Amity had spent the last week since Grom Night delving into homework, keeping quiet, and avoiding Luz in particular. She wasn't sure how to act around her at the moment; after their shared battle with the Fear Bringer, or after experiencing several very real scenarios of being in her life, thanks to the genie, Jinn. She felt awkward, and out of place among her peers suddenly; as though she knew something they didn't. What did Jinn mean by telling her to get away from the Boiling Isles before things went bad?
Between being grounded, her rapidly growing and unreciprocated feelings for Luz, and the mystery that Jinn had left her with, she hadn't even noticed that Grudgeby season had also started. Fortunately, that would likely result in not having to deal with Boscha for awhile as the Banshees would be travelling across the Boiling Isles; a reprieve if ever she received one.
She had followed her brother and sister to school; her unwelcome chaperones while she was grounded. Amity had certainly considered telling her mother the whole story of how she had come to find the mysterious genie bottle, after Edric had taken it from the attic of the manor and then lost it to Principal Bump, but she doubted that it would do any good. Edric and Emira were intended to be their mother's legacy, but had so far fallen short of her expectations. Despite that, they were still Odalia's favored children, even if the Blight legacy had fallen on Amity now.
The twins entered the front door of Hexside, shooing away the various spirits that were floating about the entryway, shaking pompoms and waving flags. A large blue banner flew above the school that read 'Go Get'em Banshees!', further instilling relief in Amity that her time with Boscha in the coming months would be short.
Amity made her way to her locker, dumping an armful of texts that she'd been pouring over through the weekend into the creature's mouth, and used a gentle hand to convince it to close again when she heard the sound of mixed laughter down the hall. Curious, she began to make her way toward the sound when a distressed cry from the school's front doors pierced through the pleasantries.
"Nobody's here!" Boscha called, having arrived and expecting the student body to be at her feet. As the Grudgeby Captain, despite the Banshee's loss at Glandus High a short time ago, Boscha was used to bringing glory to Hexside, and was thus also accustomed to all the fame, accolades, and privilege that came with it. As the laughter continued, Amity watched as Boscha grew curious as well and peeked down the hall to where a collection of students had gathered around Willow. She couldn't help but smile to herself as she spied a familiar, flowery clip in Willow's hair.
"Do me next! Do me!" Gourdon insisted excitedly to Willow, causing confused looks on both Amity and Boscha. Willow traced a glowing green spell circle around a flower pot she was holding with an empty vine protruding out of it. Nearly instantly, a large purple melon sprouted and grew into an impressive facsimile of Gourdon's head that he plucked off of the vine and cradled in his arms. "Welcome to the world, little buddy." he said with a teary eyed smile, looking up at Willow as he tickled the culinary copy's chin. "You're the coolest, Willow."
Boscha gathered her entourage; Amelia, Skara, and Cat, and proceeded toward the crowd. Amity took a breath and focused her determination, knowing full well what was about to happen. While Poe, the orange colored demon student with bright blue eyes and a beak-like face sang Willow's praises, Boscha loudly proclaimed to her trio of friends, "Wow! She has to make friends out of plants! How sad." she laughed; being joined by her posse.
Amity approached Boscha, her expression carefully neutral. "Oh, please!" she exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "You know, I used to be like you, Boscha. Obsessed with status, challenging my competition; but I grew up." she said, narrowing her eyes. "When will you?"
The crowd around Willow let out a collective laugh as Amity walked away. Her anxiety at having to face down Boscha in defense of Willow lingered, but it also felt amazing having done so. She could assume that word would eventually reach her mother that she had called out Boscha; in public, no less. She was already grounded for what seemed like would be eternity; what more trouble could she get into? She was nearly fifteen now, and felt like she had lived lifetimes during her encounter with Jinn. She really had grown up, was more mature, and ready to be content in her relationship with Luz as friends…
Amity's ears twitched with the sound of Luz shouting from outside, having just been dropped off in the courtyard by Eda and was now running toward the front doors. Amity felt her skin flush and warm, and her mind began to race. Images of their dance at Grom, watching her hop around in her Odder costume, and the various moments of just being close to her in the weekend of wishes filled her vision and she began to panic, triggering her flight reflex.
