All Maia wanted to do was go home; she was not ready for a history lesson. A lazy smile tugged at her lips as she remembered what had made her so tired. The cute bouncer that put the underage stamp on her hand, the loud energetic music, her friends laughing as they each took turns showing off their special dance moves. It was the first time she had gone out in a month; her mother had been keeping her prisoner at home because it wasn't "safe" to be out late. Maia rolled her eyes at her mother's nervous protection as she doodled on the corner of her notebook.

Her friend Kenzie nudged her elbow and pointed her caramel brown gaze at the teacher. Maia's eyes moved to the front of the classroom, where her teacher seemed to be waiting expectantly.

"Sorry?" Maia said, waiting for the short graying woman to repeat herself.

The woman sighed. "What do you think caused so many people their lives during this war, Ms. Garland?"

Maia's thoughts had spent too much time on last night's dance floor to know which war was being referred to. "Umm, same things that cause so many deaths during every war? Blindly following orders, killing without good reason, stupidity." Maia ticked off each finger as she listed her reasons. A boy two seats over let out a small laugh, which turned into a cough when the teacher glared at him.

Mrs. Ackers pursed her lips and focused a sharp gaze on Maia, silently willing Maia to provide a more mature answer. Maia shrugged, but did not provide one. The teacher sighed, moving her gaze to a girl in the front row, whose arm was raised so high it was practically out of its socket.

"Yes, Natalie, go ahead," Mrs. Ackers resigned.

Maia looked at the boy who had laughed, and smiled at him, happy that at least someone had appreciated her answer. Danny, the blonde basketball captain, gave Maia a smile in return, and turned his attention to the girl answering the question.

"You okay?" Kenzie asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kenzie's skepticism was written all over her lifted eyebrow and Maia knew her best friend didn't believe her at all. She sighed and conceded, "I'm just exhausted from last night, you know?"

Her friend pressed her lips into a smile, knowing that it was her fault that Maia was so groggy. It had been Kenzie who had pleaded with Maia to come out with the group, and Kenzie who had helped Maia sneak out of her bedroom window. Of course Maia couldn't say no to her, even if she wanted to. She and Kenzie had been friends for years, five to be exact. Until then, Maia had lived in Florida, Barcelona, Ireland, Morocco, Bolivia, and New Jersey, in that order. Her mother said it was because she loved to travel, but her father finally put his foot down when they arrived in New Jersey. Maia met Kenzie and hoped that her father's stubborn nature would beat out her mother's incessant need to uproot their lives every couple of years.

"Maia Garland, please report to the Main Office. Maia Garland, Main Office" The classroom's intercom spouted out, interrupting the girl's rambling explanation about death tolls during wars.

The class oohed in reply to the announcement, making Maia roll her eyes. For seniors in high school, these kids sure knew how to act childish. She waited for the teacher to nod in consent, picked up her bag, gave Kenzie an explanatory shrug of her shoulders, and walked out of the classroom.

Maia sauntered into the Main Office, where Principal Wallace seemed to be waiting for her. She ran over the week's events in her mind. She hadn't done anything in need of rewarding and she also hadn't done anything that would get her into trouble. It was only first period, after all. And school had only started a couple of weeks ago.

"Hello, Maia," Dr. Wallace said with a smile when she reached him. A smile is a good sign, Maia thought. He readjusted his glasses, which seemed to fall lower on his hooked nose every time Maia saw him. He wasn't very tall, but his military build intimidated most of the students into good behavior. Except for Maia. She knew Dr. Wallace better than most kids, since he was a good friend of her father's. She had grown accustomed to calling him Joe whenever they weren't in school, but Maia knew well enough that he would not appreciate the sentiment in front of the other students.

"Hello," Maia replied simply, the smell of cigarette smoke reaching her nose from her principal's jacket.

"I called you in because we have two new students. Brothers actually. Never had siblings at this school before. Anyway, they're both seniors so I thought you could show them around."

"Oh, sure." Maia didn't understand exactly why she had been chosen as part of the school's welcoming committee, but she was glad to have an excuse to leave her class.

Dr. Wallace led her out into the hallway, where two boys Maia's age were leaning against the wall, having a whispered conversation.

"Just try to have an open mind," the one furthest from Maia said.

"I don't see why we have to stay here, you were perfectly fine at home." the other boy replied.

