Chapter Text
Entry 1
My older brother, Caleb, got this journal for me for my birthday. I plan on writing observations and thoughts here as time goes on.
Luz Noceda is not your typical teenager. Whereas other girls of her age might like wearing the newest clothing available at the mall, she likes dressing up as a wizard. Some people might say be more of a cat or dog person…but she prefers reptiles. Lastly, while some people might watch or read romance or horror series, she likes to watch anime and read fantasy books. Her mother, Camila, would be more appreciative of her creativity…if it were not for the fact that it often landed her into the principal’s office.
“...and that’s why Luz has to serve detention…again.”
“Mija, what were you planning to do with this?”, Camila says, while holding up a balloon filled with some sort of gray gas.
“It’s a smoke bomb! I was gonna use it as a magic trick so I could ‘disappear’ in front of people’s eyes!”, Luz says, with a passion in her eyes.
“Miss Noceda, some of our students have asthma. If you were to have popped that, you’d be risking one of them having an attack.”
“I was gonna use it far enough away for people to not inhale it!”
“You’re missing the point. You being in here so frequently isn’t an accident. You may not be intending to harm some people here, which is…more than I can say for some of our more violent students…but you do pose a threat. Which is why I’m asking…no, begging you to please think before acting, OK?”
“...I will. Sorry, I’ll be going now” Luz says, as she leaves the office with a defeated look on her face as Camila sighs.
“I really don’t know what to do with her…”
“Camila, have you heard of the ‘Reality Check Summer Camp’?”
“The what?”, Camila says with interest.
The principal hands her a pamphlet. She opens it and reads it.
“It’s a three month program where troublesome teenagers learn to balance checkbooks and appreciate public radio. I think it might be a good way for Luz to be less destructive, and perhaps make some friends in the process. It’s also free!”
Camila closes the pamphlet and puts it in her purse.
“I…will consider it. Thank you.”
“I don’t wanna go to summer camp, mom!”, Luz says, sitting at her desk while her mom stands in the doorway of her room.
“Luz, you need to learn some life skills.”
“But I’m only fifteen!”
“Yes, but you can never start too early. Besides…you might make some friends along the way. Ones who have similar interests as you. But you’ll never know unless you go.”
Luz sighs. “Fine, I’ll go", she says.
Camila walks over to Luz and hugs her.
“Gracias, mija. And…tell you what. Once you come back, I’ll get something for you.”
Luz gasps. “Will you finally get me that Shundoro Funky-pop?!”, she says.
“Sure, I’ll get you…whatever that is. But if you get sent home early for being disruptive, I won’t. So be on your best behavior, OK?”
“I promise I will!”, Luz says with a big grin on her face.
Camila walks with Luz, who is wearing a backpack, outside their house. Camila’s phone vibrates, and she takes it out of her pocket to see a text from work.
“I have to get to work. But the bus should be coming soon.”
Camila kisses Luz on her forehead before walking into the car and driving off. Luz paces around the front of the house, and notices her book, “The Good Warrior Azura” is in the trash bin outside.
“I was wondering where this went. How did it get here? Unless…no, did my mom throw it away?”
Luz takes the book out, dusts it off, and looks at it.
“What if…what if she doesn’t want me to go to camp to make friends and learn life skills? What if she wants to go so…I lose my desire to be creative?”
Luz puts the book in her backpack.
“Just because I’m a little…eccentric, doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with me! I just wish there was someone who understood that… ”
The nearby shed glows with a golden light, grabbing Luz’s attention. She notices the bus is nowhere to be seen, so she walks over to the shed and opens the door, where she finds something unexpected.
“Huh?”
Before her not was the inside of a shed but an entire forest. She walks through and looks around in utter awe.
“Wow…I don’t understand how this is possible…but it’s so cool!”
Luz snaps out of her amazement, as she notices there is a wine-colored zombie wearing only a loincloth heading for the open doorway. She instinctively rushes towards the door and closes it so it cannot escape. The zombie, however, has now turned its attention to her.
“I…don’t suppose you’re a friendly zombie, are you?”
The zombie slowly approaches her, and she backs up.
“Well…this has been fun, but I really gotta get going!”
Luz turns on her heel and dashes out of the forest, seeing spherical mice with pitchforks, stalky mushrooms with eyes and limbs, and slimes with a spike on their heads as she tries to get away, which begin to follow her. She turns her head to see the mob behind her.
“In hindsight…going to camp was a better idea!”
