The next day, Rachael was walking to potions class with Zeph and filling him in on everything that happened.

"Beckett tried to teach me this spell to round up books, before I fucked it up and we mutually agreed that I'm a dumbass. And then gave me this long winded and detailed explanation about illegal Blood Magick." Rachael explains.

"Wait, back up a second. You're saying that Beckett was actually nice?" Zeph asks, not believing her.

"Yeah, he's really not as bad as he seems. He's just a little defensive." Rachael says. "He may come off as an asshole, but he's really just an absolute nerd. He like wants people to think he's cool, but doesn't really have a clue what cool is."

"So he makes up for it by being a snob?" Zeph asks.

"Honestly, I think it's just a front. I don't think he has any friends." Rachael sighs.

Zeph laughed, nudging her with his elbow. "Until now. Congrats on becoming Loner Nerd's first friend."

He laughed for a solid minute before he calmed down enough to speak again.

"But tell me something, Rachael. You've got a lot to say about this Harrington guy. And everyone's noticed the tension between you two." Zeph smiles, wiggling his eyebrows at her. "Correct me if I'm wrong and I'll totally drop the subject, but do you have a little crush on him by any chance?"

"Honestly, Yeah a little bit...maybe a big bit." Rachael says, blushing lightly. "Everyone likes aggressive nerds with a secret soft side, Zeph."

"You're saying he has a soft side?" Zeph gasps. "I'm gonna let you have your type, Rachael. But just so you know I'm gonna take every opportunity I can to tease you about it."

"Oh, great..." Rachael sighs, as they approached their classroom. They entered the greenhouse and took their seats beside each other. "Things got weird after we left the library. I saw someone, maybe a teacher, like stalking me, but she ran away when I tried to talk to her. We followed her to this really crazy room full of junk, and I found this baby picture of me in a bag on the floor. It can't be a coincidence it's like she lead me right to it!"

"Wow, Okay. Plot twist. So this woman knows you or something?" Zeph asks.

"I don't even know what to think. It's like every time I have this figured out, something new pops up. I'm just so confused!" Rachael sighs. "But I think the best thing I can do is keep my head down, and learn as much about the magickal world as I can. That'll have to lead me to some answers, right?"

"It sounds like you already have a lead with this woman." Zeph says.

"That's what I was thinking. If only I knew who she was, or how to get her to talk to me. All I remember is that she was wearing a red scarf, and her hair was like a fluffy rats nest." Rachael sighs.

"You know, it sounds like you're talking about Professor Swan. I've heard some really strange stuff about her." Zeph says. "Sure they call her professor, but from what I've heard she hasn't taught-"

He was interrupted by Kontos starting the class. "Good morning, young learners. Thank you all for being on time."

He set down a cauldron on the front desk before turning to them all.

"We're going to get right into making potions making today, which I'm sure many of you were excited about. To begin, I'd like you all to come take a look at the daydream potion daydream you're going to be concocting. " Kontos says, as the entire class crowds around the small cauldron.

"Hey, Tell me more about Professor Swan." Rachael whispers to Zeph.

"She's like super weird. Always muttering under her breath. Kinda of a loner. Weirdly protective of her office. " Zeph says.

"Protective of her office? What does that even mean?" Rachael asks.

"I dunno, but there's a rumor that she keeps illegal magickal stuff in there. Contraband, or potions. Maybe even creatures." Zeph adds.

"But hasn't anyone been in there? They would've seen all this stuff, right?" Rachael asks.

"I've heard that she doesn't like being around people. Never invites students to her office. Doesn't really talk to other professors." Zeph says.

"What's she doing at a college then?" Rachael scoffs.

"Has everyone seen the potion? Students in the back, Rachael, Zeph, please come forward and take a quick look." Kontos says, waving for them to step forward. They peered into the cauldron curiously. "While fairly easy to make, a daydream potion can have amusing side effects when improperly brewed, though none are typically dangerous. Which is why you'll be making this potion to kick off your brewing ju-ju, as the Attuned say."

"No one says that." Zeph says, making Rachael snort.

"Daydreams are typically associated with a lack of focus, but this potion will do the opposite, heightening your creative faculties. You should find that magick comes to you more easily. The most common side effect is spaciness, which is where the potion gets its name. One could slip their Professor a dose in his morning tea, giving them extra time on their term paper while said Professor is lost in fantastical reveries." Kontos says. Zeph grinned turning to Rachael with a devilish look on his face. Kontos noticed his reaction and carried on happily. "But I discourage you from getting any ideas. The professors here can recognize the signs of having consumed a daydream potion. Now, if you'll return to your seats, I'll take any questions you may have before we begin brewing."

