(Ash's pov)
"Ugggg! Do we reeaally have to have school today?" I complained as Serena and I walked down the hall.
Serena put her hands on her hips.
"Yes we do, just because we're away from the academy doesn't mean we have to stop working." She said.
"But Sereenaaa!" I said with puppy dog eyes.
Serena crossed her arms.
"Nope, beg all you want Ashy, but it isn't going to work on me." Serena said.
I sighed.
"Yeah I know, it was worth a shot though." I replied.
Serena walked slightly ahead, then spun around to face me.
"I'll tell you what, if you can go the rest of the morning without complaining, we can go out to the garden for lunch and have a nice picnic together. Deal?" Serena said with a wink.
"Hmmm, I donno..." I said jokingly.
"Oh come on Ashy!" Serena said with a pouty face.
I couldn't help but laugh.
"I was just kidding Sere, you can be so gullible sometimes." I said, laughing.
Serena punched my arm playfully.
"Jerk, stop teasing me!" Serena said.
"Okay sorry, I just couldn't resist, you're just so cute when you get flustered." I said.
Serena blushed madly.
"You think I'm C-c-cute, really?" Serena stuttered.
I started to blush too.
"Y-yeah, of course you are, I mean, I've always thought that." I said.
Serena's face lit up witha bright smile.
We stopped and shared a quick kiss.
"You know, you're the best Ashy, I love you." Said Serena happily.
"Nah, I'm not as great as you are Sere, I love you too." I replied.
The two of us quietly walked hand-in-hand down the hall. Then a thought came to mind.
"Hey Sere?" I said.
"Hm?" She replied.
"How are we supposed to get to the academy on time? I mean, it's pretty late and it's gonna be a pretty long drive." I said.
"Oh I'm sorry I forgot to mention that we're not going to the academy for a while, we'll be studying here." Replied Serena.
"Oh yeah, I guess that would kinda defeat the purpose of us staying here." I said with a chuckle, feeling a little dumb.
"Yeah, pretty much." Said Serena with a giggle.
After a minute of walking, we made it to the dining room. It was, like everything else in this place, massive. It had a long black marble topped table with at least 30 seats, there were three giant crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and there was a terrace with a large staircase that lead into the back courtyard.
When we walked in, we were greeted by a familiar butler.
"Good morning your highness, oh and to you too Ash!" Said Brock waving.
"Morning Brock!" I replied.
"Good morning Brock, I didn't know you and Ash knew each other." Serena said surprised.
"We met yesterday, he helped me find my room." I said.
"Yep, I couldn't just leave you to find it on your own. It's easy get lost in here if you aren't familiar with the place." Said Brock.
"Yeah, no kidding." I replied.
The three of us continued to chat for a moment, but we were quickly interrupted.
*ruuummmble*
I put my hand on my stomach.
"Heh, sorry about, I guess I'm a little hungry." I said, scratching the back of my head.
Serena looked as if she was about to say something, probably along lines of "That was rude Ashy" or something of the sort. However, she stopped and corrected herself.
"Hey come to think of it, we never ate dinner last night, I can imagine your starving." Said Serena.
"Nah, don't worry I'll be-" I started to say.
*Ruuuummmmbbbblleee*
Serena and Brock sweat-dropped.
"You know, I think I could go for something right about now." I said.
Brock smirked.
"Well if it's food your after, you've come to the right place! I don't think I told you yesterday, but I am the castle's head chef!" Brock said proudly.
"Whoooa, for real?" I asked in amazing.
"Brock's cooking is the best, I think he may be even better than Cilan." Serena said.
"Aaawesoome!" I said.
Brock stylishly flips out a note pad and a pen.
"Okie dokie you two, what can I get you this morning?" Asked Brock.
"I'll have the chocolate and banana crepe!" Serena said with excitement.
Just hearing that made my mouth water.
"I'll have what she's having!" I said.
Brock jotted down our order.
"Alright, two choco-nana crepes coming up. Oh, and I left your school work for today over there at the end of the table. You two can go ahead and get started and I'll have your crepes out in a few." Brock said as he walked into the kitchen.
"Thanks Brock!" We both said.
Serena turned to me.
"So, are you ready to get started?" Asked Serena.
I sighed.
"Yeah, I guess so." I replied.
The two of us then headed over to where our stuff was stacked up. I was expecting to see a stack of papers and books, but to my surprise there were just two tablets. That's a relief, I've gotten rather spoiled by the electronic desks at the academy, I don't know what I'm gonna do if I end up failing the mid terms and have to go back to using regular stuff.
I stopped for a moment to ponder that last thought. The mid terms haven't really been front and center in my mind lately. Of course considering the circumstances, who could blame me. I wonder...what will I do if I fail? What will happen to Serena and me? Will we have to break up!?
A slight feeling of helplessness began to build up inside me as I considered that unfortunate possibility. Serena could tell something was bothering me. She put a hand on my shoulder.
"Ash, is something bothering you?" She asked, sounding concerned.
"Hmm? Oh uh, no I'm fine, really." I said.
Serena was quiet for a second.
"You're lying...Ash if you have something on your mind, please tell me." She said, taking my hand in hers.
"It's...it's about the mid terms. I'm worried that if I fail, you and I will have to brea-" I started to say.
