Camila had met her late husband Manny back in high school. The two of them had been performing Hamlet together. And it was a fitting play for Manny, because he'd long lived his life under the philosophy that there was more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in most people's philosophies. Manny had long been interested in the unexplained, the supernatural, the paranormal. UFOs, ley lines, magic, ghosts, cryptids, Manny loved it all. Did he believe in it? Well, perhaps not so much. It was really more of a fun hobby than an actual belief system. But Manny was still open to things other people weren't. He was an openminded, accepting man and it wasn't right that he be taken from this world by a disease no one should have to experience.

Camila had tried to honor that legacy of open-mindedness, to follow in his footsteps, but it wasn't easy. She was a practical woman and as a single mother, constantly had to worry about balancing her work with making sure Luz was taken care of. It was hard to work up enthusiasm for Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster or whatever. But for Luz's sake, she really, really tried her best. It wasn't enough. It would never be enough. Camila couldn't fill the hole Manny's death had ripped into Luz's heart, no matter how hard she tried, no matter how many "documentaries" about supposed alien contact Luz made her watch.

When Luz had started acting out, Camila had blamed herself for indulging Luz's flights of fancy too much. She had thought doing so would honor Manny's legacy, but she came to believe she was starting to get in the way of Luz growing up. So off to Reality Check Camp Luz went! Or at least that was the plan. And as far as Camila knew, that plan had succeeded. She canceled her appointments for the day and took Luz to camp, even letting her choose the playlist. The look of sorrow Luz had given her as she left speared Camila through the heart, but she steeled herself and tried to be resolute. It was hard, though. Camila was not made of stone, no matter what Luz thought of her.

That night, tossing and turning, terrified she was making a mistake, she sent a text to Luz asking her what she thought of the camp. A part of Camila thought that if Luz wanted to go home, she might just let her. But instead of getting a text back, Luz called her. And she gave the most incredible story, one that even Manny at his most openminded would have been hard pressed to believe.

According to Luz, she had ended up in a Demon Realm under the care of a criminal witch named Eda, who had agreed to teach her magic. Camila was thoroughly alarmed upon hearing this, absolutely convinced Luz had suffered a permanent break from reality and needed immediate psychiatric care. But then Luz had started a video call and Camila got to see the Owl House in all its…splendor. Complete with its very inhuman inhabitants King, Hooty, and Eda. Though such things could theoretically be faked with technology, Luz wouldn't have the knowhow to do it. Camila was convinced.

Camila let Luz stay there on a preliminary basis while she investigated the imposter. If she was an imposter. Though it was now certain the Demon Realm was real, it was not outside the realm of possibility (heh) that she had driven the real Luz to camp and the one who had called her was an imposter, trying to lure her into a fae realm for nefarious purposes.

Fortunately, Camila's paranoia was for once unjustified. The girl pretending to be her daughter turned out to be Vee, an adorable basilisk from the Demon Realm on the run from the forces of the evil Emperor Belos. Camila brought Vee into the Noceda family and the two of them decided to leave Vee in Reality Check Camp for the summer.

Now satisfied that she wasn't being led into a trap, Camila went to the Demon Realm to meet with Luz's new mentor. She was, to put it mildly, spectacularly unimpressed. Eda had put Luz repeatedly in danger and basically taken her hostage to steal something entirely worthless. She knew what the right thing to do was. She should take Luz far away from the Demon Realm, from danger. And yet…doing so felt like it would have been an utter betrayal, not just of Luz, but also of Manny. He would have hated her for denying Luz the chance to explore a whole other world. It was probably not an exaggeration to say the two of them might have divorced over it.

So against Camila's better judgment, she let Luz stay at the Owl House for the summer. Yes, it was putting Luz at risk. But when the alternative involved Luz probably hating her forever, Camila knew which choice she was going to make.

In the end, it had all worked out pretty well. Luz had blossomed in the Boiling Isles in a way she never could have at Reality Check Camp. She stayed at the Owl House on the weekdays and with Camila on the weekends. Camila didn't like everything she'd heard about the Demon Realm from Luz. The evil totalitarian government, Eda turning into a ravenous beast, Luz getting into all sorts of very dangerous adventures, none of this made Camila particularly happy.

But other things did make her happy, like Luz learning magic and making friends. Real, actual friends that weren't imaginary or reptilian. (Though she was willing to bend her rules for the latter now if they were sentient like Vee, she supposed.) The adventures Luz went on could be dangerous at times, but they were teaching Luz valuable life lessons. Bit by bit, Luz was learning to use her weirdness in a productive, responsible fashion. The way she probably wouldn't have at Reality Check Camp. Not that the camp was a bad place per se – Vee was having a blast – but it wasn't the right place for Luz.

