A/N: Hi, Sugar here. So in this chapter, you get to know Kia's new friend! :D Yaaay! *clap clap clap* I hope you like her as much as I do. So, let's get to it!

I was dumbly clutching a scrap of parchment paper scrawled upon in loopy handwriting and a handful of paper bills that Mistress Lenas had thrust into my hand. "For your payments," she had said kindly.

But I didn't know where to start. Plus, I was a little dizzy from that leygate that had transported me back to London.

There. Were. So. Many. People.

In all my life, I had never seen so many people. They were jostling me, pushing around - not paying attention to the girl with bedraggled clothes and reddish-blond hair - but still, there was something about this many people in London. There were so many shops.

Suddenly, I started noticing things. There were some normal-looking people, London civilians perhaps, but there were also some people that were weird-looking. Like that boy with the tufted blue hair, too natural-looking to be dyed, or a girl with ice-white hair and abnormally dark green eyes.

Crap. She was staring at me.

I ducked my head, and hurried through the crowd. I knew now. Cyrus had said that there would be people with powerful auras at the market, some would be boys and girls my age. They would be at the school.

But where was I to buy things... I squinted at a booth draped in a rich, scarlet cloth emblazoned with the word Robes, and suddenly I saw normal people stride right by, their eyes flicking from the perfumes shop to the right to the jewelry tent to the left.

They didn't notice. But I did, so that meant... these shops were only for the magic people. It was so clever that I almost laughed.

The same girl with the white hair and green eyes suddenly strode into the booth, her steps quick and determined. I didn't know what to do, until I looked down at the list I clutched in my hand.

•Books - First Year Editions

•Robes - Two pairs, black

•One dark cloak with fastenings

•Two sashes in the color of your aura

I sighed, and shyly stepped inside the tent. The sudden darkness inside made me blink, once, twice.

Everything was illuminated in a deep maroon light, coming from the sunlight filtering in through the cloth. Oriental rugs were thrown across the ground, and torches hung from the canopies.

The interior was way bigger than the exterior. I gasped in amazement.

"One heck of a tent, right?"

I spun around. The white-haired girl was sitting on a cushion placed on the ground, looking right at me. The rich light made her hair glow a dark red.

"Uh..." I stammered, sinking down onto a cushion nearby. I searched for something to say. "This is where you buy robes, right?"

"Yep," the girl replied cheerfully. "The manager is fitting her for her robes right now, but they'll be over soon and it'll be our turn." I could've sworn that she said the word her with a bit of malice, but it was so fleeting.

"Is this your first year, too?" she asked me suddenly.

"Yeah," I replied, startled. "Uh, I mean, I didn't even know that I was enrolled until a day ago."

"Must've come as a shock," the girl said sympathetically. "Hey, we'll be joining together, so that'll be fun!" She smirked. "I can be your friend, if you want. We'll attend each other's funerals. It'll be lots of fun."

"Um" was all I could say to that.

"Shoot, I haven't scared you away now, have I?" she reached over and playfully punched my shoulder. "The name's Ariana - kinda long - so you can call me Ari. Oh, and if you want to hang out with me, you'd better get used to my language. Scares the heck out of my family. What's the name?"

"Kia," I replied, grinning. Ari seemed a bit weird, but hey, it was better than being a loner.

Ari laughed, her white curls falling over her face. "Kia and Ari. We'll have lots of adven-"

"Ari? You're here?" A girl's voice intervened. We both looked up. A rather pretty girl with deadblack hair falling in waves across her face, translucent pale skin, and ruby lips looked down at us, her hands on her hips.

"Hi, I'm Kia," I said nervously, looking up at her. It made my neck hurt, but the girl made no move to get down.

"I wasn't asking you," she replied in a haughty tone. "I was asking what Ari was doing here, and if she wanted to buy our books together."

"Well..." Ari shot me a helpless glance. "Um, Kia and I were just about to get our robes together, so maybe later?"

"Why? You don't need to go with her."

I was stung. My eyes burned, and I squeezed them shut, feeling a wave of fury towards this girl. I wouldn't let her see me cry. I wouldn't.

"Actually, I want to." Ari shot back coldly. "Go find somebody else to shop for your bloody clothes with."

The girl huffed and marched away, swinging her hair back in a very disdainful way. I'd barely known her for five seconds, yet I already wanted to rip that smug look off her face.

"Who was that?" I asked, fighting my tears.

"Kyra," Ari replied, sighing. "Don't take her seriously, she only wants to be friends with me because I'm the Air teacher's niece. Seriously," she added.

I stared at her. "You know one of the teachers?" I asked in awe.

"Yeah." Ari stared at the ground. A pause. "You didn't make such a hell of a big deal about it, and that makes me like you even more," she added with a grin. "Let's get our robes."

"Okay," I said, a feeling of relief hitting me, and not just because I had a friend.

A/N: Okay! Back! You liked Ari? Ah, they get together so well. She adds a little bit of fire to Kia's shyness. So, yes, well, thank you very much! Now let's get on to the next chapter, cookies!

-Sugar