Lauren doesn't even remember falling asleep. All she knows is that both she and Normani are woken up by the sound of something scratching against the door.
She sits up groggily, looking over at her sister who is yawning and rubbing her eyes. The scratching sound only persists, and then Lauren is startled when something on the other side of the door starts barking. She exchanges confused looks with Normani.
"What's that, bud? Did you find something?" a cheery voice echoes from outside. Both Normani and Lauren immediately perk up.
"We're in here!" Lauren calls, her voice still raspy after falling asleep. She quickly gets to her feet, moving over to bang on the other side of the door.
Moments later, the door swings open to reveal a very confused Ally on the other side. Lauren looks down, jumping when she sees that there's a literal wolf at the girl's feet, sniffing at her heels.
"What are you guys doing in here?" Ally raises an eyebrow, peering her head into the small shed. Her eyes land on Normani when the girl stands up, and she looks between the two girls oddly.
"Oh," she whispers, connecting the dots in her head. "I see."
"No no no no no," Both girls jump forward, shaking their heads. "It's not what you think."
"She's my sister!" Normani scoffs, jaw falling open in disbelief. Ally's eyes widen in shock.
"You guys are... sisters?" Ally looks both the girls up and down, unsure whether they're telling the truth or not. Normani can't help but roll her eyes.
"Half sisters," Normani corrects her, glancing at Lauren. "Which explains our..."
"Pigment differences," Lauren speaks up, earning a quiet nod from Normani.
"It's too early for this," Ally laughs, shaking her head. "They've been looking for you guys all over, though. We have alchemy in fifteen minutes."
Both girls groan, still exhausted after their restless night. Normani brushes past them and heads back to her dorm. Lauren shoots Ally an apologetic smile before hurrying back to cabin 27.
Dinah's still asleep when she bursts into the room. Raising an eyebrow, Lauren walks over to her bed, nudging the younger girl's shoulder. She groans, lifting her head and squinting her eyes to see who's interrupted her slumber.
"We have class in fifteen," Lauren warns her. She holds back a laugh when Dinah's aura immediately fades from one of contentment to one of annoyance. The girl mumbles something and waves Lauren off.
Fifteen minutes later, Lauren is hurrying to tie her black combat boots while Dinah is tugging on a large hoodie. Lauren slips Dylan's letterman jacket on over her cream colored sweater before grabbing her backpack. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be," Dinah yawns, running a hand through her wavy hair and leading Lauren out of their cabin. The green eyed girl grows confused when she's led to a more secluded part of campus.
"The alchemy lab is in the woods," Dinah explains to her, following a stone pathway down a small hill. Lauren just nods, watching as the large wooden building comes into view. It's huge. Dinah looks over and chuckles at her roommate's reaction.
The walls are practically all windows, and as soon as they step inside, they're met with a spiral staircase. Lauren's jaw drops when she realizes the building was built around a tree. The staircase curves around the trunk, and Dinah has to shove Lauren forwards to get her to move.
Lauren hurries up the stairs, pausing at the top to take in the large circular room. The walls are practically all glass except for one, which is where a large chalkboard rests behind the instructor. She's no older than 30 with beautifully tanned skin and dark brown eyes. Lauren knows Normani will like her just by the way she stands with poise.
Dinah hurries to take the open seat besides Normani, which leaves only one seat open in the room. Lauren is somewhat relieved when she realizes it's beside Ariana. But she's unnerved by the student on the other side of Ariana. Camila.
Taking a deep breath, Lauren makes her way over to the table and slides into the seat beside Ariana. The doe eyed girl glances over at her, giving her a soft smile.
"Hey," Lauren whispers. She glances around the room and realizes everyone else has their wands placed in front of them. She retrieves her from her backpack and sets it on the table, confused when a surprised murmur passes over the students.
Lauren doesn't need magic to know that Camila's heated glare is on her. She realizes that the other girl doesn't have a wand set on her desk. In fact, she's the only one that doesn't. Lauren bites her lip and keeps her eyes on the front of the room.
"It's come to my attention that we have two new students joining us today," the instructor motions around the room, walking down the aisle between their tables until she's standing in front of Lauren.
"Lauren Jauregui," she nods, studying the girl. She proceeds to walk across the aisle to Normani's table, taking a few moments to observe her. "And Normani Kordei. I've heard a lot about you two," she nods. "Powers like yours only make themselves known once every few generations."
