Previously,
"Alright." I smiled. "Oh, have you seen the movie yet?" He asked me. "No, I did watch the show," I explained. "Wait, don't tell me you watched Steven Universe where he is older." He pleaded. "Oh, yeah I have," I told him. "No..." He groaned. "Here let's watch the movie then, the second show again." He suggested. "If it helps, I never finished Steven Universe Future. I was too busy so I had to drop it." I explained. "It would have been confusing anyway." He insisted.
-High School Sweethearts-
~Shut up, if you're not my type~
"I'm not ready for this, guys. Maybe we should go back." Luz suggested. "Nah, kid you got this! Just do what we practiced." Mom instructed. "I mean if some of these people can get in, I know you can." I held onto her shoulders. "But what if I mess something up? Or what if I do something wrong? What if I die?" She asked us. "Hey, calm down. First off, you won't die. Second, it will be okay if you mess up once or twice." I assured her.
"Yeah, Y/n had to do it yesterday, and I had to do the same thing when I was a witchling. It's like a rite of passage." Mom told her. "Granted, Y/n is like the second strongest witch in the Boiling Isles, and I was a little more skilled." She added. "Eda!" Luz looked more worried. "Right right sorry. Now get pumped." Mom hyped her up. "Pumped!" Luz repeated. "Get ready!" Mom told her. "Ready!" Luz put on her hood. "Now go!" Mom pushed her on stage. I pulled my scroll out to see Hunter texted me.
[Hunter]
Hey, are you free today? I haven't seen you in a while
[Y/n]
Later today, I'm watching Luz doing her try-out
[Hunter]
Oh, tell me when you're done
I put away my scroll and look at the stage. Luz was chuckling nervously. She threw confetti in the air. "Right. The human that wants to be a witch. Against my better judgment, I've allowed you to take this exam into Hexside. But can you even do magic with all your human parts?" He asked her. "I sure can!" She pointed at him with finger guns. "It's said that humans can't do magic," She showed him a piece of paper like it was 'show and tell'. "But I discovered a lost technique that changes everything." She sets the paper on the floor. She touched one and a ball of light formed. She moved the other paper below the ball and activated it so it became a small beam of ice.
"Spells cast with paper? I've never heard such a thing. But is it enough to pass the exam?" The principal thought out loud. Luz started to panic. "Improvise!" Mom whisper-shouted. "Uh, I can do other things. What about this?" She does that weird eye thing. "Ow! Ow! Eyelash, eyelash." She fanned her eyes. She tripped on the puddle of melted ice and fell into her cape.
She struggled to get it off and fell on Bump. She put her hand on a paper to help her up but then an ice glyph activated. "Oh, my titan." I paced around a little. "Welcome, Luz, to Hexside School of Magic and Demonics." Bump announced. "Way to go!" I cheered. Bump glared at me and I stop.
~~~~~~
We were on our way and I noticed Luz was really nervous. "We gotta go back. This was a mistake." Luz told us. "Yeah, Principal Bump already doesn't like me since I'm your daughter. What will the other teachers think? I don't wanna be a loner either." I played with my gold necklace. "I'm gonna mess things up again and everyone will see, and..." Luz added. "All right. You two need to calm down. Why are you so nervous, Luz? You've been to school before." Mom asked.
"That's why I'm nervous. At my human school, I didn't make a good first impression. This is a chance to be seen as something other than a screw-up." She explained. "Hey, don't worry about what those dorks think. If you want my advice, walk into class and punch the first kid you see. To establish dominance." Mom recommended. "Aw. I won't be doing that but thanks." Luz smiled. "And Y/n, Bump is a huge softie, he doesn't hate anyone. And if the teachers like you or not don't matter. And who wouldn't want to be friends with you?" She asked me.
"I don't know, these people could be the worst." I assumed. "Well, you don't know that unless you talk to people." She lands and I land next to her. I get off and (P/N) sits on my shoulder. I grab my bag and I swing it over the other shoulder. "Last chance to back out and earn a new Bad Girl Coven patch. Quitting! It's like trying but easier." Mom told us.