She finds her way out of the forest and stops to take a breath. She looks around to see a settlement nearby. She turns to see the monsters rapidly approaching her. She shakes her head before running towards a small village full speed. Once she gets there, she takes a seat on a set of nearby stairs. She takes a few deep breaths, and realizes that a person with pointed ears is looking at her.
“Um…why did you run into this village?”
“Oh, uh…I was getting away from some monsters…”
“That was unwise. You should never be outside a settlement without a weapon.”
“A…weapon?”
“Yeah, like a sword, a mace, or an ax…you know…to defend yourself from the monsters.”
It then occurred to Luz that her only way back home, to her knowledge, was through the door she came through...the one that was likely surrounded by monsters, who could easily injure her in a variety of ways. But if she could fight back…maybe she could have a shot.
“Oh, right…silly little me. Where can I get a weapon?”
“We have an armory in town. Just go there.”
“Thank you, sir!”, Luz says, as she stands up.
“Before you go…why are your ears…rounded?”
Luz feels her right ear, and notices that she is the only one in town that does not have pointed ones.
“Uh…birth defect?”
“Oh. Is your hearing impaired or anything like that?”
“No, no…I can listen just fine. Anyways…I gotta get going!”
Luz walks away and takes a look at the rustic and quaint village, with its buildings constructed from stone and timber. The grass is neatly trimmed and the flowers near the walls are blooming.
“OK, so…I stick out like a sore thumb…I have to hide my ears…”
Luz pulls up the hood on her short-sleeve hoodie as she looks around town until she finds a shop labeled “Armory”. She walks through the door and is astounded by the selection of weapons and armor available, hanging on the walls. She heads to the counter, where the armorer is waiting to assist her.
“Hi, uh…what weapon would you recommend for someone like me?”
“Uh…well, you seem to be somewhat of a lightweight…you might wanna wield a short sword.”
The armorer pulls out a short sword from underneath the counter and puts it on the counter. Luz picks it up and gives it a few swings and jabs, with a smile on her face.
“You like it?”
“Heck yeah! How much does this cost?”
“120 coins.”
Luz’s smile drops as she realizes that while she has money in her wallet, it must not have any value in the world she has found herself in. She puts the sword back on the counter.
“Um…what’s your cheapest weapon?”
“We have maces for 80 coins. But they’re not as powerful.”
“That’s fine! Now, uh…is there some sort of quick or easy way to get coins here?”
“Defeating monsters.”
“...one that doesn’t put me in danger?”
“I heard the innkeeper is hiring on the spot.”
“Uh…aren’t I a little young to be working?”
“Um…we don’t really have age requirements for employment here. As long as you have the know-how, attitude and physical capabilities, people of any age can be hired pretty much anywhere.”
“Er, well…I suppose that works in my favor, then…I’ll get the coins you need for a mace. Just don’t sell out!” Luz says, as she exits the shop in a hurry.
“Not like I could if I wanted to…”
Luz enters the two-story inn and almost immediately notices the lobby is empty and in disarray. Tables are unclean, chairs have been knocked over, and there is rubbish on the floor. She goes to the counter, where the innkeeper is reading a book about weasels.
“Hi, uh-”
“Oh, welcome to the Vault inn!”, the innkeeper says as she slams her book closed and puts it down. “How can I help you today?”
“Why…is this place so messy?”
“I’m the only employee here, and I have to stay at this desk to check in and check out customers, as well as give them anything they need, so I can’t really be occupying myself with other things.”
“How many guests do you have right now?”
“Let’s see, uh…” she picks up a list with today’s date written on it. “...we have a total of…zero guests right now.”
Luz facepalms. “Then it doesn’t really seem like you’re doing anything", she says.
“No, no! What if a paying customer walks in, and sees there’s nobody at the desk to check them in? I can’t have that!”
“I don’t think anyone wants to stay here. That’s probably why you have no guests.”
“But there could be someone!”
Luz sighs. “Look, I need some coins, so-”
“EXCELLENT! You’re hired!”
“What?! You didn’t even interview me!”
“No interview required! I just need someone to take care of the chores that I, sadly, am unable to perform at this moment in time.”
The innkeeper hands her a long list of tasks.
“You want me to do ALL of these?”
“I’m paying you, so yes.”
“How much am I getting per hour?”
“3 coins.”
“THAT’S IT?!”
“Young lady, I can only charge 4 coins per person. If I give you any more than that, I’d be cutting a loss.”
“You’re not even making any money now!”
“But I could be! Now…chop chop! Those chores won’t complete themselves!”
