Chapter 2

For a moment, Julia acts in total sync with the living room crowd. All of them turn to the door to see four guys standing in the doorway. She doesn't know any of them. The two are identical copies of each other, grey eyes, brown hair, pale faces. The other two are complete opposites, a short red-head guy reminding a badger a little bit, and his enormously tall companion, looking at him reproachfully. Obviously, the short one was the one that didn't like the band.

"He stole my line," Julia says, amused. The short guy smiles at her appreciatively. Peter looks confused and embarrassed but uncharacteristically not hostile, which means he knows who the guy and his friends are.

"What's wrong with Beavers?" Peter asks, obviously insulted.

"I don't know how you can listen to them without your ears bleeding," the short guy says bluntly. His tall friend puts a hand on his shoulder.

"We didn't mean to interrupt your fun," he says a bit shyly. The other three, however, do not look even slightly embarrassed, they seem to be used to attention. All eyes are on new guests, obviously, they are big news everyone except Julia is aware of. Mandy hurries to do her duty as a hostess.

"Oh, it's nothing!" she says to all four, standing up and approaching them. "I'm so glad you came! Everyone, meet Nate, Kim, Jatan, and Dodie. They start Cheller on Monday."

"Thanks for inviting us, Mandy," Nate, one of the twins says. Kim supports his brother's words with a nod.

"Dodie?"

"It's gnome's name."

"But you are-"

"I'm freakishly tall by gnome's standards," Dodie shrugs. He seems to be used to the question too. No sign of any discomfort.

New guys become the centre of gravity in the living room pretty quickly. They get surrounded as everyone seems to be willing to talk to them, which makes Julia wonder who they are. She did not hear anything about new students, probably because she was excluded from the Cheller Academy gossip for a while now, or maybe she just did not pay enough attention. She was too concentrated on her own life, she had somehow made it through the year without too much of casualties. For a second, she thinks about carefully pulling information from someone but decides against it. Her interest would inevitably be interpreted in the worst way possible. She knows her position too well. Any word Julia says is going to be used against her, especially a word about the boys. She doesn't need to throw gasoline in a fire, it is bad enough. The thought makes her angry. This is what they did to her. She has to keep every impulse, every little desire in check, like having them means something perverse and ill-intended. Julia was going to be brave tonight, damn it! Still, she doesn't find any strength in herself to come to someone, the talk with Mandy stole all her energy. And what would be the use of knowing something about these guys If they only would join the army of people who hate her in no time?

At least, they got the fire away from her, she can be grateful for that. It gives her a time-out, a moment to recharge. Mandy offers the new boys a house tour and they accept it gladly. Most of the crowd follows them leaving the living room empty. Julia sits on the couch, not knowing what to do. It feels so strange to be the pariah in the very same place she spent so many hours after school, gossiping and laughing. This room always seemed so welcoming and friendly. It was a whole world. Now Julia is pushed out of this world and she seriously considers leaving. She got what she wanted, didn't she? It doesn't matter it took all of her courage and self-control to do that. Julia gives a quick glance around, her gaze falls on the old clock on the wall. The clock is ancient, it has been there since Julia's first coming over to Mandy's house. There are letters here, carved by old nails, Julia and Mandy wanted to do it in an old-fashioned non-magic way, it felt more real. M + J = bff it says. How come Mandy didn't just throw the damn clock away? Her mother probably wouldn't let her, that's why. The clock costs a fortune. The girls got in so much trouble after Linz, Mandy's mother, found out it was vandalized but still she didn't fix it or wipe out the letters by the spell. Julia feels her eyes sting with tears. Damn it. Now she really needs to go. Julia rises from the couch, gets her coat and goes to the porch.

"Leaving already?" she hears the voice behind her. Julia turns around and sees Dodie. Julia's heart starts beating faster from fear. What does he want?

"Um-yes," she says, desperately trying to sound calm and collected. "I have to go."

