So much changed in the next few days.

  The day after the bombing, Lexie and her father received a system mail from Everstone Elementary detailing the catastrophe that happened the day before. It was mostly a reiteration of what the news was already saying, and also some follow-up from the disaster response unit.

  There was a terrorist attack in Arcadia with bombs planted all over the city. One of those had been planted close to the school and wasn’t disabled in time, hence it had gone off. Due to the building's protective walls, the blast had been contained and no one was gravely harmed (they either didn’t know or didn’t care about Lexie’s injury) but the ensuing chaos that happened after staff fled to the streets, led to some teachers and student stragglers sustaining a few injuries.

  The mail didn't mention that the bomb was thrown by [Heroes]. Lexie figured it was information that the association would probably want to cover up and if not for Theo mentioning it, Lexie wouldn't know. Which made her position the [Hero] in even higher regard.

  He didn't have to tell me that, she thought. But he did it anyway because he felt bad. So he's probably a good person.

  The mail continued to say that the culprits had been caught by brave student [Heroes] and were currently being investigated by the hero's association, in collaboration with local government detectives. The school walls did sustain some damage due to the blast and they were being redone and reinforced to become even more protective to their students.

  Additionally, the message noted at the end, All students and teachers will need to now have mandatory disaster response sessions every last Thursday of the month. That decision is due to the less-than-stellar response displayed yesterday during the disaster. Preparation is needed so that the next time we face a situation like this, we approach it in a more clear-headed manner.

  Next time? Lexie smirked at the mail. Just how many times does the school plan on being bombed?

  Most importantly, the mail told Lexie that there would be no in-person school for the next few weeks while the damages were being dealt with. Lexie was happy about no in-person school for a while. It gave her time to practice her card magic. With her father occupied with figuring out the disappearing dungeon mess with Max (luckily no one from town was reported missing so the dungeon likely didn’t take anyone with it), Lexie spent much of her time at home alone. She didn't mind this at all, because she could then spend her free time figuring out how to reroute mana around her pathway checkpoints.

  She also did keep up with her studies. She couldn't let her grades slip, after all, especially since Aiden had confirmed that she was on a government and merit-based scholarship. But schoolwork wasn't hard. She had gotten the hang of most of the new Earth 9-specific information and was now ahead of the curve in class.

  So she increased her card learning time to eight hours a day and without Aiden around to stop her, she just got in the zone and kept going.

  During breaks from card lessons, she would do shaping exercises and meditation. And then when she got bored of those, she would watch random videos on Video Alley, usually AFC matches or educational content, but also sometimes random pop culture stuff. There was an actress everyone despised who got married recently to a highly beloved actor. Lexie crawled down the comments of that one for hours, entertaining herself with the history and lore of the couple. It was kind of a Brad and Angelina Jolie situation, except this time Angelina Jolie was the married one and she’d left her husband of many years for her love interest in the movie. Though her former husband had since remarried, people still hated her, but she was too beautiful and popular to ignore so her videos always had a lot of views and a lot of nasty comments.

  After some time spent on that, Lexie watched another match ( the Bunny vs Kane the Mundane rematch where Bunny whooped his ass again) and then she went back to studying.

  It was a nice familiar routine actually and if Lexie Sparrowfoot had a brother breaking into her room every couple of hours to tell her about a high score he’d beat, it would almost feel like home.

  But then almost a week later, something happened to break that routine.

  “What?” Lexie's voice was garbled thanks to a mouthful of potatoes and peas. Her dad gave her an amused look, and Lexie chewed and swallowed before she continued her inquiry. “Governor Azure invited us to his mansion?”

  “Yeah,” Aiden responded casually. “There's an honorary dinner for the direct victims of the blast so the Governor can apologize to them directly, discuss their feelings, and have their fears laid to rest. It’s a multi-day event but since Everstone was one of the primary victims, you guys get to go on the first day.“

  “So it’s basically like a political thing,” Lexie inquired. She didn’t know the governor but she had an inherent distrust of most politicians and also just doubted someone who’d refused to increase their potion quota for months would suddenly care about the feelings and fears of middle school bombing victims. “Sort of like a ‘sorry you got bombed, but at least you get a nice dinner out of it?’”

  Aiden shrugged. “Something like that. The election is coming up in a couple of years and this is a good look for him.” His expression grew thoughtful. “Although, you should still go. I’m told the food will be fantastic. They have the best chef in Arcadia and these events typically have an ungodly spread. I would try the lamb if I were you. Also, the student [Heroes] who saved the day might show up which should be exciting for you.”

