Lunch. Enola's least favorite meal. For most students, lunchtime was the only opportunity to enjoy a few seconds of relaxation and fun. Instead of hanging out with her friends, however, the mind fairy was constantly flooded with the thoughts of everyone around her, who all seemed to try and recall all the gossip they learned at the beginning of the day.

Musa was obviously not enjoying the social hour much either as her eyes kept flickering in and out from the regular brown they usually were to a bright purple. The mind fairies constantly suffered from never being able to turn off their powers, unlike their peers. Lessons with Dowling help a little bit, but they were still novices when it came to fully controlling their abilities.

Enola smiled at Doris, the lunch lady, as she handed over a plate of rice and a lump of unfamiliar meat that the fairy was not interested in looking into. There were some people that the green-eyed fairy met that she considered saving graces when it came to her abilities. People like Dinner Lady Doris, who didn't seem to try and occupy their mind with thoughts but rather allowed their impulses to take control, leaving nothing but a blank mind.

Most would consider being the equivalent of brain dead, an insult, but to Enola, it was the highest of praise. It was the closest she came to silence.

Aisha sighed as she grabbed the next plate that was put on the counter before turning to look over at the twins, "Your magic practically lit up the entire clearing, Enola," the water fairy complimented.

Enola grinned, trying to act like she couldn't hear Aisha's jealous thoughts as she tried to direct the conversation away from herself. Being telepathic meant that having people's attention on you was the worst by default.

Nudging Musa, she grinned, "Musa's powers practically worked the moment she touched the damn thing."

Musa shrugged, grabbing an apple from the fruit basket before placing it on her plate, "My magic's pretty much always on," she sighed as they began to enter the main dining area, trying to find a place to sit.

"Makes crowded spaces a nightmare," Enola groaned as another voice entered her mind talking about how Stella and Sky were sleeping together once again. The petite girl had heard so much about what went on at the school she could probably write a daily newsletter. Enola tilted her head in consideration. 

"Man," Aisha winced, "I don't know what is worse. Hearing it or feeling it."

"Hearing," Enola sighed at the same time that Musa said 'feeling.' Both girls looked to each other before they both set to a challenge, whose power was worse. No mercy. The winner takes all.

Musa's eyes glowed purple as she spun to look over at Doris, "Doris is in physical pain," the girl said, causing Enola to roll her eyes. Everyone knew that Doris's psoriasis acted up around noon after she sets up for the lunch rush.

"Too easy," Enola snorted, "Doris looks like she is in pain, hunched over and all."

"Then do better," Musa sassed. The two girls used to play this game all the time when they were little. They were used to getting competitive like this and truly knew it was all fun in the end. Their parents banned it at some point when it became a bit too dark for the ten-year-olds but it didn't stop them from playing from time to time.

"Easy," Enola scoffed.

Blinking rapidly, Enola's eyes turned bright pink, much like her sisters before she set her eyes on a small Asian girl walking past them with her hair in a tight bun, "Her name is Rachel, and she just found out she might have gonorrhea," the mind fairy shrugged as she nodded her head over to look at her boyfriend who told her, "And he got it from her sister."

"Gross, E," Musa groaned, causing the twin to shrug. Most people's thoughts were not very pleasant, or else they wouldn't be thinking them; they'd be saying them. Enola wasn't fazed by most things that people would find uncomfortable in conversation.

"Okay, what about him," Aisha nodded over to Dane's table on the first floor.

"That kid," Musa pointed over to Dane, who was hunched over in his seat as his eyes flitted around the room, "Scared and stressed like a bunny when the hawks circle."

"The boy with the dreadlocks thinks that his sister will tell that he cheats on all his assignments," Enola added, looking over at a couple making out in the corner, "And that girl he is kissing, who thinks that he loves her, is the person he is cheating off of."

Musa scoffed before looking over at one of their professors who was chewing a green apple, "Worried and tentative," she paused as a frown fell on her lips before adding, "But it might just be heartburn; it is hard to tell the two apart."

Enola shivered as her nose wrinkled, knowing he was thinking about the burned one. Trying to focus her mind back on the challenge the two sisters were having, her eyes flew up to a guy walking down the stairs, going in to read his thoughts.

"Him," Enola began before she stopped, her eyes flicking back to green as she let out a deep breath. His thoughts were there, but they were quiet, without any ill intention. It was like listening to one of the classic songs written by some famous composer like Beethoven. It was beautiful and deep and profound, almost ethereal, as it didn't contain any worldly issues.

It was him.

"What just happened," Aisha asked, as she noticed Musa was no longer smiling as she read her sister's emotional change. She had never felt this emotion from her sister. It was a mixture of things: happy yet calm, free yet scared, and comfortable yet excited. She had never felt her sister in love.

