Chapter 1

“Erissa, where are you going?” I stopped in my tracks, peering behind me, brushing my long, dark brown hair out of my eyes. I nearly groaned out loud when I saw Ms. P, my teacher back in second grade.
I thought she wouldn’t see me trying to sneak out of the school gates too early, but I just happened to rattle the locks way too loudly. Ms. P repeated her question, looking into my deep blue eyes.
“Where were you going? And Erissa, tell the truth—“ Just then, the bell tolled for the end of the school day. She sighed loudly and unlocked the gate.
Before Ms. P could ask me a third time, I darted to my freedom. I ran down three blocks, and suddenly turned a sharp left.
I stepped on the familiar rough grass, not really noticing a grey two story house in front of me. With one glance, I saw a tall figure in a black raincoat walking by me down a street I knew like the back of my hand.
“Dad?” The figure stopped and without a hesitation hugged me tightly. He threw off his hood and smiled at me, but I could tell it was a forced one this time.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. Dad noticed my worried face, took my backpack, which was way too heavy, and took a deep breath. I tapped my foot impatiently.
“What?” I sighed. I couldn’t wait much longer for the answer. Dad opened his mouth, and then closed it. But then he found his strength to speak after a few minutes of silence.
“Edison wants our house back.” We hurried off towards the grey two story house, our house.
No. It couldn’t be true. Edison had owned our house previously, but he put the house on sale, and we ended up buying it, apparently. Or that’s what Mom tells me.
He had no intentions of getting it back until now. But why now? Did he have a plan for the house? What kind of plan for a house? Maybe he was making it into something useful? I had no idea why. I just hoped for one thing:
I want our house to be ours again.

Chapter 2
We finally reached the “House on a Hill” as we liked to call it. Gasping and out of breath, I opened the door with my house key, and we stumbled inside. I shut the door quickly, and Dad, still panting, spluttered,
“He’s— in—the—basement.” I took his hand, and we climbed down the rickety steps together. We just stopped on the landing when a voice called from the top of the stairs.
“Chris? Erissa? Are you there?” I immediately recognized the voice as my Mom’s. I was very happy that it was not the crackly voice of Edison. But my relief did not last long.
I heard heavy footsteps coming upstairs towards us. I was scared, but I held onto Mom’s arm as Edison’s face came into view. He was a small man with grey hair, wrinkles, and a tall cane that looked like he had used it forever. Edison glared at us, his left eye swirling around in every direction possible.
“This was my house!” He screamed. Dad held Edison’s shoulder and whispered in his ear. Edison clenched his fists, but with a flourish of his coat, he opened the door and then he left our house. Our house. I couldn’t believe it.

Chapter 3
“Why were you so late?” Dad asked. I shuffled my feet. I had almost forgotten about my encounter with Ms. P.
“When I was leaving, a teacher caught me, and I ran here when she opened the gate.” Mom groaned and mumbled something that sounded like, “Teachers.” Dad unzipped my backpack and took out the homework.
My parents took my hands, and we stepped through the door silently. In an instant, we were knee-deep in weeds. Mom let go of my hand, and so did Dad.
I stared at our surroundings. The weeds were nearly hiding a small house made out of red brick.
Mom slowly led me towards it, A few minutes passed, and then we were at well polished wood doors. The door opened so quickly, it slammed into the wall, and that cracked from the force of the door opener. I immediately looked inside, and I saw a huge white fog covering my view.
“Ladies first.” Dad told Mom, and she swooped into the fog, and disappeared from sight. I was now terrified, where had Mom gone? I could not hear her footsteps or her wonderful voice. I made a weird sound that made Dad jump high into the air.
“Your turn.” He spoke more calmly than he looked, but I knew he had fears of walking into unknown places. I shut my eyes very tightly and stepped into the fog, into the unknown. Not the Frozen II song, the real unknown.

. . .
“ERISSA! WHERE ARE YOU?” I am in a new world that is perfect. Mom is calling me for breakfast. The voice of Mom boomed once more.
“RESIST THE ILLUSIONS!” Wait, what illusions? I’m not in a new world, I must be in a nightmare! I open my eyes slowly, bracing myself for something.
But I never thought I would find myself staring eye to eye with a Mom that looked different from the last time I saw her.
Her hair was all frizzy and wild, her face in a scared expression I’d never seen her have before in my life.
Dad was almost as bad. But the worst of all was there was a person next to him, smiling an unnatural smile, it’s left eye swirling in random directions.

Chapter 4
I had expected better, not this. As I looked around, I noticed we were all in small and clear pods, which allowed us to see each other. But I would’ve taken a non-see through material anytime.
I rescanned my surroundings and noticed that the person was holding a small, glittery object. I squinted at it, trying to make out the shape, but the person suddenly realized I was looking, and it held the peculiar object towards me. There was a huge flash, and I heard Mom scream.
“STOP! STOP! SHE CA—“ Her voice cut off as everything fell into darkness, and I realized who the person was.
Edison.

…
I opened my eyes, dizzy and confused. I was facedown on the floor. I struggled to get up, and once I did, Wow.
I was in a different place, and it was bright. I can’t see anything with this bright light. I thought. Then, suddenly the lights dimmed and I noticed I wasn’t alone. There was someone standing in front of me.
I squinted, trying to make out the figure, but before I could the lights brightened and I couldn’t see the person. As soon as my thought had just registered into my brain, The lights dimmed again and I saw the person.
It was a girl with long, wavy dark brown hair, and she had dark brown eyes. Before I could get another glance, The lights brightened and I couldn’t see her again.
Then I finally realized the girl was dimming the lights and making them brighter. But that was impossible without a light switch, and there was no switch in sight! Or could it be possible, somehow?
The lights dimmed again and the girl was now in front of me, so close I could feel her breath.
“You look like you’re not from around here,” I was confused more than surprised.
“And my name is Jessica Ambarella.” Ambarella? What kind of last name is that? She laughed at my confusion.
“I guess I’ll get you out of here.” Jessica clapped her hands. That was the last thing I heard as everything went pitch black.