Lauren doesn't like the attention on her. She can feel everyone's eyes on her, and she glances over at Normani. Her sister, on the other hand, doesn't seem to care. She's sitting up straight, hands folded in her lap, and chin held high. Lauren, however, is slumping down in her chair, trying to disappear.
"I'm Instructor Jhene," she nods, her heels clicking against the marble floor as she strolls back to the front of the classroom. "Today we're doing something a bit different than usual. More... unconventional."
Ariana could tell just by looking at Camila that the girl was confused. She loved her best friend, she really did. But she knew that Camila didn't like surprises. She had walked into the classroom expecting to mix potions like every other day. But now that plans have changed, a million different questions are racing through her friend's head.
The doe eyed girl glances over at Lauren, who just looks plain lost. Ariana can't imagine what it must be like for Lauren. All she has known has been the academy. She grew up in a magical family, unlike the green eyed girl.
"Everyone received their wands yesterday," the Instructor nods. "Today, we're going to get to know them a little better."
Before anyone even has a chance to ask questions, the woman in the front of the classrooms waves her hands in opposite directions and suddenly a thin trail of fire whooshes down the middle of their desks.
Lauren seems to be the only one who was startled by this, because moments later she's scrambling backwards and falling out of her chair. The entire classroom bursts into laughter and Lauren bites her lip to keep herself from crying.
Ignore them.
The green eyed girl's eyes widen and she looks up. Ariana is standing in front of her with her hand outstretched. Lauren just stares at her in confusion.
Don't make a scene. The girl eyes her pleadingly. I'll explain later.
Swallowing hard, Lauren takes Ariana's hand and hops back up to her feet. The fire is still on the desks, but it hasn't spread. It's as if it's contained.
"Did you just talk?" Lauren whispers, looking over at Ariana once they sit back down. The smaller girl shakes her head.
Telepathy. I'm in your thoughts right now.
She can't help but giggle when Lauren's jaw nearly falls to the floor.
"You can read minds?" she gasps. Ariana leaps forward to cup her hand over the dark haired girl's mouth, but it's too late. Camila stares at both girls in disbelief.
"You talked to her?" Camila whisper yells. Ariana flinches, glancing at Lauren before nodding softly.
Lauren notices how Camila's face falls slightly. But she can't read her aura, so she's at a loss for how the girl's feeling. She's never been good at reading social cues. She's never had to. The colors told her everything she needed to know.
She needed help. Ariana turns to Camila with a pleading look on her face.
Camila doesn't understand why this makes her so angry. Usually, she is the only person that Ariana talks to. She knows she has no right to keep her friend from communicating with everyone else, but she can't help the way she's feeling. It's as if Lauren has just swept in and taken everything away from her. Everything that she's worked for years to get.
"I get it," Camila mumbles, shaking her head and dismissing her friend.
Ariana bites her lip and nods. She knows better than to try and say anything else to Camila. She glances over at Lauren, who looks utterly confused. Before anyone has a chance to say anything, though, the instructor is clapping her hands.
"Grab your wands. Today's lesson is about fire containment."
A murmur of confusion passes over the students. Camila shakes her head.
"We already know how to do that," she speaks up. "I don't even need a wand for that."
"Well then this should be a breeze for you," the Instructor nods. Lauren's fingers tighten around her wand. "And since you must know what you're doing, your group can demonstrate first."
Lauren and Ariana exchange worried glances as the instructor curves her wrist in the direction of their table. Suddenly, the small line of fire flares up, and the table is bursting into flames. All three girls stumble backwards.
"Contain this fire," the woman nods. "This counts as part of your grade."
Lauren and Ariana immediately look to Camila, who has taken a few steps back and is watching as the fire devours the table. She glances at the instructor, but the woman has already turned around and sat down at her desk, as if she's completely oblivious to the growing fire.
"You know what you're doing, right?" Lauren asks breathlessly, looking at Camila. "Isn't that what you said?"
Camila doesn't even look at Lauren, she just curls and uncurls her fists a few times. All three girls can fear the heat from the fire against their faces as the fire continues to grow. Camila takes a slow step forwards while the other two girls take a small step back.
