:=: Maria :=:

"It doesn't mean she's innumerate," Maria explained. "Just like dyslexia doesn't make people illiterate. It just means she'll have to be more careful, and she'll likely need more time to get through the assignments. There are a lot of variables, and Cindy seems to struggle more in some areas and less in others. But everyone is unique, there's no 'standard' way it presents, and it doesn't affect everyone equally."

She was visiting with Nicole and Samantha again. The two young women had asked to see her, to go over some questions they had regarding Cindy's school requirements. The three were sitting in the office in their condo. Nicole was in one of the desk chairs, while Maria and Samantha were on the sofa.

And once again, the sort of questions they were asking seemed unusual, and as before, they were being very secretive and a little evasive on a lot of topics relating to the small teen they were looking after.

Nikki asked, "What sort of grades would she be expected to get in math?"

Maria sighed, "The best indicator of that will be to get her transcripts and see how she's done in the past. In the meantime, you could just ask her how she did in her last math class?"

She was starting to have trouble keeping the frustration out of her voice. Half the things they were asking her about dyscalculia they could have found online if they'd searched for it, and the other half they could have learned by just asking the girl. She'd have had it all her life, it's not something you just develop overnight.

She could see Nicole and Samantha were both looking uncertain. After a couple seconds of awkward silence, Maria asked "Is there a reason you can't just ask Cindy how she's managed with her previous math classes? I assume it's the same reason you're all so evasive when it comes to her past."

She saw the two young women exchange a glance. Samantha was starting to look a little uneasy now. Nicole looked a bit resigned.

Nicole nodded, "Yes Maria, there is a reason. Before we continue, I have to ask you to swear an oath of secrecy. Nothing we discuss here can leave this apartment. Ok?"

Maria frowned. Whatever they were planning to say next seemed to be something they took seriously. She sighed, "You both know that all my client records and session notes are confidential. But if it makes you both feel better, then yes, I swear it." She looked at them both, "Now will you two tell me what's really going on here?"

Samantha answered, "We haven't been able to get Cindy's transcripts because 'Cindy Talbot' didn't exist before November. She has no transcripts because she has no history at all."

Maria was a little puzzled at first, but then realized what Sam meant. "You mean she's changed her name? You can still get the transcripts under her old name. Or if you don't want her old name on the paperwork, you could get the records updated first, then get the transcripts." She then added, "And regardless, you could still just ask her how she managed in class, what sort of grades she was getting before."

Nikki shook her head, "She didn't just have a different name, Maria. Three and a half months ago, Cindy was an entirely different person. Someone who graduated high-school about three years ago. Someone who didn't have dyscalculia. That person's transcripts wouldn't help us, because Cindy's not them any more."

Sam added, "That's why we can't just ask her how she did in math last year. Up till November, she was a third-year student at Brock, working on a Masters in maths and physics..."

Maria was frowning now, she could feel her frustration turning into anger. She'd been trying to help them, trying to help the small teen, and now the two young women were talking nonsense, making jokes or something.

She asked angrily, "Is this some sort of a game for you two?"

Nicole sighed, "It's not a joke, Maria. Last November... a little over a week before you first met her, Cindy was magically cursed. By a Goddess. You don't need to know why, or who she used to be. Only that at the start of November, she was a twenty-two year old college student. She was an athlete. And she was a man."

Maria couldn't believe her ears. She couldn't decide if the two young women had both lost their minds, or if they were still trying to pull some sort of elaborate prank or joke on her. Before she could speak, Samantha cut her off.

"You said yourself, the girl's presentation was confusing. At times she seemed like a college student to you."

Maria remembered that. When she'd first met the small teen back in November, she had a hard time understanding some things. The girl's mood and presentation were both all over the place. Her mood would bounce around between happy and sad, serious and joking. And she shifted between acting like a child, a teen, and at times, like a college student.

"I'm sure there's a rational, legitimate explanation for that, Samantha," Maria stated, trying to keep her tone level. "There's no such thing as gods and curses and-"

The rest of her sentence evaporated from her mind as she stared. Floating in the air between herself and Nicole, were three balls of light. They were the size of softballs, glowing a pure warm white light. And they were just floating there, slowly twirling around each other.

