“Wakey wakey–eggs and bakey!”

Emily’s voice echoed throughout the house, rudely forcing its way into my sleep. Her footsteps slowed to a halt close by, and a few loud knocks resounded on my door, startling me into wakefulness.

“C’mon, Flora. We gotta get to school soon,” she called out.

You’re too loud… and who says stuff like that, anyway?!

As I grumbled about Emily’s use of the phrase “eggs and bakey”, I tried to lift myself out of bed, but found that my body was weighed down significantly more than usual. My memories of late last night gradually returned to me, and I lifted the covers off to find the usual suspect lying next to me, her arms and legs wrapped around my body.

She kinda acts like a strange mix of a cat and a small kid, clinging to me like this. Though she did…

My thoughts trailed off for a moment as I recalled our conversation from the middle of the night, and my face flushed slightly.

She did call me “mum” though–I’m not sure if that’s more or less embarrassing than being called “Queen” all the time!

Her eyes slowly flickered open as I tried to move, and she gradually unwrapped her arms from around me.

“...you’re leaving?” she asked sleepily.

I reached out to pat her head as she slowly shuffled around into a kneeling position in front of me. “Yeah, I need to go to school.”

“Oh… okay,” she replied, somewhat downcast as she averted her eyes. “Have a good day… mum.”

Her cheeks were tinged with a little bit of pink as she almost whispered the last part, and she slowly curled her shoulders inward, looking like the epitome of self-consciousness.

The more I watch her and Aeriel, the more I realise that spirits really aren’t all that different from humans.

“Um,” I hesitantly began, nervousness beginning to set in, “you can come with me… if you want.”

It should be fine, right? As long as she doesn’t distract me… no one else should be able to see her.

“Really?” Her expression instantly brightened up, and she launched off the bed to hover in front of me, her arms shaking in restless anticipation. “Is that okay?”

“Sure, as long as you don’t distract me.”

“Yay!”

 

Slowly climbing out of my bed, I ducked underneath Mira as she happily flew in circles around my room, making my way towards the door. Right as I reached it however, it opened slightly, and two fox ears poked their way inside.

“It’s getting la–oh, hey.” As Emily peeked inside my room, her eyes widened, seeing me just about to open the door. “Mum’s nearly finished with breakfast. If you want some, come get it soon.”

It took me a few moments to register what she was saying, as my mind had immediately jumped back to yesterday, with everything she had done for me after our encounter with the mage.

“Um, o-okay,” I stammered, my gait wobbly as I tried to follow her down the hallway. Her tail drooped down behind her as she mumbled, making her way back to the kitchen with me in tow.

“I can’t, like… take more days off school, can I? It feels awkward, going back after an entire week off.”

Her ears twitched to the side as I stumbled forward, and she quickly turned around, catching me before I fell.

“You alright?” she asked, lifting me back up as she gently held my shoulders. “You’re still a bit shaky.”

“I-I’m okay.” My face began to flush again as she held me, and I tried to back away. She tightened her grip, placing a hand on my forehead as she stared at me.

“You sure? You look kinda red.” She let go of me with her other hand, placing it against her own forehead to compare our temperatures. “Are you sure you’re not sick?”

“I’m fine,” I yelped, my voice shrill and awkward as I backed away. Why is she so close?!

“Hmm,” she muttered, “if you’re sure.”

Emily resumed walking down the hallway, leaving me to try and move on from the image of her holding me in a princess carry, the way she had done yesterday.

I really hope no one from school saw us there!

 

“Morning, Flora.” As I walked into the kitchen, Melissa looked up from the bench, lifting her hand in a non-committal wave. “You heading back to school today?”

“Yeah… that’s the plan,” I replied, meandering over next to her to seek out breakfast.

“You sound thoroughly unenthused.”

My tired, embarrassed brain paused for a few moments as I set about finding some bread, slipping it in the toaster without thinking.

“I guess.” I let out a deep sigh, my motivation weakening as the prospect of going back to school loomed ever closer. “I don’t know–it’s like… there’s still so much going on.”

“But the world keeps marching on,” Emily chimed in, already in her uniform as she leant against the nearby door. Her ears twitched as my toast popped out of the toaster, the sound making her flinch.

“And it doesn’t give us time to adjust,” I quipped back. “It’s fine. I’ll deal with whatever’s coming.”

I’ve made it this far… surely I can keep going.

“Oh, right.” The moment I sat down at the table with my toast, Emily lifted herself off the wall, quickly moving next to me. “Do you still have my spare uniform?”

“...no, I think I gave it back to you to be washed.”

“Right–lemme go get it for you, then.” She quickly spun around, her tail softly whacking my side, before disappearing back down the hallway.

 

An odd thought occurred to me as I finished off my breakfast, and I blankly stood up as my mind mulled it over.

Should I wear the uniform, or should I just try and create one with spirit energy?

Depositing my plate next to the sink, I made my way back to my room while thinking over my options.

