“Wow Keeya, this is amazing! A new life!” Gabrielle said wistfully.

Keeya squealed with excitement.

“I know right? Finally, the day has come! Geezuz, I have been waiting for this day since… like… forever!”

Gabrielle and Keeya grabbed each other’s hands and squealed like a couple tea kettles.

“Keeya Greenwood? You’re ready to go back now,” a nurse in bright pink scrubs said.

“Can my friend come too? She’s like family,” Keeya asked and the nurse nodded.

The girls followed the nurse through the crowded hallways full of beeping machines and ringing phones, with all eyes on the magical staff in Keeya’s hands.

“Here you go. Now, your mom is fine, just tired, so try not to be too loud alright?” the nurse advised with a smile then eying the staff.

Keeya nodded and the nurse gave a customary knock and opened the door.

Keeya hesitated at the door and at the last minute decided to hide the staff behind her back.

Inside her mom was in a hospital bed, with an IV in her hand, cooing to a bundled up wrinkly baby

“Hello, Mrs. Greenwood. Congratulations again, how are you feeling?” the nurse asked.

Keeya and Gabrielle snuck around the bed where Keeya’s dad got up and hugged her and gave Gabrielle a fist bump.

Keeya loved her dad’s hugs. She felt like she was being wrapped in the warmest and biggest blanket and it soothed her nerves.

One of his dread locks booped her nose and she giggled.

“I’m so glad you are okay, the school called and told us there was an attack, but some zookeepers rushed in and saved everyone” he said holding onto her shoulders and looking her up and down as if checking her for stone fragments. His warm, amber eyes softened with relief when he saw none.

“What do you have in your hands?” he asked in his ever-curious tone and Keeya reluctantly brought the staff from behind her back.

“Oh, is that a new one? Wow this one looks almost real. I think you have a cosplay calling or maybe you will follow in your daddy’s footsteps and be an engineer,” he added with a wink.

“Please, one engineer is enough in this family,” she heard her mom say and Keeya beamed.

“Hey sweet potato,” her mom said and she reached out with her hand toward Keeya. Keeya cautiously approached the bed and then bent down so her mom could cup her cheek.

“You are finally a big sister, meet your new little brother, Tyreese Kagiso Greenwood,” she said taking her hand away and placing them on the babies back. The baby gurgled and wriggled in the blanket.

Keeya smiled and ever so gently placed her hand on his tiny hand.

“Keeya, I don’t want you to be scared but there were some complications during birth. Your brother was very stubborn, and it took a bit. I must stay in the hospital. Now your dad will be running back and forth but you will be alone at home, or can you just ride with him? Or you can stay with Aunt Michelle?”

Keeya felt both dread and excitement warred in her stomach and she felt like she was going to throw up.

“Actually, mom there is something I need to tell you guys,” Keeya started and she clutched her staff close to her chest.

*

Keeya left the hospital a long time later, a written permission form in hand. She heaved a sigh and crumbled in on herself.

“Hey, Keeya how did it go?”

Keeya looked up and saw Marco casually walking toward her. He was still in his Zookeeper uniform, and he didn’t seem effected at all by this morning’s chaos.

Keeya stayed crouched and offered up the form.

“I think I would rather fight the snakes than have to do that again,” Keeya said with a crooked grin.

She hoped up and adjusted her jean jacket.

“So, you said they have dorm rooms at Dawns Light Inc?” Keeya asked as they began to walk.

“Yeah, the office is just down the street from here, lucky your mom’s hospital was in the neighborhood.”

Keeya looked around. It felt like a completely different world from her crumbling neighborhood on the border. Here in the center, there were multiple offices, big and small advertising magical kid companies. Apartment buildings were clean and every lawn and bush was cut to perfection. It struck Keeya how it looked more like the will of a higher authority rather than a community coming together.

After walking a couple blocks Marco turned toward a midsize skyscraper with large glass revolving doors and blue gray stone.

Keeya adjusted her afro and patted her baby hair.

I should have worn puffs… puffs are cute. And my outfit could have been better.

She looked down at her dusty leggings, Bobalicious Boba Tea T-shirt, and jean jacket.

Marco had gone in through the revolving door first and turned back to wave her in.

Too late now

Keeya pushed the door around; it wasn’t as heavy as she thought it would be and before she had a chance to breath she was inside the massive lobby of Dawns Light Inc HQ.

Dozens of adults in suits and lab coats were bustling around the lobby and the walkways leading to the upper floors. Some magical kids in sweats and t-shirts were lounging on the leather couches laughing and sipping lattes or sodas.

Marco gestured for Keeya to follow and together they jogged to the front desk.

“Hello Marco, oh who is this?” the lady said standing up slightly to get a better look at Keeya.

Marco waved his hand back to Keeya,

“This is Keeya Greenwood; she would like to join us.”

The lady smiled,

“Do you have permission form your legal guardian?”

Keeya thrusted the paper at her.

“Yes!” she said and was embarrassed by how loud it sounded. But the lady just smiled brighter.

Wonderful! Okay… yes looks like all the relevant information is here, and it says here you will need a dorm room, is that correct?” The secretary asked.

“Yes, please.”