Samantha leaned a little closer and then said quietly, "Magic is real, Maria. So are Gods and Goddesses. Nikki and I... We're connected with a Goddess. We use Her magic to try and help people."

For now, Maria just kept staring at the floating orbs. She had no explanation for this. There were no strings, nothing to explain what these were or how they'd come into existence, how they were just floating there. She could feel her understanding of the world starting to crack a little bit, as she desperately tried to think of a rational way to justify what she was seeing. She tried to talk, but couldn't come up with a coherent sentence yet. "I don't... How... What?"

Still leaning close, Samantha asked softly, "Remember when you first met Jessica?"

Maria's eyes stayed on the floating lights, but she did remember. "Your sister? In November, the day I came here to do the first assessment with Cindy..."

She then heard Samantha whisper something. Maria didn't understand the words, she wasn't even sure they were words. Then Sam said, "No. Last July. Remember Jessica Campbell."

Maria frowned. The name didn't mean anything, and she wasn't sure what Sam was referring to in July. Then suddenly it was like a curtain was pulled back in her mind, and forgotten memories were revealed. She remembered going with Sam to meet a troubled young trans woman in the hospital psych ward. She remembered the tall gaunt Jessica, dealing with depression and homelessness. She remembered the kid was an artist.

And she knew that somehow, Jessica Carlisle was the same person as that troubled unfortunate teen. Some sort of miracle had changed the teen's life, her family history, even her body.

Maria gasped, "Holy sh..." She put a hand over her mouth. Then asked, "What?!" as she looked back and forth between the two young women. "How?"

Nicole nodded slowly. "Jessica wished to have a better family, one that would love her unconditionally. Sam and I, and our Goddess, granted her that wish. Reality was changed, and Jess became Sam's sister."

Sam added, "We've helped several others, without changing all of reality... That's not something we do lightly."

Maria looked at the balls of light again, and gulped. Then she made another connection. She asked, "That's what your non-profit is for? So you can find people, and help them using... Magic?"

"The org helps people the normal way." Sam replied. "But if we find people who need more help, or people where mundane help can't come fast enough, then yes. We intervene with magic."

Nicole then reminded her, "You cannot share this with anyone, Maria. It has to be kept a secret. The magic, the Goddess, and what you've learned of Cindy's and Jessica's past."

Maria glanced at the door, in the direction of Cindy's bedroom. If what they said about the small teen was true, then it explained why they couldn't get transcripts, and why the girl couldn't just say how she'd done in math last year. Though it left Maria curious what the two young women wanted from her.

She looked back at the floating balls of light, then at her two her hosts. She finally asked, with a little hesitation, "Ok... I'm starting to believe this stuff. So what is it you want from me?"

Nikki replied, "What would be some believable grades for her, for math? We've already figured out plausible scores for her other courses, but none of us know what to make of her problem with math."

Maria thought for a few moments. She wasn't really comfortable doing this, but the way the goth worded it told her why they were asking. She sighed, "Anything around 60 would be a believable grade... Mid 50's to low 60's..." She then asked, "Are you going to try and forge the transcripts? Or -" She gasped again, eyes wide.

Nicole's eyes had flared with blue light, and now the goth was holding a plain manilla file folder that wasn't there a moment ago. At the same time, the three glowing lights blinked out of existence.

Samantha reached out and took the folder from her girlfriend, and had a look inside. After a few moments, she took a sheet of paper out of the folder and offered it to Maria. "This should do, then?"

Maria looked at the paper, and trying not to let on how nervous she was, she reached out and took it. It was a high-school transcript, and it looked genuine. It was from a school with an address in Chatham, Ontario. There were courses and grades listed for Cindy, covering grades nine and ten, and the first semester of grade eleven. The marks in English and History were pretty good, her Math and Science grades were poor, and the rest of her scores were fairly average. All in all, it was a plausible, believable transcript.

She handed it back to Sam, and said "Yes... this should do fine..." She then added, "It looks real?"

Nicole nodded, "It is real. Our Goddess just conjured them up, but She made them real."

Maria was still in a bit of shock, but she remembered something else from November. "This is how you got her documents, isn't it? The court order, the health card..."

