The next day Luz woke up even before Camila to get ready for her first day of school (although Camila believed, not wrongly, that she had also done so because she hoped to be able to scavenge some more buns from the pantry, which the woman the night before had taken care to hide well). Although she still felt that school would probably be boring, she was also very curious to know what it was really like; after all, if her mother said it wasn't that bad, it had to be that way, right? It certainly wouldn't hurt to give it a try. "What do I need for school?"

"Well, I'd say your clothes are fine as is. Just make sure you behave well" Camila replied, then something came to her mind. "Although... actually, you would need a spelling book"

"What is a spelling book?" Luz asked not understanding that strange term.

"It's a book that helps you learn the alphabet and many other things. With it you can basically learn to read" Camila answered, taking her jacket and quickly putting it on. "Wait here for me, I'll go buy you one. I won't take more than a few minutes, I promise" and with that she went out.

Finding herself alone in the shop, Luz headed towards the plant in the window to greet the two little tenants. Even though they hadn't gotten off to a great start, she had to admit that they had both helped her a lot. That spider in particular, Gus, she had immediately liked him. And that cricket, Willow... even though she acted a bit like a teacher, which Luz hated, she had still been very kind to her. Maybe he could try to make them his first friends, even if they were just two little arthropods. "Good morning guys!"

"Good morning Luz" they both said coming out of their hiding places. Gus was smiling as usual and Willow seemed much more serene than the day before; a night's sleep had certainly helped her. "Are you ready for your first day of school?"

"That's it! I can't wait!" Luz answered. "But... can you tell me what school is like? Mom says it can be fun, but I'm not convinced. What's your opinion?"

Willow rolled her eyes. For some reason, it didn't surprise her at all that Luz had reminiscences of going to school. But at least she was going willingly, which was a good thing. "Well, we don't actually know. We've never been there even if we wanted to"

"But you know how to write!" Luz said.

"Yes, because I learned from watching Camila during my time here! I never got to learn all those other interesting things you study at school. You know how it is... I'm just a cricket. Even if I tried, I couldn't go to school without risking being eaten by a pigeon" Willow replied. "You should consider yourself lucky. You can go there and learn. It's not something everyone in this world can do"

Luz felt a little sorry for the cricket. It really looked like Willow would enjoy being able to go to school. "If you want, as soon as I get home I'll teach you everything I've learned!"

"Really!?" Willow's eyes seemed to sparkle. "I... well… that would be nice. Thanks"

"And could you teach me too?" Gus chimed in excitedly. "Not only what you will learn, but also everything you will do! I want to know everything about the humans you will go to school with! How they sit at their desks, what they eat, how they talk, how they behave... even how they go to the bathroom and..."

Luz giggled. "I'll tell you anything, Gus. I promise"

Willow and Gus felt their hearts warm at the laughter. It sounded like the simple sound of human laughter amplified by the wood the puppet was made of, but it was as if it contained a magical note that made it wonderful to listen to. Maybe it wasn't that far from reality... after all, Luz had been created by magic. By the way, they would have to talk about that event with her sooner or later... but they felt it was still too early. The fairy's visit had been something that had blown their minds, so they didn't want to talk about it with Luz before she matured a bit, or at least stopped chasing the first idea that came to mind without thinking about the consequences. "Thank you, Luz. You're really kind" Willow said. "I hope you have a great first day at school"

"Me too" Gus said.

Luz nodded. "Well... after I get home and tell you about what they taught me, would you like to come out and play with me?"

But the answer wasn't what she hoped for. "Absolutely not!" Willow exclaimed. "Didn't you hear us? There are birds out there! We can't come out of here"

"But you went out with me yesterday" Luz reminded her.

"We were in your hand, well protected by your fingers! No bird would be foolish enough to attack a human… or a puppet, in your case! And in any case, Camila was in trouble at the time! But I'm not leaving my safe zone for a game!" Willow replied. "If you were to throw me or Gus away like yesterday, any predator would eat us in one bite!"

"Hey! I already apologized to you for that!" Luz protested. "And I won't do it again! I'll keep you with me and..."