"Nah, I'll just earn it when I quit showering." Luz shared. "I'll take it when I stop getting out of bed," I added. We were about to head inside when I felt a hand on my head. We both turn around. "Just try not to be too much of a goody loose shoes, Luz. And Y/n, I want you to finish my work. You guys got this." She winked at me. "Thanks!" We said in sync. "In fact, I have written a heartfelt sonnet to commemorate this occasion." She took out sock puppets. "Oops! A gust of wind got me. See you after school! Byeee!" She waved. "Come on, Luz." I put my hand on her shoulder.
I left Luz with Amity and I made my way to the doors. "At least you have great company," I told my palisman in my hands. They chirped and I smiled. I looked up but it was too late. I bumped into a girl who had spikes in her hair and a fish hook in her ear. "Oh, I'm sorry." I apologized. "Oh, it's okay, your owl is so cute." She pet the palisman in my hand. "Oh thank you, I carved him myself," I told her. "Well, I'm Viney! I can show you around if you want." She winked at me.
"Oh, that would be great! Emira and Edric are probably in their classes. Speaking of classes, I'm going to go get mine." I excused myself and I ran inside. I found the principal's room and Luz was waiting at the door. "Oh hello!" I greeted. (P/N) took a seat in my hair. She opened the door and Bump was at his desk. "Hiya, Princy-B. Can I call you that?" Luz asked. "Absolutely not." He replied.
"Now today we'll be visited by the Emperor's Coven for a routine inspection... An actual one." He scowled at me. "If we want to impress them, you'll need to join a coven track before they arrive." He told us. "Actually, Principal Bump, I've made my own schedule. First, vet care for mythical beasts, then healing and dealing, and then after lunch..." Luz showed him the paper.
He started to laugh. "Studying multiple tracks at once? No one does that." He shared. "Why not?" I asked him. "Because according to the rules, a good witch needs to hocus-focus." He told us. "Well, that's bananas!" I slammed the desk. "Did I use that right?" I whispered to Luz. She nodded her head and I look back at Bump.
"I don't know what those are, but you can only pick one of the nine tracks." He pointed at his banners. "And trust me, Clawthrone, you do not want to embarrass me in front of the inspector." He promised. "But I want to do all of them!" I complained. "Yeah, isn't there some sort of enchanted article of clothing that can sort this out for us?" Luz asked.
"Well, there to be but..." He shivered. "I don't know if I can choose just one," Luz told him. "Then I'll choose one for you. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Oh yes. The potions track. You humans ars filled with liquids, right?" He made her grey uniform turn yellow. "Oh, I guess I have always liked pouring things into other things." Luz sounded a bit disappointed.
"And for Ms. Clawthrone... Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Oh, you got the plant track." He changed my outfit to green. "Oh... Fun." I looked at my outfit. "I expect you to be on your best behavior. Based on the costly repairs from recent incidents, we could really use a donation from the Emperor's Coven. Now, off to class." He took us out of the room and I landed by a door. I sit down by a plant and the teacher walked around all of us. "Today we are learning how to take care of your plants.
I looked out the window to see a fight going on. It was an abomination going against a beast. I watched the fight in awe until I heard someone behind me. "Oh, right my bad." I go back to my plant.
~~~~~~
The bell rang and I ran out. "What's next?" I pulled out my schedule. It just said plants 10 times. "What the hell is this madness?" I crumble it up. I looked at a cabinet and it was filled with oracle glass balls. "Hmm." I picked it up and a ghost came out. "Oh hello!" I greeted the spirit. "You are going to get in trouble..." It whispered. "What?"
I heard someone clear their throat and I turn around. Bump grabbed my arm and started to drag me somewhere. "I don't know what I was thinking. You're Edalyn's kid for titan's sake." He mumbled. I groaned as he threw me into a room. It had Viney, Luz, and two other kids in it. They were all looking at me. "Why'd you bring me here?" I asked him. "This is the place where all the troublemakers go." He changed my uniform color back to grey. "The detention track." He told me.
