To say Mina was happy was an understatement. Ecstatic was a better word. Her future looked so much brighter now. She had a place to stay, knew more about her magic, and was reasonably safe from the Consortium. All good reasons to be happy. To top it off, she finally had a violin again! Happy, happy, joy, joy!

The only annoying party was how frustratingly difficult it had been to play it. She lacked all the muscle memory required to hit the right strings and positions, leading to a lot of mistakes. It was also surprising to find that the violin had chafed on her chin. It was something that only happened to new violin players, which apparently included her now. Oh well. These were minor annoyances that would go away with practice.

She was really happy about the headmistress. So kind and easy to talk to. A fantastic combination of caring and willingness to get her hands dirty. She might stand to lose a bit of weight, but she supposed she wasn’t one to talk about that right now.

The only weird part was how distressed she seemed when Mina ate the biscuit. Maybe she just really liked mint biscuits and didn’t want to share them? Something to keep a note of. Maybe she could buy some mint-flavored chocolates and give her as a thank you gift?

During the questioning, she been extremely skeptical to the reincarnation hypothesis. It was no more than a wild guess, after all. She stuck to the facts, allowing the headmistress to come to her own conclusions. The headmistress' words gave her food for thought. Maybe she existed before Martin died, but just had her memories replaced? It would be just as logical as the reincarnation hypothesis.

It was no use thinking about it right now.

Molly led her back to her room. Well, the room she spent the night in. It was apparently one of the guest rooms. Since there was literally no other accommodation for miles, they had to have room for all visitors on the academy grounds. Now that she was going to be a student, she'd get a student room and probably roommates. The secretary, Eric, was fixing the paperwork as soon as possible. All she had to do was wait.

Speaking of Eric, that was another person she liked. Perfect balance between professionalism and charisma. Helpful and, in his words, fabulous. She loved his style and demeanor. He gave so many gay hints he must have been overdoing it on purpose, leaning extra hard into the stereotype. For all she knew, he might not even be gay at all. Maybe it was just a deliberate choice? Naw, it didn't feel like that. She was decent at reading people, and it didn't feel like he was just doing it for the mockery or some other disingenuous reason.

Then there was Molly. She was probably fine at her job, but a disaster as a conversation partner. All professional, no nonsense. Answered questions with the least possible commitment, and good luck getting any more out of her. Not only that, Mina picked up on her irritation after only three questions, so she had wisely stopped asking more. She probably didn’t actively dislike Mina, she just didn’t seem like a very social person.

After Molly left, Mina had several hours free with no more instruction than ‘familiarize yourself with the place’. Eric had provided her with a simple cell phone. The key word there was ‘simple’. Not a smartphone at all, just an old type phone with number buttons and a pixelated screen. With luck, she might find Snake or Tetris on it. It wasn’t even connected to the regular telephone network. Instead, the school ran its own network. All external phone numbers needed to be pre-approved, which mostly limited it to the parents of the children attending the school and the like.

As much as she wanted to spend hours with her new violin, her stomach was hinting that food was a necessity soon. Another difference between her and Martin. He usually had a coffee in the morning and his first meal at noon. She was hungry despite a pretty decent breakfast brought to her room.

At least it gave her a chance to look around. She was rather curious about this place. The building style here was peculiar. They were clearly inspired by longhouses, either viking or Iroquoian, and all of them had grass or plants on the roof. Some were built as a cross, others in an L- or U-shape. It was a stylistic choice, as many of them looked rather modern underneath. For example, they all had big windows under the overhanging roof, unlike the original buildings which probably only had a hole in the roof where the smoke could escape. The guest house she had been in had been modern by any standard, yet it still looked old-ish outside.

The style extended to more than just the houses. The pathways were all laid with rock slabs. There was no asphalt anywhere as far as she could tell. Some concrete foundations when she really tried looking for it, but most of it was hidden behind foliage. It was pretty cool, honestly.

Since almost all of the buildings were various types of longhouses, it wasn’t easy to distinguish the purpose of each building. Fortunately, the wood signs proved helpful. She followed the sign to the main square, and from there to the cantina.

