Eda was already bored out of her mind. The entire day has just been a drag. Morton's notes came in handy during the first class in the Potions Track, and she was confident she at least got a passing grade. Now, she was in her third class of the Potions Track — her second favorite time of the school day — and this class felt even slower. Immediately after this, it would be her favorite time of the school day — aside from leaving — the lunch break. In times like these, she would generally be playing with Owlbert. But her palisman was asleep in her hair, which was big enough to serve as storage space for whatever she could fit inside.
Eda's desk was located in the very middle of the classroom, with her sister's right next to her. She wished she could be chatting with Morton right about now, but he is in the front row. Eda slumped her shoulders and rested her chin on her hand propped up by her elbow. "Edalyn, focus," Lilith whispered quickly. Being the goody-two-shoes that she is, the older sister sat up straight and paid attention to the course and what Professor Barcus had to say. Or bark, to be exact.
Bark! Bark! "Ms. Clawthorne." Professor Jerbo, a substitute teacher from the Plant Track, spoke. He is possibly the only witch who is not a member of the Beast Keeping Track or Coven that can translate what the canine witch can say. "Is there something you wish to share with the class?"
"No. I'm sorry, sirs." The older redhead replied, staring at her desk, embarrassed and red in the face from the looks she was getting from her peers.
Bark! Bark! "Alright, then." The professors resumed the lesson. "As we were saying—" Like how Eda was not paying attention, she was also not speaking with her sister today. Well, nothing beyond small talk. Her mind was on another matter she deemed more important.
After the first class, Eda and Morton headed to their lockers, which happened to be within the same vicinity of each other. And Raine's happened to be there, as well. They arrived to see Raine with Poppy Porter. She was displaying her bardic magic, and its unique ability to control a potted plant just as well as anyone from that Track.
"Hey, Raine. Poppy." Eda greeted her friend and sister's rival.
"Oh, Eda. Morton." Raine greeted them in return.
"Hi, Eda," Poppy greeted them, too. While Eda and Poppy were not close by any means, she did like when they did interact. However, the moments are rare, especially when Lilith — who makes everything a competition with her — is nearby. "Leon hasn't given you any trouble today, has he?"
"Eh, Pipsqueak bumped into me outside." The young redhead replied. "Haven't seen him since."
"Don't need you two destroying the school, anyway." Raine half-joked, fully knowing what they feared would happen if the two troublemakers ever got into a "real" Witches' Duel. "How was class today?"
"Great, Raine," Morton answered them. "I'm confident that I got an A+ on that test."
"And I'm confident I got something higher than a C." Eda answered, then turned to Morton. "By the way, I still can't thank you enough for those notes."
"Still gonna show me those spells later?" He asked Eda.
"Oh, yeah. You have my guarantee that they're gonna blow your mind."
"But not literally, right? I don't wanna die before I get my first Grom date."
"There you are, Edalyn." Eda turned to the voice of her sister as she walked up to her. She noticed the others. "Raine. Morton." Then narrowed her eyes at her rival. "Penelope."
"Hey, Lilith." Poppy greeted her with a smile and wave.
"Hey, sis," Eda spoke to her older sibling, folding her arms and leaning against the lockers. "Is there something you need?"
"I was hoping we could finish our conversation from earlier."
Eda pinched her temples. "Seriously?"
"This sounds like something private." Poppy put it together, gathering her belongings.
"We'll talk later, Eda," Raine said as they took Morton's arm and led him down the hall.
"Alright." Eda waved to them, then looked back at her sister. "You're still on that?"
"Yes, I am." Lilith folded her arms. "I want to know what's going on with you."
"I told you before; it's nothing. Look, if I apologize to mom when we get home, will you drop it?"
"Are you going to carry this attitude with you into the Emperor's Coven, Edalyn? You know they won't tolerate it."
Eda narrowed her eyes then looked away from her sister. "Then maybe I just won't join. Simple as that."
Lilith was honestly surprised by that response. "What are you talking about? Joining the Emperor's Coven has been our dream."
Eda scoffed. "When we were five years old; getting to see mom in action. Or have Aunt Em and Uncle Ed tell us the tales of High Priestess Amity Blight, the "Great Protector of the Isles," maybe."
"Our mom's work is important, Edalyn." Lilith grew more defensive. "I thought you knew that."