"What the heck man! I didn't do anything that bad!" I shouted. "Too bad. You aren't embarrassing me in front of the inspector. You can pick a new track next semester." He shut the door in my face. I sit down behind everyone and Luz sits down next to me. My palisman got out of my hair and bobbed around on the desk. "Hey, (P/N)." Luz played with the bird. "Hey! No fun in here! Unless you want to scrub the classroom again." The teacher yelled. I rolled my eyes.
I watched the teacher fall asleep and Luz got up to look outside the window. I put my bird on my shoulder. I looked up to see Viney. "Come on." She whispered. I got up and she took my hand. She led me to the chalkboard she drew a square. In the middle of it, she drew a lock, and the square opens. "Here I'll be back." She helped me inside and she shut the door. I was stranded in a hallway. I opened the door on the other end and it was filled with doors. "Oh hey, Viney told us about you! I'm Jerbo and this is Barcus." He looked nervous. "Oh hey!" I smiled at them and I took a look around. I opened a door and I saw Emira and Edric learning. I closed the door and I squeal. "Oh, this is amazing! You guys hide in here?" I asked them.
Viney and Luz came in and I hug Luz. "What did you do?" I asked her. "Nothing! I just looked at a glass ball and Bump caught me." She explained. "Oh, same." I smiled. "I love secret rooms!" Luz cheered. "Where do the doors go?" She opened a door. "This place connects to different parts of the school. We found it after being thrown in the detention track. The which who made is known as Lord Calamity."
She shows us a picture of a student whose face was painted over. "They started this troublemaker wall and we added our names in their honor," Jerbo told us. "This is amazing!" Luz shared. "Yeah this is pretty great." I added. "I bet you get into a lot of trouble in here." Luz assumed. "Sure we can, but we can also do so much more."
We got to Barcus and a door was open to a classroom. "Remember, seeing the end of a life is the beginning of reading a fortune. We have to work backwards from it to see the truth." The teacher made a fortune teller. Barcus did the same thing. "We're not allowed to study any kind of magic. So we study every kind of magic. In secret." Viney told us. I sat next to her. "You actually like school?" Luz asked.
"Yeah. We might have liked it too much." Viney looked at her friends. "I tried mixing plant magic with abominations. Bump was not thrilled. Barcus mixed potions with oracle magic." Jerbo explained. "Mixing healing and beast keeping was slightly unconventional. But Puddles was a great assistant, dang it!" Viney added. "We all want to be in more than one coven track, but Bump says we need to focus."
"Sounds like Bump's priorities are out of whack." Luz shared. I laughed at her comment. I looked at Viney and she was a bit pink. "Are you okay?" I asked her. "Oh yeah, I'm glad you guys are one of us. You guys made a great first impression." She put her hand on my shoulder. "Would you like to add your name to the troublemaker wall?" She showed me a marker. "Would I?" I gasped. I took the marker. "Luz?" I heard someone call out. "We're here to get you out of that horrible class," Willow shouted. We all turned to her. My palisman goes over to the abomination with a tulip on its head.
"They're probably looking for some other Luz." She told us. "Y/n, wanna come with me?" Viney invited as she got up. I nodded. She helped me up and we went to the door. I saw Willow and Gus walking around in the empty classroom. "Maybe she already booked it." Gus suggested. Willow whistled. "She did say she was better than this place," Gus added. Viney closed the door. "Oh, you think you're better than us?" Viney asked.
"No, no! It's not like that! I just didn't think I deserved- I mean, none of us deserve-" Luz tried explaining. Jerbo said something in another language. "I should've known you'd look down on us. Everyone else does..." Jerbo bowed his head. Barcus hissed. "Luz, did you mean that?" I asked her. "It doesn't matter, I just... Maybe you should just leave." She pointed to the door. "I understand." Luz went out the entrance. "Do you need to leave too?" Jerbo asked me. "Uh, no. I like hanging out with you guys." I smiled at them.
Viney looked at me and smiled. "She can stay. Now... Where were we?" She asked us. "Oh, I wanted to put my name on the wall!" I climbed up to the picture and I signed next to it. I sit down and they started to open doors to look inside. I opened up my scroll to see Hunter texted me.
[Hunter]
Hey text me when you're out of school
[Y/n]
I got the detention track :(
[Hunter]
What's that?
