After Dinner...
"School?!" Stella shrieked, just like she did this morning. "You want us to attend a high school?"
"As Seniors, yes." Faragonda said, nodding. "It starts in a week."
"Why?" Stella whined.
"We can't have six seventeen-year-old girls just staying home and doing nothing." Vanessa said, wiping her mouth on a napkin. "It's illegal. Mike and I could get in big trouble."
"But-" Stella started.
"Whatever we can do to make things easier, we'll do it." Bloom said, interrupting Stella, giving her a look.
"I agree with Bloom." Flora said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "You two are already being so kind to let us stay in your home, the least we could do is go to school."
"Going to a real Earth high school could be an enlightening experience." Tecna said, fiddling around with one of her tech toys. "But won't the school need papers or something showing our previous years and grades?"
"A little magic can take care of that." Faragonda said. "I'll magically make some, using the grades from your time at Alfea, but changing the class names to Earth ones, and send them over to Vanessa, who will then give them to you six to turn in."
"Genius, Ms. F." Tecna said. Faragonda just smiled.
"Do they have a good music program?" Musa asked, now resigned to her fate.
"One of the best." Vanessa said cheerfully. "Gardenia High is well-funded, so the music program is phenomenal." Musa smiled at that.
"What about sports?" Aisha asked. Always the athlete.
"Soccer, lacrosse, softball, swimming, track, basketball, dance, tennis, volleyball and gymnastics." Vanessa listed, ticking them off her fingers. "All great sports."
"I recognize some of those sports." Aisha said. "Especially swimming."
"I thought you'd like that." Vanessa said.
"Why don't we all sign up for the dance one?" Bloom suggested.
"We did that at Alfea!" Stella exclaimed. "And we were pretty good, if I do say so myself." Everyone laughed.
"It'd be a great way to assimilate." Tecna pointed out.
"So, everyone okay with the school-thing now?" Vanessa asked, smiling.
"Yes." The Winx answered together.
Faragonda stayed for another three hours before having to leave. Stella, Flora, Musa, Tecna and Aisha hugged her goodbye before going to the guest house, giving Bloom some privacy. Bloom looked at her honorary Aunt for a second before launching herself into Faragonda's arms and snuggling deep into her hold. They held each other for a few minutes before Faragonda pulled back and looked at Bloom.
"Your parents would be so proud of you." Faragonda said, smiling. "You are so brave and loyal, as well as kind and compassionate. Your power, your Dragon's Flame, will keep growing and growing and because of that, you will always be the most powerful fairy in the universe. Daphne made sure of it when she transferred the Dragon's Flame from her to you. She wanted you to have a way to protect yourself."
"Thank you, Aunt F." Bloom said, now crying. "I don't know what I would of done if you hadn't taken me in. Everything you've done for me, for me and for the other Winx, I can't thank you enough."
"I just hope you six will be safe here." Faragonda said, sighing some.
"We can protect ourselves." Bloom said, attempting a smile. "We have been since we turned nine and got our Winx power for the first time. But, like Tecna pointed out, no one looks too close at Earth."
"I really have to go." Faragonda said regretfully. "Alfea can't and won't run itself. And I need to say my goodbyes with Vanessa."
Bloom threw her arms around Faragonda again. "Bye, Aunt F. I love you so much and I'll miss you."
"You can always call me, sweetie." Faragonda said, placing a kiss on her forehead. "I love you too. Goodbye."
Bloom smiled and left to join her friends at the guest house. She entered the house, headed to the living room and was immediately squished in between all of her friends in a group hug. After that, they all plopped onto the sofas and each got comfortable.
"So," Aisha said, breaking the silence. "School."
"Yeah, school." Stella said, sighing.
"It can't be that bad." Flora said, trying to stay upbeat.
"Plus, it's only for a year." Bloom added, leaning her head on Flora's shoulder.
"There will be one good thing about school for you, Stella." Musa said.
