Bella never spoke of how she broke down in Aurelias' arms on Friday. She didn't want anyone to know that she had become so vulnerable and so broken, that she was pathetic enough to cry in front of a teacher and find comfort in her, like a child does in a mother. And thankfully, Aurelias seemed to understand that too, because she acted like it never happened. Even in front of Grimm, when the teachers had gathered to relay whether she had progressed or not (Medabango said she hadn't, a big shocker there), Aurelias mentioned not one thing to her. Not even in secret, because Grimm never brought it up either.

Her report hadn't improved much, but it was still preferable to her previous one. It was only in Shadow Blocking her performance remarks had stayed the same, the liar. She didn't say anything about it to Grimm, though. Not of her review, nor of what had happened that Monday. She didn't want to think of what would happen to her if Medabango got word that she snitched on him.

"So, how'd you do?" Jasper had asked the same day, her attention more on the cards in her hand than on Bella herself. They were playing "Fairy, Unicorn, Dragon," a very boring name for a very exciting game full of strategy, deceit, loyalties, betrayal and imaginary bloodshed. It was basically a more intense, magical version of Uno where you either had no cards left, or played a Dragon to win.

Rowan, who sat on the ground in front the pile of cards, slammed a Dragon onto the messy stack.

"Ha! I win!" he announced proudly.

"Arggh, you cheated!" Jasper groaned, throwing her collection of cards on the ground, folding her arms in defeat. She looked at Bella, still annoyed with her loss. "So, yeah, how'd you do this time?"

"Eh, still bad, but not as bad," Bella replied.

"That's...good," Rowan said, unsure of his answer.

"Real motivational Row," she deadpanned. "Anyway, let's play another round."

Jasper snorted, but started fixing the pile of cards to shuffle them. "You're just going to lose anyway."

"Yeah, but it's entertaining to watch you guys battle it to the death."

They continued playing four more rounds until Rowan was declared the "Ultimate Champion," having won three out of the four rounds. Well, he declared himself that since Jasper continued to accuse him of cheating.

"How in Lyte did I cheat Jasper?"

"The same way you sneak food off my plate Cheater!"

After a short period of back and forth between the two, they decided to watch a movie. Bella requested the film "Midnight's Havoc," a horror movie about a group of teenage Créturae unravelling the mystery behind strange, rabid unicorns that go around killing people at night. It was not as violent or as scary as Bella thought it would be.

"No! Don't go in the-"

The quartet then became a trio when they ran into the basement, with one of them getting hacked to death by a unicorn horn.

"This movie is bloody absurd!" Jasper exclaimed. "I love it!"

Rowan rolled his eyes. "Of course you do. No taste, this one."

He was shoved off the couch for that.

"How does television even work in this realm?" Bella asked, an hour or so later.

Jasper shrugged. "The same way it does in Ordinary, I guess? With electricity and stuff. Probably added magic into the mix though, somehow. They love doing that."

"Who does?"

"I don't know. Rich people?"

After two more movies, they sent themselves to bed at around twelve o'clock, early enough to be considered normal amongst their peers, but late enough for parents to be upset about it. There's no pleasing that bunch sometimes.

Jasper and Bella woke up bright and early the next morning, because today, Bella was going to the orphanage, and Jasper and Rowan were going to see her off. They got ready rather quickly, especially due to the fact that there was no long line to use the bathroom. The pair opened their door to exit when they jumped at the sight of Rowan standing there, already dressed and ready to go.

"Creep. What were you doing just standing there?" Jasper brushed past him, shaking her head, as though she truly believed her friend was a stalker.

"I just got there," he whined, catching up.

"Sure, stalker."

"Ah yes, because showing up at the required time, at the required place, you guys came up with, is stalking, right..."

