To the Unplanner: Yeah, you are at the moment. But it's alright- I'm having fun writing, you seem to not mind reading it. It's not like I can guilt people into reviewing by saying something like 'guys, i'm so sad my 9 year old dachshund is dying and even if we had the money to take him to the vet we're all in quarantine so we couldn't take him anyway plz send reviews to cheer me up owo.' And while it is true, it doesn't make it right to use it as bait for someone to review. But I digress, life's heavy right now, so let's get on to the author's note;

I feel so bad that I haven't introduced Skuld properly yet. I meant to do it back in chapter 3 (she was going to smack Ephemer for being an idiot again), but I had surpassed the word count by then. She even had a cameo in the last chapter, but her name wasn't given as it didn't cross anyone's minds at the time.

At the moment, I do want to have some more focus on Skuld, but I don't have much of a 'development arc' for her. Like, I'm trying to write Anora with imposer syndrome, Ephemer as the teacher's (in this case, headmasters') pet who really doesn't want to be, and Strelitzia is learning a little something about herself. But Skuld? Right now she's the potential embodiment of the Perpetually Stressed (TM) student and I want there to be more than that.

Regardless, thank you for reading!

"I like her." Ephemer told Skuld for the millionth time in the past 20 hours.

"You like everyone." Skuld snorted. "Though I don't see what's so special about this new kid that you just had to go through her student records..."

"I said I was sorry."

Skuld raised a less than amused eyebrow. "To her?" she countered. Ephemer opened his mouth to say something, but in finding he didn't have a good rebuttal, he closed it again. Skuld smirked. "Didn't think so."

Ephemer looked at his friend and gave a small pout. Not that Skuld was actively paying attention to him- she had been trying to take notes from her science book. Skuld was a year above Ephemer, so he guessed it was some higher coursework than what he was doing. Not that science bored him, he loved a lot of the basic stuff and jokingly referred to it as magic. But Skuld, on the other hand, typically had a hard time grasping new concepts and needed to take notes to memorize everything.

"I still can't believe you even got in there." Skuld then went on, rather absently. "I thought they booby trapped the place because of what you did last year."

Ephemer grinned. What he did last year was possibly some of his finest work.

"It wasn't easy." he admitted. "But all five of the headmasters use the same passwords for everything. Guess who has my name as their password. Go on, guess!"

"You're impossible." his friend then chastised. "You're also not untouchable either. One of these days you will be corrected for what you've done to this school, and when it happens, it will get ugly."

"Why am I even friends with you?" Ephemer playfully bemoaned as he stretched himself over Skuld's science book. "You're just another Ava."

His friend let out a small noise of disgust as she moved her book. This only led to him falling off the book and into her lap. The impish smile Ephemer was giving Skuld only made her groan again before she finally shoved him off.

"If it makes you feel any better," she then snapped, "I don't know why I'm friends with you either. You're worse than a lost puppy."

Hearing this, Ephemer decided to emphasize the fact by putting on his best puppy-dog pout. It did not help Skuld's thoughts on the matter.

"I'm going to my dorm to study- don't follow me." she then told him.

And just like that, Ephemer's playful mood quickly turned into one of mild horror. "Wait!" he immediately question "Why?!"

"Because some of us aren't the headmasters' pet." came the sour reply. "And are currently on a scholarship, and would like to get into a decent higher ed school, and-"

"I get it." Ephemer sighed. "I get it..."

Seeing her friend's dejected expression made Skuld give a heavy sigh. "Look," she then told him, "Since Valentines is coming up, I wanted to get some supplies to make chocolate macarons this year. Do you think you could go pick up the stuff I need while I try to organize my notes?"

"Would the school store even have that kind of stuff?" Ephemer thoughtfully mused.

"Won't know until you look." came the short reply. "That Moogle keeps all kinds of junk I'm sure shouldn't be in a standard school store."

Ephemer thought about it for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

"I'll go." he decided. "Just write me a list and I'll do what I can."

"Thanks Ephemer." Skuld sighed in relief as she got out a pencil and paper. "You're a lifesaver."

The boy gave his friend a cheeky grin before saying, "Anything for my other mother," promptly deserving the hard punch on the shoulder he received soon after.

. . .

Who knew that the weird Moogle in charge of the school store had exactly what Skuld needed? Not that Ephemer thought he should have been too surprised of the fact; Daybreak's school store was a general store in all but name. It was still weird that he was able to find almond flour and heavy whipping cream though…

As Ephemer came around the corner to leave the school store, he happened to look up. There, over by the seasonal stuff that currently held mostly factory chocolates and stuffed animals, was Anora. She was with two of her friends, apparently, but that didn't stop Ephemer from grinning ear to ear.

"Hey Ano-" Ephemer started to shout, but he ran into someone instead. At the surprise impact, the person he bumped into fell to the ground in an ungraceful heap. A small box they had been carrying hit the ground- a good portion of the box's contents spilled out as a result

"I'm so sorry!" the boy immediately apologized as he helped the person back up. "Here, I'll help you get your things!"

The person, a girl with carrot-red hair pulled back into two low ponytails only looked at him. If she thanked him, Ephemer didn't hear as he tried to pick everything up. It didn't quite register to him that the stuff that had once been in the box were sewing things until he almost pricked his finger on a needle. After making sure everything was safely back in the box again, Ephemer presented it to the girl with a smile.

"Here you go, good as new!"

The girl gave a sheepish smile as she took back her box. "Thank you." she mumbled in a small voice.

"Do you sew?"

So surprised at the sudden question, the girl jumped a little. "Not a lot anymore..." she softly admitted. "But I'd thought I would for someone-" Her voice trailed off as her face started to flush a deep scarlet.

"For someone special to you." Ephemer finished for her. The girl nodded.

"Yeah." she smiled. "Someone special."

It was that someone special that got Strelitzia caught up in this awkward conversation to begin with. She still didn't know the new girl's name, and yet she wanted to make something for her. And then, lo and behold, there was the new girl with her friends looking at the seasonal items. Just as Strelitzia thought she had the courage to walk up and say hi, she was bumped by someone who made her drop her newly bought sewing kit. They had been kind enough to pick everything up, but now Strelitzia was trapped in a conversation she did not want to have.

"I know what you're going through." the boy then said to her. At her surprise, he clarified, "My friend, Skuld. She's a really good baker, but she hasn't been able to in the past year or so."

"Why?"

"Schoolwork." came the rather disheartened answer. "She keeps herself so busy that she sometimes forgets she has a social life."

"Oh..."

"But it's all good!" he then insisted. "As long as I'm there to make sure she isn't alone, and to make sure she doesn't overexert herself, then it'll be alright in the end!"

Strelitzia gave the boy a small smile. "I hope your friend returns to baking more often." she told him, rather honestly

"I hope whoever you're sewing for really loves what you make!" he replied with a smile. He then looked around the shop, frowned when he didn't see whatever had caused him to run into her, and soon after made his leave. Strelitzia let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding in until now. She also looked around the shop for the new girl and gave a disappointed noise when she realized that she was gone.

"Soon." Strelitzia promised to herself, holding the sewing kit tighter. "We'll talk to each other soon."