Evelyn ran to her first class of the day with Tiffany by her side, not appreciating the mid-day sun beating down on her. This campus was huge! And stunning. The beautiful cerulean ocean surrounded clusters of buildings perched on top of heavy stone pillars. Students bustled around in the center of the campus, the sound of rushing water cascading over the many waterfalls, a constant yet comforting white noise. She didn’t expect Epiwith’s structure to look this old, but it was just a facade. Everything inside had modern technology. Not as advanced as Bosany’s, but up to date with what she would find on Earth. Another thing that Ma’taut had in common with Earth was twenty-four hour days and one sun. She thought back to the events of earlier this morning as she shoved through the crowds with her new roommate.

As promised, getting her enrolled took a long time, and she had to wait in that claustrophobic office with Hillary for almost four hours until her paperwork was fully processed. Which didn’t make any sense. How could they have any files on her if she’d never been here before? But maybe it didn’t make any sense because she had only gotten about two hours of sleep last night. After the diner closed, she and Hillary had to find some place on the street to crash, because they couldn’t afford a hotel room. All because Hillary forgot her wallet and she was too lazy to travel back to Earth and get it. Hillary had sworn that wasn’t the reason.

“Even if I did have my wallet, I don’t have any currency that’s valued here!” Hillary insisted.

“What...ever! I wanna a-a place to sleep, dang it!” Evelyn’s words were beginning to slur as sleep took over her brain.

They found a park bench, and Hillary fell asleep right away. Evelyn was ready to drop dead right then and there, but every time she would start to drift off, some noise would jolt her awake, paranoid of whatever was lurking in the dark. She only got a few minutes of sleep here and there; it was a restless night. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t really been awake at all when they were waiting for the paperwork to process. She had spent most of her time in the claustrophobic office curled up in a ball, snoring.

When Hillary woke her up, she shoved a copy of “A Student’s Guide to Magic” into Evelyn’s hands and tugged her along to go see the dorm she was going to be living in for the next four years.

The lady who took forever to file her paperwork led them there, weaving in and out of the swarms of students. They almost lost her a couple of times, and she had to stop so they could catch up, and she looked more annoyed with each stop. She led them away from the main city to a covered bridge that led to a secluded area covered with greenery and dorm buildings. They entered one of the buildings off to the right and navigated the bright hallways until they reached her new room. The filing lady knocked lightly on the door.

“Tiffany? Your roommate is here,” she called inside. Evelyn’s stomach dropped, and she whipped her head towards Hillary. Hillary looked at her quizzically.

Evelyn whispered, “Why am I sharing a room with someone? I thought you said that I couldn’t tell anyone about my powers! How can I avoid talking–” The door opened, and a girl stood there, hand still on the knob, face expressionless. Evelyn assumed this was Tiffany. She wore a white beanie that rested on the back of her head, and had long, dirty blonde hair. Her white open crochet sweater partially hid her black shirt patterned with dark red roses, and stopped at the hem of her light blue jean shorts. Tiffany gave Evelyn a quick once over, and Evelyn glanced down at what she was wearing, realizing how overly formal she looked compared to her new roommate. Her ears burned with embarrassment, and she pushed her long sleeves up a bit. Evelyn hugged her Magic Guide close to her chest and ran her fingers over the designs in the faux leather cover to distract herself.

“You’re really bad at whispering,” Tiffany directed at Evelyn.

Her ears grew even hotter, and she muttered a soft, “Oh.”

“It’s fine. They told me everything. I can understand why you’d be paranoid,” she explained, her voice in a conspiratorial whisper, “Don’t worry. I won’t tell a soul.” Tiffany winked, a smile lighting up her features.

The paperwork lady spoke, “I trust that you’ll show Evelyn around the school, Tiffany. You have almost all of your classes together, so you’re her guide for now.” Tiffany nodded. “Now, Ms. Valerie, please come with me. You’re going to help a team of Magician’s extract all of Ms. James’ belongings and change her parent’s memories.” She walked off at a clipped pace, and paused when Hillary didn’t follow. “Come on! Sometime today would be nice.”

“Yes Mrs. Verpale. One second please,” Hillary pleaded. Evelyn swore she heard Mrs. Verpale mutter something along the lines of “Slow girl, hasn’t changed a bit,” but she just nodded her head in defeat. Hillary turned to Evelyn and gave her a big hug.

