Something Ventured, Someone Framed
Gus was hosting a Human Appreciation Society meeting at Hexside.
"Behold. The wonders of the human realm."
On the table, there was a cheese grater dubbed a nail clipper, a bag of onion chips clamped shut by a flip-phone dubbed a whoopie cushion, an umbrella hat filled leaves and utensils dubbed a food bowl, a Rubik's cube dubbed a weapon (with a question mark), and a paper clip was dubbed a pay-per-clorp. Gus picked the last one.
"This little fellow is one of their most valued objects. It aids in the compiling of printed wisdom, the scratching of gunk from under your nails, and my favorite...it even mimics the sounds of the human ocean," He gave it a twang and sighed in bliss.
"Ahh, the human realm. So beautiful," he said, turning to face the chalkboard. "It's safe to say that the pay-per-clorp is a stunning testament to human ingenuity. Any questions?"
A boy raised his hand as several of them looked bored. "Ah, our newest member, Mattholomule."
"Augustus, is this what the president of the Human Appreciation Society thinks passes as 'Human Artifacts?'" he asked, gesticulating at everything on the table. Gus raised an eyebrow as the boy stood up and began walking around. "Because at my old school..."
He then knocked everything away, and Gus panicked and grabbed them. "We had real treasures."
He brought his own stuff from his backpack, but it was more fake. It consisted of a cellphone painted on a rock, an egg with a painted skull on it, and a shoe made out of leaves and mud.
"So real. I-I wanna touch them!"
"Go ahead," Mattholomule advised. "In my club, we didn't have any dumb rules."
He sharply gasped as he jerked a thumb at Gus' list of rules.
"Shh. He didn't mean that..." He stroked it, his gaze fixed on the boy. He then took the ones given to him by the members.
"Hey!"
"What?"
"Well, thankfully, this isn't your club," he said to Mattholomule, crossing his arms.
"Exactly. Who thinks I should be president?" Mattholomule smiled as he raised his hand.
"I do!"
"Mattholomule for prez!"
"I'm an undecided voter. I wanna touch all the objects first!"
Gus took the rock cellphone.
"These are fakes!"
Mattholomule flinched as the group exclaimed. "What?"
"Y-you can't prove that!" stammered the boy, adjusting his hair. "You're just trying to distract these human appreciators. You're afraid of getting kicked out of office. It's your word versus mine."
"Mm."
"I don't know what to believe in anymore."
"MY faith in Gus has been broken!" He took a nervous step back and then looked back to see bad pictures of his human friends from newspapers. His eyes widened in surprise.
"What if I brought in some experts?"
"Yeah, right. Who can you find who is a greater human expert than any of us?" Mattholomule questioned, surprised.
"How about some real humans?" he asked, capturing their attention.
"Why the secrets?"
"Show, don't tell, man!"
"Yeah. Uh-huh," Mattholomule replied, crossing his arms. "And you've never brought your friends here. Why?"
"Well, they're both busy; they've got jobs," Gus shrugged. "But I'll bring them in tomorrow. They'll prove I'm right."
Mattholomule just laughed. "Sure you will, Augustus. Sure you will."
He frowned slightly, concerned that he would lose his position in a New York minute...
Later in the afternoon...
At the Owl House, Bijou, Hazel, Luz, and Eda were unpacking boxes. A knock on the door was heard just then.
Bijou said as she walked over, "Coming."
When she opened the door, she saw Gus standing outside.
"Oh, hey, Gus. What's up?" Bijou greeted.
"A lot, Bij," Gus said. "I need your help. You too, Luz."
Gus had just finished recounting what had occurred at Hexside.
"So let me get this straight, Gus." Bijou looked at him, "You started a Human Appreciation Society club to show your members various human artifacts, and now this guy named Mattholomule is threatening to depose you as president because he doesn't think the stuff you gathered was authentic enough?"
"Yes. Exactly. He's winning over the members with his so called 'Human Treasure' and I promised them I would bring some real humans to the club." Gus replied.
"I guess humans are more interesting to the Boiling Isles than everyone thinks," Hazel teased Bijou.
"Bijou, you and Luz have to come to Hexside with me. Who better to identify different human stuff than the the two humans in the Boiling Isles," Gus said imploringly.
"Gus, I'd love to go to school with you, but I don't know how I can," Luz jerked her thumb to the banned poster of her on the wall. "Principal Bump banned me from Hexside."
"That reminds me. I need to go to Principal Bump's office to confirm my invite to Hexside." Bijou realized.
"You're not seriously thinking about going to Hexside are you?" asked Eda as she spoke.
"Of course I am, Eda," replied Bijou. "I know that your lessons were helpful and sometimes unorthodox, but I want to expand my learning horizons."
Eda frowned as Hazel smiled and nodded his head in response to what she said.
"You're lucky to be able to go, Bij, but I'm still banned," Luz said, looking down.
"But nothing," Eda said next to Bijou, who looked at her. "Bump did you guys a favor. There ain't nothing for you at that dweebus factory," she said as she looked at Gus. "No offense, dweebus."
"Eda!" Bijou warned her not to say things like that. Luz didn't seem pleased with her statements either.
"It's okay. I come from a long line of dweebuses." Luz stood up and faced Eda after slamming her box down.
"Well, I would love to go someday. Better than unpacking boxes in the Eda Coven!"
