After the meeting, they had a plan: drive to the beach house later that day and invite friends over starting tomorrow. It would allow them to check the place out, make any necessary preparations, and sleep off the exhaustion from the drive instead of having to get up early the next day, rush over, and immediately play hosts while tired. More importantly, it would allow the three of them half a day to themselves before their Spring Break became a social event.
So, naturally, they split up to get ready. There were bags to pack, invitations to send, phone calls to make, schedules to coordinate, and apparently entire logistical operations to organize.
They met again late that afternoon. When Magnus saw what the girls considered "packing light," he immediately realized their definitions of necessities and essentials only were vastly different from his. He had one single duffel bag he'd thrown together in under twenty minutes. Meanwhile, the girls' suitcases already filled the trunk, with more luggage strapped to the roof of the car.
Sofia caught the look he was giving their mountains of belongings and gestured at herself.
"What?" she asked. "Do you think we just roll out of bed and look this good?"
Magnus thought about the fact Alex had somehow looked like a supermodel while covered in fur during Operation: Normal People the other day and wisely decided to keep his opinions to himself.
Once everything was finally loaded, Sofia climbed into the driver's seat. Magnus got into the back. Alex opened the rear passenger door as well.
"Oh no," Sofia immediately said. "You're sitting in the front with me."
Alex paused. "Why?"
"Because I am not subjecting myself to an entire car ride of being tortured by you two making out in the backseat."
"We're not gonna—" Alex began.
"Please," Sofia interrupted. "Don't bother denying it. We both know you two have the self-restraint of caffeinated rabbits."
Alex humphed loudly, slammed the door shut, and got into the passenger seat instead.
The first stretch of the drive passed in relative silence. Alex crossed her arms and stared dramatically out the window. Magnus sat awkwardly in the back. Sofia focused on the road.
Eventually Sofia spoke. "You know, this reminds me of the trip to Jordan's track meet."
"And whose fault is that?" Alex asked without looking away from the scenery outside. "I could be making out with my boyfriend right now if it weren't for you."
Sofia pointed accusingly at her best friend. "So you were gonna do it!"
"Technically, we still can." Alex turned slightly toward the backseat. "Magnus, babe, lean forward a little. I think we can make it work!"
Magnus rubbed a hand over his face.
Sofia smacked Alex's shoulder. "Don't you dare!"
After that, conversation came more naturally. They talked about the finals they'd survived, what they were looking forward to during the next two weeks of Spring Break, courses they'd be taking next term, and other normal things.
For a while, it was nice. Right up until…
"So, Magnus," Sofia began casually. "Not packing any food for Alex this time around?"
He choked on absolutely nothing.
Alex whirled around in her seat.
"Oh yeah!" she exclaimed. "I still haven't settled that score with you! You let Tony eat all my food!"
He stared at her. "Hey! If you wanted it, you should've taken it instead of pretending you didn't hear me."
"Oh no." Alex pointed a finger at him. "If you wanted to give it to me, you should've given it to me instead of saying it was for everyone."
She made air-quotes at the last syllable, then continued. "And it was very obviously not for everyone! Everyone present at the time — except Tony — knew it was for me!"
"We were fighting at the time! If I'd said it was for you, you'd even be more likely to reject it."
"You didn't know that for sure. And you were still my boyfriend at the time," she shot back. "Well, you still are. Which means I still have the right to demand compensation."
"I mean," Magnus muttered, "you might dump me in a month for all I know."
The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them.
Alex didn't seem bothered, though.
"That's not gonna happen," she said immediately. "And even if it does, it hasn't happened yet. Which means you still owe me now."
"I can't win with you, can I?"
"Nope." She smiled brightly.
Magnus sighed. "What do I owe you?"
Alex's expression softened slightly.
"Well, I feel bad about us fighting on your birthday." She shrugged. "So why don't you let me throw you a make-up party next week?"
Magnus blinked. "You really don't have to."
"I know."
"Also, how is this me paying you back when you're the one throwing a party?"
Alex snorted. "Because otherwise you'd try to say no."
"I—"
"You would."
"…Okay, maybe I would."
"Exactly." She pointed at him triumphantly. "So I'm simply informing you that you do not actually have a choice in the matter."