“Am I gonna get to see you again?” Evelyn asked, eyes starting to tear at the thought. Hillary pulled away and held her shoulders.

“I’m not sure,” she expressed honestly, “I may stay here...I don’t know,” she shrugged. “But,” she started, rummaging around in her robe. She stopped when she found what she wanted, a small piece of yellow striped paper. It was her business card. “If you need me,” she held it out to Evelyn, who took it and began to inspect it, “Call this number.”

“This is your work number,” Evelyn stated.

“Yes, and no. I run my own small business, so it’s actually just my cell. Makes my life easier,” Hillary explained.

“Cool. I can get cell reception over here?” Evelyn asked.

“Yup,” Tiffany confirmed from behind her, “And the internet. It’s faster than Earth’s.”

“How…?”

“Some really smart Chemists figured it out,” interjected Mrs. Verpale, “Can we go now?” she nagged, arms crossed and foot tapping.

“Yes,” sighed Hillary reluctantly. She embraced Evelyn once more and headed off down the hall to catch up with the impatient Mrs. Verpale. Before she disappeared around the corner, she flashed Evelyn a quick grin, and then she was gone, the black silk of her robe trailing behind her.

After a pause, Tiffany spoke. “Want to come inside?” she invited.

Evelyn turned back to the open door and Tiffany who was leaning against it. “Sure.”

Tiffany pushed herself off the frame and opened the wooden door wide enough so Evelyn could enter.

The room was small, but cozy. A wooden desk with padded black chairs was to Evelyn’s left, and a small closet stood to her right. A wood bunk bed resided behind the closet. It was next to the three paneled window which let in a lot of sunlight, gray curtains pushed aside. Evelyn liked this place. The bathroom was located in the corner, behind the table. She glanced around, noticing the lack of personal items the room held, excluding the plants on the window sill, a small picture above the top bunk and a couple of markers askew on the table.

Tiffany picked up on Evelyn’s scrutiny. “Oh yeah. I know it looks like I just moved in here, which I guess I kind of have, considering I moved in last month, but,” She paused, and strolled over to the closet and yanked the doors open. Mountain of stuff spilled out, from clothes, to trinkets, to stuffed animals.

“Wow,” Evelyn said, jaw hanging open.

“Yeah,” Tiffany agreed. She picked up a giant stuffed elephant that was at least a third of her size and squeezed it in a hug. “I’m sorry you had to be squished in there like that Jerry,” she apologized, kissing the top of his head and tossing him onto the top bunk.

She stopped, remembering her manners. “I-um, I had been sleeping on the top bunk, but ya know, if you want it, go ahead,” Tiffany offered politely.

Evelyn thought about it. She did want the top bunk. But she also wanted to be nice. She wanted to be better at making friends than she had been. Positivity. I’ll give it a try. Evelyn said to herself, determined to start changing her negative attitude. Start small. “Nah, I’m good. You can keep it,” she replied.

Tiffany grinned and bounced on her heels. “Thanks!” she exclaimed.

Evelyn felt a bit of joy light up in her chest when she saw Tiffany’s smile. Maybe being kind isn’t so hard after all.

Tiffany continued to yank out all of her stuff that she had crammed inside the small closet, and Evelyn decided to help her out. Tiffany talked as they worked, and instead of tuning her out, Evelyn listened. She even added a thing or two here and there when it was appropriate. Tiffany talked about her family, and how she’d first discovered her powers.

“So what kind of magician are you?” Evelyn asked later, once all of Tiffany’s things were back in order. They sat at the desk, markers pushed aside.

“Combatant.”

Evelyn grinned. “Cool!” she opened her Magic Guide and flipped to Combatants, skimming the text.

“We need to come up with a name for you,” Tiffany ordered.

Evelyn shook her head. “What would I even be called?”

Tiffany pondered it for a moment. “I don’t know...you’re one of a kind,” she pointed out. They giggled for a moment before the conversation lapsed into silence. Evelyn looked out the window, trying to come up with something clever. Tiffany seemed to be thinking about the same thing, judging by the way she was gnawing on her lower lip, finger entwined with a lock of her hair.

Tiffany’s phone buzzed, sending vibrations through the table and efficiently bringing them both back to reality. She checked it, and shot to her feet. Tiffany pocketed the device and snatched up her black backpack from its chair in the corner.

“Crap…” Tiffany exhaled, fear creeping into her voice. She darted around the room, looking under things and shoving random papers into her open backpack.

