I Was A Teenage Abomination

Bijou, Hazel, Luz, Eda, and King were at the beach.

"Well, guys," Eda began. "Did you ever think you'd see something as breathtaking as this?" she nudged them both as they stared at...a giant slug laying in garbage, with boils on its back and appearing to be dead.

"I... don't like this," Luz struggled not to vomit. Bijou shivered in disgust.

"You know, when I said I needed to know more of the Boiling Isles, I didn't expect to have some grossness to go along with it." She grumbled as she asked Eda, "What is that giant creature anyway?"

"It's a trash slug. And a really smelly one, too." Hazel replied as he covered his nose.

"Yes, it doesn't get much more inspiring than the trash slug," Eda said, bending down to the slug.

"It makes a home, a life from what others have thrown by the wayside," she continued as she held up a rubber chicken and tossed it.

"Until, blam," Eda finished, "it gets blasted by a wave one day and croaks from all the salt, and then we get to sell the stuff it ate."

The two girls and the almiraj recoiled as Eda held three pickaxes, one of them being small enough for Hazel.

"Uhh..." Bijou trailed off.

"Please don't make me." Luz complained.

"Count me out on this one," Hazel added.

"Aw, come on, you two," King said as he walked away, laying out a sheet for him to sit on. "It's not every day you get to go to the dump and pick apart a garbage carcass."

"Eh, nuts to you all," Eda said as she swung her pickaxe, and the two human girls flinched.

"Look, Eda. I know that you are skilled and powerful but isn't there supposed to be something else for us to do besides collecting discarded stuff from a dead slug?" asked Bijou.

"Like what?" Eda asked as she continued to hit the giant dead mollusk in order to get more trash to sell.

"Read ancient scrolls, or make potions, or delve into the history of magical items, or..." Luz said.

"Ugh!" Eda exclaimed as she pulled out an old telephone receiver. "That sounds like a bunch of magic school stuff."

"Wait," Luz said, blinking as she heard two certain words.

"Is there a magic school here? Like, winding towers, cute uniforms, dark-plots-that-threaten-your-life kind of magic school?" she asked, her hands clasped together eagerly. Bijou appeared to be intrigued after learning about the school in general.

"Mm-hm. Worse, they force you to learn magic the 'proper' way."

"I take it you don't approve?" Bijou asked, her brow raised and arms crossed.

"I don't. You see, magic isn't proper!" Eda explained. "It's wild and unpredictable, and that's what makes it so beautiful. I didn't finish school, and look at me! Who wouldn't envy where I'm at right now?"

She was practically up to her waist in trash, which was neither a pleasing sight nor a good example.

"I don't think 'envy' is the right word there," Hazel pointed out as Luz averted her gaze.

"Uh...hey, here's a lesson," Eda said, taking Luz's hand in hers.

"A great witch is resourceful, like this," she said as she pushed Luz's hand into the slug's intestines while Bijou flinched in disgust. Eda coerced Luz into removing...a slime ball.

"Oh, hey. Greasy slime ball," Luz grumbled.

"Use your slime ball wisely, young witch," Eda said as she stood up and clasped her hand. "Back at it! We'll hit the stink nodes first."

"Actually," Luz said as she stood up. "If it's okay, I-I think we'll go home and look at pictures of still-living animals. Love you, King," she bent down and rubbed his tummy, causing him to giggle. "You little beach peach."

Bijou kissed his forehead as she and Hazel both followed Luz.

"As long as it's anywhere better than that trash slug's stink nodes, I'm completely fine with it." Bijou went on to say.

"See you later." Hazel waved at Eda.

Eda simply shrugged at them.

"More for me, then," she said, opening the trash slug's mouth. "There we go. Okay."

A tuba landed on King's head while she was tossing things around.

"Ow!" he wiggled, attempting to get it off.

"This is awesome!"

At the forest near the Owl House...

Luz examined the slime ball in her hand. "Ugh, if magic's all about digging for slime balls, maybe I don't have the stomach for it," she put it in her pocket.

"I can't believe there's a magic school here; I thought they only existed in literature and media fiction," Bijou said, puzzled.

"They are real. In fact, there is one: Hexside School of Magic and Demonics. A lot of young witches and demons go there to learn different kinds of magic lessons. That also involves equipment, spells, lore, and other essentials." Hazel went on to clarify.

"Wow, that sounds fascinating," Luz commented.

"You can do it! You can!" They paused as they heard a girl's voice that neither of them recognized.

"Mysterious voice of encouragement?" Luz asked as Bijou turned to the left.

"Over there," she said, motioning them to a bush. Luz pushed back some of the leaves to reveal a girl with pale skin, glasses, a gray tunic with pink sleeves and leggings, a dark gray belt, and boots.

"Nope. Just a little witch girl. Probably around the same age as you two." Hazel replied.

"I've never seen that kind of outfit on anyone else before," Bijou said, puzzled. "I wonder why."

"You can do it!" exclaimed the girl as she stood up, trying to appear determined. "Even if you get a bad grade, it's not a reflection of you as a witch, and my parents are right. There are better opportunities on this track. Now get to school!"