Bella smiled, shaking her head in response to their light-hearted banter. She hadn't realised during the term how much like Winston and Blake the two of them were, always poking fun at each other with no true malice behind their words. What a friendship that is, she thought, feeling bittersweet at the thought of her friends. Her mind wandered to Piper, Alyssa and Annabeth. She missed their kind, gentle natures and their can-do attitudes. Sure, Jasper was sort of like that, since she was Humiltatem after all, but she was much more fiery to the point where one might mistake her for Daemonium or Salvator. Bella then wondered how she fit into their group. Was she the loveable screw-up? The silent type? She knew she wasn't the leader, no matter what her House might indicate.

Suprema. It was the House of Lightning, and it's students reflected Gard Marie with their leadership skills and powerful abilities. They were all-rounded and admired by the other Houses. Even Opportuna payed attention to them, which was saying a lot since they were often egotistical and thought themselves above all others. She thought back to her first night, when she first discovered she was Suprema, and how her House sorting landed her in the Medical Wing of the school where she had met Mauve.

Her eyes bulged. Mauve! She hadn't seen her all term! Well, she had seen her, but only when they happened to pass each other in the hallways, or they made eye contact in the Dining Hall. They would often exchange smiles and little waves, which meant the world to Bella since it was another person not fed up of her. It was a good thing she hadn't spoken to her though, when she considered it. It just meant that she was lucky enough not to damage herself throughout the term. She should probably say goodbye to her before she left, because, even if it was for one night, Mauve had been to be kind to her. An Aurelias before Aurelias, she joked to herself.

Before the three of them could reach the school's front door, Bella stopped them.

Her friends looked at her quizzically.

"Why are we stopping?" Rowan inquired. "The door is this way."

"I um...have something to do," Bella said before turning around, walking off. She broke into a run. "I'll be back! Just wait for me!" She called over a shoulder, before her friends watched her disappear behind a corner.

Jasper turned to Rowan. "What in the Lyte was that?"

"How would I know?"

While they returned to their usual playful arguments, Bella rounded a corner and ran the route towards the Medical Wing. She had only been there once, but after mapping out where everything else was, finding her way there was relatively easy. She hoped nothing broke and fell on her as she made her way over there, because that would be unfortunate.

She finally got to the door, although hunched over and panting. She didn't know why since going to Biology class three times a week technically counted as exercise. After some more heavy breathing, she stood up and knocked on the door. It was a simple, white door with Mauve's name on it in cursive lettering, her title as school nurse underneath. As she started at it, Bella then wondered whether Mauve was even here during the vacation or not. Well, she had to be, right? There were still kids here that could get Unicorn Flu, or Dragon's Bite, or a simple stomach-ache that would require her medical expertise. Unless, they got a replacement during the holidays, and then Bella ran all the way over here for nothing, and Mauve left without a goodbye-

The door swung open to reveal Mauve in her usual nurse attire, with her white dress, brown clogs, and her little nurse hat that she constantly felt the need to fix on top of her snowy hair. Mauve grinned widely when she noticed Bella standing there, looking up at her shyly with her doe-like brown eyes.

"Oh, hello dear!" Bella forgot just how thick Mauve's Irish accent was, despite how long she had probably been at this school. It was thicker than Lylma's, and that girl was fresh out of ExtraOrdinary's version of Ireland, StervOfter. "I feel like I haven't seen you all term, and I see you all time," Mauve continued, laughing at her own joke. Worry then etched itself onto her face. "Are you hurt? Oh dear, come in, let me see what's wrong."

"Oh no Miss, I'm fine," Bella insisted.

Mauve looked at her confused. "Oh? Then...did you want to talk? I'm not too versed in Psychology, but I can try. I think I have some textbooks somewhere-"

"No, Miss Mauve!" Bella laughed. She hadn't realised how worrisome the woman was. It was comforting, since the Irish elf was the school nurse. "I came to- I came to say goodbye. I thought I should since you helped me that first night."

"Oh? Wow. Not a lot of students think to say goodbye to me when they're leaving. Don't think I told my school nurse any goodbyes in my day, when I think about it." Mauve smiled warmly, touched that the girl was still grateful even after an entire term had passed. "Thank you. Now, before I say goodbye, may I ask where you're heading?"

"An orphanage. Gard Madeline's, I think."