Luz grumbles as she heads towards the chairs and flips them upright.
“I feel like fighting monsters with my bare hands would be more fun than this…”
Luz checks off the last item on her list, which was to balance the inn’s checkbooks. She then slams the paper in front of the innkeeper, who has resumed reading her book.
“I did them. Every last one of them.”
The innkeeper closes her book and examines the work she did around the inn.
“Good! The inn looks significantly more presentable now. And, let’s see…you’ve been working for…” the innkeeper says, as she looks at the clock. “...an hour, which, by my calculations, means you’ve earned…uh…”
“...3 coins.”
“Right! Anyways, now the customers should be rolling in!”
The innkeeper looks at the door with anticipation.
“Any second now…”
“Uh…I think you need to promote the inn now. People must still think this place is a dump.”
“Ah…but I need to stay at this desk. Why don’t you do it?”
Luz sighs as she heads outside. She waves her arms around to get people’s attention.
“Hey, folks! Do you wish there was a place where you could have others serve you your basic necessities for a low price?”, Luz says as she puts on a fake smile.
“Yeah, I’d like that!”
“Me too!”
“I would scour the ends of Weyard for a place like that!”
Luz: “Well, you don’t need to! The Vault inn has been revamped! We got everything you need to make your stay as comfortable, for the cheap price of 4 coins per person per night!”
A few people rush into the inn, and Luz follows them inside.
“Hey, who do I talk to check in?!”
Luz: “You just talk to the innkeeper at the front desk!”
“There’s no one here, though.”
Luz runs to the counter and sees the innkeeper is gone. She looks over to the lobby and sees her having a sandwich for lunch.
“YOU! You literally have one job!” Luz shouts.
“I’m on my break!”
Luz grumbles as she heads behind the counter and checks everyone in. The innkeeper finishes her lunch then heads back over to Luz.
“Good work! Now, I’m heading home.”
“WHAT?!”
“Yeah, well…I’m tired. Running an inn isn’t easy, you know. I’ll be back in the morning. Make sure to get the customers what they ask for! And don’t steal anything, or I’ll have the police come after you!”
Luz can only watch in utter astonishment as her employer exits the inn.
“This is gonna be a long night…”
Night has fallen. Luz is struggling to keep her eyes open as she rests her cheek on her hand. She looks at the clock.
“Another 3 coins…yippee…only another, like, 20 hours to go before I can get a mace…and that’s assuming these people don’t have taxes…ugh…”
Luz rubs her eyes as three men, two lanky, and one burly enter the inn. The burly one has a bag slouched over his shoulder.
"Hi, welcome to the Vault inn. How can I help you tonight?”
“You got any open rooms?”, the man on the left says.
“Yeah. That’ll be 12 coins for the three of you.”
The man in the middle reaches into his pocket and pulls out 12 pyrite coins. He puts them on the counter and slides them over, and Luz hands him a room key with the number ‘219’ printed on it.
“The number on there matches the number on one of the doors upstairs. Please enjoy your stay.”
“Much appreciated”, the man on the right says.
The three men head up the stairs. Less than a minute later, a child and his father walk down the stairs and approach the counter.
“Sorry to bother you, but my kid here decided earlier today to fill his pockets with dirt, and empty them on the floor in our room.”
“...what’s your room number?”
“220.”
Luz walks over to the utility closet and takes out a broom and dustpan, and heads up the stairs with the two of them. Once they get to Room 220, the dad reaches into his pocket and unlocks the door, to reveal two small piles of dirt on the floor. Luz puts the dustpan on the floor, and sweeps the dirt into it. She then picks up the dustpan and empties most of it into a nearby trash can.
“Thank you!”
“No problem. Try not to get any more muck in here.”
“No promises!”
Luz then grabs the broom and dust pan, exits the room and closes the door.
“This is a genius idea, boss!” Luz hears from the other side of the door of room 219.
Luz curiously walks over and puts her ear to the door.
“Not so loud. We don’t want anyone to figure out what we’re up to.”
“Aww, quit worrying. This plan is flawless. Now that we’ve stashed the stolen goods here, we can give a tip about how they’re here, and that girl will get blamed for it.”
“Not to mention, they’ll give us a hefty reward and we’ll get off scot-free.”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s not waste any more time.”
Luz takes a few steps back as the men open the door and see her.
“...uh…what are you doing?”
Luz: “Me?! You’re the one who’s going around committing crimes!”
“I told you to be quiet!”
“Welp…looks like we’ve been found out. Guess we gotta make sure this kid can’t tell anyone.”