"Pity," he says. Julia raises her brows. She realizes she is staring at him. It's probably rude but she keeps looking. "I hoped to find a kindred spirit. You're the Beavers critic too, right?"

"Guilty," she says. Some of the tension leaves her body. She keeps searching for the signs of the threat but is unable to find any.

"I'd rather call it virtue than a sin," he says with a broad smile. There is an ache in her chest when she sees that smile.

"Well, by local standards it's a crime." This is not actually true, some of today's crowd are known for their music taste but Julia is too irritated with them to give them credit. She feels a weird need to be arrogant, to feel above anyone else, a year of exile would do that to a person. It's more of a survival tactic nowadays, even if following it she deserves the title of arrogant bitch. Dodie, however, doesn't seem to think less of her because of it, he just smiles.

"We'll work on that," the way he says that makes Julia feel envious. "Make this lot to listen to something cooler. Do you have any suggestions?"

"How about Blood Lust?" she asks. Dodie whistles in excitement and nods. "What about you?"

"Scranchers." It's her turn to be excited. To this day, Mandy is the only one to share her love for this band. They used to lock themselves in a room and listen to it for hours during their sleepovers. When Julia lost Mandy, she lost that part of their friendship as well. For a moment she and Dodie look each other in the eyes, broad silly smiles on their faces. Then, the magic is interrupted.

"Dodie," Nate and Kim come to them. "We agreed to leave no man behind."

"Traitor," Jatan adds, coming from the other side. "We have to stick together, back each other up."

Something changes in the air once all of them approach. Julia looks at one of the twins' faces and hurries to hide her eyes, feeling her cheeks go red. He has pretty eyes. Both of them do. And Kim seems very aware of the effect his eyes have on girls. Julia catches a small amused grin. His brother's gaze seems kinder, safer and Julia concentrates on him instead.

"You seemed to enjoy yourselves," Dodie rolls his eyes. "What with your ardent admirers."

"We were just being polite," Jatan says. "As you should be."

"I am a gnome, what do I know about politeness?" Three of his friends simultaneously roll their eyes.

"Dodie is a little bit sensitive about the whole gnome thing," Kim says answering to Julia's questioning look.

"About the prejudice over the whole gnome thing," Dodie corrects him.

"As if gnomes are the only ones who deal with those," Kim says.

"I second the stereotype about gnome's politeness though," Nate says. "Wouldn't hurt if you introduced us."

Dodie looks at Julia hesitantly.

"I-um, I didn't ask the name."

"Typical," Nate says with a condescending smile. "He talks to the hottest girl in the room and he doesn't even know who she is."

"I'm Julia." She feels anxious. It's been so long since anyone paid this kind of attention to her. Friendly, interested, curious. Julia is so used to the hostility that for a moment she thinks that the "hottest girl" can be a form of disguised mocking. It doesn't seem so. Nate looks at her and his face is open, calm. There is no predatory watching the victim expression she saw in her classmates' eyes so often.

"Very pleased to meet you," Nate nods. Kim and Jatan nod in agreement. Julia smiles. There is a tiniest, elusive pause, as if they expect something from her but she doesn't know what it is. It goes away almost as quickly as it appears, only Kim doesn't manage to control his puzzled expression a few seconds longer.

"How did you like the tour?" Julia asks. They don't seem too impressed but the response is polite nonetheless.

"A lot. You guys are so friendly. It's unusual. Our school was all about cliques."

"Cheller is good at keeping bad stuff under the rug," Julia says.

"Straightforward," Nate chuckles.

"That's not how they call it here."

"How do they call it then?"

"Bitter," Julia says. She realizes she is crossing some line here. Throwing cynical comments at strangers is not a way to be well-liked but she was alone for such a long time and the bitchy side of her nature just begs to be released. However, her new acquaintances do not seem to mind.

"It's actually refreshing," Nate says. "If it were a bit more bitter people here, I would feel more like home."

"Give it time," Julia shrugs. "We know how to greet our guests. You'll get to enjoy the real picture on Monday."