Sam nodded, "Yes."

Maria was still trying to work through all the implications and ramifications of magic and curses and deities, when a new thought suddenly occurred to her. She looked at her two hosts again, and asked "Does she know? Does Cindy know? Who she was, what happened to her?"

Sam nodded again and replied softly, "She does. She knows who she was, she knows that she was cursed, and why."

"Wow..." Maria shook her head slowly. She tried to put herself in the girl's position, tried to imagine what that must have been like. To go from a college athlete, a grad student taking maths or physics, and a man, to being that young small teen girl with dyscalculia... She couldn't do it. She had no idea what that sort of experience would do to someone.

"I can't even imagine what that must have been like for her..." She then asked, "Is she ok? How is she handling... her circumstances?"

Nicole replied, "You saw for yourself in November, she was unstable. She's settled down a lot since then."

Samantha added, "She's fully accepted her situation. She's told us, she wouldn't want to go back now even if she was offered the chance. She seems happy, I think. She's started making friends, and she's eager to return to school."

Maria nodded slowly. The girl's erratic behaviour and presentation last autumn made a lot more sense now. She was glad to hear though that things had improved and the teen was doing better. She looked out the door towards Cindy's room, staring quietly for a few moments as she considered all of this again.

Nicole then asked, "Are you going to be ok, Maria? I know all this is a lot to take in."

Maria frowned a little. It was a hell of a lot to take in. She thought back again to last summer, the experience with Jessica in the hospital, and then when she'd met Jessica in November. Seeing how much things had improved for the redhead, how much happier she was. That seemed like a very good, positive outcome for her.

The knowledge that Cindy had been cursed made her uncomfortable though. Even if the girl was doing better and feeling happier now, it was obviously wasn't her choice to be in this situation. Of course, Maria didn't know what she'd done to earn the curse, and what the girl's life had been like before, so it wasn't really her place to judge.

And the idea that there were real life deities who could interfere and meddle in people's lives... That would take some time for her to get used to as well.

Finally she nodded, "Yeah. I think it's going to take me a little while, but... I'll be ok." She couldn't keep the uncertainty out of her voice. She added, "Thanks for telling me, though. And if there's anything I can do to help... if Cindy, or any of you for that matter, want to talk about some of this stuff, let me know."

Sam smiled, "Thanks Maria. We might just take you up on that."

:=: Kara :=:

Kara stood next to Jessica, watching quietly as Cindy spread out some note paper on the dining table. The old book was already there, along with most of the new pages Jess had written up over the past six months. And the two new pages the Goddess had given them were there too.

It was Sunday, a little after mid-day. The five of them had slept in, then there'd been a nice big pancake breakfast. The dishes had been washed, and everything had been tidied up.

Now before they started into anything else, Nikki had asked Cindy to brief the rest of them on the new spell the goth had asked Cindy to create.

Once she was ready, the small teen began. It almost sounded like she was giving a lecture.

"So the amulets have a set of runes on them which maintain the enchantment once it's in place. The actual spell though is more complicated." She gestured at one of the sheets of parchment. "It basically comes down to three main sections. The first is detecting harm."

She paused, then explained, "See, it has to be able to tell the difference between harm that needs to be blocked or protected against, and other 'harm' that's ok? Like... Imagine if you're at the salon getting a haircut, and the amulet keeps going off cos it thinks the scissors are gonna hurt you? Or like if you're getting a mani-pedi, but they can't file your fingernails cos the amulet keeps blocking them?"

Kara nodded silently while Jess giggled a little.

Cindy then continued, "The second part is what blocks damage. So once it decides there's an actual threat, it tries to block the damage. And the third part actually repairs damage. So if something happens that gets through and you do get hurt, the third part works to fix it."

Kara was surprised to learn about that, and it looked like the others hadn't realized it either.

Cindy explained, "So to make something that'll protect our home, first I gotta shuffle these things around and kinda rework them a bit? And cos the amulet is like, a thing we wear, but we wanna protect our home and a home can't wear a necklace, I gotta bring in some stuff from other spells."

The girl then finished, "What we'll end up with, will be some enchantments that we can put on our home. Like, around the doors and windows? That'll block or keep out anyone who's trying to get in here to hurt us, or steal from us, or whatever like that."

