And now it’s my first day at Enchantment City High School. After my mom drops me off, I enter the band hall, which thanks to boot camp is about the only part of this school that’s already familiar to me. I look around for a flash of blonde hair, but I don’t see her. So I take the time to put up my instrument.

As I put my combination lock back on, I see Mr. Castro, the band director, approaching from my right. He’s a bald, black man who always walks with a spring in his step.

“Good morning Ashley,” he says to me, with a slight bow.

“Mornin’,” I say. He’s probably the only person in the world right now who’s really happy that today is the first day of school. Still, I don’t mind him. From what I’ve seen so far, he’s competent.

Then, I see someone else approaching, who happens to be Anja. Big ol’ glasses, medium length brown hair, and an inexplicable smirk. Though she is in the year above me, you’d be forgiven for thinking she was actually younger; I tower over her by several inches, and her stature is tiny.

“Isn’t that a trumpet? What are you doing with that?” she asks me.

“Jazz band,” I say.

“Well, aren’t you a big shot,” she says, and even though it’s true she says it in a sarcastic tone of voice. “Show me your schedule,” she says abruptly, pulling out her own, which had been folded up in her pocket.

“Aren’t you a sophomore?” I ask. “We’re probably not going to have any classes together.”

“I know,” she says, “I just wanna see if we have lunch together.”

I set my backpack down on a nearby chair and fish out the folder my schedule is in.

“Awh hell yeah,” she says, “We do have the same lunch! I’m gonna go check Nova’s,” she says, right before suddenly running off.

I spend a few seconds wondering who or what Nova is before my attention is drawn to the one person who I actually did want to talk to this morning.

There’s Zoe, who had just walked into the band hall and was being greeted by some preppy girl. She’s got floofy blonde hair and blue eyes. She’s a bit shorter than me, but not as much as Anja, and with a bit more body. Today, she’s wearing a frilled light blue shirt, with sleeves that flutter and hang halfway down her upper arms, and a pair of close-fitting dark blue jeans.

I make my way for her just as that other girl fucks off, and she waves at me and gives me that sweet, genuine smile of hers.

“How’s it going?” I ask.

“Good!” she says. “Do you know where our first class is?”

We already compared schedules yesterday during church, and we both have first period English together.

“Guess we’ll have to find out,” I say. And so we take off to do just that.

----------------------------------------

Three classes and a band rehearsal later, we’re sitting down for lunch.

“What did you think of Ms. Truman?” Zoe asks, Ms. Truman being our new English teacher. “She seems nice.”

“Eh, I don’t really like her,” I say.

Zoe looks surprised. “Really? Why?”

“Something about her seems off to me,” I explain. “It’s like she’s a little too happy to see us.”

Then, someone sits down at the table right across from us. Oh yeah, Anja is in this lunch period. I had forgotten about that.

“Hey there Ash,” she says to me. Then, she sees Zoe and extends a hand out to her in greeting. “My name’s Anja. I’m in marching band with her.”

I glance over to Zoe’s face for a hint that she’s annoyed with the sudden interruption, but Zoe is receiving her warmly and shakes her hand. “Nice to meet you!” she says. “I’m Zoe. You’re in the trombone section, right?”

“Sure am,” she says. “I’m… uh…” she suddenly looks at us with a confused look. “I was trying to think of a trombone-related pun, but I couldn’t come up with anything in time.”

Zoe giggles at her. “I’m in the saxophone section,” she says. “Though my main, uh, my primary instrument is bassoon.”

“Ah, yet another multi-instrumena… instruma… mul-ti-in-stru-men-ta-list ,” she says. She grins, and gives me a knowing look that annoys me for some reason.

Then, someone else sits down next to her. It’s a brown boy about Zoe’s height who looks like his hair has never been brushed before. I guess that’ll be Nova.

“Oh, h-hello there!” Zoe says. She’s trying so hard to be friendly, but her confusion at the sudden visitors is starting to show a little bit, as she seems more nervous than before.

“Hey,” Nova says without looking at her.