  “For me?” The way he phrased it, it felt like she would be going alone. “You’re not going?"

  He shook his head. “No. I figured your Uncle Max could accompany you. He typically despises these things, but he’s for whatever reason enthusiastic to go to this one. Didn’t even put up a fight when I asked him.”

  Lexie was quiet for a few seconds, as Aiden had two more spoons of potato soup. He paused with the third spoon halfway to his mouth.

  “What, do you not want to go with him?” Aiden asked. “Sure Max can be a bit of a handful, but I’ll tell him to be on his best behavior–”

  “No, it’s not that.” She held up her hand. “I like Uncle Max, it’s just that I don’t see why you can’t come.”

  Aiden gave her one of those forlorn smiles. “You don’t want me there Lexie.”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “No, you don’t. And it’s okay for you not to. Believe me.” He sighed. “Arcadia isn’t like Hovelton. I have no friends in that city and if I show up, plenty of people will judge you because of me and I would hate for that to happen. I would hate to have you dragged down because of what I did.”

  She felt the sadness in his voice, so profound it was an ache. “But everyone in my class already knows my dad’s a [Villain].”

  He shook his head. “There’s a difference between knowing and having their faces rubbed into it. I show up, and you will instantly become the center of attention in the worst way. And it won’t just be the kids there. It will be their parents, most of whom probably know my face, and others who have the means to make some pretty good guesses as to the nature of my crime. There will be gossip and it will follow you around the entire party. You won’t be able to turn a corner without a whispered comment or a gaze lingering too long on you. At first, you’ll take it like a champ, but then it will become more invasive and you’ll get more and more uncomfortable to the point where you’ll begin to feel violated. And then you’ll want to leave the party instantly and you’ll have anxiety about attending events for a while. Because it won’t just end there. It will follow you back to school and become a topic of conversation for weeks after. The gossip of group chats. You will further isolate yourself until you will no longer want to leave your room.”

  Lexie watched him. His words were too specific and held a distinct sting of melancholy. “You’re acting like that has happened before.”

  He twisted his lips. “Well, there was a reason you asked me to stop walking you to school.”

  Lexie sighed, a conflict raging inside. “Do I even have to go to this party? I don’t want to hide you and act like I’m ashamed of you or something.”

  “I know." Aiden's smile turned a little brighter. “I know you’re not ashamed of me and that you still love me and I take that to be the biggest gift life has ever given me.”

  He reached across the table, opening his palm. Lexie let go of her fork and put her hand in his.

  “Go to the party,” he said. “If it isn't fun, then tell your Uncle Max to bring you home immediately. But I think you’ll have fun. Xena’s going.”

  “I told you, Xena and I aren’t friends.”

  “For now.” Aiden grinned.

  Lexie shook her head. She wondered how exactly Emma had bribed Xena to go. Or was she going for nefarious reasons? Was she going to pull another stunt?

  Lexie was curious about that.

  "Oh, and this goes without saying,” Aiden said as though he could hear the direction of her thoughts. “No screaming at cameras while you’re there.”

  Lexie winked at her father. “No promises.”

  ***

  “The suit looks fine, Uncle Max.” Lexie rolled her eyes for what felt like the ninth time as Max complained about being stuck in what he called a cruel torture device of an outfit. To Lexie’s eye, it didn't look like a torture device at all. It looked like a regular suit, only a bit more disheveled. The event called for a formal black tie, but Max clearly drew the line at steaming or ironing anything. And as far as he was concerned, an actual tie might as well be a noose, with the way he’d tugged at it on the ride over, eventually tugging the knot loose so it hung on both sides of his neck. He'd then undone the first few buttons of his shirt too.

  And he still wasn't comfortable.

  “I look stupid,” Max said. “Don’t mock me. I know I look stupid.”

  “No, you don't," she said. She was holding his hand and hurrying to keep up with his angry steps. “Maybe the suit's a little small in the arms but you could have gotten a bigger jacket.”

  “This is the only one I own.”

  “It's your only suit? Aiden always says a man should own at least three suits.”

  He leveled her a look. “Just how often do you think I attend these mind-rending, soul-sucking events huh? You think I want to rub shoulders with these brainless snobs?"

  “Then why did you come?” she asked him out of curiosity. “Just as a favor to my dad?”