“What? What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Evelyn interrogated, worried.

“Nothing, it’s fine. We’re ten minutes late to class, but otherwise fine,” she assured Evelyn. Evelyn got to her feet as quickly as Tiffany had and hurriedly pushed in her chair.

“Ten minutes? On my first day?” she cried out, running a hand through her hair. Tiffany shrugged, regret written in her feature.

“Sorry. I was just enjoying talking to you so much, I forgot. I’m sorry. You can blame it on me when we get there. It’s my fault,” she apologized. Tiffany plopped down on the little patch of rug that wasn’t taken up by the table and chairs and tired to pick a pair of shoes to wear.

Evelyn was taken aback by her words. She...she enjoyed...talking to me? That’s a first. Evelyn coughed. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. It’s cool. I don’t mind. I-I had fun talking to you too,” Evelyn assured her. She didn’t want Tiffany to feel guilty, especially after she’d been so nice to Evelyn.

“I’m glad you aren’t mad!” Tiffany disclosed, tying a pair of black converses on her feet. She popped up, backpack closed and slung over one shoulder. “You know, you’re pretty cool Evelyn. I’m glad we’re rooming together,” she complimented, the sincerity making Evelyn’s cheeks heat up.

“Thanks,” she laughed, timid for once. This felt...wierd, but in a really good way. She could get used to this.

Tiffany beamed. “Let’s go!” She flung the door open and they rushed out, hoping to not get into too much trouble.

They entered the classroom while the teacher was talking. Of course, Evelyn complained. It looked like a college classroom; a mini teaching arena as Tiffany liked to call it. He stopped his speech and glared at them.

“I’d appreciate it if you’d come to class on time, Ms. Armstrong,” he drawled. He didn’t seem angry, just tired. Judging by his tone, this wasn’t the first time Tiffany had been late.

“I’m sorry Mr. Fogarty. I got distracted. It’s my fault. Please don’t mark Evelyn late. She doesn’t even have her schedule yet,” Tiffany pleaded.

Mr. Fogarty glanced at Evelyn, and his nose crinkled in distaste. “Fine. Take your seat Ms. Armstrong.”

Tiffany nodded and left Evelyn alone at the top of the steps.

All eyes were on Evelyn, no doubt because of her court robe.

Mr. Fogarty tapped a pen against his bottom lip, thinking of the best place to put the new student. “Name?” he asked Evelyn.

She didn’t register that he was talking to her. “Me?” she questioned.

Mr. Fogarty rolled his eyes. “Yes, you,” he replied, condescending. A few snorts of laughter could be heard in the classroom.

Evelyn felt embarrassed, but she hid it well, instead deciding to straighten her posture. “James. Evelyn James,” she stated proudly.

Mr. Fogarty nodded. “Sit next to Aster.” He pointed directly in front of him. Evelyn trudged down the stairs, scanning the rows for whoever Aster was.

“Aster, raise your hand,” he requested. A girl sitting in the front row, with pale skin and long ginger hair raised her hand. Evelyn made her way towards Aster and sat down in the empty next to her.

She smiled, causing her steel eyes to squint at the corners. “Hi,” she whispered to Evelyn.

“Hi,” Evelyn whispered back.

The class began to start talking, and Mr. Fogarty clapped his hands.

“That’s enough!” he shouted. “Turn to page 150, so we can continue reading the second act of Romeo and Juliet.” Everyone grumbled and pulled a textbook out from their bag, slamming it on the desk in front of them.

Evelyn gulped, realizing she had no book, and therefore nothing to read.

“Here, share with me,” offered Aster.

Evelyn grinned a little and scooted closer. “Thanks.”

Mr. Fogarty started to read the play out loud, emotion in his voice. Evelyn knew she needed to pay attention, but she couldn’t help but ask, “Why are we doing Romeo and Juliet? Aren’t we only supposed to learn magic here?”

Aster laughed. “That’s what I thought at first too. Turns out, they want us to continue our education. So we have normal classes and magic classes. Kinda nice actually,” she whispered back.

“Cool!” Evelyn said.

Aster nodded. “Hey, we have to do some group work later on Act two. Do you want to join? It’d be me, you, Tiffany, Jade, Clay, Xander and Rick. I know you don’t know most of those people, but you at least know me and Tiff,” Aster added.

Evelyn thought about it for a moment. “I’d like that. Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

They tuned back into Mr. Fogarty and followed along for the rest of the act.