Sounds of yelling echoed above Dewie.

  The shrill female voice rose higher than the male's, dominating it until the male one retreated into angry, protesting silence. Dewie knew that pretty soon, the male voice would start up again when she landed a deeply emotional blow. The argument would then continue into the night, leading to a very unpleasant breakfast the following morning.

  But all that wasn’t Dewie’s concern right now.

  Instead, he was wondering what to send as his first greeting in the official friend's group chat.

  This wasn't his first group chat experience. He’d been added to one about a year ago, with a few other kids from a separate class. That was back in the day before people knew how strange he was. They still thought he was somewhat weird because he’d once freaked out over what he thought was a giant snake on a teacher's head, but back then he was still doing his best to hide his strange visions.

  But even then, no one liked him.

  It was painfully difficult to make friends, and no one seemed to want to talk to him, even when he made his best effort to approach them first.

  There was a group of boys he thought he might have a potential friendship with. They weren't in his class so they didn't know about the snake incident. They let him sit with them at lunch and sort of talked amongst themselves, but they didn’t outright laugh or act creeped out whenever he interjected. Only once in a while did they roll their eyes. Mostly, they listened and nodded before going back to their respective conversations.

  So he thought they might be okay with him being their friend.

  And when they took his number and added him to their group chat, he was elated.

  He thought it might mean that they kind of liked him, maybe not in the best friend way, but in the way that they could tolerate each other for the rest of their lives. Like his parents.

  Dewie was added to the group chat while they were having a conversation about a gopher, and then Dewie sent a wave and injected some of his knowledge on gophers too.

  And then…nothing. No response.

  He didn't know what it was that he said. To this day, he didn’t know what turned them off and made them maintain nearly five minutes of nail-biting silence.

  All he knew was that he was swiftly removed from the group chat.

  Only to be added again, ten minutes later by one of the boys, just to show all the not-so-nice things they were saying about him.

  And then when they realized what one of them had done, they laughed even harder.

  LMAO. Crap. Why did you add him? That’s messed up.

  Dude, he’s still here!

  Oh my God. Get him out!

  Those were the final words before he was kicked out again.

  He never went back to that lunch table. For a while, he ate lunch in the bathroom, but some boys found him there too, and thought it was weird so they made him stop.

  So now he didn't eat lunch at all. He simply stayed in class during lunchtime and didn't bring out his food because he had an irrational fear that someone would have a problem with it and kick him out. Sometimes his stomach cramped from hunger while he sat but he always ignored it. He could eat at home.

  Anyway, that was his first, disastrous group chat experience.

  But here, life had offered him a second chance with Lexie, his seatmate and friend. And this time he wasn't assuming anything because she'd even said it herself that they were friends! Lexie knew how weird he was, but she still wanted to be his friend anyway.

  He couldn't mess this up by saying the wrong thing. He had to think hard so he could say the right thing so Lexie wouldn't kick him out of the groupchat, and her life, forever.

  It should be fine. He spoke to himself to calm his rattling heartbeat. Lexie said she liked him. He’d once read a book that said if people liked you, they were nicer to you and they would even let you mess up sometimes. And if they loved you, they let you mess up even more times. Lexie said she didn’t love him but she did like him just fine. So maybe she would be okay with whatever he said. Or maybe she would just tell him when he'd said the wrong thing instead of icing him out.

  No. He couldn't risk it. He couldn't screw this up.

  He chewed his fingernail and then when he realized he was doing it, he ripped his fingers out of his mouth. Jagged fingernails were a big no-no in this household. His mom thought they looked ugly and whatever she said went.

  The tension throbbed in the silence. Dewie's thoughts turned even more panicked.

  When Lexie said they were friends, did she mean it? What if she just said it in the heat of the moment, but then when she went home she realized how strange he was? What if she regretted giving him her number? Or maybe Xena would tell her not to talk to him anymore and she would stop being his friend?

  What if he said the wrong thing again?

  So Dewie waited, staring at the blinking cursor.

