Dread and anticipation loomed over Mena for the rest of the class. What was she going to tell May’s mom? As fun and entertaining as Gemini was, he wasn’t exactly the most cautious of the safety of himself or his students. But that’s what made him fun.

Mena’s eyes locked onto May as she haplessly piled ingredients into her cauldron. She reached into her pocket, removing a slightly old kumquat and tossed it in with a sizzle. Mena followed suit, but she started with a pinch of eye of newt spice. The young witch could hardly concentrate with Gemini’s credibility on the line.

Mena hastily grabbed several bits of food and dropped it in the cauldron without looking. “Boil this trouble, on the double,” she said, and her cauldron began to steam.

With a poofy exhale, the cauldron emitted a ring of smoke and Mena grabbed her spoon. She stirred for a few seconds before Cumberson ordered everyone to halt.

“Spoons down. Let me see what you did.”

Mena wiped her brow. She had no idea what she did, but she desperately hoped she wouldn’t send the professor on a one-way trip to the infirmary.

Mrs. Cumberson traversed the rows quickly, dipping a tasting spoon inside each and sampling the brew. She frowned in most cases, before moving onto the next. She arrived at May. May had hope in her eyes, but they quickly darkened when she realized who she was impressing. Cumberson dipped a spoon in, put it to her lips and swallowed.

May stuttered nervously. “What do you think, mummy?”

Mrs. Cumberson’s nose wrinkled.

“This is better than most, but it’s got a strange aftertaste. I’m afraid you come up short as usual, Maylene.”

“Mom, I’m suh-sorry,” May gasped with tears forming in the corner of her eyes, but Mrs. Cumberson had moved onto Mena.

“I can hardly imagine you doing much better than my daughter,” Cumberson said with a snarl. “Even as a Rainborn, you’ve shown to be one of the least effectual ones in the history of the school. Even poorer than Arabella Willow who shared the same daydreamer eyes and zero motivation.”

Mena balled up her fist at the mention of her mom. Now she hoped if her brew wasn’t a success, it would send Mrs. Cumberson to the infirmary. Everyone would cheer; they could get a new teacher who didn’t run the class like a drill sergeant in a witch’s hat.

Cumberson reached into the brew with a spoon and pressed it to her lips. They slowly curled over the utensil, making sure she imbibed every last drop. Cumberson closed her eyes and paused. “This...is…”

“A latte…”

“What?” Mena gasped. Had she been so distracted by Gemini’s plight that she didn’t realize she was brewing her favorite drink?

“You simply made a latte,” Cumberson remarked with a condemning glare. “Which is good for autumn if you’re a thirteen-year-old girl…but that’s not a brew. And especially not something your hypothetical wizard husband would want to come home to.”

Mena put her hand behind her head. Her potent potion hadn’t killed Cumberson but merely caffeinated her. She gave an innocent smile, pretending there was a halo atop her head, but Mrs. Cumberson wasn’t laughing. “Now I’ve got another reason to see you after class.”

The bell rang and everyone got up to go, leaving Mena and May behind. “I’ll wait outside for you,” May whispered. “Remember not to look mummy in the eye. She’s known to turn gorgons to stone.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Mena replied, trying to remain cool. “But May, don’t you have class?”

May’s dimpled smile sunk. “Oh right. I guess I’ll see you after school. Remember, never talk back. Only talk forward to her.”

May got up and left, but not before telling her mom, “goodbye,” to which, Mrs Cumberson didn’t even reply. Mena was shocked. She even had a better relationship with Deidre—a woman who wasn’t even her mother.

Cumberson lowered her glasses like an irate librarian fuming over an overdue book. “Miss Willow, I’m going to make this short. Tell me, why did you brew a latte instead of a potion?”

Mena was silent. Her eyes darted around the room before returning to Cumberson. “I’m sorry,” she said, earnestly. “I was so concerned about Gemini; I didn’t want him to get in trouble.”

A calm smile crept up on Cumberson’s wrinkled face. “I want you to breathe Miss. Willow. The well-being of the headmaster concerns me too.”

“It does?” Mena asked with dinner-plate wide eyes.

Cumberson raised her glasses. “I simply want this to be a safe school where homely girls like my daughter can blossom into ideal house witches.”

Mena scratched her head in confusion.

“I’m sorry to frazzle you, dear,” Cumberson replied in a sweeter tone. “You have my word I won’t seek disciplinary action unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

“Good,’ Mena blurted. “Because I believe Gemini is a good headmaster.”

“I never said he wasn’t,” Cumberson responded, swiftly. “We all make mistakes...Now will you kindly tell me about his possession?”

Mena bit her lip, and then exhaling, spoke, “He was simply saving a woman he cared about from the Nightmare Void, Professor Caligari. That’s when he got possessed.”

“Oh…” Cumberson said, her voice rising higher. “Tell me more…”

“Yep,” Mena responded with a sigh. “She was the daughter of the Phantom Lord himself, but that didn’t stop him from giving her a place in the school.”

“I see…” Cumberson responded, and she pressed her finger to her temple. She chanted the following words: “Magic. Stop the record, stop the press, give my recording magic a rest…”

Mena’s eyes went wide again. “You were recording our conversation?”

