Ashley awoke to the incessant beeping of her alarm clock. At least today she’d have time to get ready, unlike the previous morning. She reluctantly climbed from her bed, grabbing a hairbrush from her side table in the process. In a sleepy haze, she recalled the day before. Was it all just a dream? She checked her backpack, and the crystal keychain was still tightly tied onto the strap. Okay, there was one piece of evidence. But could a simple keychain outweigh the obvious impossibility of monsters and talking foxes? Ashley wasn’t sure what to think. She replayed yesterday’s events in her head, trying to understand. When she stared into her chocolate cereal, lost in thought, Cecilia couldn’t pass up the opportunity. She grabbed a few puffs of cereal and threw them, hitting Ashley square in the nose and bringing her back to reality. With that, Ashley almost inhaled her cereal, trying to get away from her sister a quickly as possible. After placing her bowl in the sink with a huff, she grabbed her backpack and set out for school.

And it surely hadn’t been a dream.

Standing at the gate, Edwin and the fox were chatting with Tabitha. “Morning Ashley!” Edwin called out. “You have nice friends!”

Ashley stomped across her yard, already furious. She pulled Edwin aside, the fox jumping onto Tabitha’s shoulder. “What are you doing here?” she whispered, pulling his head down to her level.

“You asked me to bring you some clothes over, and I thought it would be better to do it before I forgot. I met up with Tabitha here and we got to talking while we waited.”

“Don’t show up to my house again.” Ashley marched over to Tabitha, grabbing her hand. “C’mon, let’s go.”

“Really, after everything that happened? It thought we were friends.” Edwin said. “We’re partners, Ashley! Partners are always friends!”

“Don’t talk about that in public!”

“Why? I already told Tabitha.”

Ashley skidded to a halt, her heart stopping. “You did what?!”

“Ashley! You weren’t going to tell me?” Tabitha gasped.

“How could you Edwin? It’s so… embarrassing!”

“You stop that! I think it’s super cool, and I’m happy Edwin told me. I’m your best friend, Ashley! You don’t have to worry about getting embarrassed with me. I’m here for you.” Tabitha smiled, picking up Ashley’s hands. “Now hurry up! You can tell me more when we get to class!”

-----

“You’re so lucky, Ashley!” Tabitha squealed. “You’re a real life magical girl!”

“Not so loud!” Ashley leaned in over their desks. “I’d prefer if no one else found out about this predicament.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take notes for you if a monster appears during school!” Tabitha happily took a bite out of her sandwich.

“Thanks…”

“Hey guys!” Edwin walked over to their desks, and Tabitha waved in response.

Ashley dropped her fork into her salad. “How did you get here? Your class is down the hall!”

“Well, I wanted to eat my lunch with my friends, so I just… left.” He shrugged.

“Here, grab a seat!” Tabitha motioned to an empty seat at a desk to her left. “Ashley told me everything. Did she really miss the monster when she threw the sword at it?”

“By a long shot.” He replied, pulling up a chair.

“That’s Ashley. She’s never had good aim.”

“Please stop talking about me.” Ashley groaned, trying to eat her salad in peace. “Don’t you have your own friends to eat with, Edwin?”

“Yeah…” he looked down at Tabitha’s bag. “How’s Mateo doing?” She unzipped it, revealing the fox hiding in her bag and eating gummy fruits. He gave Edwin a little wave.

“Pretty good, I’d say.” Tabitha shifted a bit in her seat and added, “Can I watch you two fight? If you don’t mind, that is.”

“I guess.” Ashley replied. “But we don’t get any warning before we have to fight.”

“Actually, you two have some training to do today,” Mateo mumbled from within the bag. “Let your kind friend join along.”

“Oh joy!” Tabitha squealed, her eyes sparkling. “I don’t know how I’ll be able to wait!”

“What kind of training will we be doing?” Edwin asked.

“Just the basics. You do realize you only won by dumb luck yesterday.”

“Yeah…” the pair awkwardly laughed off their incompetence. The bell broke up their conversation, and Edwin almost jumped out of his chair. He scrambled to grab his belongings and get on his feet, knowing his own class would be starting soon.

“See you guys this afternoon!” He waved, not remembering to put his borrowed chair back in place. Edwin stepped out in the hallway, noticing a few other students like him, switching classes for lunch. He passed by a few other open doors, glancing in the classrooms as he went. He was always surprised by how many people he didn’t know in his school, even after spending three years with many of his peers.

“Sorry guys, I really have to get going-“ a student came hurtling out of one of these doorways, still talking to his friends and looking behind him. Edwin had no time to react, and ended up being pushed to the ground on impact. The other boy stumbled as he hit Edwin, whipping his head around to see what he had run in to.

“Holy shit! I’m so sorry dude!” Edwin looked up at the boy, and was surprised to see that he in fact did recognize him. Standing over him and reaching out a helpful hand was none other than Owen Jackson, one of the most popular students at Snapdragon. The half-Indian eighth grader was notorious for pulling stunts and pranks, entertaining the students (and some staff), often at his expense. Edwin took his hand, and Owen helped him to his feet. “Are you alright? I’ve slammed into these floors enough to know how much it sucks. Do you have a concussion?”

“I’m fine.” Edwin said, feeling the dull pain in his side as he breathed. He’d probably have a nice bruise tomorrow.

“That’s a relief!” Owen patted Edwin on the shoulder with a little more force than Edwin would have liked. “If I broke your leg I don’t know if I could live with myself! It sometimes seems like danger follows around me and other people get caught in the cyclones.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Edwin smiled. “You need to get to class, right?”

Owen pointed at Edwin with a flick of his wrist, his black curls bouncing with every one of his exaggerated gestures. “Look, now you’re the one taking care of me! See you around, Edwin!” Owen gave Edwin one last pat and sprinted down the hall. Edwin was left stunned by the sudden encounter (and maybe from his encounter with the floor). How does someone like Owen know my name?