Maglins and the Infinite Quest

20

Pipher Green

The days I spent with Anna were very relaxed, we'd wake up, go on a small adventure, play some games, and then spend the night together at the house. I hadn't gotten a lot of alone time to read both of my books but I didn't mind because the time spent with Anna was always good.

I also had not gotten a chance to ask Mr. Bennet about the stories he had from Maglins yet, I guess I was waiting for him to warm up to me.

***

It was Christmas Eve morning, looking out the window was tons of snow falling very quickly. The roads and paths looked to be covered in at least a foot of snow.

Because of the amount of snow and how cold it was outside, many people, including Mr. and Mrs. Bennet didn't go to work. Though they weren't my parents, they made me feel welcomed and like I was at home.

That day because we all stayed inside and spent time with each other, I took this as an opportunity to get to know her parents more.

"I heard you went to Maglins when you were younger," I spoke to Mr. Bennet.

He looked up from the newspaper from the previous day that he was reading and said, "I did,"

"How different was it?" I coughed nervously, "Like from now,"

"A lot changed. We used to have a lot of competitions and contests and whichever team won would get extra credit," He spoke, "There were six teams or so, all mixed with grade levels and age groups,"

"What kinds of competitions were there?" I asked.

"Running or swimming contests, there were some games, but I don't remember those very well. For a brief few years there was polo but once the coach retired they stopped," He ranted, "I used to be real good at some of the games,"

There were plenty of questions swarming through my mind but it felt rude to ask so many.

"Do you have any more fun stories from Maglins?"

"I have plenty," He said, staring off toward the fireplace, "Like the time I caught a student getting frisky with a student and the time a food fight broke out during a feast,"

I laughed in disbelief, "A food fight broke out??"

"It was during my third year right before Christmas holiday, once the headmaster stopped his discussion and we all began eating, a student started bickering with another. Next thing I knew, food was being tossed around left and right,"

"Did the headmaster try to stop them?" I said, still in disbelief.

"Oh yeah. The only thing that stopped everyone was when he threatened to suspend us or give bad marks," He laughed, "I don't even know what the fight was about in the first place. The kids got in another fight a few months later and they were both permanently suspended,"

"What about the time when you caught a student with a teacher?" I asked curiously.

Without noticing that I had let my curiosity get the better of me, I kept asking questions.

"It was an eventful six years," He spoke, giving me a pat on the shoulder as he stood up, "I think dinners ready,"

We had a small feast for dinner, saving the large feast for tomorrow evening. Afterwards the four of us sat in the living room in the rocking chair and on the sofa. Mr. Bennet read a Christmas story to us all. Part way into the story there was a knock on the door to which we all stood up to look out. It was a group of carolers.

They sang a song to which we all listened before they left to go to another house. We finished the story before it was time to go to bed. The whole house was very well decorated, Christmas lights hung, the tree was brightly decorated with many ornaments, some looked like ones Anna had made when she was much younger.

The ambiance made me feel very comfortable.

Once it was time for bed, Anna gave her parents a hug goodnight and I said goodnight to them as well. We both went upstairs to go to bed.

Christmas Eve was one of those nights where going to bed early felt wrong but so right at the same time. The sooner I fell asleep, the faster Christmas would come, but the sooner I fell asleep, the sooner the magic of Christmas Eve would be over.

"Goodnight Anna," I said, changing into plaid pajama pants and a long sleeve soft top.

"You're not gonna sleep in my bed?" Anna said, almost pouting.

I tried not to give in to her but seeing anything but a smile on her face made me sad. I picked myself out of bed and walked to her room, climbing in bed with her. She laid on her back beside me, looking up toward the ceiling.

The large window in her bedroom had a nice view of the town and in front of it was a small sofa type thing so you could sit and look out.

The room was completely dark apart from the tiny bit of natural light the snow gave off, which wasn't much.

As we laid in bed, we began spooning, her being the small spoon once again. It was about 9pm then and we both fell asleep.