"Oh, you think you're clever, huh?" Eda stood up and put her hands on her hips.
"Whoo! Fight, fight, fight!" yelled King from behind the woman, and Bijou pinched her nose.
"Can it, King?" Eda asked, frowning. "First off, it's the 'Bad Girl Coven,' and second off, I guess you don't want in on the T-shirt order, huh?"
She held up a piece of paper with a doodle of Eda looking ridiculous, as if she were riding a staff like a skateboard.
"I think you should rewrite that since I'm a guy," Hazel pointed out.
"We don't care about T-shirts, Eda! We want to learn magic, and they teach that at Hexside!" Luz said as she gestured to Gus.
"She's right, Eda. I know you detest school, but this is what we want to do," Bijou said. "We barely learned anything just from you. Do you even know how to teach magic?"
Eda took a breather and averted her gaze. "Well, no..."
"Exactly," Bijou agreed.
"I mean, yeah, well... Guh!" grumbled the Owl Lady as she walked out the front door.
"I don't want to hear another word about Hexside unless it's 'Hexside is on fire' and 'let's grab front row seats,'" she exclaimed as the door slammed shut behind her, leaving Booker, Luz, Gus, and King inside.
"Well, that went well," Hazel commented.
"Aw, look what you did. I'm gonna go rub it in. Nyeh!" King exclaimed as he chased Eda down.
Luz sighed and sagged on the couch.
"Sorry, Luz," Bijou apologized.
"It's okay, Bijou," said Luz. "You go on ahead to Hexside. I'll be fine."
"Luz, a-about the ban, I, uh, used my H.A.S. presidential authority to pull some strings. You've been given a full pardon!" Gus said.
Luz, Bijou, and Hazel were surprised upon hearing this.
"You mean?" Luz asked.
"Oh, my gosh!" Luz exclaimed, grabbing his collar and happily shaking him.
"Yes, yes, yes! Of course we'll be there tomorrow!" she exclaimed as she rose from her seat on the couch.
Bijou's eyes were filled with suspicion as she looked at Gus.
"Are you sure you're not pulling my leg, Gus? Because it sounded like you said that you got the ban lifted for Luz," she went on to say.
"It's the truth, Bij. I helped lift the ban for Luz. Now you both can go to Hexside," Gus said with a laugh.
"Gus, this will be great!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down. "I get to see the school and save the president."
"Great! I'll see you tomorrow!" Gus exclaimed as he exited the Owl House.
"Hmmm," hummed Bijou as she watched him walk away.
"What's wrong?" Hazel inquired.
"I don't know why, Hazel. But I am having the strangest feeling that Gus may have lied about lifting the ban on Luz so that we can both go into Hexside," she replied.
"Hey, at least you're allowed to go back to Hexside. Same with Luz. Just relax. What's the worse that can happen?" asked the almiraj.
"And that's what I'm worried about," Bijou frowned.
Outside, Gus rejoiced because not only will Luz return to Hexside, but his position as president of the H.A.S. is secure.
"Yes! You did it, Gus!" he exclaimed triumphantly. "You did it, Gus~! You're the smartest, you're the best~!"
"Sweet moves, little dude." He yelped as he saw Hooty over his shoulder.
"Ah! I always forget you're there."
"I forget I'm here too..." He smiled at Gus, tilting his head slightly. "Boop."
"...This is gonna work out after all."
"This isn't gonna work out at all!" Willow argued after he told her and Jackie the plan the next morning.
"Well, I feel like I took care of any potential problems," Gus rubbed the back of his head.
"You lied to Luz and told her you got the ban lifted! That spells disaster if you ask me," Jackie said, scowling and crossing her arms.
"You don't understand. The members were going mad. They were bloodthirsty. They were touching objects! I had no choice!"
"Really?" Willow questioned. "What about all the wanted posters around school?" she asked, motioning to the building.
He lifted up his bag, revealing all of the posters he had taken down earlier.
"What wanted posters? I also got this," he said, holding up a cowl. "To keep her undercover."
"Undercover from what?"
Gus flinched as Luz approached from behind. Gus quickly draped the cowl over her.
"Behold your new cowl."
"Whoa! I love it."
Gus flipped it around so Luz could see.
Luz smiled as she sniffed it, "On the Boiling Isles, new things smell old."
"Yep. Put it on. Hide your ears," he nervously laughed. "Wanna keep you under wraps till the big reveal."
Jackie and Willow exchanged deep frowns; they were still not okay with lying to their human friend.
"Oh, a showman. I totally get it. You bring the razzle, I'll bring the dazzle," Luz said as she put on the cowl and threw confetti. The three of them just stared at her.
"...Do you always have confetti on you or...?"
Gus' watch screamed, and he pulled down his sleeve to reveal a little demon biting his arm with a clock for an eye. He pressed on the eye to stop it.
"That's my alarm. Uh, we'd better get going!" He grabbed Luz's hand. "See you after school, guys!"
"Bye, friend. Be safe. Make good choices!" Luz exclaimed.
"Oh, Gus, I hope you know what you're doing," Willow worriedly murmured to herself.
"I care about the guy but sometimes, he just doesn't seem to think about what the consequences will be," Jackie said while rubbing her temples.
Bijou walked down the corridor until she came to Principal Bump's office. She went inside after knocking on the door.
