Today was the day. Luz was off to Reality Check Camp for the entire summer, and she wasn't looking forward to it at all.
"Luz, estás lista?" Camila called from downstairs.
"Si mamá, ya voy," Luz replied as she sat up from her bed and stretched.
After closing a few fanfiction tabs and pocketing her phone, Luz stood from the bed and walked to her desk. With a sigh, Luz grabbed her backpack and took one last glance at her bedroom. It would be the last time she would see it for the next 3 months. She eyed the The Good Witch Azura series stacked on her bookshelf.
Hmm... I'll need something to keep me occupied on the bus...
After a moment of hesitation, Luz grabbed book 5, tucking it under her arm. It was her personal favorite of the series, she loved the development of Azura and Hecate's relationship.
Classic enemies to friends... and maybe even lovers when book 6 comes out!
Satisfied, Luz took the stairs down into the living room and walked over to the front door where her mom was waiting.
"Finally! I was beginning to think you got stuck on the toilet or something."
"Wha- Mamá!" Luz sputtered.
Ruffling Luz's hair, Camila opened the door and together they walked to the curb, down the sidewalk before coming to a halt in front of the LAMetro signpost.
"The bus should be here soon, but I have to get to work now so I can't see you off."
"It's okay, I'll be fine waiting by myself." Luz looked down, scuffing her shoes against the sidewalk.
"Luz, look at me."
Luz glanced up, facing her mom. Camila wrapped her arms around Luz and squeezed tightly.
"I know you aren't excited about summer camp, but give it a chance! It's an opportunity to finally make some friends and learn something new!"
"Hey! I have friends!" Luz shot back.
"Mija, the librarian at your school does not count."
Luz scowled as her mom pulled away from her, leaving a kiss on her forehead.
"Ten mucho cuidado y mandame un mensaje de texto cuando subas al autobús."
Luz managed a half-hearted smile. This would be the last time she'd see her mom for a while. She didn't want to leave on a sour note.
"Okay I will, don't worry!"
Camila smiled, and took off down the road towards the hospital. Luz sat down on the bench, setting her book next to her. She watched a bird peck at some trash while fiddling with her watch.
If the pamphlet is anything to go by, summer camp is going to be completely dull and boring. But, at least I'll have my book to keep me busy...
Luz looked up, expecting to see her book still on the bench, but it wasn't. Confused, Luz stood and looked around. Suddenly, she heard a hoot. Turning towards the sound, Luz gasped. A small brown barn owl had taken her book, holding it inside a drawstring bag with its beak.
"Thief!"
With another hoot, the owl turned and sped off into the woods.
"No, no, no! Come back!" Luz called out as she raced after the owl, backpack slung over her shoulder.
Leaves crunched underfoot as Luz rushed through the trees, swatting branches out of her way. She had been running for a few minutes when she lost sight of the owl. Cursing under her breath, Luz leaned over, hands on her knees to catch her breath.
"Just my luck. Now I'll have nothing to get me through summer camp."
Luz stood and turned to walk back to the bus stop when she heard a train whistle.
That's odd... there shouldn't be a train station anywhere near here.
Now curious, Luz turned again, this time heading towards the sound of the train. She made her way through some foliage until she reached a small clearing. Luz's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
Before her was an old, rusted train with large windows that glowed neon green. The train screeched to a halt right in front of her, the letters above the door changing to Boiling Isles. Luz was intrigued. She rubbed her hands together, feeling excited.
"Wow! This feels like the beginning of a magical adventure! And... Mami already thinks I'm going to summer camp... so why not?"
The door slid open. With a grin, Luz stepped inside the train. And then, everything went black.
---- ---- ----
"Hey."
No response.
"Hey!"
Nada.
"Wake up you little twerp!"
Luz's eyes opened and she sat up from where she'd been lying down on the ground. She quickly looked around but didn't see anyone. Wiping some drool from her cheek, she smacked her lips, finding that her throat was dry.
"Who said that?"
"Up here."
Luz looked up, and screamed. There was a woman with wild grey hair sitting on a wooden staff several feet in the air looking down at Luz with a dissatisfied expression on her face.
"Who are you?" Luz pointed at her. "And how are you doing that?!"
"The name's Eda. And magic, duh."
