Chapter One
"Alyssa!" The first thing I saw when I stepped foot into the common room of Suite 12 – where my five best friends and I had lived for all of last year and would be living again – was a blur of blond hair and tanned limbs as my best friend Lola attacked me in a massive hug.
"Uh… Lola? I kinda can't breathe here," I said, carefully extracting myself from her death grip. Holding her at arm's length so she couldn't squish me again, I examined her from head to toe, taking in the newly highlighted blond hair and flawless tan, perfect figure (I don't know why she always complains about being fat), and wide hazel eyes that sparkled with their old mischief. Oh how I had missed her.
"Sorry," Lola said, pulling me close to her again for a less tight hug, then pulled back to examine me. "Wow, you look fantastic! Did you get skinnier?"
"I wish," I said, dropping my bags onto the ground so they wouldn't get in the way. "How was your summer?"
"Awesome, as always," Lola said, picking up a few of my bags and heading towards my room, the room I had previously shared with Princess Taylor of Eraklyon. (That was a nightmare I'm happy is over. Don't even get me started on what she did. Let's just say it was a long, twisted, nearly fatal story that wound up with a very happy ending). Now that Taylor was gone (and in rehab, the last I'd heard), I would probably have a single – an idea I relished the thought of. But even another roommate would probably be better than Taylor. Scratch that – anyone else would definitely be better than Taylor. "How was yours?
"Oh, it was so cool…" I started, grabbing the rest of my bags and heading towards the open door of my new single. But before I could go into all the fabulous details of my summer (including a blissful two weeks in Eraklyon with my boyfriend Ryan – swoon), the door to the rest of the school opened, and Melody and Aqua barreled through. "Mel! Aqua!" I cried, dropping my bags to the ground and barely hearing Lola's squeak of pain as they landed on her exposed toes as I ran towards my two edgier friends.
"Alyssa!" Mel cried, dropping her stuff to squeeze me in a hug. "How was your summer?"
"Awesome – and yours?"
Mel's eyes lit up. "Oh my god, I had the best time. My mom went on tour, and took me with her. I got to see so many cool realms! And I got you all little presents."
"Hey – what about me?" Aqua faux-whined, throwing her arms around my neck. "Alyssa! Girl, I missed you! How was your summer? And better yet, how was Ryan?" She grinned suggestively, and I blushed, which just made her grin wider. "Come on, spill!"
"Spill? Spill what?" another familiar voice asked from behind us, and I looked up from over Aqua's shoulder to see our other two suitemates, Ivy and Digit (who goes by Dee) standing behind Mel and Aqua, also carrying suitcases.
"Dee! Ives! Oh my God, how are you guys!" I squealed, pushing past Aqua to squeeze them in a group hug.
"Calm down, Alyssa," Ivy giggled, extracting herself from the clump. "You look so cute! Did you do something new with your hair?"
"You like?" I asked, pulling sections of my long, bright red hair out in front of my face, which was freshly streaked with orangey-gold highlights. "Mom was looking at some old photo albums over the summer, and decided to get her hair streaked Enchantix-style at the salon. And then the hairdresser looked at me and insisted I get streaks too, because we had such similar hair and facial structures. Does it look good?"
"It looks awesome!" Lola exclaimed, coming up from behind me to join the clump. "I knew there was something new about you." She studied my appearance again. "You know, the streaks really bring out your eyes."
"Thanks," I said, for once not feeling ashamed about my eye color. Last year if someone so much as mentioned my odd golden eyes, I'd freak out, but it was a new year now. I'd made peace with that issue.
"Alyssa? Hello, 'Liss? You there?" Lola snapped her fingers in front of my face, and I blinked rapidly before the world refocused in front of my eyes again.
"Sorry, Lola," I blushed. "Just thinking about my family again."
"That's right, you guys moved back into the palace," Mel said, her voice losing its volume briefly as she deposited her bags into the room she shared with Aqua. "How was it?"
"I'm not gonna lie, being a princess is pretty awesome," I answered somewhat bashfully, as Dee, Ivy, and Aqua picked up their stuff and dropped it in their respective rooms.
"Well of course, dahling," Lola exclaimed, in an overdone fake high-society accent. "It's simply the only way to live."
"Knock it off, Lola," Aqua called from her room. "But yeah, I have to admit, it's pretty sweet sometimes. So what do you like the best, Alyssa?"
"Honestly? The best part about being back home was spending time with my family, not the palace. It was amazing, of course, but nothing could compare to having my mom back… and seeing my dad loosen up a bit."