Chapter 5
I opened my eyes, feeling sick. I realized I was laying on a soft bed, and Jessica was sitting in a chair next to me. I opened my mouth to speak, but I immediately shut it when a tall man walked into the room. He had closely cropped brown hair, brown eyes, and a huge smile plastered onto his face. I noticed that it was fake, which made me feel even more sick.
“Who are you?” I gulped. Should I tell the truth? I decided to trust my brain.
“Kara Crane.” The man raised an eyebrow.
“You’re lying. Who are you?” I gasped in shock. How did he know? I’m an expert at lying.
“Erissa Fowler.” Jessica grasped the arms of her chair and stood up before the man could say a word.
“Are you an extraordinary?” I looked down at my clothes, feeling overdressed as I compared my pristine school uniform to Jessicas’ much more comfortable ordinary clothes. Did I mishear her?
“What? No.” Jessica looked beyond disappointed, and the man held out his hand for me to shake.
“I’m Aaron John Trehan. Just call me Aaron.” I reached out to shake his hand, but instead my instincts took over and I slapped his hand, the force making his hand drop.
“Ow! That hurt!” Aaron rubbed his hand against his other hand, which obviously makes his hand feel better. He glared at me, and walked out the door. Jessica giggled as the door closed.
“Did you see how he stared at you like that?!” Jessica fell onto the floor, laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world. I must’ve had a really confused face on, so she laughed even harder.
“So, who is he?” I asked Jessica, wanting to know.
“He’s the person who owns this place. He thinks he’s better than everyone else, but he’s only Elite.” I was confused.
“What do you mean by Elite?” Jessica stopped laughing and sat up, suddenly serious.
“Elite means your family lives a normal life. The second is called Middle Elite, and that means you live a half normal life and a half High Elite life. And High Elite is the highest rank, unless you are a Titanica, and then you’re an Overly Elite.” I think I’m in a different world.
Chapter 6
When Jessica finally left the room, I was alone. At least I have some silence. I thought. But the quietness did not last that long. The door swung open and Aaron came in. Oh, look. Mr. Annoying again. I sighed and looked up.
“Do you need anything?” He asked.
“Need anything? I want some alone time. Get out.” Aaron sprinted out of the room, leaving me giggling.
I glanced out the window. It’s getting dark. I pulled up the sheets in a comfortable position and tried to sleep.

…
I yawned as the bright sun peeked out of the window, waking me from my deep slumber. Jessica sat on the bed next to me.
“So, why were you with me yesterday?” I don’t think I have an answer for this. I decided to tell the real truth, not the fake one.
“I-was-with-family-and-a-guy-pointed-something-at-me-and-I-was-in-that-place—” Jessica held up her hands to stop me from saying any more mushed up sentences.
“Slow down! I can’t hear what you’re saying!” I took a deep breath and told Jessica everything. After I was finished, She whispered,
“I think your parents were taken by the Warras. They were thought to be defeated about two months ago, but I suspected they were too strong, and were planning something big soon.” I shook my head, not wanting to believe it.
“Well, you can’t stay here forever. I’ll tell Aaron.” I groaned. She’s going to tell Mr. Annoying. “But for now, I can take you to—“
Jessica was interrupted by a huge crash and a thump of something landing on the floor. I jumped up.
The sound continued as it came down the hall. We held our breath as the thing stopped in front of our door, breathing loudly. We winced at each breath. What could it be? Aaron’s pet? A monster? Wait, it could be Edison…
And then the door squeaked open and the thing crawled inside.




Chapter 7
As the thing crawled into the room, I shut my eyes and hoped with all my might it was not Edison. I braced for Jessica’s scream, but all I heard was,
“AWW!” I opened my eyes slowly, and to my disbelief, it was a cute little brown puppy with huge silver wings that were way too big for its tiny body.
It barked loudly and strutted up to me with a look of importance. I noticed the puppy had a collar. I read the name.
“Choco?” The dog, Choco, yipped and showed me her wings. This is odd. I thought. It almost looks like words are showing on Chocos’ wings. And I was correct. Chocos’ wings held words. I read them quickly.
Dear Erissa,
Enchanted Academy is glad to tell you that you have exceeded our placement test for our School for Extraordinaries. The school term will begin on August 10th. This winged puppy will guide you through your school term and help you send letters. But you will also get another animal later in the school term. Here a list is enclosed for the supplies you need for her.
Sincerely, The Enchanted Academy Headmistress, L. Wishstone
I looked at the other wing, which had a list of weird stuff I had to buy for Choco, including The Winged Dog Handbook, WingDog Chow, and many toys I had never heard of. Jessica and I sat on the beds, stunned. We didn’t say a word. But Jessica obviously couldn’t be silent forever.
“I got accepted to Enchanted Academy one day before you, anyway. My animal was a Winged Dog too.” I smiled at Jessica. She smiled back.
“So, do I have to get adopted or something?” Jessica’s smile faded and asked me,
“Do you still have more relatives?” I thought about my living relatives. Wait. I don’t have anyone, or my parents never told me. I was about to tell Jessica when she asked,
“Maybe you can be adopted by Aaron?” No! Not Mr. Annoying! Jessica obviously saw the look of disgust in my face, and realized that was a bad idea.
“Wait. What about you get adopted by my family?” I ran through all the fun times I would have with her. But I had one question.
“Do you have any siblings?”
“No!” Jessica answered.
“Really?” I was surprised.“Yes! I’m not kidding, so let’s go home!” Home. I haven’t heard that word in such a long time.