"Because I don't need mom and dad hovering over me all the time. Now just drop it, Anderson," The first one growled to his brother.

Maia had completely passed them in her hurry to find out the reason for her requested presence. Looking at them now, though, she couldn't understand how she had missed them at all. They were gorgeous. Both of them were tall, surpassing her measly 5 feet, 4 inches by at least half a foot. They looked as similar as they did different.

"This is Anderson" Dr. Wallace motioned to the one closest to her. He had light bronze hair swept to one side and light blue eyes warmer than his pasted on smile. He peered at Maia and gave her a nod, taking her hand in his and giving it a firm shake.

"And this is Ashton," the Principal's hand moved to the second boy.

"It's Asher," the brooding boy corrected.

"Right, sorry. Asher," Dr. Wallace nodded. Though his hair was short like his brother's, Asher's up-swept locks were cool brown. He stared at her with eyes as dark as his mood as he scratched the stubble on his jaw. He did not seem to recover from the apparent argument with his brother as fast as Anderson did, or just wasn't as good at hiding it.

"Hi, I'm Maia. I'm a senior and I guess I'll be showing you around the school." Maia tried her best to sound welcoming, which wasn't hard with how good-looking these new kids were. These two will have no trouble fitting in with the other students, Maia thought.

Maia's high school was known by students of surrounding schools for having an enviously high population of attractive kids. Many of the guys seemed to transitioned easily from dorky teenagers to handsome young adults. The girls had the help of makeup and hair products to boost their confidence if they weren't already enviously beautiful.

"Hey, Maia. Sounds good to us, lead the way," Anderson said, speaking for both of them. Maia noticed that it didn't seem to sound good to Asher. The boy sighed and peeled his shoulder blades off the wall.

"So, did you guys just move here? I don't think I've seen you around the neighborhood at all" Maia started walking towards the gymnasium, assuming that's where these two would be most comfortable. They both seemed athletic. Basketball, Maia guessed, or football.

Anderson glanced at his brother, whose bad mood seemed to be slipping. "Uh, yeah, we just moved here. We're staying with some family friends for the school year while our parents work."

"Oh, what do they do? And where are you originally from?" Maia asked. She couldn't pick out an accent when Anderson spoke that would help her place them.

"They work in government. And we, uhh, live near Florida." Anderson said, looking towards Asher again. Maybe he doesn't like talking about his personal life Maia thought. That seemed like the only reason why he seemed nervous to answer her questions.

" Oh cool, I lived in Florida for a while too. I don't remember it much, because I wasn't there for long," Maia said, hoping sharing some of her life would make Anderson less nervous. Anderson smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. Asher walked silently besides him. Good talk, Maia thought.

She opened the door to the gymnasium, happy for a momentary distraction from the awkward silence hanging over their tour. A gym class was playing basketball inside, making Maia groan at the thought of having to play the sport later on in the day. So, basketball isn't their sport, Maia realized as she watched them staring with curiosity at the game, as though they had never played it before. Anderson looked at his brother, who shrugged and paid closer attention to the students' movements.

"You guys actually play this?" Asher leaned over to Maia after a few minutes, gesturing to the kids running across the court. He smelled of grass and pine, bringing Maia's thoughts to the familiar forests of New Jersey.

"What? Yeah, of course we play this. Everybody plays basketball," Maia said, confused by the question. Maybe he's just being sarcastic. Or maybe he thinks the sport is beneath him somehow? Maia wondered.

The tour around the school lasted two periods, all of which were filled with Anderson asking questions about the student body and school clubs. Asher, on the other hand, was more interested in what the students did for fun after school.

"Well, actually," Maia said, getting ready to impress the brothers, "Just last night my friends and I went to a dance club for a few hours. I had to sneak out of my house, but that was easy." She didn't feel the need to mention falling in a bush and cutting up her elbow. They wouldn't think that part was cool.

"Oh, that's pretty cool. Is that all you guys do?" Asher asked.

"No, obviously not," Maia crossed her arms, "we go out to eat, hang out..." Her list was much shorter than she would have liked. Yes, going to a club was the coolest thing she had done in a long time. Asher raised his eyes, willing her to continue, and smiled to himself when she didn't. Whatever, Maia rolled her eyes, I don't need his approval. Maia turned away from the brothers and walked down the hall, not checking to see if she was being followed.