"Stop right there mister! There's no way I'm ever going to let that happen! Even if you do fail Ash, my love for you isn't going to change just because of your test scores. I am YOUR girlfriend, and it doesn't matter if you're here or halfway across the world, that isn't going to change. So stop thinking so negatively, okay?" Serena said, her voice filled with passion.
I gave her a loving hug.
"Thank you Serena, I feel the same. Regardless of what happens, we're gonna make this work." I said.
"That's right, but don't think this gives you a pass to slack off." Serena said jokingly.
"Wouldn't dream of it!" I replied.
We shared a quick but loving kiss and got started on our school work. The system on the tablets was almost identical to the system on the academy desks, just a bit more compact. We were blazing through history for about 20 minutes, when we heard the kitchen door open.
"Hey sorry about the wait you two, but breakfast is served!" Brock said.
Brock laid our plates on the table and oh man, I don't think I've ever seen anything that looked this good before.
My eyes began to sparkle as I gazed upon this glorious work of art.
"Wooooow!" I exclaimed.
"Well what are you waiting for, give it a try!" Brock said.
"Don't mind if I do!" I said.
I took a bite and there are no words to describe how good it was.
"Uuuuhhhhhmmm!" Was all I could say.
Brock and Serena both started laughing.
"I think he likes it." Brock said.
"See, I told you his cooking was the best!" Serena said.
After a minute or so, Brock headed back into the kitchen and Serena and I finished our breakfast.
"Ahh, now that's what I luxury. Serena, I don't know how you do it, I would weigh a ton if I had that kind of food available to me 24/7." I said.
"It's all about moderation Ash, though I admit it isn't easy." Serena said, giggling at the last part.
We continued to work for another hour. We finished history and math and we just started working on science. I have to say, I really liked our set up here. We were able to get our school work finished while Serena was able to help tutor me at the same time! There was one thing I was wondering though...
"Hey Serena, just out of curiosity, is our school day here the same length of time as our regular day?" I asked.
"Oh heavens no, we're doing this homeschool style, so we just have to work until we get finished." Serena said.
"Awesome!! So how much longer do you think it's gonna take us?" I asked.
"Hmm, let me check." Serena said as she scrolled over to the assignments tab on her tablet.
"Since it's 10 am right now, we should be finished by around 1 or so if we keep this up." She said.
"That sounds great, let's hurry so we can be finished by lunch!" I said.
On that note, we worked as quickly as we could to finish our work. I couldn't help but think about how much I wished regular school was like this.
After a few hours passed, we finally finished our last assignment for the day. We ended up going a little over and finished at 1:30, but it's no biggie.
The two of us stood up and stretched
"Okay, so are you ready to head out?" Asked Serena.
"Actually, is it okay if I run to my room and grab my phone first? I want to take a few pictures to send to the fam." I replied.
"Sure, I'll go ahead and get Brock to start making lunch and I'll be outside." Said Serena.
"Okay, I'll be back in a sec." I said.
I made my way to my room and picked up my phone off of the bedside table. I started to take pictures of my room and the view outside.
"Man, mom's gonna love these." I said to myself.
I paused for a moment, then a sly grin formed on my face.
"You know who else would love these...Gary." I said maliciously.
I immediately texted the pictures I took to Gary. Seeing as though I haven't talked to him since I got here, I have plenty to tease him about.
Within seconds my phone rang.
"Heellooo!" I said with a very trolling tone.
"Ashy-boy what the heck man!? I don't hear from you in almost two months and out of nowhere you send me this!?" Said Gary.
"Heh, sorry about that man, I've been a little...busy. To say the least." I said.
"Pfft, sure you were. So where are you anyway?" Asked Gary.
My sly grin grew.
"I'm actually in my dorms, whatcha think?" I said.
"WHAT!? No way, that's a load of bull!" Gary said.
"I'm serious man! This place is amazing. There's room service available 24/7 and everything!" I said.
"Gaaahhh! Why couldn't I have passed that stupid test!!" Gary said.
"Aw don't worry Gary, maybe next year." I said.
"Oh don't maybe next year me! What's next, you gonna tell me you got a hot girlfriend too?" Said Gary.
My grin's sly level was over 9000 at this point.
"As a matter of fact I do!" I said.
What happened next was just too perfect. I heard a knock at the door.
"Ashy? What's taking you so long, let's go!" Said Serena.
"Ashy!?" Yelled Gary.
I tried my best not to burst out laughing.
"Yeah, just a sec Gary. Hold on just a second Serena, I'll be right there!" I called back.
"SERENA!? Wait, you mean your dating....?" Gary said.
"Yep, my girlfriend is Princess Serena! It was good talkin' to you Gary my man, but I've got a date, tootles!" I said.
".....FU-!"
I hung up before Gary could finish and immediately fell on the floor laughing. Serena opened the door and looked at me extremely confused.
"Uhh, you okay Ash?" She asked.
"Yeah, I was just messing with a friend from back home." I said.
Serena giggled.
"Well then, I hope one day you'll introduce me to him." Serena said innocently.
The thought of Gary's reaction to that made me laugh even harder.
Serena had no idea what was going on. Eventually I was able to stop laughing enough to speak.
"Yeah definitely, I'm sure he would love to meet you. So you ready to go?" I said
Serena nodded.
"Mhm!" She said.
"Then what are we waiting for, let's go!"