Legends of Mirandis Academy

Chapter 1: The Incident with the Bees

"So? Did you hear?"

Iridia wasn't normally one to start a conversation, even with Luna, but this was an emergency. She shifted away from her locker, where she had been casually leaning, and fell into pace with Luna. The two girls wove a path through the school hallway, occasionally ducking out of the way of some basketball player's antics and the steady open-and-shut rhythm of the lockers. The five minute bell rang; Iridia glanced anxiously at it, but Luna didn't even blink. She was always like that, Iridia reflected. Luna was tiny, as small as a freshman, but her shoulders were thrown back and she greeted the chaos of the hall with an easy, knowledgeable smirk.

"Ugh, you better hurry." Luna's smile was briefly interrupted, and she touched her forehead. "Wouldn't wanna be late to shop class. Even though you could probably murder someone and Mr. Duval would be okay with it. His star pupil, who can do no wrong..."

"I like shop class." Iridia shrugged self-consciously. "It's useful. The rest of this is bullshit." She waved at the hallway, in particular towards the door of the history classroom.

"You've got that right." Luna winced again. "Fuck, my head is killing me. What was in that punch last night?"

Iridia rolled her eyes. "You're the one who spiked it, remember?"

"I actually don't, but that makes a lot of sense." Luna slowed her walk and made a big show of thinking. "Oh. Oh, it's coming back to me! Remember that stuff you distilled in the chemistry lab?"

"How did you—" Iridia's eyes narrowed, but Luna just laughed in response. "Luna, that was pure alcohol."

"Sure tasted like it, too." Luna smacked her lips together and frowned. "I can still kinda taste it. Gross."

"You're unbelievable." Iridia shook her head. "Listen, about last night..." She trembled a bit. It was early in the morning, and she had barely gotten any sleep. Especially after what she had seen.

Luna regarded her, instantly alert. "Something happened. Something big. What's got you so worked up, Iridia? You're never like this."

Iridia swallowed. Suddenly, the noise of the hallway seemed personal. "It's pretty crazy. Just..." she beckoned, and Luna eagerly leaned in. "Listen, it's about the drinking contest. Y'know, Kelam and Brielle."

"That was nuts," Luna agreed. "I've never seen Brielle touch so much as a beer before."

"That's not the part that's crazy." Iridia was already whispering, but she lowered her voice even further. "What happened was, after they finished the contest and you left to do whatever it was you were doing—"

"—honestly, I can't remember—"

"—they went and..." Someone nearby laughed, and Iridia flinched. She waited for them to move away.

Luna had tucked herself into a corner in the wall, hands in her jacket pockets. Even if she was used to wearing that type of clothing, Iridia always hated the school uniforms. The skirts had pockets, or at least that's what Iridia was told. She never wore one, the slacks were just more comfortable. "Okay. So what is it that they did?"

"Well... uh... y'know." Iridia made a prompting motion. "They..."

"They what?" Luna watched Iridia for a moment. Slowly, comprehension dawned. "No."

"Yes."

"Kelam. And Brielle."

"The very same." Iridia threw up her hands. "The two most accomplished people in the school."

"No. No! They hate each other. Their whole families hate each other." Luna was frozen against the wall, textbooks hanging halfway out of one arm. "They're like— rival companies or something, I don't know. But I do know— fuck, the whole town knows it! Prescotts and Quincys do not mix."