She stepped on a flower and moved her foot to destroy it.

"Oh no! Oh, little friend! I'm sorry!" she exclaimed in horror. She then spun her finger, and a green circle appeared above the flower. Little green orbs fell over the flower, resurrecting it.

Bijou, Luz, and Hazel gasped, and the girl's ear twitched. She looked up as a wheelbarrow came to a halt, with a girl wearing the exact same uniform sitting on top. Her hair was greener this time, with a patch of brown in the front. She was reading a book when she noticed the first girl.

"Willow!" She closed the book, and her confident expression told Bijou she wasn't going to like her.

"You're so unnoticeable I almost rolled into you," she chuckled as she jumped down. Willow stood up as the flower died again.

"Hi, Amity," she said, her voice slightly irritated.

"Shouldn't you get to class early to prepare your-"

Willow's wheelbarrow shook and fell over. A pile of purple sludge and an eye fell from it.

"Oh, Willow..." Amity shrugged. "You don't have anything to show, do you?"

"Witch drama!" Luz whispered next to Bijou.

"Ugh, some brats like her make me wish they didn't feel so entitled; I could never stand pride that much," Bijou grumbled, recalling people looking down on her and her chosen career.

Willow shifted her hood over her head, blushing and turning away. Amity sighed and took a step forward.

"This is why people call you 'Half-a-Witch Willow,'" she said, her tone indicating she wasn't sympathetic. Her cauldron began to shake, drawing her attention.

"Oh, looks like someone wants to say something to you," she said proudly as she removed the cover.

"Abomination, rise," she snapped her fingers, and a purple sludge creature bowed down to Willow.

"You're a..." It touched Willow's brow, creating a star. "Star..."

"Aw, it's like mine," Amity said, pointing to her 'Top Student' badge, which twinkled as she adjusted it.

"But much smaller, and meaningless. As top student, it's my duty to tell you to keep at it. Even you could get a passing grade someday. Abomination, cower."

The abomination returned to the cauldron, and she sealed it with the lid.

Willow frowned and removed her hood, saying, "See you in class, superstar."

Luz stuck out her tongue as Amity smiled and walked away, while Bijou just stared at her with narrowed eyes and Hazel disdainfully stomped his rear left foot.

"Oh, see you in class, superstar," Willow said mockingly as she rubbed the mark away with her arm. "I hate it when she does that."

The three friends looked sympathetic to her situation.

"I hate making abominations. I hate getting bad grades! Ugh, I can't stand it any longer!" She grunted angrily, her eyes turning completely green.

The three were taken aback by her appearance, and the dead flower sprouted several thorny vines. Two people reached over and grabbed the girls' and almiraj's legs. They screamed as they were dragged into the air and then dropped behind her. Willow turned to see them as they looked up...

Back to Eda and King...

Eda was fastening a slug egg bag to her employees. Behind her, King was perched atop a mound of trash.

"Oh, not a bad haul. That oviduct was loaded."

"Ah, lose apprentice, gain garbage eggs," King sarcastically pointed out. "Fair trade."

With a sneer, she faced him. "I didn't lose anything."

With a thumb jerk to himself, King boasted, "If you don't teach Luz and Bijou right, you will. And if you lose one, you lose both. That's when I'll come in, make them my apprentice."

Eda teased him, saying, "Ha! And what would you teach? How to get stuck in the arm of a sweater?"

"Hey, that only happened once!" King exclaimed in disapproval.

"I'd teach them about demons. How to identify them, talk to 'em, raise an army with them and tear apart the world!"

"After they tear you out of the sweater arm, right?" Eda leaned against her staff.

"You think you're so smart! Well," King said, leaping from the trash pile. "Why don't we make a little bet where I can prove that I'd make a better teacher."

Eda rubbed her hair, grinning.

She took out a book that said, "Eda and King One-Sided Wagers," and said, "Okay, I'm required to remind you that I only use our bets to completely humiliate you. And..."

She opened the book and showed it to him. Both pages featured illustrations of them at the top as columns, with checkmark boxes beneath each one that read, "That you've never won." And King had 'fail' marks, and Eda had stars on all of them.

"I like those odds," he challenged her.

One of the eggs she had gathered was visible when Eda looked down.

"So how's this? Teach this trash slug to be your loyal soldier in one day. Prove that you can be a better teacher than me, and the girls are all yours. But, if you don't, I change your name from King to... Mr. Wiggles."

"Well, when you lose, you'll have to... wear a shame hat and sleep in a shack and never come into the Owl House again! Ha!"

"Deal," she said, flipping the book to a page that has two lines, one of which had her name already written on it.

He signed the page by pressing his paw against it. When she threw the egg to him, it hatched on his head. He managed to catch the larva as it slid off. He looked up to see Eda laughing as she walked away, certain that she would win hands down.

With Willow, Bijou, Hazel, and Luz...

Bijou, Luz, and Hazel kept staring at Willow when she finally caught sight of them. Her eyes returned to normal and she appeared scared as soon as she did.

She knelt down to them and remembered the vines, saying, "Oh no, no, no, no, no! I'm so sorry!"