Camila's done this before. But the most fire she's ever been able to control at once is no bigger than the flame on a candle. But she's not about to back down and say she can't do it.
Taking a deep breath, she holds out her hands and curls her fingers slightly. The edges of the fire start to flicker, and she can feel the way her hands move with the outside of the flame. She's almost certain that she's got this under control, but then the connection is gone, and the fire roars even bigger than it did before.
Cursing under her breath, the brown haired girl quickly moves backwards to avoid the flame. She glances at the two other girls in embarrassment, expecting them to yell at her.
But instead, Lauren looks between the two girls before shaking her head and stepping forward. "You had it started," she says, turning to Camila. The green eyed girl decides she can put their differences aside to get this finished. "If we can like... push it in from all sides, can we trap it in the middle?"
"I-I think, yeah," Camila nods quickly, watching as the red-orange light from the flame flickers against Lauren's face.
"Okay, good," Lauren nods, turning to Ariana. "Can you push it in from this side? Camila can get the other sides and I'll... I can try and get the end."
There's no science behind it. Ariana explains to Lauren as the girl's take their positions around the table. You just feel it. Use your wand. You'll know when you've got it.
Lauren nods. She can't even see the two other girls because the light from the flame is blinding, but she takes a deep breath and holds out her wand.
"Go!" she yells above the roaring flame, taking a step forwards and aiming her wand at the blazing table. She keeps Ariana's words in mind, taking another step forward and concentrating on the blinding orange light.
Suddenly, something clicks. And she can feel it. It's as if there's wind curving out from the wand and circling around the outside of the fire.
She can see it moving, and her chest tightens as she takes another step forward. It's as if she's fighting against some invisible force, but she can feel the other two girls pushing the flame as well. Moments later, with one final push, they manage to trap the flame in the middle of the table.
"Lift it," Camila curls her fingers, moving her hands upwards. Lauren and Ariana do the same with their wands, and suddenly the ball of fire is suspended in midair.
Camila brings her hands together slowly before throwing them outwards, causing the ball of fire to burst into nothingness. Gone.
Lauren lets out the breath she's been holding since they started, letting her hands fall to her side in relief. Ariana is practically frozen, looking back and forth between the two girls.
Camila, however, looks incredibly ashamed. She's embarrassed. She had told the entire class she knew what she was doing, but then she'd come up short. She glances at the other two girls, preparing herself for their backlash.
However, she's taken by surprise when Lauren face breaks into a wide smile and she hops forward, pulling Camila into a tight hug. The brown eyed girl is left in utter confusion when Lauren lets go and moves over to do the same to Ariana.
And for some reason, Camila grow even more infuriated. Why wasn't Lauren mad at her? How can the girl be so nice? Why is Camila running out of reasons to hate her?
Why is she making it so hard to hate her?
Camila clenches her hands into fists and tries to steady her breathing as the Instructor makes her way over to their table. The other students are watching them in awe.
"Fantastic job, Lauren," the woman smiles, placing a hand on the green eyed girl's shoulder. "You've showed extraordinary leadership skills, and you kept a level head in an intense situation. You're a natural."
Camila swears she's going to draw blood if she digs her nails into her palms any harder. A natural. She's a natural. The word leaves a bitter taste in her mouth.
Camila's never been a natural at anything. She's fought and bled and clawed her way to where she was today. Lauren hasn't done any of that, and yet she's getting all the recognition.
Lauren's heart is still beating against her chest and she tries to hide the wide smile that's threatening to cross her face. She's never done something so exhilarating before. Adrenaline is rushing through her body and she realizes that she could get used to this feeling.
"It wasn't me," Lauren shakes her head, tucking her wand back into her boot. "They did everything. I didn't even know what I was doing." She motions back to the two girls behind her.
The woman nods, turning to the other girls and giving them a solemn smile. "Good job, ladies."
Lauren turns around just as she hears heavy footsteps brushing past her. Her eyes widen as Camila storms out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Lauren and Ariana exchange confused glances.
"Well, your group is dismissed," the teacher nods towards the two girls. Ariana scrambles to grab her things, giving Lauren an apologetic smile before hurrying out of the classroom and after Camila.
With a deep breath, the green eyed girl slowly makes her way back outside. She isn't sure what just happened. All she knows is that she can't seem to fit in with anyone, and she doesn't know what she's doing wrong.