Chapter Fifteen

Amber could almost feel the discomfort coming off of Morgan.

Something about Oli’s comment had set her off. Was it close to what had angered her when Amber spoke to her on that first day?

I’ve been avoiding the subject of her last year, but damn if I’m not curious.

Amber looked down at her plate, some of her hair coming down a little and forming a red curtain between herself and Morgan as she ate. She could still see Morgan’s straight-backed posture next to her.

“That... was not my fault,” Morgan said.

Oli shrugged. “That’s not how I hear-- ow.”

Cecilia lowered her hand, still holding onto a few grapes. One of those had just smacked Oli between the eyes. “Sorry,” she said. “Oli and Jess are both morons when it comes to opening their mouths.”

“It’s fine,” Morgan snapped. It wasn’t impolite, exactly, but there was definitely some bite there.

“Hey, I’m just worried for Amber is all,” Oli said.

Amber looked up. “Morgan’s been kind,” she said.

“Yeah, but she has a reputation, you know.” Oli flinched as another grape bounced off her head.

“Oli, stop,” Cecilia said. “We’re magical girls, if anyone here should understand the concept of giving someone a second chance, it ought to be us.”

Emilia nodded quite seriously, and Jess placated Oli with a pat to her cheek.

The words were nice, and they seemed to bounce right off of Morgan. The tall blonde stood up, pushing her tray forwards as she did. “I have something to attend to,” she said. “Goodbye.”

Amber started to stand too, but a hand on her shoulder made her pause. She watched Morgan weave around the tables and then push out of the cafeteria. She passed one of the windows, heading in the general direction of the dorms, then she was out of Amber’s sight.

She turned and followed the arm on her shoulder to a contrite Cecilia. “Sorry,” the older girl said. “Just... didn’t seem wise to let you go.”

Amber wrestled with a few conflicting emotions before sitting back down. “What was that all about?”

Jess was the first to reply. “Armstrong’s on your team, right?”

“Armstrong?” Amber asked. “That’s Morgan’s family name?”

Jess nodded. “Yeah. Look, I don’t know the whole story, just the rumours. But last year her team basically fell apart. One girl left to Eden Academy, another ran off to El Dorado, and the last joined another team that had a member drop out. It was... yeah, you see teams that don’t get along sometimes, but not teams that break apart like that.”

“Was it her fault?” Amber asked.

“That’s what the other girls said,” Jess replied. “But we weren’t around for most of that, just heard the gossip is all. And it happened nearer to the end of the year.”

“She’s repeating first year,” Oli said. “That says a lot.”

Amber focused on her food. It still tasted good, but she couldn’t appreciate it as much. “She’s been nice to me.” She recalled a timeline that never occurred. “Mostly. She tried to help me at the gym, and she was cool yesterday, with the explosion.”

“I’ll apologize for Oli,” Cecilia said. “She gets a bit touchy about loyalty and stuff like that.”

The bigger girl huffed, but didn’t deny it.

“Anyway, I think Morgan might be alright. Just keep an eye on her, okay? Being a magical girl means relying on your team and on your friends. You don’t get far on your own, not against the monsters we have to face.”

Amber nodded along. “Sure. So, uh, should I go after her?”

“Give her a minute or two,” Jess said. “Let her cool down a little. Hell, finish your meal. You’re a newbie, you need your calories.”

“Um, thanks,” Amber said. “So, uh, did you guys hear anything about a pink-haired girl?”

“Explosion girl?” Jess asked. “The military guys were poking around about that yesterday. The Seelie confirmed that there aren’t any naturally pink-haired girls on campus, but that’s all we got out of them.”

“The Seelie can tell you stuff about others?” Amber asked. She wasn’t sure if it was wise to spread news about her powers to others just yet. Not that the cat was entirely in the bag there.

“Eh, not really,” Jess said. “They’re tight-lipped about it, but there are ways to get some information out of them. It’s hard when it doesn’t serve their own interest.”

“So I’m not the only one that finds them creepy?” Amber asked.

Jess laughed. “I think they’re cute.” Cecilia and Oli nodded, but Emilia gave Amber a very subtle thumbs-up. “Don’t go spouting that kind of opinion. Some girls are like crazy cat-ladies, but the cats are magic fairies that can talk. They have fanclubs.”

Cecilia rolled her eyes. “The Seelie are important. They’re pretty much the only group that has an ear on the student council.”

“Is the student council important?” Amber asked. “And, uh, do you guys know anything about the explosion?”

“Yeah, they are, and... not much,” Cecilia said. She looked to her teammates. “I’ve heard a lot of things, but it’s all rumours. The government did it, some magical girl that was pissed did it.”

“I heard that it was the Canadians,” Jess said.

Oli huffed. “As if.”

“There are other rumours too,” Cecilia said. “Some say that it was one of those shape-shifting monsters. That some nightmare took over a girl. There’s one that says it was the UnSeelie.”

Emilia looked up at that last.

“Right,” Amber said. No concrete leads. Not that it’s really any of my business. She paused to wipe her plate clean with the end of a piece of bread. The Glasir girls took that moment to chat between each other. “I think I should head out. Find Morgan, wherever she’s gone.”

“Dormitory,” Emilia said.

