Noelle was exhausted from the day’s ordeals. After another excruciating shift in the squad car with Brue she had barely dragged herself home before collapsing on her sleeping bag. The glow of the light on her white walls irritated her eyes, but she couldn’t bring herself to get up and switch it off.

She knew that magic existed before this, everyone did. There were tons of accounts stretching all the way to the early 20th century, and even scattered ones leading up to the present day. Magic was a part of history, just like the cotton gin, Ford Model T, the Black Plague, and Hammurabi. It wasn’t some complete unknown that should freak her out.

But it did.

The world had moved on. The age of spells and sorcery had given way to technology. This was the age of the computer and the microprocessor. A smart age where magic wasn’t the reality of things anymore. Perhaps there were a few centenarians who recalled a time when magic was a common sight, but that wasn’t Noelle’s current reality.

Just as someone who knew of cavemen would be rattled if one suddenly appeared before them, Noelle had been affected by what she saw. It was something so removed from herself that she had no choice but to treat it as a foreign power.

Yet…

There was something else there. A giddy energy raced through Noelle’s system. Even her present exhaustion couldn’t fully oppose the energy she felt. It was impossible for her to sleep even though she was tired, the electric buzz of an idea somewhere in her mind resisted being crushed by today’s events.

Magic.

A hidden world of spells and monsters.

Noelle had wanted a fresh start, a new life. That’s why she chose being a police officer instead of a lawyer, right? A life where something was happening, where there were always problems to solve.

Was this the ticket to that? Right before her lay a world of foreign laws and insane creatures; a world that could provide any sort of stimulus and any sort of scenario. It would be good to look into it.

She had to look into it.

Slowly but surely Noelle closed her eyes, the possibilities of the coming days dancing in her mind as she finally gave in to sleep.

Impatience clawed at Noelle like a starving cat begging for its supper. She had been desperate to head to The Dusty Tome and grill Levi since waking. Unfortunately,she was an adult and had the duties of her career to fulfill. One day with Brue in the squad car was apparently not considered ample preparation for duty by the large man, so she was made to trail him today as well. At the very least they had gotten out of the car to walk around, so Noelle wasn’t feeling as cooped up as yesterday.

Today she and Chief Brue were doing joint work with the Cornell University Police and had traveled to the campus. It was a mixture of old and new buildings, nothing she hadn’t seen before. Maybe if it was a Friday night there would be nearby parties to break up, but it was a random afternoon in the middle of the week. The chances of anything interesting happening were slim and most of the day was just Brue facilitating paperwork transfers with the campus police while Noelle stood by and did nothing. In other words, it was boring.

They were in the science building now. It was of fairly new construction, with glass walls all over and an open architecture. The AC worked way too well, and Noelle was quietly suffering without a jacket. Maybe she’d open fire on the thermostat as a form of protest. Seriously, it was early spring. Why was the damn thing set so high? Brue had taken off in search of some food that was supposedly sold in the area, not that she cared. Even if Brue failed to return with something to eat at least she would have a few moments to herself today.

The students scurried about their business, paying Noelle short glances as they walked through the hall. Most of the looks seemed to be from surprise at seeing a town officer milling about, but a few glances lingered too long on certain aspects of her body. It was a liberal-minded campus just like her university, so she was used to the girls doing it. The unsubtle men got on her nerves, however. It may not be in the rules, but there shouldn’t be an issue if she cuffed a few of them, right? Pigs.

There was something odd about the students’ movements as well. Instead of walking in lanes people were getting in one another’s way to go around a certain area as if there was a hole in the floor, yet there was nothing there. Why were they walking into each other for no reason?

There was only one person in the space, a girl. She sat in the corner of a bench with her legs crossed reading a thick hardcover. She was dressed plainly, jeans with a hoodie and cheap sneakers; but she still stood out due to her stark white hair and half-lidded red eyes. The hair in particular was attention grabbing. Her blunted bangs fell across her face like a curtain while the sunlight filtering through the windows reflected off her white head. The area surrounding the bench positively glowed from her presence. It was such a sight that Noelle barely registered the lanky proportions and youthful look of the girl. At best she was 13, a far cry from the average age of the building’s typical occupants.

Noelle began to walk up to the girl without thinking. There was something unnatural about the whole setup. Even though the students were making efforts to walk around the bench none of them paid it as much as a glance. Their actions were unconscious, like insects reacting to a chemical signal.

Noelle wasn’t immune to the phenomenon herself. The closer she got the more she wanted to turn around and go back to where she had been. With a final burst of concentration she pushed through and made it to the girl.

“Mind if I sit here?”

