meeting james and jade

"I thought I did a good job hiding my mana signature," Claire said, blinking rapidly.

It wasn't exactly rare for mages with even a little training to feel mana in the atmosphere, but hiding your own signature was supposed to be second nature by now, practically like breathing. For a random store clerk to read her that easily didn't add up.

"I'm guessing you go to Terra Nova as well?"

He laughed again. "That's right, name's James. Third year. I work here during the summer." He planted one hand on the counter and vaulted over it in a single motion, landing lightly on the other side. "Follow me if you want your books."

Claire followed him to one of the many bookshelves, listening as he explained each book before handing it over to her. She couldn't help but smile. It was a nice change of pace, and she found herself hoping the other seniors would be like this too, instead of the competitive, antisocial, stuck-up atmosphere she couldn't help but imagine.

Claire ended up with a pile of seven books stacked so high she had to tilt her head to the side just to see where she was going. She tried to keep up with James, who was still hunting down the last title on the list, weaving between shelves without much regard for how well she could actually follow.

She took a sharp turn to the right and walked straight into something solid. The books went everywhere, and a second later so did she, landing flat on her butt with an undignified thud.

James burst out laughing before she'd even fully processed what happened.

Claire looked up, already annoyed, and found herself staring at a girl who could only be James's sister. Same blond hair, though hers fell in perfect, voluminous waves that clearly took more than five minutes to get right. She wore a white blouse under a black cardigan, washed dark blue baggy jeans, and a pair of oversized sneakers that somehow still looked put together rather than sloppy.

She brushed a hand down her front, smoothing out a wrinkle from the collision that only she seemed to notice, then checked her sleeve for the same treatment.

"A little help here?" Claire asked, still sitting in the middle of her scattered books.

The girl blinked, like she'd genuinely forgotten Claire was still on the floor. "Oh! Right, sorry." She crouched down, though she was more careful about her jeans touching the floor than she was quick about actually helping.

With a groan, Claire was helped up and dusted off her own pants. Then, with a wave of her hand, she created a gust of wind that sorted her books right back into her arms.

"I'm Claire, by the way. Sorry for bumping into you."

James dropped the last book, Intro to Mana Signatures, onto Claire's already way too large pile of books as he introduced his sister. "This is Jade," he said, pointing at the girl, who was busy typing away on her phone.

Jade glanced up from her phone just long enough to look Claire over. "Hey."

"Hey," Claire said, adjusting her grip on the stack. "You're starting this year too, right?"

"Mhm." Jade's eyes went back to her screen.

Alright then, Claire thought, watching as Jade drifted off toward the front of the store, phone still in hand.

Claire followed James back to the counter and set her stack of way too heavy books down, the impact making the dust that had been gathering on the desk fly into their faces. He started scanning them one by one, more carefully than she expected from someone who'd vaulted over the desk ten minutes ago.

"Sorry about her, by the way," he said, not really looking up. "She's not, like, rude. She's just like that with people she doesn't know."

"It's fine." Claire shrugged. "I did knock her over."

"You bumped into her. There's a difference." He scanned the last book and started stacking them back up. "So, this is gonna sound random, but you seem like you've got a good head on your shoulders."

Claire raised an eyebrow. "Uh, thanks? I think."

"Jade's starting at Terra Nova this year too." He glanced toward the front of the store. "She'll tell you she doesn't need anyone looking out for her, and she'll mean it. But, I don't know. Just... keep your eyes and ears out every now and then. I'm not asking you to be her bodyguard."