Instead of being filled with wonder and delight from witnessing magic in its full scope for the first time, Maya was filled with anxiety about information she had just learned from Tanya.

As the classes were over, and she was leaving the academy grounds just like the rest of the students, right outside the gates, Maya was digging through her file for Daria’s address. Frustrated and terrified by the new-realized dangers, all the papers slipped out of her hands.

Being rather unsuccessful in catching them before the wind carried them away, Maya almost stumbled and fell. Some of them got away and she just gave up and sat down on the warm pavement, trying to calm herself down.

Throughout the day, the danger hinted on, really began to sink in. This was the place she was stuck in. And, besides everyone already having been through hard times and trying to turn a new leaf, death and danger could be more commonly placed reality than she was ready to face.

“You really like tossing those papers around,” Elena arrived from behind, with a couple of papers in her hand, that flew in that direction.

“Almost as much as you like appearing out of nowhere.”

‘Seriously. She almost got Leo run for his money*.’*

“I just like arriving last. What's got you so on edge?”

Elena collected a couple more of the papers nearby, solely so she could glance at them while sitting next to Maya on the pavement in silence.

Maya didn't answer. She needed a bit of quiet to collect her mind. It took every speck of her energy to keep calm without her meds. They were watching people leave the Academy. They would give them confused looks for sitting on the ground but the way Elena looked back at them made them wary of approaching to check if they were alright.

Soon there was no one passing anymore. But one girl was standing in the distance, watching them. Maya couldn’t see her clearly, as she was far and the sun was shining from that direction. A distinct shadow cast from her on the pavement should be fairly distinguishable. But there was no shadow.

Maya touched her necklace, which usually worked to make Leo return to her from wherever he was.

“Are you okay?”

There he goes again, asking questions when she is unable to answer. His appearance confirmed it—no shadow was cast from him either.

After Maya gazed at her again, the girl in the distance, somewhat glitched and her head got bent down in the unusual position. Leo’s gaze followed the direction Maya was looking at. There was no longer anything there. She had faded away in the sunlight.

That jerking motion, a glitch, terrified Maya. She looked at Elena to see her looking at the ground, playing with her keys. Elena noticed her gaze.

“You better, now?”

“Maybe. Thank you.”

She appreciated Elena sitting with her in the quiet like this. She didn’t expect it from the girl who showed nothing but being insensitive to others. Elena gave her a meek smile that quickly faded away, as if there was something else on her mind.

“Where’s Keith?” Maya asked.

“Working.”

“Already? The first day?”

“He’s a second-year. This is nothing new for him.”

“Oh. Are you guys getting along?” Maya felt something was bothering Elena. The last time she interacted with her she left the lunchroom with Keith.

“Why wouldn’t we?” Elena was confused by Maya’s assumption.

“I just thought… I don’t know. I’m trying to make conversation.”

“You need to work on that,” Elena narrowed her eyes.

Maya felt this short moment of appreciation had faded. Elena was back to being mean.

“So, why are we sitting on the pavement?” Elena asked.

Maya chuckled inwardly at Elena’s ‘act first ask questions later’ demeanour that led her to casually sit on the ground following after Maya.

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“I need to talk to my guardian. I’m not sure I belong here,” Maya admitted.

“You can’t just go back.”

“You were right. They did trick us into coming here. If I knew the dangers I would’ve never come.”

“What dangers? Vampires?”

“They killed half of the senior year.”

“So there’s danger… Like there’s none of that back in the old world,” Elena pointed out. “There are sharks, meteorites and random serial killers. Nowhere is truly safe. Do you know how people protect themselves from the uncertainty of their fate?”

“How?”

“They tell themselves: ‘Not gonna happen to me’.”

“Real comforting.”

“There’s nothing to worry about. You’re far more likely to get killed by a seagull, or a mosquito.”

“A seagull?” It felt to Maya like Elena was just spouting made-up facts.

“Yeah. What do you know? Maybe there’s a vampire seagull.”

“Are you drunk again?”

“Oh, please,” Elena shook her thermos bottle. “I’m always drunk.”

Maya’s eyes widened as she realized what must be the contents of it.

“Havens, you’re unbelievable.” Maya got up, frustrated.

“C’mon. It’s just life. We’ll all die at some point. The sooner you accept that the sooner you get over it. Here you get vampires instead of seagulls. The odds stay the same. You shouldn’t be afraid of making your death spectacular. You only get to do it once.”

“Like you’re making yours? There’s nothing spectacular about liver failure.”

“Pfft. Like I’m going to live that long. Do you know how long does it take for liver disease to manifest? I’ll sooner be killed by a vampire seagull.”

“How can you joke about this like that!?”

“Dying is something I’ve come to terms with. When you accept your mortality, it’s easy to joke about.”

“Aren’t you a bit too young to accept your mortality?”

“I’m not an idiot, Maya. I know that what I’m doing isn’t exactly contributing to my longevity.”

“Why do you do it then?”

“Because I won’t live long enough for it to catch up to me.”

Suddenly, Maya was horrified by a realization. “Are you dying?”

“Aren’t we all? Just at a different pace,” Elena chuckled to herself.

“I’m sorry,” Maya was solemn. “I didn’t know. But I still think you shouldn’t be doing this to your body. You should cherish it for as long as you have.”

“Pfft!” Elena burst into laughter. “You’re making me into some sort of a terminal patient.”

“Are you not?” Maya was confused. Elena’s previous words were certainly misleading.

“I’m as healthy as one could be,” Elena smiled brightly.

“So you just have an awfully pessimistic outlook on life that leads you to be so carefree. What a terrible oxymoron.”

“You think you live in a world where things make sense?” Elena was amused.

A silence fell on them. Maya couldn’t get Elena’s strangeness out of her mind.

“You really believe that?” She returned to what they were talking about. “That you won’t live long.”

“Some people just aren't made to grow old,” Elena replied simply.

“I don’t know what you have been through in life, but that’s a really messed up way of thinking.”

“You know, what’s messed up? When you die, you’ll probably shit yourself, and somebody’s gonna have to clean it up. And there’s nothing you can do about it. Cause you’re already dead. Ha, ha.”

“You, also, need to work on your people skills,” Maya was disgusted.

“My people skills are great.”

Maya realized winning an argument against Elena was impossible.

“Do you know your way around the town? I… I really need to see my guardian,” she said changing the subject.

“Who’s your guardian?”

“Daria Zdunowski.”

“Huh? How can she be a guardian? Whatever. I love my little visits to Daria,” she made a sly smile. “But catching her is like catching a tooth fairy. The best bet you have is to try her office.”

They returned to the Academy and went to the faculty hall in the eastern wing. Elena seemed to know her way around there.

On her way, they passed one girl standing at the side of the corridor. The girl was standing still, like a piece of furniture, staring blankly forward. Maya avoided looking at her, knowing she was a ghost. It was still an unnerving fact to find out that Leo wasn’t the only ghost she could see.

They got stopped by a guard.

“What are you girls doing here? School time is over.”

“We’re looking for Daria. She’s her guardian,” Elena said.

The guard was kind enough to check if Daria was in her office.

“Sorry, girls. You’re not in luck today.”

“Who’s looking for Daria?”

The Headmistress emerged from the door next to Daria’s supposed office. It was the biggest door at the end of the hallway.

“Miss Watergate,” she smiled. “I’ve been meaning to summon you. You can come in. I can step in for Daria for now… And Miss Petrova, I highly doubt that you have an urgent matter for Daria. She doesn’t have time for your games, nor do I. You should turn to your guardian.”

“Don’t worry. I wasn’t planning on seeing your face, anyway,” Elena said and promptly left.