Character name meanings

Neshama: Soul in Hebrew נשמה

Girls at the school

Mingxia: Bright Halo in Mandarin 明 霞 

Sabra: From צַבָּרִית (tsabár) Prickly Pear Cactus‎ in Hebrew or סְבָרָה (svará) meaning Conjecture or Hypothesis.

Yanyu: Words, speach or spoken language in Mandarin 言语

Canción: Song in Spanish

A/N: I don't speak alll of these languages, corrections from native speakers invited and appreciated.

When Inyanga Goes – Act III scene i

The wide bright mirror Inyanga sat in front of, bordered by orbs of light, showed her in her full glory. Full color, yes, but not just that. Her hair. A nice eight inches of it coiling in every direction.

For years she had kept it at various lengths between cadet short and completely shaved. It was a frugality of both money and time. Took thirty seconds to wash — unless she wanted a longer skull massage — and didn't need to be trimmed when she was too busy with schoolwork. When it was shaved close, she spent (wasted, expended, squandered) zero time styling. Yet one trip with Storm to her stylist magician Neshama, and she was back. Not unlike Storm's dark halo, her own tresses were back, thanks to growth spells that gave her eight inches of coils and extra anti-grav spells that set them extra afloat. The smile that took up her face was no spell. She was just happy.

Her own words echoed in her head.

"Beauty? I don't care about that. I'm not vain, I don't need that. I only need to be myself," and then the words she had thrown like stones at Storm, "What kind of vain, attention-seeking, spoiled little rich girl would spend time, and money,which is time, trying to look beautiful on campus? We're here to learn, not look pretty." Well, who doesn't like to be beautiful?

She started to laugh right out loud, and when Neshama and Storm looked at her, she couldn't stop, she could only try to cover her hand with her mouth and try to hide behind it.

"You don't like the cut?" Worry in the tone, Neshama scurried back from the sink.

"I love it," Inyanga said, breathing in to sober up. "It's not that. I'm just happy."

And Storm, with that mind-reading ability that was starting to make Inyanga suspicious — yet the girl's gnomon was not in her hands but on Neshama's counter doubled by the mirror — said, "What kind of spoiled," she wagged her hips one way, "vain," and the other, "attention-seeking—" and back to the left—

"I know, I know. I am sorry I said that."

Coming up, hands on hips always, she said, "You don't think confidence in your appearance will have a positive impact in your school performance?" She straightened up and the hands on hips pose became a super hero strength stance, which appeared in the stylist's mirror a second time, as if there were two of her, ready to save the empire (if not the world). Her flared red skirt gave the image of a cape. No animated threads today, just a bold outfit, with bold red boots. She went on, "Those endorphins you release when you smile — they are good for the mind. You needed this."

Inyanga laughed and shook her gravity defying spirals. "I needed this." She didn't point out that she couldn't afford this. She didn't ask whether Storm had thought about how many girls on campus couldn't either, and whether she was gonna foot the bill for all of them — though if she were to treat a hundred girls to a trip to the stylist magician she would be the most popular girl in school, and the Gloriams could afford it, even with ongoing subscription-spell-model hair care, and Storm would win student magician president in a cinch with that kind of bribery. But anyways. Inyanga wasn't asking. She was done questioning for just a moment. She wasn't just happy, she wasn't just herself. She was beautiful.

When she stood and donned her starfire kimono and danced around in it, Neshama captured a videoimage "For my portfolio" and Inyanga paid Neshama's tip herself and promised to recommend her services far and wide.

The one worry Inyanga had going back to school the next dies Lunes — after Amafu had given her a slightly chilly shoulder for a week, and a half silent- half one-word-response-treatment, was whether the spell styling was going to go over well with her angry best friend. Walking by her desk before neuromagic that afternoon in slow motion, she waited for a reaction, but Amafu didn't even recognize her to react. Lingering seconds more, finally Inyanga said, "Boo."

And Amafu looked again, and amazingly, she jumped, hand at her heart. Her eyes wide. Then she cracked into a smile and shook her head and it became clear she had been playing with Inyanga. "You scared me. I thought you were the ghost of a movie star. One who had yet to give a GOOD apology to her best friend."

As Inyanga came around the desk to sit next to her, Amafu went on, "I'm not that mad, you were only being an asshole accidentally, and when I teleported illegally I sure felt silly about losing my temper and cutting off my nose to spite my own face. Three weeks of detention, booo. It's just that you still need to apologize, and I shouldn't have to tell you to."

