The Sun was shining and the birds were chirping so Ignacio decided to play only an hour's worth of Lucifer 3 before heading out to enjoy the sunshine. He slipped on a pair of khaki shorts and a pastel orange tank top and headed out the door to the Mansion's grounds. Ignacio would've grabbed a pair of sunglasses too, but he decided that he would show off his kaleidoscope eyes.

Once outside, he looked up at the Sun and smiled brightly. Whenever the sun was out, Iggy felt a lot better than when it was hidden or on the other side of the world. Nonetheless, the teenager made his way to the volleyball court. 

When he got there, Ignacio kicked off his sandals and walked into the sand pit. Grains of sand made their ways in between his toes as he walked to grab the volleyball that was laying about after the older students had their game. Now it was time for Iggy's turn.

Today was shaping up to be a pretty good day. Allegra felt well rested for once. It probably had a lot to do with the spa treatment yesterday. She could not wait to go back. That felt soooo good.

Class went well. She got an A on her English test. She had a really nice two hour long talk with her BFF, Emma. She tried on some of the clothes that Xavia gave her and the weather was beautiful. For once, life was good.

Changing into shorts and a basic white tank top Allegra and her puppies went for an afternoon run around the mansion. They already had their normal early morning jog but Allegra was feeling upbeat and motivated for some sun and cardio. The dogs never turned down an excuse for exercise.

Allegra ran by the volleyball court and saw a group of older students playing including a mutant with SIX ARMS! Unfair advantage much? Why did mutants seem to think this kind of thing was okay?

Stop. Let’s not dwell on that. Allegra just smiled and pushed aside her normal disdain of mutants. The day was too perfect for negative vibes.

After running around the hedge maze (she still had yet to risk running inside the maze) she decided she was going to ask to join in on the game. She played beach volleyball all the time back home. Since coming here, she had become a lot more shy and reserved. But nothing's going to happen if you don't make it happen. Allegra replayed the pep talk her best friend gave her this morning.  What's the worst that could happen if she just asked them if she could play? So it was decided. She was going to run back to the volleyball courts, have a good time and maybe make some new friends.

By the time she circled around, they had all gone. In their place was one of Allegra’s current crushes. She had spoken with Iggy briefly in the hallways once and sat behind him in English but couldn’t say she really knew him at all.

It would be easy just to walk on by, but she was feeling good today so she decided to run over and say hello. Of course, moving her lips and saying something was a bit of a challenge for the nervous girl. No, walking away was a much better option.

Her dog, Sparkle, looked up at her owner and shook its head. The Shih Tzu ran over to the volleyball that Iggy was about to pick up and knocked it away, chasing after it.

“Sparkle! No!” Allegra shouted. She looked up and her eyes locked with Iggy’s kaleidoscope eyes.

“Um...hi.”

There. She managed to say something to him.

Ignacio's fingers almost curled around the ball until a little dog nudged it away. "Huh?" He slowly stood up to look at Allegra. "Oh, hey, Allegra! How are you?!" He asked with a bright smile. The teenage Sun god jogged over to the volleyball to pick it up.

"Do you want to play?" Ignacio asked, "you can serve first."

"Oh, hi," Allegra smiled. She ran her hand though her hair which was a nervous habit she had. "Wow. You remembered my name."

She remembered his as well, but not at the moment. Nervousness created a serious mental block. She was sure Francisco wasn't his name but somehow that was all she could come up with.

"Uh, you haven't met Chocolate and Sparkle," she said introducing her dogs instead. Sparkle stood there wondering why Iggy took the ball away. He should at least throw it and let her chase it.

"Sure," Allegra said. "I used to play volleyball all the time back home." She swung her arm back and sent the ball flying over the net. "How about you?"

Iggy laughed and gave the dogs a wave, "hola, Chocolate and Sparkle." He greeted and turned his attention to Allegra and smiled.

"Great!"

Ignacio watched as the ball flew over the net. He hit it back over with his hands together. "I play it in my free time." He answered with a smiled. "So, where are you from?"

Sparkle ran back and forth following the ball. She was convinced someone would throw it to her. She wasn't about to jump that high to catch it. She yipped a few times to let Allegra and Iggy know they weren't playing the game correctly. Any game that didn't involve her was not a good game.

Allegra lunged for the ball and was able to hit it over the net. "I'm from California," she answered. "I'm at the beach all the time and there's usually a game going on. I'm really dreading the New York winters. How about you? I'm guessing you're not from the U.S."

"I lived in California!" Ignacio announced as he hit the ball back over the net. "And yeah, I'm from Colombia." He answered with a smile. He turned his attention to Sparky for a few seconds before looking back over at Allegra.

