Chapter II

When the sound of her alarm going off finally broke the silence in her bedroom, Lillian Harper felt her stomach churn. She had been laying in bed, wide awake, for the past hour and a half dreading that sound. She bit her lip in nervousness, listening as her sister turned the alarm off and got out of her own bed.

“Come on, Lilly,” she called over. “I know you’re awake so get up. Wouldn’t want to miss your first day of school, now would you?”

Lilly grimaced, knowing full well that if she were given the option to lay in bed all day and not have to go to school then she would have been perfectly happy. However, she also knew there was no way she could get away with doing so and was thus prepared to face reality. Whether she liked it or not, she would be starting her first day at her new school and there was nothing she could do to change that.

Sighing, the girl sat up in bed and eyed her older sister, Alexa, irritably.

“You could have just let me lay here a little longer, you know?” she grumbled. “You and I both know you’re going to take the shower first anyway and I’m going to have to wait.”

Alexa shrugged, reaching up to tug at a strand of her dark brown hair, grinning slyly as she responded. “I know,” she chirped. “But I knew you were awake since you were tossing and turning so much. I figured it would be better for you to get up and go through your checklist or whatever.”

“Yeah, well…” Lilly began softly. “As it so happens, I already ran through my checklist last night. I’ve already got everything.”

Her older sister snorted. “And? This is you we’re talking about. I’m sure you’re still going to go through it a dozen more times before we leave.”

Lilly didn’t reply, knowing she was probably right. Alexa grinned wryly before turning on her heel and walking to their door, leaving her sitting on her bed alone. She groaned, flopping onto her back to stare up at the ceiling, finding Alexa’s overly cheerful attitude to be slightly annoying. But of course, she wasn’t going to say anything. She was well aware that it was simply an act and that the idea of going to a new school was really hurting her. After all, for as much as Lilly had been complaining for months about the move, she knew Alexa had it far worse. Lilly was only switching school’s in her junior year while her older sister was a senior. Her final year of high school was going to be spent trying to make new friends and she wouldn’t get to graduate with the ones she had known since grade school.

For Lilly, she wasn’t as bothered about making new friends for the simple fact that she never really had any close relationships back at her old school in the first place. She had those she would hang out with on occasion but she never had anybody that she would want to text after moving or stay in touch with. She was almost certain that she would never talk to anybody from her old school again. The reason for her irritation at moving was because of how comfortable she had been. Having to adjust to a new environment with new faces was something that seemed like far too much work. She had a hard enough time interacting with those she knew since she was a kid. Having to interact with a bunch of new people was the main thing that had kept her up all night.

Well, I guess I should get up. Alexa’s right. Just laying here thinking about it isn’t going to make anything easier.

Grumbling under her breath, Lilly pushed herself back to a sitting position and threw her navy blue sheets off of her before swinging her legs over the side of the bed and planting her bare feet against the old red carpet of her bedroom. As she stood up, she stretched her arms up over her head and yawned, feeling her body loosening up as she did so. She then glanced around the room, grimacing at how cramped it was with both beds shoved against opposite walls. Despite having been living there since June, she still hadn’t gotten used to the smaller bedroom.

And I thought our last bedroom was cramped, she thought bitterly, walking across the thin area between the beds to the opposite wall.

The room didn’t have much in the way of decoration. Alexa had hung up a singular poster of a favorite boy band of hers and Lilly had a few of her cross country and track awards up on her own wall.

I wonder what the team’s going to be like at this new school…not that it really matters, I guess.

At her last school, she hadn’t been particularly close to the team. At practice, she often ran by herself and she never attended any of the after-race team lunches. She preferred to be alone and most of the team had allowed her to do that. She didn’t expect that to change at the new school.

Lilly sighed, turning her head to stare at the only other thing hanging in the room—a full-length mirror on the wall before her, displaying her sleep-deprived self.

Her shoulder-length brown hair was messy from laying down and there were dark lines under her eyes.

Great, she thought. Now I’m going to look like a zombie all day. Just my luck.

She glanced back at the small table between their two beds, eyeing her sister's hairbrush laying atop it. She considered brushing her hair then turned away, realizing that it wouldn’t matter since she would be showering soon anyway.