Chapter 8
With another huge whoosh, we landed on soft, green grass that was neatly cut. Jessica got up and pet Choco, which you couldn’t recognize with puffed out fur completely covering the tips of her wings. I snickered.
Choco glared at me like I was a really mean dog. I took my focus off Choco, and put it on Jessicas’ house instead.
The house was a tall mansion. Bright blue stones covered the walls, and it looked very bright and pretty. Jessica led the way inside, and when the shiny diamond door shut, she blurted out,
“Sorry if my house is a little small.” My eyes widened. Small? This was a mansion! I smiled at Jessica to show her I liked her house a lot. Jessicas’ mouth dropped to the floor.
“So, where are your parents?” I asked. Jessica’s mouth shut and she led me up the crystal steps. I heard two voices, one male and the other female. We entered the door, and then Jessicas’ parents came into view.
Jessicas’ mom looked exactly like Jessica, except there was an age difference. The Dad was… Mr. Annoying? No! Jessica noticed my confusion and whispered to me,
“My Dad is Aarons’ cousin, so that’s why they look alike.” I stopped gaping at “Aaron” and called him in my head, “Caron” because the c was the first letter of the word cousin. Jessica stepped up to her mom and asked,
“This is Erissa, and can we adopt her? Her family was taken by the Warras.” The mom gasped and muttered to Caron something I couldn’t understand. Caron nodded at Jessica, obviously saying yes.
“Really?” I interrupted the exchange. The Mom, who I should call Messica, spoke for the first time.
“Yes. And I can see you got your Acceptance letter?” She held up Choco and I nearly laughed as I saw Chocos’ grumpy expression. The letter was still on her wings.
“So, today is August 9th, right?” Caron nodded. I felt a jolt of excitement. I was going to an Extraordinary school tomorrow!
Wait. But I still didn’t know if I was one of the extraordinaries yet, the letter could’ve been sent to me by mistake!
But then I saw Jessica’s excited face. I would worry about extraordinary stuff tomorrow. I am an Ambarella. I reminded myself.
Chapter 9
The next morning, I awoke to see Choco staring right at me. As soon as she saw I had opened my eyes, she licked my face.
“EWWW!!!” I yelled. “GET OFF ME!!!” Choco yipped and continued to lick me. This doesn’t feel disgusting anymore. I thought as Choco’s rapid licks continued. Just then, Jessica entered the room.
“Uh, I think that means she has a letter for you.” I sat up and held up a protesting Choco, which wings’ had words on them.
“Stay still!” I murmured to her. Choco stopped wriggling and I read the message. Erissa- Today you will be tested to see if you are an Extraordinary.
“A TEST?” I shrieked. Jessica snickered at my scared voice.
“All you have to do is take the Extraordinary Testing Tonic.” I relaxed at Jessica’s words. Choco started flying up into the air, landing on the windowsill.
Caron entered the room. I had obviously shrieked way too loudly. He motioned for us to go downstairs towards the wonderful smell of breakfast.
Messica had made pancakes that were green with black spots, but they tasted better than they looked.
“So, where do we buy all this stuff?” I asked, but I probably sounded like an elephant trying to speak leopard.
“Well, we have our stuff delivered at our door.” Messica told me. Wow, really? That sounds like Amazon.
The doorbell rang, and Caron got up to answer it. I wanted to follow him, but it didn’t seem to be an option.
Caron returned with two boxes which had names on them, one read Jessica, another Erissa. He handed the boxes to us, and I slowly opened it.
A huge bag sported Choco’s supplies. Another had a pair of blue boots inside. The last had gloves and all the necessities I would need for school.
“We’re going to Gorham.” Jessica informed me as she looked at her boxes’ stuff.
“Wait, where?” I was bewildered. Jessica sighed.
“Gorham.” Oh, okay. Now I get it. Caron, Messica, and Jessica clasped my hands, and together we stepped into the portal, the multicolored wind swishing around us.





Chapter 10
I rubbed my eyes, not being able to believe what I was seeing. Shimmering buildings blocked the sun, and they had bizarre titles that I had never heard before.
Messica led us towards a building titled Extraordinary Testing. I quivered as the door came closer to us.
Soon, the door was in reach. I was shaking now more than ever. Caron opened the door, and we followed him inside.
The building was a small room, unlike Jessicas’ mansion-like house. The room sported a wooden desk and three chairs. We sat in the chairs and waited.
A woman with a clipboard entered through the back door. She had short strawberry blonde hair, green eyes, and many freckles. She smiled.
“Hello, my name is Wendy. How may I help you?” Caron replied quickly,
“We need four of the Extraordinary Tonic.” Wendy rushed into the back door, returning quickly with two bottles of purple fluid. She handed one to Jessica, the other to me.
I stared at the bottle, not taking my eyes off it. We stepped out of the building, and Jessica opened her bottles’ cap.
I kept on staring, and then I realized I had to drink it. I unscrewed the bottle cap and gulped down the liquid.
The tonic had a pill like taste, which made me almost gag as it fell down my throat, into my stomach. It swirled around in it like the wind we had traveled with.
I think I’m going to be sick. All at once, the spinning stopped and the tonic stayed in my stomach. What changed? I tried to see if there was something different, but I couldn’t see any. I pushed my annoying hair out of my eyes, and I stopped suddenly.
Something did change. My hair had changed to a color that I didn’t have a name for. It looked like teal, pink, and purple mixed into one.
I shifted my focus to Jessica. Her hair was the same color as mine now. Her eyes widened at my new hair color.
Messica put her hand on my shoulder. I flinched and— wow. Messica now had dark blue wavy strands instead of the weird color. Messica didn’t look that much like Jessica anymore.
Caron had bright and bold orange hair, which made him look very weird, as he was wearing dark colors.
“What’s this color called?” I asked Messica, pointing to my hair. Messica gave me a double take at my hair color.
“That’s Sea Galaxy. Mine is dark blue, and his,” Messica pointed to Caron, “Is orange.” All of my excitement was taken to a new level.
Wait, that means I'm an extraordinary! I sprinted towards Jessica, who was smiling broadly. I embraced her in a huge hug as we jumped up and down.
Chapter 11
Caron eventually calmed us down, but we still were excited. It was time to go to school! Messica took my hand and with the whoosh of sea galaxy wind, we started traveling. I blinked. This can’t be Enchanted Academy!
We had landed in front of a huge tree that stretched into the clouds. A sign near the bottom read General Sherman, the biggest tree in the world. I noticed Jessicas’ surprised face and realized I wasn't the only confused person.
Caron led us around the ordinaries (my new name for the humans) and we came towards the back of the tree. The ordinaries didn’t seem to see us walk by.
My mouth dropped open. Behind General Sherman, hundreds of extraordinaries were stepping into the tree and disappearing. Caron let go of our hands and Jessica and I stepped into the line.
After a few minutes, Jessica was at the head of the line. She slid one foot forward, but as she was about to go into the tree, she looked back and smiled at me.
My turn. I fought the urge to run to the tree and get over with it. Stay calm. I thought. I took tiny footsteps forward, and then I shut my eyes tightly, slamming into the bark that wasn’t actually there.
This time there were flashes of blue, sea galaxy, and orange as I caught glimpses of the colored hair of the extraordinaries.
. . .
I gaped at the “school” in front of me. Enchanted Academy was a huge palace with three huge towers as tall as General Sherman. They were sea galaxy, blue, and pink in color. Below them were tinier towers in colors I didn’t know yet. It was perfectly contrasted against the starry sky.
“ERISSA!!” I heard a familiar voice behind me. I turned around and this time Jessica hugged me. I smiled at the feeling.
When Jessica finally let go, I realized I was now wearing a sea galaxy cloak, which was covering a long sleeved shirt which had the same colors. I was also wearing a long black skirt that covered my knees. Black tights peeked out from underneath, and I was wearing sea galaxy boots.
Jessica was wearing the same thing, but she didn’t really notice at all. We hoisted our backpacks onto our backs. We were also going to head out towards the school, but luckily we heard someone yell,
“TERM ONES!!!! OVER HERE!!!!” It was a man’s voice. Jessica hurried off to find the voice, and I followed quickly, trying to keep up with her, I was tripping on branches and twigs.
Jessica stopped suddenly, and I nearly bumped into her. I was about to ask why she had stopped, but I soon realized I was in a line, and at the front there was a sign that read Powers & Scepters.

