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The Future’s Promise morning bell rang at the break of dawn.
Not literally – school usually began at 11AM – but with a seven-day school week supplemented by the usual demands of the night shift, it sure often felt that way. Besides, the phrase was pretty neat. Carina was rather proud of it. It sounded like one of those lines that you’d read in a novel, perhaps in a character’s internal monologue, that served to set the mood for a scene and stick in your head for some short while after reading it.
Amahle was insistent that Carina become a novelist after the whole Magical Girl thing burned out. It sounded appealing, so long as she could shake the mortifying feeling that came whenever anybody read her writing.
Anybody besides Amahle, of course, sharing with her was so much less exhausting than with anyone else. It was one of the infinite reasons she loved her.
Carina blinked. What was she talking about? Oh- yes- right- Future’s Promise ran seven days a week, ostensibly to make up for time lost by the shorter school days, but more practically to provide an easy opportunity for a head count each morning. This meant that the school usually wouldn’t mind a few absences so long as one made sure to notify them in advance.
They were even kind enough not to require a reason. It was a small gesture, one that wouldn’t be at all noteworthy if all the city’s schools could be as understanding about absences, but still a comforting reminder that much of the staff were once young girls facing the same things as their students.
So it was that on this cheerful summer morning, Carina was able to get herself excused from school. Taking regular breaks was important. Especially when being both an active Magical Girl and a celebrity. A few days off went a long way in making sure that one never became overwhelmed by their duties.
Her morning was pleasant. Carina’s parents were off to work before she woke up, as usual, leaving her alone in the house. Leisurely, she managed to pry herself from the comfort of her bed, and slip into her favourite sky-blue bathrobe.
She stopped and yawned on her way out of her bedroom. It was a nice feeling, sleeping in.
Following her usual path downstairs, Carina made her way to the kitchen where she put on a pot of tea. It warmed her right up, and she set down her cup on the kitchen counter ready to begin the day.
Were this a usual self-care day, Carina probably would’ve sat herself down on the armchair in the living room and gotten to work on the growing pile of purchased-but-not-read books in the corner. Alas. Today, she had an errand to run.
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There was a nice bookstore near the North Northwest station, right on the route between Amahle and Carina’s houses. The two girls liked to meet there often, and on one such outing Amy had offhandedly expressed interest in a newly released romance novel. At the time, they’d been in a hurry to catch the next train back to Amy’s house, but Carina hadn’t forgotten.
Ironically, Amy wasn’t the biggest fan of the heat. On a warm, humid day like this, Carina wouldn’t dare ask her darling girlfriend to suffer the elements in order to meet for book shopping. That didn’t matter though – if she couldn’t bring Amy to the bookstore, she’d just bring the book to Amy.
It didn’t take long to find what she was looking for. The book was pricey, seemingly a bestseller with only one copy left in stock, but no problem for either girl’s income from Junetag advertisements alone. Cost never really mattered when picking out gifts like this, Carina would happily spend for whatever she needed for her Flamesy, and likewise didn’t care whether any of the gifts that she received were particularly cheap. Amy had thought of her when she saw it, and to her, that was priceless.
The sun was high in the centre of the sky by the time Carina left the bookstore. Perfect, she thought, enough time to explore the nearby stores and have a nice lunch before visiting Amy.
As she made her way from store to store, something caught her eye. Displayed in the front window of a games store, a medium-thin book with a colourful glossy cover. Her heart skipped a beat. It was the third volume of a trade paperback series compiling issues of her favourite comic book series. A series about a hockey team. A sports comic.
Suddenly, Carina was acutely aware of every person nearby. People knew who Melty Frost was. Even now, she could see people who recognised her, trying to catch subtle glances at her. By now, she’d long since learned how to ignore the prying eyes of the public, especially when she could get lost in Amy’s eyes instead.
But she had a reputation to uphold. Carina Thomsen was not a sports fan, and if her guilty pleasure of strangely heartwarming comic books about hockey was found out, she’d be mortified.
The book was so tempting, but… she could always come back for it later. When things were less busy. In heavy disguise. For now, she’d have to leave it behind.
Despite that discouraging moment, things picked up quickly. The wraps from that sandwich place by the station were as good as always, and on her way up to read the train schedule, she came face-to-face with a surprise on the other side of the tracks.
Amy. Staring at her, equally shocked, holding something in her arms.
A moment passed. Then they took off sprinting down the respective stairs they’d taken up to the station platform.
Carina ran into Amy on the way out of the station, awkwardly trying to pull the novel from her shoulder bag as she approached. Managing to pull it out, she turned to fully face her girlfriend, and then both girls spoke at once:
“I have a gift for you.”
Carina blinked. She at Amahle, arm outstretched, holding a medium-thin book with a colourful glossy cover.
Amahle grinned as she took the novel from Carina’s own hand. “You know me so well.”
“And you, I.” Carina reciprocated, stuffing the comic book into her bag before anybody could see it.
“You wanna get ice cream?”
Carina smiled. “I’d like that.”
Founder, she loved her girlfriend.