"I'm telling you there's something strange about him," Sierra said.
"Sierra, give it a rest," Eva huffed.
"No! No until admit that I'm right," Sierra said.
"Hello," Aikka greeted, approaching them.
"Wow, I haven't seen that outfit since the race," Eva said, looking at Aikka's clothes.
"What's with the get-up?" Sierra asked.
"My old teacher has arrived," Aikka said.
"I thought Canaan was already here," Eva said.
"Not him, my old magic instructor," Aikka said. "She's very strict and very traditional."
"What does it matter what she thinks? You're the goddamn prince," Sierra said.
"She is…a terrifying woman," Aikka said. "Ketena had her as an instructor as well. We both dislike her. We've even called a truce while she's here."
"Why is she here?" Eva asked. They stopped as they arrived at Aikka's locker.
"For Amanita. Her magical core is untrained, and unfocused," Aikka said.
"So why are you worrying about her?" Sierra said.
"When she was training me she still monitored Ketena to make sure she was doing things perfectly," Aikka explained. "And once, she overheard me and Ketena talking about how she didn't want to become queen and she started lecturing her and tried to get her to change her mind."
"Wow." Eva whistled in shock. "She seems kinda controlling."
"She is, but she is also one of the best magic instructors in Nourasia," Aikka said.
"So, you're wearing that out of fear?" Sierra asked.
"Basically." Aikka sighed. He closed his locker and leaned against it."There are already a lot of people that oppose my being here. I cannot risk anyone else's displeasure. Who knows what would happen."
"Alright, so this also has some political shit in it," Sierra said.
"What are you going to do if we ever find Galaxia?" Eva asked.
"I do not know." Aikka confessed sadly.
"Alright! Enough with this depressing attitude!" Sierra shouted. "Aikka, do you think there's something strange with Michael?"
"Not this again," Eva groaned, hanging her head.
"I thought you said you didn't listen to rumors," Aikka said, remembering the other day.
"I don't! Well except for one about Eva, but that's not the point," she said.
"There's a rumor about me?" Eva asked in shock.
"Yeah but that's not the point," Sierra said, ignoring the princess. "Haven't you noticed something off about him?"
"Off how?" Aikka asked.
"Like how he seems to know everything. He knew Eva was going to get hurt, he knew where her science book was, and he knew exactly where I left my lunch and he even made one for me."
"I did notice a small magical energy to his core, but I thought it was normal for some humans to have magical energies," Aikka said.
"You do realize that I'm only half-human, right?" Eva asked.
"Yes, but we have heard stories about humans with magical abilities," Aikka said. "Ketena is even reading a book documenting such a person."
"Let me guess, the guy's name is Harry Potter," Eva said with a smirk.
"Yes, have you read the books too?" Aikka asked.
"Hate to burst your bubble Harry Potter is fiction, as in not real," Sierra told him. "People on Earth can't do magic."
"Hey, we used to think aliens were fiction," Eva said. "Who's to say what's fiction and what's not? Magic could exist on Earth and we might not know it."
"You do have a point." Sierra agreed. "I mean, the ocean is still 94% undiscovered. Mermaids could exist and we wouldn't know it."
"You have mermaids?" Aikka asked.
"We don't know," Eva said. "It shows how little we actually know about the world we live on." Their conversation ended as the bell rang.
"Great, time for class with Michael." Sierra sighed in frustration.
"I can take a closer look at his core if you wish," Aikka suggested as they walked towards class.
"Really? Awesome!" Sierra cheered. "You're the best Aikka."
"Can you not be so loud?" Eva huffed, rubbing her forehead. "I practiced really late last night and then I still had my lessons."
"Sorry." Sierra chuckled.
"And if you divide X by 3 you'll get-" Mrs. Tintan was cut off as an alarm went off. The students looked around in confusion as they recognized the sound. "Come on kids, this isn't a drill, let's go." The students all stood up and quickly filed out of the room, joining the rest of the confused students.
"What is going on?" Aikka asked.
"Fire alarm," Eva answered. "There's either a fire somewhere in the building, or someone set off the alarm."
"Michael must have done it," Sierra said. "He went to the bathroom and then the fire alarm is pulled? Come on it has to be him!"
"Are you seriously doing this?" Eva huffed.
"Yes! There is something wrong about him!" Sierra insisted. "So, did you notice anything about his core?"
"I did not get a good look. There was too much interference," Aikka said. "Too many cores. I was able to center on his but then he left the room. I couldn't get a good read."
"Of course." Sierra crossed her arms and huffed. The class walked to the front yard and looked at building. "Perfectly fine, no smoke anywhere. Michael set it off."
"I'm offended by that accusation," Michael said. His sudden appearance made the three teens jump.
"What the hell? Are you eavesdropping on us now?" Sierra asked.
"Don't have to," Michael said. "I know everything. Now, next time you try to read me, you should think twice."
"Was that a threat?" Eva asked.
"More like a warning," Michael said. "I'll see you guys around."
"Alright, believe me now?" Sierra asked, crossing her arms.
"Okay, yeah, I believe you," Eva said.
"So what do we do now?" Sierra asked.
"I got it," Aikka announced.
"You read his core?" Eva asked.
"I had already gotten a good reading, but it wasn't enough. He just gave me enough time to finish," Aikka said.
"And?" Eva asked.
"I'll tell you later," Aikka said.