Luz sputtered in disbelief, "But, magic isn't--"
Eda cut her off, "Let me stop you right there. Magic may not be real wherever you're from, but here in the Witch Car it is alive and well."
"Witch Car? Where am I?"
"Don't you know? You're on the train."
Luz glanced around at her surroundings. She was in a clearing with tall pines and oaks lining the edges. Behind Eda, she could see an odd looking house standing in the distance.
"This is not a train."
Eda chuckled and replied, "Looks like One-One didn't give you the orientation video."
"Who's One-One? And can you please tell me what's going on here??"
Eda rolled her eyes.
"Look kid, while I get a kick out of seeing new passengers freak out about the train, I have better things to do than hold your hand through this. You'll figure it out."
Without waiting for a response, Eda turned and sped off in the direction of the house. Luz watched as Eda reached the bell-shaped house, hopping off the staff and walking inside.
Looks like I'm on my own... that's fine, right?
Luz rose from the ground, dusting off the dirt from her clothes as she stretched her arms over her head. Thankfully, she still had her backpack. She picked it up and threw it over her shoulder. As Luz observed in her surroundings and deliberated on where to go, her stomach growled. She frowned.
"First things first, gotta find some food."
Luz took off in the opposite direction from the house. She walked through the clearing and into the woods, watching her step as she avoided fallen logs, puddles and mud. After a while, she came across a signpost. It read: "Welcome to Bonesborough! Population: 4,000".
Bonesborough? Never heard of it.
With a shrug, and hoping to come across some food, Luz continued on. She started to sweat as the altitude changed and she began to walk uphill. After what felt like forever (but was really only like, 10 minutes), Luz reached the top of the hill. A small town was nestled in a valley below her. Luz smiled in relief.
"Yes! Made it!" She pumped her fists in the air and did a little dance.
As Luz wiped the sweat from her forehead, she noticed her right hand faintly glowing green.
What the-
Luz turned her hand over, palm up, and froze. The number 125 was stamped on her palm, with a bracket surrounding it. Luz tried rubbing it off with her other hand to no avail.
"What could this mean?"
Deciding not to worry too much about it for now, Luz shrugged and took off down the hill towards the town. Hopefully she'd find some answers for her predicament, along with some much needed food.
---- ---- ----
Amity was having a bad day.
First, the bus to school didn't come on time. She arrived at first period AP English Language 15 minutes late, her hair a mess, and completely out of breath. She avoided the glare Ms. Hoffman leveled at her as she took her seat next to Skara.
Then, on her way to lunch with Boscha, she noticed people in the hallway eyeing her and whispering to each other. She was confused, but brushed it off as nothing until she arrived in the mess hall and froze.
Pages of her diary were plastered on every wall. At first she was completely mortified, eyes watering with unshed tears, until she noticed Edric and Emira laughing with their friends in the corner of the room. It didn't take much to put two and two together.
A black eye, a bloody nose, and a pair of bruised knuckles later, Amity was sent home along with the twins. Suspended for the entire last week of classes. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. Now she wouldn't have to face her peers until next semester, and the rumor mill would surely die down by then.
Odalia and Alador Blight were not pleased.
"We are disappointed in all of you, but especially you Amity," Odalia said.
Amity's eyes widened, she looked up from where she had been staring at the hardwood floor while listening to her parents lecture them.
"Are you kidding me? They completely violated my privacy and posted pages of my diary all around school!" Amity fumed.
"And while we do not condone that sort of behavior, you crossed a line by starting a physical altercation with your siblings in the cafeteria. We would like for you to apologize to them."
Gritting her teeth, Amity turned towards the twins. Edric was holding an ice pack over his left eye and Emira had tissues stuffed up both nostrils.
"I'm sorry."
"And?" Alador prompted.
"I crossed a line, I shouldn't have hurt you both. It was wrong, and I won't do it again."
"Good," Alador turned to the twins. "Edric, Emira, don't you have something to say to your sister?"
"Y'know, nothing really comes to mind-- ow!" Edric rubbed his side from where Emira had elbowed him.
Amity scowled and crossed her arms, waiting for a response. She doubted anything they had to say would be worth hearing, but the sooner they placated their parents, the sooner she could finally escape to her room.
After exchanging a look with her brother, Emira said, "We're sorry. It was wrong of us to steal your diary and expose your private thoughts to the entire school."
