Semester of the Sea
Chapter 2 – The Acceptance Letter
Maddie had been enjoying her days off after graduating high school—
perhaps a little too much.
Each day seemed to pass faster than she had expected. The long list of things she had planned to do before graduation was still far from complete.
She spent her slow, quiet days stretched out on the sofa—watching dramas with her mother, passionately critiquing fictional characters with her younger sister, and scrolling through her phone to chat with friends and keep up with the latest news online.
Her letter had reached Sea Academy the very day it was sent—
at least, that was what the owl post had told her.
Her P81 buzzed with a notification.
'You have a delivery. Please retrieve it.'
"Maddie, you've got a package," Myne'ar called out after noticing the notification on the phone left on the sofa, though she herself had already wandered off to search for snacks.
"Okaaay," Maddie replied, before heading upstairs to the furnace to collect it.
It was a new novel she had ordered.
Still not a letter from the academy…
A month had already passed.
Perhaps she truly hadn't been accepted.
From what she had seen online, many people said the same thing—
This place didn't even send rejection letters.
How rude…
Still, she waited.
Still, she hoped.
Maybe it's just late, she told herself, even as more and more people began posting that they had already received their acceptance letters.
Sea Academy was one of the three great magical schools spoken of by many. It was also the only one she could apply to.
The most frustrating part was that every magical school was completely cut off from the outside world. The only news anyone ever received came from official announcements posted at designated pier outposts somewhere in the southern regions of Asia.
Beyond that, everything remained a secret.
The academy's true location was unknown. Even the address for sending letters changed every year—strange, almost impossible to trace.
Perhaps only the owl post truly knew where it was.
Maddie stared absentmindedly at posts from other applicants announcing their acceptance.
The acceptance letters look so nice…
She left comments to congratulate them, one after another.
Yet deep inside, disappointment slowly began to grow.
Well then…
At least she had a backup plan.
Studying at a nearby university wouldn't be so bad.
Her family had already begun to notice. They avoided mentioning the acceptance letter altogether—perhaps afraid it would only make her feel worse.
As for Maddie, she tried to act as though nothing was wrong,
keeping herself calm so no one would notice.
But she couldn't help overthinking.
She forced a small, awkward smile and joined her family for dinner, pretending to be cheerful.
Later, she sank into the sofa, reading the new novel that had just arrived, hoping to forget the quiet disappointment in her heart.
That night, she left her phone on the dining table—
unaware of the notification from the owl post that appeared
'You have a delivery. Please retrieve it.'