"Can't wait," Kim says. "Otherwise, it would be boring. I heard a lot about Cheller and none of it was actually inspiring."

"I suppose you hear this a lot lately but where are you guys from?" Julia asks.

"Gata," Dodie says. They watch the change of her expression with amused smiles, "What, all of you?"

"Guilty," Dodie echoes her previous words. Julia tries to control her face but judging by the looks the new boys give her, she does not succeed. No wonder everyone was so curious about them. Gata is like an entirely different planet.

"I'm sorry," she says. "You must be tired from this reaction. I'm just really surprised."

Cheller Academy is considered the best school of magic in the country. It is an honour to send your kids here. It gives kids a brilliant education, teaches everything there is to know about magic. A simple kid from the street that doesn't know a single spell, comes out of a school a wizard. That was the Academy's goal since 1836, when Adaharia Onney, the High Sorceress at the time, decided to finish endless wars between the magicians and ordinary people and proclaimed all people should be taught the art of magic, not just those who were born in a wizard family. That was a real revolution. Before, the wizards' family stated that people without witches or sorcerers for ancestors simply do not have magic in their blood. The spells would be useless for them, wizards stated. Turned out that was a lie. The magic was just there and everyone could use it, no matter what family they came from. It only took a few centuries of endless bloodshed to reveal this fact. Probably, this neverending mess inspired Adaharia to do something in the first place. Magic was the constant source of the conflict. Ordinary people were jealous but the magicians were to blame as well and the cases of them abusing their power were widely known. The magicians were more powerful but often were outnumbered so each side brought their share into senseless murders and violence. High Sorcerer Onney put an end to this and shortly after, Cheller Academy, opened its doors for all students, going down in history as the first school that allowed ordinary kids to learn magic. Now all of them are ordinary here. All of them are wizards. Still, all of them are just people who learned how to use spells and potions. Gata School is different. It is a school for magical creatures.

"That's okay," Kim says. "It's understandable."

"I don't think one of ours ever went to school with humans. Your lot is very excited about it." Kim says and Julia detects arrogant notes in his voice.

"I take it that yours is not that impressed?" she asks. Whatever their lot is. Kim chuckles but gives her a curious look.

"Disappointed. Desperate. Depressed," he says.

He is right though. Cheller Academy has never accepted magical creatures before. Not just one, four at once. Julia feels there must be a delicious gossip behind all of this but prying in that right away seems inappropriate. Instead, she says: "Would it be rude if I'd ask which-"

"Not at all," Natу says quickly and starts mumbling in a boring voice as if he wants to end the formalities as fast as possible. "You already know that Dodie is a gnome. Kim and I are fox shapeshifters and Jatan is a-"

"Ghosty," a voice near Julia says and she jumps up in surprise. For how long was he standing near her? She almost forgot about him in the course of the conversation. It's like he became invisible. Not like, she says to herself in irritation, he did become invisible. He's a ghosty. It's what they do. Julia looks at Jatan's face and sees the expression she recognizes immediately. There is a doom in his look and a bit of a challenge as if he dares Julia to do her worst. She immediately feels upset about her stupidity. She should've played cool but she doesn't know how to do that. Julia has never seen a ghosty before. They are quite rare even for magical creature standards.

"Speaking of typical reactions," Jatan says a bit sadly, "I strongly encourage you not to check the level of my density."

"Does this happen a lot?" Julia asks with her eyes wide.

"About ten times just in this particular party. I don't know what is wrong with these people."

"I'm sorry," Julia says. "That must be awful."

Jatan just shrugs and leans to her chair.

"So why are you not enjoying the party with the rest of the crowd?" Dodie asks.

"I thought we covered it," Julia says lightly. "Our music preferences do not coincide."

"You only come to parties for music, huh?" Nate asks.

"No. I happen to enjoy the spirit of unity as well. It just seems nowhere to be found today. What's your excuse?"

"Er, too much of the spirit of unity?" Dodie offers.