Luz drops the dustpan on the ground and puts on a brave face as she points the broom at the men.
Luz: “Stand back! I’m not afraid to use this broom!”
“What are you gonna do with that?”
“Dangit…I was hoping I could intimidate you” she says as the courage seems to drain from her.
One of them charges at her, and she aims the pointed end of the broom at him, which connects with his stomach. She gets pushed back a bit before he falls to the ground and holds his arms across his belly.
Luz: “Uh…is that all you got…?”
“I’ll show you what I got!”
Another tries to throw a punch at her, which she blocks with the broom, causing it to split in half. He throws another, but she ducks and uppercuts him in the chin, causing him to fall backwards onto the ground. The final man then pulls out a dagger as Luz drops the two halves of the broom on the floor.
“Enough games, kid!”
Luz then picks up the dustpan, and the burlier man laughs in response.
“You really think you can stop me with a dustpan?”
Luz looks at the dustpan, and notices there’s some leftover dirt, before she smirks.
“Think fast!”, she says, as she slings the dirt off the dustpan and into the man’s eyes.
The man clutches his eyes, screams, and trips over his own feet as he drops the dagger. Luz then picks it up as various people come out from their rooms due to the noise.
“What’s going on…?”
Luz then turns around to see that, from their point of view, she looks like an employee who has assaulted three of the inn’s guests.
“OK, guys…", Luz says, as she drops the dagger. "...I promise there’s a reasonable explanation for this…”
“Yeah, right! We’re telling the police!”
Luz: “No, wait!”
Luz’s plea is ignored as one of the guests dashes downstairs.
“I am never coming to this inn again!”
“Same here! I don’t care how low the prices are and how good the service is if the employees here are this psychotic!”
The guest comes back with the police chief.
“So you’re claiming this girl attacked three men for no reason, and was threatening to stab them with a dagger?”
“Yeah, look! She’s right there, with her victims behind her, and the dagger is at her feet! Arrest her!”
Luz hangs her head down.
“Now, hang on. I can’t just bring someone in based on a single assertion. I wanna hear her side of the story.”
Luz brings her head back up. “Y-yes! These three are thieves! They stole some items and stashed them somewhere in Room 219! They were trying to make me look like the culprit!”
“Hmm…room 219, you say?”
The chief heads into Room 219. After about a minute of looking, he comes out with a sack, and dumps the contents on the floor, including a Magic Rod, a mini golden statue, and a Vambrace. He picks them up and puts them back in the sack.
“Seems like she was telling the truth.”
“Ah, but…who’s to say that she didn’t put those there to frame us?”, one of the men on the ground says.
“That’s a good point. Unless any of you four have hard evidence to prove your claims…I’m afraid I’ll have to take you all in.”
Luz: “What?! But I’m too young to go to jail!”
“Relax, relax. We’ll just hold you there until we get Augustus to come over. He’ll be able to sort this out. Until then…come along, you four…”
“Can’t you just leave us here? We’re not really in any condition to try running away…”
“Yeah, I still can barely see…”
“Yeah, fine...", the chief says, as he points to Luz. "...but you, young lady, will have to come with me.”
“I understand”, Luz says, as she walks down the stairs alongside the chief.
Luz is sitting in a cell, while the chief sits at his desk outside sipping coffee from his mug. Two officers are standing outside the cell.
“Um…so who’s this Augustus you mentioned?”
“He’s a Jupiter Adept that lives in Vale.”
“Um…what’s an Adept?”
The chief puts down his mug with a suspicious look on his face. “Are you not from around here or something?”, he asks.
“Uh, no…I’m from…down south?”
“Ah, so Kalay?”
“Yeah, Kalay! That’s where I’m from.”
“OK...dunno why you don't know this, but...an Adept is someone who can control one, or all four elements. Jupiter adepts, specifically, can control the wind, lightning, and plasma. They also have the ability to read minds.”
“They can read minds?!”
“Yep. It’s not even possible for the person whose mind is being read for them to conceal anything, so it comes in handy for solving cases like this.”
Luz starts to sweat profusely.
“This is not good…if he finds out who I really am…!”
A young dark-skinned teenager with dark blue eyes and curly, black hair walks through the door. He is wearing a cyan tunic with gray sleeves, dark purple boots, charcoal tights, and a black belt.
Gus: “Detective Gus is on the case!”
Luz: “Sir, I’m not comfortable with this! I don’t even know this person, and he’s gonna be looking through all my personal thoughts!”
