Chapter Three: Love Thy Neighbor
Brenna had certain expectations as to what life would be. Certain ideas pertaining to what that would be the ultimate outcome of her existence. She assumed there would be a reward, time served.
Her life would be a series of fascinating pan-lefts and zooms that would eventually culminate in a stylish montage of professional photography layered over slightly down-tempo, new age, rock music.
Quickly, this delusion dissipated into the increasingly painful realization that she was not at all destined for greatness. Or even a cool documentary.
The orientation had twisted fatally into a never-ending succession of "learning activities" such as "what to do when you do not manage to orb your entire body out of a situation. Any volunteers?"
Brenna herself had escaped with little more than a few strands of hair gone. She hoped Chris wouldn't notice. But Bella's leg had been missing for just about a week. The hospital wing was crowded with students waiting while the whitelighter/witches tried to scry for their limbs. Even the staff seemed abashed at how little the students were able to cope with. Their writers were not the stuff that good fanfiction was made of.
The staff was beginning to doubt its decision that the students were suited for the grades of magic bestowed upon them. After all, they had only been there a week and body parts were absent from their cavities.
They sat in the dining hall, heads leaning in conspiratorially as they tried to remedy the admitted mistake.
"Well, no one has ever accused us of being the greatest at using magic; or, giving it out." Piper said. "Maybe the best thing to do is to let the students learn by experience. That's how we did it."
Chris grimaced as he put his hand on the table. The bandage covering up the gaping wound that remained after he forcibly removed his hand from a girl named Kristen's. She had cast a binding spell of a …different kind. "Yeah…but you weren't hormonal teenagers."
"You're right."
The instructors looked out into the sea of girls inhabiting each and every one of the long, plank tables. The girls looked back blankly.
"You know, maybe we just have to instill some sense of duty," Paige suggested. "Teach them some empathy towards fellow creatures. Some responsibility."
"I know empathy," said Phoebe. "I think I know just the thing."
The next morning, the students were gathered in the lower chambers of the school, awaiting what they expected to be another painful seminar. Brenna wondered where Rose was. She had a habit of disappearing at inopportune moments. The again, so did the characters.
Through the network of Chris-lovers, which was now an established group that had taken to calling itself the Blues after the rather angelic color of their lust-object's eyes, she knew that he had not been seen for the better part of a day.
Distressing.
She was shaken out of her daze by the appearance of the youngest Halliwell sister, who seemed to be the major coordinator in most of the university's activities.
Paige walked to the front of the small room. For the first time Brenna noticed that the floor was covered with what looked like…grass.
"Okay. Now, my sisters and I have seen some…problems, lately. Specifically the ignorance of you guys for the rules. Therefore, we have decided to do something about it.
Naturally."
Piper strode into the room, pushing what looked to Brenna like a unicorn. "It's funny the choice of word," she laughed, "that my sister had there. Because, nature is what we're gonna get you closer to. You see, it's important to learn how to care for and nurture others. It is a very important part of being a witch. You must care. And not blow each other up every two minutes." She patted the magical horses flank. "Now, some of you—namely the bunch of you that is standing closest to me, are going to take care of these guys." As she talked, more unicorns materialized behind her.
From somewhere in the conflux came the whisper that they 'could "take care" of Chris.'
"—And the others will oversee some different things."
The students felt a wave of maliciousness waft over the crowd.
"You see," Piper began again. "Some of you have been less caring than others, and so will need a slightly more varied type of education. If you follow me.."
She walked into an adjoining room, the students shuffling not far behind. They were met with the foreboding site of ten claw-footed bathtubs, each containing a mermaid. Rosewitch waved to Brenna from a nearby tub. She waved back blearily.
"A certain chosen few of you will get the honor of scrubbing your more aquatically inclined classmates tailfins. It's kind of hard to do that themselves." She paused, letting the horror of the impending task sink its teeth into the onlookers. "Leo!"
With a collective jump the gathering watched as the whitelighter and the last sister orbed into the chamber. "Hi guys," said Phoebe. With a motion of her hand she directed the group to come with her to yet chamber, where they were instructed to look up towards the ceiling.
For once, they breathed freely. But only once.
"The rest of you, will collect fairie dust."
"Oh! With this!" Phoebe chimed, holding aloft a flyswatter-sized butterfly net. "You wouldn't want to hurt the little guys."
Brenna could have sworn she heard tiny, tinkling laughter come from overhead.