October 23rd

I finally finished packing today and I spent time reading. Even though the books were interesting, however, I couldn't concentrate on them. My thoughts kept slipping, dragging me back to think about the other members of my family.

Eventually I gave up reading and just looked at the picture of my brother. It was a small photo, wallet sized, and it was black and white. I wondered where he was. I wondered what his name was. I wondered what he was doing.

Finally I couldn't contain my curiousity any longer, so, against my better judgement I went to ask Mom.

The conversation with her didn't go the greatest. She was so busy with her new magnolia tree that she barely paid attention to me. So I went back inside and just looked at the picture of my brother, hoping to see something in the photo.

Well, here I am finally settled in at George's. I've only been here a few hours but already I miss home. George's mansion is a big, lonely, boring place. Hopefully I'll learn to enjoy it.

Hopefully. But I doubt it.

Today was supposed to be my first day of learning, but the tutor wasn't feeling well. Instead, Colin and Susan and I were free to enjoy ourselves. We went for a walk around the grounds and then did a bit of horseback riding. It was fun.

Colin is, as I mentioned earlier, a year younger than me, and a really nice kid. Susan is eight, but pretty smart. Colin and Susan usually get along pretty good. I don't know much about how siblings get along, since I don't have any (except my brother, whom I've never met), but in the books I read they're hardly ever getting along. Colin and Susan rarely fight, though.

Oh, sure, they'll have an argument every once in a while when they can't agree on something silly, like what game to play. But they're small arguments, and they don't last long.

Today we spent time catching up. Colin and Susan went to visit their relatives while I was gone. Their aunts Beatrice and Lindsay, George's sisters, and their uncles Phillip and Roland, his brothers.

I guess George picked South Dakota to live in for the same reason my mother picked Alaska - because it's away from people. When you've got magic, you really don't want the "ordinary" people to bother you and start spreading rumors about you.

I haven't seen George yet this visit, which isn't surprising. Usually he wants to see me when I get in and then he just basically ignores me (and Colin and Susan) for the rest of the time. Colin and Susan told me that George was spending some time with their Uncle Roland and that was why he hadn't yet returned.

The tutor was better today, but he didn't look to me as though he was ever well. He's a thin, sickly looking man. I heard Colin whisper to me once during our lessons that he much prefered most of his other tutors. They were all outgoing and moved a bit. But this one was sickly and weak.

I almost laughed right out at that, but held it in. The tutor's name is Mr. Linston. He's very tall, and nearly bald, and wore a brown suit with a brown tie and brown shoes that made him look thinner than he was.

But he seemed to know what he was talking about. He got right down to teaching us. Colin and Susan and I were obedient, of course, but I couldn't help laughing to myself when I saw him.

The best part about being at George's is the education. We learn not only about the realm of magic, but about the human's world as well. George is one of the few people who believe that both worlds are important to our existence and those with intelligence learn all they can about both. From what Aunt Clarice has told me, he's rather alone in those beliefs.

Many of those who posess magic believe that the humans, those who don't have magic, aren't worthy of our attention. They don't visit this world, and pretend they don't exist. And there are very few humans who know that we exist. So far as I can tell, no one knows about the other realm where the magics live.

Because of his strange beliefs, George finds it hard to find tutors who are willing to focus on both aspects of learning. So I knew that Mr. Linston was quite valuable to him, even if he did look as though he was going to drop dead any second.

We had never met before, Mr. Linston and I, but he seemed to like me from the start. He didn't have a problem calling me Skylar, like some of the other tutors did, so I guess he's not too bad.

I spent most of today taking a long test. Actually it was several tests all strung together. It's necessary, whenever you start with a new teacher, to take a bunch of these tests so that the teacher can see what you know and what you don't know. These tests are on Mathematics, Languages (we learn several), History (of both worlds), Science, and of course, Magic.

I spent a total of about three hours filling out all those tests, and when I was finally finished, I was exhausted. Filling in circles over and over again can really make you tired. And thinking about each question's response really exhausted me. But the good thing about those little circles is that then I don't have to wait for Mr. Linston to finish grading them.

After we were done with our learning for the day, Colin, Susan, and I went back to our rooms for a short rest and recuperation before we went to eat.

At George's every supper meal is a big deal, even if George himself isn't there. And he wasn't. But that didn't matter. The three of us got into some of our good clothes and sat at the table and ate. It was just the three of us, with the maids and butlers and all that serving us. (Mr. Linston doesn't live at George's, he goes back to his home every night after teaching us.)

After dinner we passed the evening playing board games and then went to bed. I was tired after that long test, and eager to get to bed, but first I had to write this down. I am tired and now it's almost midnight, so I guess I'll write more tomorrow.

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