Much to Camila's total shock, the most recent development from the Demon Realm was Luz going to school willingly and happily. Magic school, true, but school nonetheless. For a second, Camila wondered if Luz and Vee had swapped places again. Of course, Luz's new friends going there went a long way into explaining this otherwise wildly out of character turn of events. Gus and Willow were charming and lovely people (even if Gus had a habit of asking a variety of disconcerting questions whenever Camila came within his radius) and Camila approved of them heartily.

Though, of course, the two of them weren't Luz's only friends. No, there was also the "smart, cool, and classy" Amity Blight, the former mean girl who had gone from trying to get Luz dissected to being someone Luz just could not stop talking about. If Luz didn't have a crush on Amity, Camila would eat her hat. But with Luz not yet out to her (despite her closet being entirely transparent at this point), Camila pretended as if she had no clue. Frankly, Camila was placing good odds on Luz not knowing yet, so it wasn't all that hard.

Anyway, Camila had happily given her permission for Luz to take classes at Hexside. She had reservations about whether Luz could handle the material with so far only being able to make light and ice with her magic paper, but heck, that was more than Camila could do, so she kept her misgivings to herself. Camila was extremely excited to hear about what magic school was like. She'd heard accounts from Willow, Gus, and Amity, of course, but there was nothing quite like getting it from the horse's mouth.

When she arrived at the Owl House not too long after Luz was done with her school day, she was surprised to find Luz already asleep and even more surprised to find King sulking in the corner, wearing a tie of all things.

"There you are!" King shouted. As always, Camila had to suppress a smile whenever he tried to act "ferocious." "Maybe you can help me right the unspeakable wrong Bump has done!"

Camila frowned. "Did he do something to Luz?"

"No, no, don't worry, Mila," Eda said. "King pretended to be a teacher and he got caught fair and square. You do the crime, you do the time, kid. First rule of criminality: Always be prepared for the worst."

"I'll show them the worst!" King vowed.

Camila scowled. "I'd appreciate it if you refrained from teaching Luz any more rules of criminality, Eda."

Eda cackled. "Luz doesn't need any help from me there!"

"That's what I'm afraid of," Camila muttered. "Is she all right, though? I would have thought she'd be bouncing off the walls at her first day at a magic school. Unless she had a bad time?"

Eda tilted her head in contemplation. "Bad? I don't think so. Interesting? Yeah, no doubt about it. But you don't have to take my word for it. Bumpy just got off the crow and wants to talk to you stat." It took a second before Camila remembered crows were used as phones in the strange world her daughter loved. "The kid's not injured, but it's been a pretty taxing day for her. I think she'd appreciate some time before she talks to you."

Camila had intensely distrusted Eda at first, with good reason, but as time went on, and Camila saw with her own eyes how Eda came to regard Luz almost as a daughter of her own, Camila had learned to trust Eda with Luz's welfare. In some respects, she was probably more in tune with Luz's needs than Camila, as painful as that revelation was. If Eda said Luz needed more time, then Camila would go to this meeting. It wasn't as if this was her first rodeo meeting with principals. Luz often ended up in the principal's office and it usually meant her rocky relationship with Luz was going to fracture further.

It wasn't the first time Camila had been in Hexside. Eda and Camila had talked to Principal Bump about admitting Luz a while back. He had come across as a stern but fair administrator. Camila had not been pleased when she learned that the detention system belonged in A Clockwork Orange, but one of Luz's shenanigans had soon put it out of commission and Camila could have just refused permission for Luz to be sent to the detention pit anyway.

Much to Camila's surprise, the school appeared to be in complete disarray, as if some sort of battle had ensued. Camila had a horrible feeling that was precisely what happened. At least Luz was uninjured. Eda would lie about just about anything, but not that. Camila shuddered to think about what role might have had in it. Had she decided to put her life in danger yet again? Had she let some dangerous beast into the school? Released whatever the Demon Realm equivalent of backup snakes was?

"Ah, Mrs. Noceda, thank you for coming so promptly," Bump said as soon as she walked into his office. "I apologize for the mess. We've had quite a day, all of us. Especially young Luz."

"I'm sorry if she's caused trouble for you," Camila began.

Bump gave her a piercing glare. "Do you make a habit of preemptively apologizing for your daughter before you have any knowledge she did anything wrong?"