When no one raised their hand he moved on. "Alright, let's get brewing. First, fill your cauldron halfway with distilled rainwater, which you can find in my storage room." He demonstrated how to set up the cauldron and get things started. "As the rainwater in your cauldron begins to steam, its time to prepare your first ingredients. Carefully shave off five grams of moonstone, and grind to a powder with a mortar and pestle. Finely-ground moonstone stabilizes the rest of the ingredients, and improves the potion's taste and texture. A pleasant aroma should begin emanating from your potion. Simply wait for the surface to fog up, before adding in two silvers of Tusks of Murphon. Risk of Murphon enhances focus, but the more you add, the longer and more intense this focus will be. Two slivers is plenty, as we don't want to become zombies to the outside world. Then add Dreamshade. Delicately pluck the dreamshade petals like so, making sure not to tear or crease them, simply combine into your mixture. If the potion was completed correctly it should turn a warm gold color. Now, please partner up. You have the rest of class to brew up your potion."

"Yes! Now, let's cook ourselves up some daydreams!" Zeph smiles. getting the supplies they needed and starting to set up the basics.

Once he set it up, Rachael added five grams of ground moonstone to the cauldron, turning the water into a bright shade of periwinkle.

"Smells like blueberry pie..." Zeph smiles.

"Already step two: adding in Tusk of Murphon." Rachael says, slicing off to fragments of the tusk and Zeph drops them into the cauldron. The surface of the potion became reflective like a piece of glass. "Last but not least, dreamshade."

Zeph handed her the small golden flower. "The finest flower for the finest potion making partner."

"Why thank you, kind sir. Here goes nothing." Rachael smiles, taking the flower from him. She carefully plucked off five petals and dropped them into the cauldron.

Zeph stirred the potion as it turned a deep color of gold. "I think we did it."

"Professor Kontos, can you check this, please?" Rachael Carl's across the classroom.

He walked towards their side of the room and peers into their cauldron, before smiling at both of them. "Very well done, Ms. Michelle, Mr. Hernandez. I'm exceptionally impressed. While not perfect, this would earn you both high scores on a practical exam. As such, I'm awarding you both full marks today. Very good work."

"Thanks!" Rachael says as her and Zeph high five.

After a few minutes everyone in the class finished their potions.

"Good work today class. You may all leave once you've cleaned up your work station. Thank you for a wonderful first lesson." Kontos smiles turning his back to the class to do something on his desk.

They cleaned up their station and head out of the greenhouse. Zeph and Rachael started to head back up to the main building. As they were walking they ran into Griffin.

"Hey, Rachael! You planning on swinging by Thief tryouts today?" Griffin asks.

"Hold on I thought they didn't start for another hour!" Zeph gasps.

"They don't. I'm just helping set things up. I take it I'll be seeing you there, then?" Griffin asks.

"For sure. Rachael, why don't you give it a shot as well?" Zeph asks.

"What is it, exactly? I've heard a lot about it, but I still have no clue what it is." Rachael says looking between them.

"You don't...you don't know what Thief is?" Griffin asks in disbelief.

"Hey, go easy on her. She's lived a pretty sheltered life so far." Zeph says.

"Thief is this sport where two teams face off against each other inside a huge dome. You have a flag attached to a belt on your waist, and if it gets stolen by the opposing team, you're out." Griffin explains.

"You can use elements magick to help you steal flags or protect your own. The last tran with someone standing wins." Zeph adds.

"That just sounds like flag football." Rachael says.

"What's that?" Zeph asks.

"Literally the sand thing just minus the magick." Rachael says.

"It's the downgrades version of Thief." Griffin says.

"You should definitely try out, Rachael. Thief is like the best in in the world." Zeph smiles.

"The terrain shifts throughout the match, so depending on your attunement, you'll have advantages and disadvantages. Plus our team is second to none. Three-time league champs and we won last year, when I was a freshman." Griffin says.

"No offense, but that sounds awful." Rachael says, shaking her head,

"Aw, come on! The teams never had a Sun-Att on the team before." Griffin says.

"I'm sorry, but no. I'm not a sports person and I'm way to reckless to not end up seriously injuring myself or others accidentally." Rachael says.

They both sighed deeply. "It's fine I get it. Thief's not for everyone." Griffin nods. "Well I should get going to help everyone set up for tryouts."

"Okay, bye." Rachael says, as her and Zeph head back up to the school.