Monday 20 February 2006, Luna Nova
"Well the news was spreading about the kiss with Croix, there was nothing Finnelan could do to stop it fromspreading, the two of us became the talk of the moment for a sudden kiss, even though we were just twofriends, the gossip was spreading like wildfire, but soon Anne's impositions on us would come, at thebeginning of another week of classes, which I was having a day like any other, studying and improving mymagical skills, already feeling what the words I'd heard before were about how my life in Luna Nova couldchange because I assumed I was a lesbian there."
Break time now, time for lunch, I was starving, I even got a few congratulations from the girls today, but I really wanted to have a party, I haven't had one in six years, I really miss moments like this, are mums around? I don't know, but in any case I know that Croix must have remembered me.
I walk down the corridors and am approached by Professor Finnelan, now I'm really screwed, by the nine lesbian witches, what does she want with me this time? I wonder if she knows it's my birthday or something.
"We need to talk, Miss Du Nord, come into my office" she says and I tense up.
"What did I do?" I ask the teacher.
"Come to my office and you'll find out" she said, and I'm already a little on edge, but apparently there's no way round it.
Taking a deep breath, I look around for a few steps, following the teacher and seeing what could happen, have I got myself into trouble? Does she know about my explorations of Arcturus? Or is it the street performances to attract attention? I don't know and that only makes me worse.
We make our way to her classroom, where I sit down in a chair, facing the teacher with no real reaction, just today on my birthday.
"We have to kill rumours Miss Du Nord, even if we stop the newspaper from talking about it, the whole academy keeps talking about your moment of degeneration six days ago, that's why we're going to make a deal to change that" And who does she think she is to act like this, I'm not a bargaining chip.
"And why should I do what you ask? Things aren't in my control" I tell her.
"Yes, they are, it's up to you to kill this rumour, that's why I've paid a boy to kiss you in exchange for spreading the real news, so maybe the subject of your homosexuality will die down, it'll tarnish Luna Nova's reputation, after school you'll go to Glastonbury Square and there you'll meet a boy with brown hair, eyes of the same colour, wearing a brown jacket and jeans, I think you'll spot him pretty quickly, if you kiss the rumour will fade in people's minds and the whole thing will be disproved, you need to cooperate with me" I'm not going to agree to this, but not even if I get gold.
"What's in it for me? Not even if you gave me a million pounds would I do you a favour like that, your plan won't do any good, everyone will think I cut both ways and you won't quash any rumours, you'll even forget that there is another side and not everything is black and white" I reply with all the certainty in the world.
"Not if you tease her by saying that it was Croix who did it without you asking, so by cleaning up your reputation, the rumours can die down and you leave with a clean reputation" I bet she said the same thing to Croix and must have gone to talk to her.
"I'm not going to screw over a friend of mine because of you, and you're damn right you screwed over the wrong person" I tell her with my arms folded.
"Well then, you should know that your life here in Luna Nova won't be the same because of that, I don't allow that kind of degeneration here, until you're back to normal I won't let you do that kind of thing" Ah I imagine so, but I don't care.
"Like you did with my mums? I'm not afraid of you, I'm a proud lesbian and I'm not afraid of that" I even stare at her closely and see the look of disgust on her face.
"You're a freak with pride, you needed normal parents to exist, your "mums" are just two degenerates who tarnish the reputation of witches, you've been so caught up in their indoctrination that you're believing this rubbish, now get out of my room, I've at least tried to empathise with you, but know that I'm going to make everything difficult for you" As if I hadn't faced similar barriers before.
I leave her room and I'm a little relieved, but at the same time tense, I wonder if the threats are really going to come true, I see some messages appearing on my mobile phone, it was Croix talking to me, I check the messages to find out, half hidden so no one can see me using my mobile phone, when I notice something I'm surprised.
"I recorded everything, let her try to bother us, I have the whole conversation with you here, Finnelan tried it with me first, you can rest assured that I'll let her be very quiet with this in hand, we can even get her sacked for this, for the offence of homophobia, but let's not spread these videos yet, let's just leave this as a weapon"
Woah that's marvellous, I love how Croix is always one step ahead, really helpful, I even smile at that, I know I can trust my friend, she always has a weapon for everything, I want to see who messes with us, this isn't the 80s anymore, where she could be homophobic without a filter, here she has to be careful.
[...]
