Lunch was like any other day. We all sat at our table and talked. The twins sat with their friends, so it was just us four. While we talked, my mind kept going to the fact that there was someone who could possibly look like me. I didn’t see them in the dining hall. I wondered if I would see them in the dorm.

After lunch, I decided to go to the library. I wanted to do some research on witches. I knew that they were able to use magic, and plus what Hollywood depicted witches as, but I wanted to know the truth. I mean, it would be cool to be like Paige on charmed. Or even Prue. I know, silly, but a girl can dream.

The library was unlike any other library I had seen before. It was enormous. I think it was even bigger than the library in Tallahassee. There was no way I was going to be able to find what I was looking for on my own. I would be here for days just looking through one section. Instead, I went looking for the librarian. Who I found instead was shocking.

“Oh, look, the princess decided to come to the library. Hoping to find a book on how to be popular?” Leanna said as she glared at me.

Holding back my anger, I looked at her, my head held high as I said, “what is your problem with me. I have done nothing to you, yet you find the need to insult me at every chance you get.” She looked at me and rolled her eyes.

“My problem is that you come in here, and everyone is like ‘oh look, it’s the headmistress's niece. I wish I was her, blah blah blah. I mean, really. There isn’t anything special about you. Sure, you may have been popular with your looks in whatever school you came from, but here things are different.” Leanna said with a snarl.

“So, you are jealous that people were talking about me instead of you? Isn’t that a little petty? I mean, come on, look at you, you're gorgeous. You have people flocking to you. Is there really any reason to be jealous?” I said, trying to reason with her. It wasn’t like it was a lie. She was beautiful, but the whole I’m better than you, worship me was not for me.

Leanna looked a little surprised by my words. For just a moment, I could have sworn I saw a genuine smile, but it didn’t last long. “Flattery won’t get you anywhere with me. You may be a Helsing, but we vampires are still the superior race.”

I sighed. There was no getting through to her. Instead, I shook my head and decided not to argue with her anymore. “Do you know where the books on witches are?” I asked. I waited for another snarky comment, but instead, she nodded.

“They are towards the middle section, in 400.2- 403.2. Now, please go, so I can get back to work.” Leanna said, not even waiting for me to leave, to continue her work. It was a good thing that she didn’t work for a customer service type of job. She would have been fired very quickly.

After a bit of looking, I found a couple of sections on witches, including some spells for beginners. There was one book that caught my eye, which was a book about the history of the Salem witches. Made sure to grab that one. It would be nice to know the truth behind the witch trials. By the time I was done, I had about eight books. Leanna worked fast to stamp my books so that I would leave the library.

From the library, I headed back to the dorm. With Leanna busy at the library, I knew that I would be able to read in peace. Well, as long as Keaira or Ariel weren’t there. It wasn’t that I didn’t want them around, It was just that they would be a distraction, and I wanted to learn. It was weird to admit that to myself. It wasn’t like I was a lazy student or anything. I was just the type of person to do the assignments given and wait for the next to be given before reading further.

Back at the dorm, there were a few girls sitting on a couch and a couple of bean bags. They were talking among themselves and didn’t even notice when I came in. I headed towards my room so that there was less chance of being distracted. I had a few hours before dinner, so I was going to use that time to learn all I could.

After a couple of hours of reading, I realized that a lot of what Hollywood depicted witches to be was false. Of course, I knew some of it was, but I was still baffled at just how much of it they had gotten wrong. The first and most obvious was that witches didn’t ride on broomsticks. Not to say that they couldn’t. I also learned that it was Merlin who created this realm after the whole Morgana Pendragon issue.

By the time I was done with the third book I was reading, I had a bit of an understanding of just what it meant to be a witch. I know I probably could have asked Keaira, but I wanted to learn as much as I could on my own. Part of the independence thing. I did find that, while a fictional show, charmed was close to what real witches were like. This included incantations.

By the time I left my room, it was almost time for dinner. I headed down the hall, heading towards the dining hall, when I saw a blonde girl standing in the hall. I couldn’t see her face, but it seemed that she was looking at one of the paintings that were hanging by her. As I got closer, she turned around, and I stopped dead in my tracks.

As I looked at the girl in front of me, I felt like I was looking into a mirror. She really did look like me. Her blonde hair. Her blue eyes. It was almost as if we were twins. It looked like she was just as shocked as I was.

“Hello… My name is Alexandrea. You… look like me.” she said, fumbling to get her words out. She kept looking me over. It felt weird.

“My name is Michala. It is nice to meet you. I thought my friends were joking when they said that there was someone who looked like me transferring here,” I said as I offered my hand. She took it, and we shook hands. “So, what were you looking at?”

She looked back towards the painting, and I followed her eyes. The painting she was looking at was of a man with a proud stature. There was something familiar about him, though I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, so I walked closer to where I could see the plaque below it.  It was Van Helsing!

“They say he personally came up with the idea of this academy, and then the two races came to an agreement.” She said without taking her eyes off the painting. I went back to admiring just how much she really did look like me. We could have been identical twins if I didn’t already know that I was an only child.

            “Hey, I am heading to the dining hall. Do you want me to show you the way?” I offered. She turned around and nodded at me with a giant smile on her face. It was almost like a lost puppy who finally found a home. My life was really starting to get interesting.