"Ah yes. Gard Madeline's Home for Girls. That's a good orphanage. I was raised there myself actually. Very nice people, they'll take good care of you, although some of those girls can be pretty nasty. Girls are rather awful to each other, aren't they? I remember one time, one girl cut my hair in my sleep because her school crush that previous term told her he had liked me instead. Can you imagine that? I tell you I couldn't." Mauve blushed when she realised, she was rambling. "Ah, sorry about that. My rambling, that is. I don't really talk to much people, even though you can see I like to." She laughed heartily, the sound contagious, causing it to bubble within Bella herself.

"It's okay, Miss Mauve. I like your anecdotes," she replied truthfully. She really did like hearing the elf ramble. It was entertaining, if their first encounter was anything to go by. She chuckled to herself when she recalled how the nurse said she would've been running around in her knickers if she were told she was an Imagin.

Mauve smiled sadly. "Well, you'd be one of the few." She quickly shook off the dip in her happiness and beamed again. "Any who, you should be fine, if you were worried about it. Bet you weren't though, you're a strong girl. I've seen it. Hope you keep it, your strength, and don't let those little tyrants steal it from you."

Bella's smile faltered a bit at the mention of that. She knew Mauve was aware of some her troubles, the whole school knew, but she didn't expect the woman to be so blunt about it. But, she appreciated her encouragement.

"Well, I guess that's goodbye then. See you next term, love. Thanks for stopping by. Hope I see more of you- for non-medical purposes though."

Bella laughed. "I'll try my best to see you more often next term, Miss. Bye!"

They waved to each other and Bella left with a smile in her heart, feeling better prepared for the journey ahead.

She walked back to where her friends were waiting at the front gate, along with Aurelias and Grimm, the latter giving her a steely gaze, as usual. The gusts of cold air hit her hard, and she began to tremble like a leaf. The sky was cloudy and the ground was carpeted in endless snow. The trees looked dead, and were bare of leaves, but had snow attached to their branches. Normally during Christmas, she wouldn't see snow. It wouldn't even be cold, because where she was from, it was sunny all year round. And by sunny, she meant hot. Despite that, it did not mean she liked the freezing cold any better. The frigid air nipped at her skin and made her shiver.

I'm literally wearing, like, five layers, she thought, How the heck do I still feel so cold?

"Good morning Professor Aurelias, Headmaster Grimm," she greeted the two teachers.

Aurelias offered her a cheerful "good morning" while Grimm only gave her a curt nod.

As soon she sat next to Jasper and Rowan on the front steps, Jasper asked, "Where were you? You just randomly ran off somewhere."

"Yeah. If you needed to go, you could have just said- Ouch! Jasper!" Rowan rubbed his arm where the young Jackalope had punched him.

"I don't think she had to go you idiot!"

"Oh, and how would you know?"

"Because-!"

"Guys!" Bella giggled at their antics. "I just went to tell Nurse Mauve goodbye. She deserved one since she took care of me that first night."

"Hmm, how proactive of you." Bella was surprised to hear Grimm comment on it. Before she could respond, the whooshing sound of the transporter gliding through the gates towards them, interrupted her.

"Oh! The transporter is here Bella!" Aurelias clapped her hands in excitement. Bella had no idea why she was so giddy. "Are you excited, dear?"

"Um, yeah, I guess?" It sounded more like a question than an answer. She started playing with her pendant.

Jasper noticed this, gave her a small smile and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You'll be fine, Bells," she reassured her. "There's nothing to worry about."

The three of them stood up as the transporter stopped right in front of them. Bella gulped.

"But what if- what if it's just like here? What if my bad luck follows me and- and I mess everything up and make everyone hate me?"

"You won't mess up, and even if you bad luck does follow you there, like an annoying dog, if they treat you badly for something out of your control, they weren't worthy of your friendship anyway," Rowan told her.

"Yeah, you're- you're right."

"Of course, we are. Well, of course I am, anyway. I think Jasper's gaining some common sense for once. Finally, after seven years of knowing her, I'm starting to have some influence."