Back after the afternoon class, it was very quiet this afternoon, after what happened there's no one to disturb, I go to my room, with the girls, after a full day like this I'm going to rest and play or maybe call Croix, anything just send her a message for me.
A little exhausted from lessons, I open the door to my room and see myself sitting on Daniella's bed, which I then hug, leaving me feeling refreshed.
"Happy birthday Chariot!" She really knew it was today.
"You know it's today!" I say a little emotional.
"There's no way I can forget, but it's not over yet" she said with her hand on my shoulder.
"It seems that someone only remembered after school" said Becca teasingly.
"I already knew, I was just waiting for her to turn up here" said Meridies.
"It doesn't matter if she remembered or not, the important thing is that we have to enjoy the day" I say with a smile on my face.
"That's why I'm asking you to come with me" said the bespectacled woman, and I realised there was something up.
I look at my mates, I look at Croix and I leave the room following her, did they really have a surprise party? I didn't even get to see my mums today, they haven't been around since New Year's, it's always very strange, but I imagine they must have a reason for it, I hope they'll show up at least for now.
We go up the stairs to the dormitories, this way we end up in the most luxurious dormitories in the academy, the one with the girls from the blue team and the others that are simply empty since no one wants to pay much for it, and with that we arrive in front of the door of one of the rooms, I didn't understand anything, it was a room a little away from the girls from the blue team, I see that the door is opened with enormous ease and I have my eyes covered by the girls.
"What are you doing?" I say blindfolded, trying to find out what happened.
"Keep walking, you'll like it later" said Meridies.
I'm just a little confused, but I just nod and keep walking forwards, I think there must be a present in front, which I get to, then I feel as if the lighting changes and I have my blindfold pulled up and I see my mums here, my sisters too, I'm really touched by their presence, I didn't expect it, a surprise party.
I run up to hug them, feeling all emotional, I didn't expect them to be here, I even end up crying, I didn't realise they'd come here out of the blue, which I'm not complaining about, on the contrary I loved them being here, it was what I wanted most.
"Did you think we wouldn't be here? On your sixteenth birthday? We'll definitely be there" said my mum Laura, cuddling me.
"Happy birthday Chariot, you deserve this day, we've been waiting to surprise you" said my mum Bernadette and I'm still shocked at what it's like here in Luna Nova.
"Laura and her lock-picking skills always come in very handy, we managed to get here very quietly, since this luxury dormitory has no one renting it, we decided to bring it here ourselves, and miraculously we even managed to bring a lot of things, we made cake and even salted food for you, since your crazy mum is the only person who can fly across the Ley line carrying salt without any problems of losing control" Wow then it makes perfect sense, now I know why it ended up being this way.
It's all really marvellous, I'm walking around looking at things, already enjoying a bite to eat, she's made fried potatoes, with cheese and bacon, all fresh, I was dying to eat one of these with salt, since the ones here don't even have that and it tastes quite bland, there are also pies, everything really, the mums and Auntie April have really taken the trouble to make all this, I'm really surprised.
"Wow, this is marvellous, thank you for everything, I love you all" I say, enjoying my food.
"We got the day off today, it was very easy to manage, April and I took the day off, we just didn't take Meg because she has school, but we could bring the girls because they're not at school yet, it was just difficult to get them to sit still, but a bit of sound-inhibiting magic might let us enjoy it" And then Mum Laura starts playing music.
"So how are things here in Luna Nova? It took us a while to turn up, but we've already heard a lot of news. Chariot has finally set up social networks and we're already making contacts with businessmen, it's going to be very good for creating your career there" said mum Bernadette.
"You can be sure there's everything for you to grow into" said Aunt April.
I'm so happy about all this, my day is also going to have a party, it's not the same as the party that was on Croix's day, but even so, I'm still very happy, I just had the misfortune of my birthday being on a weekday, even more so at the beginning of it, but that's okay.
I'm having fun, I arrive at my friend's and we start playing, I'm even surprised that the two girls are shocked that I'm so well received and liked like this, they weren't expecting me to join them.
"So this is what it's like to be so loved by your family?" Daniella asks.
"I told you my mums are the best" I said, smiling.
"Well, from what you've told me now, I can feel what it must have been like to be pushed out by that bloke who is your father, never would my parents have gone to Luna Nova to have a birthday party and pay no attention to the rules just to see a smile on my face" That's a thing called love that some relatives are better at showing.
