“An Ethereal? W-What’s that?” Aidan asked, shying back into his seat.

  I had finally managed to catch up with Aidan and Marge the next morning. We were eating in the dining hall and for once, weren’t invaded by Finn or his group of friends.

  “It’s what Maverick and Rosalie are.” I glanced down at my hands, not wanting to see their shocked expressions. I twirled my thumbs in my lap under the table away from their view. I was somewhat surprised it hadn't managed to ice over.

  “You’re the same as them?!” Marge shouted practically loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. I had to glance up at her and ask her to keep it down.

  “I guess, yeah,” I answered, not really having come to terms with it myself.

  “Your magic is as powerful as theirs…” Aidan was dumbfounded.

  “It’s crazy, right? I can’t even use magic, yet my power is somehow on the same level as two of the most powerful beings in this world—in my world, too.”

  “T-That’s a good thing though, right?”

  “Yeah. Think of all the people you can save when you finally do learn how to use your magic!” Marge nodded along.

  “But that also means I’m immortal! Or almost immortal. I guess I can still be killed… I don’t want to live for that long!” I tried not to whine, but it still came off petulant. I squeezed my eyes shut as if I could shut out my immortality the same way.

  “W-Why not…?” Aidan frowned, sounding genuinely confused.

  “Would you want to live for hundreds of years? Would you want to watch your sister die? Me and Marge die? Any of your future friends?”

  He paused for a moment, and he seemed to get it.

  “This is something I need to make peace with… In the meantime, can we talk about something else?” I sighed, really not wanting to think about this more than I already had.

  “Sure. Like what?” Marge rested her elbows on the table and leaned her chin onto her open palms.

  “Well… Rosalie is back. Now’s your chance to meet her!”

  “What?! No way!” Marge pulled her head back, palms flat on the table as she shook her head.

  “Why not? Hasn’t it been your dream to meet her since you got here?”

  “W-Well, yeah, but… S-She’s probably busy! She wouldn’t have time to meet me. ‘Specially with everyone else trying to meet her too!”

  “I could introduce her to you.” Wait, why did I offer that? Rosalie terrified me! I needed to stop offering stuff without thinking it through first. Stupid Elaina! Always too eager to help!

  “N-No, no, it’s really okay!” She frantically waved her hands at me as she shook her head. Whew.

  But on a more serious note… “Why are you so scared to meet her?”

  “Huh? W-Who’s scared? I never said I was scared!” She crossed her arms and tried to act all tough, but I knew that was a lie. After all, Aidan was the stutterer, not Marge.

  “It’s obvious you’re scared. What’s wrong?” I frowned, hoping I could get her to open up.

  Marge sighed. “Remember what I told you the other day? About how people like Maverick and Rosalie aren’t our friends? I just… Listen, I have my own version of Rosalie, and if the real one isn’t anything like her, then… Well, I don’t want to get hurt…”

  “Is it worth still looking up to someone if they’re not the person you thought they were?”

  She paused, really considering what I had said. “I… I guess not.” She sighed. “You’re right, Ella. But I need to talk to her for myself. I’m not going to involve you.”

  “You sure it’s not an excuse to stall?” I giggled.

  “No, no. I promise.” She deflated into the table. Despite this, a new sense of determination seemed to fill her now-limp body.

  “A-And maybe you’re wrong. M-Maybe she’ll be even better than you expect.” Aidan tilted his head to try to look her in the eye. Kind of hard with all her hair and her face being on the table.

  “Maybe.”

  “I once made the mistake of judging someone too soon. A-And it almost cost me something dear to me…”

  “Once?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “S-Shut up! I-I’m working on it.” He crossed his arms, causing me to giggle.

  “It was Finn, wasn’t it?” Marge asked knowingly.

  “Y-Yeah…but how did you know?” Aidan asked with genuine surprise.

