Maya stood outside the classroom while she coughed into the crook of her arm. Her vision was swimming. Other students made sure to give her a wide berth. She shook her head clear and stumbled into her English class.

Her head was still throbbing when she sat down and dropped her backpack on the ground. Lily walked up and crouched down, rubbing Maya’s back gently. Maya tried to smile, but it was difficult.

“I’m dying,” she moaned.

“Please don’t joke about that,” Lily begged. “Not now. You’re going to beat this.”

Maya managed to grin a little. She was glad she’d trusted Lily with the truth. She was a good friend.

“I’m worried,” Maya admitted, “that the witch’s prediction that I’d have a few more weeks on my feet might have been too charitable.”

“She’ll figure something out.”

A shadow fell over Maya.

“Is it true?” Charlie asked, slamming her hands down on Maya’s desk. “Are you really sick? How bad is it? Does it really have something to do with the original spell? Tell me everything!”

Maya sat up straight, her mind reeling. How? How did Charlie find out. Maya clenched her jaw tightly, then scowled.

“No,” she lied. “It’s not true.”

“Don’t lie, Maya. You’re not good at it.”

Lily pushed Charlie by the arm and said, “Leave her alone.”

Charlie glared at Lily, then turned back to Maya.

“The whole school has been talking about it. Some people think it’s just a rumor, though. I need to know the truth, Maya.”

“It… doesn’t have anything to do with you,” Maya said, sinking down in her chair.

“I can’t publish a story without more information, Maya.”

Maya’s heart started pounding.

It was Lily who replied, “You’re not writing another goddamn story about them, Charlie. Go away.”

Charlie turned to scowl at Lily again, then turned back to Maya and continued, “Look, Maya, you need to get ahead of this. People are going to keep talking. It’s our duty to get the truth out of there. Don’t you want people to at least know what’s actually happening? Of course you do. So work with me, cute stuff.”

“Charlie,” Maya said in the smallest voice she could muster, “please let it go. I don’t want anybody to know about this. If they think it’s just a rumor, they’ll forget. I don’t want this to be what I’m known for. It sucks enough being the magical girl, I don’t need to be the sick kid too.”

Charlie’s expression fell, and she briefly flared her nostrils.

“Come on, Maya,” she pleaded, taking Maya’s hands and squeezing them gently. “This is so important to me. We’re friends, aren’t we? You want me to succeed as a reporter, don’t you? For that, I need your help. Don’t deny me the perfect exclusive that’s right in front of me.”

Maya pulled her hands free and replied, “Charlie, if you ever felt anything for me, anything at all, you’ll do as I ask and drop this.”

Charlie’s expression hardened, and she stood up straight.

“You know what, Maya?” she asked, raising her voice a little. “That’s a really shitty thing for you to do. I asked for your help, and you’re trying to silence me. I thought you understood how important my career as a journalist is for me. I can’t believe you.”

“Please go,” Maya said, lowering her gaze.

She heard Charlie snort and begin walking away. Beside her, Lily placed her hands on Maya’s shoulder and squeezed gently. Maya suppressed a cough as the bell rang and Lily had to sit back down.

It was getting hard for Maya to focus in class, and her teachers seemed to notice. In both English and math, they seemed unusually eager to call on her to answer questions. By the time math was done, Maya’s head was pounding.

Lily found Maya as she was heading toward the lunchroom.

“Are you feeling better?” she asked, walking alongside Maya.

Maya nodded and tried to smile, hoping that the lie would convince Lily. Lily frowned, though. She wasn’t buying it.

“I’m worried about you, Maya.”

“Everyone’s worried about me,” Maya replied. “I wish everyone could just act like things were normal for once.”

“Things aren’t normal around you,” Lily reminded her.

Maya said, “But you’ve always been willing to act like they are. That means a lot to me.”

Lily smiled softly.

“Hey,” Maya continued, “do we have to go to the cafeteria? There’s another place I like to eat sometimes when I need something a bit more private.”

“Oh? Let’s see it.”