Thinking quickly, or perhaps not at all, she summoned a tendril of abomination goo, pulling it from the railing that surrounded the area that looked down onto the lower floor of the school, and up into the second and third stories. Amity took hold of the end of the tendril and dived over the railing to land safely below just as she heard Luz greet Willow above. She blew out a breath and casually walked away despite all the surprised looks she felt on her. She would have to find her way up to her next class on the second floor quickly if she didn't want to be late.
The morning classes were moving slowly for Amity as she was having difficulty focusing on her tasks. She was running through the scenarios of her encounters with Jinn, Boscha, and Luz and how each one had gone, and what she could have done better. Could she have made better wishes, or even been more mature with her choices? Maybe, but she had just gotten home from Grom and her dance with Luz, and she had simply been incapable of thinking of anything other than just wanting to be more to her, and to keep her safe. She could barely even remember their early interactions anymore, from the covention duel and battling Otabin in the library or the slitherbeast at the Knee; or perhaps it was that she didn't want to remember her awful behavior. It was no wonder that Luz didn't want anything to do with her.
"What are you drawing?" Boscha asked, and Amity slammed her notebook closed to hide the cute Luzura doodles, AL initials, and the Luz Blight or Amity Noceda names that she had workshopped.
"Nothing!" Amity exclaimed, blushing heavily.
"Whatever." The girl's tone was cold as she sat down beside Amity. "What was with the attitude this morning? You've barely said two words to me since Grom that wasn't rude."
Amity suddenly felt defensive, and was about to retort when Gus sat down in front of them, looking dejected. He was trying to clean splotches of bright green paint off of his uniform, and he wore a parchment taped to the back of his sleeve that read 'HEX ME'. "Gus, can't you just illusion that off?" she asked in concern.
"Gus?" Boscha asked. "On a short name basis now since hanging around that human and the plant girl?" she continued, rolling her eyes. "Also, the paint is enchanted. It spreads every time it has magic cast on it." she laughed. "Looks like you're going to have to deal with it the old fashioned way, 'prodigy'."
"Why are you like this?" Gus asked before turning away to sit as Mr. Pectoralis, the Biology & Alchemy instructor, took his place at the front of the class, as unenthusiastically as usual. He took a singular look at Gus, sighed, and started into his lesson.
"What's wrong with you?" Amity whispered to Boscha.
"What?" she replied. "Don't pretend that's not funny. Y'know, it wasn't that long ago you would have laughed too, or at least stood by with that blank expression of yours."
"Well, maybe I'm tired of standing by."
"Girls? Are you paying attention?" Mr. Pectoralis asked, pausing his lecture on House Demons.
"Yes, Mr. Pectoralis." they replied in unison, though Boscha's tone was far more mocking than Amity's.
The instructor adjusted a set of his glasses, looking from one girl to the other. "Fine. Then tell me what the lifespan is of a house demon is."
Boscha's face fell, and she hesitated. Taking a moment to revel in her desk partner's lack of attention, Amity piped up. "It's believed that House demons can live for several millennia if their shell is well taken care of. Except most homes are abandoned once a house demon manages to invade."
"Correcto." Mr. Pectoralis said, resulting in Boscha sliding down in her seat in anger. "House demons are notorious pests that can cause all sorts of problems for a home owner if they aren't dealt with quickly. They will wind their way through the entire house until it, and the surrounding area, essentially becomes a part of their body. They tend to be filthy, mean spirited, and very hard to kill."
Amity nodded along to the lecture, recalling the short time she had spent at the Owl House, inhabited by its annoying House Demon, Hooty. Why Eda not only allowed him to inhabit her house, but even made friends with him, she wasn't sure. She also wondered if she should tell Luz how dangerous a house demon like that could be, bringing in who knows what kinds of diseases or other pests. She had mentioned night critters before, though at the time Amity wasn't sure if she had been joking or not.
"Now, as tradition, we have a movie. Viney, if you wouldn't mind?" Mr. Pectoralis said, creating a spell circle that dimmed the candles as the brown haired, multi track girl went to the back of the class to pull the sleepy Echo Mouse from its habitat. The old rodent had seen a few years at Hexside, and had been fed a few text books that would allow it to project their contents onto the board through its eyes. It was a cheap, if not always reliable, method of teaching content without actually having to put forth much effort, which was this particular instructor's most desired method.