Dee laughed. "From what you've told us last year, your dad sounded like a real stick in the mud. I'm glad he's finally loosened up a bit."
"Stick in the mud? More like stick up his butt," Lola giggled.
"Whatever the reason, it's cool that your family's back together. My mom's told me stories about herself as a teenager, and she and her dad didn't always have the best father-daughter relationship… not to mention her mom is dead…" Mel trailed off, lost in thought.
"So, on another note, how was the rest of your summer?" Aqua asked, wiggling her eyebrows mischievously. "Particularly the two weeks you spent on Er-ak-ly-on?"
I laughed. "I had an amazing time with Ryan. The only downside was seeing his dad. Poor guy always looked so… lifeless. And it seemed to get worse every time he looked at me."
Ryan's dad and my mom dated in high school, and apparently he never got over her, even when she broke up with him, ran off to restore her frozen planet, and married Dad. Taylor had blamed me for quote, 'ruining her life' by claiming that he'd spiraled into a deep depression after she left him, and after meeting him for myself, I couldn't help but feel like maybe she had actually been sort of right. (Not to the extent she'd taken it, of course, because she was insane, but still.) It made me feel bad. "I wish I knew some way to make him feel better," I mused.
"Look at our 'Liss, trying to help her boyfriend's family with their problems," Ivy cooed. "Could this urge stem from some other desire? Like perhaps the desire to someday be his daughter-in-law?"
"Ivy!" I squealed, whipping a pillow from the nearby couch at her head.
"Pillow fight? Aw man, why didn't anybody tell me?" Aqua exclaimed, poking her head out from her and Mel's room.
"Pillow fight?" Mel asked, barely containing her excitement.
I laughed. "Not now, guys. We have to unpack."
Mel pouted. "Tonight, then?"
"Why not?" Dee said, looking up from her tiny portable laptop. "We could make snacks and do manicures and dish about our summers. A pillow fight would be the perfect ending."
"Sounds like fun," Ivy said. "Count me in." Then she disappeared into her room, with Dee following at her heels.
"Alright! Pillow fight!" Mel exclaimed joyfully. "I'm there."
"Me too," Aqua seconded, before they too headed inside their shared room to unpack.
"I guess it's official, then," Lola said, pausing at the door to her single. "You gonna be alright with no help, 'Liss? You've got a single now, after all."
I smiled just thinking about my new, large, spacious room, which I had all to myself. "I'll be okay. See you later, Lola."
"Later." Then she pulled the door shut behind her.
I busied myself unpacking for the rest of the afternoon, finding it so much easier to fit all of my clothes and other personal items now that I had all the closet and drawer space in the room. (Of course, last year Taylor had hogged most of the drawers and all of the closet, so anything would've been better and easier to fit into). When I finally finished, I headed back to the common room, hoping to find some of my friends lazing about, reading magazines or sharing summer stories. To my dismay, it was empty.
Oh well, I thought. They're probably still packing or already finished and went off to do… whatever it is they do in their spare time. My friends have very different interests, united as we are in the next generation of the Winx Club.
The Winx Club. Shivers went down my spine just thinking about it. Years ago, our mothers took on the moniker while they stopped evil-doers from taking over the magical dimension. And now, thanks to a quirky teacher named Mirta last year, we were adopting the name ourselves, as the next generation.
I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the school, seeking out acquaintances from last year and avoiding the icy stares of the mean girls behind my back. Finally, it was dinner time, and I met my friends at the dining hall.
"Hey there 'Liss, where were you this afternoon?" Mel asked, as I slid in next to Lola with my tray of salad and pasta.
"Where were you?" I countered. "I was looking for you guys when I finished unpacking and nada."
"Sorry," Aqua said, taking a sip of her soda. "I dragged Mel and Lola down to the beach with me when we finished unpacking. My volleyball team was having a match, and we're only allowed to leave campus in groups of threes… and I knew Lola would be up for some sun-bathing…"
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. So Aqua. "It's okay, I forgive you guys. I didn't really do much myself. Just walked around a bit and said hi to everyone."
"That reminds me," Lola said. "Chloe and Nikita came by earlier, and said some nasty stuff about you. Guess some people didn't get the memo that you're not dangerous."
I sighed. I'd known this sort of thing was going to happen when I decided to come back to Alfea after last year, and so I wasn't all that surprised. "Ignore them. They're just jealous cows. Or rather, sheep with no shepherd, now that Taylor's gone."
