Language and Rhetoric class, check.

Applied Mathematics, check.

Physics, check.

History class, check.

Students in the Magical Knight program had a relatively light academic schedule, making it easier to pursue their vocations outside of the classroom and get a feel for what it would be like.

Every other day, we had a short three-hour gap for lunch and informal fieldwork in between classes, with a formal training block at the end of each day. Al and I planned most of our classes together, but I'd been automatically moved out of math and history with him after the cadet sessions finalized their schedules.

Which was pretty frustrating, to say the least.

Al and I had fallen into a groove over the years, and even during the dull, awkward, and challenging moments, we pushed through it together.

Not like it'd be the worst thing in the world to make new friends or form a study group. I guess that was just part of growing up.

I shook my head, grabbing my bag and swinging it over my shoulder as I looked back at the hallway clock.

Lunchtime had come and gone.

Time flew by quicker than I'd hoped, and my brain was foggy with numbers and equations. I groaned, pressing a hand to my forehead as I made my way away from the dining hall and down toward some gardens.

Al wouldn't get out of lunch for another hour, and I had my first 'informal' session scheduled in half an hour. I'd have to go through lunch and my first training session as a magical girl without anyone I knew.

Claw Strawberry and her brother had a training session in the same time block, though. As did Elysia when I checked in on them. Maybe we'd wind up in the same field exercise or group battle.

I still had no idea how it was really run, and all I could really do was just roll with it and hope for the best.

I frowned, looking around as I walked down the corridor.

It was weird. Something here was bothering me, and I couldn't tell what.

Then, I heard a sigh over the clamor of students passing by, drawing my attention. I froze as I saw a familiar, immaculately dressed girl shuffle to the side, a small backpack hanging loosely off her shoulders.

Madison was walking slowly, her eyes troubled and her gaze fixed on the ground.

The perky, somewhat patronizing blonde who was usually prancing around like a princess was now deflated.

Not like the confident and bubbly girl with... zero self-awareness of how far apart our worlds were. Not like the Madison I knew from up the hall from my dorm.

But she hadn't caught me staring. She hadn't caught me at all.

It was the first day of school, and Madison was having a bad day. But was it really my problem?

She opened a double-door to a side hall, and I saw her disappear inside.

Should I?

Before I could really think, I followed after her, quietly stepping through before the doors shut behind her.

She didn't see me, or at least, it looked like she didn't. She slowly walked down another turn, pass two empty classrooms, and up to a window. Hands hung by her side as she sighed again, her shoulders drooping.

Then, she took out a deck of cards, a determined look appearing on her face as she shuffled them, her brow furrowed and her eyes blinking back tears. In a brief flick of her wrists, she plopped five of them down in a cross formation.

"The Hermit. Reversed. Ace of Wands. Upright. Ten of Cups, Reversed. The Hanged Man. Queen of Swords. Upright..." She whispered, stroking her chin as she analyzed her tarot cards. "Things aren't looking good..."

I slowly walked up to her, clearing my throat.

"Madison? Hey. You okay?"

She froze briefly, before turning around. The sullen expression she'd been wearing had disappeared, and her lips seemed to turn up in a confident grin.

Madison had only given me a brief impression, but my intuition went off in a second.

It was like she was hiding her sadness or fear or frustration. Like she had something to prove to the world... and me in particular?

She had honestly rubbed me the wrong way since the first time I ran into her in the dorms — with her plastic, shallow personality and her unrelenting interest in being the center of attention.

But right now, she was a real person. She was vulnerable and alone.

And I wasn't just going to walk away.

"What? Something wrong? Hey there Sienna. Didn't think I'd run into you out here. Kinda funny I did."

Her voice was breezy and playful. Without its bite.

I nodded. "How's your first day going?"

She shrugged. "Alright. I'm kinda tired already, and I have a pretty tough class soon. But nothing I can't handle. You?"

Madison leaned up against the wall, her eyes darting to the clock for a second.

"I had a bunch of classes I had to move at the last minute so it's kinda hectic, but I'll manage," I replied, offering her a smile.

She rolled her eyes, smirking.

It was still shallow and dismissive, but it felt a little more genuine this time.

"Course you will. You're you, Sienna."

