The remainder of the first school week went by without any other issues. Ren and Zyn had asked their father what the mirror shard was about, knowing that he was hiding something from them. Yet he wouldn’t say, even after Zyn poked and prodded him with a stick, so the twins therefore focused on their homework. Freday was just as long as Moonday, but instead of being full of magic or martial arts, it was entirely focused on art. 

The first class, Drawing and Painting, was taught by Ak-tu. The students learned the fundamentals of sketching different shapes and a bit with perspective. Ren and Zyn, who often drew pictures growing up, sketched entire scenes while conversing by mind instead of following Ak-tu’s lecture.

The next class was Cooking, which Sarala joined them for. This was the only class that was taught by the cooks. It was also the only time students were allowed in the Kitchen. The fall semester would be focused on cooking, while the second semester would go into baking. The older students were allowed to use magic as they worked, but the first-years weren’t. 

The three friends worked as a team, making bean patties served with potato sticks. Since the students finished early, they got to eat the food they made as a morning snack. The first-years weren’t allowed to serve any food they made until their second year (if they kept the class), once they had their food handler’s certificate after the first year. Even so, the food wasn’t always served, especially if a mistake was made.

Writing was next, and Ren and Zyn went to the Art Studio alone to see that their father was teaching again. It was a session about grammar, providing them with a foundation. Their homework was to edit a student paper. The class would go into writing stories and poetry later in the semester, once the basics of writing were covered.

Sarala joined them again for the fourth class, Fashion. Aster taught this class, and he tried lecturing about different clothing styles, particularly robes. He eventually gave up when he saw that nobody was paying attention. He therefore allowed the students to choose color combinations for clothing, while he went to try on different robes from the Theatre costumes and showed them off to the few interested students.

After lunch, they went to the Music Studio for Choir. The Music Studio was full of instruments, including two pianos, but the students remained in the front of the class, away from the instruments. Ak-tu was teaching both the Choir and Band classes. Most of the students who were enrolled in Choir were also doing Band, which meant an easy shift from vocal warmups to instrumental warmups.

Ren and Zyn then went to the Theatre for their final class that day, once more taught by Aster (who had more command in Theatre than the laidback Fashion class). The Theatre was on the small side, with rows of seats in front of a stage. There was a back room behind the stage, which contained the costumes and props. The students learned a few warm-up exercises for acting, how to read a script, and chose roles for the play they’d be putting on at the end of the semester. Though the class was two hours, it would be fast-paced, as they only had a few weeks to get an entire play produced.

“Ooo, tomorrow’s the club day, right?” Zyn asked Ren as they stood in line for dinner that night, exhausted after a full day of classes.

Ren nodded eagerly. “Yep! We get to join as many clubs as we want!”

“Do you think we can join that boat driving club so we can get our driving certifications?”

Ren bit her bottom lip. She switched to speaking telepathically instead of aloud. {Zyn, I don’t think that’s a good idea. If you still don’t have your magic, you won’t be able to learn. And I can’t just do the magic for you. Driving a boat takes a lot of skill, and I doubt I’ve got that kind of skill right now. Plus, if you can’t do it…well, you’re not actually learning it, now are you?}

{Yeah, you’re right.} Zyn replied, sounding disappointed. {Well…there’s always next year. Besides, there’s probably going to be so many other interesting clubs anyway!}

She was right. The next day, there were tables strewn around the Courtyard. Students from the upper years had set up tables with banners hanging off them, telling the others what their club was. Each table held a signup clipboard for students interested in joining the club.

Ren and Zyn darted around the Courtyard, leaving Sarala behind as they explored the tables. There were clubs related to academics, like studying spirits or getting help with channeling stronger magic. Other clubs were made for fun and hanging out, like the game club and art club. 

“Which clubs should we join?” Zyn asked, looking down at the mirror after they’d run around the entire Courtyard, jotting down the names of the clubs they were interested in. “I definitely want to do that game club!”

“But it’s on Freday at 2,” Ren said, looking over Zyn’s shoulder to see the mirror. “We’ve got class.”

“Ahhh,” Zyn moaned. “But I wanted to do it!”

“Maybe next year?” Ren suggested.

“Fine,” Zyn muttered.

“How’s about that one on construction? It sounds interesting,” Ren said, scrolling through the notes. “And it’s on Trizday at 10, so we can make it!”