“Uh, thanks,” Amber replied. She stood up. “I guess I’ll be seeing you around?”

Cecilia gave her a warm smile. “Sure thing. I heard the other newbies are coming in now, they’ll be getting the tour tomorrow morning, so your team, the rest of it, should be forming up soon. If you need any advice about that, don’t be afraid to ask. Oh! You’ve got your phone?”

“Yes,” Amber said. She tugged it out of her skirt’s pocket and it was soon passed around the table, the Glasir girls save for Emilia adding their contact info onto it. “Thanks,” she said.

“Anything, just call,” Jess said. “Especially if it’s for juicy romance advice.”

“Jess,” Cecilia said. “You’re awful at romance.”

Jess squawked and pulled Oli closer. “I have one hundred percent more girlfriend than you. More even!”

“More?” Oli asked. “Is it more because you’re calling me fat, or is there someone I should be worried about?”

“Oli asked you out, that doesn’t count, and I’m not gay besides,” Cecilia said. She sighed. “You’d best get a move on, Amber, this is going to be an argument, and you don’t want to be caught in the cross-fire.”

Amber nodded. Team Glasir were fun, they reminded her a bit of some of the more fun girls in school, but she didn’t want to overstay her welcome. A few goodbyes--most delivered between bickering back and forths--and Amber was off.

Emilia mentioned that Morgan was at their dorm. Amber had no way to validate that other than looking for herself. For that matter, I’ve no idea how she knows. Probably some magic bull. Which I can’t complain about because I can casually rewind time and I’m pretty sure that rates pretty high on the bull scale.

It was a little strange, walking alone across the cobbled paths of the academy. It had only been a day, but she had already gotten used to having Morgan next to her. The school felt a lot quieter, a lot lonelier, when she was... alone. How surprising.

The dorms came up ahead of her and she stepped in. There were some girls walking up the steps ahead of her, but when she arrived on the second floor they kept moving up. She was thankful that their rooms weren’t on the fourth or fifth floor. Fit as she now felt, it would still be a drag to climb up so much.

She went to knock on the door, remembered that she lived there, then opened up and slipped in.

Morgan wasn’t anywhere in sight, but the door to her room was conspicuously closed.

Amber moved over to it and this time she did knock. “Morgan?”

“...Yes?”

Amber felt her shoulders slumping a little. “Hey, uh, are you alright?”

“I’m well enough,” Morgan replied.

Ah, crap. “Can I come in?”

“I would rather you didn’t.”

Amber hesitated. Going in was a terrible invasion of privacy. Also, Morgan was stronger than her and could casually summon a sword.

On the other hand, she was a teammate, or would be soon, and she was obviously uncomfortable. Helping her now would be a good move to make. Cementing Amber as an ally and friend. And it was the right thing to do.

If Morgan skewered her, there was a good chance Amber could pull her magic ‘undo’ option. Maybe. She hadn’t figured it out just yet.

She grabbed the door handle and turned it.

Morgan’s room was identical to her own, except for a few details. She had an extra dresser against one wall, the curtains hanging around her window were a lot thicker and the covers on the bed were actually tucked in well enough that Amber suspected she could bounce a coin off of them.

A bookshelf sat in the corner at a bit of an angle against the curved outer wall, filled with neat rows of books.

Morgan herself was on her bed, legs folded up to her chest, and her green eyes locked onto Amber with a complete lack of amusement writ large in them.

“I’m sorry,” Amber said.

“You can apologize by respecting my boundaries, perhaps?”

Amber took a deep breath. “I don’t care.”

“Pardon?”

“Look, I know you had some... some problem with your last team? Something went wrong and I don’t care. If you want to talk about it, that’s fine. If you don’t, that’s alright too. But none of that matters to me. I’m here because I’ve got no choice. I need to learn things so that I can go back home to save my dad. I’ve got stuff that I need to do, and I need you to help me.”

Amber licked her lips and stared at Morgan. She wasn’t even entirely sure of what she said, but she knew it was pretty selfish.

Morgan stared right back at her, then sighed and let her legs stretch out across her bed. She scooted to the side, somehow making the motion look graceful. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said.

Amber nodded. That was true. She wasn’t sure how much it mattered. “Are you going to be a good teammate?” Amber asked.

Morgan looked away, breaking eye contact to glare at the wall across from her. “I wasn’t last time.”

Another hint, but not much. “I didn’t ask about last time,” Amber said. “Please? You’ve been great so far. I think we could make a great team? Maybe?”

Morgan sighed. “I don’t want to go over it again, alright?”

“Okay,” Amber said.

“But... yes, I do intend to be... better. To not fail again.” she sighed and stood up, then wiped a hand across her face. “Which means that I do need to grow up a little. And I should apologize myself.”

“Uh,” Amber said. “You don’t need to apologize?”

“Yes, I do. I’ve been, I suppose the word would be scarred?” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I was burned by something that happened to me, something that was my fault. I can’t just assume the same thing will happen again, but that’s what I’ve been doing, and it’s been harmful to our relationship. So yes, I do need to apologize. Especially if my actions are being detrimental to another’s growth.”

Amber nodded slowly. “Okay. Well, cool. That was. Real adult.”

Morgan smiled a little.

Amber returned it.

She learned that Morgan had a really nice laugh.

***