Prologue
Two weeks before the end of the semester, Charles is sitting peacefully in the lounge rereading his annotated copy of Circe, when his amazing but frustratingly annoying little sister comes barreling towards him.
Clutching at his arms, she pants, “Charles, I’m calling in my bi-annual sibling favor.”
Bewildered and concerned, he blinks up at the woman in front of him, placing a bookmark in between the pages and sets his book down. “Raven, Dear, what on Earth is going on?”
The speedy jumble of words he is met with do little for explanation, he sends out a pulse of Breathe, and she tries again. “Do you remember that super hot teleporter guy that I was talking to, Azazel?” A nod. “Well we were talking to each other about summer break and we ended up agreeing to rent out a place on the beach together for a bit with all our friends.”
Charles raises an eyebrow in question. “Where does this favor come into play exactly?”
“The thing is, there’s very limited housing and in order for everyone to afford it we need like four more people. So I was thinking, maybe you could come and bring some of your friends too?” Clearly she senses his hesitancy because she continues. “It would basically be like one big long beach party. Drinking, smoking, dancing, swimming, hooking up.”
“That’s not exactly a winning argument.”
“Come on. All you’ve been doing for months is working on your PhD, which I’m super proud of you for by the way, but you’re tired. You need a break, big brother. You need excitement, fun, romance.”
And when she shoots him those same pleading eyes that she did when they were kids, Charles knows he is going to end up going, no matter the reservations. “Alright, fine. I suppose I could convince some people. But I’m not looking after anyone okay? If they can’t take care of themselves, that’s their problem.”
She fully crashes into him this time, excitement pouring off her. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. You won’t regret it.”