Over the weekend, Aiden worked with Dawn to hone her powers. When I met up with them Monday morning, she was literally glowing.

“Better turn that off before class.” I chided.

She turned to me and grinned. “Morning, Gwen. Watch this.” She raised her arms out in front of her and pulled one back. A bolt of light appeared between her two hands and she aimed it at me.

“Dawn, I wouldn’t do--”

She released the bolt before I could finish my warning. I gasped in shock and terror as it passed through my stomach. A slight warmth radiated outward, but other than that, nothing happened.

“Her magic can’t hurt you.” Aiden reminded me. Though, he did give Dawn a slap on the wrist. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous. What if someone was behind Gwyneira? She’s the only one who won’t be hurt. Anyone else would feel the full force of the sun.”

I could feel the blood drain from my face. “Is she really that strong already?”

Aiden shook his head. “It’s not a matter of ‘already’. Dawn doesn’t have control over the force she puts behind her attacks. I can determine how hot my fire gets, since I’ve been training for years. But her light is all instincts right now.”

“You can’t turn me off!” Dawn shouted. “Either accept me or get out of my way!”

I sighed at the same time the morning warning bell rang. Dawn bounded past me to the stairs. Her glow, thankfully, was gone. Aiden walked over more calmly and held the door for me.

“Don’t say it.” I warned him as I passed.

He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. “After you, Princess.”

I gave him a light punch on the shoulder, but smiled when I turned away. I decided that it was a nice feeling, having friends. I now understood why everyone on tv made a big deal about it.

Walking with Dawn to our class, I felt the same nagging feeling I’d felt at the flower shop. Curious, I looked into the classroom we were passing. It was a junior class, so I wasn’t expecting to recognise anyone.

A wisp of green caught my attention and I stopped in my tracks. The saleslady from before was sitting in the room’s equivalent of my seat. Her schoolbag was leaning up against the wall, open. A small stack of notebooks was sitting on her desk, topped with a floral-patterned pencil case. She was leaning back in her chair, a horticulture book in her hands.

“What’s wrong?” Dawn asked, looking over my shoulder. “Whoa, she’s got a cool belt.”

I glanced at my friend and followed her gaze back to the green-haired girl. She was, in fact, wearing a brown-leather belt with shiny stones fastened to it.

“Think the tiara would ever look like that?” Dawn jabbed my side. “It’d definitely be easier to hide.”

“Can I help you?” A boy asked from beside us.

I nudged Dawn out of the way so we weren’t blocking the door. “Sorry.” I said reflexively. “No, just thought I saw someone I knew.”

The boy nodded in understanding, a kind smile on his face. “Are you freshmen?”

Dawn shook her head. “Sophomores.” She returned the boy’s smile. “I like your bag.”

He looked down at his plain brown messenger bag. “Uh, thanks.” He nodded in my direction. “I like your hair. It’s different, like Lilli’s.”

I blinked back at him, dumbfounded. “No one likes my hair.” I stated.

He laughed. “Well, I do.” He tugged at his own dark hair. “I once bleached mine, but it got really damaged and I had to shave my head.”

“Yikes.” Dawn grimaced at the same time the warning bell rang. “Shoot! We gotta go.”

The boy gave us a small wave. “Nice talking to you. Come by again some time. I’m William, by the way.”

“Dawn.” She put a hand on my shoulder. “And this is Gwen.”

We jogged away quickly and managed to get to our class before the teacher. I noticed that Daren was studying my movements as I took my seat, so I gave him a pointed look and he averted his gaze.

Dawn turned around in her seat and smiled. “Hey, Daren. How was your weekend?”

He grunted in response. When Dawn didn’t turn back around, he sighed. “I met up with some friends and we had lunch. Happy?”

“Sounds fun. Gwen and I don’t really go out on the weekends.” She gave me a pouty face. “We should go to a café or something. You should come to, Daren.”

“I’m your enemy.” He hissed at her.

“You’re the only one who thinks that.” She hissed back.