphorical heart out of my chest and pumped it full of pain... because I loved every single one of the characters who... kind of... exist only in my  head now...)

The above picture is Funchal, which is where Crisis and Destiny Islands are located near. If anyone wants the map (yes, I have a map of all the made-up islands in this story), send me your email via private message, and I'll share it.

Keep it short. 

Right. Got it.

I have the next chapter planned out (kind of?) so... we'll see when it's uploaded.