"I don't know," Enola said, her eyes not leaving the boy as he walked away from the cafeteria. His walk even effortless, as if he were an angel. She didn't even realize she had been swaying in his direction until she nearly tripped, quickly regaining her balance as she smiled at the girls.

Musa didn't say anything, knowing Enola well enough to know that she didn't have a clue what her emotions meant. The mind fairy had been in enough fights with her sibling to know that Enola was not one to be told what she felt. She would have to learn that on her own.

The girls walked over to Terra, who was waving them over from the lunch table she had found in the center of the cafeteria. Enola wore a tight-lipped smile as she walked into the center of all student commerce, trying her best to remember what Dowling taught her about focusing on her own thoughts.

"So," Aisha began once the girls all sat down, looking over to Bloom, who had joined them at the table, "Maybe we can make a list of emotional triggers."

Enola nodded her head, pushing her food away from her, as she pulled her notebook out. The water fairy was right. If Bloom was going to improve her magic, she would need to think about all her best memories. Most fairies learned to harness good energy, to begin with, but Bloom would have to learn a little late.

"Aisha, um, I appreciate what you're doing, but I think I can figure it out on my own," Bloom sighed, fiddling with the aglet of her hoodie. Enola's eyes flashed as she heard the fire fairy think about how upsetting it was that she was getting help from 'little miss perfect.'

Bloom was jealous.

"I'm sure," Aisha looked over to Bloom, trying to hide her annoyance at the Californian's stubbornness, "But I just think you might be a little over your head. Ya know, with the changeling stuff and overthinking."

Enola's eyes widened as she watched her sister's eyes glow purple at the same time, both knowing that Aisha hit the bullseye almost too well. The swimmer may have been right, but pointing it out to Bloom was certainly not helping her feel any better.

"So everyone knows," Bloom began, her entire face losing color as thoughts of what people would say about her came flooding into her mind. Enola tried to stifle her laugh at the image Bloom began to paint of her being pulled out of Alfea by a group of specialists for experimentation. The mind was an amazing thing.

"Oh, that's why you were freaking out at the Vessel," Terra laughed, causing both twins to begin to make motions behind Bloom's back, telling her to stop. Of course, the earth fairy didn't notice as she continued to speak, "because that is going to be the easiest assignment we'll get all year, and I am just making things worse. Aren't I?"

Terra winced as she noticed Bloom's eyes begin to slightly water, her entire bottom lip sucking in as she worried about whether or not she would be able to complete the week, let alone the year. Musa and Enola just nodded to the earth fairy in dismay, knowing she had caught on too late.

Thankfully, Stella walked up to the table along with Sky before the table could get any tenser. Enola never thought she would be so happy to see the spoiled brat's face as she splayed a map on the table, "So, here's the plan to get my ring back."

On second thought, Enola was not happy to see Stella and would like to revise her previous statement to say: She wished that spoiled brat had never walked up to their table with her knockoff Luke Skywalker, no offense to Sky.

"What's this," Musa asked, looking up at Stella, who was practically on top of Sky like she was marking her territory or something. It seemed to be working, however, as Enola's eyes lit up as cruel thoughts against Stella that were not her own appeared in her mind.

"A map of Alfea," Terra bubbled, excited that she could talk about one of her favorite things. Enola understood why Terra wanted to talk about Alfea so much. It was all the fairy knew. Yet hearing her talk about it was still incredibly annoying.

"The little dotted line is the Barrier, and that's Crag Creek," Terra said, running her fingers along with the map lightly as she showed all the locations. Her entire face lit up pointed to a small green area on the map, "Wind Meadow."

"When I was a kid, I would spend every," Terra began before Stella interrupted her, much to the table's relief.

"Great story, Ter," Stella smiled, although her eyes clearly revealed she was not as kind as she was appearing. Enola grinned at herself as she heard Stella's thoughts. They were very different from how she expressed herself.

"No, no," Terra shook her head with a smile, "It is a really good story, listen. So I used to go and practice my magic by trying to swirl leaves into this little fab cyclone thing."

Enola lazily blew a stray hair in front of her face as she listened to Terra's story about a ladybug she found. Just as the girl was about to completely check out, her eyes turned pink, causing her to inwardly groan. She didn't know how often she would be able to eat lunch if this kept happening.

A smile fell on her lips, however, as she realized it was him. This time, his thoughts weren't anything concrete, just a song. It wasn't just some annoying tune stuck in his head. However, it was an entire song that he was running through his head from start to finish.

Enola had never heard someone play a song in their head before like a radio. It was calming to listen to as she let her eyes flutter shut with a content sigh. Once the song ended, he went to another one with ease. Starting with the interlude before the words began to pick up.

'Three little birds sat on my window and they told me I don't need to worry'

It was as if he knew she could hear his thoughts.

Trying to slyly look around, Enola frowned when she couldn't find him. His thoughts had stopped as well, much to her amazement as if he had disappeared.