The rest of the ride passed in the comfortable way long drives sometimes did — small talk, stretches of quiet, Sofia switching radio stations, Alex occasionally pointing at things through the window. Nothing noteworthy or alarming happened.
***
By the time they reached the beach house, evening had already settled across the coastline.
Magnus stepped out of the car and stared at the beach house they'd be staying in for the next two weeks. Because it was bigger than he had imagined. By a lot!
It was enormous. Not quite mansion enormous, but close enough that he suddenly understood why Sofia never seemed particularly impressed by expensive things. The place could comfortably house ten people, maybe more. There were multiple floors, a wraparound deck, a private stretch of beach visible beyond the dunes, and large windows overlooking the water. It was the kind of place people vacationed in movies.
Sofia's family clearly wasn't hurting for money. Which made a lot of sense, actually. She apparently even had a tech guy who handled cybersecurity for her parents on speed dial — an idea Magnus still occasionally struggled to take seriously.
He found himself wondering what exactly her parents did for a living, then immediately decided asking would be rude. So he kept his curiosity to himself.
They started unloading. The cool evening air smelled like salt, and for a moment, Magnus dared to hope that the next two weeks would be as relaxing as the girls had promised.
Then he heard something: a faint rustling sound, from one of the cardboard boxes tied to the roof of the car.
"Sofia?" he called out.
"What?" she shouted back.
"What exactly did you pack in the cardboard box on the roof?"
"Mostly food. Why?" She was walking toward him now.
Magnus tilted his head. "Is this food supposed to still be alive?"
"No?" Sofia frowned. "What are you talking about? It's mostly dry food…"
Then she heard it too. A thump. Followed by more rustling.
Alex poked her head out from the door. "What's going on?"
Sofia pointed upward. "Something's moving in there."
Alex walked to join them. "And?"
"Well, should we check?"
"Do we need weapons first?" Alex considered. "Just in case?"
The three of them exchanged glances.
Then a familiar gravelly voice drifted from inside the box. "Well? Are we there yet?"
Magnus closed his eyes.
No. Absolutely not! It was just his imagination. It had to be. Just an auditory hallucination!
Then the voice spoke again. "You going to let me out or should I let myself out?"
Magnus rubbed a hand down his face.
Then he turned toward the girls. "No need for weapons."
They looked at him.
"I know what's in there… or rather, who…" He hesitated, then added: "And whatever food you packed is probably all gone by now."
Sofia looked deeply confused. Magnus, meanwhile, put the box down on the ground and opened it.
Tony immediately popped his head out.
"Ah, young wanderer," he intoned. "You must have been in such a hurry to leave that you forgot to inform me of the plans."
He climbed out of the box and looked around.
"No need to worry. I took the initiative." He nodded sagely. "Your training shan't be affected."
Alex and Sofia watched the exchange with growing suspicion.
"Why's Tony here?" Alex asked.
Magnus sighed. "He says we forgot to invite him, so he invited himself."
Tony nodded proudly. Then he looked between all three humans and added something.
Magnus groaned.
"What now?" Sofia asked.
"He says all of our anti-stealth detection skills need work. Apparently, none of us noticed him the entire ride here."
Tony looked unbearably pleased with himself.
Sofia stared at the raccoon. "Okay, that's actually a little impressive."
Tony continued. "And you still would not have discovered me had I not revealed myself."
Magnus didn't translate that. Instead, he asked:
"How did you even know where we were going?"
"I overheard you three planning."
"How?"
"I was outside the window."
Magnus stared at him. "You were outside the window?"
"Yes."
"For how long?"
"Long enough," Tony informed him, then added: "Like I keep telling you, kid, you should pay more attention to your surroundings."
Magnus pinched the bridge of his nose and relayed the information to the girls.
Silence briefly settled as they processed the fact that they had apparently been eavesdropped on by a raccoon outside their third-floor window.
Then Sofia slowly lowered the box she was carrying. "That's somehow more concerning than finding out he stowed away all the way here."
"So," Tony said after inspecting the beach house behind them, "what's for dinner?"
And just like that, the first crack appeared in the safe, low-stakes, and carefully controlled environment they had envisioned in the form of a highly opinionated, extremely self-satisfied raccoon who had stowed away in a box of food and eaten all the evidence.
Somehow, Magnus suspected this wasn't going to be the last surprise waiting for them this Spring Break.