Nicole then asked, "When you're all finished Cindy, how do you envision this spell actually working?"

The girl replied, "When it's done, it'll do a couple things. It'll stop people from breaking in, like if someone tries to force open the door or break a window, the spell will physically block them. If they use enough force tho, and do manage to break something, then the magic will try to repair whatever's broken. So like, they smash a window, it'll fix back together before they can climb through it?"

Sam asked, "What if the door's open though, or just unlocked? Or what if they're already inside?"

Cindy replied, "Then it'll see intent. If the door's wide open, but someone wants to come in here for evil intent, it'll be like they hit an invisible wall. They can't come in. Even if you invite someone in, if they're looking to do harm, then it'll catch them and block them."

Nikki smiled. "This is fantastic, Cindy. Better than I even thought possible."

The small teen shrugged, "Well it's not done yet, so like, hold the applause or whatever. This is really complicated, so it's gonna take another few days, maybe a week before it's done." She then added, "It also won't catch if someone comes in with good intent, but then changes to bad once they're here. I dunno how much that's likely to happen, but that's one thing it won't be able to do."

Sam nodded, "It's still quite a lot already."

Kara stated, "If someone's in our home and starts acting belligerent, I'm not going to waste much time taking care of the problem."

Jess smiled and put an arm around Kara's waist. "My champion will protect us."

Kara nodded, "I will."

Nikki then said, "All right. Thanks Cindy for the explanation. Now the Goddess would like to give us all another lesson..."

Jess sighed a little, but Kara just watched and listened. They knew these 'lessons' could sometimes be tedious, but they also knew it was important.

:=: Nicole :=:

They could hear and feel the snow and gravel crunching a bit under the wheels of Nikki's little car, as they slowly drove to the end of the long trail. When they got to the end, Nikki parked the car, then she and Sam emerged.

The air was fresh and clean, and although the late January weather was cold, the area still looked beautiful.

They walked a little distance away from the car, as they looked around. To their right, the ground rose upwards into some rocky hills that formed part of the escarpment. The land in that direction was covered in trees, forest that hadn't been touched in decades.

To their immediate left, there were some open fields, with split rail fencing dividing them. And beyond that, were the rows of grape vines. Of course everything had a layer of snow over it, but it wasn't too bad. The entire region had its own microclimate, which was part of the reason why it was so perfect for wine.

Nikki had a huge smile on her face as she looked around. Sam was smiling as well.

This was it! This land was theirs now!

It was a little over a hundred and ten acres in total. The hilly, rocky, forest-covered land to the right accounted for about twenty acres. The open fields to their left made up about fifteen acres. And the rest was all under vine. The vines were established, already bearing fruit. And by some strange coincidence, they were all some of Nikki's favourite varietals.

"Oh my Goddess Sam! This is perfect! It's better than perfect!" Nikki couldn't stop grinning.

Sam nodded, "It's beautiful here."

They were about a thirty-minute drive south east from town. There were no buildings on the site yet, but the utilities ran along the road. They'd be able to get power, high-speed internet, phones, water, all the connections they needed.

Nikki assumed the land had formerly belonged to one of the larger wineries in the area, or at least supplied grapes to one of the larger wineries under contract. She didn't know what strings the Goddess had pulled to get Her hands on the land, and she didn't care. It was absolutely a dream come true for her.

Sam was walking towards the trees, and Nikki followed. She really wanted to go look at the vines, but that could wait.

They got to the tree-line, and Sam looked around again. She then said, "I want our house to go right about here. Nestled against the woods."

Nikki nodded, and looked back the way they came. "Yeah... This is perfect." The way the land was on a gentle slope, rising slightly up towards the trees, their house here would have a beautiful view overlooking the vineyard.

She pointed back towards where the trail had come in off the main road, "The winery building could go in that field down there. Near the road, so there's easy access for shipping, power, and all that stuff. And it won't be blocking our view of the rest of the land."

Sam nodded, then said, "I think the spiritual retreat should be along the tree-line as well. Not right next to the house, of course. Maybe at the far end of the property, so there's some space between." Then she shook her head, "Actually maybe swap them - the retreat here, closer to the road, and our home further back. More private that way. So we won't have people visiting the retreat going back and forth past our home."