Luz comforted her by holding her leg. "It's okay. The thorns only went through a few layers of skin."

"I think I can safely say that we're all still fine," Bijou said with a slight smile as her capri pants were a little torn themselves.

Hazel got up and dusted himself, saying, "I gotta say, though. The way you called those spiky vines was impressive."

"Whoa. An almiraj." Willow said before glancing at the two girls and noticing their ears. "So... circly."

With their ears exposed, they both covered their ears. Willow's eyes gleamed as she gasped in realization. She examined them both, holding up one cheek.

"You're both humans! This is astounding! Humans on the Boiling Isles!" she exclaimed.

The two girls were then assisted by her.

"How'd you get here? What are you doing here?"

Willow froze when the bell rang several feet away. She eventually released them.

"I'm sorry. I can't stay." She said with sadness, "I have to go disappoint my teacher. It was nice to meet you, humans."

Something about her made them want to help. 'Half-a-Witch' Willow didn't seem like a bad name for a nice girl.

"Wait. You're Willow, right?" asked Bijou.

Willow faced them once more.

"My name is Bijou and this almiraj is my friend Hazel." replied Bijou.

"Hello," said Hazel.

"And I'm Luz. What you did with that flower and those plants, it was... wow." Luz replied.

"Thanks, but," Willow said with a grin before dropping it. "My parents put me in the abomination track at school, so I'm not even supposed to be doing plant magic."

Luz squealed and asked, "Like in that magic school Hazel talked about?"

Willow gave a nod.

"That's so cool. I'm so jealous. We have a teacher, but her lessons are a bit... untraditional. I bet she wouldn't even let us enroll. But I wish I could spend one day there." Luz responded.

"Me too. Ever since Hazel told us about this school, I'm getting even more curious by the minute," Bijou continued.

Hazel nodded.

"I wish I could get a passing grade for once," Willow admitted to them. "Then, people would stop referring to me as 'Half-a-Witch Willow.'"

She kicked the hideous puddle, causing the eye to roll away.

At that very moment, Luz thought, "Hey, wait."

She leaned over and said, "I know how we can both get what we want."

She grabbed some of the abomination slime.

She splattered the substance all over her clothes and cheeks, saying, "Make me your abomination! I'll get you a good grade, and you can get me into magic school. It's fiendishly clever."

Hazel, Willow, and Bijou cried out, "What?!" simultaneously.

"I saw that girl's thing. It's just chunks of stuff that talks weird. I'm chunks of staff, and I talk weird!"

"That's true, but in a good way. You're more laid-back than that girl, for starters," Bijou gave Luz a head pat.

Willow giggled and agreed with them both, "That's true..."

Luz looked up at Bijou, startled, "Wait, you don't think it's a bad idea?"

"No, actually, I think it's a great idea. Humans are uncommon here, so they probably wouldn't think otherwise. And plus, I'm all for showing up bullies," she said with a smirk on her face. "Just as long as you understand that this is only until Willow's class is over."

"Yes, yes I do!" Luz joyfully jumped up and down while pumping her fists.

"All right, we have a deal," Willow gestured. "Luz." The two shook hands after that.

"This is a great plan," they said, their hands still firmly joined by the substance.

"Oops. Abomination goo."

As they struggled to remove it, Bijou tugged at Luz's shoulder. Luz tripped over fell into the puddle once the goo snapped off.

"Great plan," Luz said.

Willow asked Bijou, "But what about you?"

"Don't worry about that, Willow. If anyone asks, I'll just tell them that I'm a visitor." Bijou said.

"Yeah. That way, no one will suspect anything." Hazel continued.

"Okay then. Let's go." Willow said.

"Welcome to Hexside School of Magic and Demonics," Willow said as they drew near a palatial structure that resembled a cathedral.

Bijou exclaimed in amazement, "Wow!"

Willow said to Luz, "Remember to stay hidden, okay?" Luz could only chuckle and squeal as they approached. Bijou stops at the entrance before entering.

Bijou remarked, "You might want to wait out here, Hazel."

"Why?" inquired Hazel.

Bijou answered, "I'm not so sure if Hexside allows any animals in here."

With a "Aw," Hazel leaped off his friend's shoulder.

Bijou hurried inside and said, "Don't worry, we'll meet you out here when we're done."

"Alright, have fun," Hazel said, observing her leave.

Bijou observed that all of the students were dressed almost identically inside the school.

Willow strolled towards her locker, gently opened it, and retrieved her book.

'Those lockers are really unusual,' Bijou mused to herself.

A shorter boy wearing a blue uniform approached, carrying a Tween Boss magazine that contained an article about humans. Willow looked down at him after he bumped into her.

"Willow, you would not believe humans." The boy said.

"Humans?" she questioned tremblingly. "Pfft," she said, wide-eyed as she turned to face the cauldron. "I haven't seen any. What?"

Bijou gave a slightly irritated shake of her head.

The boy was showing her a picture of a girl wearing braces when he said, "Did you know...that humans nail barbed wire to their kids' teeth? But why? Maybe to make them magnetic."

