THE BURNING OF INCENSE CALMED HER NERVES as she sat on top of the baby grand in the makeshift classroom. She tapped her laser pointer against her palm as she swung her legs back and forth anxiously. The classroom prep had been finished 30 minutes prior. Corey's last half hour had been spent in the room alone, waiting for her PR manager to call her back.
She had wheeled the whiteboard from the closet into the center of the room and placed the chairs around her accordingly. The stark contrast between the black instruments and chairs and the bright white shell of the classroom made it feel much larger than it was. She bit her lip, completely unsure of what was so important that Trinity needed to call her repeatedly but couldn't leave a voicemail or answer when she had finally returned the woman's call.
Nan was the first to enter the classroom, which eased the redhead slightly. The youngest witch took her time to look around at the memorabilia that Corey had used to line the walls; an attempt to break up the overly sanitized feeling that loomed over them. A small smile played on her features, though Corey remained anxious over the situation as a whole.
Queenie shortly followed. She opted to take a seat instead of venturing around the room. The playlist that Corey had on at a low volume switched from Fleetwood Mac's Sisters of the Moon to David Bowie's The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell as Zoe and Madison finally entered together. The blonde let out a huff as she threw herself into the chair closest to the window while Zoe sat down quietly next to her. She was frustrated, her face buried in her phone. She refused to look up at the redhead, her fingers typing furiously against her phone screen. As Nan finally found her seat, Corey addressed the room.
"Good afternoon, ladies," Corey spoke loud enough to be heard over the music that played softly from her Bluetooth speaker. She held her laser pointer between her fingers as she jumped down from the side of the piano. When no one replied, the redhead sighed softly. She looked around at the group in front of her who seemed to be too engrossed in their phones to pay much attention.
"If you refrain from willingly participating I'll have no other choice than to call on each of you individually and no one enjoys that. So I say once more," her gaze moved across the group in front of her, their chairs arranged in a semicircle. "Good afternoon, ladies." Madison rolled her eyes, keeping her attention on her cellphone in her hands as the rest of the group chirped back.
"Good afternoon, Corey." The redhead rolled her jaw as her focus remained on the blonde. She couldn't tell if the girl was mad at her for something she couldn't control or if she and Zoe had been in another argument while she had been downstairs. The thought of Trinity getting ahold of the blonde crossed her mind briefly before she continued on with her lesson.
"For generations, our kind has hidden in plain sight," Corey moved over to the whiteboard, grabbing a black dry erase marker as she shoved her laser pointer into her back pocket. "And with every generation comes a witch or a warlock who can't help but share the stories of our kind through a form of art; be it music, film, literature, et cetera." She turned to face the group. Quickly, she noticed that the only two witches before her that were paying any attention were Nan and Zoe.
"Madison," Corey's tone was a combination of annoyance and false excitement, which gained the blonde's attention very quickly. "Since you're so eager to participate in the lesson, why don't you start us off by giving us an example?"
"What, no fun little and that's what you missed on GLEE? Aren't you supposed to do one of those recaps for the new girl?" The blonde huffed. Her hand moved around for emphasis as she rolled her shoulders, dropping her cellphone into her lap. Corey rolled her eyes as she sighed, knowing she wouldn't be getting as much out of the blonde as she had initially.
"Is there a reason why there are so many of us in art related fields of work?" Zoe asked. Her head tilted slightly as she leaned forward against her forearms, trying to find a window of opportunity to break the tension in the room.
"Good question!" Corey quickly replied, extending a finger in Zoe's direction. "They're using art as a way to strengthen that same part of their brain that holds control over their magic. Some even have specific music-related powers."
"Like Stevie?" Nan tilted her head, one brow arching upwards as she spoke.
"Yes!" Corey nodded, pulling the cap from her marker to scribble the name Stevie Nicks on her whiteboard. "Stevie Nicks, the white witch and former member of Fleetwood Mac," Corey scribbled the band's name under Stevie's quickly before turning her attention back to the girls in front of her.