Chapter 12
I was filled with dread. What power do I have? Jessica looked equally as scared, which made me feel much better. The line moved slowly towards the place, and each time I had to move, my stomach twisted up into more swirls. I was nearing the front of the line when a girl with a color I didn’t know yet strutted up and cut me.
“Hey! You’re not allowed to cut.” I stated. The girl turned her head, and I stared into her dark grey-blue eyes. Eventually, she scowled and stomped to the back of the line.
Jessica watched her leave. I followed her gaze as I watched the girl settle in her correct place.
The line moved up so quickly, Jessica now was at the front of the line. She didn’t wave as she left. I followed her.
In the Powers & Scepters place, there were two people. One girl, one boy. Jessica had been forced to pick the boy, so I got the girl. The girl had a clipboard in her hand. She smiled at me and questioned,
“My name is Heather. What’s yours?”
“Erissa Ambarella.” I informed Heather. She wrote something down on her clipboard and took a piece of wood from a shelf I hadn’t noticed at all.
“Touch this.” I took my right hand out of my cloak pocket and touched the wood. There was a flash of yellow light and instead of a wood block, there was a crystal scepter with a sea galaxy crystal on the top in its place.
“Now to the powers…” Heather took a tiny glass jar from the shelf and sprinkled some purple dust on my face. I nearly sneezed.
“Now breathe on the glass.” I breathed on the jar, and to my disbelief there were three words written, though I hadn’t written them.
“What do the words say?” Heather looked down at her clipboard, ready to write.
“It says Igniter, Animara, and Linguar.” Heather glanced up at me and bellowed,
“Being an Igniter means you can make flame, Animara means you can think something and it happens. And being a Linguar means you can speak to any type of animal.”
I nodded. Does she expect me to remember this? Heather smiled, and I left the Powers & Scepters place, carrying my beautiful scepter and my brain carrying the new information I now had.
I wonder if I ever used my powers before. Wait. I remembered when Edison wanted our house, I thought for it to be ours again.
So that means I didn’t just “get” a power yesterday. I had the Animara power when Edison wanted our house back. And maybe before that, I used it…
My head was still swarming with new things when I ran into the cutting girl.
Chapter 13
I stumbled backwards from the impact. The girl straightened her wrinkled skirt and patted her oddly colored hair, which I now noticed was some sort of purple mixed with green. The girl finally grunted,
“Why did you do that?” I focused on the floor. As I was about to reply, there was a huge and grand dong and it repeated three times. I heard the girl mutter something that sounded like,
“The warning bell!” And she sprinted towards the two beautiful wooden doors. I smiled gratefully. I heard a loud squeal from behind me.
“Jessica?” I whipped my body to face her. Jessica was smiling broadly, and still squealing.
“What-powers-did-you-get?“ I interrupted Jessica, informing her,
“Igniter, Animara, and Linguar.” Jessica squealed even more loudly than she had started.
“I got Oceania and Invisertor.” Jessica had suddenly calmed down, and her squealing stopped.
“Come on, let’s go inside. The warning bell just sounded!” She tugged me in the direction of the doors, which was propped open now because no one could hold it open.
The entry of the school was even more stunning than Jessica’s house itself.
There was a smooth, white crystal covering the walls, which had probably just been cleaned. A bright emerald chandelier hung above the scene, and a hallway stretched ahead. I followed closely behind Jessica, trying to get a peek of the main room.
I gaped at it. Students hovered above us, touching the ceiling and disappearing. Do we have to do that too? I nearly covered my ears when a voice screeched,
“FIRST TERMS! USE YOUR SCEPTER AND SAY, LEVITRA CAVERTA! AND POINT YOUR SCEPTER WHERE YOU WANT TO GO!” I held up my scepter towards the ceiling, and I muttered the spell.
“Levitra Caverta!” I felt a graceful lightness lift me upwards, where I wanted to go. I tapped the ceiling like I was playing tag with it. Then I saw what I could not see below.
On where I had just “tagged” the ceiling, there was a tunnel leading upwards, and I realized I had to fit through it. As I was about to fly upwards, there was another announcement.
“LANEXIE! I TOLD YOU TO USE THE SPELL, LEVITRA CAVERTA!!!!!” All of our heads turned to see a boy flying like the rest of us, except he had wings sticking out of his back, not the hovering of the spell.
“LANEXIE!!!”

