RA for a fool

"So, what y'all got? That Ava, is she really that big of a deal?"

"Yeah, I've heard she fought the Empress to a draw."

"Wow, really? I've heard she actually won, and the prince got her out of class to have a secret meeting about the cover-up."

"No way. That asshole only gives a damn about his image and his fangirls."

"But the Empress is his mom."

"I've once heard him say that family means nothing."

"No way!"

"Well, maybe she's got some dirt on him. She made him lose that match, didn't she?"

"I'd like to do something like that too."

"Hah, keep dreaming ya dummy."

"Hey!"

I've got halfway back to my dorm when I found a group of four people whispering in a dark corner of the tunnels.

I wanted to just walk past them, but before I entered, I've heard my own name, so I hid behind a large support beam. I felt like shit and my magic barrier hung on to me like a coat that's ten sizes too large and made out of concrete, so masking my presence was out of the question.

The boy, who looked like the leader of the group, was around Sin's height. He was wearing an off-white turtleneck that made him visible, even in the dark. So I guess either they didn't plan this meeting, or he had no clue how to hide.

"And why did the Liar challenge her?"

"Got nothing about that. You know how people get all weird when you ask about him."

"Yeah, their stupid asses believe he'll tell everyone all their secrets or something."

"So you aren't afraid?"

"I've no secrets."

"Suuure…"

"You don't believe me?"

"You're my bro. I know you've secrets. You like to hide some of 'em under your mattress."

"I… I dunno what you're talking about. Those ain't mine."

Judging by the pulsating walls and dancing lights I was nearing the end of my strength. So curiosity be damned.

I circled the column, then started to make my way to the other end of the tunnel as fast as possible.

Then my legs buckled and the floor gave me a kiss on the forehead.

When I woke up, I was surrounded by one guy and three girls. My head was propped up on a bag and what I assumed to be tiny hidden knives were stabbing into the back of my head and neck.

As I moved, the youngest looking girl quickly knelt down beside me. Her long, dark hair was done half-up, in a bow. She was wearing a dark pink, knitted sweater-dress with many different patches sewn on to it.

"Don't get up yet, you're safe, you just passed out." She smiled at me.

"Bag…hurts…" I tried to communicate.

The girl ran her fingers along the bag, then actually gasped.

"Tia, there's something spiky in your bag!" She exclaimed.

The other girl moved her fingers, and I no longer felt the pointy things.

"Oops, my pins. My bad."

"Do you want some water?" Pink asked. I did want some water.

After getting refreshed and gathering enough strength to push myself into a sitting position, I finally got a good look at them.

The guy in the turtleneck was strangely slim but he tried to push his chest out, which just made him look awkward. He seemed to be concentrating on something.

His sister, Tia was wearing a black and gold tee with large sunglasses hanging on the front. Her naturally curly hair was full of golden pins with magical symbols carved into them. I recognized 'mend', 'light' and 'to lessen'. Three out of at least a dozen. I should study up on runes sometimes.

The third girl had a blue dress on, and her hair was blonde to blue ombre. She was the most normal-looking of the four.

"How are you feeling?" Blue asked.

"Umm… still pretty awful but it'll pass. I just have to get home and sleep it off." I made some sad attempts at stretching.

"Stop moving around so much." The boy suddenly shouted. I saw sweat gather around his turtleneck. "I'm barely holding your shifty ass barrier together."

I felt around, and he was right. I gathered up the last bit of heat from my body and made some repairs.

"What the heck?" The boy looked shocked.

"What happened bro?" Tia asked, suddenly nervous. She pulled two pins out of somewhere and clenched them, one in each fist.

"She stopped leaking energy." Blue said calmly, but with an intrigued gaze.

"Yeah, I repaired my barrier a bit. To be honest, I got drunk and had to put this one up in a hot minute. That's why it's shitty." I explained. My pride made me add the second part.

"Wow, you can do quick repairs? That's high-intermediate level stuff!" Pink marveled. I wasn't taught much about magic systems, I just know what I need to know. So I just nodded.

"Yeah, but it won't last long, my energy level is pretty low."

"We should get you back home then." Tia said energetically. "You live in the dorm?"

"Yes, but first… who are you guys?"