I blinked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I hate to not dance around it for once... but you're kinda poor, for one. I get that can limit your options or opportunities. Like for even getting to a school like this. And you worked your butt off to get here. You and that chubby guy you're always walking around with. Am I right or not?" She shrugged, adjusting her backpack as she packed her cards away.

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I took a deep breath, clicking my tongue in surprise.

Well, she'd finally said it.

I really didn't understand this girl.

Was she genuinely always so ditzy and rude, or just playing with me?

Maybe I've been reading her too harshly the whole time. Or something like that.

She continued, crossing her arms and looking away. "So, anyway. I'll keep it up. It's only been a day, but I don't want to disappoint my dad or my mentors or whatever. Just gotta... find my groove, I guess."

Her tone dropped for a second, and she turned away again, huffing.

I stood there, frowning as she continued to drone away.

"Nothing a little coffee can't fix. Like, high-octane espresso or something."

She was starting to annoy me a little with this very, very transparent deflection.

I cleared my throat again. "Well, now that you've been straight with me. Can I be blunt also? I've been sensing a little tension here. Are you holding a grudge or something?" I asked, folding my arms.

She turned and rolled her eyes, before sticking out her tongue.

Well, that was unexpected.

I bit my lip, sighing as she huffed at me, crossing her arms with a pout.

If we were going to live two doors away here, it was probably best to try to patch things up before it got worse.

I opened my mouth to speak, but she suddenly interrupted me, putting her hands on her hips.

"Ugh! Why can't you see it from my perspective for once? No, I don't hold anything against you Sienna. It's not a power trip for me to speak my mind or try to express myself. But it doesn't help that you've been so judgmental this whole time, always on the defensive," She scoffed, pressing a hand to her chest.

I shook my head. "I'm not trying to be defensive, Madison. But please. Be specific. Tell me what you're referencing, and I'll explain."

She flashed me a sweet smile, and I could sense the conflict in her eyes.

Madison was torn between snapping at me and being earnest, and I couldn't really tell which one was the act and which was the real her.

"Yeah, well. I could tell you came from a working-class background from the moment I laid eyes on you. I thought it was really cool and exciting. You didn't seem all bogged down by reputation or status. You were real, you know? You're actually so brave, with those baggy pants and the messy looks you totally kill."

I blinked, narrowing my eyes as I tried to parse what she was saying.

Was that a compliment? Or an insult? I couldn't tell.

"Anyways, the point is... I have no idea how to talk to you! Everything I said in good faith just seemed to make you frustrated or uncomfortable or whatever. And like, come on! The first time I meet a girl my age that could show me something different. Clearly has a sharp as heck mind and a down-to-earth personality. And everything I say that'd click with the girls I grew up around would just instantly put you on guard."

Her lip curled up, and she glanced away, blushing.

I sucked in a breath.

That was a lot to process.

I nodded, rubbing my neck.

Well, at least it wasn't something petty.

"Even at the dining hall on Saturday. I felt like I was finally onto something. 'Hey! Sienna's clearly carbing up. Maybe we could go for a run later!' Samantha just has to start snickering like a hyena, and I'm back to square one!" She spoke, craning her neck as she spun around.

Yup. She was frustrated alright.

"And then of all people.,, Stella fucking Matsudaira of all people walks in on that. The one girl in our year that could alpha bitch my whole group shows up like her damned mom crashing into a supervillain's lair and clearly takes it the wrong way. She found me in the halls today and basically threatened me, you know. Can you believe that?!"

My eyes bulged out of my head.

"Wait, wait. Stella did what?!" I gasped, shaking my head in disbelief.

Madison rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know. It's a total misunderstanding. She's clearly got a lot of steam and bite under that pretty face, but... ugh!"

She spun around, scowling. "She warned me to not throw my weight around. Basically, to stay away from you, and now that we're talking like this, I feel like a bigger idiot. I just —"

Madison suddenly huffed, her cheeks flushing red.

She was humiliated.

Ashamed.

And I was still a little thrown off by the fact that Stella had apparently gone out of the way to... threaten her?

This had to be a dream or something. But it wasn't. It was a rare moment to talk things out.