"Good morning, Principal Bump," she said.
"Ah, Miss Adams. Welcome. Have a seat," Principal Bump said as Bijou sat in the chair across from him.
"Have you considered attending Hexside?" the principal inquired.
"Well, I've been thinking about this for a while and I decided that I would like to attend Hexside," she replied.
"Excellent choice, Bijou," said Principal Bump. "When would you like to start?"
Bijou mused aloud, "Hmmm. How about a week from now? I still need more time to prepare and I want to explore more of Hexside."
"I see. Very well," Mr. Bump said. "I will allow you to explore school grounds. But you will need a visitor's pass." The principal then created a visitor tag and pinned it to Bijou's shirt.
"After you and the other human's actions last time, I had some school guards hired to sniff out troublemakers in this school. Wearing this will protect you from being caught by them," the principal said.
"Thank you, sir," Bijou responded. "I'll see you later."
She then walked out of the office.
Eda was moping outside the Owl House. Hazel hopped over to her.
"Hey," he said.
"What do you want, Mr. Fluffykins?" asked Eda. "Are you here to gloat now that my apprentices are going to Hexside?"
"No. I just wanted to know the reason why you are against Bijou and Luz going to Hexside," Hazel responded.
"I just want to protect them. Hexside chews up anything unique and spits out bland mush." Eda went on to say.
"I chew insects," Hooty said from behind her. "I turn them into mush!"
"But that's my beef. Does Luz need to draw her own conclusions? I mean Bijou's already got herself figured out, so..."
"Insects are my beef; they're what I eat," Hooty said, beaming at the flies around him.
"You're just gonna be unhelpful, huh?" Eda smirked up at him.
"All I know is, you taught me and I turned out just fine," he said. When he noticed a fly walking next to his head, he stuck out his tongue, making a gagging sound in the process.
"Eda, just because you don't like school, doesn't mean they can't go," Hazel answered. "Look at me. I lived with my family for the first six years of my life it was time for me to go off on my own. Same can be said for Bijou and Luz."
"What's your point?" Eda inquired.
"My point is that you can't have Max and Luz cooped up in here forever. You have to let them go do what they want. I mean what's the point in learning magic lessons if they can't learn anything from you?" said Hazel.
Eda then began to consider what they had said.
"I gotta get that girl into that school," she blurted out.
Back at Hexside, Bijou ran into Luz and Gus.
"Hey Max. How did it go with Principal Bump?" asked Gus.
"It went great, Gus," Bijou said. "After a week, I will be an official student of Hexside. The principal allowed me to explore the school."
"Cool. I can be your official tour guide," he replied.
"Good for you, Bij," Luz replied. "By the way, do you like my cowl?"
Bijou commented, "It looks good on you, Luz."
"Whoa."
The three turned to face a boy who was being lifted up by his backpack. He slipped away, and his backpack floated away. "Hey!"
It was being used as a game of keep-away by two students.
"Give that back!"
Bijou can only shake his head in dissatisfaction. Just then, two people with backward skulls use their hook to grab one of the students. One of them took a sniff at the student.
"Trouble."
"No! Detention!" exclaimed the other student as the other guard snatched him by the hook and dragged him away.
"The only thing I'm guilty of is being too real!" exclaimed the second student.
"I'm guessing these are the school guards?" Bijou inquired.
"That's new," Luz said, pointing at them.
"Well, they kind of showed up after your last visit," he replied nervously; this was a bad sign. If they sniffed out his friends, they'd discover the lie right away. "They smell trouble. Literally."
"Principal Bump told me about those guys. I should be okay as long as I have my visitor's pass," Bijou replied.
One of them turned to face them, Bijou flinching slightly. "Trouble..."
Gus gave a tense laugh. "Okay, time to run for no particular reason!"
Taking hold of their arms, he fled with both of them. Then, he happened to run into Mattholomule at a water fountain. The crown and Luz's wanted posters dropped to the ground. He gathered them up quickly.
"Augustus, you really should watch where you're going," the boy said, looking down at him while he was picking up the crown. "Don't want the president of the HAS getting hurt on his last day in office~"
"So you're Mattholomule," Bijou scowled at him.
"You're right," Mattholomule replied. "And you must be one of the humans that Gus told me about. And what's this? A visitor's pass? Don't tell me your gonna attend this school."
Bijou answered, "In a week's time, in fact, I am."
Luz was then noticed by Mattholomule.
"And this must be the other human. She looks like another witchling to me," he scoffed.
Gus tugged his ears and said, "Psst. Psst! Dazzle."
"Oh," Luz said before imitating the sound of a trumpet.
Then, with a "Ta-da!" she lowered her hood.
At her, Mattholomule gave a gasp. "A human!"
"And they're not just any humans," Gus triumphantly said as he got up. "Expert humans."
Luz gestured to themselves, "Yeah, we've been doing this for years."
Lucila smirked at the boy and said, "Longer, actually, but who's counting?"
Gus gestured to them and said, "They're here to authenticate your treasures."
He reclaimed the crown, Mattholomule on the inside looking terrified.
"And as a special surprise, my own teacher Lucila is giving out a lesson." They walked past him and replaced their accessories. "See you at the meeting."
Mattholomule gave a gasp. "A human!"
