Page 12 of Elmwood Inclusive Magic Academy
Fantastic, my only friend is nocturnal.
I sink lower into my seat and take out my class schedule again. My classes don’t begin until later tonight, which doesn’t surprise me. If a bunch of your students are vampires, you can’t schedule anything during the daylight hours.
I look up, and my dirty plate has magically disappeared. I wish I could disappear, too, but I have to summon enough courage to walk back out of the dining hall.
Even though I grew up in Cherry Creek, I had a lot of trouble making friends. It was a very small town, and my moms never really tried to integrate with the regular people who lived there. And after the…incident…I had trouble trusting other kids.
I push the memory away. I’m left with the aching, familiar dread of being alone, but with so many eyes on me. Different. Strange. I’ve spent so many lunchtimes sitting by myself, or hiding out in the bathroom. Once I was finally starting to fit in with Timothy and the popular kids, I promised myself I would never feel this way again, and now…
“Hi.” Lost in my thoughts, I almost bump into a student standing right in front of me. It’s as though she materialized out of nowhere. I’m surprised by her sudden appearance, but also by her huge, round eyes made up of mostly pupil, and her pale skin with undeniable green undertones.
“You look lonely, and I saw that shifter bump into you,” she continues, unblinking. “We felt bad for you, do you want to sit with us outside?”
I look around, and there are two others behind her, with similar green undertones and long, matted hair.
“Uh, sure.” I’m not crazy about the pity, but I’ll take anything at this point.
“Good,” she says. All three of them head toward the main entryway. They seem uneasy on their feet, and look around at the castle warily.
I follow them outside, where there’s a large clearing and a lake. Students are gathered in small groups, hanging out and chatting while they wait for classes to start. We find a few trees by the lake and sit under them.
“I should introduce myself,” says the first student. “I’m Persephone, and these are my siblings, Gwen and Orion.”
They both nod, unblinkingly.
“I’m Maggie,” I reply. “Thanks for inviting me. It’s been a bit tough, I don’t really know anyone.”
“That’s what we discerned,” Orion says. He has kind, large eyes that twinkle.
“This is a strange experience for us, as well,” Gwen adds. “We don’t usually spend so much time with others not of our kind. But it’s important to us to try and make connections, especially after recent events.”
“What recent-” I start, but I’m suddenly distracted by a loud splash. I look over to the lake to see a fin disappearing below the waves.
I turn back to the siblings. “Oh! Does the lake have mermaids?”
My three companions laugh shrilly. I’m surprised and taken aback by the sound, high-pitched and fuller than I expected. Orion flashes a toothy grin at me.
“No, no, those are dolphin shifters.”
“Dolphinshifters?” I look back at the lake and see the boy who bumped into me before. He leaps out of the lake effortlessly, turning into a dolphin before disappearing below the waves.
“Yes,” Persephone laughs, a shrill, musical sound. “And obviously,we’remermaids.”
She reaches behind her neck and unclasps a long necklace with an aquamarine gem at the end. Almost immediately, her long legs merge into a purple-blue fin that flutters elegantly on the grass.
They all giggle at my shock.
“It’s a powerful, portable transformation charm,” Orion explains, fingering his own gem, which hangs from a single earring. “Made by a thoughtful witch so that we could study here.”
Persephone puts her necklace back on and her legs reappear.No wonder they were so unsteady on their feet!
“I’m sorry, I’m such an idiot,” I stammer.
Orion pats my arm. “You haven’t offended us. You don’t know too much about magical beings, do you?”
“I grew up a witch, but honestly, I’ve never been very immersed in the magical world.” I wasn’t expecting to share so much about myself so quickly, but I’m thrown off by all this new information and my usual filters are down.
“Mm,” murmurs Gwen. “That’s unusual. Witches can be solitary but they’re typically very firmly rooted in their practice and quite knowledgeable.”
