Artemis

As I'm making my way to Mrs. Hill's class the next morning, I catch a glimpse of three people who are in the class with us. I've crossed paths with them in the hallways, too, but I haven't had the courage to actually speak to them. I'm trying my best to be less shy around people, though, which is why in this moment I decide to put my nerves behind me and go for it. I might even be able to befriend them!

They appear to be siblings, with their jet-black hair, bright purple eyes and fair skin. Even their uniforms are identical to each other, all three girls having chosen deep purple bodices, but despite their appearances being so similar, there are distinct ways of telling them apart. The oldest has her hair cut short with the ends just barely reaching her shoulders, framing her face in a way that highlights the maturity in her features. The middle sibling, with her waist-length hair, is slightly shorter than the first and has an unwaveringly kind look in her eyes. You would think the third sister, the youngest, would be even shorter than the other two, but instead she is almost the exact same height as the second girl. Her hair, however, is styled into a pixie cut.

"Hello," I call to them. They stop in their tracks at once and turn towards me, clearly wondering why I'm addressing them suddenly. "Sorry to bother you, I just – I've noticed you around school and I wanted to introduce myself. I'm Artemis."

"It's no bother at all, it's nice to meet you. I'm Sally Greystone," The oldest girl replies. "And these are my sisters, Angelica and Prudence. We're witches. Three of the most powerful in the school, in fact. Not to sound conceited or anything."

"Greystone...Isn't the woman who runs orientation a Greystone as well?"

"Yes," says Angelica. "She's our aunt."

"Ah, that makes sense. Well, anyway...since we're heading to the same place and all, may I introduce you guys to my friends? I'm sure they'd love to meet you, too," I offer.

Sally smiles. "Of course!"

With that, the four of us head into the classroom together. Mrs. Hill isn't here yet, but most of the students are, including Lena, Kaiden, Evelyn, Tyler and Dawson. For whatever reason, Dawson and Tyler have chosen to start playing music on Tyler's phone since Mrs. Hill isn't here yet, 'Sexy and I Know It' sounding throughout the room. It seems no one objects to this choice, either, since people I don't even recognize are dancing, whether in their seats or out of them. It's a funny sight to walk into. I bet even Mrs. Hill would get a kick out of it!

"I assume you recognize Tyler and Dawson by now," I amusedly surmise.

"Oh, yeah, we're known those guys for awhile now. They've been going here for, like four or five years now," Sally responds, nodding her head to the beat of the song, "Awesome song choice, there, buddy!"

"Thanks!" Tyler sends a grin her way as the song finishes. "Got a request for me?"

"I do!" Evelyn pipes up cheerfully, "How about 'Heaven Knows' by The Pretty Reckless? You guys are using YouTube, right?"

"Yup, and coming right up!"

"You, my lady, have excellent taste," Dawson winks at her.

Evelyn blushes. "Thanks. You like The Pretty Reckless, too?"

"Hell, yeah!" Dawson's eyes light up as he gets an idea. "Guys, we have got to have some kind of party or karaoke night some time."

"The arena seems like it would be a good place to do something like that," adds Kaiden, "It's definitely big enough."

"So, what's your name?" Angelica asks him, since I've completely forgotten about the introductions that I promised to give thanks to all the excitement. 

"Oh, hi there. I'm Kaiden," he introduces himself, leaning over to shake her hand. "These are Lena and Evelyn." He then points to each of the girls, who each give friendly waves. Faeryn, I notice, has this hate-filled look on her face that's directed solely at Angelica and her sisters, but I have zero idea why and no one else even seems to see it. 

"Alright, folks," Mrs. Hill's voice breaks through the music and chatter as she enters the room calmly, "As much as I enjoy The Pretty Reckless, it's time to put away the music so we can get started."

As disappointed as everyone is by that, Tyler is still quick to oblige and everyone scrambles back into their seats as Mrs. Hill makes her way to the front to begin today's lesson. As with yesterday, we manage to learn lots of really cool things about the school, and one detail that sticks out in my mind is how they used to admit new students only at the start of a new year, but with more and more people proving to be born with powers of some kind, they started doing so at the beginning of each new semester. Which means we'll likely be seeing some new faces after winter break is over!