"Yeah, but I'm starting to think it's not for me." Eda returned her attention to her sister. "Besides, you want it more than I do, anyway. You want to live the life of a patriot, serve beside the emperor and make the Boiling Isles a "safer" place for all its inhabitants, no matter what. Heck, the Emperor's Coven even claims to know what the people want more than the people."
"What are you even talking about?"
"Do you not see the same things I do, Lily? Literally, every time we take a trip into Bonesborough, we see guards escorting prisoners down the streets for all the town to see, being taken to the Conformatorium where Warden Braxus is allowed to do Titan-knows-what to them. And they don't even look like criminals most of the time. I doubt they did anything wrong, either."
"You don't know that, Edalyn. Who knows what they could've done wrong?"
"Being themselves is my guess. Have you seriously not noticed that all arrests made in Emperor Belos' name are to people who, as his stooges put it, "Don't fit in with society?" Because I do."
"Edalyn, you can't say stuff like that in public." Lilith looked around to make sure no one was listening. This just proved Eda's point that Lilith and other citizens are either naïve to this fact or just willingly ignorant. She could not tell which was worse. RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! The bell just screamed for the second class, and for once in her life, she was looking forward to it. If for no other reason than just to get out of this mess of a conversation.
"… So, in conclusion—" The Professors were about to finish their lesson. RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! The bell's scream reverberated throughout the room, ending the period.
"Thank you, Titan!" Eda shouted, hopping out of her desk chair with enthusiasm, only to get stares from her peers and an embarrassed groan from Lilith.
Bark. Bark. "Edalyn Clawthorne, please sit down until you are dismissed." The Professors chastised the troublemaker. She groaned and sat back down, folding her arms. Bark. Bark. "Alright, class. We'll pick this up next week." That was when the students knew it was okay to gather their belongings and filed out into the hall. Bark. Bark. "Oh, yes, and remember to keep practicing!"
"Let's get going, sis," Eda said to Lilith as she led her out of the classroom, eager to get to the cafeteria as quickly as possible. "I wanna snag an extra pudding before they're all gone. Owlbert loves them, don't you, sweetie?" Eda's palisman burrowed through her hair until he stuck his head out. Hoot. "Yes, you do. Yes, you do." Eda patted his head with her finger.
"I'm coming," Lilith replied in a down tone that both witch and palisman took notice of.
Hoot? "You're not the only one wondering that."
The sisters arrived in the mess hall and grabbed their lunch. For Eda, it was a dish of wiggling noodles covered in a dark blue sauce and two pudding cups. Hoot. Owlbert happily snatched one of them, flew to the Clawthornes' usual and favorite table, and dug into the treat.
Meanwhile, Lilith just picked up a sandwich with a purple jam. "Is everything alright?" Eda asked, the concern for her sister growing.
"I'm fine," Lilith answered and took a bite out of her sandwich.
"No, something's bothering you. What is it?"
"Nothing's bothering me."
"Look, if this is about our little... disagreement from before—"
"It's not that." Lilith sighed. "Well, maybe it is… but… I've just been… thinking—"
"Thinking about what?"
"About… about our future. What if I'm actually... unworthy. The tryouts are tomorrow and… What if I don't get into the Emperor's Coven?"
"I think you're worrying too much," Eda said. "I may have been a little hasty in telling you that I don't want to join the Coven anymore." The younger sister looked down at the table. "To be honest, I'm unsure about many things, lately. But I do know the tryouts will be alright."
Lilith huffed. "That's easy for you to say; you could get in no problem without even trying."
"You will get in, Lily." Eda tapped her finger against her head. "I mean, the Titan gave you that big brain for a reason. The Coven's got to see that. Otherwise, they're a bunch of tools. It also doesn't hurt that mom is their leader."
Their mother, one of the most feared and respected witches on the Isles, and who has been the best mother to them that she could; Eda loved her mom, the only one she could really call that. Neither she nor Lilith even remembered who their mother and father were. This left Eda thinking; her mom may get on her nerves, but it all came from a place of love. Maybe, she should start showing it back some more.
"I guess," Lilith said, her eyes looking away.
Hoot. Owlbert looked up from his pudding cup and hopped over to the older sister, nuzzling against her hand. Lilith smiled at the palisman.
"You don't need to worry about any of this now; we have 'til tomorrow." Eda reminded her, twirling her noodles onto her fork and stuffing them into her mouth. They made crunching sounds as she chewed, then swallowed. "And besides, if you don't get into the Coven, then neither will I."
"What do you mean?" Lilith asked her, looking at her sister.