"Yeah, and what would that be?" Stella said glumly.
"Boys will be there." Musa sing-songed.
"Boys?" Stella said, sitting up.
"Yup." Aisha said, getting what Musa was saying. "A whole lot of them."
"This might not be that bad." Stella said, twirling her hair.
"At first, I thought being a Fairy Prodigy would be awesome, but now it's just annoying." Musa said after a few moments of silence passed.
"I know!" Aisha said. "I sometimes hate that we got our Enchantix so early. Yeah, we get more power and cooler outfits, but we also get more people after us."
"Especially poor Bloom here." Flora said, stroking Bloom's hair. "She has more power than all of us combined, so everybody is always after her. She's the most powerful fairy in the universe."
"Yeah." Tecna said. "Her Dragon's Flame is as old as Magix itself. It's ancient and powerful magic."
Bloom knew her friends weren't trying to make her self-conscious, so she snuggled deeper into Flora's hold and just let their conversation wash over her. Her mood always calmed down when she was just hanging with her friends. She listened as Stella discussed outfits to wear and about how many cute boys there might be as the others commented every once in awhile.
"Bloom." Flora whispered an hour later, shaking her friend. "You tired?"
"A little." Bloom said, yawning.
Stella, who was sitting on the other side of Bloom, heard this. "Okay, bed time! We've had a long day and I need my beauty rest."
The other Winx agreed and they all got off of the couches, kissed each other on the cheek goodnight and each headed to their own rooms. After closing her door, Bloom changed into her pajamas—a blue babydoll top with matching blue shorts—before brushing her teeth and hair, washing her face and then climbing into her new bed, drifting off to sleep. Next door, Flora was also getting ready for bed: she changed into her pajamas—a pale blue nightgown with a pale pink underdress—brushed her teeth and hair, washed her face and then walked around her room, hands trailing all over her plants; it was when she felt that the plants were calm and healthy that she climbed into her bed and fell asleep. Across the way, Stella had just finished her shower, with all its rituals, before blow-drying her hair and brushing it out. After that, she brushed her teeth, moisturized her face, got her pajamas on—a pale yellow nightgown—and then went to bed.
On the second floor, Aisha was getting ready. She put her pajamas on—cream-colored, sleeveless long-johns with yellow/red-striped socks, a blue leg warmer on one leg, and long cream/green-colored detached sleeves—brushed her teeth and hair, cleaned her face and did some before-bed exercises; after that, she climbed into her bed and fell asleep. Across the hall, Musa was finishing with a shower before she got out, brushed her hair and teeth and got into her pajamas—hot pink sweatpants and a powder blue sweatshirt trimmed in hot pink with a hot pink stripe; she grabbed her music player, plugged in some headphones, climbed into bed and fell asleep. Next door, in Tecna's room, she was changing into her pajamas—a soft purple t-shirt with lime green shorts and the same colored socks—then she brushed her hair and teeth, washed her face and then booted up her computer. She sifted through the information on her computer before shutting it down and crawling into bed, falling asleep.
Night Before School Starts (The Winx Have Been On Earth for a Week)...
With the Specialists
"Ha! Got ya!" Brandon yelled at Sky, clashing his translucent green phantoblade broadsword against Sky's translucent sky blue phantoblade long-sword.
"Oh no you don't." Sky grunted, then pushed the sword off of his, swung in a full circle before pushing Brandon to the ground with his foot, holding the tip of his sword at Brandon's throat. "I win."
On the other side of the rooftop, Riven and Nabu were sparring as well. Nabu would send spells Riven's way with his wooden, dark purple jewel-tipped staff and Riven would dodge them, all the while trying to get a slash in with his translucent scimitar-styled reddish-purple phantoblade. The two were evenly matched and the sparring went on.
