I stepped out into the hallway, my thoughts focused on the question as to what Kryssia must be like. I mean, she’s Valerica’s friend, so she’s probably dark and broody. That almost typical gothic lolita girl look popped into my head, and it made me stop for a moment. When you take the beautiful models from the pictures online, and you suddenly make one look like a stereotyped goth-loli character, it’s almost like painting a masterpiece. Or so I thought.

Right as I was adding the finishing touches to the opus in my mind, a bounding ball of energy knocked me flat on my ass. It wasn’t until the ball was removed from me by my pale roommate that I noticed that this ball was actually a girl. She was roughly even in height with Valerica… or at least appeared to be when she was held by the scruff of her neck. For such a thin girl, Valerica was quite strong. She also looked a little annoyed by the behavior of the newcomer.

“Kryssia, how many times must I tell you, do not jump on people?  Apologize to Lauren.” Valerica scolded the girl.

The girl brushed a few wavy strands of errant blonde hair from her face, focusing her brilliant grey eyes on my face, and smiled the biggest grin you have ever seen. And then she opened her mouth.

“HI! You’re the new girl, right? Val said she was getting a new roomie, I didn’t expect her to get such a pretty one! I’m Kryssia, but you can call me Krys. Val and I go WAAAAAAY back. She’s almost like my sister! Oh my gosh, you can be our other sister! See Val, I told you we could totally adopt another sister! Let’s take her shopping! You said her name was Lori, right? Oh man, we’re going to have SOOOOOOO much fun! AHHHH!” she talked so fast and so animatedly that I almost couldn’t completely understand her. She was clapping her hands and waving her arms about as she was talking.

Valerica gazed at me with an apologetic look. “I know she’s a little bouncy, but we’ve been together since we were little. It’s like an extra limb that you never asked for… but it’s there anyway. You’ll likely have at least one class with her. If you feel the undeniable urge to kill her, do it outside please.”

“Uh, right. Does she always ambush people?” I asked, sizing her up.

“Only new people.” Valerica said, setting Kryssia on her feet.

Without being held up by her friend, Kryssia was actually rather short. Standing just about five feet even, and looking lighter than a feather, Kryssia was no more than a spirit of a girl. Pale, but in a healthier looking way than Valerica, and with hair down to her lower back, she was almost that little sister character you would see in comics. Cute and loveable, with so much energy. And the sundress she was wearing today, you could almost see the pink bra under the thin blue fabric…so much potential for… no, focus Lauren, focus. Now is no time, you have to have more than just a bad reputation by the end of the week.

“Anyway, we should get a move on. There’s not likely to be a crowd in the café right now, so it’s the best place for a meal, and the view of the floating gardens from the balcony is spectacular.” Valerica said, hooking Krys’ arm in her own and beckoning me to latch on to her other.

I can only imagine the way we looked going through the school; a short bubbly blonde, a tall, dark haired mistress of the night, and the flaming red headed new girl… what a trio. 

As we got closer to the café that Valerica had talked about, the smells of a million different types of cuisine assaulted my nose. Then it hit me, I hadn’t eaten on the plane from America to England, and nobody offered me anything before or after the helicopter ride to the island. I hadn’t eaten in a solid twenty-four hours or so, I was starving.

“Somebody’s got a rumbly tummy!” Krys teased from the other side of Valerica. “Lori, do you eat a lot? Or are you like Val here and just pick at your food?”

I blanched at the question. I’d always had a “healthy” appetite but my body never seemed to show how much I ate. I was never certain how to answer when asked about my eating habits, so I decided this time to be honest. “I can hold my own with most boys my age.”

“Yay, a new eating buddy! Val is always like ‘Krys, don’t eat so much, you look like a pig.’ She’s like my mom most days, but she just needs to chill out.”

Valerica tugged a bit on Kryssia, “Do I need to take away dessert privileges again? I’ll do it Kryssia, I swear I will. Don’t encourage unladylike behavior.”

Both Krys and I inhaled sharply. You don’t threaten a girl’s dessert. It’s just not done. If Valerica could make such a vile claim and enforce it, there would be no stopping her from taking over the world if she wanted to.

“LOOOOORIIIIII, SAVE ME FROM MAMA!” Krys wailed and she ran about to place me between her and Valerica.