"And they're not just any humans," Gus triumphantly said as he got up. "Expert humans."
Luz gestured to themselves, "Yeah, we've been doing this for years."
Lucila smirked and said, "Longer, actually, but who's counting?"
Gus gestured to them and said, "They're here to authenticate your treasures."
Mattholomule began to panic. Luz walked past him and replaced her accessories.
"See you at the meeting."
"No, no, no!" he exclaimed as he slid to the floor and slammed his back against the locker. "They can't know I lied. Then they'll never make me president. Huh?"
Observing that Luz were still prohibited, he noticed that Gus had overlooked a poster. He laughed evilly as he picked them up.
"Oh, Gus, I have you now... And as for that other human. If I take away her visitor's pass, then she'll get detention. This will be like killing two birds with one stone."
Eda looked up at Hexside, a place she had vowed she would never return.
She turned to face the structure and mockingly said, "Ugh, I had this nightmare before."
Even though she didn't want to, she had to do it for Luz and Bijou.
"As president of the HAS, I should feel bad about dunking on one of our own members," Gus said as the game came to a halt.
The two just smiled knowingly at him.
"But as a Gus, I feel like doing this!" He then began doing a victory dance, which amused Bijou. "Oh, oh, yeah! Oh, yeah, what, oh~!"
Luz approached a trophy case. "Wow! Who got the trophy for the most bones?"
A guard appeared out of nowhere. Bijou noticed him and signaled Gus to the guard. Gus and Bijou approached Luz, gasping, and quickly led her away.
"We don't have time for this right now; we gotta get to the clubroom," Gus insisted.
"Okay. But next time you have to give me a full tour," said Luz.
"Me, too," Bijou responded.
"Yeah, next time," he said anxiously, as they both noticed the Abominations teacher.
"Ooh! It's the abomination professor. We should introduce ourselves! Apologize for the incident."
"Yeah, that seems fair," Bijou concurred.
"Hey, Mr. Abomination Professor!" exclaimed the younger human. "The abominominator!"
Gus writhed as he turned around and saw them. "Remember us?"
She acted like an abomination, and he was perplexed.
"You might not be able to tell, but I am actually to be a-"
"Oh, wouldn't you know?" Gus cut her off before she could explain that she was the other new person in Hexside.
"We suddenly have time for a full tour of Hexside," Gus said as he pushed them aside.
Eda took a pencil from a cup, which contained a small demon.
"Been quite a while since I've sat here, huh?" She pressed the pencil against her nose before leaning back and placing her feet on Principal Bump's desk, which caused the nameplate to shift. Needless to say, he didn't remember her fondly.
"I gotta admit, it's extra weird without you yelling at me for picking fights or stealing."
"I can easily change that," he said as he pushed her backwards onto the floor.
"Ow!"
"What are you doing here, Edalyn?" the principal inquired as he repositioned the nameplate. She sat up again, adjusting her hair.
"I want to..." She blew back some of her hair. "I want to enroll one of my other human, Luz, at Hexside. And before you get all judgy-"
"That's not a bad idea," he agreed with her.
"You no-good—wait, really?" she inquired, taken aback.
"I believe the student body would benefit greatly from having such an exchange student or two," he said as he stood up and walked to a cabinet. She smiled as she re-positioned her feet.
"But before I even think about that, there's a lot to answer for," he said, waving a spell finger and turning her upside down. He then took out a TON of files.
"Alright, yeah, I heard about that abomination incident," she admitted as she adjusted her upper body. While she was still proud of Luz for it, it wasn't exactly helping her case at the moment.
"Oh, I'm not talking about Luz or Bijou. I'm talking about the necrotic experiments, the graffiti, the scams, the cheating, Miss Jenkinmeyer's teeth!"
Her eyes widened as she shrank in her seat, realizing who he was referring to.
"The trouble you caused when you were here, Eda!" He slammed the files down, revealing that everything was her permanent record.
"...Huh, I thought there'd be more," she said after a few seconds; she definitely had a lot more to answer for, but she didn't want to say anything that would hurt Luz's chances.
"This is where we play the sport," Gus said as he showed them around the stadium.
When one of Boscha's friends approached a ball, she was grabbed by a griffin before she could do anything with it.
"I hate this game!" she exclaimed as the creature dropped her into a basketball net while a horn is blared.
"Wow. This is a lot different compared to basketball," said Bijou.
The three applauded, and Gus noticed one of the hall monitors and dragged them away.
Luz peered into a classroom as they passed by.
"Ooh, what's in here?"
The classroom was filled with plants, trees, and flowers.
"The Plant Homeroom," Gus replied, and Bijou gasped at how lovely it was. A four-eyed Venus flytrap burst open, attempting to devour one of the students. Willow ran up and tickled the plant, freeing the girl...with all kinds of liquid all over her clothes. She gave a disgusted thumbs up.
"Willow, hey!" Luz said as she turned around to see them. She smiled and waved, and Bijou returned it. Then Willow noticed Gus waving at her.
"Hi!"
She gave a disapproving sigh and silently shook her head.
"Huh? Why'd she react like that?" Bijou asked, looking down at Gus.
"Bye!" He yanked them away again, ignoring the question.
Another class passed them by, which had a collection of musical instruments ranging from violins to drums to flutes to lutes.
