Khrysopos ✔

THIRTY SEVEN

- Juliet's POV -

Greece. That is where their destination was. Beautiful Greece.

Juliet loved Carlton for this. Honestly. She nudged Alex. "Isn't this gorgeous?"

"It's beautiful," he agreed.

You're beautiful, Juliet thought.

They checked in at a hotel, and were splitting rooms.

She was sharing with Alex. Initially, she was supposed to share with Vans, but she threatened the receptionist. When they reached their room, she continued to arrange her clothes properly and made sure everything was organised. There was small chit-chat.

"Did you hear that Altair shut down?" Alex said.

Juliet blinked. Slowly turned. "What?"

He nodded. "Some private scandal. They shut down all of the institutions."

Altair was a group of schools that had branches all over the world. She had attended Altair in Russia. And if it shut down, then that meant...

"I'm assuming all the students are now shifting schools?" Juliet said.

He nodded. "Probably to Carlton or Swendway or Lexington. They're the only other academies with a huge reputation."

"I guess my old friends may join my new school, huh," she said quietly. Oh god. Maya and Nikolai could come to Carlton. That would be a nightmare.

"I'll have the same situation," Alex said.

Juliet was confused. "Weren't you always at Carlton?"

He shook his head. "I left Carlton when I was fourteen. I came back this year. Everyone already knew me so it wasn't much of a big deal when I was back."

"Where did you study before then?"

"In Japan."

"Aren't you Chinese?"

"I am. But my mother was working in Japan. She settled in Singapore."

"Ah. So you speak both Japanese and Mandarin, then? As well as Cantonese?"

"Yes. All three languages. Fluently."

"Of course it's fluent," Juliet rolled her eyes. "Over-achiever."

He smiled.

Juliet went back to her organizing. When she felt satisfied with what she had done, Alex chuckled softly. "Are you happy now?"

"Very."

A phone rang. Juliet answered it. "Yes?"

It was Vans. "Juliet. Wear something beach worthy. Today is relaxation day. Be down by three pm. You'll be assigned a car and taken to a beach where you'll meet the others. You can relax and do whatever it is the hell you do. You'll be escorted back to the hotel by six pm." He cut the phone.

Juliet rolled her eyes. "Well, wasn't that very polite."

Alex frowned. "Do you want me to talk to the hotel management about the attitude of their staff? I could - "

Juliet laughed. "Not staff. Vans."

"Oh. Well. I have gossip on that one if you want to ruin him."

Juliet grinned. "Have I mentioned just how much I appreciate you?"

***

Juliet swam and played in the water all day. Not to mention play throwball with the boys. She had immense fun. During throwball, Nyssa's team won, of course.