Bijou chuckled, "Are you sure you are reading it right? Braces are more on teeth realignment."

Luz answered from the cauldron, "Actually, it's for storing treats."

The boy gave Willow a bewildered look.

"Okay, Augustus," she said as she gathered her courage and put her book in her wheelbarrow. "I'm gonna tell you something. But you have to be cool."

"I can be spool. I-I mean, cool!"

Willow gave the command, "Okay. Abomination, rise."

Luz came out of the cauldron.

"Ta-da! I am an abomination," she said as her introduction.

"Luz, that is not the behavior of abominations," the girl chastised her. Gus dropped his magazine when he saw her.

"No," He touched his ears and smacked his cheeks after noticing hers. "No, it couldn't be."

"He's the president of the Human Appreciation Society. Most witches wouldn't be able to recognize a human right away. But Augustus is an expert." Willow clarified.

"Is he now?" Bijou inquired curiously.

Augustus took note of Bijou.

He said, "Oh, hello. Are you new here?"

Bijou asserted, "Maybe. I'm only visiting this school."

"Yeah. That's right. I am giving her a tour of this place. The first one will be my class." Willow replied.

Augustus remarked, "Cool," before glancing at Bijou.

"Are you a human too?" he asked.

"Yeah. My name is Bijou, by the way. Nice to meet you," Bijou replied.

Augustus said, "Back at ya. I'm Augustus. So, where are your gills?"

"We don't have any gills. Unless you're talking about mermaids. And just so you know, humans are far more complex than they first appear. Come talk to me, and I will answer any questions you may have." replied Bijou, offering Gus some specifics about humanity.

Gus had already won her over with his eagerness to learn more about people, in addition to the compliment. In the same way that she desired to know everything from the Boiling Isles.

Gus held his cheeks in amazement, "Do my ears deceive me?! A teacher for humans, by a human? I have been rewarded this day! No, it's official. This is the most unforgettable day of my life!"

She chuckled at him, liking this kid already because he made her think of her brother Quinton.

"I knew an Augustus back in the human world. We called him Gus." said Luz.

With excitement, Gus exclaimed, "Gus? Nickname? Human nickname? Gus? Call me it. Wow. Gus. This is the best day of my life."

The school bell then starts to scream.

As she heard it, Bijou thought, 'It's not just the lockers, the school bell is also weird.'

Gus picked up the magazine and said, "I have to get to spelling class. See you guys at lunch!"

Bijou and Willow both waved at him.

Willow then looked over at Luz. "Alright, into the darkness you go."

Luz slithered back into the cauldron, hissing like a cat.

Back to Eda and King...

King was offering dog treats to his slug in an attempt to get it to obey. "Aw, who's a good Prince Jr.? Who's a good guy?"

Eda sat in a lawn chair and held a mug.

"Hey, Mr. Wiggles," she said. "You're not gonna teach it anything doing that."

He corrected her, saying, "It's called positive reinforcement, Eda. And it works wonders."

The slug devoured the treat and slightly grew in size.

"Ha ha! See? Now watch this." King then took another dog treat with the slug was just eyeing the treat, "Prince Jr.! Attack Eda! Knock over her drink! Mess up her hair!"

But it did nothing but eye the treat he was holding.

Eda didn't even flinch, but instead said sarcastically, "Oh no. Please stop."

"Well, I haven't seen your student in forever. For all we know, she's not even loyal to you anymore."

King didn't notice that the slug had taken the treat.

"Ha ha ha, you wish," Eda remarked after realizing that Bijou and Luz had still not returned. "But yeah. Where are they?"

Students entering Abomination 101 class said, "I hope I pass."

'Wow. This school has everything. Almost like from the movies I've watched.' Bijou thought as she looked around the classroom.

"I'm confident about this." The student nervously smiled as she showed the teacher the one with too many toes around it.

"Hmm. Too many toenails in unexpected places. Fail. Pathetic!"

The monstrosity retreated into the cauldron.

"The biggest abominations are all of you! If the next abomination is a failure, everyone gets extra homework for a month!"

"Oh, man!"

"Extra homework? Not again!"

From the front, Amity appeared rather arrogant, and the instructor cleared his throat.

"And the next one to come up is..." Standing up eagerly, Amity raised her hand and said, "Excuse me, sir. But I am ready to present my abomination. Rise!"

Hers rose, and the teacher laughed as it struck a pose.

"I've always saved the best for last, Amity. You'll have to wait your turn."

Behind Amity's back, Bijou let out a raspberry.

"How about... Willow?"

When they heard her name, the students moaned.

"Not Half-a-Witch."

"Great. Homework for a month."

Luz peered out from the cauldron while the girl covered her hair with her hood. "We can do this, Willow. Don't listen to them," Luz gave a thumbs up.

Bijou chimed in, "Yeah. They just don't know what you can actually do."

Willow nodded, grinned, and moved to the front of the class. "A-Abomination, rise."

Luz leaped out and took a selfie. "Ta-da!"

When she appeared, everyone gasped, and Amity was particularly taken aback since it came from Willow.

