Calypso High

Marianna DeSka ripped open the envelope, holding her breath in anticipation. In her parent's living room, her sisters Daniela and Pandora were dancing to the Front-Avenue Folks, joyous about the beginning of summer vacation. Somehow, the music just didn't fit the gravity of Marianna's situation. In this envelope was a letter that would either confirm or deny ten years of semi-hard work. In this envelope... lay her future.
Mari mentally kicked herself for being so melodramatic. She braced herself against the kitchen counter, slowly pulled out the letter, and unfolded it. "Dear Student," it read. Marianna snorted. Just like them, they daren't personalize anything. "Dear Student, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted..."
A shriek of joy pierced the air, and for once it wasn't Daniela or Pandora.
"What? What happened?" Daniela said, rushing into the kitchen. "Did you get a paper cut?"
"No, stupid," Mari glared at her fourteen-year-old sister. "I was accepted to the Wizardship program." She scanned the rest of the letter. "On probation. Figures. They'll be watching my every move to make sure I don't pull a stunt like I did freshman year."
"Yeah, and Dava's still not talking to you!" Daniela giggled.
"Dani, shut your face. And stay away from him, okay? Apparently, he doesn't like girls. Otherwise, that spell would have worked!"
"He seems to like me okay."
"What's going on?" Pandora asked, bouncing into the kitchen and making her way to the refrigerator.
"I got accepted to the Wizardship program. I'm going up to my room, I have to call Suki and Dream." Marianna grabbed the rest of her mail (the monthly issue of "Standing Rock" and a credit card offer) and dashed up the stairs.
"Hey, Pandy, want to go to Cream King? I could really use an ice cream cone right now," Daniela said.
"Are you paying?" Pandora said, stuffing potato chips in her mouth.
"No, we'll drop by Fairy's and get money from Mom." Daniela laced up her platform sandals and made sure the front door was locked. "Hey, Mari! We're going for a walk!" she shouted up the stairs.
"Bring me back a sundae!" Mari called back.

* * *

"So, what track did they put you in?" Marianna said into the phone.
"College prep," Dream replied. "Something about it being unfair for a natural psychic to be in Wizard track."
"But I'm psychic," Mari said. "And... well, I am on probation, but that's because of that thing that I did."
"Mari, you really shouldn't have done that, you know. It wasn't fair to Dava."
"He's psychic, too."
"It's low-level. I'm a full-fledged mind-reader and telekinetic."
"Damn you and your weird elf-driad heritage."
"You've got Druids in your blood."
"And I wish they'd get out," Marianna giggled. Then she sighed. "But seriously... Dream, I need a boyfriend."
"You can have mine," Dream offered.
"Why are people always offering me their reject boyfriends?" Mari mused. "What did Uly do now?"
"I don't know, I just want to date other people. I mean, I'm only fifteen. I don't need to be so involved with one person at this point in my life."
"You're both still coming to my belated birthday party, right?"
Dream was silent for a minute.
"Dream, you're both coming, right? Come on, my parents finally let me invite guys, and I'll be damned if I don't have any guys come."
"We'll be there, don't worry. Even if I have to beat him."
Mari snorted. "Gawd, that would be a sight to see. Can I help?"
"Mari!"
A beep sounded in Marianna's ear. "Hey, hold on a sec, I've got another call coming in."
"Okay."
Mari clicked over to the other line. "Hallo?"
"Hi, is Mari there?"
"This is she."
"Oh, hey, it's Tianne. Are you talking to Dream?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I've been trying to call her and her phone is busy. I figured you'd be talking to her. Did you get into Wizard track?"
"Yeah, on probation."
"Cool beans. I'm just in college-prep."
"You want me to hang up on Dream and let you talk to her?"
"That would be cool, or I could just walk down to her house."
"No, don't worry about it. I have to call Suki still."
"You don't mind?"
"Naw, I'll talk to you later, 'kay?"
"'Kay, bye."
"Bye." Mari clicked back over to the first line. "Dream. Ya still there?"
"Yup," Dream said absently. She'd probably started her summer reading while on hold.
"I'm going to let you go. That was Tianne, she's been trying to call you."
"Oh, okay. I'll call you later, my mom wants me to tell you some stuff about Girl Sprouts."
"No prob. Bye."
"Bye."
Marianna hung up, waited a moment to make sure the connection closed, then turned on the speakerphone and hit speed-dial to Suki. While it rang a few times, Mari grabbed a tank-top from her closet and changed into it from the t-shirt she'd worn to school.
"Hello?" Sounded like Suki's brother.
"Hi, is Suki there?"
"Yeah, hold on." Mari heard the sounds of the phone being put down, feet walking on linoleum, and finally, muffled shouting. "Hey Sukiiiiii! Phone!"
A moment more, and Mari heard the clicking of a phone being picked up. "Hello?"
"Hey, Suki," Mari called across the room. "It's Mari."
"Hey, what's up?"
"Not much, got into Wizardship program." She picked up her reciever. "On probation, of course."
"That thing with Dava, right?"
"Why does everyone keep bringing that up?"
"I thought you guys were a cute couple... well, you're cute, anyway. Dava..."
"Don't rag on my evil ex."
"He's not evil, Mari," Suki giggled.
"He resisted my spell, dammit."
"You weren't supposed to cast a spell on him."
"Yeah, I know," Mari mumbled. "So, you're coming to my party still, right?"
"Yes I am. What do you want for your birthday?"
"You know that! Beatles stuff!"
"Oh, of course."
"Of course! Hey, sounds like the brats are home. They were supposed to have brought me ice cream... I'll call you later, okay?"
"'Kay. Hey, are you working this summer?"
"Yeah, my mom got me a job at the Pilgrim's Bodega."
"Ugh. Oh well, I'll talk to you later."
"Bye."
"Bye."