Inyanga looked deep into Amafu's eyes and said, "I'm sorry I underestimated you. You're going to come out in first place in neuromagic and show all of us, and I'm going to feel pretty stupid for not seeing your brilliance."

"I get that. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Your weakness is ego."

"Ouch." Inyanga leaned back in her chair, hand over her heart.

Amafu laughed and put a loving hand on her shoulder. "We both share the strength of following our passion, and I'm obsessed with brain stuff, so I can stay up all night devouring textbooks and peer reviewed studies. When you follow what you love, you get good at it. Simple as that. And sometimes you girls who are pretty good at everything to start out, so the grades and accolades come easy to you. You miss little lessons that come from ever having to struggle for something. Those of us who have to work hard to keep up, we have something that you shouldn't take for granted."

Inyanga nodded soberly. "You are so wise, oh hardworking one. Your hustle has taught you many lessons. I'm sorry I was blind to your great experience, wisdom, and hard won expertise." More laughter, yet Inyanga felt it was a fragile thing, this joking around. The girls both occasionally avoided eye contact. Hurt feelings still burned beneath the cooling coals on the surface.

More jokes, Amafu said, "I'm actually only being nice to you again so you'll con Storm Gloriam to pay for my hairstyling spells."

"Think she might, she feels pretty bad too."

"Is she going to pay for every student on campus whose parens earn less than her parens? Just asking for a friend who's always going on like, "If everyone can't have X, maybe no one should have X.'"

"I don't sound like that, do I?" A semiconscious hand went to the levitating coils as if they needed a lift — but they didn't, and never, ever would.

Smiling as much as she could while she chatted with Amafu, their healing bond was still a little tender, raw, throbbing, sore, bruised. It was the first class after lunch, and they had plenty of time to be early. Second row middle seats, as usual. Storm joined them, so Inyanga's view wasn't blocked by her black halo.

Instead, the girl in front of them had satin midnight blueblack lengths with sunbeam highlights that smelled like lilac and coconut when she accidentally flicked it over her shoulder, and Inyanga figured it was Mingxia, remembering the sweet, chubby girl with the satin hair who had maybe flicked up her kimono that time and Inyanga recognized her now when she looked back — and then looked away real fast, Inyanga thought, when she saw who it was. Inyanga's mind pictured Mingxia's cherubic cheeks blushing, but was she imagining things?

Well, yes. But whether Mingxia was blushing she had no way of knowing.

Unless. One (opal polish nailed, yes the girls had had their nails done too) finger went to the gnomon inside the inner pocket of her kimono. It was as if the stars were whispering to her, encouraging.

Like it happened sometimes, the calculations and schematics for a spell came to her mind unbidden — Amafu was right about how Inyanga didn't always need to work so hard for top place — and she just knew the coordinates to open up a little link portal in front of Mingxia, through which to say hello. Or perhaps to pass an airweave note.

WHAT? Stop being silly, stars. She wasn't about to pass the pretty girl up front a note, whose idea was that? She had studies to study and taboo secrets to uncover. Now she was blushing, but she cast a fresh airweave page with her gnomon (which would cost an eighth of a solidae and add up as the terms went by) and did not cast a portal to say hello to the girl in the front row (which would cost a couple of solidae up front).

The stars seemed to approve of that course of spellcasting action too, because she didn't even have to think about the conjuring mechanics as she did it. The stars couldn't help with the next part, though. She sucked up the courage to ask her bestie, afraid of fracturing the newly healing friendship bone, "So, do you think you could . . . help us . . . with the whole taboo spell message . . . problem thing?"

The upturn of Amafu's lips fell down and her face for a moment went blank, all expression on mute. Like a still pond. Last week this subject had caused pain. But she was okay, she was okay, she could move forward and past. They could all be friends, all three. Storm was leaning around Inyanga's other side, as if awaiting the answer with baited breath.

"Yes," Amafu said, and she uncovered a notebook on her desk (store bought airweave pages bound in magic cast rose gold faux leather, 50 solidae retail).

Not yet smiling again, she went on, "I made a list of words that can be used in writing and would not be blocked by the taboo spell. Working from the word depository should make it easier to create the message, more like copy and paste. After detention tonight, Storm and I can go from the list of words we can definitely use to try to explain the secret."

Inyanga pounced and threw her arms around Amafu. "I love you, mwah." She gave her a kiss on the cheek, and perhaps a little against her will, deep within the hug, Amafu's smile came back. As if forced by a magic spell. But it wasn't. She was just happy.

Thank you for reading Inyanga's star in Constellations, please give a star if you enjoyed reading it!