Willow commanded, "Abomination, bow."

And Luz followed her lead.

"Very impressive. But does it speak?" the teacher asked.

Holding Willow's hand, Luz said, "Uh, I may be your abomination, but you're my a-mom-ination."

And the girl smiled.

"Aww." "It's cute." The rest of the students impressed. Bijou went along with it too.

The teacher burst out laughing, and Amity's mouth fell open in shock. He wrote the grade on Luz's forehead and all the students cheered—except for Amity, who appeared extremely apprehensive about Luz.

"A-mom-ination! Splendid wordplay. A!"

"Yay!"

"Go, Willow!"

After exchanging smiles, Willow and Luz looked at Bijou, who gave them a thumbs up.

The bell gave a scream, then a cough. Bijou trailed behind Willow as she wheeled Luz out of the classroom.

Bijou remarked, "You did great. No one suspected anything."

With a smile, Willow said, "Thanks, Bijou."

"Excellent work today, Willow," the Abominations teacher said. "Looks like we have a new top student."

Amity just so happened to be leaving class when she heard what the teacher said before the badge was taken from her, and she gasped sharply as she dropped her books.

"Uh, but-!"

With glee, the instructor gave it to Willow.

"Uh, thank you, sir." She said as the teacher nodded before leaving.

She followed Willow down another hallway, all the while maintaining her gaze fixed on her. Willow put a hand on her cheek and said, "Uh-oh. I think Amity is onto us."

Bijou gave her a tiny smile and said, "Pay no attention her. She's just jealous. And besides, you're Top Student now! Bet you didn't think that'd happen, huh?"

"You're right! And I can't thank you guys enough."

Eda forcefully opened the door, causing Hooty's face to collide with the wall.

She asked, "Have you seen Luz or Bijou?"

"I heard their tiny mouse feet walking close by. Or that might've been some mice. Anyway, someone started moving in that direction." His attempt to point was unsuccessful due to not having any hands.

He hooted and Eda stared at him.

"Are you trying to point, or...?"

He nudged her, saying, "Look at the weather vane!"

She retreated and raised her head to see it pointed north.

"But the only thing that way is the..." She gasped in fearful realization. "No."

She started running.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" she exclaimed as she arrived at Hexside and noticed a kindergarten class through the window.

The teacher said, "Okay, everyone. Recite your runes."

"Krom, Zix, Elgrim, Zenomide..."

"No," Eda averted her gaze. "Blind obedience!"

She glared out the window at another class.

"Heximal system time! Let's get memorizin'!"

Eda angrily held her head and said, "No! Pointless busywork!"

She peered into another class and saw Luz and Willow scribbling on paper while Bijou is sitting nearby watching them.

"No!" she exclaimed, glancing up at the heavens. "Why?! School!"

Now that lunchtime had arrived, Willow, Gus, Bijou, and Luz were seated at opposite ends of a table. One of the students approached them. She seems to have curly dark brown hair and brown skin. She's dressed in the same uniform as Gus and Willow, but she has red leggings and sleeves.

With a wave, the girl said, "Hey, guys."

"Hi, Jackie," they returned the greeting

"Wow, you guys wouldn't believe how hard that test I took this morning. It took me about 2 hours to finish the whole thing." Jackie said as she sat next to Willow.

She then noticed Luz and Bijou and asked, "So, could you please tell me who your new friends are?"

"Oh yeah," Gus realized before he introduced Jackie to Bijou and Luz. "Bijou, Luz, this is Jacqueline, or Jackie for short. She is a bard student. Jackie, these are our new friends, Luz and Bijou."

Luz said, "Hello."

Bijou also said, "Pleased to meet you, Jackie."

Jackie answered, "Likewise. How was class this morning?"

"It was awesome. I really killed it as Willow's abomination in her Abomination class, and the teacher gave her an A. Plus, he even made her the new top student," Luz said, gesturing to the badge that was pinned to Willow's cowl.

Willow worriedly remarked, "But I fear that Amity might be on to us."

"Oh, then that would be bad." Jackie said as-a-matter-of-factly.

Gus said, "Hey. Do humans eat PBJ's?"

"Oh my gosh, I haven't eaten real food in so long, please give me some." asked Luz.

Gus gives her a slice of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Luz returns to the pot after grabbing it with her mouth. Bijou grabbed a PBJ sandwich herself.

Willow spoke up with worry, "I don't know, Gus. If Amity saw that-"

All of them were shocked when Amity leaped onto their table.

Amity exclaimed, "I saw that! Abominations don't eat!"

She approached the cauldron. Students began to notice the disturbance and as she shouted, "I know you're in there! You can't hide from me! What are you? Who are you?!"

Amity took Luz in her arms and began to shake her. "I want answers!"

Bijou exclaimed as she got to her feet, "Hey, calm down! You're freaking everyone out!"

"Stay out of this!" Amity yelled at Bijou.

"Amity Blight!"

"Huh?" she asked, staring at the Abomination teacher in horror.

"I suspected a twinge of jealousy, but this, this is just sad," he berated her.

She held Luz out for the teacher to see, saying, "But, I—No! Look at it!"