"Stevie has a very specific music-related power that was passed down to her on her father's side. It goes by the name of Siren's Song," Corey drew an arrow and wrote the power's name in quotation marks. "And it only grows stronger with each generation." She clicked the cap down on her marker and looked back to the group with a nod.
"What does it do?" Queenie asked. She leaned back in her seat with her arms crossed over her chest. Corey opened her mouth slightly, her lip twitching as she let out a dry laugh.
"Well, like I said, it's different for every user, but the core of the power remains the same. It's used to command an audience." The redhead swallowed hard tilting her head slightly as Nan opened her mouth again.
"What does your Siren's Song do?" The girl asked, sitting up taller as she turned her head. She looked over at Madison with a smirk. Corey sighed, blinking rapidly.
"I have the ability to play any instrument without having ever learned how," she spoke quickly. She looked at Madison who raised her brows at the redhead, crossing her arms over her chest. When Nan continued her power trip, Corey pursed her lips together as she squeezed her eyes closed.
"And you can—" Corey cut her off, her hands clipping against her hips.
"This class isn't about my powers, Nan, now get out of my head," the redhead's eyes snapped open, landing on the youngest member of the group.
"Oh, just show them for Christ's sake," Madison groaned. She threw her head back in frustration. Corey's hands shot up in defense before they landed firmly against her sides again. "If you don't she's going to spill it anyway."
"Fine," Corey sighed. She shook her head. She took a few steps forward, kneeling down in front of Zoe. "Can I see your hands?" She asked, pointing a finger at the brunette as she looked up at her quickly. Madison sat up in her seat slightly, watching the interaction between the two with an intense glare.
"I—" she paused, her brows furrowed as she stuttered in confusion. "I guess?" She reached out a hand, which Corey quickly took and examined. The redhead nodded once, dropping the girl's hand as she stood.
"Zoe, have you ever played the guitar?" She asked, turning to grab her personal acoustic from its stand in the corner of the room.
"Not that I can remember," the brunette looked at her with a furrowed brow as she shook her head slightly. "I don't think I'd even know what to do with one if I had it in my hands, to be honest." Zoe let out an awkward laugh as Corey slowly returned to the semi-circle with an acoustic guitar in one hand and a set of drum sticks in the other. Madison looked at the redhead with a glare, clenching her teeth slightly.
"Take this," Corey said. She passed the guitar to Zoe who took it with anxious, shaking hands. She turned to Queenie, reaching out her hand with the set of drumsticks. "And you too." Queenie rolled her eyes crossing one leg over the other.
"I'm not playing your stupid game, Luna," Queenie groaned. She sank in her chair with a huff.
"The more you fight it the harder I have to work to focus, please just do this one thing." Corey tilted her head at the girl, her eyes pleading.
"Why doesn't Madison have to participate? She wasn't even paying attention!" The girl quipped back, dropping her arms to her sides in frustration.
"Because I promised her I would never use this power on her and I intend on keeping that promise," Corey's anger in her voice grabbed Queenie's attention. Madison's stone-cold features faltered for a moment, her eyes growing soft. Queenie's shoulders fell slightly as she locked eyes with the redhead.
"You're going to take these and you're going to listen to what I have to tell you without fighting me every step of the way." Queenie reached out and took the drumsticks, her hand shaking slightly as she nodded.
"Ye-yeah," she muttered. She swallowed hard. Corey cleared her throat, breaking eye contact as she stepped away. Queenie's eyes fluttered open and closed as she blinked quickly, her brow furrowed slightly. Zoe grabbed her chair and the guitar and moved so that she was sitting near the whiteboard in front of the group. Meanwhile, Queenie stood and moved towards the drum set on the opposite side of the room in a confused state.
Corey took Queenie's spot as she grabbed a second guitar for herself. The redhead pulled her phone from her back pocket, silencing the music that had been playing softly. She held the guitar in her lap with one hand as she sat facing Zoe and Queenie, a slight smirk on her face.
"What now?" Zoe asked. Her voice shook slightly as she took in a breath.