“Eh, I’m not interested in it,” Zyn grunted.

“But you always made little towns for your toys when we were kids,” Ren pointed out.

“Yeah…not that interested in it,” Zyn repeated.

Ren snorted in amusement. They continued through the list, debating which clubs to join, only looking up as Sarala approached.

“Have you joined any clubs, Sarala?” Ren asked the other girl.

Sarala shook her head once. “Clubs aren’t my thing,” she muttered.

Ren frowned. Of course that would be Sarala’s response! Why did she expect anything else? “Well, was there anything you were interested in?” she pressed.

“No,” Sarala said blandly. “Well…there was a weapon club.”

“Weapon club? Why don’t you join it, Sarala?”

Sarala shook her head. “You have to be a blue sash in Kung Fu or Tai Chi to join. We’re obviously far from it. Too bad, though…weapons are really interesting…”

“Oh…” Ren tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Do you have any hobbies? Like…before you came here?”

Ren hoped she wasn’t prying too much. The few times she tried to ask about Sarala’s past, the girl would become very tight-lipped and even ignore her for the rest of the day. Ren had learned to stop asking questions.

Sarala stared at her for a long moment, then said simply, “My hobby was surviving.”

Ren could have slapped her hand against her forehead. She didn’t know what else to say, and so remained quiet. A moment of awkward silence lasted, until Zyn broke it. It appeared she had not been paying any attention to the conversation.

“Let’s do the art club!” she said, pointing to the bottom of the list. “It meets on Saterday. Let’s go to that table to get more information!”

“Okay!” Ren agreed, and she hurried after Zyn once more, glad to get away from Sarala. 

They soon reached a table labeled “Art Club” on a green banner. The sisters slid to a stop just before they could slam into the table. A chunky student sat behind it, looking a bit bored as they played with their curly green hair. When Ren and Zyn came over though, they perked up and smiled.

“What’s this club about?” Zyn asked before Ren could finish saying, “Hello.”

The person smiled at Zyn’s enthusiasm. “We do art, lots and lots of art!” they said in a high voice. 

“Umm…yeah…I got that much,” Zyn said blandly. “But what kinds of art?”

“Whatever art we want,” the person said promptly. “No lectures or assignments, just whatever we want to do. We do collaborations and sometimes choose monthly themes too!”

“Ooo, I’m in!” Zyn said, and she signed up at once.

Ren snorted in amusement and wrote her name on the clipboard too. She and Zyn were the only two on the list so far.

The person looked at their names and glanced up at them in surprise. “Wait—you’re Mr. Caihong’s kids?”

“That’s right!” Ren said brightly, and she stuck out her hand. “I’m Ren Caihong.”

The student took her hand and shook it quickly. “I’m Mint Kaheka.”

“I’m Zyn,” Zyn said bluntly.

“It’s very nice to meet you,” Mint said.

“You’re holding up the line,” said a sudden loud voice behind Ren.

She turned around to see C3 had arrived. There was no line behind her, but she was clearly in his way of the signup clipboard.

“Sorry,” she said, smiling at him.

Scowling at her, he added his name to the list. He then grabbed a small pamphlet from the table and walked away.

“O-kay,” Mint mumbled, their green eyes wide with panic. “That was…a bit…um…”

“He’s pretty rude,” Zyn told them.

“Well, hopefully he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed today,” Mint murmured uneasily.

“So how long have you been in the club?” Ren queried curiously.

“Since last year, my first year. I got to take over the club since all the other students who made it left. I’m so excited! We’re gonna have all kinds of fun, making art!”

“Yee!” Zyn yowled.

Ren chuckled. “I hope so. Let me just talk to Zyn for a quick moment…”

She grabbed her sister and pulled her away from the table. Once she was sure they were out of Mint’s earshot, Ren muttered, “Are you sure you want to sign up for this?”

“Why not?” Zyn replied.

“We’re already doing a full day of art on Freday, and we do art in our free time,” Ren pointed out. “It’s not exactly trying out new things, is it?”

Zyn frowned. “I guess not. But the other clubs sound boring, or they meet at times when we’re in class. Besides—now we can share our art with other people!”

“But we do too much art, don’t you think?”

“You can never do too much art! Besides, we’ve never had any art friends before,” Zyn said.