  “Saw you two with him the other day. Actually, a bunch of people saw. Him being around a pretty girl like Ella isn’t anything special, but it’s unusual for him to be hanging out, or should I say ‘giving attention’ to someone like you. Usually, the girl monopolizes his attention.” She used air quotes as necessary.

  “You’ve been saying that a lot, but I’ve yet to see any evidence of this.” I crossed my arms. I hated how quick Aidan and Marge were to judge Finn. Especially when he had been so kind to me.

  “Well, duh! You’re the new girl! His new fixation! Trust me, once someone else comes along, he’ll forget all about you.”

  I thought back to Frenica. Aqua had said that Frenica acted that way when someone new caught Finn’s attention… Could this have been proof of what Marge was saying?

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  No, I shouldn’t make assumptions like that.

  Besides, it’s not like he was outright flirting with me. He was just being a friend, right?

  Eventually, Aidan finally worked up the courage to train with Marge. Something about wanting to learn magic to protect his sister now that she’s finally cured. Not wanting to impose, I declined their invitation to tag along.

  But what was I supposed to do now? Nobody had made any progress in figuring out how or when I could start using magic, and there was still that pesky detail about being immortal. I definitely couldn’t return home unless I found some way to make myself appear as though I was aging.

  But did I even want to return anymore?

  That was the thought that kept me up last night crying. Ever since I got here, all I wanted to do was go home. I worked so hard to try to find any lead I could to unlock my magic and get home.

  But then the entire way I viewed myself changed.

  Not only did I feel like I didn’t fit in in Meridia because I couldn’t properly use magic, but I also wouldn’t fit in at home because I couldn’t properly use magic! My magic hands would betray me!

  And then there’s the complication that I couldn’t age—or at least wouldn’t for several centuries. If I returned home, it would be a burden I had to carry all alone. Even if I did talk to someone about it, they wouldn’t understand, especially if I couldn’t properly use magic. And what if they thought I was some sort of creep? What if they were terrified and hated me?

  Even giving the benefit of the doubt, my life has entirely changed. I wouldn’t feel at home in my old home anymore. I’d feel like some sort of alien living a life of lies. I guess, in a sense, I was an alien on Earth…

  But I still missed them. The selfish, emotional, human part of me longed for familiarity, family, and home. Even if I didn’t belong there anymore — or didn’t ever belong there — it still was and always would be home to me.

  But I didn’t have the luxury of returning, did I? Maybe it’s time I grew up and found a new home. Maybe that home was here, with Aidan, Marge, Finn, and Maverick. That’s right — Maverick would be the one person who would be with me throughout all of this. Maybe getting to know him better wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.

  So, I turned around in the boring, overly plant-filled hallway to look for Maverick. I never saw him around — did that imply that he stayed in his room all day like the stereotypical teenager that he stopped aging at?

  I ended up bumping into him on the way to the elevator.

  “Teach me magic!” I pleaded.

  “Teach me how to stop having magic,” he said sarcastically. “I can’t help you.”

  “Sylvis told you to teach me magic, right? So, that’s your job now! Figure it out!”

  “You’re such a headache.” He pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “I bet Rosalie could teach me faster than you could.” I crossed my arms, hoping he’d fall for the taunt.

  “Rosalie could also kill you faster than I could. But if you’re into that, by all means, go ahead.”

  He really wasn’t interested, was he?

  In the time I tried to think of a way to convince him to help, he had started walking away.

  “Where are you going?” I asked genuinely.

  “Somewhere,” he answered. He was so different from yesterday when he had taken me aside to comfort me. I thought he was actually trying to build a relationship for once. But no, he's back to being a stupid asshole.

  Why was he always like this? Why was he always trying to shut people out? Come to think of it, outside of that day at the cafeteria and the duel, I hadn’t seen him interact with anyone else before… Except for Sylvis, obviously.

  “Can you be more specific?”

  “Can you stop being a busybody?” He mimicked my tone, causing me to roll my eyes.