"Hey, Gus. What's the name of this class?" Bijou inquired.
"That's Bard Track's homeroom class, where students learn magic through music and sound."
Luz and Bijou noticed Jackie practicing her flute.
"Hi, Jackie!" Bijou called out to her.
Jackie recognized them and waved to Luz and Bijou. Gus got nothing but a blank stare from her.
This made Gus gulp nervously.
"Shall we keep on with the tour?" Gus asked as he dragged the two humans away from the classroom.
He then let them into another classroom by opening the door. "And this is where I spend my time, the Illusion Track Homeroom."
The classroom was full of mirrors and books. Bijou recognized Edric and Emira as two of the students. With a sharp gasp, she turned around to avoid having to see them. She didn't want to talk to them... Emira used a spell to make her legs grow longer. Edric then cast a spell to make himself more attractive, and the final student... made her face completely vanish. She screamed, and the teacher returned her face.
Luz turned and noticed something. Bijou also looked to where Luz is looking.
"Wait, if you're here, who is that?" Luz asked, pointing to an open classroom with another Gus sitting at a desk taking notes. "That's one of my illusions. It takes notes for me when I'm not around." However, the twin held up a piece of paper with the words 'I'm not paying attention.'
Gus gasped, the twin giggling.
"He doesn't always do what he's told."
"I gotta say, Gus. You're a natural," Bijou complimented.
"Yeah. I moved up a couple grades." His alarm went off again, and he pressed the eye. "Oh, time for the HAS meeting."
They bolted as Edric caught sight of Bijou's back from the doorway.
"Huh, I could've sworn I saw Bijou."
Gus returned with a 'you're dead' gesture towards his duplicate, who gave a nervous look as his creator turned away. Edric dashed up to the doorway, looking around but seeing no one.
"Perhaps I created her by accident as an illusion?" he slumped down as Emira approached.
"Just take your mind off her, Ed."
"I can't," he said, dragging his hand down his face. Sicne their first meeting with her, Bijou's words had been ringing in his head ever since she had left...
"Human, human! Human, human!" cheered everyone except Mattholomule. Then Gus entered.
"Human Appreciation Society..." he muttered, twiddling the paper clip.
"It is my distinct pleasure to introduce to you..." he said as Luz moonwalked in.
She then stumbled briefly before revealing her ears.
"Luz, the human! And it's even more of a pleasure to introduce my teacher on human things: Bijou!"
Bijou entered the room, flipping her hair and smiling at them.
"Such showmanship!"
"They're horrifying!" Mattholomule cast an anxious glance away.
"Before inspection, I'd like Ms. Bijou to give you my next lesson," Gus said, looking down at her.
"You know, you don't need to call me that all the time..." Bijou leaned down, a small smile on her lips. "But I actually kinda like it, keep it up when I'm teaching you."
"Yes!" Gus exclaimed, pumping his fist.
Bijou took a seat at the table. She took a portable sewing machine, a threader, and several spools of thread from her bag. "I just happen to love sewing and Eda just gave me these implements a few days ago."
She started by putting one of the spools on the spindle on the side of the sewing machine and securing it so it wouldn't fall off. She then unrolled a few inches of thread and used the threader to guide it through the needle eye.
"And this is where the magic happens," Bijou said, taking out a piece of white fabric and placing the sewing machine needle on top of it. Bijou started sewing on the fabric after turning on the machine.
After several more minutes and additional spools of thread, Bijou's project—a sewn-on version of the school's logo—was complete.
"And... voila! The logo of Hexside."
"Whaaaaaaaaat?" the four kids exclaimed in surprise, Gus gasping.
Mattholomule sneered, "Oh please, anyone can do that."
"Ah, but this is all thanks to human ingenuity and craftsmanship," Bijou responded calmly.
"Amazing!"
"It's like magic!"
"I'm so jealous of Gus." Gus motioned to the table and asked, "Luz, Bijou, will you inspect the items now?"
"Of course, Mr. President. Allow us to determine if they're truly of our realm's origin," Luz responded professionally.
"Wouldn't want a liar to be exposed," Bijou said to Mattholomule, who glared back at her. Luz reached for the muddied shoe.
"STOP!" he yelled, bringing her to a halt. Then he threw everything off the table.
"Don't make another move, humans!" he exclaimed, pausing. "I...have something to say. I'm new here at Hexside. M-making friends has been hard, so...I lied. They're all fakes."
The members exclaimed, Gus now looking sympathetic. He lied to his friends, after all...
"I thought if I was important enough, people would like me, but...I've caused enough drama."
The three exchanged glances.
"So, I'll go. I'm sorry."
"Hey, man. It's okay," Luz said simply. "You're only human. Well...you know what I mean."
"Yeah. You don't need to lie to be accepted," Bijou agreed with a small smile. "We all make mistakes but learning from them is important."
"Mattholomule, you aren't alone," Gus smiled softly. "You have a place here here in the HAS."
"You're not alone!"
"We admire your honesty."
"You're one of us!"
"Thanks, guys," He actually smiled. "I knew you'd understand. No hard feelings, Bijou."
"Don't worry about it," Bijou said
Mattholomule then patted her shoulder, but secretly took her visitor's pass.
Back to Eda and Bump...
"Ugh, I don't want to do this!" Eda exclaimed.