"It's like we're having two different parties," Nate chuckles.

"I think we are."

"I'm with Julia here. This party is a shit show. The drinks are great though," Jatan says, reminding of his existence again. This time Julia manages to notice the quickest transition. The lines of his body appear in the air, vague at first, but they come more and more clear every second. Finally, all of him is visible as if he never disappeared in the first place. Nate rolls his eyes and winks at Julia, pointing at Dodie. Kim smiles as he anticipates something. For a moment, Julia allows herself to be completely fascinated by their mischievous grins.

"You call that a good drink?" Dodie spats. "My father would give it to pigs."

"Yeah, but you're not in a king's palace anymore, buddy."

"You should try gnome's beer," Dodie says to Julia. "I'll ask my father to send me."

"Your father will send you beer?" Julia frowns. It's not like Cheller parents are prudish or something. The party they are at is held with Mandy's parents and school blessing and they are aware of the alcohol. Still, there are precautions. There are spells that kick out minors from the party. Thankfully, most of their class are eighteen now but in previous years she and Mandy went out of their way to sneak into an "adult" party. Most of those missions were unsuccessful. It is hard for Julia to imagine her or Mandy's parents providing a party with alcohol on a request.

"His daddy can't deny his little prince anything," Kim says. "Their ways are not your ways. Gnomes," he says condescendingly.

"What are you saying about the gnomes?" Dodie flares up immediately. "What are you saying about my father?"

"Nothing," Kim laughs and in this moment, he inexplicably looks like Mandy.

"Just say it, fox! I want to know what you think!" Dodie stands up from his chair, his fists clenched. Twins are choking with laughter. Dodie's red face and short figure do not have any intimidating effect. At least, Julia doesn't feel the wariness that usually comes across when she is around guys having a fight. Gnome's wrath seems comical rather than scary and the fox-twins are only amused at him. There is a pale smile on Jatan's lips, he seems interested in the spat enough not to disappear. Still, Julia can't make herself laugh. There is something wrong with it, the interest in Kim's eyes reminds her of classmates too much. But then he looks at her and smiles. A kind, apologetic smile, a softness she hadn't seen in months, and Julia can't help but smile back.

"He's always like that," Kim says in a confidential tone. "You don't even have to imply anything bad. Just say anything about gnomes at all and watch him dance."

"But-" she protests weakly.

"I didn't say anything bad, did I?" Kim says. Julia is still unsure how to react. He smiles at her. She stills, watching the grey eyes. It's hypnotising.

"You could have thought it!" Dodie yells. His fury makes him jump a little and this time Julia can't help but laugh with everyone else. It's adorable. Twins and Jatan give Dodie fond looks.

"I only have room for good thought on gnomes in my mind, pal," Kim says. "You know that."

"Well, you have a weird way of showing it," the gnome boy mumbles, sulking but he seems to be cooling off quickly. This probably happens a lot, Julia thinks. It's a game they play with each other. Something between friends. She was denied friendship for so long that she almost forgot what it looked like.

"That's foxes for you," Dodie says turning to Julia. "They'll push your buttons just for fun."

"Well, you should hide your button better, my friend," Nate says. "Don't give your neck if you know you'll get bitten."

"Unless you enjoy getting bitten," Jatan says snarkily. "Which I suspect you do."

"I think the four of you will fit in just fine," Julia says.

"We never doubted we would," Jatan says.

"Our primary concern was that we would die of boredom," Kim adds.

"Well, I'm afraid you're right about that," Julia says. "Cheller has this academic approach about the magic, it's not for everyone."

"Academic?" Nate asks.

"Yes. You see, before letting us do any spell, we learn anything there is to know about it. Who invented it, all the side effects it had, all the small changes other magicians added to it. We learn all the legal restrictions about it, all failures and consequences. We are not allowed to use magic for anything except assignments during school time."

"I am already bored," Kim yawns. "Can't they just teach you like normal schools do?"

