The rest of the school day passed in the blink of an eye. Not nearly so tortuous as Lila had feared, in retrospect. She checked her phone as she walked out to the car-rider line.

Running a little late, Jinn had texted. 

Lila sighed. It happened from time to time. Her mom was often busy running her business, and Jinn preferred handling as much of it personally as she could. Given that the Cozy Cup was more of a hobby bankrolled initially by Lila's father's job, Lila understood that the whole point was for her mom to have something to while he was away on business. 

It was a strange arrangement, one that brought whispers amongst the PTA moms who volunteered at the front office of Luddington High. Lila's father was away more often than not as some kind of business consultant. She never fully understood his white-collar job, just that it meant frequent video calls, high paychecks, and when he did come home it was a big event. 

Once Lila had asked if her mom was lonely, with her father away more often than not.

"Sometimes, but I actually prefer it that way for the most part," Jinn had told her. "I like my independence, I like my freedom. Your dad gives me that. He makes me feel important and special when he is here, and lets me do what I want when he's not. It works for us."

It was just another way in which Jinn Emery-Park was an unconventional woman, one who had her own dreams and ideas for what her life should look like. That was why she encouraged Lila so, because she'd paved the way for choosing one's own life.

Lila was happy that the cafe brought Jinn so much joy. She just wished it didn't mean she was stuck at school longer on her birthday.

"You too?"

Lila turned her head to see that Kira was sitting on the bench under the metal awning for the car-rider line, her knee bouncing up and down. "Some meeting or something came up at the university, so Grandma can't pick me up for a while."

The girls looked out into the dwindling sea of cars. It was a long time before either spoke again.

"I'm sure they'll come soon," Lila murmured as the last of the initial wave pulled out. "So your grandma works over at Yarros University, then?"

"Yeah." Kira stared out at the empty car-rider line distractedly. It was colder now, the golden light of afternoon dimmer. "I mean, it's the only university in town."

"There's the community college," Lila offered. 

That's when she noticed Kira tugging back and forth at the sleeves of her black leather jacket. 

"Are you okay?" 

"What?" Kira stiffened, eyes wide and alert. "I'm fine, don't worry about it."

That's when Lila felt it. 

All at once, her heart began to race and her palms began to sweat. Was this what a heart attack felt like? Wasn't she too young for a heart attack—

Beyond it all was a sense of innate wrongness.

You shouldn't be here, a little voice whispered inside her head. 

"I have to go." Kira stumbled to her feet and away, toward the empty soccer fields. 

"Wait, you forgot your bag!" Lila fought against a tidal wave of vertigo as she snatched up Kira's backpack.

Kira didn't answer, so Lila followed after her.

Each step was more agonizing as they went down the hill to where the soccer fields were, empty in the off-season. As she continued on, Lila felt her bones ache, the sensation of stretching beneath the skin. Something burned in the heart of her throat, worse than any acid reflux she'd ever known. If she gave voice to anything, she knew she'd surely spit fire or lava. 

By the time they reached the bottom of the hill, Kira collapsed onto the grass. She let out an unearthly roar like a beast. She writhed, letting out more of those terrible roars as her limbs began to stretch, as her features twisted and changed color. Her skin began to elongate in sheets like scales until—

Lila dropped Kira's backpack and swore. 

Looming over her was none other than a dragon. There was no other word for it. Just like the one on their birthmark, a classic four-legged lizard with two wings. With shimmering scales of green and violet, it stared down at her with uncannily human eyes—Kira's eyes. The bat-like wings stretched to at least twice her width. Black horns with a violet sheen emerged from her head, surrounded by tufts of jade-green fringe like the one at the end of her whipping tail. 

The dragon let out a low, frightened groan.

The way it looked at her, Lila could almost understand. 

Help me.

Lila opened her mouth to speak, only to cry out and stumble back. She clutched at her heart—she felt as if she were on fire! She managed to hold her hands out in front of her—cobalt blue claws like the ones on the dragon in front of her were growing from her hands. 

"No, no, no no no—" Her words twisted, deepening and grumbling at the back of her throat. She could see the scales forming in blue and white like an old tea-set. 

Lila squeezed her eyes shut—maybe then it would all go away, it would—

"Need a hand?"

Lila opened her eyes again to see none other than Aideen Llewellyn descending the hill. She marched like a queen of old, a fire in her dark brown eyes as she tossed her denim messenger bags dangling with keychains to the side and conjured what looked like little golden sparks to her fingertips.

"Hang on, I'll put you right," Aideen promised. 

She closed her eyes and wound her fingers, stoking the sparks into golden flames. When she opened her eyes, they too were shining gold as she directed them straight into Lila's heart. Instantly she felt heat in her chest— not so hot that it burned, but warm enough that everything around her seemed cold. Her vision went white.

When all cleared, she could see her tanned bangle-clad hands shaking in front of her. 

The burning had stopped, the twisting was gone.

She was Lila again, a girl and not a dragon.

When she looked up, she saw Aideen standing over Kira, a hand outstretched to the girl on the ground.

"I didn't know you guys were like me," Aideen said, a giddy glow in her eye as she helped Kira stand up. "I hadn't thought there was anyone else."

"What do you mean?" Lila felt colder than she had all day, like she'd just taken a dive into the ocean before sunrise. "What was that—what happened?"
Aideen regarded her as raindrops began to fall. Where had those come from? "I know that must've been scary and none of this makes sense."

She looked to the sky expectantly and picked up her bag. "But if you hang on a minute, they'll explain everything."

"They?" Kira frowned as she picked up her own backpack. "Who's they?"

"It'll all make sense soon," Aideen said primly.

Kira drew close to Lila. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Should we run for it?"

Lila would be lying if she said she wasn't wondering the same. Nothing made sense, and she wondered if it was drugs, hallucinations, or maybe she somehow did have a heart attack at seventeen and this was a dying dream—

There was a flash of light—not lighting, but a golden glow appearing in the center of the field. It solidified, forming a golden door with an arch that reminded Lila of castles. Aideen walked up to the door, only to stop and turn towards Lila and Kira.

"Well, are you coming?"

Lila turned to Kira. But Kira was staring straight ahead, eyes wide, expression otherwise blank. Was it wonder or terror? Lila wasn't sure which—but both would have been appropriate, given the circumstances. 

It was one of those split-second choices that made time go still. For many years after, Lila would lay awake at night, thinking of that very moment, and how things might have turned out differently if she had not gone with Aideen, or Kira hadn't.

But staring at that golden arch, Lila knew in her heart that she'd regret it for the rest of her life if she didn't go through. This was the kind of thing that only happened in the first chapter of shoujo manga, or in stories. It was the guaranteed start of an adventure—something that called out joyously to her heart. 

Don't you want to see what happens next?

Lila took Kira's hand and joined Aideen on the golden steps that had descended from the arch. 

"Let's go."