"Hey, speaking of winter break --" I begin to ask, then realize I haven't raised my hand and sheepishly do so. 

Mrs. Hill just smiles. "It's alright, Artemis, dear, proceed with your question."

"Do we stay at the school during the winter holidays, or are we normally sent back home?" I finish.

"We prefer to send students home so they can spend the holidays with their families," answers Mrs. Hill, "then we summon you all back the second week of January. Thank you for asking, that was a very good question."

Once the bell rings and we're on our way to Mr. Rego's classroom, talk of a future party resumes as if it was never interrupted, although Tyler and Dawson have to duck out early, to their disappointment, since they're not in the same class as us. "Promise you guys'll share whatever idea you come up with while we're gone. Deal?" Tyler calls as he and Dawson walk away.

"Deal!" Kaiden yells back. He, Lena and I walk into Mr. Rego's room and take our seats before he adds, "I like the idea of combining Dawson's ideas. Maybe have a party where people can go up and perform if they want, but also have speakers and stuff set up for when no one's in the mood. Know what I mean?"

"That's actually really clever," Lena compliments, "I think we should totally get Evelyn up there for a song. I bet her voice is phenomenal." 

"If you do, make her sing Dawson a love song," Kaiden jokes.

When lunchtime rolls around, we all meet back up as we sit at our usual table together, and Kaiden shares his suggestion with Dawson and Tyler. "Sounds good. I do think, with how much planning and preparation this thing'll take, we should do it as, like, a Halloween thing. I'm pretty sure it's on a full moon this year, which'll make it even cooler!" Tyler enthusiastically responds.

Lena's attention, I notice, is fixated somewhere else. "What are you staring at?" I ask her.

"Watching to see when Faeryn comes in," she explains, "I want to invite her to sit with us."

I'm a little surprised by the sudden change, since Lena told me how Faeryn had been acting before, but I figure they must have talked things out in private. I decide to ask Lena about it later when we're not surrounded by all these people.

Sure enough, Faeryn enters the cafeteria and once she's selected her food and started searching for a table, Lena beckons her over. "Over here!"

Faeryn obliges at once. "Hello, Lena," she greets, taking the open seat directly across from Lena and beside me, "I hope you're well."

"I am, thanks."

Lena then introduces Faeryn to our whole group, even Tyler and Dawson. It turns out that, despite the three of them all having been here longer than the rest of us, the boys hadn't met her before today. I would normally find that odd, but I can tell Faeryn isn't normally much of a 'people' person. I have to admit, it's nice to see her making an effort to change that. Overall, she seems a lot more pleasant now than when we first saw her. It's also rather cute, in my eyes, that she has such a soft spot for Lena in particular.

"So, Faeryn, do you have any siblings?" asks Dawson in an attempt to get to know the girl better.

"Yes. An older sister named Felicity," answers Faeryn, "She attends Cybele, too. Yourself?"

"Yeah. My sister's right over there." he points to Sadie, who is in the middle of a contest with one of her friends to see who can chug their sodas the quickest. "Sadie's her name. I'm sure you've seen her in duels before. She's pretty good, even if she does sometimes get distracted."

"You ought to see Felicity duel sometime," smiles Faeryn, "With her powers, that girl could take on multiple opponents at once and walk away with hardly a scratch on her."

"And you?" smirks Dawson, "How confident are you in your own abilities, sweetheart?"

"Oh, very," Faeryn responds, matching Dawson's competitive tone, "In fact, I'm even stronger than my sister, which is saying something in a way, since she's had more time to practice."

"Now, now, folks, let's keep it peaceful," Tyler breaks in teasingly. He knows they're not really fighting, of course.

Faeryn doesn't miss a beat. "Whatever you say, angel boy."

"Angel boy, huh?" Tyler grins, "What, couldn't come up with anything more creative?"

"Oh, I could. I just didn't want to waste the energy on the likes of you," Faeryn jokes.

This light, joke-filled banter goes on for the remainder of the lunch hour, at the end of which we're a bit reluctant to leave for class (Though Lena less so, since she and Faeryn share a study period which means they can continue spending time together).

"Oh, don't worry," Faeryn assures us as we bring our dirty dishes to the bin they're supposed to go in for the kitchen staff to clean later, "You'll be seeing much more of me from here on out. That's a promise."