Chapter 14
I was surprised that Lanexie didn’t listen. The person who was screaming at him sounded scary enough, but he didn’t even flinch at all, even when she kept on screaming at him.
“LANEXIE, TREARA!!!!!!” I felt uneasy, even though I didn’t know what a treara was. I pointed my scepter towards the tunnel, whispering,
“Levitra Caverta.” I slowly flew into the tunnel, which had seemed to get larger as I proceeded upwards, hearing laughter and the chatter of people.
My head peeked out of the hole, and I stared at my surroundings. In front of me, there were many round tables that could seat at least four people. Some had already been filled with the other students, some with dark blue hair, to the right there were some orange haired extraordinaries.
But there were only four sea galaxy haired extraordinaries. I felt very out of place as I crawled out of the hole. Jessica wasn’t here yet. I chose a table with a light blue tablecloth and four chairs.
I waited, still wishing I had my Apple Watch so I could see how long it took for Jessica to come up the tunnel, but of course it had gone, along with my normal uniform.
I sighed. Where is she? I tried to keep time by counting in my head, but I lost count when I noticed a head that had a sea galaxy color upon it. I couldn’t see the face yet, they were still floating slowly, as if they were scared.
I nearly banged my head when I realized the person was the Lanexie guy. Oh, great. I thought. All the other tables with sea galaxy extraordinaries are full. He’s going to sit here.
I braced myself for him to sit down next to me. But instead of sitting at my table, he sat with some older dark blue haired extraordinaries. Phew.
I glanced at the tunnel, and to my delight, Jessica was crawling out of it. I waved her over to come to the table, and she smiled as she sat next to me.
“What took you so long?” I asked her. Jessica told me,
“The Lanexie guy put on a show. It was entertaining.” I heard a weird rumbling sound. Jessica must be really hungry.
Just then, the clean white plates filled with the food I was thinking about, which was a pile of chocolate chip cookies. Jessica had a slice of banana cream pie.
I dug in, and with my mind I added some whipped cream on the top, plus some stuff Jessica wanted, which were more refills of her slice. After we became full with our wonderful food, Jessica gave me something.
“Seeds?” I questioned, confused. What do I do with these?

Chapter 15
“You throw these on the floor, think where you want to go, and a tree sprouts up from where you threw the seed. You walk through the tree, and you go to the destination where you wanted to go.” I nodded, suddenly grateful for Jessicas’ explanation.
“EXTRAORDINÀRIES! GO TO YOUR DORMS NOW!!!!” Screamed a different announcer, with an accent. Older students left the room, throwing their seeds on the floor and walking through them. I noticed that the trees all disappeared as they walked into them.
“TERM ONES, JUST THROW YOUR SEEDS ON THE FLOOR, AND THINK, MY DORM!” All of the first term students scrambled to pick out their seeds, and left Jessica and I standing all alone.
I took in some courage, and reached into the bag Jessica had just given me, taking out a small, almond-shaped seed, and while thinking, my dorm, threw the seed on the floor.
All of the sudden, a cherry blossom tree with flowers popped out of the ground. I ambled towards it, and when I was about a millimeter away from the tree, closed my eyes, and took a huge step into the tree that wasn’t there.
…
I opened my eyes slowly. I was laying facedown on fuzzy gray carpet. I stood up, staring all around me at the new room I was now in.
I had landed in a bedroom with a huge, queen sized bed with dark blue sheets, and a few pillows that were puffed up like marshmallows. Next to the bed was a bedside table with a small cage on top of it. And inside that cage was a grumpy Choco.
To the right of the bed, there was a huge wardrobe, which I opened, and inside that was sea galaxy pajamas and slippers, a comfy looking fur lined coat, and to my disgust, a fancier version of my school uniform.
I shut the wardrobe door quickly, so I wouldn’t throw out the fancy uniform. I noticed there was another door, and that led to a luxurious bathroom. After a few everlasting minutes, I let poor Choco out of the cage, and changed my clothes.
As Choco buzzed around the room, I lay on the bed in my new pajamas, closing my eyes and waiting for a dream to come.
“Mom! Dad!” I embraced my parents in a tight hug, as they laughed at how hard I held them, and stared up at the sky.
I looked up, seeing a bunch of extraordinaries flying with wings. Jessica waved with a smirk on her face. I turned back to my parents, who had wings now, and were yelling,
“ERISSA!!!!” At first it was only my parents screaming. But all the extraordinaries joined in, chanting, “ERISSA!!!!”
Chapter 16
I stared into the mirror. My hair was tangled and sticking out in every direction, but other than that, there were no signs that I’d stayed up most of the night, too afraid to fall asleep. I took the clean white brush, and was about to run it through my hair, but then I heard a voice squealing,
“No! Don’t give me that job! Make the comb do it!” I turned the brush over, seeing that there were two eyes and a mouth on the back. I put the brush in a cabinet, and took the comb instead. It didn’t protest.
My hair was finally back to normal. I almost opened my wardrobe, jumping into the air. I read a small notice on the door quickly.
Clean up Choco’s mess. Make sure to put her in the cage next time!
I was confused. What mess? I suddenly realized that the drawers to the bedside table were strewn all over the floor, and in the middle of it there was a sleeping Choco with treat crumbs all over her muzzle.
I sighed, and carefully picked up Choco, shutting the cage door on her. I quickly and neatly put the drawers back where they were supposed to go.
Really, Choco? I thought as I saw that she had eaten nearly all of the treats. I would have to buy more.
Mental Note: Don’t let Choco out of her cage unless I have to send a letter.
After I changed, it took what felt like forever to find the way out of my dorm, which was a hidden door that was actually a bookcase.
I clambered down the stairs, towards the chatter of the room. Instead of nothing in the entrance room, there was some kind of escalator leading up into the hole.
Jessica flagged me down, towards a different table than the last one we had sat at yesterday. I plopped onto the comfy cushion, and hopped off it when I realized I had just sat on something. I picked up the paper quizzically. It read,
Schedule for E. Ambarella:
Breakfast
Igniter Lessons with Mr. Buckling
Linguar Lessons with Ms. Locks
Lunch
Animara Lessons with Mrs. Baracus
Transtrona Lessons
2nd Animal
Dinner
Homework Time
Scepter Lessons with Miss Gemahatser
Lights Out
I was still reading the peculiar schedule when the warning bell rang suddenly.
Chapter 17
All of the students stood from their chairs, suddenly alert. I watched a boys’ pancake flop onto the floor. Time seemed to stop. Everyone picked up their bags, and sprinted towards the spot where the trees used to be, and replaced that empty spot with new ones as they threw seeds on the floor. In the blink of an eye, the students had disappeared.
There was silence. I looked around me, and I was all alone. Not even Jessica was there. I ran forward, and glanced down at my schedule. I had Igniter Lessons with Mr. Buckling.
I tossed my seed next to a tall oak, thought, My Igniter lesson classroom, and the usual cherry blossom tree sprouted. I stepped into the “bark.” I felt the wind whipping my body to and fro, towards my first session.
I landed on a wooden chair, breathless. In front of me was a young man with dark black hair and bright blue eyes.
“Are you Erissa Ambarella?” He asked. I flinched. His cold, deep voice almost made me freeze into an ice block.
“Please take out your Igniter Notebook.” Mr. Buckling’s growled. I was confused, but I still reached into my backpack, and to my disbelief, there was an orange notebook with a picture of a flame on it.
“Open up to the first page…” I sighed. This was going to be a long day.