* * *

The library at Layla:) Public High School was quiet. Ellie Zabul reveled in the silence of her summer "job." She couldn't really work yet, being only fifteen until September, but she could help reshelve books and take inventory for a pizza lunch. It wasn't like she had anything better to do. Ellie's mother had wanted her to go to Girl Sprout camp, but she was too old this year, and she wasn't too thrilled about the prospect of being a junior leader. So here she was, pretending to be doing something useful.
"Ellie, are you shelving those books or are you reading them?" Ellie jumped at the voice. Dava Jini stood grinning, his blue hair sticking up in all directions. "Don't worry, I won't report you."
"You brat," Ellie grinned, shaking her head. "Are you working here, too?"
"No, I'm doing research for my Wizardship thesis."
"I thought you didn't have to do that until next year?"
"I wanted to get a head start. My thesis is on Wizard psychology."
"Wow, I thought you'd be more of a law person," Ellie said, tossing an appropriate book at the junior Wizard.
"My parents wanted me to, and I was interested, until I got involved in all the peer-helping groups here. I'm going to research the resistance of Wizards to the spells of other Wizards... or Sorceresses."
"Dava, that's just plain mean! Poor Mari, aren't people ever going to let up on her for that?"
"No, because if she forgets, she'll try it again," Dava said firmly.
"She was right, you are evil," Ellie smiled.
"She was too ambitious, anyway. She'll never make more than a second-class Wizardship."
"You shouldn't say that," Ellie said, frowning. "She could still get herself straightened out. Mari's not a bad person, and she's not stupid, either."
"She's got self-destructive tendencies. And besides, I scried it. My parents got me a crystal ball for my birthday last year, and just out of curiosity, I scried ten years into the future."
"Yeah? What happens?"
"We're all screwed up, all of us, and that's all I can say," Dava said sorrowfully. In fact, he said it so sorrowfully that Ellie was sure he was lying.
"Yeah, whatever," Ellie said, then shoved another book at Dava. "I have to reshelve the rest of these. Have fun with your psychology and doomsday predictions."

* * *

In the next episode, our friends attend the first day of their Junior year at LPHS... except for Ellie, she's a Sophomore, and Daniela, who's a Freshman... and Pandora's just a sixth-grader at Calypso Beach Middle School. Anyway... the summer was pretty boring, everyone either worked or went to camp or hung out at the beach. Obviously, life in Layla:) was not worth living until Mari opened the Club. And I guess we'll see some more of our familiar friends when they were geeky high school kids. :)~