Hexside Entrance

A pair of twins reluctantly pushed open the school's front door with a sigh. Both had pale skin, golden eyes, thick black eyebrows, a mole under an eye, and emerald green hair. The girl wore light blue sleeves and leggings, covered by a gray tunic and a small darker gray cowl and belt over it. The brother wore a similar uniform but with gray boots. Thankfully for them, the halls were empty at the moment.

Behind them, a full-sized abomination escorted them inside. A neutral voice spoke through a pendant around its neck. "Kids, please stay in school. You know how your mother gets when she receives notes from your teachers. It interferes with my work."

The girl turned to the abomination in slight annoyance. "Come on, Dad. We both know Mom is more focused on managing Amity than us."

The son crossed his arms. "At least we get to have some fun outside."

"Despite your Mother's... business plans, she still cares about how you represent our family. I'm fine so long as there aren't any more pranks." The twins sweatdropped. "If you refrain from any more mishaps, I can try to extend your curfew.

The twins perked up at the offer, looking at each other before giving a nod. "We'll try, but no promises."

Their dad paused for a moment before accepting. "That's good enough for now."

"Uh, excuse me." The twins and the abomination turned to the new voice, finding a brunette girl about their sister's age and a redhead about a year older than them. Considering their outfits, they weren't students but holding visitor passes. "Do you guys know where room A201 is? We're a bit lost."

"Again," replied the redhead, only to receive a shoulder nudge from the girl.

Already coming up with an idea, the boy nodded. "Well, Dad. Looks like Emira and I have to help out a prospective student. We'll see you later tonight."

Emira coughed, looking away from the older teen's golden eyes. "Uh, yeah. We'll talk more later, Dad."

Sadly for them, the Abomination didn't walk away. "Your mother asked that I escort you to your classrooms, not just the school." The twins inwardly groaned. The purple blob turned to the newcomers. "My children will help you to your destination, and I will ensure they return to classes afterward."

The younger girl's eyes widened. "You're dad's an abomination!"

The twins, including her mentor, chucked at the assumption. "No. He's just speaking through the communication charm." Emira gestured to the blob and her brother. "I'm Emira. This is my brother Edric and my dad."

"You may call me Alador."

The redhead and brunette raised a brow at their dad's name but didn't say anything. The girl introduced herself and her friend. "Well, I'm Luz, and this is Shirou. I hope to apply here, but I'll have to wait a bit longer."

Edric smirked. "You don't need to go to school? Lucky."

Emira waved off her brother's remark. "Come on, Ed. Even you have to admit that being here can be entertaining once in a while, especially with Mittens around."

Shirou blinked. "Mittens?"

"A little pet name for our younger sister," answered Edric. "What made you want to apply anyway? I thought everyone wanted to get out of school, not the other way around."

The Latina beamed. "I want to learn more about magic. It's so cool, with so many possibilities. I can live out my childhood dream."

"Yup... I'm living the dream," chided Ed.

Emira smiled at Shirou. "Aren't you going to apply too?"

The hero rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm self-taught, but I don't think I'd benefit greatly from attending. If anything, I'm tutoring Luz on the basics."

She walked around the redhead. "Well, maybe my brother and I can meet up with you two sometime. I'm sure we can give our two snails about magic."

"Really?! That would be amazing!" cheered Luz. To her, the more, the merrier.

"Where are you guys from, anyways?" asked Edric.

Suddenly, their dad's abomination was strangely close to Luz and Shirou. At one point, a hand seemed to reach for his ear.

Eyes rolled, and Shirou spoke up. "If you're wondering if we're human, yes. We are."

The abomination backed up. "Fascinating."

Shirou's statement caught the twins by surprise. The two double-backed on the strangers before smacking themselves for not noticing their different ears. It was a feature that they ignored daily. "How did we miss that?" For the family, seeing live humans was a jump from the junk that gets dropped from the human world.

Luz sighed. "This is going to be recurring, isn't it?"

Shirou smirked at his student. "Weren't you the one that wanted to be special just the other day? Well, here you go?"

"Don't remind me," groaned Luz.

Reading the air, the twins held off any more questions related to humans. Their dad would be another matter. Edric started walking in one direction. "Anyways, let's get going. A201 is this way."

Earlier

Abomination 101

One by one, students carrying cauldrons filed into the classroom.