  Lexie had sent a ‘hello’ to the group chat and Xena had sent a middle finger.

  It was Dewie’s turn to send something. He didn’t know what.

  “Dewie!” His door flew open and his sister stood there, eyeing him with that annoyed look she usually had.

  “No!” Dewie instantly bolted out of bed. “Not now.” He needed all his concentration for this text and didn't have time to deal with her right now.

  But his reaction only made her more curious. “Why? What are you doing?”

  “Nothing,” he said but she saw that he had a pad out to chat. He used a typing pad for texts because typing holographically gave him a headache.

  “Who are you talking to?” A mischievous smile crossed her face and she headed for the pad on the bed, but luckily he dove and grabbed it before she could, and then made a run for it.

  He ran down the hallways of the Victorian house, lined with multiple elaborate paintings that meant nothing, and then finally ended up in the pantry, underneath the staircase. This was his second favorite room in the house. It was quiet, the sound muffled by bags of potatoes surrounding them. It was small. And most importantly, the door could lock from the inside.

  Even if it couldn’t, Veronica wouldn’t come looking for him here. She hated small spaces.

  He refocused on the texts wondering what to say. Were they waiting for him? Would they eventually get tired and kick him out? He had to think fast and say the right thing.

  While he waited, something perched on the ledge of the tiny window.

  A bird. It looked like a crow.

  He couldn’t tell if it was the type that other people could see or only he could see it. He spent a few seconds wondering and then the next few seconds wishing he didn't have to wonder.

  He wished he didn’t see those things. Or at least he wished he could pretend he didn't see them, so people wouldn’t call him weird and a liar, and try to beat him up in the school courtyard.

  He stared at it for a long time and then stared back at the pad, his heart beating like a hummingbird.

  Then, he sent a single, “Hi”.

  Almost instantly he regretted it. It was too little. Too much. It sounded rude and wrong.

  He was in the process of deleting the message when a ding interrupted. He bit his lips hard, from the anxiety.

  It was Lexie responding.

  Lexie: Dewie! Welcome to the association!

  He grinned. His heart felt like a bird that had finally taken flight, soaring and filling his body with electric heat. Happiness tightened and eased his muscles at the same time.

  He typed out a quick response. Keep it polite and interesting, Dewie. Thank you. Do you know some crows can draw water into cups even without opposable thumbs and can use said liquid to soften their meals so they don’t choke on them and die?

  There was a moment of silence after he sent it, where Dewie was suddenly afraid that he’d said the wrong thing again. Maybe it was too morbid. Too random. Or not educated enough. Maybe he was wrong about crows. His stomach tightened. His hands shook. He was terrified he was going to get kicked out.

  And then a ding came again.

  This time it was Xena who responded.

  Xena: What do you know? Crows are smarter than the average grade-schooler.

  Dewie laughed at that.

  Lexie sent a laughing face and Dewie sent one too.

  It was a joke. A joke that wasn’t directed at him! Xena and Lexie were laughing with him, not at him.

  How amazing!

  The screaming upstairs continued. His sister eventually banged on the door, wanting to know what he was doing, her piercing voice adding to the cacophony.

  But Dewie no longer cared.

  He was happily engrossed in the group chat.

  The group chat name went through several iterations. At a point, it was decided that the word 'association' felt too formal and reminiscent of the hero association which Xena immediately had a problem with.

  So then Dewie suggested they call themselves the Brotherhood instead. According to him, Brotherhood was the most popular title for young informal groups of friends. Xena was the first one to protest.

  Xena: Yeah, but we’re two girls.

  Dewie: And I’m a boy.

  Xena: We outnumber you. If anything, we should be a Sisterhood.

  Dewie: How can we be a sisterhood if I’m a boy?

  Lexie: An honorary sisterhood. That way you can be an honorary sister.

  Dewie thought about it for a second.

  Dewie: That sounds good to me.

  And so for another few days, they were the Honorary Sisterhood of the Dead Mothers. But then they realized that the acronym HSDM didn't have the same ring as ADM had.