But Luz groaned and mimicked an abomination once more to fool the teacer.

The teacher said, "Report to Principal Bump's office."

"But-"

"Now!" He pounded his fist down. "And leave that girl alone. She did nothing to you."

Bijou sat down at the table, and Amity bolted.

"Okay. That girl nearly gave me a heart attack then." Bijou replied.

"Ditto." concurred Jackie.

"Roll over!" King exclaimed as he tossed another candy and pumped his fist. "Yes! Heel!"

But instead of genuinely obeying, Prince Jr. was more concerned with the candy King had. And the amount of treats he received had made him actually larger. "Yes, yes!"

He turned to face Eda as she passed by. "So, did you find your runaway student?" he asked as Eda looked defeated and had her arms crossed. She had seen the two in school.

He threw up the box, inadvertently tossing the treats, saying, "By your expression, I can tell Luz has gone herself and found someplace else to learn. Bijou, too. Which means I have won!"

The enormous slug grabbed them and put them in his mouth.

"Yes, great, you won," Eda admitted defeat. "You have a giant soldier thing and I have nothing. Congrats!"

With hands behind his back, he approached Eda.

"Oh, Eda. Don't say that. At least you have this!" he exclaimed, laughing heartily as he held out the shame hat for her to wear.

With a moan, she grabbed it and bounded toward the shack. King laughed some more as he watched her enter.

He scratched the side of his head and said, "I am so funny! Ah. Well, Prince Jr., training complete. Go forth! Make the world tremble at your feet...or worm stubs."

He was a little uneasy since the worm gave him no response at all.

"Go forth?" Nothing changed, and at that point he realized he was going to need the snacks.

"Oh, right."

When he extended his hand to grab the box, he discovered it was empty. King was in trouble because Prince Jr. was only interested in the snacks. King whimpered in terror as the worm towered over him and snarled.

Luz exclaimed, "Woo," and got up from the cauldron to extend her arms.

"I'm a sweaty little abomination," she exclaimed as she leaped out. "But now we don't have to worry about Amity. High five!"

The three just exchanged bewildered looks as she extended her hand to them.

"Slap my hand," Luz showed them. "It's a human thing."

"And your very first lesson on Humanities 101," Bijou said at Gus. "We usually do this in celebration when something good happens."

With a gasp, Gus moved forward and gave Luz a slow handshake. He felt like he had just given a queen a high five, so he grinned.

"Oh. Oh, my. Oh, man, what a rush!"

"See? Now you're getting it," Bijou exclaimed as Amity's door slammed open.

Grinning, she stepped aside to make room for a man wearing robes.

"Good afternoon, students."

"Principal Bump," Willow and Jackie said, sounding surprised.

Luz became limp, and Principal Bump knelt down to assist her. Grabbing her cheeks, he examined her.

"Hmm. Abomination, rise." Luz stood up with trepidation.

"Abomination, lie."

"Uh, viral fame is a worthy pursuit. Your cat would never eat you if it got the chance. Chemtrails are real-"

"Oh, no, abomination," Bump snapped at her. "How strange for it to get the command wrong. I mean lie down."

He points to a desk as Luz smiled nervously and did what the principal said.

'This does not look good,' Jackie thought tensely.

Bump took Willow by the shoulders and pulled her forward, saying, "So very lifelike. When Miss Blight told me about your abomination, I had to come by, see what she's made of."

"Oh, this is where her ingredient list is," Willow said, reaching into her pocket.

"No," Bump interrupted her before she could. He pulled a dagger from his robe and said, "We were hoping... for a closer look."

Luz was horrified as it loomed over her face and said

Bump gave it to her, saying, "Willow, I'll allow you the first cut."

Bijou gave a terrified gasp. If Luz was sliced open and examined, who knows what's gonna happen to her? With a nervous smile, Willow approaches Luz.

Quietly, she questioned, "You can't just cut open a human, can you?"

Luz shook her head hastily.

Principal Bump said, "Willow, go ahead and make the first incision."

Bijou tapped Gus on the shoulder, knowing exactly what needed to be done. Gus looks up at him. Then, Bijou slapped her hands together. Gus realized what he wanted from him.

"Wait, Principal Bump! Uh, high five!" he exclaimed as he and Jackie threw three pots over. There emerge three abominations.

"Run!" "Get out of here!" yelled Gus and Jackie.

Luz and Willow both bolted from the room. It wasn't until Amity looked at Bijou.

"Hey! You were the one who tried to stop me at the cafeteria! Who are you!? And who is that 'abomination'!? Answer me!" She insisted.

Bijou said, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just a visitor."

"Hmm... I don't remember seeing you around here, do I?" Principal Bump remarked, staring her down. "And those ears..."

Bijou quietly gasped as they found out who she is. Left, with no choice Bijou darted from the room in a hurry.

Amity cried, "They're getting away!"

"No, the intruders won't get far," Bump said as he approached the wall and formed a magic circle. When he pressed on it, red runes began to appear.

Luz and Willow dashed through the corridors, pausing at a corner to catch their breath.