The three of them walked from hallway to hallway while Maia explained which ones were designated for each subject cluster. The brother's were far more impressed with the school's surrounding woods than they had been with the gym. Nature guys, Maia assumed, her tensed jaw and shoulders relaxing as she watched them take in the oranges, reds, and yellows of the changing leaves. She couldn't stay angry while Asher and Anderson seemed so at ease and she herself loved the Fall season in New Jersey.

"Are any classes held out here?" Asher asked.

"No," Maia laughed, wondering if that's how it was at Asher's old school, "Everything is inside the classroom. The only people that go into the woods are the cross-country runners."

Asher lowered his head, the small smile sliding down into a disappointed frown. Maia didn't want to leave the tour on a sour note, so she devised a plan. She started walking back towards the school, slowly at first until the brothers caught on and started following her.

"Okay, wait here. Look natural, and if anybody asks why you're not in class, tell them you're new and your tour guide is in the bathroom," Maia said when the three of them reached the cafeteria.

Anderson lifted his eyebrows in confusion and opened his mouth to say something but Asher stopped him.

"Will do," he said, and leaned against the wall.

Maia opened the door to the kitchen and made sure the coast was clear before stepping inside. The smell of lunch meat, pizza, french fries, and bread blasted through her nose. She shuffled to the metal racks along the far right wall that contained treats for the teachers and students to buy during lunch hours. Maia checked the kitchen for any workers one last time, and scanned each rack until she spotted the treasure she was searching for. Her mouth started watering, as if she were in a cartoon, and the sweet smell of frosting and sugar reached her and replaced all of the other aromas. Maia grabbed a brown bag from the counter and carefully placed three doughnuts inside, applauding herself for her mischief.

Asher and Anderson were exactly where she had left them. They still had another class period before lunch, which meant that the cafeteria was empty. The brothers looked at Maia curiously as she placed the bag in front of them and shook it, a smile crawling on her face.

"Now, I don't this for just anybody, but seeing as you're new..." She reached into the bag and took out two donuts, placing one in each boys' hand.

Maia smiled as Asher's bored expression turned into one of surprised delight. He glanced from the treat in his hand to Maia, a genuine smile on his face. Maia already thought he was good looking, but she had to remind herself to breath when she saw his goofy grin. Wow, he was really sexy when he was happy.

A burst of satisfaction tugged at Maia as she watched the boys eat their donuts with enthusiasm.

"This has got to be one of the best things I've ever tasted," Asher groaned, stuffing more doughnut into his mouth. Maia couldn't help but laugh. They were acting as if they'd never had them before. She took out the third doughnut and bit into it, her eyes closing in appreciation of the warm dough and sugary frosting. They finished their treats in silence, groaning occasionally and licking frosting off of their fingers. Maia threw the paper bag into the trashcan, hiding any evidence of their crime and led the boys out of the cafeteria, much happier than they were before walking into it. Today was shaping up to be a good day. 

____________

"Is that him?" Kenzie whispered, as the girls took their usual seats in their literature class. Her eyes were fixed on the back of  Asher's head, his shoulders much broader than the chair he was slumped in. Maia had noticed Asher when she walked in, but his head was down and she didn't know if he wanted her to start a conversation. She hadn't seen him or his brother in lunch last period, and now worried that too much time passed for them to speak normally to each other. 

Maia nodded to her friend and looked back to Asher. 

"He definitely is good looking," Kenzie feigned a swoon.

"You can't even see his face, Kenz," Maia laughed.

"Doesn't matter," Kenzie said matter-of factly, " I have a third eye for hotness."

Maia's eye roll was not intentional. Her friend was nothing if not boy crazy.

The faint squeak of a marker against a dry-erase board made Maia look away from her friend. Her favorite teacher, Mr. Fletcher was writing The Yellow Wallpaper in black messy letters and faced the class, twirling the marker between his fingers.

"Okay, did everybody read this story last night? Can anybody start us off with general first impressions?" The tall wiry man looked around the room as he asked.

A few students raised their hands and, once picked on, started arguing their opinions of the story. Maia had read the story, but she never liked to be the first person to speak so she held back and doodled a night sky on the corner of her notebook as she listened to her classmates.

As she drew the finishing touches onto her beach umbrella and was about to raise her hand, she felt a warmth to her left, as if brushing against her arm. She peeked up and felt her chest stop mid-rise.