If I get Emily to check it over, and make sure I’ve got it right, it should be indistinguishable from a regular uniform.

Emily barreled into me as I reached my room, quickly steadying me, lifting my left arm up, and draping a spare school uniform over it before I could react.

“Oh–sorry, here,” she said, before disappearing back down the hallway just as rapidly.

...I guess I’ll just wear it. I need to get used to it, and all that.

 

*****

 

The initial plan was for me to head to school at recess, meet up with Elena so she could give me my timetable and class allocations, and then attend classes for the rest of the day. However, Melissa needed to go to work, and I wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of staying in the house by myself, until it was time for me to ride to school.

“You haven’t ridden a bike in a dress yet, either,” Emily had pointed out. “Wouldn’t it be better for you to take it slow?”

That’s true… she offered to ride alongside me to school, to make sure that I’d be alright, so I decided to leave at the same time as her.

“I still can’t wear a helmet, too,” she added, scratching at the base of her ears. “I’ll have to take it slow as well. If the school spots me riding without one, I’ll get in trouble.”

We were about to leave when Melissa called out, stopping Emily in her tracks.

“Emily! Ears!”

“Oh, right.”

Once she had hidden her ears and tail with illusions, we set off.

 

The ride to school was uneventful for the most part, though I had completely forgotten to tell Mira that we were leaving, which resulted in her screaming about being left behind as she tried to catch up to us. Near the end of the ride, Emily hopped off her bike and walked it alongside her, to make sure that she would avoid getting in trouble for riding without a helmet. Luckily, though, we didn’t encounter anyone else along the way.

As we reached the bike rack, Emily paused, reaching inside her pocket and pulling out her phone. She glanced at the screen for a moment, before turning to me.

“What’s the plan for today?” she asked, slipping her phone back in her pocket and walking her bike up to a nearby rack.

“Uhh,” I searched back through my memories for what Elena had told me to do. “I think I need to be at Elena’s office at recess–oh, and she told me to bring you with me.”

“Cool.” Locking her bike up next to mine, she deftly pulled her phone out again, swiping rapidly around on the screen. “I’m just letting Zoey know what’s happening. Is it fine if she comes with?”

“Yeah, sure.” I’d probably be more comfortable with her around, honestly. She knows more about… this kind of situation than I do.

“In that case,” Emily lifted her bag up a little, rubbing her lower back where the base of her tail started through her uniform, “you don’t have to go to class now, right? What are you planning on doing?”

I… hadn’t thought that far ahead, actually.

“I’m gonna see if I can hang out in Elena’s office,” I replied. “Failing that, I’ll go to the library.”

“Sweet. I’ll head to her office at recess, then.” She raised her hand to wave at me as she ran off, heading towards the lockers. “See ya.”

“Bye.” 

...She’s energetic. Is she not worried about the whole ‘ears and tail’ thing?

 

As I slowly plodded along, trying to follow the same path to Elena’s office I had taken last Tuesday, I glanced around at all of the nearby students rushing to get to class, their arms loaded with books, folders, and pencil cases. A few glances were thrown my way as they ran past me, their gazes lingering on my hair for a few moments.

Right… my hair is silver, now. Am I gonna stand out because of this?

Mira quickly looked around like an excited child, peering over the shoulders of nearby students, and into the various classrooms we passed. She was about to scream out as she stared into the window to the music room, but quickly covered her mouth, shaking her head and flying away.

“...You okay?” I asked, slightly confused at her reaction.

“You said I could come as long as I didn’t distract you.”

Oh, right… I sidled up next to her, keeping my voice quiet as I remembered that all the other students couldn’t see her.

I don’t want to seem weird by talking to myself!

“It’s fine, honestly. I just don’t want to be distracted while I’m in class, that’s all.”

“In… class?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

...Am I going to have to explain the whole concept of a school to her?

“I’ll tell you later.”

“...okay.” She slumped her shoulders dispiritedly, though she brightened up soon after as we entered the admin building, marvelling at how different it was from the rest of the school. Quickly shifting from side to side in the air, she peered excitedly into every open door we passed. She only slowed down when she realised that she had left me behind, flying back and watching with curiosity as I looked between the nearby corridors.

Wait… where’s Elena’s office, again?

The admin building had always felt like a maze of hallways to me, who rarely ever needed to go there.

I barely ever get sick, too, so I don’t even know where the sick bay is!

Mira watched me spin around, flying in circles as she tried to follow my gaze. She flinched as she nearly bumped into a teacher, walking past with a few sheets of paper in his hands.

“U-um,” I timidly said, trying to get his attention, but he showed no reaction to my voice. 

Am I floating? I quickly glanced at my body, but my feet were still firmly planted on the ground. Dejected, I was about to make my way to the front office, when someone called out to me.

“Are you the new transfer student?”

...Andrea?

Quickly whipping around, I found the attendant for the front office, Andrea, standing in front of me.