Camila looked down in the floor in shame. She had done that, hadn't she? She had no proof Luz had done anything wrong at all, but yet again, she'd walked into a principal's office and assumed Luz was in the wrong. "I'm…sorry," she said softly. "You're right. I shouldn't have made an assumption. In my defense, back home, I don't tend to get called into the principal's office because of good things Luz has done."

Bump sniffed. "That, I think, says more about those administrators than it does about Luz. I try not to judge other cultures, but everything Luz has told me about her educational system back home does not fill me with confidence. Did you know she has had difficulty getting her teachers to believe she has…ADHD, I believe it was?"

Camila winced. "I…did not know that, though I'm not surprised. I'm sure most of them are trying to do the best they can, though."

"Of course. I didn't mean to lecture you," Bump said apologetically. "And, as has been brought to my attention by your daughter quite forcefully, I am not entirely faultless myself. You are familiar with our coven system, I trust?"

Camila was. She didn't agree with any of it. She agreed with Eda that it was all a load of codswallop Belos was using to divide his citizenry into categories and make them magically weaker. Nonetheless, she had accepted that Luz was just going to have to deal with the unfortunate fact she'd only be able to get tutelage in one track of magic. She had hoped Luz might be satisfied with learning about the others from Eda. Obviously not.

"Well, Luz, as you have probably already guessed, did not like the idea of being only limited to one track of magic," Bump went on. "I placed her in the potions track, but she became bored and started studying other subjects. So I sent her to detention."

Camila stiffened. Bump started frantically waving his hands in the air. "Don't worry, it wasn't the detention pit. Just a classroom where troublemakers are kept busy." Camila relaxed now that she knew it was just normal detention. "While there, she made friends with troublemakers Viney Kudzu, Jerbo Dipodidae, and Barcus. They were notorious for mixing magic, strictly against the rules." Camila couldn't help but smile at the thought of her hija making even more friends.

Bump took a deep breath. "I'm afraid at this point our school was attacked by a creature known as a greater basilisk." Camila let out a gasp of shock. Had this been one of Vee's fellow test subjects? Fortunately, Bump seemed to take her gasp not as familiarity but as just shock the school had been attacked at all. "Let me assure you that this is not a regular occurrence."

"Was Luz hurt?" Camila demanded.

Bump shook his head. "We took no casualties – and we have your daughter to thank for that." Camila couldn't help but be proud. And also a little terrified about what she was going to hear next. "The basilisk disguised itself as an inspector from the Emperor's Coven. Those vile creatures can shapeshift, you know." It took all of Camila's self-control not to scream at Bump for saying such horrible things about Vee. He didn't know any better, but it still hurt to hear. "And it quickly overwhelmed the faculty, myself, and most of our top students, including Miss Blight."

Well, no wonder Luz needed more time to compose herself if Amity had gotten hurt. Camila just hoped she'd recover. The witch who had proclaimed herself "Luz's completely platonic gal pal" during their last encounter while blushing up a storm would be a welcome addition to the Noceda family one day.

"She'll be okay?" Camila asked.

"It will take a few days for her bile sac to recover," Bump said, "but, yes, she'll be right as grain eventually. As I was saying, Luz and the detention track kids proceeded to use their ill-gotten skills at mixing magic to defeat the basilisk." He sighed. "I used to have such hope and optimism in me. In a way, I was not all that dissimilar to Luz. But after so many years being hammered on the anvil of life, I almost lost sight of that."

Camila gave a fond grin. "Luz is good at bringing that part of a person to light."

"Indeed," Bump said with a solemn nod. "I realized I was being foolish in limiting the potential of my students. So I have henceforth allowed students to study as many tracks as they wish. Luz has started studying all the subjects."

"Of course," Camila said. "Do you really think she can handle that, though?" Luz found school back in the Human Realm to be difficult in the extreme and nine classes to keep up with sounded like an absurd amount of work.

Bump glowered at her. "What I think is irrelevant. What matters is that your daughter feels she can. And if she cannot…well, then she'll just take fewer tracks. It's not the end of the world." He stood up and walked over to the window. "May I say something, Mrs. Noceda, that is perhaps overstepping my bounds a little?"

Camila didn't have a very good feeling about what was coming. She was pretty sure she deserved it, though. "I don't believe the human educational system is a good fit for Luz," Bump said. "If I were you, I'd give serious thought to having her enroll in Hexside on a full time, permanent basis. From what I've heard, they seek to paint her in as bad a light as possible. And unless I miss my mark, you've fallen for this portrayal of her."

"Luz has done things that were unacceptable," Camila defended herself. "She brought dangerous animals and explosives to school, the latter of which was illegal."