“This is Nova,” Anja says, gesturing at him. “He’s one of my trombone pals. Nova, this is Ashley and… Zoe, right?”

Zoe waves cheerily at him. He’s still not looking at us and is instead reaching down to his backpack for something. I notice that he doesn’t actually have a lunch tray.

“So, Nova, what’s your story?” I ask him.

“What’s my story?” he asks. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, what brings you here?”

“Oh.” He jerks his head at Anja. “She said I could sit with her.”

Anja smiles at me. “Yes, that’s true.”

He pulls something out of his backpack which looks a lot like that Nintendo DS I used to have, except a bit blockier. Must be a new model or something. Without saying another word, he starts playing it. Definitely not the social type, it seems.

“So, um, what do you guys think of your first day?” Zoe asks, nervously trying to steer the conversation back on track. “Any teachers you like?”

“Yeah,” Anja says, “My chemistry teacher literally dresses like and acts like a cowboy.”

A cowboy… for some reason, this stirs something in my memory.

Oh yeah, I remember what it is. All that weird shit from last night, with the armadillo. That actually happened, didn’t it. I guess I’m going to have to deal with that sooner or later.

Just to make sure that it wasn’t a fever dream, I take my phone out of my pocket, all the while Zoe is saying something about her French teacher that I don’t quite catch. I unlock it, and sure enough, there’s that fucking app. It really is quite an eyesore.

Something must have been showing on my face, because I can see Anja curiously leaning over to see what I’m looking at. Shit.

“Hey, what’s that?” Anja asks.

I instinctively yank it down and out of sight, which may not have been the best move because she’s now glaring at me suspiciously.

“It’s a smart phone, Anja,” I say. “They’re quite popular these days.”

“No, I mean that weird-“

I cut her off before she says anything else. “It’s none of your fucking business, okay?” I tell her in a low voice. “What’s on my phone is private. Learn some manners,” I continue, barely resisting the urge to adorn the last part with a choice insult.

Anja blushes slightly, looking mollified. Thankfully, she makes the wise choice to drop it after that.

 “Aren’t you a sophomore?” Zoe asks Anja, covering up the awkward moment. “Do you expect your classes this semester to be difficult?”

“Uh… yeah, I’m sure it’s going to be all the usual shit,” Anja replies, seizing the opportunity to get the conversation back on track. “I just can’t wait until my senior year when I take US Government.” Anja continues.

“Ah, you interested in that type of stuff?” I ask.

“Yeah. It’s actually somewhat of a family thing for me.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah. You see… my mother was Ellen Beatty.”

Oh wow. That’s really interesting.

For background, Ellen Beatty was the Democratic nominee for governor in 2006. She ran against the incumbent Richard Schneider, who was elected in 2002 after upsetting Perry in the primaries. I was really young at the time and still living in California, so I don’t really remember it. But I do know that apparently it was actually a competitive race for once due to Schneider being unpopular. But then, a month before the election, Beatty suddenly died of medical complications, despite being very young at the time. Schneider kinda won by default, and has been in office ever since, which makes him the longest-serving governor in Texas’s history. He hasn’t had to deal with any seriously contested elections since then.

Zoe gasps, seemingly also recognizing the name. “You mean… the one who ran for governor?” She asks.

Anja nods solemnly. “Nearly turned Texas blue again, she did. And now, that probably isn’t going to happen for a very long time…” Anja sighed wistfully.

“You’re an odd breed around these parts, Anja,” I comment.

“Yeah,” Anja says, “Wish I could have grown up in California.”

“Uh, no you don’t,” I assure her. “The dumbasses who run that state have no clue how to manage the economy. There’s a reason why we moved here, you know.”

She gives me a suspicious glare for a few seconds… But then, she relaxes a bit and asks, “Out of curiosity, what do you parents do for a living?”

“Musicians, both of them,” I say.

“Ah, that does explain a lot about you,” she says, which I take as a compliment. “My dad’s a psychiatrist. That’s unusual, though; you make it sound like your parents lean Republican, but I’m pretty sure most people in the arts are liberal.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“That’s true, fine arts people do by a huge margin,” I agree. “But no demographic of people is monolithic, even though media outlets try to make it seem that way.”