“You’re Flora, right?” she began, glancing at the clipboard in her hands. “Elena told me to look out for you. Or… for a girl with silver hair.”

“Yes, that’s me,” I replied, exhaling heavily as a surprising amount of tension left my body. Andrea’s nice… though her suit dress does make her seem a little intimidating. I should be fine with her, right?

She glanced at the watch on her left wrist for a moment, before stepping towards me.

“I’ve got a bit of time now, so what say we go on a tour of the school?”

Wait, hang on!

“Come on, let’s go!” She quickly strode off down the nearby hallway, gesturing for me to follow her.

I just need to go to Elena’s office…

 

*****

 

“Flora?”

“Emily! Zoey!”

Oh, thank goodness.

Andrea was… remarkably enthusiastic in giving me a tour, and as a result, we were still going when it was time for recess. I began to panic somewhat when the schoolyard started filling up with students, and ended up sending Mira off to go and find Emily and Zoey.

“Can’t you just disappear, and go find them?” she asked, confused at my request.

“Andrea’s the most helpful person at this school–I can’t do that to her!”

After my whispered panicking, she flew off, searching throughout the school for the two of them.

 

“Oh, Andrea. Hey.” As soon as she arrived, Zoey spoke up, grabbing Andrea’s attention to try and rescue me. “We need to borrow Flora.”

“She’s with us,” Emily added as I zoomed beside the two of them, trying to escape from Andrea’s enthusiastic tour.

“Oh–” Andrea timidly glanced around at the nearby schoolyard, checking her watch as she slowly became aware of the time–”I’m so sorry, I didn’t realise… I need to get back to the office.”

She ran off, only slowing to turn around and shout “Take care of her, you two,” to Emily and Zoey before disappearing through the door to the admin building.

Phew… I slumped my shoulders, exhaling heavily in front of the two of them as they awkwardly laughed at Andrea’s behaviour.

“Ah, right,” Emily began, snapping her fingers with her free hand. “Here. Elena’s in a meeting currently, so she gave your timetable to me. She managed to put you in like all of my classes.”

I gratefully received the printout that she handed to me, clutching it close to my body as the two of them began walking.

“We also need to move your stuff to a new locker,” she continued, gesturing for me to follow her. “I scribbled the combination on the back.”

“Elena said it was something about school policy,” Zoey added. “I think she had to put you in the system as a new student, so you’re assigned to a new locker.”

Emily ducked back towards me, grabbing my hand and pulling me along.

“There’s only 10 minutes of recess left, so we need to get going if we’re gonna move your stuff before any teachers spot us.”

Wait, you haven’t even told me where my new locker is!

 

Quickly dragging me into the corridor where our lockers were located, Emily veered off to the side, stopping briefly near one of the unused lockers.

“It should be this one,” she said, pointing at the locker on the bottom row, near the end of the corridor.

Bottom left corner… right at the end. It should be easy to remember, at least.

Unlocking the school-regulated combination lock using the code Emily had written on my timetable, I slipped my bag inside it, before rushing off to my old locker. Emily and Zoey followed close behind me, offering to take some of my folders as I opened my old locker and pulled my workbooks out. I gratefully offloaded my folders to them, closing my now empty locker and locking it again.

Good, I only have to make the one trip, that makes this quick.

 

Right as I was about to run to my new locker, I froze, feeling a slight chill on the back of my neck. I looked around frantically, trying to find the source of that feeling, before spotting someone peeking around a distant corner, watching me. Grey-brown hair draped across their shoulders as they stood, most of their body hidden around the corner, and a pair of icy blue eyes stared at me, locking me in their gaze.

 

“-ra? Flora?” Emily’s voice pulled me back into alertness, and she waved her hand in front of my face. “You okay?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” I replied, hurrying to my new locker and depositing the folders I was still carrying inside.

...Who was that? I don’t recognise anyone with such… intense eyes. They looked like mine when I was using my powers!

“We’ve got maths now, right?” Emily sidestepped along the panel of lockers, deftly twisting a combination lock open and grabbing a folder from inside. “We’re just in the same classroom as usual.”

We were in the same class before, so thankfully I knew where to go. As I pulled out my own maths folder, struggling to keep the textbook inside from falling out, Zoey placed a hand on my shoulder, startling me.

“I need to go to my own class, so I’ll see you at lunchtime.”

“See ya.”

 

“...Where’s Mira, by the way?”

As we lined up outside the classroom, I asked Emily a question that had been in the back of my head for a while.

She wasn’t there when Emily and Zoey found me, so did she…

“Oh, she said that she wanted to go exploring, and flew off just before we found you.”

Ah, that makes sense. Right as I was about to reply to Emily, our teacher showed up, and the people in front of us began filing into the classroom. Emily and I followed them at the back of the line, but as we reached the door, I hesitated, the nervousness from this morning returning to me.

“You okay?” Emily asked, turning around just past the door.

Deep breaths… I’ll be fine…

“I’m okay.”

Taking one last deep breath, I stepped inside the classroom.