Gus: “Relax, it’s not like that. I’m not gonna be discovering your deepest desires or worst fears or anything like that. Just think about the events that took place tonight, and nothing else. Can you do that?”
Luz hesitantly nods, then the officer opens the cell and lets Gus inside. He gets close to Luz before closing his eyes. About 10 seconds later, he opens them.
Gus: “It’s done. Luz here is…innocent.”
“If that’s the case, then those thugs really did steal those items. Men, get those three in here.”
The two officers nod before leaving.
“And, Luz…was it? You’re free to go.”
Luz exits the cell with Gus.
“It just occurred to me…if it weren’t for you Luz, those thieves might have gotten away with their crimes. So…I think it’s only fair that I give you some coins for being a heroine.”
Luz: “C-coins!? How many?!”
“Normally, I’d give you the bounty on their heads…but since they didn’t have one, I’ll give you 100 coins for each of them…so, uh…that comes out to be…”
Luz: “300 coins total!”
“Right, right…let me gather that up for you”, the officer says, as he gets three small pouches with 100 coins inside.
“This is great! Now I have more than enough to get a short sword instead of a mace!”
The officer hands the pouches to her as the officers drag the three goons from earlier into the cell and lock it.
Luz: “Thank you, sir!”
“Sure. Don’t spend that all in one place. Or do. Makes no difference to me.”
Gus: “What are you gonna do with it?”
Luz: “Oh, I know exactly what I’m going to do with it!”
Gus: “You’ve piqued my interest. Mind if I join you?”
Luz: “Uh…sure? I’m not really doing anything exciting…”
Gus: “That’s fine. I just don’t wanna go home right away.”
Luz exits the jail with Gus.
Luz enters the armory with Gus. She takes out two of the pouches of coins, takes 20 coins out of one, and puts them on the counter alongside an unemptied pouch.
Luz: “One short sword, please!”
The armorer collects the coins, and takes out a short sword from underneath the counter and hands it to Luz. Her eyes light up as she holds it in the air.
Luz: “Finally! I have a way to defend myself!”
“Now you won’t have to use a broom to do so!” Gus says as he chuckles. “You gonna do anything else with your money?”
Luz: “No…this is really all I wanted.”
“We got armor, too…”
Luz: “No thanks!”
Luz exits the shop with Gus.
Gus: “Anyways, I’m heading back home. It was nice to meet you.
Gus starts to leave the village as Luz rests her back against the side of the shop.
“The chief…he said there are people in this world who can control the elements…but it doesn’t seem like everyone can. How does that work? Could…I maybe learn how to?”
Luz shakes her head.
“No, no…I need to get back home. That’s why I did all this.”
Luz then runs out of Vault towards the forest where the door was. She finds no monsters on her way there. She then gets to the door, opens it, and looks out for about 15 seconds.
“But what's really back home for me, besides people who don't understand me and want to be different?"
Luz takes out her phone and looks at it, not noticing it has No Service.
Come to think of it…mama must think I’m at camp. Even if I’m not…I learned how to balance checkbooks and all that. Plus, maybe I can make some friends while I’m here…with people who like me for me! But…I need to be honest with them…”
Luz puts her phone in her pocket, closes the door, and dashes out of the forest. She sees Gus in the near distance, defeating a wild mushroom using a small tornado. He picks up 2 coins after it fades into a pile of ash.
“GUS!”
Gus turns around to see Luz barreling towards her. She stops to catch her breath.
“Luz? What’s up?”
“Earlier, I was scared of you digging through my thoughts because you might discover something about me. Something that I don’t want people to know about me. But I need to tell you because-”
“Woah, Luz! I’m not interested in your fantasies…”
“No, no! Look, this is gonna sound crazy, but…I’m not from this planet.”
“...you’re right. You do sound crazy.”
“But it also happens to be the truth! And if you don’t believe me…look through my mind again.”
“Hmm...you want me to believe something absurd about you so much that you’ll let me, an almost complete stranger, go through your mind to prove me wrong? This sounds like a prank.”
“A…prank?”
“Yeah, you’re gonna make me see something disturbing that happened to you!”
“No, really! And, here…”, Luz says, as she pulls out one of her remaining unemptied pouches of coins and hands it to Gus. "...now I’m paying you to do it. And if it traumatizes you, ya know…that can go towards your therapy.”
Gus looks at the pouch before opening it, to see dozens of pyrite coins inside. He then closes and stuffs it in his pocket before closing his eyes. He opens them about a minute later.
