Robin Newbida 4

People are entirely too careless with fires in this house. Putting them out is one of my more tiresome duties as an heir.

Along with cleaning. I had to clean the sauna the other day, which was really unfair because I hadn't even used it yet. Mumsie said that as a teen I didn't get stressed enough to need to use the sauna.

I decided that I was stressed enough, and it was wonderful. But then I had to do homework.

Also, it was time for Popsie's birthday. He says he's an old man now, but the only change is that his hair is gray.

We all hoped that Grams would live long enough to realize her dream of becoming a musical genius, but it didn't happen.

I begged for her life, but the Grim Reaper was implacable.

Later, I sat down at her piano, and discovered that Grams had set it up so that she could look at some of the pictures that Carl and I did as children. That started me crying again.

To cheer me up, Mumsie said I could go off to Selvadorada on my own. She even gave me a blessing with one of the relics.

Given the various obstacles I had to overcome,

I certainly needed the blessing.

Most of the puzzles were difficult, too...

...but this one was easy, and it gave me a little ball of sunshine to travel around with me, just as useful as a flashlight in these dark tombs.

Mumsie's blessing didn't cover everything, though. It rained the whole time I was there. Kneeling in puddles is not my idea of fun.

I got stuck with a poison dart, too, as you can tell from the circles in an unflattering shade of green on my face.

But my new friend Juanita was able to make an antidote for me.

Back at home, I discovered a blogger I really liked -- #FrankieWiththeSkinny.

I found out that he lived in Windenburg, so I went over to meet him. He told me I was the most beautiful and intriguing follower he had, and we really hit it off.

Returning home, I encountered Grams' ghost. "Why haven't you applied for college yet?" she demanded.

I told her I wanted to get my archaeology skill higher before submitting an application. "Don't worry," she said. "You'll do fine."

So I went ahead and took the plunge. The next few days were filled with anxiety.

I had my birthday and am now a cheerful, well-mannered, and responsible bro and geek. Finally, finally, I got my acceptance letter. I can get into any distinguished degree program at Britechester or Foxbury except...computer science. Apparently, following Frank's blog hasn't been enough to qualify me for that.

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I had dinner with him at Villa Bovine to celebrate. I'll have to finish my degree before I can marry anyone, but he just might be the one.