Maya nodded and led them off course, toward one of the back hallways near the theater room. Maya, before the spell, would come back here whenever she wanted to eat somewhere private. The only teacher who ever used this hallway was the theater teacher, who was cool with students hanging out here. Maya found a spot near the window where they wouldn’t have to deal with the glare of the sun and sat down with Lily.

Lily made herself comfortable and said, “I’m so sorry that you’re going through this. It’s not fair, and you already have so much more to deal with than most people.”

“Yeah… I wish I’d just been born a regular girl, honestly.”

“But then you wouldn’t have Brielle.”

Lily pulled her lunch out of her backpack, and Maya followed suit.

“…Yeah, I’d rather deal with all of this than not have her.”

“That’s sweet, Maya.”

Maya felt heat rushing to her face, and she mumbled, “Thank you.”

After a moment, Lily scooted a little closer to Maya. Maya looked away and lowered her gaze, biting her lip. Lily’s shoulder was touching her. Maya had to focus on keeping her breathing steady. When she chanced a glance up at Lily, Maya saw that she was a little red in the face as well.

Maya’s heart was still racing. Actually, she was a little dizzy too. Her breathing was a tiny bit labored. Maya took a deep breath and looked away.

“Are you okay?” Lily asked.

“Yeah…” Maya muttered. “Um… never mind.”

What was she thinking? Maya could barely hold herself together. Her health was getting worse every day. There wasn’t time for…

It wouldn’t be fair to Lily…

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Maya wasn’t hungry. If the lightheaded feeling would just pass, she could probably get through the rest of the day just fine.

Lily looked worried.

“Maya,” she said, “I… this is very hard for me to say… but…” She took a deep breath, and Maya’s heart stopped. “I like you, Maya.”

Maya bit her lip and nodded. There was a long pause between them. It was interrupted by another coughing fit.

“Lily…” Maya mumbled, “I’m… I’ve got a lot on my plate right now.”

Lily nodded and lowered her gaze.

“I understand,” she said. “It wasn’t a good time to bring it up. You’re not mad, right?”

“I’m not mad,” Maya replied.

Lily pulled away from Maya slightly, and Maya frowned. They sat in silence as they ate, then sat in silence for a little bit longer.

It became clear that they didn’t have anything more to say to each other right now. Maya didn’t want to leave. She wanted to resolve this right here and now. But even though her headache was gone, the answers didn’t feel any more clear.

“Hey,” she said, “is it okay if I head back to my normal table now? My sister is probably worried about me.”

“Yeah, of course.” Lily was frowning, though. “I hope you feel better.”

“I’m sure I will.”

Maya kept her gaze on her feet as she returned to the lunchroom. It was loud in here, and her headache was returning. At least her seat next to Brielle was empty. She sat down with her half-empty lunch bag and sighed.

“Where were you, Maya?” Brielle asked. “Are you okay? Was somebody causing you problems?”

“No, no, I was just hanging out with Lily.”

Brielle nodded. “Lily is good. She’s alright.”

Everyone else at the table was watching Maya intently.

“How do you feel?” Jason asked.

“Any luck on finding a cure?” Eric asked.

Amelia added, “If you need someone to take you to the nurse or drive you home, any of us would be willing to.”

“I’m fine, guys,” Maya insisted, while Brielle placed an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close.

“You have a habit of not telling us when you feel bad,” Brielle reminded her. “How are we supposed to know if you’re really okay or not?”

“I’m okay!” Maya insisted, pulling away from Brielle but losing her balance as a dizzy spell hit her.

“Easy, Maya,” Brielle said, grabbing onto her.

“Don’t baby me,” Maya muttered, resting her head on the table. “I’m sick of being treated like I’ll break under the slightest pressure.”

Brielle ran her fingers over Maya’s scalp, murmuring, “Relax, Maya. Just focus on your breathing. I’m going to take care of you.”

Maya sighed in frustration, then stood up. Too fast. She almost lost her balance and had to brace herself on the table. Brielle cried out in protest, but Maya just pulled herself out of Brielle’s hands and started walking away from the table.

“Maya!” Brielle cried, getting attention from nearby students.

