School had ended a few moments ago, and most of the student body had left a while ago. However, at the school's pool, the girl's swim team was having their daily meeting to train themselves. Most of the girls looked incredibly exhausted as they lazily drifted in the relaxing water. One of the members, standing tall in her one piece team swimsuit, looked at her fellow teammates in confusion.
"Hey hey hey, what's all this?! If you all want to laze around in the pool, you can do that at home. This is our time to train!" She folded her arms and continued looking down at the others.
"I'm sorry Kates" one of the brown haired girls spoke up. "I'm just exhausted...I haven't been able to get a good nights sleep in weeks..." The others seemed to groan in agreement.
Katie blinked. "Don't tell me THAT'S what this is all about. Do you actually believe in this 'epidemic' crap?" She had to cool her head for a moment, so she dipped her feet into the pool. "Honestly, the news will make a big deal out of anything". The others looked at the girl with lazy eyes.
"...Don't you find it the least bit odd that a good majority of people around the world are having trouble sleeping?" the team leader finally spoke up.
"Maybe a little. But I'm sleeping alright, so I don't see why you all can't do the same" Katie said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Stop using your computers and phones before bed, and don't eat anything past eight. We'll all be good to go in no time".
"Well alright..." The team captain grabbed the edge of the pool and looked at everyone. She began to speak in a inspiring way. "Everyone take a ten minute break, and then we'll start the training proper".
After stepping out of the little village, Hermes made his way through the surrounding forest. He inspected the trees around him, as if he were looking for something. "Where is it, where is it..." He took off his hat to wipe the sweat off of his brow, then he stuffed the box with the medallions into it before putting it back on. The Wisp Forest was a place of tranquility with the sounds of nature enhancing that feeling. However, the little penguin wasn't too fond of this place. Sure it was peaceful, but the wisps that live here can be annoying, like flies. Just as he thought that, a group of light orbs floated gingerly through the air, and past Hermes's head. They had a sound like low breathing and left a trail of sparkles. Well, they seem to be heading somewhere, so maybe they won't stop to bother the little guy.
A few more minutes, and he finally found what he was looking for: it was a tree with a symbol marked into the bark. The symbol resembled the American flag, and it slightly jutted out. Hermes looked around for a few moments to see if anyone else was present before he pushed his flipper down on it. The symbol made a clicking sound as part of the tree swung open like a door to reveal the stairwell hidden inside of it. The cautious servant took one more look to see if anyone was around, then he stepped into the tree and closed the door.
The climb down took a while, and it got dark the further he went. After what seemed like ten minutes, Hermes finally arrived at his destination: the Dream Pool. He walked through the opening at the bottom of the stairwell and walked out onto a marble crafted platform. Above him was the underside of the island he calls home, while below him was a dimensional void that seemingly went on forever. In the middle of this platform is a pool of shallow water sitting still and undisturbed. He still had plenty of time before the minds of people would begin to appear before they were sent off to some part of the island. Probably in response to this thought, he let out a soft yawn and stretched his little arms.
"I suppose a short nap won't hurt any" he thought to himself. With renewed hope for the Dream Realm, he took off his hat and pulled out a few items: a pillow, a sleeping bag, and an alarm clock. He set the clock to midnight and took off his monocle, then he curled up in his little sleeping arrangement before closing his eyes and letting sleep take him for a while.