"This is all my fault, Willow. I just wanted to see what a real magic school was like." Luz replied.

Willow asked, "Well, how do you like it?"

"It's lovely, actually," Luz replied as they laughed.

"Luz! Willow!" called Bijou. They turn to see Bijou running, panting, toward them.

"Willow and Luz exclaimed, "Bijou!"

"Amity and Principal Bump found me out. I have to get away from them." Bijou stated.

Willow said, "We should get out of here before..." as red light patterns started to block off all of the hallways and doors. "Bump seals us in."

Bijou can only take a tense gulp as she said, "Oh no."

King ran to the door while Eda was still stunned.

"Help me, help me, help me!" He swung it open and shut it hard. He then leaped into Eda's arms, whimpering. The door began to slam, and she gave a knowing smile.

"Trouble with your student?"

"Yes, yes!" He gave her a firm arm hug. The banging became more aggressive.

"Are you sure you need my help? Maybe he only wants more of your brilliant lessons."

After forcing its way through the door, the slug roared at them. It slid up close, grabbing King's foot. She watched in disbelief as it began to pull him back.

He begged desperately, "Please help me! You can call me Mr. Wiggles!"

Compared to this, anything was better.

Grinning, she removed her hat and stood up. The worm released King when she struck it with the stick. He hurried back to her.

She smirked down at him and said, "Okay, Mr. Wiggles. Here's what we're going to do."

Bijou, Willow, and Luz approached a door, but before they could enter, it was barred. They all gasped as a shadow passed over them and they turned to see Bump. He gave the order to chase after the four abominations, and they fled down the hallway, ducking behind a pillar.

Willow sat down and held her cheeks, saying, "Oh, this is awful. I don't know what to do. Amity's right. I'm just...Half-a-Witch Willow."

Luz put a hand on Willow's shoulder and said, "You're Full-Witch Willow! And you're great. And someone once told me great witches are resourceful."

"Yeah," Bijou said, glancing over. "You just have to dig deep and use the magic that you wanna use. Like my mom used to say to me, don't think about what anyone else wants. Think about what you want to do."

Luz took the ball of slime out of her pocket.

With a smile, Willow accepted it from her. "That's it!"

"You mean that greasy slime ball?" Luz asked as she and Bijou simply gave her confused expressions.

"Luz, it's a seed! Thank goodness you had it on you."

"Wait, seriously?" Bijou raised an eyebrow in astonishment.

"Yes," Luz grinned, recalling that morning.

She turned to Bijou and said, "Thank goodness someone told me to hold on to it."

The two of them grinned. It appeared that Eda had a purpose for her methods.

Willow placed the seed on her lap and formed a spell circle around it. They observed as it was encircled by green magic.

"Please...grow!" Willow said as the vines emerged from the seed and reached the ceiling. As the vines removed all of the abominations, the sisters both dove. When it began to approach Bump, he appeared shocked. They took hold of him and struck him with the ceiling. But when he opened his eyes, he gasped at the sight of all the pink petals cascading down and the vine-covered pillars. To be honest, he was amazed.

"Remarkable..."

Because Bump was restrained, the exit door opened and all the runes vanished.

Luz exclaimed, "There's the exit!

"Let's leave this place quickly!" Bijou exclaimed.

Willow, Bijou, and Luz hurried to the door, but Amity got in the way.

Amity yelled, "Not so fast! I'm not letting you get away so easily. I want my badge! Abominations, seize!"

The abominations approached them after releasing themselves. Luz smacked one of the abominations down and grabbed Willow's arm before fleeing with her and Bijou.

Upon reaching the exit, the three girls are surrounded by abominations on four sides.

"Let me handle this." Said Bijou as her bangle began to glow, with a rune appearing in front of it. From that rune came the same light sword she called upon the other day.

"Get back, girls. This might get intense." Bijou said and Luz and Willow did what she said.

Bijou then swung her sword as she stopped all the abominations.

Amity and Bump witnessed what was going on.

"What the?" Amity was surprised seeing Bijou stopping her abominations.

"Incredible," Principal Bump said.

As she and Willow approached her, Luz exclaimed, "Good job, Bij!"

With a smile, Bijou said, "Thanks."

Willow inquired, "How did you do that, by the way?"

Bijou indicated her wrist bangle by saying, "I had some help with this."

Still needing to get the badge back, Amity commanded her abominations to reassemble themselves.

"Let me try," Willow whirled a circle of magic. She enlarged it, then added more vines to block the abominations.

Willow created a spell circle. She enlarges it and then surrounds the abominations with more vines.

"Get outta here!"

Luz put a hand on her shoulder and defended, saying, "No! We're not leaving you."

"I may get detention, but you'll get dissected."

The previous abominations stood up and advanced toward them.

"So go!" Waving her arm, she ensnared the two in vines and hovered them over the monstrosities.

The door closed behind them, dropping them to the ground.

"Hang in there, Willow!" exclaimed Bijou. "We can't save you right now. But we know someone who can! Let's go, Luz!"

Hazel saw them nearby and hopped over.