“Okay, I’ll get that all arranged. Please take a seat in the lobby or you can have Marco here show you around I’ll ping you when everything is ready.”

“Great! Keeya lets go look at the training rooms!” Marco said excitedly and he led her to the large stainless steel elevator doors, talking the whole time about the company benefits, which went over Keeya’s head a bit, but it all sounded great! Well except for the private tutor part. Not even saving the world was going to get her out of homework apparently. 

A quick elevator ride later and they were in a large hallway with large rooms on either side. Large clear doors showed kids inside, some in gym clothes but others with some kind of overall theme.

“We can find an empty one and start on your training right away,” Marco said glancing around to find a spot.

“Training? What do you mean? I’m supposed to join your team, right? Get out there with the rest of the zookeepers and finally get my neighborhood out of the border zone.”

Marco looked back and frowned slightly.

“I mean yes, hopefully someday.”

“Someday?” Keeya said, her voice was rising with incredulity.

Marco crossed his arms.

“Uh yeah, did you think my team or any of these others got thrown out to the field once the paperwork was approved?”

Keeya didn’t know about the others but surely, she was different.

“You saw what I did back at the school!”

Marco walked into her space looking serious. She really wished she was taller, instead she glared up at him.

“I saw my cousin do something reckless and you using too much dawns light and putting your life in danger. You have a lot of Dawns Light that much is true, but you need to learn how to use it first.”

He turned around and started looking for an empty room again.

“Yeah, but what about the warehouse, “she muttered to herself.

“What warehouse?” he asked stopping.

“Nothing,” Keeya said putting her hands in her jacket pockets.

As they approached the end of the hallway Keeya could hear two girls arguing.

“I need this room to practice!” A tall, thin blonde girl screeched. She kind of reminded Keeya of this obnoxious blue jay that used to attack her dad’s car mirrors and poop all over them.

“And I’m saying we can just practice together,” Joyce said solid as a rock.

“I can’t focus with all that stomping you do! How can you call that dancing anyway? It’s loud and stupid,” she replied crossing her arms and looking down her beaked nose at Joyce who seemed completely chill.

“Marco, should we do something?” Keeya asked but Marco blocked her with an arm.

Keeya looked up to see him smiling.

“Why don’t you give working together a try? I promise not to step on your ballet shoes,” Joyce said.

The blonde’s face went bright red.

Joyce closed the gap and pointed at the ballet shoes.

“Come on girly girl, dance with me and see if you can keep up.”

The blonde gulped and then noticed Marco and Keeya watching. She sneered.

“I’m going to dance circles around you.” Harumphing she went inside the practice room and started lacing up her shoes.

Joyce turned around.

“Oh, hey Marco, and new girl what’s up? Hey perfect timing you guys are about to see a good show.”

Keeya and Marco stayed in the back of the room leaning against the folded gym floor mats. It really did look like a school gym, in miniature, with mats and weights and that pale shiny wood floor, then Keeya noticed the targets along the far wall.  

“Do you know that girl Marco?” Keeya asked as the two girls stretched and warmed up.

“Sort of. The blonde girl is Claire, and I think she just transferred here from overseas. She was recruited but has been having trouble fitting in with the other members and has been stuck on solo warehouse duty.”

Claire finished stretching and grabbed a metronome from her gym bag. Placing it on the floor she set the beat to a much faster one than Keeya had thought for a ballet. Not that she had watched much of any, but she always associated ballet with slow ethereal movements.

Joyce stood in the center of the room and crossed her arms with her eyes closed. She tapped her foot in time to the beat and smiled.

“Sick beat girly pop,” she said and stood with her legs straight and her arms down.

“Ugh, whatever,” Claire said and this time Keeya thought she might have been blushing.

“Un, deux, trois,”

“Five, six, seven, eight,” the two girls said one after the other, almost in perfect sync.

Joyce started first, her stomps and claps in perfect sync with the beat. Keeya wasn’t sure what the name of the stances Claire did, but her arms and legs looked long and graceful. Her spins were structured and tight as her hair bun. In contrast Joyce was smooth and sinewy, her long woodland-colored braids twirling and bouncing. Keeya was enthralled. It reminded her of a ying yang symbol spinning around one another. As the dance progressed Keeya soon saw how Joyce’s arms snapped out in the opposite direction of Claire, creating perfect symmetry. Claires pointed toes went down in time with Joyce’s stomps and one could almost think that the shoes were creating the thunderous sound.

“This is Joyce’s talent. She is the most adaptable person in the whole company. Many underestimated her but I knew as soon as I saw here with her old team that she had to join my squad,” Marco said with pride.

Dawns Light started to glimmer around them, creating a sea of sparkling stars around the two dancers. Ripples of dawns light spread out from their feet and echoed off the walls as the dance came to an end. Both were breathing heavily and smiling at one another.

Marco clapped after turning off the metronome. The silence was deafening after all the clapping and drumming of limbs.  

Claire, who was as graceful as a swan a second ago now faltered. She looked around and then put her hand on the back of her neck.

“Um... thank you for the… dance,” she said. Then in an instant she gathered up her things and bolted out of the room.

“Aw she’s so cute,” Joyce said grabbing a towel.

“If that is what training looks like then sign me up,” Keeya said with a squeal of excitement.