Allie stared at the unmanned wheel as it slowly spun on its own. If it weren’t for the binds and the spell pinning her to the flakey bus seat, she would have tried to wrest it under her control. Where she would drive herself to was another question entirely.

Civilization was nowhere in sight on the endless desert landscape behind her window. Sun rays licked color back into the the distant mountains as night left for other parts. Allie pressed her hands against the dusty window.

It didn’t budge no matter how hard she pushed it. Not for the first time in her life did Allie curse her lanky physique.

“Reserare.” Her fingers tingled for just a moment but without her wand to channel it, the magic soon dissipated. “Reserare! Reserare!”

Nothing.

Memories of old childhood taunts rose unbidden to her mind.

“Lo-Lo. Lo-Lo.” The slur was almost the one constant she had across her transfers from foster home to foster home.

She pushed the unwanted reminders of her past to the deepest mental pit inside her head. Allie tugged on the blue jumpsuit which had replace her blood-stained leggings and hoodie. Judge Satsori should have at least explained to her what she would be doing during her sentence at Munnins.

Was it a boot camp? She hoped not. Her greatest athletic skill was running at the first sign of a fight. Would she be Stanley Yelnats without a Zero to turn her luck around? Distracted, she nearly missed the tiny sign on the roadside.

“Munnins: Home to Second Chances,” it read.

Seconds later, streetlights began to line the crack-riddled road. The hair on her arms stood on end, a possible sign the bus had passed through a mesmer shield.

High-level wizards could discern everything down to the sex of the spell’s caster by only being near the area the spell affected. Allie had trouble determining whether she had really sensed a mesmer shield or just her nerves.

The bus slowed as the road came to an end next to two women. A mesmer shield within a mesmer shield was something she thought was reserved for the absolute important wizarding locations. Not due to their utility, a single mesmer shield was strong enough to prevent even the most intrepid mortal at bay, but to express the strength behind the location’s protectors.

Allie studied the two woman watching the approaching bus. The older woman’s rat-like eyes and unclipped horns marked her for a troll. Her younger companion looked like a human but it was hard to tell with the curly blonde hair hiding half her face. The fact she lacked wings didn’t mean she wasn’t a fairy. She hovered at the awkward height range between a really short human and a rather tall fairy.

They shared the same hideous jumpsuit though mudstained the other girl’s pant cuffs.

Both boarded the bus once it rolled to a final stop.

“Allie Mincy?” asked the troll woman. Her voice was a throaty whisper compared to the usual rumbling troll voice. It reminded Allie of the old movie stars a half-forgotten foster parent used to mimic.

“Who’s asking?”

“You may call me Dr. Nim. I’m junior director here at Munnins.” She gestured to the blonde girl who was reclining on a nearby seat. “This is Paddy John. For the next three weeks, Paddy will be helping you settle in to Munnins.”

Paddy flashed a peace sign. “Sup.”

“Do you have any questions?”

Of course she had a million and one questions to ask but the woman’s primness unnerved her. Prim people, regardless their species, always had an evil side lurking beneath their too clean surface. Allie raised her bound hands. “Can I get these off?”

A quick fingersnap released Allie’s invisible binds. Her cramped legs ached at the first tentative steps she took out her seat.

“Everything you’ll need at Munnins has already been taken to your sleeping area.”

“What about my old clothes?” asked Allie.

“You may receive them, along with your wand, at graduation.”

She bristled at her sole possessions being kept from her. Common sense prevailed over the biting words forming on her tongue. Eighty long years in an adult penitentiary weighed on her shoulders. Being a mouthy tough girl was like in high school was probably not the path she should take if she wanted to leave Munnins a free woman.

Dr. Vicky cleared her throat. “If there’s nothing else, we must be going. A few formalities have to be cleared up before your have your official first day at Munnins.”

Allie’s foot caught on the bus’s last step as she follow them outside. Her hands failed to catch something to stop her fall and she face planted onto the sandy ground. Paddy’s muffled giggles and Dr. Vicky’s exasperated sigh reached her heated ears.

“Good thing we were already heading to the healer for your physical. ” Paddy offered her a hand but Allie was determined to stand on her own.

“It was just a fall, I’m fine.”

“Let’s keep the accidents to a minimum, ladies. We all know certain members on the Three-One council are jonesing for any opportunity to shut us down.” Dr. Vicky strode forward while her charges straggled a few steps behind.

“So, what are you in for?” whispered Paddy.