Along the way, she observed her surroundings. Several exterior areas were dedicated as playgrounds. She spotted an obstacle course that ran along both ground and the lower part of the trees, created using ropes and other natural materials. Then there was the meticulously crafted hedge maze. Not to mention all the trees that looked like someone had gone out of their way to make them easily climbable. There were even treehouses of various sizes. Martin would have loved to play here as a child.

Wait, she was a child now. What prevented her from having a go at it? It wasn’t like she was not allowed to have fun. There were plenty of other children playing around, both younger and older than herself. Nothing stopped her, except her stomach’s harsh demand for food.

Outside of some children playing, the place wasn’t exactly crowded with people. Maybe because class was in session?

As expected, the cantina looked bright and modern inside. The roof was tilted as one would expect from a longhouse. Apart from that and the very elongated shape, there was no huge difference between this place and any other cantina. Scratch that; it was way better than what Martin had experienced as a child. Someone had been willing to fork out money to make this place inviting rather than just survivable. In addition, what they served looked suspiciously like food, and not just bland stuff that filled your stomach because there was nothing better nearby.

She chose one of the hot dishes, salmon with an Indian twist. The woman serving the food looked strangely at Mina. Maybe she knew everyone here? She said nothing, so Mina paid it no mind. Payment was done using the phone she had borrowed.

There were plenty of empty tables, so she took a seat at one of them. She was just two bites into her food when a heap load of children came running into the cantina. A good number of them rushed to be the first to queue up, mostly the younger ones. Most of the older ones seemed more interested in socializing rather than getting food early.

“Hey, girl,” a person sat down across the table. “You're new here, right?”

Mina looked up from her food. It took a few moments to make a wholesome impression of the person. It was a boy with a similar skin color as herself. Maybe a bit lighter. Hard to tell. He was pretty tall, but didn't look that much older than her. His hair was fixed in long, tight dreadlocks. His ears were adorned with earrings with gold details and small feathers. Most notable was his clothing, which seemed to be homemade and rather unique. Like someone went out of their way to make clothes that matched various African stereotypes, only with a white long-sleeved shirt under. He also looked rather muscular without coming across as threatening.

Mina had no reason to reject his company. He appeared friendly enough.

“Yes, I arrived just hours ago,” she nodded. “My name is Mina. Am I sticking out like a sore thumb, or do you just know everyone here?”

“Nope, can’t claim I do. However, I know all people of color, and you qualify in that regard.”

Mina took a quick look around. Yes, the vast majority here were white.

“My name is Ulan, by the way. And let me tell you something, Mina: You need to respect your heritage.”

“I need to do what now?”

“Girl, look at yourself! Your ancestors are sorely disappointed in you. Trying to blend in with the white people, ignoring your origins and everything.”

A boy plopped down next to Mina, shortly followed by a girl next to Ulan. The boy looked Latino, with lean features and a grin on his face. He was wearing an orange and green jacket that was hard not to look at, with its strong contrasting colors. It wasn’t quite at the level of Ulan’s style in terms of uniqueness, but that was probably for the best.

The girl looked like her family originated from somewhere in south-east Asia or the Pacific. Her clothes were in stark contrast to the other two, being a lot more plain. A dress with muted blue colors and some embroidery in white that looked like stars. On its own, it was pretty neat. But in the company of the other two, it just drowned out.

“Trying to recruit another disciple?” the boy said, “I’m Nico, by the way.”

“Hey, chill out. I’m just teaching Mina about the world.”

“Sure you are. Am I interrupting your initiation ceremony?”

“Just shut up and listen. Maybe you’ll learn something.”

Mina couldn’t help smiling. These two, despite their quips, were clearly friends. Friends that liked to make fun of each other, without resorting to calling each other names. She could respect that. On the other hand, Ulan’s talk of ancestors and that kind of stuff made her more than a little skeptical.

The girl watched timidly. There was a faint smile, but she said nothing.

“Hi there,” Mina addressed the girl. “I’m Mina, in case you didn’t catch it. What’s your name?”

“Kiri,” she answered in a soft voice.

“Nice to meet you,” Mina said. “I take it these two weirdos are your friends?”