"You don't have to look so smug." Boscha whispered.
"This is just my face." Amity replied, trying to pay attention to the projection. She turned to a fresh page in her notebook, and began taking notes. If she was going to get to know Luz, getting to know her… friends, would be essential as well. "Maybe if you paid attention to your studies, I wouldn't have to be smug."
"Ugh!" Boscha growled, standing. "Mr. Pectoralis, I need…" she began, but the instructor had already taken his place behind his desk and his snoring interrupted her. She left the class, grumbling to herself, and Amity smiled before finding herself distracted by doodling in the margins of her notebook.
Eventually, the lunch bell screamed, and Amity had planned on eating in the courtyard in order to be alone with her thoughts and also avoid certain individuals that would likely be distracting. Regretfully, she had discovered that her notes from the morning classes had been lacklustre and incomplete, and it was going to take some effort to try to interpret them with her blush inducing scribbles and pictures drawn throughout.
"Amity!" came a shout from the front stairs of the school as she walked by, and she stopped. She could feel her cheeks warm and she turned around slowly, hugging her notebooks and text tightly to her chest in discomfort. Luz stood from where she had been seated on the steps, with Gus on one side and Willow on the other; all three of them looking as though they had just been through a dumpster with random bits of garbage on their clothes and in their hair with graffiti all over their faces. Luz wiped off her face and brushed off her clothes before running toward her excitedly.
"Luz! You're here!" Amity squeaked, shrinking into herself in an attempt to be invisible. "I mean, obviously you're here. This is school, and you go here now." she rambled on nervously. "With uh, me… I've been talking for too long."
Luz didn't seem to notice how nervous Amity was, and continued her request. "Amity, we need your help!"
"Yes, I can help!" Amity blurted out before remembering just how grounded she was. "With what, exactly?"
Luz scrunched up her face in frustration. "Boscha won't stop picking on Willow, and no one will do anything about it because she's the 'Star Captain of the Grudeby Team.'" she explained, lifting her arms in a mock flex.
Amity frowned. She had hoped her out of class interactions with Boscha had been done for the day. "Yeah, this time of year, she's extra unbearable."
Luz leaned forward in a cute, begging pose that was flustering. "You're friends with her! Can you help us?!"
Amity stepped back and looked away in frustration. "The hard part is, there's no reasoning with Boscha. She only speaks in Grudgeby terms."
Luz stepped forward again with a knowing grin appearing on her face, apparently unable to keep herself from invading Amity's space. "Okay, okay. I'm pickin' up what you're puttin' down."
Checking her books, Amity grew confused. "I'm… not putting anything down." she confirmed. Was Luz confused, or was this another human thing like high fives or shoes without socks?
The sound of debris falling to the ground and Willow's squeaky, surprised scream drew both of their attention back to the school where she was standing beneath the windows, covered in the remains of one of the cafeteria refuse containers. "Willow! What happened?!" Luz called, running to Willow's side.
Willow looked up angrily, sloughing off bits of food and various wrappers from her uniform and hair. "Boscha happened…"
Boscha was leaning out of the second story window of the cafeteria, holding an empty, inverted refuse container and wearing a satisfied smirk. "Hey Willow! I just thought all trash should stay in one spot." she grinned, adding an unmistakable harshness to her statement.
"That's it!" Luz shouted, stepping forward and pushing through the gathering crowd to point an accusatory finger up at Boscha. "Boscha! Willow challenges you to a Grudgeby match!"
Boscha dropped the container in surprise, the grin disappearing from her expression. "She what?"
"I what?!" The surprise spread to Willow, and the rest of the students as well before the container dropped onto Gus as he stood beside his friend, trapping him inside.
"She what?" Gus asked, his voice echoing from inside the container. "Seriously, what's going on here?"
An arrogant sneer spread across Boscha's face. "One moment." she said, disappearing from the window, and whispers began spreading through the gathered students that were present.
"Luz, what are you doing?" Willow whispered, climbing to her feet and stepping away from the flowery vines that crawled up the walls of the school that she had been leisurely confiding to before being attacked.