“It’s Lauren, not Lori, Kryssia. You’ll offend our new friend. And if you offend her, she might eat your dessert in front of you.” Valerica reprimanded.

I looked over at Kryssia and saw her face get a sudden fearful, almost weepy look, like she’d just been betrayed. I couldn’t be mad at her over something so small. “It’s ok, you can call me Lori. I’m not going to be upset by something like that.” I smiled.

Suddenly my guide stopped, and yanked us all to a screeching halt.

“What happened?” I looked at Valerica, who had grown impossibly more pale.

“If you’ll look to your three o’clock Lauren, you’ll see our esteemed head girl Fianna Bás. Do NOT cross her.” Valerica whispered.

I followed Valerica’s directions and saw… the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen in my life. Fair skinned, hair equally as red as mine, but with a pixie cut, and when she turned to look in our direction, her emerald eyes positively glowed. And then… she walked toward us. Her stride was measured and confident, her manner was that of a woman in charge of the world, and her aura bathed us in a feeling of calm radiance. When she stopped before us, her faint smile caught me dead in my tracks. My heart skipped a beat, and I stopped breathing for a moment.

“I take it you are the new student, Lauren Sidhe, correct? I am Fianna Bás, head girl and mistress of order here at Avalon Girl’s Academy. I’ve read your file, and I’d like a word with you, if your companions don’t mind.” Her voice was silk to my ears, and her lilting Irish accent struck me to my soul.

“We’ll be over on the balcony when you’re done Lori!” I heard Krys say as she and Valerica scattered from my arms.

“An odd pair of girls, but they’ll keep you on the up and up. Now, about your… incident… at your last school,” Fianna began, “While we here at Avalon do not discourage interpersonal relationships between young women who are eager to… explore one another, we do ask that no one make a scene… SO, if I get any… reports of you causing a ruckus or violating another young woman’s person without her consent, you’ll be facing my personal brand of discipline. Am I clear?”

“Slap my ass and tell me I’m a naughty girl.” My mouth slipped before I could even begin to properly understand her words. “OH MY GOD, I AM SO SORRY, THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT TO SAY!” I freaked as I realized what I had said. I covered my mouth and blushed a red so bright my hair must have looked white by comparison.

She appeared ruffled for just a moment, and then composed herself again. “I imagine you’re tired, and maybe this was not the time… If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be taking my leave now. If you need me, I’ll be in my office when classes are not in session. Good day.” And off she went.

I stood there, red in the face, for another few minutes before I wandered over to Valerica and Krys.

“So… did she confess her love for you? Did she ask you to meet her for a midnight rendezvous on some moonlit hillock beyond the school gates where you can frolic and cavort unseen? Come on, tell me why you’re so red!” Krys began, getting more absurd by the guess.

I looked away.

“Actually, I’m a little curious myself. Is there something I should know about?” Valerica asked.

“Can you two promise not to judge me based on what I’m about to say?” I asked, feeling pretty embarrassed and a little like a bug under a magnifying glass.

“I promise nothing.” Valerica said. But then Krys smacked her in the breast and she added, “I’ll try keeping an open mind though.” Krys just nodded vigorously.

I took a deep breath and let it out before I started explaining. “So, some background here before I can explain myself. In America, people of a homosexual nature are treated unfairly. Part of the issue is the ‘pride’ parades where… well, let’s just say that being confident in your sexuality is great, but the way they are conducted is not. The other issue is the average "American Christian," the mob minded homophobes tend to jump at any chance to tell us how we’re less than them. The biggest problem about that is… well, their savior died so they could ignore the rules written in the old testament, which is where it’s written that gays are bad, right? But what I did when confronted by one of these sheep was inappropriate and an overreaction. A girl at my previous school, a very zealous little brat and the daughter of the principal, started trying to preach at me how I was an abomination. And when I was really tired of her trying to convert me, I shoved my hand down her shirt and yanked her bra off. It didn’t help that I then placed it on the school mascot…”

I took another breath before continuing. “Fianna was talking about that, and she made sure to reinforce the rule prohibiting making a scene or publicly, uh, ‘exploring another girl’s body’ without her consent. And then my mind blanked and I said something that made me look like an idiot.” I mumbled the last few words more to myself than to the others.