. . .
“The next lesson, we will try to ignite some fire.” I perked up, but it was time to sprout another tree, So I could go to Linguar Lessons with Ms. Locks. Once again, I popped a seed out of my pocket, and without even hesitating a second, I ambled forward.
“Welcome.” Ms. Locks was a lanky lady with short auburn hair and dark brown eyes. I thought, People here seem to have blue eyes a lot, except for her. Then I recalled Jessicas’ eyes, and I smiled. She had brown eyes, too.
“I know that some of your poweratrila teachers haven’t started teaching you the actual thing yet, but I’m teaching you it now.” I felt some queasiness in my stomach.
Ms. Locks made a series of clicking, and once she finished, a little chipmunk was at her feet.
“You try.” I gulped, and stared the chipmunk right in the eye. I instructed,
“Come here.” I slumped. I had just said something in English. I was terrible at this. Just then, the chipmunk scurried to me.
“Do you have any nuts?” I clutched my hand over my mouth. The chipmunk was speaking! I shook my head, but the chipmunk didn’t seem to understand, so I replied,
“No.” The chipmunk trampled away, and climbed up the tree it had come from. To probably find nuts, I thought. Ms. Locks smiled at me.
Chapter 18
“How were your lessons?” I questioned Jessica at lunchtime. She plopped onto her seat and took a huge bite of her lunch, or what I supposed was her lunch. I didn’t know what she was eating at all.
“Invisibliter Lessons was hardcore, but Oceania was pretty good. What about you?” I told her about the boring Mr. Buckling and my time with Ms. Locks. Jessica snorted at how I thought I wasn’t speaking chipmunk.
I was about to ask her which teachers she had, but then Lanexie sat next to Jessica. Apparently, he didn’t know that spot was reserved for one of the sea galaxy haired girls’ that I’d met today, named Jerilyn.
“That spot is reserved for Jerilyn.” I barked over to Lanexie. He looked up and suddenly realized where he was sitting, got up, and joined the same dark blue haired extraordinaries he’d been hanging out with on the first day.
We followed his path, and then continued our conversation as if nothing had happened. I stated,
“Well, how were your teachers?” Jessica smirked. Wait, what happened? She giggled as she choked out,
“Well, my first teacher, Mrs. Oqer, she started talking about putting a blanket over yourself and you can get hidden from sight, you know?” I nodded, giving her a chance to continue.
“And I giggled in the middle of it, and I was drinking water at the time, so I snorted it out of my nose, and it landed on her pristine dress. Then she gave me a lecture about…etiquette.” I laughed crazily, nearly dropping my napkin.
Just then, a bell rang. Not the warning bell, because it only rang once. No one paid any attention, and I was the only one who stood up.
Why isn’t anyone leaving? I thought. I pulled a seed out of my pocket, and everyone glanced in my direction as my tree sprouted. I stared at them. What’s the fuss?
I stepped into the tree, and I did a double take as I stared right into a woman’s surprised face. It was obviously Mrs. Baracus.
She had dark black hair and pale skin that was almost covered with light brown freckles. Her dark black eyes inside her glasses pinpointed at me.
Suddenly, her face changed from happy to surprised. A smile peeked out on the corners of her lips.
“Welcome, Erissa, to my Animara Lessons. Why did you come at the teacher's warning bell?” I stared at the floor. Oh, so that’s why no one was leaving!
I sighed. Soon I would need “Extraordinary Lessons for Newbies” at Enchanted Academy.
Chapter 19
I squirmed in my seat, and watched Mrs. Baracus intently just as the warning bell rang.
“Some extraordinaries get Animara mixed up with Transtrona because they think they both turn into animals, but I’ll show you the difference.” With a blink of an eye, Mrs. Baracus was replaced with a black and white dog. Suddenly, she was back into human form.
“This is the difference.” Mrs. Baracus closed her eyes. Suddenly, I saw a flash of light. I nearly fainted when the light disappeared. Mrs. Baracus had used her power on me.
Now I was wearing a bright blue gown with a fancy silver belt and tall blue heels. I stared at Mrs. Baracus sternly.
“You have to try to get it off at the end of the class. If you don’t, you will still be wearing it.” I just had to take it off. I didn’t want to be seen wearing this… thing.
I closed my eyes, just as Mrs. Baracus had done. I opened my eyes, feeling satisfied.
But I was still wearing the way too fancy blue gown. ARGH!! I thought. I closed my eyes again, and I kept on repeating the strategy over and over again, but I still kept on seeing the dress.
DING! The bell rang, and I lifted my backpack out of my seat, trying to walk in the heels. I glared at Mrs. Baracus, who was smiling as if she’d enjoyed my torture.
I thought for one second, She’s so annoying. She should be a frog because of that.
BANG! I returned my gaze to Mrs. Baracus, except she wasn’t there. Instead of the evil teacher, there was a huge toad sitting on the chair Mrs. Baracus herself had just been sitting on.
Oh no. I thought. I had used my animara power by accident! What was going to happen to me? I was so scared, I opened the door to escape.
But before I could, there was a whoosh, and a man who looked like he’d lived forever popped into view. I’m in trouble.
“I-I didn’t mean to… “ I tried to explain, but the words got lodged into my throat. I waited for the extraordinaires' response. After a few seconds, he burst out laughing. What is wrong with him? The man cleared his throat.
“Sorry, Miss, but I couldn’t contain myself.” I raised an eyebrow. Why did he laugh?
“We were going to fire Mrs. Baracus anyway, so you’re not in trouble.” I was beyond surprised.
“Why were you going to fire her?” I had to know this.
“Well, she was too hard on the students. And, sorry Miss, my name is Ingroporis Odeplius Berdaria Nearkar Ogden.” He muttered.
Chapter 20
My brain swirled as I tried to remember the name he had just spoken.
“Ingord Oddplus Beard Nektar Odense?” I tried to repeat the name, but it came out all wrong. The man sighed.
“Ingroporis Odeplius Berdaria Nearkar Ogden.” He repeated, “But you can just call me Ogden.” I stuffed his name into my memory, so I wouldn’t mess it up again.
I shuffled closer to the door, hoping I didn’t look like I wanted to leave badly. I glanced back to Ogden, who was smiling and nodding. I clutched a seed, preparing to throw it when I remembered something.
I closed my eyes, and I thought with all of my mind focused on that one thought, I wish this dress was off me, replaced with my normal school uniform. I felt a tingly feeling in my head, but I barely focused on that as I opened my eyes.
The dress was off. I sighed in relief. I turned to look at Ogden. He had his mouth open, like he was going to say something, and he did.
“I can't let you go without punishment.” My shoulders slumped. What is he going to give as my punishment?
“Sorry, miss, but I have to give you a—” I gulped as he gave me a sea galaxy piece of paper. I stuffed it in my seed pocket, and along the way, I picked up my seed again. I ambled towards my tree, wondering how I could make this day better.
“You did what?” Jessica gasped. I nodded guiltily. She glanced at my paper. I was still shaken by the words:
Treara
Given by: Ingroporis Odeplius Berdaria Nearkar Ogden
Given because: She animared her Animara teacher, Mrs. Baracus, into a toad.
Student Signature: Erissa Ambarella
Student apology: I didn't mean to animara Mrs. Baracus into a toad. I am very sorry for turning her into a toad, even though she was a rotten brute who was really mean.
Treara Time-Length: One week
Treara Punishment: Animaring Mrs. Baracus back into herself and cleaning Mrs. Baracus’s classroom.