Eh, whatever. Who cares if I look like a zombie. Maybe it’ll put people off and I can just get through the day without having to talk to anybody.

Lilly wasn’t one who cared much about her appearance in the first place. She knew she wasn’t the prettiest person and was completely satisfied looking average. She never bothered with makeup, unlike her sister who seemed to the girl to have a bit of an unhealthy obsession, nor did she do much to her hair aside from brushing. Her taste in clothes was pretty basic as well. She typically just wore t-shirts and shorts without any real thought put into them.

With another glance into the mirror, surveying her gray pajama shorts and tank top she always wore, Lilly opted to do as her sister suggested and go through her “checklist”.

The room’s closet door was on Alexa’s side, at the foot of her bed, so Lilly walked over and pulled open the sliding white door. Her backpack was sitting at the bottom, beside her sister’s, so she knelt down and unzipped the main compartment. Alexa had already been to the school to pick up their schedules and textbooks so she made sure everything was already there. She then counted her notebooks and checked for her pencil pouch. Everything was where she left it the previous night. The only thing left was her school uniform, which was probably still out on the ironing board.

Well, guess all that’s left to do is wait for Alexa to hurry up and finish getting ready.

The girl scowled, wishing she could have gone first since her sister always took forever to shower and do her makeup. Lilly briefly considered going out into the main room but decided not to, knowing she would have to endure her parents trying to psych her up from school. Instead, she simply plopped back down on the bed and waited.

When her sister finally walked back in after what felt like an hour, she was already dressed in her school uniform—a white polo shirt, black knee-length skirt, red tie, and a light gray blazer with the school’s emblem on it—with her hair tied up in a ponytail. When she saw Lilly laying down and narrowed her eyes in disappointment.

“Really? You didn’t even move?” Alexa asked.

“Nope,” she said apathetically. “Although I did check my stuff for a moment.”

Her sister snorted. “Of course you did. Well, whatever. You can have the bathroom now.”

“Cool.”

Lilly crawled back out of bed and went out into the hallway. She was immediately greeted with the smell of eggs and bacon, realizing that her mom was already cooking breakfast. Feeling her stomach grumbling, she poked her head into the living room and looked to her left to see her mother in the kitchen at the stove. Her father wasn’t around so she figured he had already gone to work.

Not wanting to have to talk to her mother yet, she hurriedly reached for her uniform laying on the ironing board against the wall and ducked back into the hall before heading toward the bathroom. She wanted to eat breakfast soon so she got ready as fast as possible. She was in and out of the shower relatively fast then begrudgingly used the hairdryer, which took longer than she would’ve liked, before combing it with her brush. Once she was dressed in her unform, she looked herself over in the mirror, deciding she looked less like a zombie, and finally headed back out into the main room.

“Good morning, sweetie,” her mother, Nora Harper, greeted cheerfully. “Are you excited for your first day at school?”

Her mother’s ever-present cheerful smile made Lilly feel slightly less irritable. Combined with her tied up hair and pink apron with the words “World’s Best Mom” written across them, she found herself struggling to remain annoyed as she took a seat at the small dining table. Alexa was sitting across from her, already eating while surfing one of her social media apps on her phone.

“Excited?” Lilly repeated with a touch of sarcasm in her tone. “Not the word I would use, Mom. More like...hmm...how about indisposed?”

Nora cocked an eyebrow at her daughter as she set a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her.

“Indisposed, huh?” she asked. “You know, you could stand to be a little bit more positive, Lil’.”

“Ha!” Alexa smirked, sparing a glance from her phone. “Remember who you’re talking to, Mom. Lilly’s the most apathetic and negative person I know. Telling her to be positive is like telling the sun to stop being bright.”

“Alexa,” their mother admonished. “That’s not very nice.”

“Maybe not,” her sister conceded. “But I’m not wrong.”

Lilly shrugged, agreeing with her sister despite knowing she should feel insulted, as she began eating her breakfast.

“Look, guys,” their mother began. “I’m sorry about all this. I really am. It’s not fair to either of you but please try to make the best of this. At least go to school with an open mind.”

Alexa smiled up at her but Lilly could tell it was forced.

“It’s okay, Mom. You’ve already said this like a million times. Dad needed a job. He couldn’t help that it was so far away. There was nothing anybody could do.”