“So, why did they come here, then?” Anja asks.

“Why wouldn’t they, is the better question,” I say. “Lower taxes and lower cost of living; a lot of businesses operate out of the state for a reason. Not to mention that Austin has a strong live music scene. We are also within driving distance of San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas, presenting more gig opportunities; and we can even make it to New Orleans and Kansas City for overnight trips.”

“Wow, you’ve been to New Orleans?” Anja asks, suddenly looking more cheerful.

“Yes, I’ve gone with them there a few times.”

“Uh… anyway,” Anja says, bringing back her intense gaze. “If you ask me, there are far more important things than how well the economy is doing. For example, I think it’s extremely important that we take care of those living in poverty.”

“The poor get helped too when the economy is doing well!” I retort. “My family was struggling to get by before. It’s only since we came here that we’ve become an actual middle-class family. Everyone is a part of the economy.”

“But nowadays, most of the growth goes towards making the rich richer,” Anja replies. “So is economic growth really a good way to measure how well the needy are doing?”

I sigh. “It was never supposed to work that way,” I explain. “Economic growth should go to the working class. That’s how the competitive spirit of capitalism sustains itself. The new capital can go towards starting new businesses, which makes it so the already big businesses can’t get too fat and happy. But yes, recently it hasn’t been working as it should, because the large corporations in power have used government policy as a weapon to suppress competition.”

“Yes! Now you’re speaking my language!” Anja agrees excitedly. “We need to get corporate money out of our government. No arguments there.”

“But think about it on another level. With the system in place as it is, large corporations have the jump on any changes to regulations or tax policy. They use their expert advisors in public policy to evade these policies, while small businesses are crushed by mountains of red tape. This encourages the constant buyouts, mergers, and consolidation that we see today. That is how big government economic policy often has the opposite effect that is intended.”

“But it would work if we got rid of the corruption!” Anja argues.

“Aren’t you listening? It doesn’t matter what the intention behind the policies is. They don’t work.”

“So what? Is your solution to just remove all regulations? Do we not need laws to ensure workplace safety or environmental protection?”

“I never said that!” I growl, getting irritated with her attitude. “That’s a straw man argument, Anja. You’re trying to make me sound like an anarchist or something.”

“But that’s just what the Republicans in Congress want to do. They’re trying to get rid of all the regulations that they can, no matter how useful they are.”

“Well, how is that my fault? I don’t want that. I think we need some regulations. We just have too many of them right now.”

“Hmm.” Anja narrows her eyes, as if surveying me intensely. “You’re all over the place with this stuff, Ashley. What would you consider your partisan affiliation to be?”

“How can I have one? I’m not even old enough to vote.”

“You know what I mean. Which side do you lean more towards?”

“Do I have to pick one?”

“Hmm. I suppose not.” She turns to Zoe, who has a slightly dazed look on her face. I get the impression that she lost track of the conversation a while ago. “What about you, Zoe?” Anja asks.

“Um… I don’t know much of anything,” she says nervously. “I haven’t thought about any of this stuff yet.”

“Well, you still have time,” Anja says. “What about your folks?”

“Um, they’re Republicans,” she says.

“Ah. Outnumbered, I see,” Anja laments. “Unless… Nova can help me out here?”

“Huh? Did someone say my name?” Nova asks, looking up from his DS.

“Who do your parents usually vote for?” Anja asks him.

“Oh, Dad doesn’t even bother,” he says. “He says that politicians don’t give a rat’s ass about any of us.”

“Hmm. Well, I guess I can’t blame him for that,” Anja says solemnly.

----------------------------------------

After lunch, I made a quick bathroom stop, only to find Anja waiting for me outside the bathroom.

“What do you want? Here to cram a copy of A Treatise on Money down my throat or something?” I ask her.

“Um… I’m sorry I was looking at your phone earlier,” she says timidly.

“Uh, apology accepted,” I say. “Did you really wait for me just to say that?”

“Um… not exactly. What was that weird app on your phone?” She asks me in a low voice. “That red symbol that looks like an eye?”