"Now you play," Corey shrugged. She watched Zoe nod feverishly for a moment before looking down at the frets as her fingers trembled. The brunette took in another breath before closing her eyes, her fingers finding where they needed to be on their own. Within seconds, Zoe was flying through the acoustic intro to Crazy on You by Heart. Her eyes opened, locking with Corey's as the redhead joined in time with Queenie on the drums. A voice caught Corey off guard, causing her to lose her focus.
"Well what do we have here?" The clicking of heels trailed after the Supreme's voice, her head tilted as she looked from one side of the room to the other. "A little family band?" With Corey's lack of focus came the sour chords and clattering of symbols as Queenie and Zoe immediately lost all ability to play their designated instruments. The redhead felt the blood trickling through her sinuses before she could even question Fiona's presence. She stood, moving to return her guitar to its stand.
"Ladies, you constantly question the need to control your powers," Corey ignored Fiona, moving quickly to grab a tissue from her piano before the blood began to drip from her nose. She turned, facing all four girls— and the Supreme— before speaking again.
"I give you exhibit a." She smirked as she felt the blood drip from her nostril slightly, holding the tissue in her hand away from her face before quickly moving it to wipe away the blood that began to pool against her upper lip.
"Over exertion comes in many forms. Nosebleeds are the most common and the easiest to combat, followed by fainting spells and— for those on the extreme end of the spectrum— memory loss." Corey wiped her upper lip with her tissue once more, turning her attention to Nan. She cleared her throat, her brows raised slightly as she tilted her head. "Did that answer your question?" She asked, earning a large grin and a nod from the youngest witch.
"Your file said nothing about your mastery of Concilium, Corinna," Fiona scoffed. Her brows arched upwards as she folded her arms over her chest. Corey rolled her eyes at the Supreme, her jaw shifting slightly as she shoved her tissue into the front pocket of her jeans.
"Class is dismissed, ladies," the redhead said with a wave. "Try not to get into too much trouble during the rest of your day." She crossed her own arms over her chest before taking a step towards Fiona. She lowered her volume, shifting her weight as she spoke to the Supreme while the girls gathered their things. "Fiona, Concilium isn't in my file because I don't have it," Corey scoffed, looking up at the ceiling.
"Then explain what that little show was," Fiona prodded. She unfolded her arms to talk with her hands. "Because, to me, that was mind control." Corey's tongue clicked against the roof of her mouth as she nodded, taking another step forward.
"Siren's Song evolves with every generation that bears its power," the redhead explained. Her head tilted as she raised her brows at the older woman. "You would have heard that if you had been in the room for the lesson. Now, I'd appreciate it if you'd allow me to continue to teach the girls in peace in the future." She shook her head, pushing past the older woman to follow the rest of the girls out the door.
Waiting at the end of the hallway was Madison, her eyes locked on her phone once more. She stood with her thumb nail resting between her teeth. Corey moved cautiously, her brow furrowed as she tried to understand what was going through the blonde's mind. As she grew closer, she was able to catch a glimpse of what Madison was so focused on. Someone had caught them acting friendlier than 'best friends' theoretically would.
They always had theories circulating that they were more than friends, and— while it was true— it wasn't something that either girl's management team thought was beneficial to their careers. Once again, their photos circulated through social media. Outlets like Just Jared, Pink News, and TMZ had been sharing images of the girls gazing at each other lovingly, the gap between theme practically nonexistent.
"At least they got some cute pictures," Corey shrugged. A light laugh left her lips as Madison rolled her eyes. "It's not the worst they've ever tried to spread, I don't understand what was so urgent that Trin needed our attention." The blonde shrugged, letting out a soft sigh as she locked her phone. It was early afternoon, and she already felt like she'd spent a full day on set.
Madison looked up at the redhead with sad eyes, overwhelmed from the day she had already had to endure. She swallowed hard, unable to conjure up the energy to respond as she pushed off the wall. She took Corey's hand in her own and quietly led her up the stairs.