"Good riddance is all I can say," Lola declared. "Things are so much better around here now with that witch gone."
"Agreed," Aqua said.
"To Taylor's expulsion!" we cried, clinking our soda and water glasses together in a toast. Yes, it was petty and mean-spirited (not to mention old news), but it's also one of those things that never really gets old.
"Uch," Chloe scoffed, as she and Nikita slithered up next to our table. "Look, Nikki, it's Freak Girl and her little friends."
"How do you guys hang out with her?" Nikita chirped. "I mean, aren't you scared she'll like, lose her temper and blow you to bits, like her crazy dad?"
"Shut your mouth, Nikita, or I'll shut it for you," Mel snapped.
"Ooh, a threat from the little music fairy. What are you gonna do, blast loud music in my ears? Oh, I'm so scared!"
"Watch it, Nikki," Lola growled, clenching her hands into fists.
"Look, she's angry," Chloe taunted. "What's gonna happen now?"
"All of you stop this right now!" Ms Faragonda snapped, appearing out of nowhere. "Girls, calm down. All this fighting is not what we stand for here at Alfea. Chloe, Nikita, I hope you two got your kicks, because for the next two weeks you'll be reporting directly to me after classes for detention."
"What?" Chloe whined.
"No fair!" Nikita piped in.
Ms F smirked. "Maybe you should've thought about that before saying such rude things about a fellow student. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."
Chloe and Nikita sulked off, presumably go to torture some other unsuspecting students before a teacher caught them. "Thank you, Ms Faragonda," I said.
"No problem, Alyssa," she smiled back at me. "I'd hoped that over the summer this whole mess would blow over, but evidently it didn't. I'm so sorry you have to go through this."
"It's not your fault. I knew things like this were bound to happen again when I came back." I sighed. "Some girls are just really immature, aren't they?"
"Yes they are," Ms Faragonda agreed, shaking her head and smiling at me. "If it doesn't get better soon, don't hesitate to tell me, dear."
"Of course."
"Hey, 'Liss? You coming?" Lola called out to me from the doorway to the dining hall. "We're gonna go start our girls' night in."
"Coming!" I called back. "See you tomorrow morning, Ms F."
"See you tomorrow, Alyssa," she called. "Wait – there's something I need to tell y–"
But I was already running down the hallway to Suite 12, and never heard what she said.
When I got back, all the other girls were already in their pajamas, setting up movies and popcorn and placing pillows everywhere. "Alyssa, get into your PJs already!" Lola chirped.
"Then come settle the movie debate!" Aqua cried from the DVD player. "We're trying to figure out what to watch."
"Alright, I'm coming, I'm coming," I said, laughing. "Just give me five minutes."
I crossed the common room to the doors to my room, opened them, and slipped inside.
"Hello, Princess Alyssa," a voice said from behind me. I whirled around in shock to see a girl sitting on the bed on the other side of my room.
She was tall and slim, with golden-tanned skin and long, wavy blond hair that tumbled down her back in soft curls. Her clothes fit her slender figure perfectly – a cream white peasant mini-dress with long genie sleeves and a slashed V-neckline, and flat gold gladiator sandals, with a pretty, intricately swirled gold choker necklace around her neck that had an aquamarine pendant in the center. The pendant matched her eyes – a beautiful blue-green color, like the sea on a warm summer day.
"Who are you? And how do you know my name?" I asked, taking in the side of the room she was sitting on. Unfamiliar turquoise and white bedding on the bed… a white shag throw rug… white cubic furniture… posters on the walls that had definitely not been there when I left for dinner… tan suede and leather suitcases sitting half-opened by the closet…
The girl on the bed raised her eyebrow. "Didn't anyone tell you?"
"Tell me what?" I asked, staring at her some more. Her resemblance to Taylor was uncanny. It was starting to freak me out.
She smiled. "I'm your new roommate."
Author's Note: ...And so another year at Alfea begins for Alyssa & Co!
For anyone happening upon this story for the first time who's gotten this far and is like "What?", this is the second book in a trilogy. I strongly recommend reading the first, called What Comes Next, before you read this one.
Returning readers, enjoy! The second year promises to be even crazier than the first - like I'd give you anything else? And I will say one thing: this mystery girl is most certainly not Taylor. Other than that, you'll have to use your imaginations...
Updates should be forthcoming. Of course, if you want them faster, you know the magic word... (hint: it starts with an "R" and ends with a "-eview" ;-)
Peace out!
- Authoress