My name is Flora. I go to a school for students with special powers. Our school is secret, and very few people (other than those attending) know of it. That's partially because all of the students at The Academy of Secrets (AS) are orphans. To discover your power and make your way to AS takes the loneliness that only an orphan feels. At least, that's what the teachers say.

When you come to AS, your original form vanishes and is replaced by an animal avatar, which also determines your status. The three rank types are land animal, aquatic animal, and flying animal, with flying animal being the highest. The ranks in land animal (from lowest to highest) go: bunny, pig, tiger, giraffe, fox, arctic fox, wolf, and arctic wolf. The ranks in aquatic animals are: seal, penguin, turtle, otter, shark, dolphin, and whale. The ranks in flying animals: dove, penguin, toucan, falcon, owl, and eagle. Most students at AS make it to an otter or shark avatar  before graduating. 

I had been going to AS for about a year before this story happened. Before then, I had known new students to come to AS, but never for multiple people to break in. I was kind of a nobody, and I had one friend. Night. 

It all started one morning, when Night and I were walking through the courtyard. A new girl was sitting anxiously on one of the benches in the courtyard. I'm friendly and outgoing naturally, so I nudged Night, and we walked over to her.

"Hi," I said. "I'm Flora. This is Night." 

She looked at me. "I'm Spring. I'm new here." She was a pretty girl, despite her plain bunny avatar. 

"Nice to meet you. Um... what powers do you have?" At AS, asking things like that are normal. 

"Water powers. What about you?" For a newbie, she's talkative. 

"I'm an illusionist." I close my eyes and concentrate, and then when I open them a double image of her sits on the bench. "Night is a mind reader-that's why she doesn't talk much."

Her eyes are wide at my illusion. "Wow, that's pretty cool."

"Want us to show you around?" I ask. She nods excitedly. We show her the classrooms, bathrooms, and the cafeteria. Then we head back to the courtyard. A boy with a fox avatar I've seen before but don't know very well is now sitting where she was before. 

Spring catches her breath. "He's cute," she murmurs. She starts walking towards him, smiling shyly but flirtatiously. I see them engage in conversation. She sits on the bench next to him. 

"Um... catch you later, Spring," I say awkwardly. She nods, then turns back to the boy. We leave them to each other and head to our classroom.