  Max regarded her with a look and for the first time, she almost saw a tiny smile on the corner of his mouth. “That’s for me to know, and you to hopefully never find out.”

  Oh. Now that he’d said that though Lexie was intrigued.

  Unfortunately, she couldn’t pester him with more questions, because they'd reached the procession of people that were being slowly trickled into the cathedral gardens. It was funny that the last time she was here, she was trying to find a way to sneak in. And now she was on the guest list.

  What interesting turns life takes.

  There was no force field surrounding the garden this time, just two attendants at the entrance to check people's names off a holographic list.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  The lack of forcefield was probably a measure to save money. They must not have been as loaded as Xena thought after all. Although to be fair, Lexie guessed that it would be a nightmare to key in all these individual people to the forcefield.

  As they stood in line, with Max glaring at anyone who dared to glance in their direction, Lexie felt two more people step up behind her.

  "Hey, you two."

  Lexie turned around to find Xena and Emma there..

  "Hey," she said. It seemed the two had arrived right after them. Emma looked radiant with her hair curled and falling like waves onto her white dress. Xena was wearing a black poofy skirt and a black top and looked just as annoyed as Max.

  “Aw, my adorable chubby-cheeked Lexie.” Emma reached out to pinch Lexie's cheeks and Lexie let her because of her fondness for the woman. "And Max. Seriously. Would it have killed you to put in more effort?”

  “It might have actually," he responded. "I already feel like I’m on the verge of a stroke in this monkey suit.”

  Emma rolled her eyes but she said nothing as the line moved ahead.

  When they got close enough, Lexie realized that the Governor's wife had arrived at some point and was by the attendants, welcoming people.

  The woman looked like an older Veronica in a fluffy pink wide-brimmed hat, an elaborate dress, and a white smile with which she greeted each person while shaking their hands and murmuring a few soft words to them.

  “Oh my dears, what an awful awful thing that just happened, wasn't it?" she said to the couple in line in front of Lexie. "You know where I was when the alert came? I was getting my hair done at that salon that Dovonio recommended to me because I needed to get those awful highlights out of my hair... my last hairdresser was supposed to do platinum chestnut but she gave me light sepia instead, can you believe it? That awful woman. Anyway, I told Dovonio all about it and he recommended me to this lovely salon on Fifth George, and this beautiful soul got me to the front of the waitlist, and was going to do my hair that day. And just as we were in the middle of it, we heard the city was under attack! Oh, I thought that was it for me you know? I thought I would just die there with half-styled bangs and light sepia highlights. The tragedy."

  The couple she was talking to looked at each other a little overwhelmed.

  Max leaned in to whisper to Emma, “It’s happening, isn’t it? I’m having a stroke.”

  Emma didn't respond but Lexie squeezed his hand to assure him that he wasn't having a stroke. Veronica's mom spoke very fast in a constant stream of consciousness so it would be confusing to anyone who was listening.

  As the couple walked in, Max and Lexie finally reached the front of the line. Veronica's mom's smile faltered a little. Her gaze seemed to flicker from Max and Lexie to Emma and Xena and it was clear she’d placed them all in the same distasteful basket.

  “Oh, it’s you.”

  That was all she said in a less than enthusiastic voice. Her smile never completely left her face, but the distaste in her voice was clear for all to see.

  “Nice hat,” Xena said in the flattest tone possible and Emma nudged her with her elbow. Xena persisted with, “Very fashionable."

  The woman must have been immune to sarcasm because she touched the hat and smiled a little self-indulgently. “Thank you. At least you have good taste.”

  Xena smiled tightly.

  "It’s an authentic Maragialo,” she continued. “There’s only one of it in the entire world.”

  “I can see why,” Xena said, and this time Emma nudged her even harder as the woman’s smile slipped.

  “Thank you for the invite,” Emma said, practically dragging her daughter around Lexie, through the entrance and into the garden.

  Veronica's mom watched them go and then turned her cool gaze to Lexie and Max.

  "Thanks for coming," she said frostily.

  "No problem," Lexie answered because Max seemed distracted staring at something or someone at the party. She tugged his arm and he finally seemed to realize that she'd spoken. He nodded at Veronica's mom and took Lexie in.

  The garden wasn't decorated as elaborately as for the [Hero] party, but there were still swathes of fabric collating in the air, and perfectly trimmed flowers decorating the venue. A few people of all ages were there, some standing awkwardly around, others mingling. Lexie recognized a few of her teachers and classmates at standing tables spread across. She didn't spot the three musketeers but she saw Mya with her parents.

