Ephy thought the school building felt more like a modern office than a school. Before she came to EA, she expected something a bit more medieval or witchy. Heskalon, where her siblings went, was built like an ancient Greek coliseum with rooms around the edges and the competition field in the center so everyone could see what was happening.

The lunchroom at Eclipse Arts bordered the edge of the school like a large hallway. Tall glass windows framed the school courtyard, in the center of which stood a large fountain that changed color according to the events of the day. Ephy had read about it in the school brochure but hadn’t had a chance to see it until now.

Ephy wondered why half-gods always seemed stuck in ancient history.

“Ephy!” Liska was waving at her from a table. Airin was already seated next to her. Ephy carried her tray over and sat with them. “How are your classes so far?” Ephy asked the other two.

Liska and Airin exchanged glances.

“That bad?” Ephy’s morning had not been too bad, especially considering she had really had no idea what to expect before she came to Eclipse Arts.

“The music theory teacher is a bit...well, scary,” said Liska. “What about you?”

“It was okay, although I met this girl, Bellona, who told me about the quad talent shows.”

Both Liska and Airin nodded. “Oliver told us about it, too,” said Liska. She sank into her chair and put her elbows on the table.

Ephy imitated Liska’s posture but leaning across the table toward Airin. Mother hates bad posture. I’d be in trouble if I saw me now. She couldn’t shake the feeling of her mother watching and put her hands in her lap. “Who’s Oliver?” Ephy asked. Airin closed their eyes and snorted in disgust.

After a pause, they opened their eyes. “Oliver Darklighter. His family and mine live together. But we don’t really get along.”

“He’s obnoxious! It’s no wonder you don’t get along!” Liska exclaimed.

“Bellona was kind of annoying, too. I hope there aren’t too many students like her at EA.”

Airin put their head down on the table.

Ephy said, “Don’t worry about Oliver. We won’t let him bother you here.”

Liska nodded emphatically. “You can’t listen to him either. He’s only thinking about himself.”

Airin put their chin in their hands, a tear streaking down their cheek. “You don’t understand. It doesn’t matter. He didn’t want me to come here in the first place, and my parents almost didn’t let me come because of it. They wanted me to stay at the Darklighter estate. Oliver told me he hates it that I’m going here and will make sure that his parents send me home.”

“His parents would do that to you?” asked Liska.

“His parents are only reason my parents agreed to allow me to come. But Oliver always gets his way eventually.” Airin let out a long breath, as if the explanation had used all their strength.

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“West and Sola are your parents?” Ephy asked.

Airin nodded. “We don’t tend to use terms like mother or father but go by our chosen names instead.”

“Did you choose your name?” asked Liska.

Airin shook their head. “I can choose a different name when I become an adult, but I don’t think I will. Maybe Rin.”

“Do you want to be called Rin now?” asked Ephy. “We can call you Rin if you like.”

Liska nodded emphatically.

Airin tilted their head back and forth, uncertain. “I’d be fine with that, but I like Airin, too.” They stared at the wall.

“I don’t care whether we win or lose, but my mother will be mad if we don’t win. Everyone in my family always comes in first, in everything,” Ephy said glumly, “...except me.”

“Maybe we should practice like we want to win and then we can make a better plan closer to the battle?” Liska suggested hopefully. “And maybe you can talk to your parents before then. But maybe we could try to change Oliver’s mind, too. What he said isn’t right.”

Airin exchanged a glance with Liska. “I suppose so. I don’t know if we could change Oliver’s mind. I’ve never been able to talk him in or out of anything. But it’s worth a try.”

Liska pulled out her phone, which had scratches and a cracked screen. How can she stand using that thing? “I read the guidelines. We have to write, produce, perform, and make all the props and backdrops ourselves. No one can help, not even parents, or you get disqualified.”

That is definitely different from Heskalon, where everybody not-so-secretly gets help from their families to get ahead.

As if her family knew she was thinking about them, Ephy’s backpack buzzed, making her jump. She pulled out her phone and read the message on the lock screen:

> Rose of Astaria: Seek excellence during your first day of school. Remember that you represent our family.

Why can’t Mother just be happy with who I am? Why do I have to be perfect like Astra?

“Something wrong?” asked Liska.

Ephy slipped the phone back in her bag. “Nothing,” she said.

“It’s fine.”

Before she could say anything else, a sniff prompted them to look up. Bellona was standing by their table. “Good luck in the quad battle. Most students start planning before the year starts. It’ll probably be hard to win.” Bellona gave them a knowing smirk, like she had overheard their conversation in music theory. Then she sauntered away, giggling and laughing with two girls who followed her.

“She’s related to the principal?” Airin asked, confused.

“Niece or something like that,” Liska replied. “Hunter said there’s a lot of Graves around. Big witch family.”

“There’s not much we can do about it,” sighed Ephy.

Liska nodded as she stuffed a big piece of hamburger into her mouth. Airin stared down at their sandwich, seeming not to hear the conversation at all.

“Airin, are you okay?” Ephy leaned over and thought about touching their arm, but then thought better as Airin’s head swiveled toward her, still holding their sandwich in front of them. There was a pause. “I’m fine. I don’t like mayonnaise.” Liska burst out laughing. Ephy grinned, too.

Airin drew back slightly.

Did we upset them? Ephy held up her hands as if she was surrendering. “Sorry! We thought you were thinking about something really important.”

Airin mouth turned up in a slight smile. “It’s important that I not get the sandwich with mayo next time.” They placed their sandwich back on the tray. “I’m not that hungry anyway.”

“What classes do you have next?” asked Liska.

“I have drama,” responded Ephy.

“Science.” Liska started packing up the remains of her lunch.

“Advanced math,” said Airin.

Liska made a face. “Sounds hard. But then we have supernatural classes at the end of the day. Hopefully, those will be fun.”

Ephy reached up and twirled a piece of blue hair between her fingers. Would I even do well in a witch class?

The bell chimed. Ephy and Liska dumped their trash, while Airin left theirs on the table and walked away without looking back.

Ephy and Liska exchanged confused glances. Ephy picked up Airin’s tray and took care of it. Airin hasn’t gone to school before. I’ll talk to them about that later.