"I cannot believe Janus turned on us so quick," Mena said, sitting at her cloud table with May. "Did we really defriend her that hard?"

May boldly made a fist over her striped sweetmeat breakfast. "She had it comin'!"

Mena observed the determination that burned in her friend's eyes. "May, I'm surprised you aren't telling me its our fault we pushed her away. Aren't you normally the voice of reason here?"

May pushed her glasses up to show Mena how serious she was feeling. "That was the old May," she said with a passion that flushed her face rosy pink. "That was before she came between me and my one true amour, Leo O'Ryan."

Mena did a double blink, but May kept at her spiel. "You don't know what Leo said to me after he glazed me up in honey barbecue. He told me I'm the most scrumptious morsel he ever laid eyes on. Forget Fabias, he is my one true love and Janus took that away from me."

"You're right…" Mena sighed. "I had started to forgive her after she protected us from Anguish, but I guess that can't undo the hurt she did. Perhaps I'm getting soft in my old age."

"Girl," May said, "You're only 13."

"And a half…" Mena stirred a spoon in her milky bowl of Hex Mix. "But I know. I get it. I've simply seen too much."

Mena swished her bowl around wishing she could see Tal or Ashlan's face reflecting in it, but she only saw her own face. "Or maybe not enough."

Stellaris stood at the forefront of the Cloud Hall in her purple cape and her radiant hairdo. "Before your first class begins, I'd like to inform everyone that Roy G. Bivion will no longer be teaching at this school."

The only 'aww' came from Janus who seemed to enjoy his trippy antics.

"Unfortunately," Stellaris said, "we will not be able to replace him on such short notice. So, anyone who took his Dream Class this semester will now have a free elective for the rest of the semester."

The whole Cloud Hall broke into cheers. Even Mena had to admit, she never had a free elective before. She smiled. That was much better than riding the tin toy daisy train through the center of her mind in Bivion's class.

"All the other classes will be scheduled as usual," Stellaris said, "I hope in light of these tragic events you can enjoy the rest of your semester to the best of your ability."

Mena sighed. Even if she wasn't feeling alright to start, now she had to face Scalia without her first homework.

The bell tolled Mena and May. The young witch hadn't even finished her Hex Mix, but she wasn't that hungry anyway. Now it was the time to see Scalia, but this was the only time she wasn't looking forward to seeing her finny friend.

When they arrived in Scalia's classroom, she was singing merrily and twirling in her teacher's skirt. Her delight seemed to come from the fact that the singular window in the classroom was aquatic blue as far as the eye could see.

"Splishy splashy, finny flashy," she sang, "Oh it's so good to be home."

There was a glass of memory elixir on the desk next to her rehydration bucket. As soon as everyone was seated, she gave a warm, "Top of the gills!" to everyone.

Mena waved back trying to be enthusiastic. Scalia began her lecture.

"It's so nice to see with everyone after our week long vacation. I'm sure you've all managed to write an enthralling report on Amy G. Dala, the first female president of the Dula Kingdom. Hand in your papers and we'll begin a whole new subject!"

The Tessellation Twins glanced at each other and snickered meanly as they handed in their papers. Once Scalia received all the parchment, she read over the Tessellations' work and widened her filmy, fishlike eyes.

"Marie, Laetitia?"

"Yes teacha?" The Bougelves said, innocently pretending there was a halo atop their heads.

"It seems you have crossed off Mena and May's names and written your own. And these papers are in their handwriting."

A look of terror gripped the Bougelves as Mena and May smirked at them.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"As with all cases of plagiarism," Scalia knowingly smiled, "Credit must be given to the original writers so I shall simply credit Mena and May for these."

Both of the Tessellation Twins couldn't manage to pick up their hanging jaws. Scalia raised her forehead and smirked. "Sorry ladies…"

Mena breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe things were going to go swimingly after all.

"Now," Scalia said, after she formed a nice, neat pile of parchment. "Let's get to the subject of our newest, most relevant topic, the Legend of the Dreamfish."

Scalia scooted herself out of her desk, and after taking a head dunk in the water, she was refreshed and ready to lecture the class.

Lifting up a piece of magic chalk, Scalia began to scrawl a moving picture on the surface of the blackboard. Her picture curved elegantly and revealed a fish of many colors. Some of the students (Mena included) ooh'd and ahh's as the rainbow traveled in a striped pattern along the fish's scales

"This...is the Dreamfish," Scalia said proudly. "One of these little critters is so packed to the gills with imagicnation that it was the formation of our Fishysauz kingdom, as legend would have it. You will now see the legend with your own eyes."