The girl made eye contact with Noelle for the first time. Her eyes were lovely, shifting from a brilliant pink to a deep crimson red depending on the angle. The cases of albinism that Noelle had seen were relegated to textbooks, pictures of unnatural seeming mice and snakes with solid red eyes that looked like marbles. The girl before Noelle was not like this, she was beautiful in her own way, her unique features commanding attention, stunning those who saw them into silence rather than causing them to think of the word “albino.”

She instead brought to mind the word “danger.”

A silent intensity brooded in the red eyes of the girl. There was a threat lurking there, a warning to all those who dared approach. Noelle felt like she was staring into the eyes of a wolf.

“Tch. What the hell…I was noticed? Go ahead and sit down I guess.” The teen muttered this towards Noelle as if sharing a public bench was some sort of punishing concession. “I thought the boundary was working…was I being careless?” This time she whispered under her breath.

“I don’t see why you’re surprised at being noticed,” said Noelle as she sat, “people are bound to look over here.”

“Yes…well…hmmm…they’re bound to look over here now. You drew too much attention to my spot.”

The girl was correct. The previously unoccupied space in the hallway had collapsed and people were now filling it normally. Every so often passersby threw a glance towards the pair on the bench.

“Well, my bad I suppose?”

“I mean, really,” grunted the girl as she closed her book, “what did you expect? Coming over here with that disgustingly model-tier body. You’re just begging to get me exposed. Everyone’s looking over here because of you.”

The girl puffed her cheeks at Noelle. She was right in a way, people were certainly checking her out on the bench. The white-haired girl was cute but clearly juvenile.

“I think you’re worrying about it too much. Before you know it you’ll be my age and wishing you could go back.”

“You’re treating me like a child.”

“You are.”

“I’m already 13! That’s basically grown-up!”

“Oh, damn. That’s how today’s youth see themselves. You’re concerned about your body, but I think you should worry more about your brain.”

The girl groaned. “What kind of police officer are you? Seriously, saying stuff like that…,” While her response was negative, Noelle thought she seemed livelier than before. “Why did you come over here in the first place?”

Noelle giggled. “You really want to know? You had such a nice scowl on your face. It reminded me of myself, so I wanted to talk to you.”

“Quit trying to mess with me!”

“It was mostly true. You looked out of place so I sat next to you. Just consider it one of my job duties.”

“Way to make light of it. Did you even consider there’s a reason I’m out of place?”

The girl shot a tired glare at Noelle. If nothing else, she was certainly intense. Had it been a mistake to come over here?

“What’s your name?”

“…Lorelei.”

“I’m Noelle. I’d say pleasure to meet you, but I feel a bit *blah* over the whole thing.”

“Saying that with a straight face, unbelievable. If you keep muddling your tone you’re going to burn some bridges along the way, you edgy bitch.”

“You can call me that, but I think you’re the one showing the edge. What’s wrong?”

Lorelei squirmed in her seat at Noelle’s question. It wasn’t in Noelle’s innate nature to hear people out, but the girl was making her discomfort way too easy to read.

Lorelei pondered for a moment before speaking. “All these students…they’re just going around, pursuing what they want. Sure, some of them have their own problems. They might even be big problems. But in the end, those are just human problems. There could be hatred coming at them from many sides, but there’s still some respite to be found somewhere in their lives. I don’t think they could appreciate not having that.”

“…”

“None of them know what it’s like to be sentenced to death just for being born.”

Noelle sighed. “I’m not sure I understand.”

“It’s just a thought. Maybe I’ll write about it for class. I’m sure it’s not worth considering. To everyone here I’m just some little girl after all, I doubt you took that seriously.”

“Hmph, such dour thinking. You’ll never get a boyfriend at this rate.”

“I wasn’t looking jackass! Like your personality does you any favors!”

A bristle that Noelle couldn’t control ran through her body. Thankfully the teen noticed it but decided to not press any further.

“Besides, I have someone better to spend time with than some stupid boy!” said Lorelei.

The conversation was interrupted by two people approaching the bench. One was a little girl with an incredible volume of strawberry blonde hair, while the other was a graying man who looked to be in his 50s. He had a lanyard with an identification card around his neck that identified him as Dr. Bismark. Lorelei stood to greet them, gracefully tucking the book she had been reading before under her arm in one fluid motion.

“Who’s this?” inquired Noelle. “Your dad? Explains why a kid like you was in a university hallway.”

“Something like that,” replied Lorelei. “It’s time I got going. Try not to be too nosy towards anyone else today.” She gave one last cursory nod before stepping away to address the others. They began walking away, and soon they were out of Noelle’s sight.

Noelle decided to sit for a while longer. There was nothing to gain by rushing back to her shift.