The Lies That Shadow Us

Chapter Twelve

Lily grabbed a black tray from the rack and followed behind Sarah in line. The dining hall was massive, with about fifty long tables and ceilings stretching over 30 feet. Black crystal chandeliers hung in a row with carved etchings similar to those outside the school.

She wondered what those were and made a mental note to ask Roman when she saw him. Lily was looking forward to their lessons and maybe just seeing him in general. Roman had quickly become her favorite person here.

Sarah took an apple, a croissant with jam, and bottled juice, placed her items on her tray, and waited for Lily. Lily hadn't realized she was daydreaming until she noticed Sarah had finished making her selections.

"Oh, sorry, Sarah, I completely spaced. No matter how often I walk around the school, it never ceases to amaze me," Lily said as she grabbed a banana, croissant BLT, and Dr. Pepper. Lily probably consisted of about seventy percent Dr. Pepper.

"Don't be silly. You're perfectly fine. Alfera is a magical place, quite literally," Sarah snorted at her own joke, and Lily couldn't help but laugh with her. She was happy she had such great people here.

Oomph. She made a breathless noise as someone rammed their shoulder into hers.

"Ow, what the hell?" three girls and two boys stood before her. The boys crossed their arms, mischievous smirks plastered on their faces. One was rather tall and bulky, and the other was much shorter, leaner, and had a scruffy beard.

The girls were just downright catty, but you could tell who the ring leader was. The one in the middle was a beautiful, flawless tan skin, with shoulder-length silky brown hair and exotic brown doe eyes. But the resting bitch face took away some of that beauty.

"Oops, didn't see you there," the exotic-looking one in the middle said mockingly, "You're not very noticeable, are you?" She sneered at Lily.

"Come on, Vassa, leave the ugly duckling alone. We're going to be late for Mr. Greenblat's," the tall boy said to the one in the middle, who she assumed was Vassa.

Vassa gave her one last sneer before strutting off, her little minions following.

"That was fun," Lily said sarcastically to Sarah, who was standing beside Lily with her brows raised tray in hand.

"Vassilisa Novikov is a bitch to everyone, don't worry. What shocked me was that Andrew spoke to her, and she didn't criticize him or turn him into a toad," Sarah said dramatically.

Lily walked to the nearest table that had space and sat, Sarah right behind her. "I guess even magic schools have mean kids. The only difference is they can turn them into toads, apparently."

Sarah bit into her croissant, dancing with her shoulders as she did. "That's absolutely delicious. And everything, my dear Lily, is better with magic, trust me."

"I'm sure it is. So how many magical species are there exactly," Lily paused, realizing what she said and shaking her head, "I can't believe this is an actual conversation that I'm having."

Sarah sipped at her juice before saying, "Well, not all species go to Alfera. Some are too dangerous, but we have witches, dragons, vampires, sirens, goblins, trolls, and werewolves," She counted on her long, nimble fingers, light pink paint coating her fingernails, "There's quite a bit more, but the ones I listed are the most common here."

Lily mulled that over, "And I'm a witch...right?" Sarah looked at her with a bemused expression.

"Of course. We don't all have colorful powers to blast people away with," Sarah said jokingly, but Lily's face fell the moment she uttered those words.