I climbed on the ship and spotted some other kids my age already there. They were gathered in little groups, chattering and hanging out in the cabin. The main space had benches along the walls and a few round tables in the middle. I picked a spot against the wall, just watching the sea while the boat sliced through the water. I was tired, barely slept last night. The way the ship bobbed, it was kinda soothing. It felt like being rocked gently, and with the cushions being so plush, I closed my eyes. The hum of conversations around me just faded away.

Before I knew it, I found myself pacing down a hallway, all triangular and lined with flagstone walls. My name echoed from somewhere, a chant that set a rhythm to my steps. This surge of excitement bubbled up in my chest, my pace turning into a jog as the chants got louder. Wasn't sure why, but man, I was buzzing. My head was about to burst from all the happiness. The end of the hallway held these two enormous oak doors. Pushed them open, ready to meet the crowd who wanted to give me a hero's welcome, but instead, I got the Molten Marauder. He came at me, his mighty sword slung back and ready to swing. Didn't have time to think, to move, to dodge. The Molten Marauder was just a breath away from lopping my head clean off.

"Excuse me, sir, excuse me, sir."

My eyes slowly opened.

"Excuse me, sir, but we have arrived at Port Harbor."

I took a deep breath, my head filled with fuzz. I realized where I was. That's right, I was on a boat, and I needed to take the transfer to get to Loxton. I stood up and stretched. The porter who woke me up wore a turquoise uniform with golden buttons and yellow trim on his suit. He also had a circular turquoise hat.

"Excuse me, sir, but you might want to hurry," the porter said, "You're the last one to leave this boat by a while. Everyone else left, and as I was doing a sweep through and- well, I'm not going to waste any more of your time. Where are you going next?"

"I'm supposed to go to Loxton."

The gentleman rubbed his forehead. "Oh boy, you better go over to docking station number three. They're going to be leaving any moment. Sorry about that, sir."

My eyes widened, and I sprinted off the boat. "Thanks for waking me up!" Running outside the ship, my heart thumped rapidly, and I wanted to kick myself for sleeping on the boat. I wanted to check out the shops on the Englaria section of Port Harbor because I always enjoyed strolling through them whenever I took the transfer to Attleton, but I didn't have time.

Booked it to dock number 3, where I caught sight of a mage standing by a boat that was nothing short of spectacular. Painted all over with a kaleidoscope of colors, it flaunted a mural - like an old-school tribute to mages hurling bolts of elemental fury. It was a sight to see, but time wasn't on my side for admiring art. That mage, he was pulling up the ramp using some sort of arcane magic, making it curl back like it was alive.

"Wait! You have one more! You have one more person! I need to get on that boat!" I screamed.

The mage that was reeling back the ramp hesitated and glanced at me. I waved my hands over my head, hollering for him to stop. Eventually, he did.

"What's with you, kid? They're on a very tight schedule!"

"Please! Just put the ramp back down, I need to get on that boat. I'm a student at Loxton, I promise you."

"Yeah, yeah, sure you are. That accent doesn't sound very Englarish to me."

"No, I'm serious!" I reached into my denim coat pocket, yanked out the ticket, and waved it in his face.

"What's with this get-up? How come you're not wearing your gray cloak?"

"Gray cloak? I have no idea what you're talking about. This is my first year, no one told me anything about wearing a gray cloak." I realized I was wearing my denim jacket filled with band patches, and of course, I had my hair up in a mohawk. I felt like people got used to seeing me around Attleton in that attire, but I would have to go through that process all over again, but I wasn't dreading it. I loved my style, and I didn't care.

"You're a little on the tall side to be a first-year," the dock worker said.

"Take a look at my ticket!" I waved in front of his face. "You're wasting the boat's time and your own time! Just let me on, please!"

The boat let out a deep bellow from the horn.

The mage checked the ticket and scoffed. "Hold on! Hold on!" he yelled at the boat and started waving his hand wildly, the ramp back extended back to the ship. The boat horn signaled again and seemed to creep forward, but the ramp wasn't fully attached yet. "Go on, run along now! You can make it! You might have to jump, though, if that's okay!"

"Sure thing!" I hopped on the ramp and ran to the top. Unfortunately, I didn't have to jump as the ramp connected with the boat just for a quick second, allowing me to get aboard the ship as the ramp retracted again.

It was September first, and I was, standing on the ship taking me to Loxton. I took a deep breath. My heart still raced around in circles after almost being late.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

I was hoping I might blend in with my jacket since most of the bands on there were British groups. Logos from The Clash, The Who, The Beatles, Radiohead, Blur, Sex Pistols, and The Rolling Stones (just to name a few). I had to fit in better here than Amerzia, except for my accent.

Then I noticed all the other kids were dressed in gray robes only. For such a colorful boat, I was surprised to see such a lack of it in the outfits. It made me question whether I was going to the right place.

There weren't too many kids hanging out on the ship's deck. I figured they must have made their way inside the main cabin. If I was my old self, I think I would have just stayed on the deck, leaning up against the railing and watching the waves go by, but I had a goal of making at least one friend during the trip.

Inside the main cabin, I was expecting a wide open floor of people sitting around and hanging out, but to my surprise, there was a hallway with small suites to the left and right. The windows had slightly fogged glass, but I could tell many were full. The kids walking in front of me seemed to be on a mission and knew where they were going. They opened doors along the left and right and shuffled inside.

I saw a porter walking by wearing the same turquoise outfit as the gentleman in the other boat.

