MAGE ; benny weir [1]

thirty-seven

"Alright, guys," Ellie began. "Are you ready for sophomore year?"

"Ugh, no," Benny answered through the video chat. "I barely passed freshmen year."

"Benny, we already know that," Ethan assured him.

"Be honest. Without me, you both would have failed Grade 9," Ellie smirked with Ethan and Benny nodding their heads. "Any word from Sarah yet, E?"

"Why would you only hear from Ethan?"
Ellie heard a familiar voice from behind her. Outside of her window, there Sarah was. Ellie gasped and opened her window wider. 

"No way! Come in!"

Sarah hopped into Ellie's room and hugged her, with Ellie noticing how much more stronger her hugs had gotten. "You're back?"

"Wait, what is happening?"
Ethan and Benny kept yelling questions from the video chat. Sarah appeared in front of Ellie's camcorder, watching Ethan's jaw drop and Benny fall out of his chair. 

"Sarah?!"

"Hey, guys."

------------

"Well, we got a warm welcome from our new calculus teacher. Did you watch him try to throw a book at that kid?"
Ethan smiled as he, Benny, and Ellie walked through the hallway and up to their new lockers.

"So, how's Sarah?" Ellie decided to ask Ethan.
"I don't know, she seems different," Ethan puzzled. Reaching into his new locker, Benny cast a spell right into Ethan's backpack.

"Cut it out."

"I was just testing something!" Benny defended. "I tried to summon some chicks for you, but..."
Ethan slowly pulled out a baby duck from his locker.

"We really need to work more on your magic," Ellie laughed. "All that work during the summer paid off, though."

"If you say so," Benny replied, holding the baby chick in his hands.

"Just focus, you guys," Ethan said to the mages. "I'm worried about Sarah."

"Look, Sarah's probably just traumatized. She'll need time to adjust," Ellie reassured him, poking the chick's beak. "And you need to stop worrying so much, Eth."

Hearing giggling come down the hall, the geeks watched as Sarah and Erica skipped their way, linking arms with one another.
"Wassup, vamps. Care for a welcome back chick?" Benny asked, showing the baby duck in his hands.

"Awe, it's so cute," Sarah said. "That'll be a yummy snack later."

"Wait, what?!" Ellie blurted out, while Benny and Ethan stared at Sarah.

"It's a joke! Ellie, I don't remember you being so serious," Sarah laughed.
Ellie looked towards the guys for help, but they had nothing. "We don't remember you being so funny. Weren't you the serious one?"

"I was, but I'm not as serious as you," Sarah sighed at Ellie. "Witches take things way too seriously. Well, we've gotta go. Even immortals have to go to class. Later," Sarah left, ignoring Ellie's extremely confused and offended expression.

"I see what you mean," Benny mentioned. "And El probably takes things as seriously as I do, which is almost never."

"That's a compliment in my book, babe," she exhaled, walking to her next class. 
Before Ellie could even turn the corner, Erica grabbed her by the arm and yanked her to the sudden sight of Vice Principal Stern flailing at the bottom of a trash bin.

As he got out, he began to yell at Sarah. "Young lady," Stern began. "Not only are you expelled, but you should be arrested!"

"Ellie, do that brain-wave trick!" Erica begged.