"Of course," said TS.

"If you lose your magic, you can't get another familiar, can you?"

TS shook his head. I felt sick. It was like Thomas had lost everything. With both of his parents dead, it had probably just been him and Hylay; at least until Jon took him in.

"When did his parents die?"

"You hear that from him?" TS asked in surprise.

I nodded, and he sighed heavily. He was quiet for so long, I wasn't sure he was going to answer. Another awful theory occurred to me. "They didn't... They didn't die the same time as his familiar, did they?"

TS looked out over the water and nodded once. Maybe that was why Thomas couldn't use magic. Losing both of his parents and someone as close as a familiar must have been an awful shock. Maybe he had been so devastated, he'd deliberately stopped using magic and lost it when he got older, assuming that was possible. I felt even more grateful that he was teaching me.

"Is he okay?" I asked. "I mean, it must be upsetting to help me learn magic when he can't use it."

"Thank you," he said after a moment. "For caring, I mean. It is hard, but... Well, you can't change the past." He paused and looked in the direction Thomas had gone. "He's a bit nostalgic, I suppose. And, of course, he'll always grieve for Hylay, but he's enjoying helping you." He started gathering his things and stood. "I've gotta cut out. Anything else you want to know before I go?"

"I don't think so... You've given me a lot to think about."

He nodded and chucked the empty smoothie cups into a nearby trashcan. "Cheers, then."

The odd phrase reminded me that I still hadn't been able to place his accent. It wasn't strong enough to identify, but it was still noticeable. In fact, it had gotten a bit heavier when he was whispering. Thinking on it, I was pretty sure I had heard Dani say something about TS not being from America.

"Where are you from?"

"New York," he said instantly. I could just see the tip of his tongue.

"You know what I mean."

He laughed. "Ireland."

"Oh, neat."

"I like to think so. See you in LA History."

With that, he headed off in the direction Thomas had gone. I wondered, too late to ask, if Irish was one of the languages he spoke. I tried to return to studying, but couldn't stop thinking about the prospect of getting a familiar. Were there more than just rabbits and ravens? Every time I tried to picture it, I couldn't help but think about how it must have felt to lose them. Was the bond between a witch and a familiar really as amazing as TS made it sound? I couldn't even begin to imagine how Thomas must have felt if it was.

I lingered on deck and watched the last of the students get their heads shaved. The sun started to go down, and a light drizzle started. I felt a bit cold. Hadn't we just crossed the equator? It wasn't supposed to be rainy and cold here! I gathered my things and went inside, laughing at the countless strands of hair blowing around the deck. I swung by my room for a sweatshirt. Laurie was there, head freshly shaved, and we talked for a while. We ended up going up for dinner together, after I realized I hadn't spent much time with her. I wondered if I'd spend as much time with other magical people when I got home as I did here. Other magical people. It was still a bit weird to think about.

I sat with Laurie and some other girls I hadn't hung out with in a while and waved to Dani, Mariana, and Charlie on the other side of the dining hall. My friend Natalie had been sick all day and still looked awful. I felt bad; I hadn't even known she was sick. I hoped none of them were offended that I hadn't been spending as much time with them. We hadn't been on the ship long enough to become good friends, but I still felt a little guilty about running off with my new friends. Then again, even though I was starting to consider TS, and Dani, and the others friends, I wasn't entirely sure if the feeling was mutual. They were teaching me about magical beings and things, but it was obvious they still kept things from me. True, they were co-workers, in addition to being friends, and I probably didn't need to know the details of their job, but it was annoying, nonetheless. I hoped they wouldn't just get me started with magic and then ignore me. Granted, I wanted to spend time with them, because they were the only magics I knew, but I was enjoying their company, too.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

I spotted TS and Thomas joining the others. TS looked awful. He didn't even get a plate; he just slumped down into a chair by Dani and let Thomas bring him dinner. I wondered if he'd lied to me about feeling sick. I doubted loading up on oranges and smoothies with immune boosters the day before he got sick was a coincidence. That was even more annoying. TS being sick certainly wasn't MES business. I didn't see any reason they needed to hide it from me. Maybe my theory that he had a magical disease wasn't far off. Nobody looked particularly surprised that TS wasn't feeling well; more proof that him being sick was expected.