Nicole nodded, "Agreed." She was still grinning widely, then shook her head. "I can't believe it's real."

Sam smiled, "It's lovely here. I'm glad you're happy. It's good to see you so excited, love."

Nikki giggled, "Excited is almost an understatement. We should celebrate tonight!"

Samantha just smiled, "Later. Let's walk around a little, I'm sure you can't wait to go and see the vines up close."

"Yeah. You know me too well." Nikki giggled.

:=: Jessica :=:

It was the last Thursday of January, and the night of the the full moon. For a change, there were six of them around the table for dinner tonight.

Tanya was visiting, sitting beside Cindy. The two young teens were across from Jess and Kara. And of course, Sam and Nikki were seated at either end of the table.

Also unusual, they were having pizza tonight instead of Nikki cooking up another fancy meal. Her sister's girlfriend was a really good cook, but Jess was glad to have something simple and fun for a change. It looked like Cindy and Kara shared her sentiment on that as well.

Jess asked their guest, "Are you staying the night, Tanya?"

"Nah, my folks want me home by ten tonight." She sounded disappointed.

Sam asked, "It's not a school night, is it? First semester's over, next semester doesn't start till Monday?"

Tanya nodded, "Yeah. I don't know, I think they just figure it's a week night so they want me home early." She rolled her eyes.

Jess knew the reason Tanya was here of course. She'd been invited to join their little group back at the beginning of the month, and she'd finally accepted the offer. After dinner they'd do their sabbat celebration, and then Tanya would be initiated. They might even have time to teach her one or two of the simpler spells, before someone had to drive her home.

After everyone had enough to eat, they all quickly cleared the table.

That was another benefit to getting take-away, Jess thought. Fewer dishes to wash, much faster and easier to tidy up after.

There was dessert of course. Tanya had brought a batch of fancy cookies she made. She called them 'empire cookies', they were like sandwich cookies with jam inside and icing ontop. They were ok, not Jess's favourite though.

A couple cookies were put aside on a plate, along with a glass of wine. As usual they were set out on the balcony for the spirits.

Finally, the six of them got together in the living-room to begin the ritual.

Sam and Nikki started things off, and then Jess joined in. Kara, Cindy, and Tanya held back and just watched quietly.

When the usual formal stuff was done, they'd normally have relaxed and started going over magic with Cindy and Kara, but tonight there was another little ritual.

Sam and Nikki had Tanya approach and stand before the two of them. Jess and Kara held back, while Cindy was closer to her friend.

Jessica was expecting the Goddess to make an appearance, as She'd been there for the initiations that Jess had witnessed or experienced. And she knew She'd personally initiated her sister and Nicole as well.

It seemed Tanya wasn't going to get a personal audience though, as Sam and Nikki handled things themselves.

They both asked Tanya to swear to uphold the rules and keep the secrets.

The blonde looked nervous but she nodded, "I swear it."

There was a flare of blue light in Nikki's eyes, then the goth stated, "It is done. Welcome to the team, Tanya."

Cindy grinned and told her, "Now you're one of the Witches of Welland!"

Jess suppressed a grin as Sam rolled her eyes. Her sister still hated that name, but Jess was happy it had stuck. Everyone else seemed ok with it.

With the last of the formal stuff out of the way, Sam and Nikki relaxed on the sofa, while Cindy and Tanya sat at the dining table again. The small teen was eager to start showing her friend the ancient book.

Sam suggested, "Jess, Kara? Why don't you two supervise the girls. Help Tanya learn a spell or two, before it's time for her to go home?"

Nikki added, "I'd appreciate if you played chauffeur tonight too, Jess."

"Ok Sam, Nikki." Jess didn't mind supervising with the magic, but wasn't as excited about having to drive their guest home later.

Kara didn't seem to mind though, they just nodded, "Ok Sam, Nikki. Jess and I will handle it."

Jess smiled and put an arm around her champion's waist, as the two sat back down at the dining table.

Tanya had just discovered the small glyph tattooed on her wrist, and she and Cindy were both talking about that now.