  “I’m not trying to. I’m just trying to learn more about you. You know, since we’re probably going to see each other a lot?”

  He sighed. “Right. Sometimes I wish I hadn’t brought you here.”

  “Well, so do I.” I crossed my arms. “So either take me back or engage in conversation with me.”

  “How about neither?” He smirked before teleporting away. Ugh! I hate that guy!

  I’m not going to let him get away so easily.

  I stormed all the way to Sylvis’ office. If I couldn’t get him to come out, maybe she could.

  I knocked on the door and was surprised when it automatically opened. I took a hesitant step inside just as Sylvis looked up from the papers she had been looking at on her desk. Her gasp was audible from the doorframe.

  “Elaina! About yesterday—” she began, but I wasn’t interested in continuing that conversation.

  “I’m here about Maverick,” I replied, cutting off what could only have been her apology.

  “Yes?” She raised her eyebrows in surprise, seeming almost taken aback that I had deigned to cut her off.

  “He’s supposed to teach me magic, right? Yet, he seems to be slacking on the job. What’s more, whenever I confront him about this, he runs away! Or makes my life miserable!”

  Her eyes stayed in their widened position a little longer before dropping a bit. She seemed calm, yet her body was still tense. “Are you angry at Maverick?”

  “I’m not angry — I’m just peeved. I mean… Where does he get off treating people the way he does? He never answers any of my questions, he mocks me, and he—”

  “And he’s socially awkward?” Sylvis smiled kindly, finishing my sentence.

  “I guess so.” I bit my lip. That wasn’t what I was going to say, but she wasn’t wrong.

  “You’re right — he doesn’t get along with others. He likes to avoid them and their questions. I assure you, he has his reasons. I know he can be difficult at times but… He’s like a son to me. Try to be patient with him, okay?” She closed her eyes, her radiant smile beckoning obedience.

  She clearly had her favorites. But why wouldn’t she? Maverick and Rosalie had been around the longest, after all.

  Would I eventually become one of her favorites?

  “I just want to talk to him,” I said earnestly. I didn’t want to hate Maverick — I really didn’t — but the jerk made it so hard not to!

  “Maverick,” she called out, though not loud enough for anyone outside the room to hear. I was partially amazed when said person appeared, his eyes momentarily widening when they met mine.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked me in an accusatory tone, completely ignoring Sylvis.

  “I’ll leave you two to kiss and make up.” Sylvis winked at us before teleporting away herself. Yuck.

  “I couldn’t find you, so I had to get some help.” I crossed my arms, hmphing away.

  “You did what?!” he shouted, his eyes widening before immediately narrowing. “Can’t you take a hint, or are you so stupid not only can you not use magic, but you completely misread the room?”

  “I’m not stupid!” I shouted back, my blood boiling. “If you weren’t such a jerk and would listen for two seconds, I wouldn’t have to try to chase you down!”

  He didn’t respond, so I took it as my cue to continue.

  “I hate what we have between us. I don’t want to keep fighting. I don’t want to piss you off. I want you to give me a chance to not piss you off. I know you don’t like talking to others, and I’m not even going to ask if we can be friends. I just want us to get along, not hate each other, and maybe have a conversation every once in a while. Does… Does that sound good to you?”

  He seemed to ease up a bit. "I get where you're coming from, but no. At least, not right now."

  “Why not?!” I was starting to lose my patience.

  “Do you want the actual reason, or would you rather I spare your feelings?”

  Of course I wanted the actual reason. But at the same time… this was Maverick. Not only would he deliver it in the worst possible way, but he’s also someone I’d be forced to interact with until I learn to use magic. Would I be able to stand being around him if I knew how he truly felt about me?

  Was it selfish to want to remain ignorant?

  “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.” I clenched my fists and walked away. I didn’t even have to look back to know he had teleported away.

  Relax, Elaina. The problem is him, not you. You’re not the one who made him this way.

  …I wonder who was.