"It pays off," Julia shrugs. "Wizards from Cheller are the best."

"But don't you want to have more real magic?"

"Sometimes," Julia admits. "When I was accepted, I thought magic would be more fun than that. Now it seems a little dull."

"And what do you do when you want to have a little fun?" Nate asks.

"Nothing," Julia shrugs. They are clearly disappointed.

"You don't strike me as goodie-two-shoes type," Nate says.

"I'm not just talking about me, there is no way to break the rules and stay in school. And your parents get a lawsuit from school for not watching you better. The fine is enormous."

"And I thought our headmaster was crazy. Why would anyone want to study here?"

"As I said, they are the best school," Julia shrugs. Jatan gives her a long hard look.

"You know," he says slowly in his deep voice. "I think you know too well about all the terrible punishment they give. You must have tried something."

Julia turns red. Shit. She forgot about cautiousness, their sudden friendliness and interest be damned. They actually listened. She almost forgot what it's like to be listened to. It shouldn't be a big deal, someone will tell them about her eventually but she hopes to delay this moment as far as possible. Silly enough, she feels like a Cinderella on a ball. An evil stepmother backs off for a while and she gets to enjoy herself for a moment.

"I'm not much of a rule-breaker," she says nonchalantly.

Of course, she knows what happens to those who go against the Academy's laws. Last term her mother used to repeat it so often that Julia learned the drill by heart.

"Dodie, you hit on the wrong girl," Kim says and suddenly Julia feels guilty for not meeting his expectations.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Jatan looks at her as if he knows what is happening in Julia's confused mind, and smiles.

"Seriously, my biggest crime is reading Kina Koluna," Julia says. "And it's not even in the ban list, just in "Read with caution" one."

"Ban list? Seriously?"

"What? Some books are dangerous."

"And Kina Koluna is something you're supposed to read with caution here?" Jatan asks incredulously.

"I suppose, they think some of his statements are a bit controversial," Julia says. "What with draining the werewolf till the last drop of blood and everything. They think he's a bad influence."

"Yeah, if you're five or a complete imbecile. The man had a reason to be mad after a massacre he witnessed. Who doesn't get it? What do they think you are? A bunch of idiots?" Jatan says.

"Not you. We," Julia corrects him. "May I remind you that you're one of us now?"

"Hopefully not for long," Kim says.

"You're not trying to get yourself expelled on purpose are you?" she asks.

"Let's just say, once we sort out everything that needs to be sorted out, we'll be back home."

They clearly do not want to elaborate on the topic any further and Julia leaves it at that. She would not want them to pry into her personal business either. It's just good to have a simple polite small talk and she decides to keep it that way.

"So party tricks are off limits too, I suppose?" Nate asks. Julia nods.

"Mostly. Except for small things like this," Julia reaches her hand forward, concentrates and makes a flower grow in her hand.

"Pretty but dull," Kim states. "Why don't you surprise us with something more fun?"

"She just told you it's forbidden," Dodie interferes.

"Come on," Kim smiles. "Impress the boy."

He looks her in the eyes again and Julia feels trapped. That damn face. That smile. Julia feels the need to come closer. She tries to shake it off and not stare at him like an idiot. What is happening to her? She wants to impress him so badly. Julia raises her hand in front of her not even knowing what she is going to do, what spell to use but suddenly something clicks in Julia's head. It's not real. She never falls for the boy so quickly. The lure is clearly magical. Julia goes cold inside. The irony of it. What did they do? Love potion? She didn't drink anything. Kim looks at her impatiently as Julia makes herself think. Potion work differently. It wouldn't leave her room for self-control but she has some. What then? A spell? But what kind of spell? Thinking is hard. She doesn't want to lose track of Kim's face for a minute. She wants to observe every little change. His vivid grey eyes with a mischievous look, the pale skin, the lines of his face. Kim says something and she doesn't even register his words. What spell? What spell?

Suddenly, someone grabs her elbow and drags her out of the chair.