:=: Tanya :=:

Tanya was standing infront of Secord Secondary School, watching and waiting. It was Monday morning, the first of February, and the first day of the second semester.

After another minute or two the little black car pulled up. Kara was driving this morning, and Jessica was in the passenger seat. Cindy climbed out of the back seat and looked back into the car, "Thanks for the ride. See you guys later."

Jess waved and then Kara drove off. Cindy was carrying a little backpack, slung on one shoulder.

"Hi Cindy!" Tanya smiled. She was excited. This was Cindy's first day, and she was looking forward to showing her friend around. They shared all but one class together, and Tanya figured this was going to be the best semester ever.

Cindy was looking a bit anxious though. "Hey Tanya..."

There were lots of other students milling around, heading up the stairs and in through the front doors. Tanya ignored them as she smiled at her friend.

"C'mon, I'll show you around!"

Cindy followed her up the stairs and in. The small blonde reminded her, "I had a tour last week, Tanya. When me and Jess and Sam and Nikki were here."

Tanya nodded, "Right, when you finished all the registration stuff. I forgot. Well still, it's gonna be fun!"

They went to Tanya's locker first so she could take off her winter coat and ditch the books and stuff she wouldn't need till later. Then they looked for an empty locker nearby for Cindy.

They weren't right next-door, but Cindy found an empty one that was only a couple meters down the hall. She stuffed her jacket inside and books for her afternoon classes, then got out her new lock and sealed the door.

Tanya was still smiling, happy to have her friend here with her, and she led Cindy to their first class.

• • • • •

The morning classes had gone ok. Cindy looked a bit nervous and awkward, as the teachers introduced her to the rest of the class. Tanya knew being the 'new kid' was always a bit rough, but she figured Cindy would be over it soon enough.

They ditched their books in their lockers then headed to the cafeteria together.

There was a line, but it moved ok. Tanya got herself a cheeseburger and cola, and Cindy picked up a sandwich and a bottle of juice. The two then found a quiet corner of the large room where they could sit and talk while they ate.

As they started eating, Tanya asked "Well? What do you think so far?"

Cindy shrugged a little, "The bread's kinda stale and there's too much mayo, not enough tuna."

Tanya giggled, "I meant classes! Not the food!"

Cindy grinned then said, "Its ok so far, I guess. I feel awkward and everyone's staring at me, but hopefully after a few days it'll be ok?"

"It will. I'm sure of it." Tanya nodded.

She watched as the small teen tried a few times to get the cap off her juice, then finally asked, "Want me to do that?"

Cindy sighed and nodded, handing the bottle over.

Tanya gave it a twist and the cap unsealed with a snap. She was just handing the bottle back when a voice behind her said, "How cute! Tanya did you bring your baby sister to school?"

Cindy's expression became dark as she started frowning, while Tanya sighed and cursed silently. Susan Hodges was one of the 'cool' girls, and she was a world class bitch.

Tanya turned, and sure enough Susan was there with her two lackeys, Valerie and Alexis. All three tended to dress like wannabe fashion models or something. Their popularity was almost entirely because of their looks.

"You know the primary school is just down the road, right Tanya?" Susan was smiling, she was talking to Tanya but her words were meant to hurt Cindy. "That's where the little kids belong."

Tanya glared, "Get lost, Susan."

Susan and her friends just laughed as they moved on. "See you and your little friend later Tanya, maybe after nap-time."

When they'd gone, Tanya looked back at Cindy. She'd wrapped up the rest of her sandwich, and hadn't touched the juice at all. It looked like she was finished with lunch.

"Sorry Cindy... the bitch was Susan. Her two sidekicks were Valerie, with black hair, and Alexis, blonde." Tanya sighed. "They treat everyone like crap, it's not that they were going after you specifically..."

Cindy just shrugged, "Yeah, I get it. It's ok."

Tanya could tell from her friend's voice and expression that it wasn't ok. She knew Cindy got upset when people confused her for a kid by mistake. Having people do it on purpose probably hurt just as much, if not more.

"There's a couple more assholes I better warn you about. Bill, James, and Mitch. Bill and Susan are dating. Kinda the two most popular kids who both happen to be dicks. James and Mitch hang out with Bill, the three are big on sports stuff and all that."