"Luz" Gus stopped her. "Stop it. We won't go out to play with you. Please, don't insist. The world out there... scares us"

Luz was quite disappointed, but seeing the faces of her new 'friends' she thought it was best not to protest. Willow looked like she was really scared, and Gus... he had fear in his eyes too. And she certainly couldn't force them to do something they didn't want to do. "Uh... okay. So... we'll play at home... if you want"

"Thanks, Luz. We'll think about it" Willow replied, and then she went to take refuge under the tree in her favorite spot. Gus let out a sigh when he saw her: he knew that, even though she always acted like a big sister towards him, Willow was terrified of the outside world. She was a cricket who was too stout to fly well and therefore to escape predators and who was ostracized by her own species; even just putting a paw outside the house, unless there was an emergency, scared her. For Willow, Camila and her shop had been a lifesaver, and she didn't want to leave them. Not that Gus was any different… he feared the outside world too. Even though he was better at surviving than her thanks to his camouflage skills, other spiders had always targeted him since he didn't know how to make webs. When he arrived at Camila's shop he had even been afraid of Willow, considering her the same as everyone else. It had taken a long time for Willow to get close to Gus, and when she did, she helped him overcome his anxiety and fear. But for both her and him the outside world remained a dangerous and dark place; the day before they hadn't noticed because they were very worried about Camila and Luz had kept them tightly closed in her hand until she got to the police station, and so they hadn't even barely noticed that they were outside the comforting walls of a building. But going outside to play, and maybe feel the sunlight or the wind on their skin... that was something else entirely. They both felt bad about disappointing Luz, but... they preferred to stay safe at home.

Just then we heard the door open again and Camila entered the house carrying a large book with her: "Luz, here! I bought you the spelling book!"

Luz took the book in her hands. It was a very beautiful book, bound by a green cover on which some things were written, which however she couldn't yet read. "Thanks mom!" she said with a smile, then she realized something. "Uh... where's your jacket?"

In fact, the jacket Camila had worn was no longer there. "Uh, that one? I sold it" the woman replied without showing the slightest concern.

"Sold it?" Luz was confused. "Why?"

"Because come on, it's almost summer! It's too hot for a jacket. I didn't need one, I might as well have sold it!" Camila responded with a smile and a thumbs up as if to say 'it's okay!'.

But Luz knew that wasn't true. She was just a day old and she herself knew she was rather ditzy, but she wasn't stupid. And above all she wasn't blind and could see very well that her mother still had some goosebumps from the cold. It didn't take her long to put the pieces together and realize that her mother had just sold her jacket to buy her speeling book. When she understood this, she ran towards Camila and hugged her tightly; her mother seemed taken aback, but then she reciprocated with the same intensity. "Thank you so much, mom. I promise I'll work hard at school" Luz said.

"I'm glad you said that, honey. Now go, or you'll be late! And please, come home immediately when you're done!" Camila told her giving her a kiss on the forehead. Luz immediately listened to her and rushed out the door.

Willow's head poked out of the plant. "Maybe… we should have gone with her"

Gus was surprised by his friend's words. "Really? I thought… well… you didn't want to go out"

"I obviously don't want to go out!" Willow ranted. "But... I have a bad feeling. Luz isn't evil, but she's not a good girl either, and she is definitely not responsible. She might get into some trouble"

Gus smiled. This was exactly the Willow he knew: she might seem grumpy at times because she didn't mince her words when it came to straightening out someone who misbehaved, but deep down in her heart she genuinely cared about others. Even though not even the day before the aforementioned 'others' had threatened her with a hammer. "Come on, Willow, don't be too paranoid" he said, trying to reassure her. "Luz is just going to school, she'll be back by this afternoon. What could she possibly do in this short amount of time? If anything actually happens to her, I'll eat a shoe!"

But despite Gus's words, Willow continued to look at the door with concern. She didn't know why, but something told her that Luz was far from stopping getting into trouble...

In the original Collodi's novel, Geppetto sells his jacket to buy Pinocchio a spelling book, and since a mother like Camila would do exactly the same thing, this happens here too. However, in the original novel there is no dialogue with Jiminy Cricket or other characters for the simple fact that Pinocchio had previously crushed him with a hammer, so the part of the dialogue between Luz and Willow and Gus is purely of my invention. And by the way, kudos to Gus for calling the problems.