"Hey, Mom! What'd the Magic High Commission say?"

"Oh...I'm sorry, dear, it's still a no."

...

"Oh, hey, by the way! The Magic High Commission-"

"No, sweetie. Sorry."

...

"Hey, Mom, we're having a girl's night! Jackie's putting little extensions in my hair! Cute, right?"

Moon smiled, a little forcibly, when she saw the long, thin braids clipped to Star's temples on bejeweled flowers. "They're...lovely, darling, but are you sure pastels match your hair color?"

"Sorry, Your Majesty," Jackie spoke up from behind Star. She peered over the other girl's shoulder, revealing the same braid clips in her own hair. "Janna took all the neons for Marco."

"Neons against dark gr- Never mind. How is everything?"

"They're fine. Kinda boring when everyone goes to school without me, but I've been using the free time to work on my magic!" Star beamed, holding the wand in the air and spinning it like a revolver. "I've got a spell to make any body of water an instant bubble bath. Wanna see?"

"Later, Star, later. Have you been using the wand responsibly?"

"Pshhhh, yeah? Nothing blew up yesterday, if that's what you're asking. Now, the day before, though-"

"Star!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" Star laughed, a little too loudly, waving her hand dismissively. A sinking feeling in her gut told her that maybe joking about making things explode was a bad idea.

Sure enough, Moon visibly slumped, a hand coming up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Star, this isn't a joking matter. You know-"

"-better. Yeah, I know..." The atmosphere changed dramatically, Star felt Jackie's hands falter on her braids before picking up again, faster. Clearly attempting to distract herself or pretend she wasn't listening in.

"Hey uh...listen, bad timing, yeah, but I was thinking if I had the spell book and a proper teacher, I could probably make better spells. And see the ones you wrote. And learn from you! So do you think you could talk to the-"

"I'm sorry."

Star's heart stopped.

"I spoke to them last night. Rhombulus is more open to the idea now, but the others-"

"Say no. Yeah. Got it." Star couldn't help the dark tone that crept into her voice.

Moon was instantly sympathetic. "Star, sweetie-"

"No. It's fine, it's cool. You don't have to say anything."

"Star-"

"Mom." Star's voice was tight. "What did I do?"

"Star-"

"They've never trusted me. They always treated me different. They keep taking the book from me. I could never even look at the wand without one of them throwing a fit. I got lost in the Forest of Certain Death and instead of being happy I was okay, they started shouting. What did I ever do to any of them?!" Star's voice had been rising in pitch as she spoke, throat tightening as she tried to keep tears out of her eyes. She blinked hard, trying still.

She failed.

"I've been trying so hard, Mom. I practice my magic. I make my own spells. I don't waste my free time while my friends are at school by practicing more. I stay out of trouble. And they still... they still don't-"

"Star, it isn't your fault. It's not because of anything you did!" Moon interjected.

Star looked up, anguish and rage in her teary eyes. "I'm never getting the book, am I?" she said. "No matter what I do, I'm never getting the book, and I'm never going to get better at magic and I'm never meeting our family teacher. I'm never going to do anything."

Jackie's hands stilled behind her.

"It's never happening. Is it?"

Moon fell silent.

It was all Star needed. She tried to laugh, and it came out like a choked sob instead. "Hey, Mom, I gotta go."

"Star-"

"I'll call you later."

And just like that, the call ended.

On the other side of the room, Marco and Janna were watching in a mixture of sympathy and horror. And on Marco's side, awkwardness. The plethora of braids and flowers in both their hair did nothing to soften the blow to Star's heart, seeing her friends looking at her like that.

She felt Jackie's hands leave her hair and come to rest on her shoulders. "Star," she began. "We-"

"I need to go outside. I'm sorry," Star cut her off, shoving her feet into her slippers and briskly leaving the room.

"Star!" Marco called out.

But the door slammed shut, cutting off anything anyone was going to say.

Star let out an enraged scream and pointed her wand. An empty cola can exploded in pink and orange sparks.

Another scream, another point. The next can exploded.

And the next. And the next.

"Why?!" Star shouted into the empty night air. "What did I ever do to anyone?!" She fired another blast of magic, shattering another can to pieces. A tiny part of her, one that was still calm and rational, reasoned that if anyone from home were to see her screaming and blowing up soda cans with magic, then they'd only think themselves justified and that she couldn't handle more power and knowledge than she already had.

Star furiously willed that part of her to shut up.

"Mom had the spell book when she was my age! And so did everybody else!" Another explosion. "What makes me so different?! What do I have to do-" Explosion. "-to prove-" Explosion. "-I can handle it?!"

"Perhaps you need a different teacher."

The new voice made Star freeze, heart leaping into her throat. She whirled around, holding herself tense and the wand ready. "Who's out there?"

There was a figure leaning against the side of the shed, almost casually. From what Star could see of them, their arms were folded, head tilted as they regarded her. "I will admit, those attacks were impressive for your current skill level," they said. "If you had a teacher you could do even better."

"That's what I keep thinking," Star admitted, relaxing her guard just slightly. This person - very tall from what Star could tell - was unperturbed by the existence of magic, her display of it, and the wand. So it was probably someone from home.

...granted, that still left the questions who were they, how did they get here, what did they want, and what did they mean by another teacher, so Star was still on guard. She gripped the wand tighter, holding it out in front of her again. "But who are you? What do you know?"

"I'm a friend of the family. And I can help you."

"...Mom never mentioned-"

"There's a lot your mother never mentioned. Like why the Magic High Commission is so suspicious of you."

Star froze again. "You know about that, too?"

"I do. And I agree with you. It's ridiculous. Pointless. And you deserve the chance to prove it."

"Yeah. Yeah, I do!"

"I can help you. You need a teacher, and I can teach you."

"But I need the-"

"I told you I'm a friend of the family. I know some of the family spells. Spells that your mother never used."

Once again, Star froze. "You know about the other chapters..."

"One in particular, but yes. If you promise to keep a secret, I can be your teacher."

"...a secret."

"If your mother and the Magic High Commission knew I was teaching you, do you think they'd allow it to continue?" The figure's head tilted further, and Star got the impression they were raising their brow. "They'd likely see it as a new reason to be suspicious of you, and make you come back home. Might even take the wand away."

Star had to admit, this person had a point. If she agreed, this would have to be a secret.

"I'm not sure I can trust you, though."

"You can't, can you? But I'm the only chance you have."

Star was silent. Lowered the wand. Weighed her options...

And took a step forward. "What do I call you?"

The other person finally stepped out, into the moonlight. "You may call me Toffee. I'll teach you everything I know, and all I ask is that you listen to everything I say, and don't tell your family about this." He held a hand out. "Deal?"

A brief moment of hesitation. And then Star reached out. And gripped his hand tight. "Deal."