"Excuse me, sir, can I help you with anything?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah, this is my first year coming to Loxton. I've never been on this boat before. Are we assigned cabins or something?"

The porter frowned. "Sorry, sir, but the cabins are first come, first serve. You can try checking random ones that have a seat empty, but we are pretty crowded at the moment."

"All right, thanks."

The first cabin I tried was in the middle, I saw three kids inside, and all the others already had four people.

Perfect, I'll just see if I can sit with them.

I knocked on the door, and someone replied from the other side, "Yes?"

I rolled the door to the side.

"Hello, mind if I take a seat?" I asked.

"Excuse me? Who do you think you are?" the brown-haired guy in the corner asked. "And what's with the hairdo?"

He and his two other friends started cracking up.

"Is that a... Is that a mohawk?" the girl said before bursting out laughing.

"Uh yeah," I uttered.

"And did you hear his accent?" the other guy said. "He sounds like he's from Amerzia! 'Ey pal, Attleton is just across the pond, y'know!"

"Leon, I bet his favorite animal is a bloody bald eagle!" the guy in the corner hollered.

I had no idea what they were going on about, but I started to turn away.

"Oh, wait!" the girl said.

I stopped and turned my cheek, tears swelling in my eyes.

"Why don't you join the Misfits cab all the way in the back on the right?" she hollered, and all three cackled together.

I shut the door.

Well, I like The Misfits, they're a great band. Maybe I'll fit in with them.

As I walked down the hallway trying to find a room with one seat open, one of the doors slid open, and out came a girl a foot shorter than me wearing black thick-framed plastic glasses with dark hair, she looked to the left, and then the right and we were immediately a few feet from each other.

"Oh. Hello? Wow. You have a mohawk? I don't see those too often, And by too often, I mean never," the girl said in a monotone voice.

"Okay, cool, I guess," I responded and quickly noted not to sit in the room she came from.

As I took another step, she said, "Wait, that probably sounded rude. But I didn't mean for it to be. I actually think it looks pretty cool. My name is Agatha."

"I'm Rollie. Nice to meet you," I said.

"Huh. Your accent. It's very... not Englarish. Cool."

"Uh, thanks. I'm new here, so I'm just trying to find somewhere to sit."

"Right. I would love for you to sit with us, but our room is already full. I'm just leaving to go to the bathroom. And don't even think about trying to steal my seat. I'm calling a seat check right now. But you can probably find a seat further down to the right."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

"Nice meeting you, Rollie. Maybe our paths will cross again. But let's be real, it's a big school, so maybe they won't, but you seem cool."

"Uh, thanks, you too."

Agatha walked past me, and I continued down the hall, searching for an open spot through the frosted glass.

I trudged down the aisle to the cabin at the end on the right. Only three kids sat there, so I knocked at the door.

"Yes? Come on in!" an excited voice said.

Sliding open the door, I saw three kids my age. One boy wore massive glasses, another girl had red hair and plenty of freckles, and the other had the craziest, wiry blue hair I'd ever seen.

"Whoa!" the girl with the blue hair yelled. "Dude, your mohawk is awesome!"

I couldn't believe it. I felt like I had struck gold. "Thanks. Uh, I've never been on this boat before, so I don't really know where to sit. Mind if I join you all?" I asked.

The boy scooted over for me. "P-p-please do! Nice j-j-jacket, I love all those bands!" he beamed.

"And your accent is so cool! Are you from Amerzia?!" the red-headed girl asked.

I sat down, and I was relaxed for the first time since I got on the stupid boat. I nodded, though, and flashed a smile.

"Your mohawk is so great! I love the red color," the girl with the wiry blue hair that resembled a pile of wild cables said. "Finally, I won't be the only one with dyed hair at Loxton!"

I grazed my four-inch mohawk with my hand front to back and almost forgot it was dyed bright red. "Thanks," my lips curved up from ear to ear.

"My name is Daphne Poisonwood! Champion potioneer, well, for my age group, and the captain on my Dragonstryke team! Pleasure to meet you!" She threw her hand at me to shake, which I obliged with a slow lift and gentle touch. Her hand was warm, but her grasp was a firm squeeze.

"Nice to meet you.” I smiled. "What year are you in?"

"Third year." She smiled.

"Cool, me too." I felt a wave of relief flow through me.

The three of them shot glances at each other with their eyebrows cocked as if trying to solve a nonverbal riddle.

"I'm sorry, but who exactly are you? I don't think any of us have ever seen you at Loxton? In fact, I wasn't aware that we had an Amerzian at the school at all."

I shrugged. "I'm new. I'm a transfer from Attleton."

The three of them erupted into a head-spinning chatter of confusion.

"But, you can't transfer from schools, can you?" the shorter boy with glasses asked.

"Usually, you can't, but my circumstances are a little different. Fortunately, my grandpa lives in Englaria, and I've started staying with him, and they said it would be cool if I came."

"Wow, that's so cool. By the way, my name is Edna Lyptus, and my fraternal twin is sitting across from you. His name is—"

"I can say my own name thank you very much, sis. The name is Bran Lyptus, pleasure to meet you!" Both of them reached out their hands simultaneously, and I shook them at once, and the three of us had a weak chuckle.

"My name is Rollie Magpie."

The three of them cracked up, but it was quick to die down once they recognized the smirk on my face said, 'it may seem funny, but it's true.'

"Sorry, magpie is a funny word, is all," Bran said.

"Yes, I'm aware, but I'm humbled to be named after a beautiful bird, though."

The laughter settled, I wasn't sure what I thought about them, but they seemed friendlier than anyone I had met in Attleton.