"Where in Cali did you stay? And yeah, the winters are gonna be rough for me, too." Ignacio had a feeling that the Sun won't be hot for as long as it was during the Summer. Actually, that's how it was back home too, but at least the weather remained warm.

"I'm from Beverly Hills," Allegra answered. She thought about just saying she was from L.A. since some people around her thought she was entitled and snooty, but she decided to just go with the truth. "Where in Cali did you live?"

"Colombia, huh? What brought you to the U.S.?"

The two volleyed for a while until Allegra knocked the ball out of bounds. Sparkle scampered over to the ball and put her paws on it. She yipped loudly to announce that it was now hers.

"Los Angeles," answered Ignacio.

He watched as the volleyball went out of bounds. Iggy jogged after it and picked it up from the grasps of Sparkle.

"And my family moved to Cali for...-- I honestly don't know. Life was fine in Colombia. Maybe they just wanted me to live in California." Iggy had no idea why his family moved. Was it because of his unique look? He didn't know.

Sparkle yipped loudly. How dare he take HER ball.

"Sparkle, hush!" Allegra shouted. She pointed to where Chocolate was sitting. "Go sit down there. Now!"

Sparkle whimpered and went to sit next to her sister.

"Sorry about that,"Allegra laughed. "She's adorable but she can be a bit of a brat every once in a while. So how old were you when you moved to California? I'm making a trip back home the instant it gets below 60 degrees . You should come with me."

Allegra hoped she wasn't being too forward inviting someone she just met on a trip. She felt Iggy was cute but she was that way with everyone.

"Do you miss home? I mean, either out west or back in Colombia? I've been crazy homesick ever since I got here."

Iggy laughed, too. "It's alright. And I was eight, I think, when I moved to California. Luckily, I still managed to pick up this sultry Colombian accent." The teeenager wiggled his eyebrows and ran his tongue over his top incisors and canines. Ignacio was a flirt, but he knew that it was all in good fun. "And that sounds fun! I wouldn't mind going back to Cali for a bit."

He ran his fingers through his slicked back hair and tilted his head to the side. Ignacio studied her for a bit before looking down at her dogs. They were awfully cute.

"Sí, I miss Colombia! I can't wait to go back there. I also want to take a trip to Costa Rica when I get the chance."

"You sure have the sultry Colombian accent down," Allegra complimented. She was blushing a bit so she was glad the sun was in Iggy's eyes.

"I'd love to go to Costa Rica," Allegra said. She was nervous now because she had no clue where Costa Rica even was but she figured it had some nice beaches.

"So what do you remember best about Colombia?" Allegra asked. "I've never been to Africa."

Oh no! Was Columbia even in Africa? Maybe it was South America or Hawaii or something like that. Allegra now wished she had actually paid attention in Geography class. She hoped Iggy wouldn't notice. She wanted to learn more about him.

"You sure have the sultry Colombian accent down,"

Ignacio giggled, shaking his head, "thanks! It comes naturally." He scratched his left facial cheek.

"I'd love to go to Costa Rica,"

Iggy nodded his head in agreement.

"So what do you remember best about Colombia...I've never been to Africa." He couldn't believe that Allegra actually thought that Colombia was in Africa. He blinked a few times before awkwardly scratching the top of his head.

Ignacio's eyes went wide. "...Colombia isn't in Africa. It's in Latin America."

Oh no! Allegra completely blew it this time. Geography wasn't her strong suit at all and now she looked like a complete idiot in front of this cute boy. She wished she could just burrow down under the sand and hide there forever.

"I was just joking," Allegra said. "I knew it was in Latin America. That's why you speak Latin so well." She winked. "Another joke. Obviously."

Okay, that just felt so fake. Allegra didn't want to come off like that.

"I lied. I'm sorry. I know they don't speak Latin in Latin America but I admit I honestly don't know where Colombia is. I'm sorry. I want to learn about your experiences and your culture. That's more important to me than finding something on a map."

Ignacio raised an eyebrow when Allegra said that she knew that and continued on with her jokes. He wasn't sure if she was completely joking, but to play it safe, he chuckled.

>> "I lied. I'm sorry. I know they don't speak Latin in Latin America but I admit I honestly don't know where Colombia is. I'm sorry. I want to learn about your experiences and your culture. That's more important to me than finding something on a map."

"...Colombia's in Latin America. I thought everyone knew that." Ignacio was a bit confused on that. He tilted his head to the side in thought, "well, that's good that you want to learn more and more about my culture. It makes me feel special."