"Well... I'll be forward with you, Madison," I said quietly. Our relationship has been a little rocky and we did get off to a pretty bad start. Look, even with that comment about my shoes at orientation... it totally flew over your head, but it was fucked up. I'm a practical person, and got those from my best friend who's also here as a gift. So um, yeah, that really did get on my nerves. I don't care about brands, or fancy restaurants, or vacations, or whatever. I've never been someone who could go 'summering' or had more than one or two pairs of shoes at a time. You know?"

She blinked, before giving me a sly smile.

Then, she took a deep breath, lowering her eyes.

"A practical person, huh? It's actually sort of refreshing. I mean, I'll admit. I can go wild with a shopping budget. But I promise I never had bad intent. So I've... oh well."

She sighed, nervously twirling her hair as she looked away.

"Hey, we can work on it. We live right next door to each other after all this year, right?" I shrugged, tilting my head.

She nodded with a sigh, pushing back her hair. "Yeah, that's true. Thanks for... being so understanding, Sienna. I never wanted to... I just don't really know where to go from here. Most of my girl friends back home have always been sorta, uh, conditional, I guess. They kept me entertained and listened to me, but whenever I messed up or got competitive or, well. Stopped seeing eye-to-eye, they threw me under the bus. It sounds shallow, but in that entire group there are only two girls I can count on."

I frowned, my voice catching in my throat.

Madison was going through a lot. And I hadn't even bothered to take a moment to consider it.

It was a difficult thing to read.

She had everything at the tip of her fingers. Yet somehow, she still felt like she had nothing.

And as much as I wanted to, I couldn't just assume she was faking it or trying to con me here.

It was a real glimpse into her life.

I smiled, walking up to her. "Sometimes, we can go through a lot just trying to figure ourselves out, you know? And sometimes, that's all you can do. But hey, I believe in you. That's why we get away from our roots or whatever. Gets you new perspectives and opportunities," I smiled, offering her a thumbs up. Just like Al would.

She nodded, cracking a wry grin.

It was small, but it was a start.

"Sorry to dump all of this on you, Sienna. I mean, I'm not exactly friendless here. You just really seemed like... something else. Someone who'd kinda help me understand away from our gated community, you know?"

She shrugged, shuffling her deck as she spoke.

I raised an eyebrow. For a girl who seemed so plastic, she had clearly had some serious practice with those cards. "You mind me asking about that tarot stuff you mentioned?"

"It's a bit of a family secret. My great-grandmother literally read the stars to build our fortune back in the 1920's or something. You could say it's our family System Skill or whatever. It's saved us from ruin and brought us to prosperity on several occasions. Card games were just a simpler way for me to focus my abilities. It was basically something that I practiced before bed and when on holidays abroad with my family. And well, here. It helps me center my energy and get focused, you know? It's not as showy or conspicuous as some other Skills, but it's just a family thing."

I nodded, impressed. "Okay. Cool. That sounds like a neat thing to practice. Interesting."

"Thank you. It sounds like you're a lot more, er, logical than most. Not in a bad way, just... down-to-earth, you know? There's a lot of us from the rich side of town, and it just, well. Not like we're on equal footing, exactly. Especially with all the powers and abilities floating around. But you have a straightforwardness to you that seems sort of genuine. Like, you just don't always go with the flow. And I know it's not cool, and you don't care about fitting in, and... I mean. I wish I had your guts."

She was babbling again, and it seemed like her gaze was averted and fixated on the floor.

I laughed, watching her face flush even brighter red.

"Don't worry. You are you. And that's fine, you know? Sometimes, it's good to be different. I mean, I'm just a girl from Pewterstone. Nothing more. Nothing less."

She gave me a shy smile, turning away again.

It was the realest moment I'd ever shared with her, and it felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest.

And then, the bell rang, and Madison was scrambling to gather her backpack.

"God, it's so hard to keep track of the time. Now I'm in a real rush! Welp, gotta book it, Sienna! See ya!"

She ran past me, her eyes shining and her cheeks blushing with excitement.

That smile seemed so innocent and playful.

Maybe I really had been a little too judgmental and overprotective of myself.

I couldn't pretend to know the struggles and pressures she was facing.

I stretched my arms, blinking as I watched Madison hurry down the corridor and out of view.

Well, it was time to get to class.

I shook off the feeling of relief and satisfaction that had washed over me, rolling my shoulders and looking around as I gathered my bag.

My first class as a magical girl.

I could hardly believe it.

...I just hoped it wouldn't be too tough.