“So…do you believe me now?”
“Uh, yeah…so you’re a…human, from a world called Earth, and you came here out of curiosity. While you were originally going to return after you got your sword back, you’ve now decided to stay here because you feel this is a place you belong.”
“Yeah! I was a nobody back home. But here…I can finally make something of myself, and hopefully make some friends along the way.”
“Look, I’m all for making your own path. But you do plan on going back once your summer camp ends, right?”
“Uh, yeah…I feel bad about lying to my mom…”
“Eh…seems like she didn’t really understand you, either. But as long as you do that, I’d say it’s justified.”
“Honestly, thanks, Gus. I’ve wanted to get that off my chest all day. But I needed someone who I trusted.”
“Y-you trust me? Even though we met today?”
“Uh…yeah? I can’t really put my finger on my why…you just seem like someone I can count on.”
Luz notices a wisp come out of the ground behind Gus.
“GUS, LOOK OUT!”
She grabs the hilt of her sword with one hand and pushes Gus aside with the other. She slices through it clean in half, and it crumbles into ash, dropping 6 coins.
“Woah…", Gus says, as he picks up the six coins. "...where did you learn to sword fight like that?”
“Uh…maybe it’s from all the anime I’ve watched? I don’t really know. Maybe we should head to Vale now instead of waiting around here…”
Luz and Gus resume heading towards Vale.
“Uh…thanks for having my back back there. I guess I can trust you, too. And, uh…I suppose we can be friends as well.”
“YES! I wanna learn so much about how things work here!”
“I…might not be the best person to ask about that. But I have another friend by the name of Willow who might be able to answer your questions. She’s a bit of a bookworm. But, uh…you know…she might wanna learn about your world, as well…”
“Oh…well, maybe we can be friends, too. What’s she like?”
Gus smiles. “You can find out tomorrow. I’ll have her come by…uh…where do you plan on staying?”, he says.
“Is there an inn in town?”
“Yeah, we do. I’ll send her there.”
“Wait…what about you?”
“I wanna hang out, but I’m a bit of a local mentor for the newbie Jupiter adepts, and I have lessons to give tomorrow.”
“That’s…kind of you. But we can hang out later, right?”
“Yeah, we can. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in this…anime you spoke of.”
“I can recommend some good ones!”
“I…still don’t know what it is, but sure.”
“It’s, uh…here, let me just show you…”
Luz takes out her phone, which Gus grabs out of her hand.
“What is this?”
“It’s…a phone. You can talk to people from far away as long as someone else has one of their own. Plus it has the Internet, which you can use to access information, watch videos, play games-”
“All on this?”
“Yeah. They’re commonplace on Earth.”
“Wow…can I borrow this?”
“Yeah, but…don’t use it too much. It has a limited battery life, and if it runs out, I don’t have an easy way to turn it back on…”
“What’s a…battery…?”
“It’s, uh…like a storage system for electricity.”
“...electricity, you say?", Gus says, as he stops sand puts the phone down on the ground.
"Wh-what are you doing...?"
Gus raises his right hand in the air, and it begins to glow purple. He then pulls it down, and a small lightning bolt strikes the phone, to Luz's horror. She runs over to her phone and picks it up, before noticing the battery level is now at 10000%.
"Oh. That was…actually kinda smart…here”, Luz says, as hands the phone to Gus. “Uh…you can use that as much as you want now. Just…don’t call or message anyone, or show it to anyone else.”
“I can do that!”
Luz and Gus resume walking, and arrive in Vale, a village nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains with lush greenery, shortly after. Gus points to a building nearby.
“Inn’s over there.”
“Got it. Uh…I’ll see you soon.”
Gus smiles. “Yeah. See you then”, he says.
Luz smiles as she heads towards the inn, and Gus back to his house.
Someone who appears to be Luz walks into a cabin with the Number 7 written above the door. Inside, she finds her three cabin mates.
“Woah, Luz! You’re staying in our cabin?”
‘Luz’: “Th-that’s right!”
“Aw man, today just went from good to awesome!”
‘Luz’: Uh…why?”
“Because of you, silly! You’re one of the most interesting people at camp!”
“Yeah, it’s amazing that we’ll be spending the next three months learning life skills…together!”
‘Luz’ smiles. “Oh…really? I…can’t wait either”, she says.
“Yeah, but we should get some rest. We gotta be up early tomorrow.”
“I’ll get the light!”, ‘Luz’ says, as she turns the light switch off and gets into her bed.
“Finally…a place I belong…”