"There's the whiny rebel teen I remember," Principal Bump said as he patted her on the back.
"You'll need this," he said, holding out a mop. "To clean up all the hexed graffiti you left us. Good luck."
He walked away, Eda sticking out her tongue. She tried to clean it up, but the art just moved away whenever she got too close. She waved her mop around, and it all just came together to say, 'Mother nooooo!' She smacked the mop against the lockers, missing. She sighed and moaned.
"Thanks for coming!"
"Come back soon."
"Thank you," Eileen said quietly to the humans before fleeing.
"Anytime, you guys," Bijou said with a smile and a wave.
"Hey Augustus, Luz, Bijou...thank you for being so forgiving," Mattholomule said, genuinely.
"We've all been the new kid before, right, Gus?" Luz asked, smiling down at him.
"Yeah!" he said, agreeing with her.
"It's a magic school, obviously not everything is going to go as planned, but you seem like a good kid," Bijou said lightly.
"Well, I just have one thing to say..." The hall monitors entered the room. "There they are!" he exclaimed, pointing to the two and holding Luz's wanted poster. "They're the intruders!"
One of the guards sniffed the air. "Trouble..."
"No, it's fine," Luz said, waving her hands. "The ban's been lifted. Tell 'em, Gus."
"Wait. I'm a visitor here. See? My pass is..." Bijou looked down to find her pass missing. "Hey! Where's my pass?!"
"Ahem." Bijou turned to see Mattholomule holding it.
"You!" Bijou yelled, her eyes wide with rage. But before she could approach him, the guard grabbed him and dragged her out the door.
"No, no, no!" she exclaimed.
"Gus! Tell them!" yelled Luz as guards dragged her and Max away.
"Oh, who's the liar now, Augustus?" Mattholomule mocked Gus.
Jackie had just finished her practice in the Bard room. She also cleaned and hung the flute on the rack.
"Hmm... I guess inviting Luz over wouldn't be such a bad idea; I just hope it ends as well as Gus hopes," Jackie said before hearing screaming outside.
"You're making a big mistake! I'm a visitor!" Bijou objected.
Jackie gasped, "Oh no!"
Willow was frowning and thinking to herself in the plant classroom.
"Perhaps I've been too harsh on Gus," she said as she began watering the Venus Flytrap. "I mean, what trouble could they get into?"
"Help!"
Willow turned to face the door when she heard Luz's voice and saw her and Bijou being dragged away.
"Ahh! I don't even learn here!"
"You can't do this! It's illegal!" argued Bijou, but they didn't listen.
"Guys!" Willow yelled, concerned.
"Where are you taking us?" Luz inquired as her sister struggled to free herself.
"Detention."
"Oh. That won't be so bad, right?"
Bijou looked at a nearby hall. They turned to see a massive door...with three eyes and a large mouth full of fangs. When it opened its mouth, they realized what was going on and screamed.
"I can't believe you guys fell for that," Mattholomule boasted to an angry Gus. As if I'd ever apologize."
"What did you do?" Gus clenched his teeth, his fists trembling.
"Oh, boo-hoo. I'm sorry. I'm the new kid. I just want to make friends," Mattholomule said innocently. "Ha! No. I want power! And drama! And I've got one of those right now."
He approached Gus, who backed away. "So what are you gonna do, Mr. President?"
Gus raised his right fist, as if he was about to punch this jerk.
"...Executive action," he said, reaching out and yanking the tongue from the still-alive fire alarm.
"Ow!"
It went off, spraying them with water.
"But I didn't pull the alarm!" exclaimed Mattholomule as they were dragged away from one of the hall monitors. "It was Augustus! Are you even listening to me? I demand justice!"
Jackie and Willow peered around the corner as he dragged them away. The monster opened the door and threw the boys inside. Mattholomule looked up as he walked away.
"Wait!" He yelled as the door slammed shut behind him. "Get me outta here! Open up!"
Gus looked up, his eyes widening as he recognized his friends. "Luz! Bijou!"
"Gus! You said the ban was lifted!" said Luz.
"Yeah. Why did you lie?" Bijou asked, frowning as she noticed Mattholomule. She locked her gaze on him. "Excuse me for a moment."
She approached Mattholomule. who had been banging on the door. She patted him on the back. Bijou pushed Mattholomule against the door just as he turned around. This startled Luz and Gus.
As he stood up, Mattholomule yelled in pain, "Ow!"
Bijou then grabbed his shirt and looked at him.
"You scumbag! I'm going to report you to Principal Bump!" Bijou yelled angrily.
"Come on, Bijou, I was just joking," Mattholomule said, his voice shaking.
"Well, I'm not laughing!" Bijou exclaimed angrily.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Gus.
Luz whispered, "Please remind me not to aggravate her."
"I believe you have something that belongs to me," said Bijou.
"What exactly is it?" Mattholomule inquired, attempting to conceal his ignorance.
"Don't lie to me, Mattholomule," Bijou yelled angrily. "You took my visitor's pass. Now hand it over or else!"
"Okay, okay," Mattholomule frantically said as he reached into his pocket and handed her the pass.
"Thank you," Bijou said as she let Mattholomule go and reattached the pass to her shirt.
The floor suddenly collapsed, revealing a hole filled with teeth, flesh, and pods. The sight made the two girls scream.
