"LUZ! LUZ! Luz you'd better kick it into high gear or I'm gonna come up there and just plain kick you!" I opened my eyes right as a harsh ray pinpointed itself through my window and onto my face.

"You're gonna be late at this rate, scratch that you already are– not that I disapprove, tardiness is a classic move in the bad-girl coven– but don't even think about trying to borrow Owlbert again!" Eda's voice rang through my ears like a scream underwater, but it couldn't find its way to the surface. My weekend was rough, calming down after the whole Grom situation, I had mostly stayed in re-reading Azura books. It didn't help that all my dreams consisted of my disappointed mom atop the black insidious form that was Grometheus. Blinking hazily through the sunbeam, I sat up yawning. My cracked phone lay beside me. Reaching for it to check the time, I realized it was out of battery. King must have been up watching cat videos on it again and didn't bother recharging. But that means… My alarms! The sun was up and I was not. Lurching out of bed, I slipped into my Hexside uniform and dove down the stairs, nearly colliding with Eda's assorted weaponry donning the living room walls in the process.

"Thanks for waking me Eda!" I hollered, but she was already out of sight. "King did you use my phone last night without my permission?" I asked, throwing the various "foods" I could find into my mouth as I ran around the kitchen.

"The King of Daemons uses whatever vessel he desires on his own time!" King pounced onto the counter. Eloise, one of his stuffed animal minions was clasped in his left hand, while a folded note was clasped in his right. How could I get mad after his cute little declaration? I really had to run, but curiosity got the better of me. Darn my cat hoodie and its influence on me!

"What have you got there?" I said, pointing to his lopsided folded paper in his hand. I could tell it was recycled from when I was trying for hours to get the plant glyph just right, seeing as there were attempts scribbled all over the back of it. It looks like Amity's grom-posal note… I never did learn who she wrote it for though. I made a mental note to question her about it later. I, Luz Noceda, queen of shipping (self-proclaimed), will not rest until I match Amity with her Hexside crush! Oh, but what if her crush doesn't even go to Hexside? I didn't even consider how much bigger this search could be… Amity could be crushing on anyone on the Boiling Isles!

"Hm! I'm glad you asked, mortal. This is a declaration of war between myself and the snot-nosed brats that dare stand between me and victory!" He opened the note and held it out for me to read. It just said "To the death" written in dark red crayon. "Eloise here actually helped me write it– she has quite a way with words."

"Indeed she does my ferocious warrior," I replied smiling, giving him a quick pat on the head. Slipping on my white flats I burst out of the Owl House door ready to put my nerd legs to the test. But to my surprise, Eda was right on the other side resting on Owlbert as if she was about to take off.

"Oh! Hey kid, looks like you timed your slumber with my morning errands– since I'm headed in the same direction, how about I give you a ride?" Eda said, trying to act casual. I knew she had waited for me to fly me to school, but I played along to save her from all the mushy stuff I know she hates. I nodded vigorously, clamoring on behind her. I think my facial expression gave me away however as she followed with a quick, "Save it pipsqueak it's just convenient timing! Owlbert hit it!" And with that we sprung into the air.

I stumbled into my first class right as the bell rang: Abominations 101. I loved this class 'cause I knew I'd always have a friend to sit with, although I guess most of my classes had become that way. It was the complete opposite of how it was back at school in the human realm where people actively avoided being my partner. Was it because of the occasional snakes in my pockets? Maybe, but it still hurt. In my plethora of course selections at Hexside, I had met and made so many new friends through dabbling in each and every of the magical arts. Each Abomination class I took was different though, because I knew one of my closest friends would be in class with me. I slid into the seat by Amity's side right as our professor began to take attendance. Today she was wearing her usual outfit and hair, but had tried out adding a couple of pins hidden underneath her cowl. They just stuck out far enough for me to notice. As the seasoned Azura fan I am, I didn't have to look hard to be able to tell that they were small Azura fan art drawings, most definitely handmade by Amity. Amazing! I'm gonna have to get her to make me some!

Normally I'd try to talk to her before class about, well whatever, but once a lesson had begun, there was no reaching her. Sometimes I wished I could have at least a quarter of her diligence, but alas the life of the academic was not the life for me. I guess I spoke too soon though, because today under the fire of my little human eyes, she adjusted her arm, somewhat obscuring her face from the front of the classroom, and surreptitiously met my gaze. She blushed lightly and quietly lifted her cowl just in the slightest to reveal even more pins higher up. I was ecstatic to see all the characters she used, but our exchange was cut short by a loud bang in the front of the room from the teachers risen abomination demonstrating its knack for inexplicable destruction when not managed properly.

I snuck one more glance at her before trying my best to take notes, or more importantly catch any sort of glyphs in today's lesson. Still blushing, she tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear as I looked at her. I inadvertently smiled to myself. Turning my eyes back towards our professor I switched from adventure mode (my default setting), to learning mode. I could tell Amity wasn't one hundred percent paying attention today though. Neither was I.