"They've always been like that, I've lived with both of them a lot, they're always very causal" said Croix, and they really are that way.
"Thanks Chariot, I don't know if I could bear to eat mashed potato, now that there's real food, a good soft drink, some crisps, pie, and I'm even looking forward to the cake, everything is certainly perfect, your mums could come round more often, we don't mind" said Becca who was eating and playing with us.
We're having fun playing the Sphere Game that my mum brought and she made a point of bringing a dance mat for us to play Evolution of Dance on, watching us wear our bodies out to the music after a long day is the most fun thing in the world.
I've been missing something like this, like a get-together of friends, anyone would make fun of me having a friendship so close to my mums, but they're really nice and always help me out, they're the best mums in the world.
"Ahhhh how do you dance on that, my feet aren't made for it" said my mum McLaren.
"It looks like there's one game we still have a chance of beating the queen of games hahahah" said Aunt Jordan.
"Oh, that's because I'm not used to it, you have no idea how tiring it is" said the mum, who soon received a squeeze from the other mum.
"Tiredness is a lot of crisps and pizzas, isn't it Laura McLaren?" We even laughed a bit, she got a bit sulky, but kept dancing.
It's a marvellous moment to be like this, I'm just laughing watching the two of them competing, the older of us looking like two children, it's ironic, it doesn't even seem like they're both mothers, I'm going to do everything I can to enjoy the day, which soon Croix appears with a bag of presents, I happily open the first present to see what it is.
When I open it, I see a beautiful flowery dress, I love it, it suits me so much, I'm all excited, I even hug my friend, jumping up and down with excitement.
"Croix, that dress is marvellous" I said, smiling.
"I wanted to buy something that reminded me of you, but I didn't know what to get, so I thought of a piece of clothing now in winter it's going to be a bit of a hassle, but when it comes to summer, you'll certainly look good in this dress" she said and I understand everything, I'm going to look marvellous when summer comes.
"Ah, summer, I can't wait for us to have fun in that country house, I'm definitely staying in Ireland" I say excitedly.
"It could also be a way of expanding your career if you get a manager by then, you could do some gigs there, we'll really enjoy the summer holidays at home, by the way? I haven't forgotten a rumour that a little bird told me" said Mum Laura, who even stopped dancing and handed over to Mum Bernadette.
"What rumour?" I get all confused.
"I think my girl got a bit carried away on Valentine's Day and so did the other girl, I know what happened between you two, how much I missed a moment like that, we haven't had a couple of girls kissing since 1990" I blush just remembering, while Meridies turns into a tomato with this conversation.
"That really happened Mrs McLaren, the two of them kissed in front of the teachers and the Earl of Appleton, they did it to tease, I was shocked like everyone else, even the boys don't kiss us because it's not allowed according to the rules, but they were the only ones and wow, that was impressive, on the outside I didn't want to show anything so it wouldn't be bad for me, but inside I was celebrating" Parker said and I'm getting more embarrassed.
"Oh I wish you both all the best, you're right to do this, I did the same thing with Bernadette, 1988, we were kicked out on the spot for kissing at the event and we made sure we dressed up too, 1989, we caused even more trouble, we put up a resistance, we were forced out of the event and we made other girls kiss on the way, 1990 was the last and most historic, we planned everything, speakers and everything, we pretended to be behaved, going the "right way", but when the boys from Appleton arrived, we took off our dresses, showing the clothes we were really wearing underneath, we started kissing and putting the speakers on, But it didn't come out incomplete, we made a deal with the boys for them to kiss as well, to dance among the others, and in the end that dance became a huge wave of love, it was everyone, it was really out of the teachers' control, it was beautiful, I even got to the teachers' stage and made the party more lively with Bernadette and we even pulled rainbow flags, that day I caused Finnelan's wrath, she almost got sacked that day, she almost cast a spell on me, but we stood there staring at each other, she knew that both of us would get the worst of it, I'd be expelled and she'd be sacked, after that we even arranged a frank and fair battle, if I won she wouldn't bother me about it and wouldn't do a wipe-out, if I lost I'd leave Luna Nova" That's amazing, I love mum stories.
"Did you win?" Becca asks curiously.