Ren tapped her pointed chin. “We’ve never had friends before, in general, huh? Unless you count the teachers… Well, I guess we can do it. Mint does seem pretty fun, and the club is so small…I wouldn’t want to disappoint them by taking our names off the list.”

“Yeah, so let’s do it!”

Ren smiled. “Okay, fine. Hey—do you think Sarala would be interested in joining?”

“You ask,” Zyn said with a shrug.

Ren nodded and turned on the balls of her feet, skipping across the stone ground until she found Sarala. Sarala was now standing by the large pond, staring down at its rippling surface. She had her back to her, so Ren slowed to a walk and tiptoed the rest of the way. Once she was right behind Sarala, she launched herself forward with a loud cry.

Sarala whirled around and threw a punch at Ren. Ren moved out of the way just in time, glad she had quick reflexes; but she had felt the wind on the strike, and it felt close! 

“What was that for?” Sarala snarled.

“Sorry!” Ren squeaked, her heart racing. “I just—it was—”

“Sneak up on me again, and you’re dead,” Sarala growled in a low voice.

“It won’t happen again!” Ren promised, her body stiff and a lump forming in her throat.

Sarala continued to glare at her for a long moment, then turned and walked away. Ren watched her go in a daze. After a moment, she sighed and made her way back to Zyn, who was chatting to Mint about the Caihong family’s most recent vacation to Wudawuda Hu’ha, a small island part of the Kuokoa Islands, where Mint was from.

Ren looked down at the clipboard, which only contained three names. She flicked her gaze up to Mint and asked, “Is this club generally small?”

Mint turned to her, while Zyn made a face at her for interrupting the story. “Yes,” Mint said. “Last year, we had five members.”

“So do you think Zyn, C3, and I will be the only other members?” Ren pressed.

“Probably,” Mint said with a shrug. “Nobody wants to join an art club if they’re already in art classes, after all.”

Ren did her best not to exchange a guilty glance with Zyn. She merely nodded and added Sarala’s name to the clipboard. “Well, now we’ll have five members in the club,” she said.

“Did Sarala say she wanted to join?” Zyn asked skeptically.

“No,” Ren replied with a shrug. “But I’ll see if I can get her to come, at least to the first meeting.”

“That’s next Saterday, right after breakfast!” Mint told them.

“She can always leave the club if she wants no part in it,” Ren pointed out. “But she should try out something, you know?”

“I guess,” Zyn muttered. “I just don’t think she’ll be too happy.”

“She’ll be happier than when I scared her right now, that’s a for-sure-getter,” Ren said.

“You scared her?”

“Yep.”

Zyn stared at Ren. “How are you still alive?”

Ren laughed. “Quick reflexes?”

“Is this Sarala person…a downer?” Mint asked, frowning.

“She’s had a rough past,” Ren explained. “But she needs to learn to open up more and have fun.”

“I’ll be a tree before that happens,” Zyn scoffed.

As Ren and Zyn headed back to the tower, Ren couldn’t blame her sister for doubting her. Sarala would take ages to open up—if she ever did.

Maybe I can try talking to her later, once she’s cooled off, Ren thought, humming lightly to herself as they entered the tower. That sounds like a good plan… I just can’t be too blunt about it, otherwise she’ll get scared off or offended. 

She skipped up the spiral steps to the bathroom, trying to figure out what she was going to say to Sarala on the way. As Ren entered the bathroom, Zyn continued to the next floor, likely headed for her room to read or draw. 

Ren closed the door behind her, the metal lights turning on as they detected her movement. She walked over to the sink, inspecting her messy-haired reflection in the mirror with a chuckle as she washed her hands. 

“Well, that’s one week of school done,” she murmured to herself. “And it feels great!” 

She walked over to the nearby window, which looked out on tall pines and dancing trees. Opening the glass to let in some fresh air, she took a deep breath and released it in a satisfied sigh. 

“Ooh, what’s that?”

Movement caught her eye, and she looked down at the shrubs. A small farm cat was walking through the grass, bushy tail held high. Ren smiled at the sight.

“So cute!” she squealed in a high-pitched voice, unable to help herself. 

The cat stopped walking and glanced up at her curiously, then scampered into the bushes before she could get a closer look. 

“You’re cute!” Ren called out, laughing lightly. “Speaking of cute, I better get to watering my cute lil’ plants…”