“Thanks, Lexi,” the woman replied softly. “And I promise that your father and I will do our best to give you as fun of a senior year as we can.”

Lilly began to tune them out, wanting to be done with her breakfast and out of the house as fast as she could. Despite dreading getting to school, she found herself wanting to get there early enough for her to learn her way around before class started. Since she intended to minimize the amount of times she would be forced to interact with people, she didn’t want to have to ask anybody for help.

Having inhaled her eggs and bacon, Lilly got to her feet.

“Thanks for breakfast, Mom,” she said.

Alexa looked up at her in bewilderment. “Jeez, sis. You ever heard of savoring?”

Lilly shrugged. “I was hungry.”

“Clearly.”

The girl turned and headed back toward her bedroom, hearing her sister call out to her.

“Wait, you’re already leaving?”

“Why not? Might as well get there early,” she called back before walking into her room.

She made a b-line for her still open closet, pulled her backpack up over her shoulder, and turned around to leave when Alexa walked in, staring at her in exasperation.

“Honestly,” she grumbled. “Did you even plan on waiting for me?”

Lilly watched her move past her and toward the closet before replying.

“You don’t have to come with,” she said. “I figured you’d want to finish breakfast.”

“I did,” Alexa snapped, shouldering her own backpack. “But it seems my little sister is more impatient to get to school than I thought and I’m not about to let you go to our first day alone.”

Lilly frowned. “Why not?”

“Because where’s the fun in that?” the older girl asked. “I wanted to spend some quality time with you! Is that so bad?”

The younger girl sighed, deciding there was no point in pressing the matter further. “I guess not.”

“Good!” her sister huffed. “Then let’s go.”

The two girls walked out into the hall, saying a quick goodbye to their mother before heading toward the front door.

“Have a nice day at school, girls,” she called back.

Alexa took the lead as they walked through the door and out into the hallway. The third floor of their apartment building was empty aside from the two of them so they made their way to the elevator without running into anybody, something Lilly was grateful for. Alexa pressed the down button, waited for the doors to open, then stepped inside with Lilly following close behind. She then pushed the button for the bottom floor.

“So, are you excited for anything about today?” Alexa asked. “Like...at all? Or are you just dreading everything?”

“Basically just dreading everything,” she muttered.

The other girl shook her head. “Oh come on! Nothing? Really? What about cross country? You like that! Aren’t you excited to show everybody what a badass you are?”

Lilly shrugged again. “I mean, I guess it’ll be somewhat fun.”

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open, admitting them into the lobby. They walked toward the front doors, saying a quick good morning to the receptionist, Mr. Alberts, before heading outside.

The town of Wilham was small so the streets weren’t terribly busy at that time of morning. There were a few small businesses around and a few other places that Lilly had never bothered to go to around the building. She saw a few other kids wearing their school uniform on the opposite side of the road and hoped they wouldn’t say, “hi”.

“What about meeting new people?” Alexa suddenly said, restarting the conversation Lilly had hoped was already over. “No offense but you were kind of a loner. Isn’t this the best time to reinvent yourself now that you’ve got a clean slate?”

Lilly snorted. “I don’t want to reinvent myself. I’m pretty happy being a loner, thank you very much.”

“But don’t you get bored?” she pressed. “You never go to games or dances or anything. All you’ve got are your races. Don’t you want to go out and hang with people? And what about a date? Haven’t you ever wanted a boyfriend?”

“A boyfriend?” Lilly considered the thought for a second before shaking her head. “Sounds like a hassle.”

Alexa frowned. “It’s not a hassle. It’s fun.”

“Says the girl who had, like, five different boyfriends in a single year,” she retorted.

“Well...” she sighed. “It’s not a hassle when you find somebody who isn’t an asshole.”

“Something that has been a hassle for you,” Lilly pointed out. “My point stands.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Alexa then smiled, looking up at the sky as they walked. “I’m just saying. For all you know, this could be a good thing.”

Lilly smirked, eyeing her sister in amusement.

“I honestly doubt it.”