Damn it. I need to remember to not open my phone in public as much.

“It’s just one of those stupid programs that phone companies put on there that nobody ever uses,” I say. “I don’t even know what it does.”

“I think I’ve seen that symbol somewhere before, though,” she whispers. “Ashley, are you into the occult, by any chance?”

“Uh, no. I’m a Christian, Anja,” I say. “I need to get to class. I don’t have time for this.”

Before she can say anything else, I take off for my next class. Hopefully she just forgets about that…

----------------------------------------

3 more classes, and then a marching band rehearsal, and I’m done for the day. Back at home, I take a few minutes to rest and drink some water before starting on practicing for all-region band again. Since I have a moment, I might as well give Lucy a brief update on what happened last night. I don’t think that giving her the cold shoulder for too long is in my interests.

When I’m alone in my room, I re-enter the Metaverse. Since I’m inside, I shouldn’t have any trouble with being bothered by shadows while talking to her, as they’re all wandering around outside. I give her a call, and she answers very quickly; must not have much of a daily life.

“Ashley! I’m glad to hear from you again,” she says.

“Well, wasn’t exactly in a huge rush to connect after you almost killed me,” I tell her snidely.

“I’m sorry, Ashley. But the awakening of one’s Persona requires them to face their fears head on; to unlock the spirit of rebellion inside of them. That’s hard to do when there’s nothing around to fear.”

“Wait a minute. So, it wasn’t breaking the seal that unlocked my Persona; it was being attacked by the shadows?”

“Yes. Your Persona awakening could’ve technically happened at any time. But like I said, it generally has to be when you’re about to face an enemy. Without breaking the seal, those would’ve been very difficult to come by. So I hope you can understand why I told you to do what I did.”

“So all of that was just so I could unlock my Persona? There had to have been some other way. Even if we disregard the fact that I almost died, there are going to be shadows crawling all over the Metaverse around here because I broke that seal! Isn’t that just going to slow us down?”

“No, not really. You’re thinking about this backwards. Remember when I said that you can strengthen your Persona through fighting?”

I think back to last night. “Yeah, you might’ve mentioned it.”

“Well, you need to prepare for the upcoming challenges. Having a bunch of weak, neutral shadows loose is a good thing, as they’ll be perfect fodder for you to hone your technique and eventually gain new skills.”

“Huh. And what kind of skills will I be gaining?”

“As you battle more, your Persona will become more powerful. That means that you’ll have new magic abilities that you’ll be able to use.”

“And how will I know when I get these?”

“You’ll just… know. I think you’ll find it quite intuitive.”

“Well, okay then,” I say. I would’ve preferred a better explanation than that, but if she’s correct, I suppose I don’t need one. I guess I’ll take her word for it, for the time being.

I still don’t really understand why she couldn’t have at least warned me about the shadows. But at this point, I’d rather just move along with the conversation. I give her a brief recap of what happened after I hung up on her, including the information I was able to glean from Ted.

“Hmm… That’s very interesting,” Lucy says. “He says he was sent here by St. Michael, the literal archangel Himself? That would be… entirely unprecedented. I’ve plunged the Metaverse for decades now and have yet to make any contact with heavenly beings. I think it’s probably more likely that he’s just a little bit on the cuckoo side.”

It’s a bit disappointing that she thinks that. Maybe I’m being stupid, but I found the idea that I have the approval of an angel very validating.

“Well, I think I’m going to keep him around anyway,” I tell her. “He seems like he may be useful in battle.”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

“And by the way, there is one other unusual thing about him. After I released him, he gave me this sort of pink gem…”

Before I can even finish my sentence, Lucy audibly gasps. “Really? A little bit larger than a grape?”

“Uh, yeah. Do you know what it is?”

“Oh my gosh, Ashley. That’s terrific news. But how…” She stops talking for a little while.

“Uh… how what?” I ask her, growing impatient.

“There are… other gems like that in existence, but very few,” Lucy explains. “I have one myself that’s purple… and there are two others in existence that I know of. I have never heard a single thing about there being a pink one. Hmm… maybe Ted really is an agent of a higher power.”

