Rachel glided silently after them, the thermals helping her out. She smirked. "You sure they would this time? I mean, I've seen your locker..." she said, laughing. Really, she liked these people, but teasing was just too much fun.
The pavement was hot underfoot, the noon sun beating down on them. Buildings, tall, thin, and rather ornate, sat so close it was hard to believe there was room to walk on the sidewalk. People passed them, laughing and talking about any variety of topics in their little groups.
As they moved away from the school, flowers started to bloom in little sidewalk flower boxes. Little shops, some goods shops, others more personal shops, emerged through the heat, and soldiers milled with the civilians. The scents of baking bread wafted around them, sweet and delicious and mingling with the smell of blueberries in the market. Doors sat open to allow people in and out, allowing even more scents and sounds to waft around them. Bitter liquors from the brewery, sweet perfumes from the flower shop, sawdust from the woodshop... Ahh, it was a shopper's dream and a wallet's nightmare.