Maya could barely see where she was going through the tears welling up in her eyes. She didn’t know where she was going. She didn’t care. As long as she was getting away from her sister.

When Maya stopped, she was standing outside of one of the girls’ restrooms. She could hear her sister running after her. Shaking the tears from her eyes, Maya walked inside the restroom to find it empty. Thinking quick, she locked herself in one of the stalls and sat down on the toilet, drawing her knees to her chest so she couldn’t be seen.

The door opened and someone came in.

“Maya?” Brielle asked. “I saw you come in here.”

She walked up to the only locked stall and knocked on the door.

“Maya, please open up.”

“Why can’t you just go back to acting like everything’s normal?” Maya asked, wiping away tears with her arm. “We already had enough to worry about without me being sick. Why do you have to treat me like a gosh-dang baby now?”

“Maya, I’m trying to look out for you,” Brielle said, leaning up against the door. “This is really hard for me. I’m so worried about you. I have no idea how okay you are at any given time.”

“I’m not going to be okay if nobody treats me like I am,” Maya retorted. “Can’t you please just act like I’m a normal girl for once and not your fragile magic sister?”

“Maya…”

“Promise me, Brielle. Promise me that you’ll treat me like a goddamn person already.”

There was silence from the other side of the door, then Brielle muttered, “Alright. I’ll try.”

Maya got down from the toilet and unlocked the door. Brielle stood there with a worried look plastered on her face. Maya leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Brielle, hugging her tightly.

When they got back to the lunchroom, everyone was noticeably quiet. Maya finished most of her meal before the bell rang. Brielle stood up first and gave her a brief kiss on the forehead before saying goodbye.

Maya was able to get through the rest of the day alright. Her dizziness kept coming and going, but she only interrupted her classes a few times with her coughing fits. Maybe returning to school had been a mistake. For all her craving for normalcy, Maya was having a hard time dealing with it.

“At least the day is over,” she muttered, closing her locker and moving swiftly toward the exit.

But when she reached where Brielle was waiting, Maya found a girl with honey-colored eyes and covered with freckles talking to her. Maya mumbled darkly under her breath. Even if Brielle was friends with Adeline, Maya had a hard time getting comfortable around the apprentice mage.

“There you are, Maya,” Brielle said. “Are you ready to go?”

Maya nodded, glancing briefly at Adeline. The mage was still looking at her like she was an experiment gone wrong. And there was something else. Pity?

“I heard about what was going on,” Adeline said, rubbing the back of her neck and not looking directly at Maya. “I’m really sorry that you’re going through this.”

“I’m just a little sick,” Maya said. “Don’t believe all the rumors you hear.”

Brielle interrupted, “Maya, I told her the truth.”

“What? Why?! It was supposed to be a secret! How many other people did you tell?”

She clenched her fists in frustration, but Brielle raised her hands to gesture that she should calm down.

“Relax, Maya. I only told her. I don’t know how these rumors got started.”

“You didn’t ask me! You should have asked me!”

“You didn’t ask me before telling Lily,” Brielle reminded her.

Maya winced. Of course Brielle had figured that out.

“It’s my business,” she replied. “But it’s also supposed to be private. How can I trust you if you’ll tell people behind my back.”

“I can help,” Adeline said, getting their attention. “Or, at least, I think I can.”

“That’s why I told her,” Brielle said, “She has magical teachers who actually are licensed and authorized to help us.”

Adeline nodded and continued, “It’s true. I’m going to go home and explain the situation to them. If they put their heads together, they’ll probably have some way to help.”

“And we need help, Maya,” Brielle said. “I’ve been trying to get in contact with Ilham again, but I can’t find her anywhere. She’s gone, Maya, and we need help from somewhere.”

Maya groaned and nodded.

“Alright,” she said, not looking directly at Adeline. “I guess I’m desperate enough to accept help from anywhere.”

“It’s going to be alright,” Adeline insisted. “My teachers are professionals. They’ll know what to do.”

Maya sighed. This was probably the best lead they had on a potential cure. But it was also coming from Adeline.

Not an ideal situation to find herself in.