"She underestimated me too much, it wasn't an easy fight since she's very good at the levitation spell, but that's all, I had a much bigger physique and the advantage of age, as well as being good at everything, I beat that teacher up beautifully, she never messed with me again, because she knew that fighting back would be pointless, she could be sacked and I expelled, but at least I wouldn't get beaten up in this one, Well, I have my graduation diploma from Luna Nova and I still keep the papers from that historic moment, of course it only lasted for a short time, two weeks until session 28 came around, but it was one of the most successful attempts at revolution, believe it or not Luna Nova was on fire at the end of the 80s, the magic could almost change if the system wasn't as big as I thought it was" I'm really impressed, Mum Laura goes on some very nice adventures.
"Woah, we hear about you, but it's always in a negative way or because of your broomstick records, so is that why you were such a troublemaker?" She really has no idea.
"No-one in this whole school has been in detention as much as I have, I know every little thing that goes on here, I've cut every blade of grass, cleaned every corner, tidied everything up, if there was one period that
the staff at Luna Nova loved the most, it was this one, because they took time off like nobody's business, I even managed to empathise with them and befriend them, we could even organise a movement and strikes, in fact it was a threat and I'm proud of that, they really have to fear it, because magic has to change if it wants to stay alive" I've always kept that in the back of my mind.
"Look, you're really problematic, but I can understand your words, even if I disagree with some things, you have a good oratory and I have to respect how you act" said Daniella.
"Tsk, you disagree, but I know your type, one slip when you realise the dirt we're involved in and you're on my side" She just keeps turning her head, ignoring my mother, but it's impressive.
And now it's my turn to dance, me against Mum Bernadette since Aunt April lost that one, I think everyone will be listening to these stories, it's time to start dancing, I'm going to show you a bit of what my feet can do, even if it has nothing to do with dancing but with rhythm, I even get a smile when I'm next to my mum who shakes my hand.
"From ballerina to ballerina" I didn't know that Mum was one.
"Have you been?" I ask her.
"For many years, girl, my mum pressured me into everything, I was the perfect little miss from a very young age, it only got worse since my dad died, I was a dancer from the age of 5 until I was 15, so you can already imagine that I had experience, if I listed all the things I was forced to do you would fry your brain, all for the reason that I was the firstborn, so the pressure was all on me, I just hope Diana doesn't go through any of that, but come on, time to dance" Mum said with a smile on her face.
I'm starting too, the music's playing and I'm just following the arrows, I admit I've never played this and I'm already going normal straight away, I think I can manage here, come on Chariot, show what you're capable of, concentrate, but you can see Mum's steps and she's doing very well too, it's very curious and at the same time wonderful to see how my family has all this variation, I don't know the mystery around it all.
Discovering what they were like in the past, it must have been wonderful to live through it all, the various revolutions, Mum Laura's way of being, Mum Bernadette's way, them going head-to-head at a time when things were much more difficult and yet there was a smile on both their faces, they were real warriors.
[...]
And they sang happy birthday to me, I'm so thrilled, it's the best birthday I've had in years, they've never celebrated like this before, even though I didn't have a party like that I was still able to enjoy a marvellous day like this with my family, look how I'm managing to rock it around here.
I blow out the candles with a 16 and I clap my hands, celebrating all excited, my day has come, I'm even crying, thrilled I'm cutting the pieces of cake, giving the first two at the same time to my mums, the others I'm giving to Croix and the girls, even my little sisters who spent most of the day sleeping even with the noise of the party.
"Thank you for everything on this day, I love you" I say all emotional.
"We thank you for being such a wonderful person" said my mum Laura.
And then I eat the cake, sitting down on the sofa all excited, the day was so full of things, I didn't expect it to go from 0 to 100 so quickly, but even so I was very excited, while eating I also receive gift boxes, which I open more excitedly, waiting to see what it could be, one is from my mum Bernadette, the other from mum Laura and another from aunt April.
I open the one from Aunt April first and notice that she's given me a bizarre device, I don't know what this box does, but I'm grateful for it nonetheless.
"What does that do, Aunt April?" I ask her.
"One thing that always bothered me when I was here in Luna Nova and had to hide technology was the fact that I had to shrink everything out of thin air and switch off the devices, but this here changes things, it's a sensor that detects the presence of the teachers, and when it realises that they open the door to see the dormitories it shrinks everything on the spot, but without switching anything off, conserving the energy in magic" That's really marvellous, I'm even shocked.