"What do you think I mean? If you don't get accepted, then they won't get me either." Eda took Lilith's hand. "After all, it's you and me. Eda and Lilith. Clawthorne Sisters versus the world. And that's how it will always be." Hoot! Owlbert excitedly hooted, hopping onto the sisters' hands.
"Aw, isn't that sweet?" Eda and Lilith recognized the voice, and they looked to their left to see Thom, the captain of the Hexside Banshees. The sisters turn their bodies to see him approach their table with two of his teammates by his side. Eda and Lilith may be members of the grudgby team — and two of the best players there were — but they never really got along with the others. Especially their captain, who only got the position because Lilith chose to put her education first.
"What do you want, Thom?" An annoyed Eda asked. "The nerds are three tables down." She pointed at a table where a group of students from the Illusion, Oracle, and Healing tracks sat.
"We just overheard your little talk about joining the Emperor's Coven." He turned to Lilith. "You should forget about it. Any Coven would be embarrassed to have someone like you in them. A complete embarrassment of a witch."
Eda stood from the table. "How about you back off before I take that big head of yours and shove it up your—"
"Edalyn, I'll handle this," Lilith said.
"But Lily…"
"No buts." Lilith stood up. "Thom, I am kindly asking you to leave us alone, or else."
"Or else, what?" Thom asked, folding his arms.
"Or else I will have to report your disrespectful behavior to a teacher."
Eda slapped her forehead as Thom, and his friends laughed off Lilith's threat. "And you just proved my point. So, when you're out there helping the guards catch criminals, what are you gonna do if one of them does this?" He pushed on Lilith's chest with one hand, making her fall to the ground as the grudgby players laughed. That was his first and only mistake.
Eda drew a magical circle with her finger, creating a portal and throwing a punch into it. Suddenly, a portal opened right next to Thom's head, and her fist shot out and struck his jaw. The force of the impact sent him tumbling backward before lying flat on the ground. Eda pulled her fist back and cast another spell on the other two grudgby players. Before they even knew what was happening, they were lifted into the air. One was tossed right into the kitchen and the other into a trashcan.
From said trash can, King fell out, desperately clinging to a slice of pizza. "Who dares to interrupt my feast?!" He demanded before noticing Eda. "Oh, hi, Eda!"
"King?" The younger sister asked. "What are you doing here?"
"Enjoying the cuisine." The little demon answered before eating the entire pizza slice in one bite. Belch. He burped before his eyes widened and pointed. "Look out!"
Eda followed his finger and saw one of the other players was about to hit her with a fireball. Boosh! But Eda back-stepped out of the way, feeling the heat glide against the tip of her nose. She turned her attention to her last opponent. She drew another circle, pointing at the ground and carving into the tile. "Abomination, rise."
A creature made of a mixture of tile and dirt — and spilled food and drinks — rose from the ground. It grew and molded until finally taking a recognizable form with a head, body, arms, and legs. Eda pointed at the grudgby player as he was priming another fireball. But a gooey fist slammed into and stuck him to the floor, unable to escape.
Thom, who was still dazed from the attack before, sat up as the Abomination lurched over to him. The gooey golem picked him up with one hand, dangling him upside down. "Let me go! Or so help me—"
"No, you listen." Eda walked over to the captain and looked him in the eye. "Don't ever mess with my sister." She snapped her fingers, and the Abomination tossed him out of the cafeteria. The doors swung in and out before the Abomination collapsed into a pile of mush. Eda walked over to Lilith and offered her a hand up. "You alright?"
Lilith did not take it and stood on her own. "You shouldn't have done that."
"I wasn't gonna let 'em push you around like that."
"I don't need you to—"
"What is going on in here?!" Ms. Jenkinmeyer barged into the cafeteria. She gasped at the mess caused by the scuffle and quickly noticed the pile of inactive Abomination next to Eda.
"Uh, oh," King said.
"Edalyn Clawthorne! Principal's office! Now!" The younger Clawthorne knew this was going to happen but does not regret a thing.
Ms. Jenkinmeyer drew a circle, and an aura surrounded Eda, levitating her out of the cafeteria. "I can walk, y'know!" The younger redhead shouted.
Jenkinmeyer then noticed King by the trash cans, glaring at him. "And she brought a pet here, too."
"You'll never catch me!" King shouted, making a break for it. Only to be trapped in the same aura as Eda and levitated out of the cafeteria. "You definitely caught me!"
Yes, that is an Amphibia reference at the end. Please favorite, follow and leave a review; feedback is appreciated.