Cumberson smiled. “I record all my classes. Nothing to worry about child. What the headmaster did was perfectly understandable. Thank you for letting me know…”

Mena was feeling even more confused and uneasy. “You’re welcome I guess…”

“That’s all you’re needed for,” Cumberson said. “But I appreciate it. The truth will always come out sooner or later.”

Mena left class unsure she did the right thing, but at least Cumberson said what Gemini did was ‘understandable’. The elder witch talking about “the truth coming out” was a bit unsettling however, But Mena elected to take her mind off the inquisition and head to Stellaris Andromeda’s class instead. Dream Divination was always a fun way to pass the time.

When Mena entered the classroom, she sat excitedly, waiting for her favorite class to begin. It may have had Ashlan and the terrible Tessellation twins in it, but that didn’t stop reading dreams from being so much fun. Everyone talked excitedly to each other about the start of the year, and what they’d be learning. When Stellaris walked up the stairs with a pile of dream maps, Mena knew it was business as usual. But said business was good.

“Welcome,” Stellaris said, peering out from behind the dream maps. She was dressed very festively, wearing a blue pointed hat and large red and green ornamental balls replacing her usual sun orb earrings. Her outfit was a long blue robe patterned with silver snowflakes. Stellaris out her hand and sent the maps soaring to each student.

“I’m going to start you out with a very familiar exercise. It’ll ease you into a whole ‘nother year.”

Mena smiled and placed her hands behind her head. This was the total opposite of Cumberson’s class. There was no pressure at all. She simply had to imprint her most recent dream on the dream map.

Mena looked around and noticed a lot of her classmates weren’t even filling out their dream maps. Instead, they were tapping their heads, and a sparkling letter appeared before them. Mena wasn’t the only one who was astonished.

“What are you doing?” Stellaris asked her class.

Ashlan closed her eyes and spoke snidely. “Practicing Dream Digination.”

“You never ‘eard of that, hippie?” Laetitia asked as a sparkling letter ‘N’ appeared before her eyes.

“No,” Stellaris said, her eyes widened.

“It’s the latest advancement in dream reading technology,” Ashlan said, increasingly proud to know something her teacher didn’t. “With a simple tap of your head, you can now read dreams without a silly old dream map.”

“Dream maps are so…900s,” Marie smirked, and the three mean girls chortled. Stellaris looked helpless like she was drowning in their mirth. Mena immediately felt sorry for teacher who seemed to have fallen behind the times.

When the class ended, Stellaris approached Mena. “Mena, I’d like to thank you,” she exclaimed in her bubbly voice. “And apologize as well!”

“For?” Mena asked.

“Getting me off of academic probation simply by being cute and exposing that vile Professor Gaia for the fraud he was.”

“Oh, you’re welcome, Professor”—Mena’s eyebrows raised. “But why are you apologizing?”

“About that,” Stellaris said, her large blue eyes pointing skyward. “I didn’t get you a present this year because I didn’t want to kill any trees for wrapping paper.”

“Uh…” Mena said, rolling her eyes too. “You could have just given me a present without the wrapping paper.”

“Whoops!” Stellaris said, shrugging her shoulders. “Sometimes I feel being ditzy should classify as a disability. Anyway, I’ve come to you seeking more help…”

Mena tilted her head in curiosity. “You need my help?”

Stellaris looked down at the ground. Her sunny disposition displaced. “The girls in the class seem to be one step ahead of me. I feel like I’m getting old…”

“Aw come on teach,” Mena said, her voice bouncing. “How old are you anyway?”

Stellaris looked up, her eye twitched and she raised her hand, grasping the air dramatically. “Only an Eon.”

Mena gasped, but quickly hid her shock. “Don’t worry, professor,” she said with a wink. “You only look a millennium.”

Stellaris’ radiant look returned. “Thanks sweetheart. Anyway, I was wondering, is there any chance a trendy young girl could school me next class on how to be hip? I’d really appreciate it.”

“If you’re talking about me,” Mena said, grinning widely with her hands on her hips. “Then sure thing. I’m a real trendmonger.”

Stellaris squealed and gave Mena a warm embrace. At least this class ended better than the last one.

When the dinner bell chimed, Mena dragged herself down to the dining hall. She reached her floating cloud table and buried her face in fluff. Her friends looked at her with concerned. “At last,” she groaned. “Miserable magicaps. The first day of school always takes so long to end.”

She placed the book with its glowing rainbow sphere on the table. “And I didn’t even find out anything about this boo…”

“Phenomena Willow?” A gruff voice interrupted her. “Postage for you.”

Mena picked her head up. The smelly delivery man in his Solstice Spirit outfit approached on a cloud of his own. He handed her a letter. Her eyes scanned it. No return address, Mena thought.

The man read his clipboard. “That’ll be twelve jems for my delivery fee.”

“Drat rats, I’m broke!” Mena exclaimed.

“Oh wait,” the man said, rereading his clipboard. “Seems it’s already been paid for. Now I can scram toots.”

“That was odd,” Mena said, shaking her head. “I wonder who sent me a strange letter. It’s awfully mysterious.”

May pressed her hands to her cheek. “Maybe it’s a secret admirer.”

Janus pressed her hands to her gaunt cheekbones. “Or a serial killer.”

Mena’s eye twitched over Janus’ words and she quickly opened the letter. Pasted in several different mismatched letters was a single sentence: “If you want to find out more about the book, try the off-limits section in the library.”