“You start.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Paddy stuffed her hands inside her pockets, a slight wind ruffling her blonde ringlets. “Tunneled underneath a bank vault to steal their loot. My intel failed to tell me the bank also stored magical creatures for their highest clients.” She swept the hair over her face aside.

The sight almost made Allie stumble again. Where Paddy’s eyes should have been were angry red scars.

“Dragon fire. I came to at a prison hospital with the head healer telling my lawyer I’d have to use magic to maintain my eyesight for the rest of my life.”

“Jesus.”

She snorted. “Pro-tip, don’t mention that traitor around these parts. We have a few girls who lost ancestors to the witch hunts his stupid book provided excuse for. I never understand why some people even care. Any wizard who got captured Normals must be a brain-dead Lo-Lo. Oh but I repeat myself.”

Dr. Vicky’s annoyed admonishment for them to move faster provided a welcome escape from further conversation. Allie didn’t sense them entering another mesmer shield as they marched onward. She soon found out why.

The ground tapered to a sudden cliff that would be easy to miss if you weren’t watching for it. Below them lay Munnins. Flat dirt paths connected a sandstone longhouse to six buildings arranged in a circle around it. A rooftop garden at the leftmost building was the only color amongst the entire lot.

“Watch your step,” counseled Dr. Nims. She stood very close to Allie while they descended the steep steps to the ground below.

Allie used her sleeve to clean her sand dusted face. “Where is everyone?”

“Class. Here at Munnins we believe in a holistic reform method. Your time here will be spent half learning about yourselves and half learning how to reintegrate into society.”

“She means getting a job,” whispered Paddy.

The smell of food wafting to Allie’s nose aroused her stomach to an angry roar. Her last meal was a hoagie she pinched before her disastrous carjacking. Paddy patted her on the shoulder.

“I’ll be taking you to the mess after we’re done here then the tour! Let me tell you, the halls’ interiors are twice as beautiful as their outsides.”

Paddy’s earlier comments prevented Allie from laughing at her exaggerated excitement. Why was there nowhere she she could escape her low level status?

Dr. Nims directed them to the nearest building. Paddy was right if you multiplied their beauty by zero. Their shoes squeaked on the cheap linoleum floor, the lights flickering on off at random moments. Low chattering could be heard through the thin wooden doors. A girl scurried past them with a curt hello to Paddy.

“Are there any boys in this school?” she whispered to Paddy.

“Nope. Rumours are it's because our dear old director is a perv who made being a girl a requirement to get in.”

“Ms. John,” snapped Dr. Nims. “I would remind you not to scare new students with baseless gossip. Should I request a new student to guide Ms. Mincy?”

“I’m sorry ma’am. I wouldn’t do it again.” She wiggled her eyes at Allie the second Dr. Nims wasn’t looking.

“As to your question Allie, no judge has sought fit to send a boy our way yet. Young men do tend to suffer harsher sentences than young women for similar crimes so our dearth should be expected. Make no mistake though that we welcome every gender here at Munnins.”

“Quite, quite,” agreed Paddy.

Dr. Nims shot Paddy a threatening look then opened the only door to have a frosted glass window on it. A dark-skinned man stopped drawing a circle on his desk. His opaque wings twitched at the newcomers entrance.

“Lost your keys again have you Haddad?”

“To my eternal embarrassment Dr. Nim. Beatrice is waiting the examination room for the new student. I have the paperwork ready to be signed after they’re done.”

“Paperwork?”

“Mhmm.” Dr. Nim checked her watch. “We can go over the details later.” She pointed to the narrow sliding door tucked away in the farthest corner. “Hop to it.”

“See in like five minutes,” said Paddy, waving.

A woman hunched on her knees was what greeted Allie’s sight. Pretty rainbow headscarves half-covered her wispy afro. She was much too tall to be a fairy and the white rimming her large brown eyes made it clear she wasn’t a troll. Her attention was focused on the small black beetle trying to escape her fingers.

“Hello? Beatrice?”

The woman dumped the beetle into the cauldron-shaped trash can. “Remove your clothes.”

Allie instead took a step back. “What are you going to do to me?”

“Physical since the Low Wizard Court is too lazy to have it done whilst you were in their custody.” The woman got to her feet. “Fo.”

Storm clouds appeared above the woman’s opened pals, their rain mixed with soap. “I said strip.”

Despite her misgivings, Allie followed the woman’s command. The waxy paper clung to her bare bottom as she settled on the hospital bed.