“Wait, hold a moment. Why is this little gemstone so important? He didn’t even tell me what it did.”

“It probably won’t do much at first. But… if you grow your Persona to a certain point, the gem will grant you an extremely potent extra set of powers. Each gem has them, and they’re all completely distinct from one another. For example, my purple gem gives me one combat ability and one general one. In battle, it gives me the power to create powerful wind attacks that my regular Personas can’t, such as the ability to form tornadoes which can tear through my opponents. It also gives me some limited ability to influence the minds of others nearby me and hear what they’re thinking. Your stone’s abilities won’t be exactly like that, but that should give you a general idea of what kind of thing we’re talking about.”

“So, I’m just gonna have to figure out what it does on my own?”

“Yes. Once again, you’re not going to see the effects of this immediately, since you’re not even done exploring your own Persona’s power. But… when you are able to take into the power of the stone… you’ll know.”

“Hmm. Well, that’s a really lucky find then.”

“Yes it is. I expect you’ll find plenty of use for it in our mission eventually.”

“Speaking of the ‘mission.’ How do I get started with changing people’s hearts?” I ask.

“Wow, for someone who was so cynical of me yesterday, you’re very eager to get started now,” she says teasingly.

“I’m just curious. I’m not promising anything yet,” I clarify.

“Alright, then. Well, first, you obviously need to find someone whose desires have become distorted. Generally, the biggest cases will be people in positions of power. Power tends to corrupt, after all.”

“Hmm… well, that’s interesting to hear. So someone with any kind of concentration of power is liable to have their desires distorted?”

“Yeah, I’d say so. Power is by no means required to be a bad person. But more power means more influence, so it’s these types of people who are most prone to be targeted by the entity I mentioned yesterday.”

This catches my interest. From the way she’s describing this, you can use this power to dish out vigilante justice to politicians and corporations alike. As well as any other institution… this may be exactly the type of thing I’ve been hoping for.

“Anyways, you should then find at least one person who has been directly hurt by this person’s actions,” Lucy continues.

I groan. “You mean I have to get other people involved in this?”

“Yes, Ashley. What kind of revolution is carried out by just one girl and an animal sidekick? Anyways, you’ll then need to find the villain’s palace. Palaces appear in the Metaverse as manifestations of one’s distorted desires.”

“Um… what exactly do you mean by a ‘palace’? You mean these distorted desires will form fancy looking buildings?”

“Well, maybe, but the term ‘palace’ is also more general than that. It can take any number of forms. The only clear marker is that it’ll be clearly distinct from the rest of the Metaverse.”

“Okay then. What do I do when I find one?”

“These palaces will be filled with puzzles and enemies. They will be themed around what type of distorted desires that the villain has. This is why it’s really helpful to talk to someone who’s been directly hurt by them; they’ll be able to tell you about them before you enter, so you can be prepared for the types of challenges you’ll face. At the end, you will need to fight the boss, who will likely take on a more monstrous form.”

“A ‘monstrous form?’ Like what?”

“It can be any number of things; anything from a giant, twisted version of the person’s appearance, to some type of animal, to a mythological creature, or even something more abstract. Whatever it is, you’ll need all of your wits about you to face one of these. Personally, I wouldn’t even try it until you have at least four people with awakened Personas.”

“Damn. That sounds like quite an undertaking.”

“Well, if you want to change their heart, that’s what you have to do, Ashley.”

“Alright. Well, you’ve given me… quite a lot of information. I need some time to mull this over.”

“Okay. I’ll be here when you’re ready.” She hangs up.

I take myself back into the regular world, and just sit on my bed for a little while.

Well, that’s all very interesting. It makes me wonder what kind of villainous people may be living nearby. I bet at least one of the teachers at school has skeletons in the closet. Of course, I’m not really one to know about rumors like that. Maybe I should ask Zoe… or maybe there’s a more direct way of learning about things like this.

Anyways, guess there’s not much point in worrying about it now. For the time being, I try to get myself focused on practicing and doing homework.