"Yeah, right, we didn't say, huh. I'm Caleb, second year in enforcement magic. That's Tia…" Caleb started, but his sister punched him on the arm.

"She's Tia, thank you very much. I'm a second year derivation magic user." Tia said with a smile. I smiled back.

"I'm Skylar, or Sky. Second year in magic design. Nice to meet you." I wanted to answer, but Pink jumped into my view.

"And I'm Beatrice, but call me Bee! I'm a first year primal sorceress! And you're Ava, the pyromancer right? I've heard so much about you!"

"Yes, hi, I'm Avalynn. Thank you all for helping me."

"Don't mention it." Tia smiled. "Now, brace yourself."

I wasn't sure why, but after some finger-wiggling on her part, I suddenly floated upwards. A moment of panic rushed inside me, but I was stopped by Tia's hand about two feet off the ground.

"Oh, you're a natural at floating." She smiled.

"Can I push her?" Bee asked with overflowing enthusiasm.

"Ask her, not me."

"Can I push you Ava?" She turned towards me with sparkling eyes.

"Sure, just be careful." I shrugged. I was quite comfortable. I felt a bit weird about their conversation in the shadows, but I was pretty big news I guess.

Bee took hold of my shoulders and started pushing me forward. I watched carefully if she chose the right path, but the sign clearly said "DORMS" on it.

"You know, Bee's a big fan of yours." Caleb said jokingly, and I felt the girl's grip tighten.

"That's not true, I just think she's cool and she's doing cool stuffs." She defended her point instantly.

"I'm not sure what you've heard about me, but I'm not that great. I'm just an exchange student who wasn't taught not to play with fire." I tried to joke, but she pretended not to hear.

"But you set the prince on fire." Bee nagged me.

"He provoked me and I lit myself on fire. He just got scared."

"You fought the Empress."

"We got into a stupid argument and she threw some water at me. That's all."

"And the Liar? He challenged you, didn't he?" I felt that Bee was getting desperate.

"Who? You mean J? He tried to dominate me. I didn't let him do it. Then we cleared up the misunderstandings. No harm done. See? I'm not special." Surprisingly, it wasn't Bee, who answered the fastest.

"You shook off a warlock's domination? How?" Sky asked from behind me.

"I had a pretty strong barrier up. Plus Damien rushed in to help."

"So he dominated you before the Liar could?" She asked. I don't know why this was so important.

"No, nobody dominated me." I shook my head. It annoyed me that I couldn't see Skylar, but I was too afraid to shift my weight around, so I just stared ahead the empty corridor.

"How then?"

"I tried really hard and it all worked out?" This was the best answer I could give. Unlike with non magical people, I can't just give the usual answer of 'It's Magic!' They know that. They're curious what type of magic it is.

Tia suddenly started laughing.

"All worked out? You know what we'd get if we gave such a shoddy explanation in our work?" She asked me, still chuckling.

"Uuuh, Mrs. Griffith would yell at us so much." Bee squeaked. They all laughed at her misery.

"By the way, where are you guys studying? I've never seen any witches in school other than Lizzie." I asked.

"Oh, we're RA students. It stands for Robur Arcana. The other wing of the Academy." Tia explained.

This shocked me. I've never head about this before.

"You never heard of it, huh? Figures." Caleb said.

"It wasn't on the school's website or in any ads." I replied.

"Yeah, they don't exactly advertise it, since you can only get in with a personal invitation from the school." He explained.

Wow.

"Still, she should've gotten a letter as well. I can't believe the teachers didn't recognize her powers." Bee mumbled.

"Yeah, it's weird for sure." Caleb agreed.

With Bee's questions answered we all quieted down and I started to think. I had so many questions for Mary-Anne…

I didn't even notice when we stopped before the dorm.

"This is where we part." Tia said as Bee hugged me from behind. I was gently put down.

"Where do you live?" I asked out of curiosity.

"We have our dorms near the dark side."

"Ava, can you study with us?" Bee wondered hopefully.

"I can ask the teachers, but I don't promise anything, okay?" I was pretty exited to learn about RA. They for sure didn't have any annoying vampire princes. Maybe they didn't even have math.

And that… would be awesome.