Two doors opened as Eda entered the cafeteria, dragging a bag of ghosts. She was doused in ectoplasm and tossed the bag to a pleased Bump. "There. The girls' changing room is ghost-free." She obviously didn't want to do any of this...
"Are you ready to give up? You've barely scratched the surface," Bump said as he snatched some ectoplasm from her hair.
She growled in response, turning around to see two girls together, one from the HAS and the other one of Boscha's friends.
"No, like this," the brown-haired girl said, creating a fireball that turned into snow.
"Oh," tried the other girl and got the same result. "Wow."
They smiled as they hugged.
"Friendship is the real magic."
"They're just as bad as Luz; she'd love it here. Hazel was right. I should let them do what they want." Eda smiled, recalling why she was doing this in the first place. "All right, Bumpikins, what's next?"
He grinned and raised a toilet plunger. She sighed and clenched her fists.
"How is this detention?!" Luz exclaimed, stunned. "This is a death sentence!"
"I agree; detention at our previous school was nothing like this!" Bijou added, pointing to the teeth and pods.
"I don't know! I've never been in detention before!" exclaimed Gus, and Mattholomule joined him.
"Welcome to my world. Believe it or not, in my old school, I was in detention plenty of times."
"That isn't hard to believe," Luz agreed. "You're kind of a jerk."
"Yeah, you snooty punk!" Bijou exclaimed, clenching her fist. "You're the reason why we're even in here."
"Well, down in detention, this jerk/punk is king!" His eyes grew creepy as he said this. "So, if you want to get out, you better do exactly what I say," he said as he approached the hole.
"First, before anything else, we gotta-"
A snake with a human face burst through the ground and spat a blue jelly-like substance at Mattholomule's leg, grabbing him.
"Already?" he yelled as he was dragged down.
"Mattholomule!" Luz exclaimed as she looked down, and the next thing she knew, he was floating around in a pod with several other students.
"You lied to me," she said as she looked up at Gus. "You lied about the ban! Why?"
"I was scared, and I behaved stupidly," he admitted to them.
"Well, you sure nailed that part, and look where it got us," Bijou said.
"I know," he sighed, squeezing his eyes shut. "It's difficult to be younger than everyone; you're overlooked, ignored," he began to move carefully to the left.
"But at the HAS, I mattered. I could make sure no one would ever get left behind. I didn't wanna lose that. I'm sorry."
The two girls exchanged glances, both agreeing that they could see where he was coming from. Luz put her hand on his shoulder. "We get it. I just wish you told us the truth."
"We understand what it's like to be an outcast. But, remember, best friends don't lie to each other," Bijou smiled down at him, and he returned the smile.
A screech cut them off in their tracks, and they looked down to see several snakes screeching at them.
"Let me make it up to you, guys. I've got a plan!"
One of them approached Luz, who yelled and kicked it in the neck. "We're in. Where do we start?"
Gus took both of their hands in his.
"By leaving no one behind!" he exclaimed, leaping inside and taking the two with him.
They landed roughly at the bottom of the pit. He looked up to see Mattholomule's cocoon engulfing him.
"You will be a good student," a voice said.
"I will be a good student," Mattholomule said again, almost robotically.
Luz sank her teeth into the pod, but it didn't work. She raised her eyes to the two.
"You know, it didn't taste as bad as I thought it would."
"And as much as I hate Mattholomule, I'm not a sadist. He doesn't deserve such punishment." Bijou let out a sigh.
"Oh, you're a witch!" Luz remembered as she pointed to Gus. "Do magic."
"Oh! I'll use magic," he said, pulling out a paper clip and unfolding it. "Human magic!" he exclaimed as he pierced the pod and cut open the cocoon.
"Am I...a good student?" Mattholomule inquired, dazed. Luz grabbed him and tossed him over her shoulder.
"Or the illusion of a plan," Gus said, spinning a spell circle and then casting a duplicating spell on himself, Bijou, and Luz. The snakes began to devour them, hissing as they were befuddled.
"A genius and a wordsmith," Luz said as they dashed away. They began to scale the teeth and eyes. Some snakes began slithering after them and eventually made it to the top. Luz kicked another snake that appeared. Bijou slammed a fist on its head, causing the creature to flee. Gus began smacking them with a large bone, while Luz and Bijou engaged in hand-to-hand combat. He bolted with the bone.
Over his shoulder, he exclaimed, "We're going to have to bust down the door!"
"Right behind you," Luz said as she tossed Mattholomule over her shoulder, Bijou yelping and fleeing as the snakes pursued them. They all grabbed the bone and ran for the door, screaming.
Willow and Jackie approached the door, making sure no one was looking. They then removed the door latch.
"I washed off all the graffiti," They looked down the hall as Eda and Bump walked by. "Apologized to Miss Jenkinmeyer for stealing her teeth. Caught all the wild cerebi. Ah, we should be good." She turned to him triumphantly, hands on her hips.
"It will be very exciting to have a real human exchange student. Especially with Miss Adams around," Principal Bump said as he and Eda shook hands.
"And you won't tell the Emperor's Coven about this, will you?" Eda inquired cautiously; everyone knew she, Bijou, and Hazel was wanted, and she didn't want him to leak the information...
"No. Hexside School is safe for you both. I'm the principal, not a stooge. Consider your pupils our pupils."