Yeah, no shit.
Amity nodded, turning away from Edric and Emira to face her parents. She couldn't stand looking at them for any longer. Amity would admit that while she didn't always have the best relationship with her siblings, they did manage to have some good times together.
But this was too much. She couldn't bring herself to forgive them, this felt like just another one of their practical jokes gone wrong. And they weren't even sorry, if that forced apology was anything to go by. It wasn't much better than her own, and Amity didn't regret her actions at all, even as her knuckles ached.
Ed and Em always acted without any regard for people around them, and Amity was done tolerating their nonsense.
Odalia stepped forward.
"Now that that's settled, off to bed. You're all grounded for the next 3 weeks. I hope you take that time to reflect on your actions."
Amity brushed past her siblings, taking the stairs up to her room, and quickly slammed the door shut. Blight Manor was moderately stifling on a good day, and after today's events, Amity felt like she was being suffocated from all sides.
Screw this, I'm going to spend the night at Boscha's.
Her childhood friend lived in the same gated community, only a 10 minute walk away. And Boscha wouldn't mind, she knew that Amity would do the same for her.
Amity grabbed her backpack and packed pajamas and clothes for the next day, along with some toiletries. She pocketed her phone and put her ear to the door of her bedroom. Not hearing anything, she opened the door, closing it silently behind her. She made her way down the stairs, heading towards the front door when a voice spoke up behind her.
"Not running away, are you?"
Amity jumped. She turned around to see Edric sitting back comfortably on the couch, his feet kicked up on the coffee table.
"No. Not that it's any of your business."
"You're right. But I don't want mom and dad on my back when you're missing in the morning. Where are you going?"
"Boscha's."
"Aww how cute. Have fun." He smirked.
Amity turned towards the door again, walking across the room, and placing her hand on the door handle to twist it open when she paused. Without turning around, she called out to Ed.
"Why did you do it?"
There was a tense moment of silence, until Edric responded:
"Why not?"
Clenching her hands in anger, Amity threw open the door and stomped outside, closing it behind her as she made her across the lawn to the sidewalk. Many thoughts raced through her mind as she set off at a brisk pace to Boscha's house.
School had always been a safe haven for her, where she could focus on learning new things and hanging out with her friends. Even with the unbelievable expectations her parents had placed on her to be top of her class while juggling academics, extracurriculars, and helping out at the family business.
School was a place for poking fun at Boscha for failing to flirt with Skara, tackling an unsuspecting teammate during rugby practice, and listening to another one of Skara's tangents about the latest Broadway musical. There were no cold mandatory family dinners, forced conversation, or insufferable siblings messing with her at every turn. It was a place where she felt comfortable being herself, for the most part. But it wasn't home.
She would be able to seek refuge at Boscha's home for the night, but in the morning she'd have to return to Blight Manor before her parents woke up. The thought didn't exactly thrill her, to say the least. Amity sighed as she turned the corner of the street, and kicked a pebble out of her way as she continued down the sidewalk.
"I wish I had somewhere to go," she muttered.
Not a second later, she heard a piercing train whistle, jolting Amity out of her thoughts. Looking up, Amity gasped.
There was a train in the middle of the street. Windows glowing neon green, the door closest to her hissed open as the words above it flashed to Midtown Library . Amity couldn't believe what she was seeing, it felt like she was in some sort of dream. She looked around to see if anyone else was outside, but it was just her. She was alone.
Hesitantly, Amity took a step towards the train. And then another, and another until she was facing the door. She was suspicious, there was no logical explanation for a train appearing out of nowhere, in a posh gated community no less.
Yet, she was curious. There was something about the train that drew her in, beckoning her forward. Pressing her lips together in thought, she debated her options.
I didn't tell Boscha that I was coming over, so it's not like she's expecting me... But if I step on this train there's no telling where I'll actually end up. I could be kidnapped for all I know!
As if fate, a pin from her backpack fell off, hitting the pavement with a soft ping. Eyeing it, Amity smiled. It was The Good Witch Azura, standing tall and proud as she wielded her staff.
At that moment, Amity knew what she had to do. While she normally wasn't one to take risks, Amity felt as if she'd miss a valuable chance if she didn't act now. She carefully picked up the pin, rubbing it with her thumb briefly before pocketing it.
And then, she stepped onto the train.