A male student with spiny skin rubbed his project anxiously. "Hope I pass."

In contrast, a female student with yellow horns was optimistic. "I don't know about you, but I'm confident about this."

"Well, I already know Amity will walk all over us. At the very least, I'll do better than Willow."

"I don't think so." To their surprise, the subject of his words had arrived, and she was not pleased. Compared to yesterday, Willow was much more firm about herself. "Things will be different today."

The boy rolled his eyes. "What makes you say that, Half a Witch Willow?"

Willow huffed and placed a hand on her pot. "I had trouble initially, but after talking to some new friends, I put my all into this." She looked at the two before gazing into the classroom. Amity was already seated, patiently waiting for the professor to begin. "I won't be left behind."

Not sure whether to take the last place seriously, they shrugged. "Whatever you say, Willow. I'll put my snails on a repeat of last time." Done talking, the three students took their seats with their abominations.

Willow passed by Amity, trying her best to ignore the look of superiority toward her as she took a seat behind.

The mint-haired girl was the first to speak. "Willow, I was worried when I didn't see you come to class early to prepare. Considering what I saw earlier, I thought you would have tried to patch something together for your presentation. It would be horrible to see you fail."

Seething inside, Willow tried to calm herself. Closing her eyes, she took slow breaths. "You are a bastion of support, Amity. What would I ever do without you?"

Amity smirked. "I do my best, and you should too. Nobody wants to flunk out of their chosen coven track."

Banging her head against the table, Willow stayed quiet. 'I never chose this track!'

Soon, Professor Hermonculus, a balding green-haired short witch with a round beak-like mouth, arrived. He wore an oversized purple coat, a light silver bow tie, and orange-tinted circular glasses. Instead of walking, the professor was carried by a mauve-colored abomination with a sad and drooping face. "Alright, students. I hope you are all ready to present your projects."

"Yes, Professor," they replied.

"Everyone was given the same base materials and an allotted time of a week. I expect everyone to meet the requirements of the assignment."

Other than Amity, the remaining students groaned with anxiety.

Professor Hermonculus clapped his hands. "Now, who wishes to go first?" Nobody but Amity raised their hand. "Perhaps someone other than our star student?" Looking at the others, he picked out the horned girl. "Mary, please come up."

Mary chuckled nervously but complied, bringing herself and her abomination cauldron to the front of the room. "Okay, Professor. I present to you my abomination." Opening the lid, she revealed her with eight feet sticking out of it in various places."

Everyone, including Willow, blinked at the creation. Perhaps Willow wouldn't be dead last after all.

Professor Hermonculus walked up to her project and examined it closer. "Mary... Why does your abomination look like this?"

Mary frowned. "Didn't the requirements say that an Abomination with eight feet exceeds the requirements?"

Her answer clarified what went wrong. Hermonculus coughed. "Mary, you misread the assignment. The instructions said that an abomination eight feet tall exceeds the requirement."

Mary paled at the correction. "Oh... but I still worked on the other requirements."

"Can it walk at least 10 feet without falling over?" he asked neutrally.

The girl looked back at her abomination with no legs at all. "Uh..."

Hermonculus sighed. "Can it speak?"

Mary turned to her creation and asked a simple question. "Abomination, what's my name?"

"M-M-Larry." The girl's previous confidence evaporated into nothingness.

"Right..." Hermonculus started writing notes on a scroll and handed them to her, sighing. "It may not be smart, but it can talk. Not completely pathetic. You get a D, barely."

The abomination and the student deflate, and she wheels her abomination off the platform at the front of the room.

Professor Hermonculus massaged his temples. "If this continues, I might just consider the biggest abominations are all of you!" He gestured to the students. "If the next abomination is less than B effort, everyone gets extra homework for a month!

All the students, including Amity and Willow, grumbled.

The spiky student banged a fist against the desk. "Extra homework? Not again!" He started muttering a name under his breath, but Willow already knew he was saying her name.

Professor Hermonculus looked at his students carefully. "And the next one to come up is..."

Before he could, a knock came from the doorway. A brunette girl stuck her head through a cracked door. "Excuse me, is this room A201, Abominations 101?"

Amity raised a brow at the newcomer. Was she a new student? If she looked closer, she would have noticed a familiar pair of green hair and an abomination waving goodbye.

Behind her, Willow's tension eased at the sight of a friendly face.