He leaped on Bijou's shoulder and exclaimed, "Hey, guys!"

"Hazel!" exclaimed Bijou.

"So, how was school?" inquired the almiraj.

Bijou answered, "Well, let's just say that it was a wild one."

"Huh?" a bewildered Hazel exclaimed.

"We'll explain later; right now, we need to get Eda," Luz said as she and Bijou took off.

Still perplexed, Hazel said, "Oh, okay."

With that, the three head over to get the Owl Lady to help them.

Eda, meanwhile, had turned to face the enormous slug and was backing away as it released lava. She lunged forward, slamming her staff across its face. It slithered forward, sliding toward her as she took a step back. King was actually trying to balance a bucket full of salt from the roof. Eda pulled the worm toward the entrance.

"Pour the salt, now!"

"Baby boy!" King sighed, and the slug whimpered, looking sad...until it roared.

"I have no son! Eat salt!" He tossed it into the worm's mouth, and the worm shrank back to its original size, crawling away in terror.

"Yes, I did it! I'm amazing!" As he celebrated, he slipped and fell into Eda's arms. Rubbing the back of his neck, he laughed.

"You helped too. You are a good teacher."

Eda averted her gaze and said, "I wish Luz and Bijou thought that, too."

Luz, Bijou, and Hazel ran up to them, the former exclaiming, "Eda!

Luz hurried over to give Eda and King hugs.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey! What is this? Ugh! I never understand when you do this." Eda replied.

"Your lesson worked! Keeping junk in my pocket saved my life! But wait. Our new friends. They're in danger." Luz exclaimed.

"Which is why we need your help, Eda. Let's get to Hexside pronto." Bijou chimed in.

"Luz! Bijou!" exclaimed Willow.

They turned to see Jackie, Gus, and Willow run up to give them hugs.

Bijou grinned and said, "Guys! You're alright."

"Seriously, what is that?" Eda inquired. Jackie and Gus observed Hazel on Bijou's shoulder.

Jackie said, "Hey Bijou. What's up with the almiraj? Is he your pet?"

"I am not a pet!" exclaimed Hazel.

Gus exclaimed, startled, "Whoa. And it talks too!"

"That's right, Gus. He's my friend. Gus, Jackie, this is Hazel. Hazel, these are Augustus and Jacquelin but you can call them Gus and Jackie."

"Hello," Hazel uttered. "Nice to meet you, Hazel," said Jackie and Gus.

"You won't believe it, Luz. Everything is perfect now!" Willow replied. Luz answered, "It's true. I don't believe it."

Bijou asked, "So what happened back there?"

"Principal Bump was so impressed by my plant work that he's switching me to the plant magic track! Look!" Willow said, snapping her fingers. Her sleeves and leggings went from pink to green in color.

"Whoa," Hazel exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes!" Luz exclaimed as she hugged Willow once more.

"Congratulations, Willow," Bijou said, applauding.

"Thank you, Bijou," Willow replied.

"What about Amity?" Luz inquired.

"Last we saw, she was asking Bump if today could count as extra credit." Gus went on to say.

"Poor girl," Bijou sighed with a facepalm as Hazel looked at her, perplexed.

"Well, I can't wait to see you in action next time I sneak in." Luz said.

This made Jackie, Willow, and Gus cringe.

"Yeah, about that, Luz. Principal Bump banned you and Bijou from Hexside," Jackie explained as she displayed two posters of the two girls. "See?"

"That's my girls!" Eda pumped her fists, Bijou frowning.

"But we could come here and teach you what we've learned," Willow proposed to Luz.

"Aw, that would be nice, but... we already have a pretty great teacher," she smiled up at Eda, who looked surprised.

"That's right, Luz and Bijou are my students!" Eda said as she grabbed the poster. "Back off, academy twerps."

The five laughed at her, and she proudly held them up.

"Oh! My babies' first wanted posters. Good job, kids. Looks like I taught you something after all," she patted their heads.

"Not something I'd recommend, Eda," Bijou said.

"Uh, you high five with your hands, not your head," Gus clarified.

Bijou shook her head, crossed her arms, and smiled. "Another thing of human life that I have to teach you."

Eda teased her, hands on her hips, "Wait, you're a teacher now?"

"Hey, I might as well do something other than explore the Boiling Isles and learn to master the magic in my bangle while I'm here," she said as she placed her hands on her hips. "Gus, get ready to take notes, because you're getting a bunch of information on your next lesson on Humanities 101."

He blinked and then pulled out a notepad, wide-eyed.

"Every fiber in my being was prepared for this moment."

Later that night...

Back in Bijou and Hazel's room, the girl was explaining what had happened in Hexside to her almiraj friend.

"So you're telling me that Luz helped Willow become the top student in the Abomination Class by pretending to be an abomination herself and she nearly got dissected by the Principal?" Hazel followed up with a question. "And when Amity tried to stop you guys from leaving, you retaliated with your light sword?"

"That's the whole story," Bijou confirmed.

"Wow! Now I really wish I was there to see it all," Hazel exclaimed.

"I know. It was a shock for me too. Today was pretty hectic." Bijou added.