  Lexie: It has to be three initials. That’s the thing that gives ADM its banging catchiness.

  Xena: What’s a word for association that isn't association?

  Dewie: Organization? Consortium? Syndicate?

  Xena: Ew. All those sound worse.

  Lexie: How about Affiliation or Alliance? That way we would still be ADM.

  Xena: Alliance is cool.

  Dewie: Fine by me too.

  Lexie: Alliance it is!

  Lexie: Guys, I change my mind about the alliance. I just looked it up. There's apparently a Villain Alliance?

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  Xena: Oh, yeah I forgot about that. Still, it should be fine. Your dad’s a [Villain].

  Lexie: Not anymore!

  Xena: Yeah but I mean that, even though he was a [Villain], he’s still a cool dude.

  Lexie: Interesting. Because when we met, you insinuated that he must have done something heinous to end up with his punishment.

  Xena: Yeah but that was before I really knew him. I was wrong. He probably didn’t do anything too bad, or they would have tossed him in Vigo. He probably just did something that pissed off the association.

  Lexie: Yeah that’s what I think also. However, the people who tried to bomb our school were [Villains] too and they were definitely not cool dudes. They were assholes. Therefore, we can’t use Alliance. Affiliation?

  Dewie: Affiliation can sometimes indicate political attachment.

  Lexie: What do we think guys? Are we politically attached to having dead mothers? What’s our motto? Our manifesto? What rights are we fighting for?

  Dewie: The right to kill moms?

  Lexie: Dewie!

  Xena: That’s messed up dude! Too far!

  Dewie: Sorry! (Panicked crying face)

  Lexie: It’s fine. We’re messing with you. I guess affiliation is out then.

  Xena: How about we call ourselves the Dead Mother’s Union? Simple. To the point.

  Lexie: Hmm. DMU. I’m thinking…

  Xena: What’s there to think about? It’s a good name. Right, Dewie?

  Dewie: I’m not picky. I’m fine with whatever.

  Lexie: Dewie! Don't let her bully you into agreement. Resist her infernal bossiness and only make a choice you believe in.

  Xena: Me infernal? You’re the one who almost ripped his sister’s hair out when she called your dad evil.

  Lexie: I did not!

  Xena: But you wanted to. I saw it in your eyes.

  Lexie: No. If I wanted to mess with Veronica, I wouldn’t rip her hair out. Instead, I would tell Diane that Veronica called her fat which would make them fight and then I would sit by Veronica and try to comfort her. Except while I do that, I would also use this potion I found on the NET to dye the tips of her hair green. It's a slow-acting potion and it will very slowly bleed up into the roots in her sleep. By the time she realizes what’s happening, it will be too late to do anything and she'll have to chop it all up. And I would get away with it too because she would think that Diane did it.

  Dewie:...

  Xena: That is the most evil thing I’ve ever heard anyone say. Maybe we should be an Alliance after all and you should be our leader.

  Lexie: Oh come on, I was just saying. I wouldn't actually do it.

  Xena: You sure about that? That sounded way too detailed for you to have just thought about it on the fly.

  Dewie: I agree.

  Xena: See, even Dewie agrees. Veronica had a point about you following in your dad’s villainous footsteps.

  Lexie: Screw you Xena (middle finger)

  Xena: Wow, Lexie. You kiss your mother with that mouth?

  Lexie: I can’t, asshole. She’s dead.

  Lexie wasn't sure what to expect by the time she got back to school the next month. She felt more prepared academically than she'd felt in a while. But she wondered if she would have memories of the blast or lingering effects of PTSD.

  As she walked into the classroom she steeled herself for whatever she might feel. The last time she was here, she was in severe pain that only the strongest endorphins could hold back and the entire room looked like a disaster.

  But today it looked normal. Everything looked the same and her desk was even back where they left it. And she didn't feel panicky looking at it so that was good. Everything was the same.

  Well, not everything. A few things had changed. For example, Xena and Dewie were barely her friends before. Now they’d spent nearly the whole month arguing about their group chat name.

