"Glad you could make it Jason," she replied, "did you finish your homework?"
"Yep, right before coming here"
Together we headed to the kitchen.
“Would you set the table Jason?” she asked as we walked through the doorway.
“Of course,” I answered and went to the cabinet. I grabbed the plates and silverware and carried them to the table. As I finished placing them around the table, Mom called the rest of the family. Moments later my older sister, Crystal, my dad and my little brother, Hunter, walked in. Together we carried the food to the table and sat down.
“How was everyone’s day today?” Dad asked as we began to eat.
“It was okay,” we all replied and then went about planning what to do that night. In the end we decided to go swimming. We ate dinner and then hurried upstairs to change into our swimsuits. I ran outside and jumped into the pool behind the house and was soon joined by the rest of the family.
“Hey, Crystal,” I called out, “race you to the other side of the pool!” We began the race. I was in the lead, but in the last few seconds she sped up, beating me to the edge.
“I win again!” she said laughing.
“I’ll win next time,” I said before splashing water at her. Before long, the whole family was laughing and splashing water around.
After a couple hours of various water games Mom wearily said, “Time to go inside everyone.”
“Do we have to?” Hunter whined, “I want to keep playing.”
“Sorry, Hunter,” Dad said, “but Crystal and Jason have school tomorrow. We’ll get back in tomorrow after lunch.” He accepted this and climbed out of the water, soon followed by the rest of us. As I walked toward the house I heard a deep voice in the distance. I looked over in the direction it was coming from and saw Krag, one of the forest guardians, waving me towards him. I let Dad know where I was going and then ran over to where he was waiting.
“Jason! I have a note for you from Ivan!” he said slowly, “It just arrived by tree whisper.” He reached up into his leafy branches and produced a large leaf with writing on it. I read it to myself quickly.
Jason, something has come up and you are now to meet with Professor Drake an hour before class starts tomorrow morning. Don't be late. - IVAN
“Thanks, Krag,” I said to him, “I’ve got to go now, but I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Goodbye Jason,” he rumbled in reply. I watched as he turned and walked back up the hill. Just before I went inside I heard a rustle of leaves and turned. I saw Krag waving to me again, and so I smiled and waved back. Then I grabbed my towel and went inside.
Once I had changed out of my swimsuit, I headed for the living room where everyone else was sitting. As I entered I saw Dad grabbing a book from the shelf.
“Oh, there you are Jason, “he said, “we were wondering where you were. Are you going to read with us tonight?”
“Sorry,” I replied sadly, “but I have an early day tomorrow so I’ve got to get to bed.”
“That’s okay,” Mom said.
“See you at school tomorrow, Jason,” Crystal said, and then laughed, “maybe we can stop by the arena after school and train.”
“Sounds good to me!” I laughed and headed out the door, “Goodnight everyone!” I stepped out onto the lawn and whispered, Ot Ym Mrod Moor¹. In a flash of light I was on the steps of the dorm rooms. I said my password to the door and walked in. To my surprise, Max was asleep in his bed in the corner. I noticed that his water and food bowls were almost empty so I carried them into the kitchen and refilled them.
As I set the refilled bowls down I noticed the silent, unmoving Clickety sitting on the couch.
“Poor Clickety, it looks like playing with Max wore you out,” I said and dispelled him so that he could recharge. I ate a small bowl of vanilla ice cream and then got ready for bed. After reading a little of my book, I fell asleep.
_________________
¹ Oht-Yim-Ma-Rod-Moor