"Wow, that's great!" Parker said.
"It took me a couple of years to develop this thing, without it breaking any appliances, Croix and I tested it until we came up with this version, I guarantee that it keeps the power on for up to a day, until you switch everything off, which is long enough" it certainly is, I love it.
"Aunt April, this is marvellous" I say, delighted to see it and hugging Jordan.
Next up are the mums' presents, which I open at the same time. Mum Laura's is a box, while Mum Bernadette's is also a box, only smaller. When I notice the larger box, I realise it's a Mahoutendo Ree, that cool video game that moves? It's perfect! It plays Sphere Game games too, while the smaller box is a new mobile phone, my V3 has been used for a long time, I loved it, those mobile phones with more keys, it's going to be really nice to use one of these, I've had my mobile phone for almost two years, it doesn't turn the screen, but this one still fits.
"I love it Mums! These are going to be marvellous to wear, they're the best presents I could have ever got" I say, all happy and excited, hugging them.
"I knew you'd like it, it's good to have new mobile phones, and yours is still good, but it's going to get full soon, this one I bought even has support for a memory card and I bought an 8GB one so I can put songs and whatever I want on it" said Mum Bernadette and I'm certainly going to use it wisely.
"Enjoy your presents girl, today is your day" said my mum Laura with her hand over my shoulder giving me a confort feeling.
"We're going home now because it's getting late, but you can leave the mess to us, it was a wonderful party, even if it wasn't the party of parties, it was still a fun day" said Mum Bernadette.
"It's OK mums, you've already made my day happier like this" I say happily.
We all start tidying up as if nothing had passed through the room and we even put the leftovers away for ourselves in various jars, which are shrunk down, I'm really excited that we'll have a stockpile of good food that we can't get so easily.
When it's all over, I hug my mums, who leave carrying the children in their arms, as well as AuntyApril, who leaves in the middle of Ley's line, and we leave that room smiling.
"Look, I'm amazed by the history your family carries with it, Chariot, I may disagree with a lot of things about Mrs McLaren, but she's still a person to respect, what she did to get to where she is is impressive, her impact is still felt today, that's what impresses me the most" said Parker.
"Dude, that's awesome, your mum is simply historic, I've never heard such a crazy story, I really need to know more about her, she's all revolutionary and rebellious, that's an inspiration, my group will love to know more about her, Chariot you have everyone's respect with that, the kiss was enough, but that, girl you can be sure that anyone who messes with you on the issue of being homosexual my friends will be with you on this" How cute, you're really helping me a lot.
"Thank you, you're being friends with me, I'm happy to know that now I can say that I have friends and not colleagues" I say all smiles.
"You may have everything that I believe you're against, but I can't help but respect you, you came in imposing and didn't lower your head to anyone, look how you're doing, improving in magic classes, becoming one of the best in the class, showing a much greater potential as a witch, well I don't know what's going to happen to you from now on, but I have you as a friend" said Daniella.
"Who'd have thought that boring Daniella, who's all straight, would be friends with the cookie witch?" said Leyland.
"Who would have thought you'd get on better with Chariot?" said Croix.
"And you Croix, you're not going to be jealous of us, are you? Don't worry, we're not going to steal your girlfriend" I'm even blushing a lot at all this.
"We seem to have grown two balls here, Becca" said Parker, laughing.
"We're just friends!" I shout at them, and they laugh.
"Friends, just like Mrs Cavendish and Mrs McLaren are friends and today they have three daughters, don't they?" I even blush and it's not three, it's five, there's Diana and Holly in the middle too, even though Holly is only Mum Laura's.
They kept laughing, while we kept quiet and embarrassed until we got to our room. There we parted, I hugged Croix all happy and excited, then I went downstairs to my room, she's so cute, I get all excited when I see her, a bit down when we have to say goodbye, but at least it was a fun day.
"We've relaxed a bit, but you can already see what her other mother was like, who nobody tells you about,she was much worse than Akko ever was in Luna Nova, when it came to causing confusion and discord, shewas the best at it, more rebellious than Amanda O'Neill, along with a skill in magic worthy of a Cavendishand having a Cavendish by her side, this girl would make history if it wasn't really how things work in theworld of witches, Diana you have no idea of the rot that lurks underneath it all, it really makes your eyes seethings in a different way."
Happy Birthday, lesbian witches...