Jasper's eyes glowed white as she glared at Rowan. "Why you-"

"Okay you two, say goodbye to Bellatheibus, now," Aurelias cut in, eager to separate the two ExtraOrdinaires.

"Bye Bella! Don't forget about us!" They hugged her tightly, swaddling her in what seemed to be all of their love. It warmed Bella who was slightly shivering from the biting cold. Yup, I definitely hate winter, she thought as she shook from the low temperatures.

They all pulled back, with Rowan wiping away fake tears.

"Hold me Jasper! She's gone forever!"

"Get away, you weirdo!"

Bella snorted at their silliness. "It'll only be two weeks, Rowan. My memory isn't that bad."

"Says the girl that regularly loses her Crétuology text books."

"I swear to you, it gets up and hides itself to spite me!"

"Children," Grimm said in a warning tone, indicating that it was time to wrap up their goodbyes.

"Bye Bells," Jasper said, a finality in her tone. Her brown eyes looked watery. Bella had never seen tears in her eyes before, so it meant a lot that her absence was enough to bring her to the verge of them, as odd as it sounded. "We'll miss you. Don't have too much fun without us."

The transporter's door slid open, signalling Bella to get in.

"Bye guys! Bye Professor Aurelias! Bye Headmaster Grimm!" She waved to them, hands shaking left to right erratically. "I'll see you next term!"

"Bye Bellatheibus," Aurelias replied, while Grimm simply gave her a small smile, waving back to her.

Bella kept waving until she backed up into the transporter and, reluctantly, got in. She watched her friends and her teachers get smaller from her window, as the transporter glided away. She stared until she couldn't see them anymore and all she was the school on top a mountain of snow, looking haunting amidst a field of white.

She sank into her seat, the sound of the transporter buzzing as it zoomed past trees, making its way down the steep hill. She gazed at the scenery, the images flashing by. Her mind began to wander until it found itself focused on the orphanage she was going to. She didn't know much about it, other than the fact that Nurse Mauve had been there as a child. If she were to be frank, she had been nervous about going there. Extremely so ever since she had found out last term, but her mind had been too preoccupied with exams, her results and then her tutoring, to freak out about it. She had the time to freak out now.

Bella played with her pendant for the rest of the journey, her mind scattering as her nervousness grew like a poisonous plant, its venom into her thoughts. She started to get jittery as she bounced her leg up her down. She knew she shouldn't let herself fantasize about everything that could go wrong, but she couldn't help it; she felt compelled to panic, honestly. The thought of a whole new group kids, that could be just as mean as the children at her school were, was overwhelming. She didn't need two places that wouldn't feel like home. She didn't want to be an outcast in every aspect of her life.

Bella sighed heavily and hugged her legs to her chest. She buried her face in her knobby knees and tried to force her mind to switch off and go to sleep. She was probably overreacting anyway. Rowan and Jasper seemed to think she would do fine. So, she had to be.

"I'll be okay," she whispered to herself, as her eyes began to droop. "I'll be okay."

∞

Bella woke up to something gently nudging her.

She opened her eyes to see the driver standing next to her. His eyebrows were raised expectantly as he stepped aside and ushered her out of her seat.

They were here, she realised, walking out the transporter. She looked up at the building that was merely half the size of her school. It looked like an oversized log cabin, in her opinion, with its wooden infrastructure. The yard was covered in snow, and had a few snowmen in it. The house was decorated with yellow, Christmas lights, adding to the cosy feel the house appeared to offer. Then, the door swung open, and behind it, was a young woman who had to be no older than twenty. She saw Bella and smiled, walking towards her.

"Well, off you go, kid," the driver said. "Enjoy your stay."

She whipped around and watched the driver get back in his transporter and drove away.

"Hi there!"

Bella jumped at the cheerful voice that had greeted her.

"Oops, didn't mean to scare you," the woman apologised. Up close, Bella could see that her white hair looked like a cloud and her eyes held literal suns in them. She was a Wisper, which was extremely different to a Whisper, which was a ghost-like Créturae. A Wisper was a Créturae with the ability to be create weather with their cloud-like hair, and had eyes that demonstrated how they felt with weather symbols, like suns representing joy.