  “Lexie!” Doyle said as she walked in. “I need your help!”

  “Don’t bet on the Ink Witch.” Lexie already knew what he was going to ask. “Her powers are weak against mech and Mundane is on a power trip.”

  “Ha. I knew it!”

  “No, you didn’t,” Chris snorted.

  "Yeah, you said the exact opposite of what Lexie said," Abernathy concurred with a smirk.

  Lexie shook her head and then spotted Dewie who was sitting erect in his chair, staring at her oddly. She waved at him and he offered her a smile and enthusiastic wave in return.

  “Hey, guys.” Bennie walked in right after Lexie did. “Did you hear there was a bomb?”

  “No, Bennie,” Abernathy responded. “Because none of us read the bajillion messages they sent telling us about the bomb. Not to mention all the news reports on it.”

  “Yeah, me either.” Sarcasm bounced off Bennie like he was inflatable. “I only know because I overheard the teachers talking about us doing bomb drills.”

  “Ugh I forgot about that,” Diane said. She was sitting beside Veronica today and they were both watching something on her pad. Veronica hadn't looked up when Lexie walked in, but Lexie knew she was aware of her.

  “This was the wrong day to wear this skirt," Diane continued "They’re probably going to make us lie on the ground and roll around like soldiers and I’ll get dirt on my goosefeathers.”

  “Maybe they’ll teach us how to shoot," Bennie said, excitement gleaming in his eyes.

  “Why would we need to know how to shoot in a bomb drill?” Abernathy asked.

  “So if someone throws a bomb at us, we can shoot it and detonate it before it reaches us."

  “That only happens in movies and only if you’re accurate enough. Or you had a scope and a bullet that was like a heat-seeking missile that would automatically target and destroy the bomb. It would also have to be faster than the trajectory of the bomb for that to work. But where would you find something like that?”

  Lexie was pretty sure Uncle Max had at least one of those lying around but she stayed quiet as she took her seat by Dewie.

  Who promptly announced to the entire class, “Lexie got hit by the bomb.”

  The squabbling immediately ceased and Lexie felt the pressure of about half a dozen stares. She blushed.

  “You got hit by a bomb?” Abernathy repeated.

  “No,” she said. “Technically, I only got hit by the resulting blast. I was sitting by the window that was in the blast radius and that’s the only reason.”

  “Did you get hurt?”

  “Yeah but not badly.”

  “Damn.” Bennie shook his head. “First you fell in a ditch, and now you’re getting bombed. Sounds like someone’s trying to take you out. Do you have any enemies, Lexie?”

  “No.”

  “You sure?” He came over, planted his hands on her desk and leaned in so far that Lexie reared back. “Might not be someone recent. Maybe it’s someone from back in the day before you lost your memory and they're still holding a grudge.”

  “Crows can hold grudges for a lifetime,” Dewie said. “And they can pass on those grudges to their descendants too.”

  “Good point Dewie. Did you piss off any crows, Lexie?”

  “Leave her alone. She probably just has some seriously bad luck,” Abernathy said.

  “Tell me about it,” Lexie responded wryly and sent Abernathy a grateful look when Bennie backed off. “Also thanks for not letting me get caught napping the other day. I appreciate it.”

  Abernathy's cheeks turned a little pink. “No problem. We’ve all been there.

  "How come you never covered for me when I slept?” Doyle frowned.

  “That’s because you snore like a freight. I would need to fake a moon landing to drown it out.”

  Xena finally showed up right as the bell went off, walking in after the teacher. Lexie waved and Xena gave a greeting with her chin as she took her seat. Lexie didn’t know exactly what to make of that and she didn’t have a chance to ask because the lesson immediately started.

  Of course, Mrs. P began the class by trying to calm everyone's fears about there being another possible bombing (although in Bennie’s case, it was more excitement than fear) and then they went into District 5 History. Luckily, Lexie had read ahead for that class so this was just a refresher for her, and she spent most of the time with subconscious mana shaping exercises as it went.