"If you read the sign above the door, you would know." Professor Hermonculus crossed his arms.

"Oh..." Luz looked up and blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry."

Someone behind her nudged her through the door, revealing an older redhead teen. "Don't be shy, Luz." He turned to the professor. "Sorry for the intrusion, sir. I'm Shirou, and she's Luz. We're visiting the campus and wanted to watch our friend Willow's presentation."

Mary and Jarrick's jaws dropped. "Willow has friends?" Amity was also surprised by the reveal, looking at the new teens carefully.

Luz interjected. "Yeah! We bonded over her Abomination Project and wanted to see the final product."

"Really?" Professor Hermonculus turned to Willow. "You didn't have someone else create your project, did you? That would be cheating."

Willow quickly stood up in defense. "I didn't, sir. We discussed theory, but I did all the spells on my own. You'll see."

"Perhaps we will." The professor turned to Luz and Shirou. "Take a seat in the back and refrain from interruptions."

The master and servant nodded in thanks, taking their seats.

"Now, Willow, you're up!"

Jarrick raised a brow. "Not Half-a-Witch?"

Mary slumped in her seat: "Great. Homework for a month."

Amity made a crossed expression at not being chosen to show off her project.

With the looks, Willow seemed to be dragging her feet toward the front of the class.

About halfway, Luz spoke up. "Don't listen to them, Willow. You can do this."

Shirou gave a thumbs up. "You know what to do."

Willow gave them a small smile and nodded. She wheeled her pot to the front of the room and sets it down. Her eyes glowed a slight green. "Abomination, rise."

Everyone gasped. To their shock, aside from Shirou and Luz, a six-foot bipedal goo Abomination formed and stepped out of the pot. Compared to the standard Abomination Golem, this one had bark-like plates along the limbs and torso. A purple flower sprouted from atop its head.

Professor Hermonculus stroked his beard. "This is certainly promising. You already met the stable height requirement. Continue."

Willow attempted to steel her nerves. "Abomination, march." Within her creation, a network of roots and vines manipulated the coating of goo along with the inner wooden joints. While a little clunky and slow, the Abomination could walk between the aisles of desks and back to the front with no failure.

Professor Hermonculus smiled. "I'm seeing great improvement, Miss Willow. Very impressive. But does it speak?"

"Abomination, am I your master?" asked Willow.

"Yes."

"Will you disobey my commands?"

"No."

Hermonculus seemed to understand something. "Abomination. Where are we right now?"

"Hexside."

Already seeing the question on her professor's face, Willow explained. "I could only get the speech spell to work with one-word answers."

The professor accepted the explanation. "While disappointing, I can't deny your improvement." He filled out a scroll and handed it to Willow, a bit proud. "You've earned yourself a B+, young lady. Congrats."

Willow beamed brightly, accepting it happily. "Thank you, Sir." This was the highest grade she had ever gotten on a practical test. Most of the time, she got F's or D's.

In the back, Luz and Shirou gave their fair share of applause along with the other surprised students. They wouldn't get extra homework. Amity clapped as well but with little heart in it.

The mint-haired girl narrowed her eyes at the golem, scrutinizing its features. How was Willow able to make this from what she saw that morning?

On the wall, the bell rang and screamed before ending with coughs.

"It seems we'll have to continue presentations next class." Hermonculus turned to Amity. "We'll have to continue with your presentation tomorrow." As students started leaving the room, he asked Willow and Amity to stay behind for a moment. Meanwhile, Shirou and Luz watched and waited from outside.

The professor patted her abomination cauldron. "Wonderful work today, Willow. It looks like we have a new top student of the day as most improved."

Amity froze before gasping and dropping her books.

Professor Hermonculus reached out to Amity's Top Student Badge, much to her dismay, and pinned it on Willow.

On the surface, it should be a small matter, but to Amity, it struck her on a deeper level. "But..."

Willow placed a hand over her chest. This... This was her accomplishment. She smiled at her teacher genuinely. "Thank you, sir."

He nodded at her acceptance, and his abomination carried him away.

Willow walked out, meeting up with her two friends.

As everyone left the classroom, Amity stood there alone, frazzled. "What just happened?!" It seemed impossible unless. She turned to Willow's supposed friends. What did they tell her? Did they cheat? She would have to find out.

---

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