Cindy sighed, "Fuck. It's like Scott, Tom, Kevin, and Chuck, back at Brock. Bunch of asshole jocks."

"I guess." Tanya shrugged. "I haven't really thought about any of that stuff in almost two months now."

She was reminded again that Cindy didn't get a new life like she did. She couldn't even really imagine what it was like for her friend. Tanya hadn't forgotten about that other life yet, but those memories were so far removed from her everyday life it was hard at times to remember that stuff had ever really happened.

As far as the rest of the world knew, she'd always just been Tanya. And she was happier thinking of it that way that too. The sooner she completely forgot about that other life the better, as far as she was concerned.

Their afternoon classes went by about the same, teachers introduced Cindy to the class then they got to work. At the end of the day they walked together back to their lockers.

"Are you gonna get a drive home?" Tanya asked, as she got her coat out and started putting it on.

Cindy sighed, "Nah. They won't be done at university for another hour or so. I'll just take the bus."

Tanya then suggested, "You could come back to my house, and have them pick you up there?"

They walked over to Cindy's locker so she could get her jacket as well. "Huh. That'd be better than the bus. I'll hafta text first and see if they'll come get me there."

Tanya nodded and leaned against the lockers, while Cindy dug out her phone and started tapping out a message.

As she was waiting, Tanya happened to glance up in time to spot Bill and his cronies coming down the hall. She sighed and whispered, "Asshole alert."

Cindy looked up as the three guys approached.

Bill grinned, and called her by her last name. "Hey Fleming, can you help us settle a bet? Susan said you brought your little sister to school, and Valerie said you're babysitting. I think they're both wrong though. I figure since you can't get a date at high-school you've started hanging out with grade-school kids."

Tanya glared, "Fuck off, Bill."

Cindy turned her attention back to her phone, not looking at the three. She was trying to keep calm but Tanya could tell her friend was upset again.

Bill was still grinning, and he started walking away saying, "Good think you're not allergic to seafood, Fleming, cos looks like you've been lip-wrestling with a shrimp!"

James and Mitch both chuckled a little as they followed Bill.

When they were gone, Tanya sighed. "Sorry Cindy. Hopefully now that they've all had a go at you, they'll give it a rest."

"I doubt it." Cindy replied quietly. "He saw it bothered me. So'd the girl at lunch. They'll both keep doing it, cos they know it works."

Tanya sighed again. She had a feeling her friend was right. "Let's just go back to my place, till you can get a ride home."

:=: Samantha :=:

Sam was a little surprised as she watched Nikki serve up dinner. She'd made stuffed rack of lamb again, with roasted potatoes and vegetables. She'd spent several hours in the kitchen today working on it.

Last time Nicole had made this was on Yule, and as far as Sam could think of, there was no big holiday or celebration today. It was the sixth of February, a Saturday. Normally they'd either be eating leftovers, or maybe get pizza or something else delivered.

It was doubly surprising because they'd already had a big fancy meal last night. It had been Jessica's nineteenth birthday yesterday, and Nicole had made a roast with all the trimmings. And Cindy made a big fancy birthday cake.

Still, Sam knew that Nikki had been spending more time in the kitchen since she wasn't working, so she wasn't going to question or complain if her girlfriend decided to pull out all the stops.

The others seemed just as surprised by the extravagant meal, but none of them were complaining either.

Once the food was served and they were all eating, Sam commented, "This is delicious, love. What's the occasion, though?"

Cindy grinned, "We're celebrating the end of my first week of school!"

Nicole and Kara both smiled, and Jess giggled a little at the small teen, and asked "How was your first week, Cindy?"

Cindy shrugged a little, "Actually it wasn't anything great. A lot like I remember I guess? It's nice spending most of every day with Tanya though."

Kara asked, "Made any new friends there yet?"

"Nah, not yet."

Sam noticed something in the girl's tone, and asked "Everything's going ok though, isn't it? Are you having any problems?"

Cindy shrugged again, "It's just, being the new kid, showing up halfway through the year. That sorta thing."

Nikki nodded, "I'm sure it's a little tough. Give it some time though Cindy."

The small teen nodded and kept eating.

