The Next Day
Lux, Poppy, and Jinx shared a chemistry class. Everything was going fine, no one questioned them as new students. Lux and Poppy were paired together and they caught on pretty well, though they needed help with the conversions and measuring. This was way more Jinx's area of expertise, but she refused to help Lux. She had a "surprise" in mind. Jinx's surprises were never good. Lux and Poppy watched her as she sat across the classroom taunting her lap partner.
"Hey, Four Eyes," Jinx called across the classroom.
When the teacher heard her, he looked up. "Keep discussions quiet, please-"
"I was talking to you. Wait," Jinx interrupted. She raised her hand, adopting an accent, "sorry, professor, might I perchance ascertain whether or not I can go to the lou to empty my-"
"Yes, yes," the teacher adjusted his glasses and pulled a pad from his desk. He wrote on it quickly. Jinx approached, snatching it. "Be back quick."
"Oh, I will," Jinx said, smiling as she left the classroom.
"What is she up to," Poppy asked as she handed Lux a vial of clear liquid. Lux poured it into a larger beaker and both clear substances turned blue.
"I hope she just needed a bathroom break," Lux wrote down what she observed and referred to her textbook. "I think blue means this was-"
"Do you really believe that?" Poppy asked, writing something down.
"I know Jinx can seem a little...unpredictable sometimes," Lux said. "But she's always been reliable. Back on our planet-"
"I've returned!" Jinx announced, holding a hand behind her back. She returned to her seat and Lux kept her eyes trained on her. Lux was able to see Jinx pour something onto the table. Jinx crumpled up her worksheet into a ball and held it up.
"What's that smell?" Jinx's lab partner asked. The redhead pushed him and he fell off of his stool.
"JINX!" Lux called as Jinx pulled a powder out of her backpack and threw it on the desk.
"Gasoline. Why do you ask?" Jinx turned on a bunsen burner and held the paper to it until it caught a flame. "EVERYBODY PANIC!" Jinx threw up the flaming ball of paper and kicked it like a hackie sack. Poppy acted and Lux froze. What could she do? Expose them with a light shield or...Poppy hopped over the desk and ran to Jinx. The fiery paper fell into the oil and powder. Jinx ducked to avoid Poppy's attempts to tackle her. Her classmates hit the floor when they saw the flames erupt.
Then there was an explosion.
Outside
When the fire alarms went off, everyone lined up single-file and exited the school buildings. Every single student and every single faculty member. From all four of the school's buildings. They all lined up on the football field, including Jinx, who was struggling against Poppy's grip on her wrist.
"Let me go, Shortstack!" Jinx yelled. "We're completely free from school now, why are we still here?"
"You endangered everyone in-" Poppy started.
"Oh please," Jinx rolled her eyes, still trying to pull her way out of Poppy's grasp. "If I wanted to endanger anyone, I wouldn't have used copper acetylide."
"Jinx, what happened to blending in?" Lux asked. "We could get in so much trouble. I mean there's the principal, then the First Star, then..."
"Calm down, Cupcake." Jinx laughed when she tried to run and Poppy grabbed her tighter. "I haven't seen a single other person on this planet with bloodred, bubblegum pink, ocean blue, sunset purple, or tree green hair."
Lux looked around and noticed Jinx was right. She touched her hair. Maybe dyeing it brown or black would help...but she loved the pink. The spell she'd used to turn it-
"Earth to Lux," Jinx said, snapping in her face.
Janna crossed the field, holding Lulu's hand. Her eyes were frantic. This was actually the first time she didn't seem completely calm and collected.
"What happened?" Janna asked hurriedly. "Was it an attack? Does anyone need me to heal any injuries?"
"Jinx happened," Poppy said derisively.
"Why would you do that, Jinx?" Janna asked, confused.
"Excitement," Jinx counted off on her fingers as she went, "escape from class, to show that class can't teach me anything I don't already know, because I could, should I keep going?"
"Jinx Starington!" Someone called. Lulu laughed and Lux sighed.
"Starrington?" Poppy whispered.
"Four Eyes!" Jinx said happily. "Impressed?"
Their teacher approached them, followed by a stern-looking woman. He pointed at Jinx. "This is the young lady responsible for this, Principal Duvell."
"You're responsible," Principal Duvell said, looking at him disappointedly, "you are responsible for ensuring order in your classroom."
"Yeah, you are," Jinx said excitedly. The look the principal sent her silenced her.
"You," the principal said, "are not absolved either. I won't tolerate recklessness and irresponsibility from either of you." Jinx seemed like she'd say something rude until, "why do your parents not have contact information on file?"
The entire group inhaled. Even Jinx looked a little shaken by this. "My entire family is dead because of a-"
"A totally normal freak accident that killed all our parents!" Lux covered frantically. "We're all orphans! Totally orphans, dead parents everywhere."
"What?" Lulu asked.
"It was a crazy accident," Lux continued. "Traumatic for all of us. We're in therapy for it, actually." She was breathing heavily as she kept going. "That's why Jinx acts out sometimes, it's not her fault."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Mr. Four Eyes said, looking guilty.
"Who's taking care of you then?" Principal Duvell asked. "You can't be alone, can you? Should I get child services to help you-"
"That's not necessary," Janna covered smoothly, "we have a foster family. They're very devoted and attentive, but busy with work."
"Yeah!" Lux agreed, happy not to have to lie anymore. She was awful at it.
"I'll make sure they're aware of what Jinx did and she's punished appropriately," Janna fixed Jinx with a glare. "There's no need to worry, they-"
"Young lady, a half-burned classroom is a reason to worry," Principal Duvell said. "I need to speak to your parents today. And I need a physical address, phone numbers, I don't understand who's responsible for us not having this. Your peers could've been injured or worse, this needs to-"
Jinx tried to run, but Poppy still held on. "That's true," Lux said. "I completely respect that. We can have our parents here in a few hours."
"We can?" Lulu asked.
"Yes, Lulu, we can," Lux said. Janna gave her a curious look. "You should take Jinx to sit in the admin building while we get mom to leave work and come over."
Principal Duvell looked at her quizzically. "Fine," she said. "Come with me, Ms...Starrington."
Jinx looked at Lux, betrayed, "you're really gonna give me over to the fuzz, Lux? I'm not collateral-"
"Jinx, trust mom to look out for you," Lux said with a suspiciously obvious wink.
"Fiiiiiiiiine." Jinx went with the principal when Poppy let her go. "You've got me, Principal Dudu, do your worst."
Lulu laughed. But, after Jinx and the faculty were gone, Lux pulled the group to an emptier section of the field. "I've got a way we can get out of this," Lux said excitedly.
"How?" Poppy asked. "Jinx ruined our cover, she's such a-"
"I presume she'll tell us how we'll do it if we let her," Janna said.
Lux nodded appreciatively. "I know we can do it. We just have to work together."