***

Despite her strong aversion to her new school, Lilly couldn’t deny that she found herself oddly impressed by how big it was when she and her sister finally arrived at the front gates. There were throngs of students walking through and into the large courtyard beyond, chatting and laughing as they caught up with each other after summer vacation. On the other side of the courtyard was the large, three-story West Wilham High School, towering over the surrounding neighborhoods which, Lilly noted on their way in, seemed to only consist of small, one-story homes. There was a plethora of windows overlooking the courtyard which would have no doubt given an amazing view were she up there.

“Now come on, sis,” Alexa muttered under her breath. “You can’t tell me you aren’t at least a little excited now.”

“Actually, I can easily say that,” she replied dryly before readjusting her backpack and pressing forward into the crowd.

She heard Alexa snort behind her, but she followed nonetheless. Lilly kept her head down, not wanting to make eye contact with any of the other students around, hoping she could just make it into the school and toward her first period class without getting stopped by anybody. Having studied her schedule thoroughly ever since getting it, she knew where she would have to go without looking at it. Her first class of the day was Honors English with Mrs. Kentz on the second floor in room 2-12. She also knew that her sister’s first class was on the first floor and that she would finally be allowed to be on her own once they got to the school gates.

At the very least, she stopped badgering me about why I should be excited, Lilly thought gratefully.

After their earlier conversation had ended, Alexa had instead turned the conversation toward her own excitement at meeting new people and getting to experience a new place. However, Lilly only half listened, knowing that her sister was exaggerating and wasn’t as excited as she was claiming to be. It irritated her how much Alexa was trying to put on a mask and pretend like everything was okay. Lilly would have absolutely preferred her to actually speak her mind, but that just wasn’t who Alexa Harper was. She would remain forcing a smile for the sake of her family no matter what. It was something Lilly didn’t have the energy or desire to do.

For a brief second, she rose her head to survey the courtyard, finding it oddly cozy looking. The cement path she was walking on was surrounded by lush green lawns on both sides with tables and benches scattered throughout for students to sit on. There were trees around, giving shade to those sitting down and some even had umbrellas beside them. Part of her considered eating lunch out there later since it would most likely be far less crowded than the cafeteria.

“Well, here we are,” Alexa said cheerfully as they arrived at the school’s front entrance.

Lilly grunted her acknowledgment as the two walked through the double doors and into the hallway beyond. To her left, she could see that the corridor led to some classroom doors and then curved around the corner. On her right, it was a similar sight with the exception of the staircase leading up to the second and third floors. There were signs on the wall indicating which halls led to the bathrooms, office, and cafeteria. She filed the information away for later before looking up at her sister.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you later,” Lilly said softly.

Alexa eyed her wryly. “I don’t imagine you want me to join you for lunch?”

“Not even a little.”

Her sister sighed, seemingly having expected that response, before nodding. “Alright, fair enough. In that case, I’ll see you when you get home, little sis. Have a nice first day.”

Lilly nodded. “You, too.”

The sisters then turned and went in opposite directions, Alexa heading left and Lilly heading right, making a b-line for the staircase. She briefly looked around the hall, staring through the windows that showed her the courtyard beyond.

Yeah, I’m definitely eating out there later, she said to herself again before turning and walking up the stairs.

She kept to the side of the stairs, ensuring that she stayed out of the way of the students both climbing and descending. Much like on her walk in, she kept her head lowered, staring only at the ground and where she was placing her feet. When she reached the second floor, she looked around at the signs hanging on the walls. Left would take her to classes ten and under while right took her to eleven and up. She nodded, glancing down the hall and immediately spotting room 2-12 where she saw an elderly lady with tight, curly white hair and a light brown pantsuit right outside the door.

Mrs. Kentz, I suppose, she thought with disappointment, realizing that she wasn’t going to be able to get into the class without having to talk to her first.

Resigning herself to her fate, Lilly sighed and walked toward the class. Kentz noticed her heading in her direction and immediately smiled in a way that reminded the girl of a stereotypical grandma.

“Good morning, young lady,” Kentz greeted sweetly, holding out a hand for her to shake. “I’m Mrs. Kentz. It’s nice to meet you.”

Lilly forced herself to smile as she shook the woman’s hand. “Yeah, nice to meet you, too. I’m Lilly.”

“Ah, what a pretty name,” Kentz replied. “My niece is named Lilly, too.”

“Oh, really?”