Asher's hands were unfolded, one on either side of his desk with his palms facing each other. His thumbs seemed to twitch intermittently, as though he were rolling a ball back and forth across his desk. But the space between his palms was not filled by a toy, it was a ball of something else. Maia didn't know what she was looking at exactly. It was too formed to be smoke, but it also was not liquid. The ball seemed to be made of air, causing whatever it passed in front of to become blurry and shimmery, but the sphere itself was clear.

Maia knew her classmates and her teacher were still talking around her, but all of her attention was focused on the invisible object in front of Asher. They seemed to be the only two people in the room that knew the ball was there, although Asher was peering at Mr. Fletcher as he passed it back and forth. He looked so bored. He seemed to be sliding the sphere between his hands unconsciously, like someone who twirls a pencil or taps on their desk. But twirling a pencil and tapping were normal. This was not normal. And yet, it felt so familiar.

Asher's head turned slowly from their teacher to Maia, as if feeling her stare on his skin the same way Maia's skin felt the presence of the orb. A crease formed between his eyebrows as he read her confused and awed expression. A split second later, his muted brown eyes widened as he realized that Maia could see what he was doing and the ball of air disappeared from his desk.

"Maia, let's go. Bell rang like 20 seconds ago and you haven't stopped staring at the new kid," Kenzie's hushed voice reached Maia's ears, a hint of embarrassment present.

Maia stared up at her friend, who was already standing with her backpack over her shoulder and her notebook in her hand. She looked at Asher, who was still staring at her in disbelief, and looked back at her expectant friend.

"Yeah, sorry. Let's go," she said, starting to stand.

"Hey, Maia. Could I talk to you for a second?" Asher asked as he appeared in front of her desk.

Maia stared at him, not caring that she should probably answer. She couldn't open her mouth to say something to him.

"Uhh," Kenzie's anxious voice sounded next to Maia, "you sure can." Her flirtatious smile proving that she had recovered from second hand embarrassment. 

"Hey, sorry, I'm Asher," he said to Kenzie, looking at her for the first time all period.

"Hey. Yeah I know, the new guy with the brother. I'm Kenzie," she smiled.

"Uh yeah, that's me," Asher said, looking away from Kenzie as he rolled his eyes. He turned towards Maia, his eyebrows lifting in anticipation of her response.

"I'll see you in gym, Maia," she said and winked at her when she was out of Asher's eyesight. She was always trying to set Maia up. If only she knew the real reason Asher wanted to talk to her.

Maia peered up at Asher, her eyebrows in a worried furrow. Asher didn't say anything, just studied Maia with a puzzled expression. The staring was starting to cut through Maia's into her self-consciousness. Finally, he looked around at the classroom, making sure it was empty. Even their teacher had left, probably on his way to the last lunch period of the day.

"You saw that." he said. It wasn't a question. Maia nodded, her eyes moving to his chest, still unable to speak.

"But how? You're not Kinsoe, are you?" he asked.

The crease between her eyebrows deepened"What?"

"Kinsoe. Those gifted by Yarros," Asher said quickly, willing Maia to agree.

"What are you talking about?" He was starting to sound as crazy as Maia felt. Was this some new religion she was supposed to know about?

Asher ran a hand through his unkempt hair and he sighed, "Look, what you saw, have you ever seen anything like that before?"

"No," she said.

His eyes widened, "Wait, you haven't?"

"No" Why did he seem so surprised? It's not like that kind of thing happens normally anywhere outside of a magic show. "What exactly was that?" 

"It was a Sphere. I"m an Enelate," Asher answered.

"A what?"

"Enelate. I can move flexible energy." As if to prove himself, Asher lifted both hands in the air, clasped together, and started pulling them away from each other. The space in between his hands was filled with another ball of air. A Sphere, Maia corrected herself.

The bell pierced the classroom and empty hallway outside, startling Asher and making the Sphere disappear.  

Asher groaned, "I really hate that noise. I have to go to class."

"Wait, seriously?" Maia stuttered. "You're seriously going to leave me here after I just found out you're a wizard?"

Asher laughed for the first time all day, "I'm not a wizard, Maia. I'm Kinsoe. And I can't be late to all of classes my first day here. My parents would have me sent home in a heartbeat. I'll talk to you later."

Without another word, Asher lifted his books from his desk and walked out of the classroom, leaving Maia standing there staring at the empty doorway, replaying what she had just seen, and wondering what it meant about her.