[Y/n]
I can't learn anything so I am sitting around
[Hunter]
Oh, that sucks lol
[Y/n]
That isn't funny!
[Hunter]
Well, how about after school we finish watching Steven Universe?
[Y/N]
Yeah ofc
[Hunter]
What does that mean?
[Y/n]
It means of course
I laughed. "What are you looking at?" Viney asked. "Oh, my friend's new at texting. He still doesn't what some things mean." I explained. Jerbo and Barcus sat next to us. "Guys I need your help!" Luz shouted. "Oh, you're back," Viney grumbled. "Woah what happened to Willow and Gus?!" I ran over to Luz. "Can you hold them, they are a bit heavy." She requested. I put Willow and Gus on my shoulders.
"I'm sorry I hurt your feelings, but please listen. Something horrible is loose in the school." She opened the door to reveal a magic-sucking monster. I shut the door. "I think that's a Greater Basilisk. I heard about them in a class. My cousin at St. Epiderm said she saw one, but those things should be extinct." Viney told us. "It must have attacked the other schools, and now it's coming for us. We have to do something." Luz concluded.
"But if Bump catches us mixing magic again..." Jerbo trails off. "He'd kick us out of school," Viney finished for him. "Viney, there are people in danger and we are the only ones who can help. Plus if we save the school, I think he will spare us a bit." I told her. "We're troublemakers, right? So let's get out there and make some trouble!" Luz shouted.
~~~~~~
Me and Viney we're waiting in a corner. "I hope the thing didn't eat Luz. Also you need to hide." I put my palisman in my bag. "Yeah, where is she?" Viney asked. "Viney! Do the thing! Do the thing!" Luz pleaded. "Go Puddles!" She pointed in the direction we heard Luz shout. Puddles flew away and we followed. Puddles attacked the Basilisk. "Attagirl, Puddles. Jerbo, now!" Viney shouted.
A door opened under the beast and she got stuck. She fell into it and we followed. She got stuck in another door where Jerbo was. Luz jumped on the Basilisk again and we landed in the auditorium. "Barcus!" I shouted. He took the Basilisk's palm. "Where am I?" The creature asked. Barus started doing oracle magic. "What's he doing? What'd he say?" She freaked out.
"He's reading your palm, and your future looks bleak," Luz told her. Sacks fall onto the animal and she screams. The magic she absorbed shot out and she dwindled. "Wooo!" I cheered. I go over to Viney and Puddles. Puddles were cuddling Viney and I hug Puddles. "You did it! You were amazing! You guys..." Luz put a hand on Jerbo and I's shoulders. "Are in so much trouble." The principal finished her sentence.
"Leaving your homeroom, mixing magic, and is that a secret hideout?" He pointed above us. "I got this guys." I winked at them. "Bump-kins, let's think about this. Why would kids need a secret hideout in this track?" I asked him. "I don't care to know the ins and outs of rascality. But if the Emperor's Coven can send an actual inspector this time..." He opens a book.
"Okay, we get it. You're broke. But if it hurts the kids you teach what's the point? They just saved your school by doing what you claimed isn't 'hocusing-focusing.' They should study what they want." I advised him. "But..." He trailed off. "Do the right thing, you dingus!" Gus shouted from the ceiling. "All right. I'm smart enough to know when I've made a mistake. Which tracks do you like to be in?" He asked.
"Healing and beast keeping!" Viney told him. "Plants and abomination," Jerbo added. Barcus barked. "Then so be it." He changed their outfits to their respected colors. "But if any of you cause more property damage, I'm feeding you to the choosy hat." He warned. "And you two?" He asked us. "Oh, I still can't choose," Luz told him. "Can we study everything?" I begged. He changed our outfits to be one of each class. "Yeah yeah! I'm gonna study everything!" Luz cheered. "Yes!" I scanned the clothing.
"You know, only one other student wanted to study every track." He pulled out the picture frame from the hideout. "Unfortunately, she was never given the opportunity." He revealed it to be my mom. "Oh, I should have known." I took the portrait. "Mother like daughter." Luz joked. I laughed.
[Word Count: 3352]