She grimaced inwardly. God, please don’t be one of those teachers that talks forever. I’ve already introduced myself so please just let me inside.

Luckily, the woman didn’t elaborate any further on her niece and instead motioned for Lilly to go in. “Well, I hope we’re in for a fun year. The syllabus is on my desk and the seating arrangement is up on the whiteboard.”

“Cool, thanks,” she muttered, taking the opportunity to hurry inside before the teacher could say anything else.

Much to her relief, the classroom was still relatively empty. The only other people in the room were a group of boys in the back left corner and a single girl sitting by the window on the opposite side of the room. They all glanced up at her when she entered, but only looked at her for a moment before going back to what they were doing.

Yes, ignore me. Thank you!

She walked across the room to the teacher’s large oak desk where she immediately spotted the stack of papers on the side. She snagged one of them before turning around to stare up at the white board. The room was organized with the desks in rows of six with six rows in total and the white board had the same design drawn out in pink marker. Names of the students were written over each individual square representing a desk. There didn't seem to be any particular order for the seating arrangement so she just scanned each name until she found her own.

Ah, awesome. I got a window seat. She smiled in satisfaction, happy that she would at least have the view when she inevitably got bored of the lecture. Alright then...let’s see...second from the back… Shit.

As she looked over her shoulder to find her desk, she realized that by a stroke of bad luck, her desk was right behind the girl that was already sitting there.

Well, she seems lost in thought. Maybe she won’t bother talking to me.

Banking her hopes on that possibility, Lilly reluctantly turned and made her way to the far right row, dropping her backpack onto the ground beside her desk before pushing it under with the side of her foot. It was then that the girl in front of her seemed to snap out of her thoughts as she turned her head and stared up at her. Lilly didn’t look back, choosing instead to sit down in her chair and immediately turn her attention to the view of the neighborhood outside the window and below.

Take a hint and don’t say something. I look like a zombie, right? You don’t want to talk to me. I’m creepy.

“Good morning,” the other girl said after a moment.

Shit.

Not wanting to come across as rude, Lilly turned and looked back at the girl, surprised to find her smiling pleasantly.

“Uh...yeah, good morning,” she replied awkwardly before turning back to the window, hoping that would be the end of their interaction. However, the girl was apparently not satisfied with simple “good mornings” and instead spoke again.

“Sorry if it seems like I’m prying but are you new to the school, by any chance?” she asked.

Lilly looked back at her in surprise. How on earth could she possibly know that?! She just met me! She doesn’t even know my name!

The girl laughed innocently, reaching up to brush a strand of her long, black hair behind her ear. “Sorry, sorry. I get that sounds weird coming from somebody you just met. It’s just...there’s always kinda been a set of students who take honors classes and I’ve been with them since freshman year. I didn’t recognize you so I thought you might be new. Based on your reaction, I guess I’m right?”

“Uh…” Lilly stuttered, finding the girl’s cutesy tone to be slightly irritating. “...yeah, I’m new. Just moved here last June, actually.”

“Oh really? Then welcome to West Wilham,” she said. “I’m Alice, by the way. Alice Mendez.”

Lilly looked down at the girl’s now outstretched hand, not thrilled with the idea of two handshakes in five minutes. But, much like with Kentz, she reluctantly reached out and shook it, albeit not very strongly.

“Nice to meet you,” she muttered. “I’m, uh, Lilly. Harper.”

Alice smiled back at her, leaning her arms on Lilly’s desk in clear indication that she didn’t plan on ending the conversation any time soon.

“So, Lilly, do you like it here? I know Wilham’s a bit small but there’s actually a lot to do if you look,” she said.

Lilly nodded again, glancing briefly up at the clock hanging above the whiteboard, praying that the bell would ring soon. However, it was then that she realized she’d gotten there early and still had nearly twenty minutes until class was over.

Damn it. Maybe Alexa was right. I shouldn’t have rushed through breakfast.

When she looked back at Alice, the girl was staring at her expectantly, her dark brown eyes innocently watching her. Combined with her blue headband and her uniform, Lilly could easily see the girl being one of the more popular kids at the school.

“Uh, I mean I guess it’s pretty cool,” Lilly finally replied. “Not that I’ve actually been anywhere. To be honest, I didn’t really leave my house this summer.”