Frowning, Enola picked at her food before realizing that Terra was just finished her story. Musa lightly kicked her leg, causing her to pop her head up with a smile, "That is funny, Ter."

Terra's eyes glimmered as she beamed, "Isn't it?" Enola felt bad as she was obviously more than touched by the fact the girls had indeed been listening to her rather than ignoring her or in Enola's case, trying to find a buy she didn't know. 

"Sky," Stella laughed, obviously not finding the story amusing, as she pulled the blond specialist away from his spot near Bloom, "Where do you think they are keeping it again?"

Enola raised a single eyebrow at the two noticing how close he sat to the American girl. She wouldn't blame Stella for being jealous either as it was obvious to everyone that the specialist had his eye on the fire fairy.

Sky sighed, running his hand through his hair, "Well, there's only two places you can keep such a thing. There's the mill," he pointed to a small black dot on the map before sweeping his fingers to the forest, "and the barn."

"The barn would be my bet," Terra said, pointing her finger to the same spot that Sky had, "My dad fortified the beams because he was chaining this wounded horse."

Enola sighed as she looked at the location that sat deep into the woods. She was beginning to think that nothing would ever be easy at this school, because she was almost one hundred percent sure that on their first day the faculty had warned against students going into the woods, esecially if they were going to seek out a murderous monster they had no idea how to fight.

"So we just have to sneak in there and get my ring," Stella nodded, clutching her purse closer to her chest as she looked up at Sky with a smile.

Enola burst into a fit of laughter, annoying Stella, who didn't understand what was so funny, "Strange how you use the word 'we.'"

Musa looked up to Stella in disgust as she added, "Yeah, sounds more like a 'you' kinda deal."

Stella glowered at the girls before smugly looking down at Blom, who seemed to be trying to hide from the entire conversation, "Except I didn't lose it."

"You did give it to her," Enola pointed out, taking her fork to stab into one of Musa's graped before popping it into her mouth. She couldn't believe that Stella was still trying to get Bloom in trouble. Sky could not be worth hurting some innocent student.

"When do we go?"

Bloom looked up from her food. The girl looked extremely uncomfortable as all eyes were on her. The last thing the fairy needed to worry about was helping Stella, despite what the princess was trying to convince her.

Enola looked at Musa, who looked at Aisha, who looked at Terra, who looked back at Enola. The mind fairy rolled her eyes as she turned to the red-haired fairy, "Are you sure this is the best idea?"

"I'm gonna be blunt," Aisha said, placing her hands in front of her as she leaned over the table, near her food, "Sorry, Bloom, but you have zero control over your magic. That is if you manage to channel it. Bad idea."

"I lost the ring," Bloom shook her head, "I'm gonna get it back."

Enola felt extremely uncomfortable as she sat between Bloom and Aisha, who were both a bit at ends with each other. Neither was to blame, yet both of them were upset with each other. They were both too stubborn and proud to back down enough to see that both of them were right.

Sky seemed to notice the agitated atmosphere as well as he broke away from Stella to lean over the table a bit, "Guys, maybe we should take a second-"

"I think everyone is making a way bigger deal of this than it needs to be," Stella grinned, turning to Terra as if she were some encyclopedia, "You said the burned one is locked up. Right?"

Terra, who seemed to be a bit lost, jumped up in her seat, "Oh, and subdued. I'm pretty sure my dad is distilling this oil. It's called Zambq. I could probably make some more," she offered.

"Thank you, Terra, for being helpful," Stella said in a haughty tone, obviously thinking she was better than the rest of them, "And thank you, Bloom, for taking responsibility," she turned to the ginger as if she were a five-year-old. ENola wouldn't be shocked if she pulled out a lollie to give to the doe eyed girl.

"And thank you everyone else for," Stella began before she looked at the other three with distaste, "nothing," she smiled as she collected up the map, "I guess, Thanks for nothing," the princess sighed before shrugging her shoulder as she patted Sky's chest as if he needed to be told it was time to leave.

"Glad we could help," Enola cheered, raising her bottle of water in the air. Musa and Aisha laughed as they linged their drinks together as well, smiling as they watched Stella glare. The blonde royal simply rolled her eyes at the girl in annoyance before walking away with Sky by her side like a lost puppy.

"What a bitch," Musa hummed, spinning her fork around with her forefinger as she looked up at the rest of the group.

"Who cares," Aisha shrugged, watching as Bloom stormed away from the table with Sky running after her. Stella didn't seem to care as she acted like they were planning on separating anyway.

"I better get started on that Zambaq," Terra bubbled, picking up her schoolbag and her empty plate. She waved all the girls goodbye as she fretted to the greenhouse. Enola wondered why Terra wanted Stella's approval so deeply. Perhaps they were once friends.

"We best get going, as well," Aisha sighed, looking over at the twins, "We have Runes to get to."