Orange gloves went over the woman’s freshly washed hands. She pulled a thick file out a drawer in the wall. “It says here you’re a Lo-Lo.”

“Yeah,” she sighed.

“How did you manage to get yourself in here? I thought most Lo-Lo’s stuck to using Normal methods to live their lives.”

“Can we just start the physical.” She wilted a bit under the woman’s severe gaze. “Please.”

“‘kay bossy.”

“You aren’t going to tell anyone else are you?”

“I would lose my job if I went around spilling patient medical information willy-nilly. So would the few staffers who know about this.”

Allie’s heart jumped into her throat. “Who else knows?”

“The Director. I think also the head teacher, Mrs. Chuy.”

Her weakness being largely unknown turned wheels in Allie’s head. Was there a chance she could avoid the fate she met at every school she had ever attended? “Will we be doing magic in any classes?”

“Yes, for the career skills classes. Well most. The Library Science course never goes beyond simple spells to locate books, arrange stacks, etc. Hold still.” The healer summoned a glowing circle.

Instinctively, Allie held her breath while the circle phased through her skin. She avoided the big gasp her lungs wanted so the healer wouldn’t notice her unnecessary act. Beatrice scrutinized the circle’s front.

“Good. We’re done after I check your hair for lice. Freakish buggers infested the school last month and I refuse to let it happen again. You’d think someone would have figured out why they’re immune to magic already.”

Allie submitted to the woman’s sharp prodding lice comb though the comb’s teeth caught on her many knots. She winced at the stray red strands collecting on the floor below.

“Did old Beatrice run you ragged?” asked Paddy as Allie returned to the main room.

She shook her head then searched the room puzzled. “Where’s Dr.Nims?”

“Junior Director Nims was called away to handle an emergency issue. She told me to tell you sorry for the inconvenience,” replied Haddad. Coke bottle thick glasses now rested on his crooked nose, the circle he’d been drawing gone. He beckoned her to his come to his desk.

“Fill the red tape out quick so we can breakfast.”

“I need to read it first.” Allie scanned the three papers presented to her. They were the standard consent forms she’d had forge parental signature to attend field trips.

Paddy whooped the second Allie signed the final paper. “Who wants eggs? I want eggs. Whose getting eggs? I’m getting eggs.”

Haddad waved goodbye while Paddy pushed Allie back into the hallway. Allie scanned the deserted corridor.

“Are we allowed to just walk around unsupervised?”

“Basically. There are three rules to follow in Munnins. 1. Steal someone else’s shit at your own peril. 2. Don’t rat someone out. 3. Don’t ever, I mean ever, cause a scene. Munnins is leagues better than where we were all heading.You fuck around, you on your own. Got it?”

“Got it.”

They left the building to head to the one directly across from it. Paddy jerked a thumb towards the longhouse as they passed it. “That’s where you’ll be sleeping tonight. Ain’t no privacy but the beds are soft enough.”

Loud screams coming from the longhouse caused both girls to stop in their tracks. They turned to see a troll girl fleeing the house. Dr.Nims, two male fairies dressed in guard uniforms, and a strange pudgy human man exited after her.

“It wasn’t me,” the troll girl screamed. “It was Carleese. I swear it was Carleese who did it.” The fairies proved her attempt to flee futile. Her hands became trapped to each other at the same moment her feet did so. She collapsed on the dirt path crying.

“Should we do something?”

Paddy shook her head. “You see the dude next to Dr.Nims? He’s the director. The guy who owns this whole shebang. There’s nothing you could do without getting in trouble too. Come on, I don’t want to see this anymore.”

Allie risked a probing glance at the man. Except for his awful bowl cut hair, he didn’t seem all that remarkable. She wondered if he was mixed like she was or had the sun just baked his poor skin to its light brown crisp. “Is the rumor you mentioned about him earlier ”

“Heck, no. I was only trying to scare you.” Paddy pulled Allie close once they were a good distance away from the crying scene.

“What?”

“The halls are bugged with listening spells. I want you to listen close because I will not repeat myself. Everyone has a hustle here and I mean everyone. For the most part we play nice. Unless you edge onto someone else’s turf. I like you Allie, you seem like a nice kid, so I want you to think really hard when an offer comes your way. The wrong choice turns you to a patsy like that girl.”

“Aren’t we supposed to be turning a new leaf?”

Paddy’s rough laughter scalded Allie’s ears. She hated people treating her like she was naive.

“Well, then let me into your crew.”

“I run solo babe.” She hooked her arm to Allie's. “You ready for eggs!”