Alice looked at her in surprise. “Really? But you at least went to the pier, right? That’s, like, our town's biggest attraction.”

Lilly glanced away again, recalling how her sister had tried to convince her to go with the rest of the family to check out the pier back in July. She had flat out refused and Alexa still got on her about that.

“N-no,” she stuttered. “I’ve never been to the pier.”

Alice’s shock predictably increased with that reply. “Wow. In that case, why don’t—”

Before the girl could finish her sentence, one of the boys in the corner suddenly called out loud enough to startle the two girls.

“Well if it isn’t Eric Reiner!”

Lilly looked over at the boy in surprise before turning toward the door where two other boys were standing, eyeing the one who had spoken. The one who had been addressed, Eric, was tall and skinny, looking almost like a walking scarecrow. Beside him was a slightly shorter blonde boy, who was the one to immediately reply.

“Ah, Brad,” he said slyly. “Look at you, getting to school early. I’m proud of you! You get a gold star, young man!”

Brad, who was far bigger than both boys, with a crew cut that made him look like a stereotypical bully, snorted.

“Oh fuck off, Vinny,” he snapped.

“Hey, Reiner” one of Brad’s friends chimed in. “I don’t suppose you finally found any magic relics over summer, huh? Or maybe a potion that could give you some actual muscle?”

The other boys chuckled for reasons Lilly couldn’t even fathom. To her, the insult seemed painfully lame. The boys, Eric and Vinny, didn’t seem bothered by the comment in the least.

“Ha! Even if I did, I would never tell a simple-minded oaf like you, Wright!” Eric declared, sticking his finger out in their direction. “You could never hope to fathom the immense power of the magical realm!”

Lilly cocked an eyebrow. Is this some sort of comedy act or are these kids just this weird?

Brad laughed. “Oh no! I’m so scared! Please don’t use your spells on us, oh great master!”

“There’s no need to worry, ol pal,” Vinny chimed in. “Why would we ever need to use magic to curse you when genetics did the job for us? So was your dad the horse or your mom?”

Despite the absurdity of the conversation, Lilly almost laughed, noticing with a quick look that Brad did, in fact, kind of resemble a horse.

“Wow, you’re really asking for it today, aren’t you, Mickelson?” Brad’s friend, Wright, snapped.

“Asking for it?” Vinny shrugged. “I mean, how else am I going to find out what fucked what to create our dear Bradley Fischer if I don’t ask?”

Brad looked about ready to get to his feet when Mrs. Kentz poked her head into the room, eyeing the boys with a frown.

“Is everything alright in here?” she inquired.

Brad immediately smiled back, the anger in his features gone in an impressively quick amount of time.

“Yeah, we’re all good,” he replied. “Just catching up with two good friends of mine.”

“Yup,” Vinny agreed. “All good.”

Kentz didn’t seem fully convinced but still nodded and returned to her post outside the room. The moment she did, Vinny turned a sly look upon Brad and raised his hand up as if pretending to be holding a wine glass.

“To another fun year, my friend,” he said.

Brad simply raised his middle finger in disgust, earning more laughter from Eric and Vinny. The two boys then took their seats at the front of the class while Brad and his group continued to talk amongst themselves.

What the hell did I just watch? Lilly thought in disbelief. Those have to be the weirdest kids I’ve ever seen.

“So that’s the Magic Club,” Alice suddenly said, lowering her voice to a whisper.

Lilly turned to look at her in apprehension. “The...Magic Club?”

Alice nodded. “Yeah. They’re pretty infamous for being kinda strange.”

“Ah,” Lilly muttered. “Magic? So...what? Do they do tricks or...?”

“Not as far as I know,” the other girl replied. “From what I heard, they aren’t magicians or anything. They actually believe in...well, magic. Like actual magic.”

“You mean...wizards and wands and potions?” Lilly pressed.

Alice shrugged. “I guess so. That’s what I’ve heard at least.”

Lilly grimaced, glancing across the room to where Eric and Vinny sat, chatting back and forth with each other in hushed voices. She stared at them for a moment in part intrigue and part disbelief.

Great, just my luck. First day at this godforsaken new school and some of the first people I come across are magic-worshiping nut jobs.

The girl sighed.

This is going to be a long year.