"That must be a form of medieval torture," Ortensia said as soon as I exited the changing rooms, my red gym back swung over my shoulder.
"Girl, what are you talking about, you are one of the fastest fliers in the school," Francine sassed, joining us.
"Oh yea, and that helped so much with goddamn dodgeball," Ortensia replied, rolling her eyes as we walked out of the gym.
"Apparently they are testing our reflexes," Francine replied, shrugging.
"Oh yea, and how does dodgeball help test that? If you ask me, it'd just a method of torture," Ortensia snipped, making me smirk.
"What's your thoughts, Musa?" Francine asked, dragging me into the conversation.
"I think I am so glad it's lunchtime," I replied, smirking at my friends, drawing chuckles from them both.
"Me too, hopefully they have something good today," Francine said, dodging out of another Fairies' way.
I hummed a reply and we kept joking around as we walked down the hall. It has been a good day today, with most classes testing our skills. After the first class we have potion theory, where we had a pop quiz to test our knowledge so we could compare it to the end of the year. We then had a break and had just finished our double gym, which was killer. I was lucky to find Francine in my potion theory class, and she reintroduced me to Ortensia in gym after we hit it off. A few other girls and I chatted, but these two were the ones I connected with the most.
Ortensia opened the door for us, and Francine gave her a mock curtsey. That was something I loved about these girls. They could joke around and didn't take each other too seriously. The scent of food wafted over to us, making my stomach grumble loudly. The girls looked at me and smirked, but all I could think of was I was so glad that the smell of sweat was gone. "I'll grab us a spot if you girls grab my lunch?" Francine asked, and we both nodded.
"What do you want?" Ortensia asked, calling out over her shoulder as we lined up.
"I dunno, surprise me," the River Fairy called, making me chuckle and Ortensia groan.
"Not a fan of surprises?" I asked her, my hands itching to grab my music.
"I don't mind them, but I prefer knowing exactly what's happening. I mean, what happens if she hates what we order?" She said, her eyes widening as she nibbled on her lip, her eyes darting every which way.
"Chillax girl, if she was fussy, she would've ordered herself," I pointed out, making the girl calm down a little.
"Yea, you are right, sorry," she said, a light dusting of pink on her face.
"No stress," I replied, an easy-going smile on my face. "Besides, she will have to eat it anyway or be hungry," I winked, drawing out a laugh from my friend.
"You know Musa, you are not what I expected," she said, as we moved up in the line.
I raised my brow, "What were you expecting?"
She immediately panicked, waving her hands in front of her body in a no gesture and her eyes widened, much like the Lullaby toads on Melody. "I just meant, it's not that I- ugh this is hard," she wailed, putting her head in her hands.
Taking pity on her, I rubbed her shoulders and gave her a gentle smile. "Chillax, I like you both two."
She was about to reply when we got to the front of the line. I immediately thanked Ortensia for the plate she passed me and surveyed the food. Practically salivating, I heaped fries and a burger on my plate, barbeque sauce covering the buns. After a second of consideration, I grabbed a pear and a glass of juice, before following Ortensia back to the table, smiling as I watched her look of concentration as she focused on not dropping the two trays.
"Man, I love that food is included in the fees," I cheered, placing my tray down and taking my seat.
"It's so good," Francine agreed, looking up from her phone.
"I didn't know what you wanted, so I hope this is okay," Ortensia said, biting her inner cheek as she passed the food over. "I remembered you saying you liked fish…"
I looked over and saw that she has a fillet of Androsian Tidal fish with assorted vegetables. She had a glass of what looked like lemonade and a small mud pudding. "This is perfect, thanks so much," Francine said, smiling brightly.
Ortensia seemed to visibly inflate at the praise, giving her roommate a bright smile. We stopped talking for a little, digging into our food. I practically moaned when I bit into the burger, the flavours exploding over my taste buds. The girls smirked at me but said nothing, understanding a girl's gotta eat. Once I had finished my burger, I grabbed a napkin that magically appeared, wiping my hands.
"Are you girls excited for the welcome back ball?" Francine asked, her eyes lighting up.
Ortensia and I both groaned, before snickering at our synchronicity. "No, my dad will be there and will be all overprotective. I'm never going to get a boyfriend," Ortensia lamented. sighing as she rested her had in her hand.
"Who's your dad?" I asked curiously, secretly telling myself he couldn't be worse than my dad.
"Codatorta Bellmore, he is the deputy over at Red Fountain," she sighed, and I winced, mentally agreeing that would suck.
"He is nicknamed Codatorta the Terrible by the students," Francine added, wincing at her friend's misfortune.
"How do you know that nickname?" Ortensia asked, still lamenting her misfortune.
"My older brother attends, his name is Ed." Francine replied, and Ortensia looked at her friend, mouth agape.
"The one dating Princess Stella?"
Groaning, Francine nodded, a slight grimace on her face. "That's the one. I have no issue with Stella, but she does have a habit of breaking hearts and I just don't want Ed to have his heart broken, he is smitten with her," she sighed, twirling her fork in her hand.
"She isn't a cheat, is she?" Ortensia asked, her eyebrows furrowed.
"No! Never, she breaks up with the guys, never cheats," Francine assured, and I couldn't help but mentally sigh in relief. Stella may not be my favourite fairy but at least the girl has morals.
"Anyway, are you girls excited about the dance this weekend?" Francine asked, her eyes lightening up once again at the thought.
"It's just a dance, it will probably be boring," I said, taking a bite of my apple.
"Oh, come on, you are the Fairy of Music, if anyone should love this it should be you," Ortensia added, gently elbowing me in the ribs.
"I just don't love formality, that's all. I prefer the music to be unrestrained, not prim, and proper with the emotions constrained," I replied casually, wrinkling my nose at the thought.
They looked at each other, their eyebrows furrowed. "I have no idea what that means but come on it'll be fun. Do you have a dress?" Francine said, smiling again.
"I don't wear dresses, but I assume you girls need to go get one?" I asked, and they nodded empathically.
"Tell you what, why don't you come in with us and I can show you some of the best music stores after we get our clothing," Ortensia bribed me, smirking wickedly when she saw my eyes widen.
"You are an evil woman, Ortensia, but I'm game. Shall we meet outside the gate at say 5 and we can get some dinner too?" I bartered; hearing pizza practically call my name.
"Deal," they said together, and I smiled happily.
"Come on girls, we had better get going, break will be over soon." Francine added, making Ortensia and I both moan at the injustice.
I sluggishly stood up and grabbed our trays, piling them up. They called out to me to argue, but I waved them off. I placed them in the dirty area and made my way to the doorway where I could hear them bantering outside.
"Ready?" I asked them and they nodded, grabbing my hand each and pulling me to our History of Magic class.
I smiled to myself. I may be a loner, but even I had to admit this was nice. I guess Aunt Lydian and Aunt Viola were right, all you need to do is find your tribe. And looking at these two girls here, their smiles wide and expression unguarded, I think I succeeded and honestly? I couldn't be happier.
Hey everyone! Small chapter, I know, but I'm super busy at University and wanted to get something down. I know the other girls weren't in this one, but I thought it would be way more realistic if they had other friends, especially in my rendition. In one version, Ortensia is Codatorta's daughter, which I liked so added it. Ed isn't Francine's brother in cannon, but they look similar, and I thought it would be a cool link.
I know Stella is a sweetheart and is destined to be with Brandon, but I didn't think it would be realistic for Stella to not have other boyfriends first. She is a loyal girl, but I thought she would be quite fickle on love considering her parents before finding the one she loves. Let me know what your thoughts are on these in the reviews!
I'll try to update again this week, but no promises.
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