When dinner was over, Laurie and I headed back to our room for the night, and I didn't see anyone until LA History the next morning. TS looked perfectly fine again, and I realized that the only times I'd seen him looking sick were at night. When he wasn't human! That made the magical disease possibility even more likely and more concerning. I wondered what it was that only struck him when he was a werewolf and how serious it was. When class was over, Charlie and I walked to our next class together.

"Caricaceae?" he asked as a greeting.

I thought for a second. "Papaya." I tried to think of another plant species from the study guide. "Passifloraceae?"

"Passionfruit!"

We laughed and sat down, leaving an open seat between us. Carrie came in right before class started and sat down heavily in the empty chair.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better," she said. "I felt awful yesterday. The doctor said it's some twenty-four-hour bug going around. I'm like the tenth person to get it since Panama. What did I miss?"

"Study guide. We've got a test when we get back from Ecuador."

"Ick," Carrie said. "If I'd known that, I would have been sick again."

I laughed. "Is it the same thing Natalie had?"

"I don't know, I haven't talked to her. I woke up just feeling tired and sore all over. I felt kind of hazy too, you know? And my neck was sort of stiff; I was worried it was meningitis." She laughed, embarrassed.

"Yuck! I'm glad you feel better today."

But Carrie's luck only got worse. The test was a bit tough, and I had gotten a decent amount of studying done. When I got up to hand my test in, poor Carrie was still frowning at hers. It didn't look like she had written much, yet. Charlie had finished before anyone and was nowhere to be seen when I left the classroom. I made my way up to the dining hall and spotted Dani and Mariana. After loading up my plate, I started slowly toward them, wondering if I should join them. Mariana spotted me and waved me over, so I sat down next to her.

"How was your test?" Dani asked as I sat down.

"Kinda hard. I think I did okay, though."

"That's good." He snagged a potato chip off of Mariana's plate.

"Would you stop that?" Mariana said. "If you wanted food, you should've gotten some." She sighed and then smiled at me. "What was the test on?"

"Scientific plant names," I said. "We had to memorize a bunch of them."

"Fifty of them, I believe," Dani said.

"Yikes!" she said. Then her eyes widened. "Fin-rot! I have a test next period! I have to go study. I'll see you later!" She jumped up and ran off.

"Good luck!" Dani called after her. Then, he slid her plate closer and started eating.

I pulled out my study guide and started looking over it to check the answers that I wasn't sure I had gotten right on the test. I saw Thomas enter the dining hall a few minutes later. He practically stormed over to us and sat down next to me, glaring at Dani.

"Did you have to slug him?"

"What? Who?" Dani asked.

"Kevin."

Dani looked confused. "I have no idea who Kevin is."

If anything, that seemed to make Thomas more annoyed. "So, you just wailed on the poor guy without even finding out his name?"

"I haven't wailed on anybody!"

"You expect me to believe it's just a coincidence that Kevin has a shiner then?"

Dani frowned. "Are you seriously going to blame me just because some random guy gets a black eye?"

"He isn't some random guy. He’s the one who’s been coming onto..." Thomas trailed off and studied Dani. "You really haven't punched anybody?"

"No!"

"Okay. Never mind, then."

Dani still looked annoyed, but eyed Thomas curiously. "Coming onto who? Why did you think I slugged him?" He laughed. "He wasn't getting pushy with my wife, was he?"

"Of course not," Thomas said.

"But Mariana wouldn't hit anybody..." Dani continued thoughtfully. He hummed for a moment and then jerked up in his chair. "Oh! I'm going to go find Kevin." With that he stood and started out of the dining hall.

Thomas sighed. "Should've just kept my mouth shut. I figured he knew. Excuse me, Jennifer. I think I have to go. Just in case Dani finds him."

"Okay, bye," I called, feeling slightly puzzled, as Thomas rushed off after Dani.