They turned to face the detention door after hearing a loud thud. Willow and Jackie took a step back as the pounding broke open the latch. Suddenly, the door burst open, leaving the three panting in exhaustion.
"Phew. We made it," Bijou exclaimed.
Luz was perplexed when she saw the Owl Lady and asked, "Eda?"
"Guess who got you into Hexside?!" Eda exclaimed happily, while Principal Bump frowned.
"What?" Before Luz could respond, the snakes appeared behind them, the sisters shrieking. Luz also dropped Mattholomule. They backed off after Bump snapped his fingers.
"Sorry, Principal Bump. Sir," one snake said as they walked away.
Bump glared furiously at Luz. "What did you do?"
"Ugh, kid," Eda exclaimed, her face flushed.
Bijou stood up and said, "Principal Bump, wait. Before you ban me again. I just want to tell you that I was not causing trouble in Detention. Mattholomule stole my visitor's pass so that the School Guards can catch me and throw me in here. I just went along with what Luz and Gus did to escape."
"Is that so?" Principal Bump inquired.
"She's right, Principal Bump. Please don't blame her and Luz. I told Luz that the ban was lifted. We were fighting over the Human Appreciation Society. I even brought Luz and Bijou in because I wanted to win. This is all my fault." Gus went on to say.
"If that's so, Augustus, would you be willing to accept her punishment as your own?" asked Principal Bump.
"Yes, Principal Bump," Gus replied.
"Huh. Dang, dweebus," Eda exclaimed.
"Is this really what you want, Gus?" Bijou inquired, concerned.
"It's for the best, Bij. I got us into this mess, and I'm gonna own up for it," said Gus.
"Very well," Principal Bump said, looking at Luz, "in light of that, barring any more trouble, you shall officially be enrolled in Hexside School next semester."
This made Luz smile.
"Uh, hold on." Eda said as she motioned for Bijou to come over and the principal to step back, which he did. Eda then placed her hands on Luz's and Bijou's shoulders.
"I'm only doing this because I have faith in you both. And I know you're too smart to fall for that One-Witch, One-Coven nonsense. You can learn a lot from the witches here," she said with a quick glance over her shoulder. "And maybe teach them some of that Bad Girl Coven magic too."
"I didn't hear that," Bump said as he walked away, Bijou laughing. Willow and Jackie frowned as he approached Gus.
"As for you, I would be saying detention right now, but...that seems to be out of order. So, as of now, I'm removing you from the Human Appreciation Society," he said as he removed the crown from Gus' head.
"Does that make me president?" Mattholomule, who had seemingly awoken, asked from the ground.
"Impressive. Still alive. Yes, I suppose you are," he said as he placed the crown on the boy's head.
"Yes!"
"And as for you, Miss Adams," Principal Bump said to Bijou, "Please try to stay out of trouble."
"Understood, sir," replied Bijou.
"I look forward to seeing you here in a week," Principal Bump said before turning to Eda.
"Now, with that accomplished, Eda, we have some paperwork to fill out."
"Wait! I gotta do more stuff? Ugh!" Eda groaned before turning to face Luz and Bijou.
"You better enjoy this place, kids," she said as she followed Principal Bump.
"We did it, Bijou. We finally got into Hexside!" Luz cheered.
"I know, it's really exciting for both of us!" Bijou exclaimed, "Up top!"
Bijou and Luz exchanged high fives. They proceeded to approach Jackie, Gus, and Willow.
"Well, guys, I guess we're here to stay," Bijou declared.
"Congratulations, you two. Now we can all attend Hexside together!" Jackie piped up.
"Thanks, Jackie," Luz replied.
"Would you like to finish that tour?" Gus asked.
"I can show you guys what plants not to touch in the greenhouse. And then I can let you touch them," added Willow.
"I'll even show you the Bard room in full detail," Jackie said, smiling.
"Yeah! Let's go," Luz said, taking Willow and her sister's hands in hers. Willow grabbed Gus' hand and they laughed as they ran away together.
"Hey! Wait," Mattholomule exclaimed, still a little disoriented. "Take me. I'm your president."
He sighed as everyone forgot about him. "Come on..."
Bijou, Luz, Hazel, and Eda were looking over Eda's permanent record at the Owl House. The first page showed a young Eda unleashing ghosts in the girl's locker room, the next one involved Eda raising an army of Abominations to start a food fight in the cafeteria, and the last one involved Eda hexed the school bells to sing a loud song that made all the students cover their ears, letting in two giant bugs, and finally releasing a griffin and making it vomit by feeding it spicy food.
"Wow! Bump was not exaggerating. You were a terrible student." said Luz.
Eda's eyes widened in surprise.
"It's no surprise you don't like school," Hazel said.
"No doubt about it," Bijou added, snickering.
"By the way, buddy. Congratulations on getting into Hexside," Hazel said with a smile.
"Thanks, Hazel," Bijou replied. "That means a lot."
It was an excellent day for Bijou and Luz. They can finally go to Hexside and be with their friends.
A/N: Here is some feedback to a guest review: I haven't thought of an official love interest for Bijou, since Hunter is tentative. Honestly, I like Hunter because of his character development as well as being one of my favorite characters voiced by Zeno Robinson. Anyway, here is the 10th chapter. Have fun reading it. TGRickel, signing off.