As soon as I was inside, I ran into the bathroom to look at my appearance. Ella had handed me an ID. The picture on it matched the way I looked. I was no longer Lilly Jones, 20 years old. I was Scarlett Joseph, 24 years old. I held back tears. Soon, another person walked in. Everything had moved so quickly, so I didn't realize that it was Amelia at first. Once I did, I asked, "What's your name?" She held up the ID. "Lydia Stevens." I was breathing heavily. She wrapped me in a hug, and then we kissed. "I'm scared, Lydia," I breathed. Amelia started rubbing my back with one hand and stroking my hair with the other. My very short hair. "It will be okay, Scarlett. It will be okay." She seemed to be trying to convince herself just as much as me. Still, I forced myself to smile. "Lydia, let's go join our friends." I kept repeating the fake names in my mind. Amelia is Lydia. Jamie is Kate. Ella is Amy and, if any guard asks, she is mute. I am Scarlett. I am Scarlett. I am Scarlett. We walked out of the bathroom and found Jamie and Ella. They were at the counter, reserving a lane. Ella dragged me to the side and signed, Do you know ASL? I nodded and returned. Amelia does too. She looked relieved. Perfect. We figured we should stay here for a bit just in case. Whenever we are out in public, I am mute. I nodded then spoke aloud. "Come, Amy. We will have fun with Lydia and Kate." We walked over to the lane where Jamie and Amelia were beginning to bowl. I remembered the night that we had gone there with Jeff and Liam. It felt like a century ago. We all laughed and pretended like we were having fun. In truth, we were all feeling hopeless. In truth, we dreaded when the time would come for us to leave. We had nowhere to go. We couldn't risk going to Frank much more. People might get suspicious. What if we led the Hybrid Hunters to him? We would never forgive ourselves. All of these negative thoughts raced through my head as I pasted on a smile and acted. Suddenly, I had a burst of hope. I took Ella into a corner again and signed, Do you have the bags of charms? Her eyes filled with real excitement. Yes! They are in the trunk of Jamie's car. We shared a smile then returned to the others. Sure, I was still terrified. Yes, I was heartbroken that I couldn't return to school. But I had hope. Hope that I could help people with magic that were in similar situations.

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The Magic Within; Shadows of Two Worlds
Fantasy{ ~ "Dragons learn fastly" ~ } Jamie and Ella Glynn are two young adults who have been accepted into Yale University along with their best friend, Jake Grey. But the sisters have a secret. They are hybrids, who are hated by the rest of the world, to...