Hmm, those extra Crétuology lessons are actually paying off, Bella thought.

"I'm Maybelle, but you can call me May," the woman introduced herself. "You must be...Bella- Bellatheebus Demure?"

"Bellatheibus Demure," Bella corrected her.

"Oops, my bad again! Welcome to Gard Madeline's Home for Girls Bellathee- Bellatheibus! I promise that you're going to love it here! Now, let's get inside before it gets any colder."

The inside of the home was even cosier than the outside. The living room (Bella assumed it was the living room) had the same yellow, Christmas lights strung about the room, and a large, white, Christmas tree in the centre of it, which had store-bought decorations, as well as homemade ones, hanging from its branches. About thirteen pairs of eyes turned to them when they walked in. May took Bella's coat, placed it on a coat rack, and indicated that she took off her shoes. Bella did so, while still nervously surveyed the room of girls that were staring right back, abandoning the television programme that was playing on the mirror-tv screen.

After a few moments, May placed a hand on Bella's shoulder and lead her towards the girls.

"Everyone, this is Bellatheibus Demure," May told them. "She's our new resident at the Home!  I want you guys to be nice to her and help her out if she needs it."

The girls said "hi" in unison, before deeming her "old news" and returned their attention to the screen. Bella identified the show as "Dark Oddities," a popular mystery/horror show that had become her and her friends' favourite thing to watch. (Jasper and Rowan that is. It came out during the first week of their break, so she didn't know how the other five felt about it.) She sighed in relief when she realised she had already seen that episode and wasn't missing anything.

"Before you start mingling with the other girls, I'd like to show you your room first. I think your roommates are still upstairs though, playing a game, or something."

The duo made their way up the stairs. Bella took notice of the walls that were adorned with pictures of various young girls, smiling at the camera as it captured their image. Bella hoped that she would be welcomed in the group photos one day.

They entered a hallway and walked past a couple of doors before May stopped in front of one that had the names Margo, Urma, Harley and, surprisingly, Bellatheibus on it. May knocked before entering and opened the door to reveal a room with four beds and yellow walls, with dark brown, wooden floors, a white rug on top of it. Their ceiling had a pulsing sun that coated the room in a yellow glow, and drifting white clouds. On the walls, by two of the beds, were posters of art or of a boy band Bella didn't know. In the centre of the room, were two girls with devices in their hands who looked as though they were currently involved in an intense video game at the moment.

"I win!" the girl with a green buzzcut exclaimed.

"Only because I sprained my wrist yesterday!" her friend countered.

"Girls?" May said, bringing their attention towards them.

"Oh, hi May," they greeted, shutting off their appliances.

The pair observed Bella and looked back at May. "Is that our new roomie?" the girl with dreadlocks asked.

"Yup! This is Bellatheibus Demure. Bellatheibus, meet Harley-" The girl with the green buzzcut waved her hand. Her face was white compared to the rest of her light pink body, and her outfit was outrageous and colourful. "-she's a Pierrot Grenade. And next to her is Urma, a normal ExtraOrdinaire." The other girl nodded at her. She had dark brown dreadlocks and had brown skin. Her choice of attire was luckily much less of a headache than her companion's.

"Hi," Bella said shyly.

"Where's Margo?" May asked, looking around the room for her.

They shrugged.

"Alrighty then. Well, I'm leaving Bella in your care. Bye girls and enjoy your first day Bella!"

And with that, May, left, closing the door behind her.

"So, you're from the Academy, like Margo?" Harley questioned. Bella was shocked to hear her own accent in the girl's mouth, which made sense, since Pierrot Grenades were traditional mas characters from where she lived, the birthplace of modern carnival itself. Bella had rarely heard any Caribbean accents while she was in school, so it was odd but pleasant to hear.

"Um, yeah."

"Oh, you're accent- you're from Trinidad and Tobago? Cool! Always wanted to meet a Miracle from there. So, I bet I look nothing like your carnival characters, huh?"

Bella laughed, feeling more at ease. "Not by a long shot."

