Chapter 7: Friendship's Kaleidoscope Rendezvous

As she walked, her mind drifted to Zoe, her best friend and partner in weirdness. A smile tugged at her lips, unbidden but welcome.

Zoe. The girl who could whisper to plants and somehow make Mia's technicolor curse seem almost normal by comparison. They'd been thick as thieves since the day they'd discovered each other's powers, a memory that still made Mia snort with laughter.

It had been during a sleepover, of all things. Mia had reached for the popcorn bowl at the same time as Zoe, their hands colliding in a burst of neon green kernels and suddenly sentient snack food. The popcorn had started dancing – fucking dancing! – while Zoe stared in wide-eyed shock and Mia's hand left colorful prints all over the carpet in her panic.

"Well, shit," Zoe had said, watching a kernel do the macarena. And just like that, they'd been bonded for life.

Mia chuckled at the memory. Who knew that profanity and precocious popcorn could be the foundation of such a rock-solid friendship? But from that moment on, they'd been inseparable, united by their shared secret and the absurdity of their "gifts."

Through every mishap and meltdown, every accidental rainbow and unexpectedly chatty houseplant, they'd had each other's backs. Zoe was the one person who truly got it, who understood what it was like to have a power that was more punchline than superpower.

"Thank fuck for Zoe," Mia muttered, kicking a pebble down the sidewalk. The thought of facing Evergreen Academy alone made her stomach churn like a washing machine full of bricks. But with Zoe by her side? Well, it still terrified her, but at least she'd have someone to laugh with when it all inevitably went to hell in a handbasket.

As the familiar corner where they always met came into view, Mia felt a flutter of anticipation in her chest. She checked her watch, realizing she was a few minutes early. "Great," she thought. "More time to spiral into anxiety. Just what I needed."

The corner was nothing special – just a typical suburban intersection with a slightly wonky stop sign and a lamppost that had seen better days. But to Mia, it might as well have been the gates of Mordor for all the significance it held today. This was where she and Zoe would begin their journey into the unknown world of Evergreen Academy.

Mia leaned against the lamppost, then quickly straightened up as she remembered her "gift." "Whoa there, Midas," she muttered. "Let's not give the city a rainbow makeover today, shall we?"

She settled for shoving her hands deep into her pockets, rocking back and forth on her heels as she waited. A few other students passed by, clearly heading in the same direction. Mia eyed them curiously, trying to guess their powers. A girl with shockingly blue hair walked by, leaving a trail of frost in her wake. "Well, someone's watched Frozen one too many times," Mia thought wryly.

Another kid zoomed past on a skateboard that seemed to be hovering a few inches off the ground. "Show-off," Mia grumbled, but she couldn't help feeling a twinge of envy. Now that was a cool power.

As she scanned the street for any sign of Zoe, Mia's nerves began to fray. What if Zoe had changed her mind? What if she'd decided that facing Evergreen Academy with the human mood ring was too much to handle?

"Get a grip, Harper," Mia chastised herself. "Zoe's not gonna bail on you. She's probably just... chatting up some daffodils or something."

Just as Mia was considering the merits of turning the lamppost into a technicolor beacon to signal her distress, she spotted a familiar figure in the distance. Wavy blonde hair, a backpack covered in embroidered plants, and hands that wouldn't stop fidgeting with the straps – it was Zoe, looking every bit as nervous as Mia felt.

Mia straightened up, squaring her shoulders and plastering on what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Time to be the strong one, even if she felt about as sturdy as a Jenga tower in an earthquake. As Zoe drew closer, Mia took a deep breath, pushing down her own anxiety.

"Here we go," she thought. "Two extraordinarily ordinary girls against the world. Or at least against high school, which is basically the same thing."