Suddenly, everyone was quiet. Jessica and I looked up. What appeared to be a large white tiger entered the room.
There was chaos. A girl screamed. Most of the boys surrounded the tiger, holding out their scepters, threatening to strike.
The girls hid under all the tables, still screaming loudly. I was about to join them underneath the table when I noticed something.


Chapter 21
All of the boys had made a way out for the tiger, but what emerged was not a tiger. It was a man. He had sleek, gelled down white hair with some black strands still peeking through.
“Settle down!” He yelled, sitting on the stage. The girls crawled out from under the tables, and embarrassedly sat back onto their chairs.
“I am Mr. Kenner. Sorry for scaring everyone.” Mr. Kenner coughed. All of us were silent, but some boys were yelling rude things. Mr. Kenner glared at them, and when they stopped he continued,
“Today I’m starting big. You will be transforming.” Murmurs traveled around the room, but not before Mr. Kenner shushed us.
“The first thing you need to know about transforming is the two c’s.” Everyone focused on Mr. Kenner, hoping that they would be able to transform soon.
“The two c’s are Calculate and change. Don’t say the words, just think them, okay?” The only response was the sound of pens writing. He cleared his throat.
“Okay, so your transformation is usually based on your hair.” Everyone looked at their strands of hair closely. The extraordinary colors had faded from yesterday.
I stared at my raven black hair. What kind of animal will I be? I could barely finish my thought when Mr. Kenner yelled,
“Form a line up here.” We shuffled towards Mr. Kenner, some still staring at their hair, which caused some collisions.
“Okay, what’s your name?” I jumped, startled. I was the first one in the line. I choked out,
“Erissa Ambarella.” Mr. Kenner studied my hair, then he muttered under his breath, “Go.”
I took a deep reach. Calculate, change! I saw a flash of darkness. I closed my eyes. I opened them, and sat up. I felt no change.
I heard clapping, and Mr. Kenner congratulated me, yelling out my name and telling me I had transformed into,
“Erissa Ambarella, black clouded leopard!” I held my feline head up high, strutted over to my seat. Mr. Kenner had instructed us not to transform back, so we could get used to it.
“Jessica Ambarella, thoroughbred!” There was tired clapping as Jessica, a thoroughbred, stood near the table, since she couldn’t sit down.
I purred loudly, and Jessica neighed. This was the best class ever. I thought. Jessica seemed to read my mind.
Soon, the line was at its end, and a girl named Indigo Greenfeather was a black bear. Luckily, no one was an animal who lived in the water.