Scalia cast her flipper at the blackboard and it began to swirl in a bevy of rainbow colors. Mena marveled at it with fascination.

"Our story begins at The Dreamport in Dula's central where sailors shipped dreams across the untamed brain sea."

A small portion of harbor bars, stone keys and clouds with fluffy cloud masks appeared on the blackboard.

"Everyday Koral, the young daughter of the harbormaster would play on the nearby beaches and that's where she met a truly enchanting creature…"

A girl in a blue and orange coral print sundresses, frolicked and played on the beach when a comical fishysauz popped out of the water. With twirling mustache whiskers, a wall-eyed expression and a toothy grin, he resembled a mermaid in reverse.

Scalia changed her voice to a deep one. "Ma'am, I've been watching you from the ocean all day, and I must know, what is your name?"

Scalia changed her voice back to normal to narrate. "The young girl was quite mystified, and she replied, 'Koral, why must you know?'"

Scalia changed her voice again to a deep pompous one. "'A beautiful name indeed' the fish man said, 'but not quite fitting for you, my dear. For you are more vibrant and colorful than a forest of coral at the bottom of the sea. Ho ho ho!'"

The drawing of Koral changed to her shaking the flipper of the comical fish man. Scalia sighed and fluttered her filmy eyelids. "The young girl had never met a creature as charming and with such a way with words before. She asked him his name and he bowed and said, 'Phil Le the first.'"

Mena smiled. She now knew why Scalia idolized the current Prince Phil Le. He was truly the descendant of a creature from a romantic fairy tale."

"Together," Scalia said with a wide, lovelorn smile. "The two would meet everyday and Koral would hear him pronounce poetry to her. She grew more enchanted as time wore on until one day…"

Koral sported a beautiful white sun dress and rosy cheeks, she crouched beside the vast ocean where Phil Le floated. "Koral," Scalia said, "Asked Phil Le. Will you marry me?"

For once, the chalk doodle of Phil Le looked away, turning as pale as a raw tuna.

Scalia sighed. "Phil Le immediately regretted what he had done, and he admitted, 'I shouldn't have played with your heart young girl. My true domain is in the sea and yours is on the land. As long as I have gills and you have lungs, we can never be together.'"

The doodle of Phil Le popped into the water, leaving Koral all alone as storm clouds rolled in.

"Koral," Scalia began, "Grew deeply depressed by this, but she refused to quit. She took a boat out on the ocean to search for Phil Le, but unfortunately…"

Koral's rowboat traveled on stormy waters, but her boat's stride was cut off by a much larger ship. A ship bearing sails with a skull and cross bones.

"Koral was kidnapped and beaten by pirates. They tied her leg to a rope and dropped her battered body in the sea."

The blackboard changed to Koral floating in the depths of the ocean, almost entirely motionless.

"But," Scalia said, "In the literal depths of her despair, a beacon of rainbows appeared before her."

Everyone marveled as the Dreamfish emerged from out of the depths of her mind and floated beside Koral.

"The strength of Koral's dreams and love for life and Phil Le," Scalia said, "created a whole new creature known as the Dreamfish. With her last breath, Koral wished on the Dreamfish. She dreamed to have gills and be one with her true loves, Phil Le and the vast ocean."

Mena smiled as Koral's long hair became Scalia's antenna-like hair, her face grew angular and fishlike while still retaining her beauty and her body became blue, lithe and scaly.

Scalia gushed. "Koral had become a whole new breed of fishysauz. She freed herself from her ropes and reunited with Phil Le."

A large underwater kingdom appeared on the blackboard with buildings that shared the fishlike curves of the Fishysauz with glowing golden windows. "King Phil Le and Queen Koral formed the first Fishdom under the Brain Sea. And they lived happily ever after."

Scalia had turned so pink she dunked her head in the bucket of water. At last, Mena was laughing and grinning. She really hoped to find the Dreamfish to save her from the depths of her despair.

Scalia happily clapped her fins as the bell chimed. "Now everyone, I want you to write a five page thesis on Koral and Phil Le's loving relationship. Extra credit if you use lots of juicy, creamy word in it too."

One girl in the class muttered. "Every happy ending has a catch, I guess."

Mena and May said goodbye to Scalia, and May, trying to be optimistic remarked, "At least we have a free elective to write the paper."

Mena nodded. "May, you're...r…"

"Coming with me." Mena felt a vice-like grip on her hand and as she looked up, it was Caligari with a severe expression.