Luz smiled, confident she had made the right decision. "I'm just following Amity's advice." she said, causing Amity to open her mouth to speak in an attempt to correct her, but she hesitated, neither wanting the blame, nor wanting to contradict Luz. "Boscha only speaks in Grudgeby terms. Trust me." she smiled, placing a hand on Willow's shoulder. "I have a plan."
Boscha entered the courtyard, casually spinning the leather bound Grudgeby ball on the point of her finger. "Okay, maybe it's the altitude of the second floor, but I thought I heard you say Leaf Girl wanted to challenge me to a Grudgeby match." she said, meeting Luz face to face at the foot of the steps.
"That's right! We'll settle this once and for all on the field."
The crowd of students encircled the pair, enthralled by the drama and hoping to see the human become involved in yet another Witch's Duel. Willow pushed through them, the students giving her and her garbage covered uniform a wide berth. "Or we could just talk about our issues…" she suggested, trying to step between the pair.
"Let's do this." Boscha exclaimed as she and Luz stepped aside to remove Willow as an obstacle.
"Oh no."
"If Willow's team wins, you don't get to pick on her anymore." Luz said, setting her terms.
Boscha growled back. "Fine! But when we win, Willow and your team will be our water go-fers."
"Ha!" Luz laughed, putting an arm around Willow's shoulders protectively. "That's not even a punishment. I love water."
"And we get to use you as target practice." Boscha tossed her Grudgeby ball into the air and leaped, catching it on the side of her boot and launching it into the nearby trees. It glowed red hot a moment before striking its target, and tore through the trunk of one of the ever-orange trees before causing it to burst into flames. "See you after school, losers." she laughed, walking back into the school with her team in tow.
"Woohoo! Willow versus Boscha!" Poe cheered from the center of the crowd.
Amity grimaced, following Willow as Luz helped Gus remove the container he remained stuck in. She hesitated, hugging her books tightly to her chest. "Luz, this isn't a good idea." Please don't hate me, she thought.
"Yeah, I've never even played Grudgeby before." Willow said, taking a seat on the steps and continuing to pull garbage out of her hair. "How am I supposed to beat Boscha?"
"But you're the better witch!" Luz said. She pulled a small, flat container from her uniform pocket, flashing the Good Witch Azura cover; a movie humans apparently called a divid. "I don't know much about sports, but I do know about sports movies!" She began to leap up the steps a few at a time, speaking excitedly. "We too, are a ragtag team of lovable misfits joined together to defeat a powerful enemy." she continued, slowly descending each step as she spoke. "With a little team spirit and a training montage, we can win." she cheered.
Willow let out a sigh, but was clearly inspired. "Well, if you think this'll work, then I'm in. How about you, Gus?" she asked, turning to the boy.
Gus held up a pair of Hexside colored blue flags and grinned excitedly. "In seasons passed, these flags have waved in support of Grudgeby greats; now they will wave for the greatest: me!"
"What about you, Amity?" Luz asked with a smile that seemed to play music that only Amity could hear.
"Me?" she asked, diverting her gaze from Luz's beautiful brown eyes. "On a team. With you?" She could feel her eyes glossing over, and yet she couldn't blink or even turn away from the random spot in the distance that she had chosen to focus on. "Running around in cute uniforms?!" she frowned, trying to clear her mind of the image of Luz in a Grudgeby uniform that didn't quite fit. The image spun around, her short brown hair plastered by moisture to her forehead and neck. "SWEATING?!" She could feel her entire body warm, from her toes to the tips of her ears. She held there for a moment with the image of Luz using her shirt to wipe her face before she realized she was still in front of the school. Still at the base of the stairs, with Luz, Willow, and Gus waiting on her answer to a question she couldn't remember. "I gotta go!" she shouted, using all her will to take her eyes off of her imaginary Luz before running off without a destination in mind.
She was still warm by the time she reached the manor and she burst through the door, running up the stairs. The abomibutler groaned as she sped passed, having not had time to reach the door to open it for her. "Just… need something from my room!" she blurted. "I'll be getting back to school! Don't worry!" she shouted before slamming her bedroom door and taking a breath.