  “Alright, kid I gotta talk to someone," Max said, letting go of her hand. "Will you be alright by yourself for a few minutes?”

  Lexie would rather not but Max seemed itchy to be off so she said, “Yeah, that’s cool.”

  "Okay. You can go hang out with your friends when I'm gone."

  What friends? Lexie almost asked but then she spotted Dewie at a distance away, partially hidden by a rose bush, throwing stones in the pond.

  She instantly nodded at Max and made a beeline for him.

  “Hey,” she greeted and he turned to regard her in surprise. “Your prediction came true.”

  He blinked at her. “Huh?”

  “The desk. Remember you told me something bad would happen to it on my first day of school? Well, you were right. It was practically the only chair in the entire room that got hit that hard by the blast.”

  “Oh,” he said, his eyes widening. “But you’re alive.”

  “Yeah. But I was hurt for a little bit. I wouldn’t have been hurt at all if I’d listened to you.”

  “Maybe,” was all he said to that. He seemed more melancholic than usual.

  “I just wanted to say thank you for telling me," Lexie continued. "You tried to save my life even though it was detrimental to your reputation and made other people see you as a weirdo. That was really cool of you."

  He ducked his head considering the stone in his hand. The silence grew oppressive and Lexie felt pressured to break it.

  “So,” she said, "You can see the future?"

  He shook his head. "No one can see the future. Mrs. P said that was one of the skills the system doesn't give people anymore."

  "What is it then?" she asked. "How do you know these things?"

  "I don’t know. I don’t know why I see weird things and stuff happens. I think maybe I might be cursed. That's what Veronica says anyway."

  Lexie thought about it, then shook her head. "That can't be it." Why would a curse work so arbitrarily? And how would it control where the bomb was thrown? Besides, she'd never heard of a power like that. "You being cursed makes even less sense than you seeing the future."

  He sighed heavily. "I wish I didn't see it." He sent the rock skipping over the pond. "It makes everything more difficult for me."

  “Then why not just not say anything?" Lexie asked and his face squeezed.

  "I can’t. If I don’t say anything and something bad happens then…" He shook his head. "I don’t think I can live with that again. I have to say it, have to try even if no one believes me."

  Lexie was doused in a wave of pity. She knew he was thinking about his grandmother again and the fact that he never told her about the talking lizard. He clearly partially blamed himself for her death. And Lexie didn't know how to get him to not blame himself. She didn't know the right words to say.

  “You know,” she said instead. "You're a really good person, Dewie.”

  He shrugged. “Dad says good people are stupid people.”

  “Maybe but the world is stupid so what does he know?" She thought about it and came up with an idea. “How about this? Every time you have a vision or see something worrisome, you tell me and we'll figure out how to break it to the person in a less… insane-sounding way.”

  Lexie thought for a second that might offend him but instead, his head snapped toward her and his expression lit up. “You would do that for me?"

  “Sure. I feel like maybe your problem might be the delivery." No one would buy a little kid talking about seeing gnomes and things. But they might believe it if he said he was some kind of arithmancer or tarot reader.

  Actually, that gave Lexie an idea. Maybe her cards could help with it. Aiden mentioned tarot cards worked by a different set of rules. Lexie wondered what that was and how she could use it to maybe help Dewie make his predictions and relay them easier.

  In the meantime, Dewie stared at her wide-eyed. "But what if you’re not there to help?"

  "Then just text me. I’ll give you my number."

  His eyes widened.

  “You…” he hesitated. “You want to give me your number?”

  “Yeah.”

  "And I can text you…" Growing yet tentative excitement showed in his voice. “Like…more than once?”

  “Yeah. As many times as you want. Obviously don't go crazy on me, but if you want to talk about something then just shoot me a text.” Lexie really hoped she didn’t regret the offer. She was really busy and Mickie always used to complain about how she would take forever to respond to texts sometimes. But seeing Dewie light up, she couldn’t take the words back.

  “When?”

  “Huh?”

  “When can I text you?” He looked down at his fingers, folding them a little shyly.

  “Um…I dunno. Anytime I suppose. I might not reply super quickly depending on what I’m doing at that point, but I’ll reply as soon as I can.”

  “Okay,” His grin had literally spread from cheek to cheek as he asked, “You sure you don’t love me?”