"That all sounds entirely tame to me, but I'll chalk that one down to cultural differences," Bump said. "You're missing the point, though. These administrators tried to portray her as malicious. Luz may get into a great deal of trouble, but she never, ever tries to hurt anyone. Just as Eda before her, in all her ignobility, never targeted anyone she didn't think deserved it. Granted that was broad…and included me…but still."

Bump had a point now that Camila thought about it. She'd assumed Luz was in the wrong every single time and didn't give her a chance to tell her side of the story. Luz must have felt so much pressure to do better, which wouldn't have been an easy thing to accomplish since Camila had never worked with her to teach her how. The two of them had been at odds for years, maybe since Manny died, and every time she was called to the principal's office, things just got worse and worse between them. Until now.

"I will give some thought to the idea of having Luz stay here," Camila decided. It was a heady decision and one she could not make on the spur of the moment. Nor was it one she had to make right away. They still had months left of summer. Every instinct Camila had told her Luz should go back to human school and pursue a normal career and not put herself in so much danger all the time. But following her instincts hadn't done her much good so far. Maybe it was time to consider a different path.

Bump dug into a cabinet and came out with a very fancy medal. "In honor of Luz's bravery, creativity, and gumption in the defense of Hexside, I have decided to award her with the Hexside Medal of Bravery. No one has won this in seventeen years. She should consider it a great honor."

Camila grinned as she took the medal and put it in her purse. "Thank you so much. Oh, and one more thing." She rummaged through her purse until she found a chancla, which she hurled straight at Bump's head. "If I ever, ever hear about you trying to dissect my daughter again, I will vivisect YOU! Do I make myself absolutely clear?!"

"Yes, yes, quite!" Bump said quickly.

As she made her way back to the Owl House, Camila found herself feeling lighter and happier than she had in years. Camila finally had the potential to forge a new and stronger bond with Luz, one that would allow them both to finally communicate their needs and let go of the burdens that had been weighing them down. She was not going to squander it.

When she got back inside, Luz was awake and eagerly recounting her story to Eda, despite the fact Eda must have heard the story from her already. When she saw Camila, she looked like a deer in the headlights. Camila squirmed inside at realizing Luz was automatically expecting a lecture, to be blamed for getting in trouble.

"Luz," Camila said quietly. "I am so, so proud of you."

Luz blinked repeatedly. "You are? Hang on a sec." She pulled a top out of her pocket and anxiously spun it on the table, breathing a sigh of relief when it stopped spinning. "Okay! Well, that is…that's great! Awesome! I guess Bump gave you all the deets."

"He did," Camila confirmed. "You stood up for the things you believed in, Luz. You defeated a terrible enemy and used your creativity to help your fellow students. Bump was impressed too." She gave the medal over to Luz, who looked at it in awe.

"Damn," Eda said with a whistle. "Bump must have been super impressed. Not even Lily got one of those!"

Camila sat down on the couch and gestured for Luz to join her. "It's been brought to my attention that I may have been a little…quick to jump to conclusions when it comes to you getting in trouble before. I have not changed my opinion that your misbehavior at school was unacceptable, but I want to make sure from now on I hear your side of the story and not assume things."

"I'd like that," Luz said shyly. "I think that'd help a lot. Maybe help us both."

"I'm completely in favor of you taking every track, but I think we should work together to figure out the best way to make sure you don't overwhelm yourself."

Luz nodded. "I can work with that."

Camila kissed Luz on the forehead. "Good. This summer has been a big change for all of us. But I want you to know, even if I've inadvertently given you the opposite impression in the past, you can confide anything in me." Come on, come out already so I can start teasing you about Amity, darn it! I have so many good lines!

But this didn't appear to be the day it would happen. Not surprising. Rome wasn't built in a day, after all. It'd take time to restore Luz's trust in her. But it was possible. She hadn't lost all of it – Luz had told her about the Isles, hadn't she? With Vee in Reality Check Camp (not that Luz had known it), Luz could have gotten away with spending the whole summer in the Boiling Isles with no one the wiser. But instead she'd decided to tell Camila. Hopefully, in the future, that would apply to her bisexuality too.

"Thanks, mami," Luz said with a genuine grin. "I'm just glad I didn't hide this from you."

"Me too," Camila said, returning the smile. "Oh, and good news! Your friend Amity is going to make a full recovery."

Luz breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness! Oh, I can't imagine what it would be like if something happened to Amity. It'd feel like the end of the world for me!"

Camila wrapped her arm around Luz's shoulder. In time, Luz would understand why the idea of anything happening to Amity upset her so much. But for now, Camila could rest happy with the hope that when that moment came, Luz would feel comfortable enough to share it with her mother, just as things should be.