Sam watched her a bit longer. She hoped that's all it was. She'd only be the new kid for so long, then she'd just be one of the group.

Jess then asked, "So when can the rest of us go and see the land? I want to get a look at our new place!"

"Yeah!" Cindy grinned, "Me too!"

Nikki looked at Sam then said, "If the Goddess doesn't have more lessons planned for us tomorrow, maybe we could all squeeze into the car and head over to have a look?"

Sam nodded, "Even if She does have plans, we could get up early, skip the big breakfast, and drive out to see it."

Jess asked warily, "How early is early? We're talking Sunday morning, there's no way I'm jumping out of a warm bed into a cold car at six in the morning."

Nikki giggled a little.

Sam smiled and suggested, "How about ten? If we're all in the car at ten, we can head out, spend some time looking the place over, then get back, and we'd be able to get on with our usual magic work or lessons by about one in the afternoon. We could even stop for lunch on the way back."

Everyone agreed that ten was a reasonable time. It meant they'd be getting up around nine of course, for coffee and to get dressed, but even that wouldn't be too difficult for Jessica.

Nikki asked Cindy, "Will Tanya start joining us for our Sunday routines?"

The small blonde shook her head, "Not for a couple months. She has hockey every Sunday. Once hockey season is over though, things switch around and she'll start coming over."

She had a bite of food, then added, "She'll be playing soccer in the summer, but Tanya said the soccer games are usually week nights, and sometimes Saturdays. Only thing would be if her parents get uptight or something, about her spending so much time here?"

Sam knew that would be a concern of course. She hadn't even met Tanya's parents yet, and was surprised the Flemings had let their daughter come over here as often as they had. She was pretty sure Nikki had met them at least once, on one of her trips to pick Tanya up or drop her off.

Finally, they'd all had enough to eat, and as usual everyone got up and pitched in with the cleaning up.

Cindy announced, "There's cupcakes for dessert tonight!"

Sam was a little surprised again. They still had left-over birthday cake from last night, there wasn't any real reason for the girl to have done any more baking today. Once again it felt like they were celebrating something, but she didn't know what.

After all of dinner had been cleared away and the dishes washed, they got out some small plates and Nikki opened a bottle of ice-wine, while Cindy brought out a plate with five fancy cupcakes. Each one had a slightly different flower design piped on top in different colours of icing. She went around the table placing one infront of everyone, as if she had already planned or decided who'd be getting which cupcake.

Jess and Kara exchanged a glance, and Jessica asked, "Hey Cindy? What are you up to? This feels suspiciously like you've got something sneaky planned."

Sam was watching the small blonde too, but the girl just shrugged. She had the same thought as her sister and Kara. It felt like the teen was up to something. She wondered if Cindy had enlisted Nikki's help as well, that would explain the big fancy meal.

The only thing Sam could think of was maybe Cindy was going to ask if Tanya could move in with them, though that seemed a long-shot. It could be the girl was trying to impress everyone so she could ask again for a drivers license, but that was already in the works.

The cupcakes were delicious as always, and everyone was enjoying them, along with the ice-wine.

Sam was halfway through her dessert when Nikki got up from the table and walked around, to stand just to Sam's left.

Sam frowned, and asked "Nikki? What's up?"

Her girlfriend smiled and said, "Just a couple things... First, this dress has pockets!" She grinned and slipped her hands into the two concealed pockets at the waistline of her dress.

Sam watched, bemused. She glanced around, the others were all staring at Nikki, with confused looks on their faces.

Nikki then sank to her knees as she pulled her hands out of the pockets. She held one hand up towards Sam, and asked, "And the second thing is... Samantha, will you marry me?"

Sam's eyes went wide as she focused on the engagement ring her girlfriend was offering her.

Jess let out a loud squeal of excitement, and Cindy gasped, grinning widely. Kara had a lopsided grin on their face as they watched as well.

There were tears in Samantha's eyes as she reached out with her left hand, and nodded "Oh my Goddess... Yes! Yes Nicole, absolutely yes!"

Nikki slipped the ring onto Sam's finger, then stood up. Sam stood too and they pulled each other in close. Her lips found Nicole's, and they shared a long, passionate kiss.