  Lexie laughed. “No Dewie. I don’t love you. I mean I do like you yeah but as a friend.”

  Dewie didn't seem bothered by that. Instead, his smile brightened, like someone turned up the wattage for the sun.

  “Thank you,” he murmured.

  “No problem.” Lexie felt slightly uncomfortable from the gratitude but it also triggered a pleasant, cozy warmth.

  Dewie was about to say something else, but they were interrupted by footsteps crunching on grass and gravel.

  Lexie looked behind just in time to see Xena walk up.

  "What are you guys talking about?" she asked. Lexie was surprised by her appearance at first. But then she figured Xena probably didn't have anyone to talk to either.

  "Talking about how we’re best friends now and forever seatmates," Dewie announced excitedly.

  Lexie thought that was one too many tags but Dewie looked so happy she didn’t want to correct him.

  “Yup,” she said. “He tried to save my life so now we’re best friends for life.”

  “I thought you said I saved your life," Xena said.

  “You did. So you want to be my best friend too?”

  Xena made a face. "That best friend stuff is for kids."

  "We're still kids you know."

  "You're a kid. I'm not."

  Yeah, as if that isn't the most kid-like thing you can say.

  "Whatever," Xena said then turned to Dewie. "This is some party your mom is throwing."

  He nodded slowly. It seemed he too was wondering why Xena was talking to them.

  "She keeps watching me like an eagle," Xena finally complained. "Wanna go tell her that I don't plan on ruining her party this time?"

  Dewie shrugged. "I could but she wouldn't believe me."

  "Tell your dad then."

  "He won't believe me either. And he doesn't like me. He thinks I killed my mom."

  That had both Xena and Lexie freezing, staring at Dewie in shock.

  "But your mom's right there," Lexie pointed, wondering if she was seeing things now.

  "I don't mean her. I mean my birth mom. She died giving birth to me."

  "Oh," Lexie said. "That sucks. I'm sorry."

  "It's okay. My second mom's not so bad."

  Lexie and Xena watched him silently. Meanwhile, he stared at a bald man standing in the distance. "Do you see that gargoyle over there or is it just me?"

  "My birth mom’s dead too," Lexie said because truly she didn't know what else to tell him.

  "Me too," Xena said

  "Look at that." Lexie smiled. "We all have something in common after all."

  "We can form a club," Xena said snidely.

  "The association of dead mothers," Dewie completed.

  They all looked at each other and for some reason, that was so funny they all cracked into quiet, snorting laughter.

  “That should be the name of our group chat,” Lexie said in between chuckles. “Xena, give me your number. Let me add you to our group chat.”

  “I don't want to be part of your dumb group chat.” But she was giggling as she said it.

  “Oh don't be like that. Join our group chat. We’re the ADM. That practically makes us family.”

  After a long back-and-forth of quibbling, Xena finally gave Lexie her number. In return, Lexie offered to go grab snacks for everyone from the snack table before the dinner started. While heading to the table at the other side of the garden, she caught sight of her Uncle Max going inside the Cathedral building with some other guy. The man looked drunk and was ranting about something and Uncle Max appeared irritated but he'd pasted a smile on his face.

  Lexie wondered what that was about but then shrugged and continued on.

  As she was filling her plate with egg rolls, she felt something imperceptible, tugging at the pathways on her feet. It was subtle and had she not had good awareness of her pathways, she wouldn't have felt it.

  But she did. All that training had paid off.

  She immediately turned around and searched for the direction the attack came from. It wasn't hard. Veronica was staring straight at her, smirking with Diane. Clearly, she'd just said a spell to trip Lexie again.

  But Lexie's black hole training had given her much better control of her pathways and she made them shift to avoid Veronica's influence, watching the smile drop from her face.

  As she finished filling the plate, she materialized a card in her hand and began activation. She started walking back to her friends and on the way there, she met Veronica's gaze again.

  She smiled and pointed at her.

  Crash!

  Suddenly, Veronica stumbled back into a standing table where her mother was talking with someone and toppled it over on her way down. Plates and champagne glasses fell on her, drenching her with red wine and hors d'oeuvres.

  "Vero!" Her mother shouted. “What happened?”

  Lexie watched long enough to see anger and humiliation turn Veronica's face red. She brought her finger up to her lip and blew on the tip like it was a smoking gun. And then she continued back to her new friends.

  That’ll teach you to mess with me.