The conversation went from there, and Bella ended up joining them in their video game, using their spare device that looked similar to a Nintendo Switch. After two hours of Harley winning every single game they played and hearing her extensive knowledge on any and everything she could think of, they joined the girls downstairs in the living room in watching the mirror-tv. Bella hadn't even realised until it was dinner that she hadn't broken anything once, and sure she hadn't beaten Harley in a game, but she didn't come dead last either. It seemed that her bad luck had finally left, or at least, didn't enter the orphanage with her just yet.

At dinner, they ate corn pie, with a side of mashed potatoes and stewed chicken, her favourite homecooked meal from Ordinary. Apparently, every time a new orphan joined them, they would prepare their favourite dish, the information learnt from the files sent to them by Miracle Relations.

Everyone was so welcoming. They were all so friendly and helpful and treated Bella like she was just a girl and not some kind of sideshow act. It seemed that she could finally have a home after all.

"Thanks, for this. For the way you guys treated me today. It means a lot to me," she announced to them, before the start of dinner.

Everyone offered her "your welcomes" and "of courses." For once, when people looked at her, there wasn't any disdain or mockery; it was like whenever she was around her friends. Her friends who always stood by her despite the horrible mess she was. She smiled at the thought of them.

It seemed that Rowan was right; she had nothing to worry about. And she couldn't wait to see him, and the others, to tell him that.

When it was time for bed, they all went up to their rooms. Bella and her roommates went into the wardrobe one-by-one, before sitting on the floor for one last conversation, before going to sleep. It was then Bella noticed that Margo was absent. In fact, she hadn't seen her all day, and she wasn't hard to miss since she had vitiligo, causing her brown skin to have white patches in it, and her long, black, braided hair that was coloured dark purple at the ends. Actually, when Bella thought about it, Margo never was one for being around people before or after school hours. She doesn't think she ever saw the mysterious girl in the Dining Hall. How did she get away with that?

"Hey, where's Margo?"

And, as if on cue, the girl appeared. If she hadn't had the ability to touch things, Bella could've sworn the girl was a Whisper, but she was merely a Murasaki, beings with purple eyes naturally gifted with Future Perception and an alignment with the universe. 

Wow, Owlwood worked really wonders in that class. I almost like it.

"Good night," she greeted, before pausing when she spotted Bella.

Bella gulped, afraid that Margo was going to say something catty about her. She hadn't told her new friends that she was an Imagin, so that when she practised spells, it wouldn't be such a shock when she sucked at it. It would be much easier to explain that she was still learning how to control her magic as an ordinary Miracle, well, as ordinary as being a human with magic abilities could be.

"Oh, hi Bellatheibus," the girl said to her. She smiled, her purple eyes seemed to flash for a second. "Forgot you were coming here. I guess I should've been here a little earlier to get to know you a bit, or at least say hi."

Urma's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Don't you guys go to the same school?"

"Yeah, but we don't talk much. Actually, not all. I'm not too fond of large groups, or most people in general," Margo explained. Urma nodded at her explanation. Margo glanced at Bella once more, still smiling at her. "Well, I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"You can join us now, if you want," Harley suggested.

"Nah. I've been wanting to sleep since I got up," Margo joked as she entered the wardrobe and walked back out wearing pyjamas.

"Where were you by the way? All day. We didn't see you anywhere."

Margo shrugged as she flung herself onto her bed. Her corner of the room seemed to have the most shadows, the ceiling's light, that changed to a night time sky with a multitude of glowing stars, barely penetrated them.

"I was probably in the places you checked,  just after you left to check other places," she suggested cheekily. "Now, I think that's enough questions for the night. Good night to all, and to all, a good night!"

Urma and Harley laughed at her Santa Claus impression before returning to their previous discussion. Bella tried to immerse in it, she really did, but Margo's smile, although friendly, felt off and creepy. And the way her purple irises flashed, as though she knew something no one else did. She has clairvoyance, she tried to reassure herself, she's supposed to know everything we don't.

Bella couldn't help but wonder what did she know.