She nodded, but said nothing. It seemed like she was more comfortable listening than speaking. Fair enough. Maybe she’d open up more later.

“Let me guess, you just started here?” Nico asked.

“Yep, new here. Anything in particular I should know?”

“A decent amount. I’ll give you a head start. Take Ulan here. Let us know if he is bothering you. He can be a bit… obsessive.”

“Hey!” Ulan protested, “That’s not true.”

“What would you call it, then?” Nico asked.

“I’m proud! Proud of myself and my roots.”

“Yes, you are. But maybe a bit too obsessed with everyone else’s origins? Just a bit?”

“Oh, am I the problem? Perhaps you ought to look at yourself in the mirror and ask: ‘Why do I try so hard to blend into the white world?’”

Nico shrugged. “Do we really need to re-thread this discussion again?”

“What about you, then?” Ulan turned to Mina, “Are you trying to deny your heritage?”

Mina shook her head. “I’m not trying to deny it, I just don’t know anything about it. I know nothing other than what I can glean from the mirror.”

“Well, your ancestors clearly originated from somewhere in Africa, so it’s not like you have no idea about your heritage.”

“Fair. But if you go far enough back, every single human’s ancestors originated from Africa.”

“That’s not what I meant. I mean, yes, you are right, but you have ancestors much more recent than that. Look at your skin color, girl. They didn’t get that by wandering in the cold north.”

“So you’re saying that because I have ancestors there somewhere, I need to try my hardest to emulate them? Dress like they did? That seems mighty impractical and restricting. If all you do is copy your ancestors, you’d never be able to adopt any new style. And I highly doubt there exists an ancient African tribe with your exact style.”

Nico snickered. “Ooh, a better argument than I came up with.”

Kiri was clearly satisfied listening to the exchange while enjoying her food.

Ulan, not so much. “Well, you don’t need to copy them exactly. Just show the world you are proud of them by adopting similar styles, instead of hiding behind a white-washed façade. Show the world who you really are.”

“Okay, let’s for the moment assume that I know my ancestry and want to respect it. Does that mean I can only ever take inspiration from my forbearers and never anywhere else? If I only copy them, am I really showing the world who I am, or am I just showing the world a different façade?”

“It’s not a façade if it’s something you truly respect.”

“So, by that measure, if I decide to respect the white man’s ability to dominate much of the world, it’s fine if I dress up like them?”

"Are you seriously telling me you don't care about your ancestors, girl?" Ulan sounded genuinely offended.

"I have absolutely no feelings towards them, whoever they are. I could tie my identity to them, but that would make exactly as much sense as doing it with any other group I have no connection to, like goths or Catholics."

“What are goths?” Kiri muttered in the background. Okay, maybe the concepts she had inherited from Martin were a little out of date.

Ulan ignored her: "Well, you should research your background then. Maybe you'll change your mind."

"That's going to be hard. I have literally zero connection to anyone from my biological family. You can think of me as adopted."

"Surely your adoptive family knows of your origins?"

“Well, I’m not really adopted in the classic sense of the word. I’m …”

She stopped mid-sentence when she noticed that the Ulan was looking past her. Kiri too. Not only that, they looked bothered by something. She turned around.

A group of four girls were heading their way. She didn’t know exactly how old she was, but they were definitely older. Probably somewhere around 13 or 14. They bore all the hints of the local queen and her followers. The way three of them followed behind the blonde. The way she strutted. The way she tried to fake confidence, probably fooling everyone but herself.

They stopped right next to their table, fanning out and posing. Mina couldn’t help but wonder how many hours they had spent practicing that.

"What are you doing here?" Ulan demanded, "I told you what would happen if you bother me again."

You didn't need to be Sherlock to deduce that he really didn't like these girls. Neither did the other two. Kiri looked frightened. Nico had a pretty good poker face, but he was bothered by this, too.

The wannabe queen barely glanced at Ulan. "We're not here for you," she dismissed him, "Do you think the entire world revolves around you?"

Funny, coming from someone who clearly thought at least the student body revolved around her.