Chapter 22
Jessica kept quiet until we reached the greenhouse. I had no idea why we would choose a 2nd animal at a greenhouse, but that was the least of my worries before Jessica started talking.
“One of my teachers told me that one of the animals escaped from the pens.” I listened closely to Jessica’s words.
“It was some kind of special horse. No one knows how it escaped.” I gulped, but didn’t reply or speak. We entered the greenhouse, and inside was a woman with dark skin and hair, plus a worried expression on her face.
Her eyes seemed to stretch open when we entered. She cleared her throat, which sounded more like a sob.
“I’m sorry, students, but our 2nd Animal choosing has been canceled because all of the care keepers are looking for the escaped animal.” Everyone groaned, and turned back to the door, dragging their feet as they left.
I closed my eyes. Maybe I can Animare the animal. I thought, the animal nuzzling my hand. But my excitement of a horse-like creature coming, my mind flickered to me atop the animal’s back.
Whoosh! I felt a sudden solidness under me. I looked down, and gasped. My Animare had worked, but not the way I had wanted it.
I was on the horses’ back. I clutched its mane, which was a light shade of sea galaxy. The special horse neighed, and it galloped forward. Students backed out of the way as they gaped at me.
I looked down and realized the escaped animal had wings. The winged horse flew into the sky. A flock of birds flew among us, chirping loudly in my ears. I shielded my eyes from the sun.
The horse, which I figured was a pegasus flew through a cloud, and I giggled as I tried to grab a piece. I stopped my laughter abruptly. This isn’t funny. I yelled to the pegasus,
“Stop.” Suddenly, the smooth movements of the pegasus had stopped completely. It had followed my command. Maybe it would listen to my second.
“Bring me down where I was before you started flying.” The pegasus spun around, and swiftly started to fly back towards the greenhouse.
I felt the wind blow my hair wildly, and smiled. My Linguar skills had worked. The pegasus dived and landed softly near the greenhouse.
Exactly where we had been before the pegasus had flown into the sky. The students were still there, and when I hopped off the pegasus, Jessica ran towards me, asking,
“Where were you? How did you find the escaped animal?” I whispered the whole story to Jessica, and the woman came out of the greenhouse.
Chapter 23
“Why are you still—“ The woman gaped at the sight of the pegasus, completely ignoring her lecture before.
“Who—who found Mystic?” Mystic. The pegasus had a name. I didn’t say a word, but somehow the woman knew it was me.
“What’s your name?” She asked, a slight shade of respect in her voice. I opened my mouth to speak.
“Erissa.” The woman stared at me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Finally, she shifted her gaze to Jessica, who was standing near me.
“Did she find the pegasus?” Jessica nodded reluctantly, as if she didn’t want to tell the woman at all.
“Well, come on in, students. It seems that our 2nd Animal choice is not canceled.” The students’ voices buzzed as they stepped into the greenhouse.
“Oh, and Erissa, stay here.” I turned back to the woman. What am I going to get? An award? More treara? I shivered at the last thought.
When the last of the students entered the greenhouse, the woman finally spoke to me.
“Erissa, the reason why I left you here was because…” I wanted to know why, but I didn’t speak. Seeing I was listening, she continued,
“I think that your 2nd animal should be Mystic.” I was taken aback. Why? I thought, confused.
Suddenly, I knew why. I shut my mouth before I could ask the woman another question. She smiled at me.
Mystic nuzzled my shoulder. I jumped as I just realized she was there. I stroked her coat and she whinnied like a cat would purr.
The woman nodded at me, as if she had approved something. I can ride her. I climbed up onto Mystic’s back, and she flew up into the sky, me clutching onto her mane.
I gazed down below, and grinned as I saw tiny “blobs” staring up at me and pointing at us. I didn’t care if I was showing off or not, just that I knew one of the group was the Cutting Girl.
I ordered Mystic to land back near the greenhouse just as Jessica walked out of it, carrying a red panda.
I jumped off Mystic to get a closer look. The red panda was sleeping in Jessica’s arms, clutching onto her arm.
“Do you like her? I named her Rosie.” Jessica explained. She seemed to just notice Mystic a millisecond later.
“Is she your 2nd Animal?” Jessica’s mouth fell to the floor when I nodded.
Chapter 24
I tried not to show off Mystic when I rode her (not flying) towards the Tree Portal Fields. Yep, the weirdest name ever. I don’t call it that at all.
I’m still thinking about what the Tree Portal Fields should be called when I bump into the cutting girl. Well, not me, Mystic to be exact.
She looks up, almost surprised as she sees me. The cutting girl picks up her dropped books, and giving me one last menacing glare, turns away.
I hear someone laughing behind me. I turn to look, and it’s a girl with red hair and many freckles. She’s riding a brown horse, and when she sees me looking, she quiets down and whispers,
“Do you know that girl?” I shook my head. “Her name is Vanessa Vaccari.” I shivered at the name, now that I knew it. The girl introduces herself.
“I’m Sapphire. Sapphire Lemmings.” I nodded and replied, “Erissa Ambarella.” As we introduced ourselves, it seemed that Sapphire’s horse was making friends with Mystic.
Finally, we approached the Tree Portal Fields, which I now call The Treescita Meadow. Way better than Tree Portal Fields, right?
I led Mystic to an open spot, and I threw a seed on the ground. Mystic whinnies as she sees my tree sprout. I then tug Mystic into the fake tree.
Mystic hated it. She kept on whining and moving and neighing. When we emerged into a stable, she looked happy and galloped right into it.
I shut the stable door and exited using the tree I had come from, but this time when I came out of the tree, I was in what seemed to be a talent show.
Students were seated on comfy chairs, and they stared at me when I sat in the second row. I was bewildered.
Am I in the wrong place? I checked my schedule, but it didn’t give me any information. Suddenly, the lights dimmed and a woman appeared on the stage.
“Welcome, students to the Spell Arena!” Everyone clapped wildly. “Newbies, here are the rules of the spell arena.” It became silent.
“Firstly, you will be paired up with another student to fight with your scepters.” Muttering grew from the crowd, but the woman shushed them.
“Since I am a Trasmettere, I will give you a spell name, and you will try to do the spell I name.” Two boys muttered to each other,
“Isn’t a Trasmettere a person who can send messages through the mind?” The woman sighed.
“If it works, you will see the effect and you may win the fight, but if your spell doesn’t work, your opponents’ spell may work.” There was no reply to this.
“Okay, I’ll pick a random pair by using my Trasmettere powers.” We waited, completely silent.