  Xena oddly disappeared again during lunchtime, and Lexie ate with Dewie, who told her more crow facts and also told her that he thought the wart girl was going to be sick at some point.

  "You sure about that?" Lexie asked.

  He shrugged. "I'm not sure. It's the first time I've seen warts so I don't know what it means yet. But the stuff I see...it's usually nothing good."

  Lexie nodded. Lexie figured that each creature or image Dewie saw meant something significant, but they didn't know what it meant. So she proposed that they have a notebook where Dewie would track all the things he saw and the effects.

  For example, they were pretty sure that gnomes meant trouble on a sliding scale. He'd said that he'd seen gnomes on the day she and Xena crashed his mother's party, but that gnome had a white hat on which meant minor mischief. The gnome he'd seen on Lexie's seat had a red hat, which probably meant disaster-level trouble. Of course, this was only a theory with n=2, but Lexie was sure that, with enough evidence, she would be able to have it down to a formula.

  Lexie didn't know where Dewie's strange power came from. He wasn't pre-awakened or anything so it wasn't like it was magic. Perhaps he was simply more sensitive to premonitions than most, the same way some people back on her earth had extra-sharp senses and even ESP. Maybe it was just Dewie's peculiarity. At least, that's what Aiden figured when she told him about it.

  In any case, she'd read more about tarot cards but also found that they wouldn't help Dewie in this situation. They could only be used by awakened or pre-awakened individuals who had scored high on perception (one of the measures under intelligence). There was also a formula to them that one had to study before they could use them properly.

  So for now, Lexie convinced Dewie they should simply observe and take notes. Once they knew exactly what his sights meant then they could figure out a way to warn people. Lexie thought that, when she finally started crafting, she could make cards for Dewie so he could properly translate his sights to the victim. They would act like Tarot cards but specifically for him.

  Dewie didn't entirely like the plan of staying quiet and observing for now. He still felt duty-bound to tell people what he saw, but ultimately Lexie convinced him that no one would believe him if he kept on like he was doing. It was all about the delivery and they needed to find a way to deliver the news convincingly.

  Eventually, he understood.

  After lunch, class resumed again, and Xena was back. They still didn't speak much and Lexie was almost concerned that the other girl was avoiding them.

  But it wasn’t until the end of school that Lexie finally managed to catch up to Xena and figure out what she was up to.

  There were multiple bathrooms at Everstone. Most of them were in the main building and one of them was in a small outhouse by the groundskeeper's cottage, where they kept a bunch of gardening equipment. Very few people use that bathroom by the garden because it was close to where the custodian lived and so most people assumed that it was for staff. The only reason Lexie even went there was because she’d realized belatedly that she had to pee and she didn't want to go back into the main building.

  So she rushed into the shed housing the bathroom, only to find that she wasn't alone.

  Xena was there.

  And she had changed out of her school clothes, into a black leather jacket and her signature boots. She was slouched against the wall, a look of careless indifference on her side turned face, as she slung her hair over her shoulder.

  The most damning thing was a PHORB hanging in the air in front of her.

  She snapped and a picture was taken. She adjusted her pose and did it again.

  Shock slammed into Lexie.

  Oh my God. Never in a million years did I imagine this is what she was sneaking off to do.

  Lexie was stunned silent watching the whole thing, until Xena finally adjusted her pose in a way where she caught sight of Lexie.

  Her face paled, and she stiffened. Her jaw dropped.

  "Please tell me you didn’t see that whole thing,” Xena said in a hushed horrified tone. “Because if you do, I’m going to combust."

  “I didn't see it,” Lexie said, but her snort gave it away.

  Xena spun around her face aflame. She seemed to want to bury her face in the wall, unable to look at Lexie.

  And Lexie took no mercy on her.

  "Oh my God." She giggled as a realization hit her. "This is why you were still in school on the day of the explosion! This is what you were doing!"

  "No! You ruined everything! What are you even doing here?"