"So, what do we have here?" the queen demanded, unnecessarily loudly. "It looks like the freaks have found a friend.”

She laughed, and the three minions laughed with her. Mina couldn’t help but laugh too. It was just so silly. These were practically a prototype for high school cool elitist girls. They had probably watched too much drama on TV and found themselves some idols to copy.

"Oh? You think I’m funny? Maybe I should make use of you.”

The lead girl grabbed hold of Mina’s hair. Ulan instantly reacted, but Kiri put a hand on his shoulder. She seemed very nervous.

“This hair is like my pubes,” Kat told her minions, “I think we just found a replacement broom.”

The other three girls laughed with her again. It wasn’t real laughter, they were just faking a laughter to give their approval, or something. Martin hadn’t been too versed in female group dynamics, so Mina didn’t know if there was more at play here. Not that she desired to learn more. She just wanted to be done with this silly game.

“You can let me go, now. You have demonstrated that you’re capable of bullying me. Good job.”

Ulan got up, ignoring Kiri. The three minions moved up, standing between him and Mina. They were not uniform in their attitude, it was clear that at least one of them was not super happy about this, but followed the other’s lead. The way they blocked him, it seemed like they were daring him to make the first move, which would give them all kinds of justification. He hesitated.

Mina wasn't particularly worried. Maybe she wasn’t taking this seriously enough. The bully girl certainly was. She pulled even harder on Mina’s hair, almost pulling her off the chair.

“You think this is bullying? I can make your life a living hell here.”

Mina could feel the bully’s control slipping. Her confidence was tied to being better than others. Mina’s defiance was a personal insult to her. Still, she couldn’t give in now. That would just give her the implicit permission to boss her around.

She turned her head as much as the tight grip on her hair allowed, staring straight into the bully’s eyes.

“I have so much bigger problems than a pitiful bully. You can probably do a lot of stuff to me, but you can’t kill me.”

This proved too much for the bully girl. She yanked the hair, ripping out a chunk of it. It hurt like hell, and also pulled her out of balance. She fell out of her chair, barely managing to break the fall with her arm, and crashed hard into the ground.

The entire cantina was frozen for a few moments. The bully seemed to realize that she had gone too far. Her minions seemed unsure what to do; they were probably only willing to help the Alpha Bitch as long as they could get away without negative repercussions. The Queen turned tail and nearly ran out, swiftly followed by her posse. Good thing too, because Ulan looked like he was moments away from going violent, only held back by a terrified Kiri.

As soon as they had their backs turned, Nico was next to Mina, helping her up. She couldn’t help stop the tears in her eyes. It was a physical reaction from the intense pain of getting her hair yanked out and the impact with the ground. She didn’t want to cry. That would make her a victim.

“Are you okay?” Nico asked.

Mina just nodded. Probably not super convincing, but no one called her out on it.

Ulan was breathing deeply, probably trying to calm down. At least he no longer looked like he wanted to strangle someone.

“That was so brave,” Kiri burst out, surprising Mina with her sudden lack of shyness.

“Yup, brave indeed,” Nico agreed. “Ulan here is the only other person who has managed to humble Kat, and that was only because he threatened to punch her face out. You didn’t even need to do that.”

Mina faked a smile while patting her head and arm to see what the damage was.

“I wasn’t planning on doing that, but they didn’t give me a lot of choice in the matter.”

“You had a choice, and you chose not to fold,” Ulan said, “I’m certain they’ll want revenge. You’re not alone, though.”

Before Mina could answer, another person walked up to them. An adult which Mina didn’t know. A man somewhere around Martin’s age, clad in pants, shirt, tie, and a checkered vest. It was very much a teacher's look. He seemed to be concerned.

“Excuse me? Can I ask you kindly to follow me?”

“Eh, yes, sure. I can come with you. I mean, I’m not finished with my lunch, but…”

“I’m sure that can wait. Can you three clean up here?” the man asked the others. They appeared to recognize him. None of them protested. Mina wanted to protest; she was still hungry. Then again, it was probably not a good idea to defy a teacher, right after what just happened.

“In that case, please follow me,” he said, leading the way out of the cantina.