In another corner of the rooftop were Helia and Timmy. They weren't sparring, more like Helia was training Timmy in how to better use his yellow plasma gun and translucent yellow phantorapier. Helia's already well-trained in how to use his orange laser-string gloves and most of the other weapons, since his uncle is Saladin, Red Fountain's headmaster, so he wanted to make sure Timmy knows how to use his weapons when he gets into Red Fountain, since he was mostly the brains of the group and not the best at fighting.
The six boys knew all about the Magix Dimension, since Sky, Nabu and Helia are from there and the others have parents or family affiliated with it, and they all want to become Specialists and go to Red Fountain after they graduate high school. So every night, for about an hour or two, they would practice-battle on the rooftop of their apartment building to prepare to go to Red Fountain; they'd practice with the weapons Saladin lent them.
Sky Shively has thick, shoulder-length blond hair cut into spiky fringes, sky blue eyes and is fair-skinned; he's extremely well-fit and eighteen-years-old. He's the crowned prince of Eraklyon (a planet in the Magix Dimension), but moved to Earth to live with Matt, his mom's cousin, and Alexandra, Matt's wife, when he was ten to see how normal people lived, to get a different point-of-view on life so he could be a better king when his time came. He has a strong sense of duty, is loyal to all of his friends and the "leader" of his group.
Brandon Gregory has short brunet hair with bangs angled sharply towards his right eye, chocolate brown eyes and tan skin; he has a medium, athletic build and is eighteen-years-old. He's been Sky's best friend since they were twelve and has several relatives, from both sides, who live all over Magix. Brandon is fun-loving and caring with a very gentle, kind spirit; he is also excellent in sports and a chronic flirt. He lives with his parents, Adam and Amentia, next door to Sky.
Riven Riegel has short, spiked magenta hair, dark violet eyes and light tan skin; he has a medium, athletic build and is eighteen-years-old. He met Sky and Brandon next, moving in across the hallway with his dad, Sam. He is the lone wolf-type, very competitive, stubborn, and good at sports and physical combat; he is sometimes aggressive and often puts up a cold front, having trouble showing his emotions. He can be viewed as a daredevil, very clever and, sometimes, a bit touchy. His mother, who died after he was born, was the one affiliated with Magix; she was actually a fire nymph who came to Earth and ended up falling in love with his father.
Timmy Schlatter has short ginger hair, hazel eyes behind square, red top-rimmed glasses and light skin; he has a tall, slender build and is eighteen-years-old. He hails from a long line of Magix scientists, so he is better at intellect than he is at fighting. He is sweet, but shy and a bit bashful, and loves technology. He is an expert pilot, getting his license at age twelve, and a very skilled mechanic. He met the three boys next after moving in next to Riven with his parents, Charlie and Lily; his parents lived in Magix until Lily became pregnant with Timmy, and the two decided to move somewhere new, and chose Earth.
Helia Faustino has shoulder-length black hair cut into straight-spiky fringes, bluish-gray eyes and light skin; he has a lean, athletic build and is eighteen-years-old. He is very intelligent, a great pilot, and usually referred to as the pacifist of the group, as he'd rather draw than fight. He's also very romantic and shy about directly speaking about his feelings, though he's not afraid of making important decisions and doing what's right. Until he was thirteen, he lived in Magix with his uncle before moving to Earth. He met the guys next after moving in next to Brandon with his mom, Helena.
Last is Nabu Blagrove, who has butt-long reddish-brunet hair that's braided down his back, navy blue eyes and light brown skin; he has a lean, lithe build and is eighteen-years-old. He also grew up in Magix, but in a wealthy family, where he was often isolated. Because he had no friends to play with, he spent most of his time learning battle tricks from his security guards; in addition, he's studied many different magic spells, thus giving him prodigious skills in spell casting. After an attempt on his life was made, his parents sent him to live with his father's sister, Sasha, and her husband, Will. They live next door to Riven, so that's how he met the five other boys. And after that, they all became fast friends.
"Boys!" A woman's voice called up. "You have one more hour. School does start tomorrow."
"Okay Alex." Sky called back down before resuming his battle with Brandon.