Page 5 of Monster's Delight

“I wouldn’t want to be late,” I answered sweetly, grabbing a plate and filling it from the platters of food on the table. I had a choice of bacon or sausage, pancakes or french toast, scrambled eggs or baked beans. Naturally, I took a little of everything.

“They still feed you at school, don’t they?” Grandfather asked, raising an eyebrow at my full plate.

“It’s never as good as the food here,” I retorted before stuffing a bite of pancake in my mouth and chewing vigorously.

Grandfather chuckled. “That’s true enough.” He took a sip of his drink. “Do you have your mirror with you?”

I glared over my full mouth, hoping to convey the fact thatof courseI had my mirror. Not only would I be allowed to use it to mirror travel within the island’s borders, but I could use it to call anyone I had a picture of. While I had been able to use the mirror to call home last year, mirror travel had been banned to all first year students until we passed the test at the end of the year. I was really looking forward to trying it out this year.

His laughter continued at my expression. “I’ll go with you to the ferry, if you like?”

Nodding vehemently, I managed to swallow before saying, “Yes, please! I feel like I’ve had barely any time with you and I’m already leaving!”

“Next summer, you’ll just have to get a job in Newcastle then,” he replied, a twinkle in his eye. “Maybe then my son will come visit for longer than a weekend.”

“He’s busy—”

“I know, dear, I know.” Grandfather sighed. “When one gets to my age, they realize how important family is and want to spend more time with them. But that’s hard to do when they lead busy lives of their own.”

“I’ll call you this week, I promise,” I said impulsively, covering his hand with mine on the table.

He turned his over underneath mine and squeezed. “I know you will. You always manage to make time for me. Thank you.”

Kristopher entered the room at that moment and cleared his throat. “Excuse me, but if you wish to catch the first ferry, we must leave now.”

My eyes widened as I looked at the clock on the wall. “Rats.” I pointed at my food to pack it up, minus the beans, as they would make a mess, and picked up the cardboard box that I’d made to carry it.

“Nicely done,” Grandfather said with a smile before draining his cup and placing it on the table. “Shall we?”

I checked that I had my purse and picked up my coat and scarf. “We shall.”

The drive down the coast would have been pretty if the mist hadn’t been pervasive. The headlights of the car barely showed a few feet in front of us, and Kristopher drove extremely slowly to prevent accidents.

It gave me plenty of time to finish my breakfast, but also more than enough time to imagine a grisly accident.

Would I be strong enough to save the car if it plunged off the road toward the water?

I hoped so, and tried to figure out which spell I would use if I needed to save us.

But we arrived at the ferry dock without any trouble. There were many parents already there, bidding their children goodbye for the academic year. It was easy to pick out the first years; their faces were white with nerves and their parents were crying as they hugged them over and over again.

Grandfather chuckled under his breath. “Should I be acting like that?” he asked, nodding his head at a particularly weepy mother.

I gently elbowed him in the ribs. “Don’t you dare!” I hissed back.

“I feel like I should be giving you some advice,” he mused thoughtfully. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“That gives me a lot of leeway,” I finished his oft-repeated phrase with a smile. “Don’t worry, Grandfather. I’ll be fine. And if I get into too much trouble, I’ll just give you a call.”

“See that you do. I think you’re being hailed.” He nodded again, but this time to a tall, willowy girl with greenish-brown skin who was standing as far away from the ferry as she could get while still standing on the dock.

“That’s Hazel, one of my roommates,” I told him, waving her over. When she arrived, I performed introductions.

“Did you remember to take your seasickness potion?” I asked her. “It won’t work unless it’s taken at least thirty minutes before you get on the ferry.”

“I did.” She turned slightly greener. “It tasted terrible. I don’t think it’s going to work.”

“Have a little faith,” I said bracingly.

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