  "What are you doing? You taking those for social media?"

  Lexie thought she would deny it, at which point she was going to tease her endlessly until she died of the cringe.

  But to her surprise, Xena spun around, crossed her arms over her chest, and said, "Yeah, and what about it?" To punctuate, she stuck her chin in the air.

  "Nothing." Lexie shrugged. "It’s just… I never thought you would put yourself out there like that. But it's pretty cool that you’re indulging in hobbies." Lexie’s hobbies were mostly studying and watching Video Alley and that was kinda boring compared to what Xena was doing. "I'm just surprised because I thought you were a very private person."

  "My face isn’t in any of the photos," she said a tad defensively.

  "No, it's cool even if it is. Xena, I'm serious. This is fine. Better than fine actually." Okay, maybe I should stop talking. "Do you post it online?"

  Xena kept eyeing her as though she were waiting for Lexie to start mocking her. And when it wasn't coming, she finally said, "Yeah. It's on a site to showcase fashion and so I take pictures of what I wear. Some people like to see that."

  "Oh. That’s cool." Like Pinterest. That made sense.

  Lexie had to admit that Xena was very stylish. Probably because she was so tall and well-proportioned, she made everything she wore look effortlessly cooler. She also had that careless goth girl thing going for her.

  But also, she was ten. Were ten year-olds supposed to have active social media accounts? Lexie didn’t know because she didn't’ have one until Mickie made one for her at the ripe age of fifteen.

  "Why are you taking pictures here?” The shed wasn't necessarily the best-lit place and it was full of gardening tools and cleaning supplies.

  Xena glanced around. "It’s so rustic and cool. My house doesn't have the same vibe and neither does any of the other bathrooms. I used to take pictures at the cathedral but then they fixed the broken gate so now I can't sneak in anymore."

  "Bummer." That also answered the question about how Xena knew about the cathedral gate in the first place.

  Despite Lexie’s assurances, she got the feeling that Xena wasn’t trying to share this part of herself yet, so Lexie figured she should change the subject.

  “Anyway," she said. "I was just looking for you because I forgot to rub that last Conrad match in your face in person. He lost badly.”

  Xena scowled for real this time. "Because of a technicality. Kane cheated. He trapped him and would have killed him if the ref hadn't intervened."

  "No, Conrad lost his balance. He was winning before that. He needs to learn how to control his emotions and take things more seriously, or he’s going to keep losing to weaker opponents.”

  Lexie thought Xena would argue but she sighed."Yeah. You're right. But it’s because he’s a Berserker-type fighter. It’s the only downside of the fighting style.”

  “Yeah I get that, but he needs to get a handle on it. Because Kane is now going around doing interviews bragging about how easy it was to take him down and how he’s now technically number two in the league."

  “Ugh, I hate that kid.”

  Lexie raised an eyebrow. “He’s a mundane. I thought you liked mundane people.”

  "Not rich assholes like that one. And because of him, Conrad could lose sponsorships. Losing to Top Dog was understandable. Losing to Kane? That could be career-ending."

  Lexie was quiet because it was true. If Conrad didn’t win his next few matches to prove that the Kane thing was a fluke, he would definitely be getting dropped by the sponsors for the humiliating defeat. He might already be. The only problem was that his next match was an exhibition match with Mr. Amazing from the adult league and the one after that was a strong opponent too.

  "We should send him a letter of support," Lexie suggested. "Tell him we still believe in him. He's probably having a bad time right about now and he's getting in his head about the next match. So he'll probably want to know that someone out there thinks he can win."

  Xena made a face. "Yeah, but I would sound like such a fangirl doing that."

  "But you are a fangirl. Be proud of it."

  Xena shook her head.

  "Oh come on, you know you want to. I'll even help you write it. And I'll keep your whole picture-taking secret too. Under one condition."

  "What?" Xena eyed her warily.

  Lexie grinned. "We change our group chat name back to the Association of Dead Mothers.

  Xena narrowed her eyes. “I always knew you were evil.”