I kept my gaze on my legs, too afraid to meet my companions eyes, and waiting for them to get up and leave me all to myself. But then, a hand with black nail polish set itself on my shoulder, and I looked up. Valerica was trying to stop herself from laughing. Kryssia was shaking her head with a small grin. They took a moment to collect themselves, and then they looked at me.

“Lauren, I’m buying your meal. The image of a girl chasing a school mascot around trying to get back her bra is just something I didn’t know I needed in my life. I’m not phased by women who are into women, just don’t try exploring my body.” Valerica giggled.

Kryssia smacked her arm. “Don’t tease her, she’s had enough of people doing that. And you should be nice, not all Christians are like that. There are nice ones… they’re just rare. Lovely, but rare. Anyway, we don’t see you any differently than when we first met. A quarter of the student body here is lesbian.”

It took a moment for her words to sink in. A full quarter?

“So, three orders of sweet and sour work? We’ll get apple dumplings for dessert.” Valerica asked us.

“Make mine a double!” Krys exclaimed.

“I’ll just give you what I don’t eat, you know that.” Valerica said, glowering.

I was happy to just be looked at as a normal student, even with my peculiarities. So I smiled and nodded and we got our food ordered just in time for the lights in the gardens out across the way come on. When Valerica said floating, she meant literally floating in the air, not in the water.

Lit with blue and green neon lights, the platforms gave an almost romantic view of the area. This was the first truly beautiful part of the school I’d seen, excluding the girls, and it was the most impressive sight I’d ever beheld.

The food came and we ate with mild chatter, getting to know one another, and they told me about their first year at Avalon. By the time midnight came about, I was happier than I’d been in ages. Eventually Kryssia felt the need to leave, and it was just Valerica and I. The air between us got a little tense.

“So, I guess I should share with you the reason I’m here. I mean, you shared yours, it’d only be fair… my parents lived through the communist regime in our country. The sudden change from anti-religious state to Greek Orthodox church majority had conflicts, like all changes, and a group of people claiming to be representing the teachings of the one true God stormed the place we lived. My parents were slain before my eyes, and then… I get fuzzy here, some memories are missing, I woke up in a cave system. It was the old type of tunnel system used by monks… there were some really gruesome images painted in blood on walls and people being tortured, not just my people but also the Christians. I escaped, traveled around a lot, eventually met Kryssia and her family, and they raised me. Then we both received letters from Mistress Black, promising us a better future... so long as we keep our end of the bargain; get decent grades, attend classes, attend functions regularly, and we were prohibited from attacking people’s beliefs. I hate religion; not just Christians, not just the cultists I ran into, all religions. I hate the concept. So it is a challenge for me, and I’ll rely on you to act as a buffer from time to time, and I’ll run interference for you as well when needed. Can we agree on this?”

I digested her words, the heft of them was staggering.

“I’ll help you, that’s what friends do. I wouldn’t expect anything for it. You’ve been really nice to me, and I return kindness with kindness.” I told her, placing my arm on her shoulder like she had for me earlier.

We walked back to the room, and there was a parcel outside the door. Valerica picked it up and brought it inside with us. It was apparently copies of the notes for the classes I missed that I was sharing with Kryssia. And Valerica gave me copies of her history notes.

“Hey, one more thing before you get stuck in study land or pass out. You can call me Val, normally only Krys gets to do that.” Valerica said quietly as she sat on her bed.

I turned on my bedside lamp, opened the first day’s worth of notes from the Kryssia stack, and began pouring over everything. Hours later I fell asleep, and the dream I had was as vivid as the memory of the garden.

The world was monochrome, but it was my home town in Oregon. I wandered off into the trees near the town, and entered into a clearing where a figure sat. I stepped into the clearing, and called out to the figure. My voice didn’t work, my arms became leaden, my legs froze, and everything slowed. The burning red hair swayed, the figure was facing away from me, but I almost swore it was my mother. I tried calling out to her. The figure turned, I tried again to call out, the feeling of warmth and love poured from her, and she stood. She was clad in black plate armor, a scythe of grey mist lay in the grass next to her, and her she looked amazing.

Then she removed her head. I was frozen in terror, and the figure turned full to face me. Holding her head about level with her navel, the figure faced me and revealed the secret of her identity. The face on the head was not my mother, it was that of Fianna Bás. She began to open her eyes and...

Then I woke up.