Copyright 2001. Please review to let me know what you think and tell me about any mistakes I've made. Thanks!

Chapter Two
The Magic School Bus and the Magic Mall

"Hmm," her dad said, trying to see the people waiting on the steps to the museum. "Looks like some other kids are already here." He pulled up to the curb. "All right. You've got the money?"

"Yeah, Dad. I've got the money."

"Good." Her dad waited.

"Dad-"

"Hmm?" He looked at his watch. She was making him late for work. Normally, she was fine with meeting new people, but this was different. She didn't have any idea what to expect. Well, she'd have to deal with it. This was his only job, and he had a lot of people depending on him.

"Bye, Dad. Love you."

"Love you too, sweetie. Now go get 'em."

"Yes, sir!" She gave a mock salute, grinned, grabbed her purse, and got out of the car.

"YOU!" someone shouted.

Evelyn froze. She knew that voice. She turned slowly to the person who had been hiding behind the column.

"Brittany?" she asked.

"I should've known it was you," Brittany said. "This is just like you, to throw a joke like this."

"Joke?"

Brittany waved a piece of paper under her nose. "This! You drag us all out here just for a little laugh! How low can you go, Eve? I mean, come on! You're fourteen. You should have outgrown this stuff years ago!"

By now, Evelyn understood that Brittany thought it was a joke. Brittany McClure was a girl from her class. They'd known each other since second grade. Brittany had sandy, shoulder-length hair and tan skin. She was wearing shorts, sneakers, and a mauve green tank top which matched her eyes with a shirt-sleeved shirt over it, unbuttoned. And after knowing Brittany for so long, Evelyn knew that she didn't want to fight her. Not that Brittany was a great fighter and it was obvious she would win or anything, but Brittany and Evelyn fought so much that it sometimes got boring.

"I fell for it, too," Evelyn said, for once in her life trying to make herself blush.

"Oh," Brittany said. "Well then. Come on over here. We're all in the shade."

" 'We?' " Evelyn asked.

"Yeah. Sean and Jacob fell for it, too."

"Oh." She followed Brittany to the covered brick walkway, which was more like a tunnel with large windows, and greeted Sean and Jacob before sitting down.

Sean Waits was a football player at her school, and Brittany's boyfriend. He was tall, nearly six feet if not more, with dark eyebrows that always made him looked either angry or as if he were concentrating intensely on something. He had dark brown eyes and dark black hair in a slightly overgrown buzz cut. He waved a hand hello as he rested in the shade.

Jacob Hudson was a basketball player at their school, and Brittany and Evelyn had both known him since second grade. He had red hair in an overgrown bowl cut, hazel eyes, and freckles covering his face, arms, and legs. He made a face when she said "Hi," and rolled over, saying, "Great. I thought this was supposed to be for the smart people."

"Funny," Evelyn said. "If it were for the smart people, you wouldn't be here."

"What are you guys talking about?" Brittany interrupted. "It didn't say anything about being smart."

"I just figured," Jacob muttered. He sighed, pretending to be asleep.

He knows, Evelyn realized. She hadn't thought he knew, but Brittany had caught him. She looked over to Brittany, who was squinting at Jacob as if she could get into his head. And she knows he knows.

Evelyn sighed and made herself comfortable in the shade. Her dad had dropped her off early, so they had enough time to rest a bit. These seemed to be the only people she knew, too. Which she didn't mind. They were all right. Better than total strangers, anyway.

She bolted upright, along with Sean and Brittany, when Jacob shouted, "Ouch!"

Sean took one look at the scene and then settled back, scowling about being woken up.

It took Evelyn a bit longer. "What is it?" Evelyn demanded. And then she stopped.

"Sorry," the boy said. "I didn't mean to trip over you. I didn't see you." Evelyn looked at Brittany. Their eyes met, and they grinned. Evelyn wasn't an expert, but even she could tell this boy was hot. He had brown hair and blue eyes. She'd leave the description up to Brittany the next time they got a chance to talk. Evelyn couldn't have described him for the life of her.

"Yeah, it's all right," Jacob said, rubbing a sore spot on his leg. "I'm Jacob." He stuck his hand out for the boy to shake. "Jacob Hudson."

"I'm Jacques Dupont."

"You're French!" Brittany exclaimed.

Evelyn heard Sean mutter, "Whoop-de-do." She grinned as Brittany glared at him.

"No, actually. I'm not. Not really My parents were French. Dad immigrated to the states as a kid. Mom came here for college and stayed. And you are?"

"Brittany McClure. Nice to meet you."

"And you too. And you?"

Evelyn sat there, waiting for Sean to answer, when she realized he was speaking to her. "Evelyn Smith. Call me Eve," she said. She shook hands with him.

Then he turned to Sean. "And you are?"

"Waits. Sean Waits."

"Nice to meet you, Waits Sean Waits," Jacques said with a slight grin. This got Sean to at least open an eye.

"Waits Sean Waits?" Jacob wondered softly. "Waits. Sean Waits."

"Yeah, Jacob. That's kind of the joke. You know. 'Bond James Bond?' " Brittany said.

"Hudson. Jacob Hudson. How's that?"

"Um... No." Brittany lay back down and closed her eyes.

Evelyn shrugged. "It's worth a try," she told him.

"Oh, Eve," Brittany moaned. "Don't encourage him. He's bad enough of a flirt already."

Evelyn sighed and looked up at Jacques. "Do you want a seat?" she asked.

"Thanks." He sat down next to her.

Evelyn settled down uncomfortably. She wasn't a fan of strangers, and she was even less of a fan of having one lay down next to her. Darn her for being so softhearted. One day it would get the better of her.

"I heard that these are the only kids from Montgomery," he said.

"Where'd you hear that?" she asked politely. If she could the conversation going, there wouldn't be one of those long, uncomfortable silences. She hated those as much as she hated making lasagna.

"There's a group of kids over there." He waved his hand to indicate on the other side of the wall. Only about five. I guess they don't know you guys are over here."

"I guess," she muttered.

Sean started snoring softly.

Brittany sat up, looked at Sean oddly, and lay back down, shaking her head.

Evelyn closed her eyes. She wasn't quite pretending to be asleep, but Jacques didn't try to engage her in conversation again. Jacques. French. Wonderful. She'd taken Spanish in school.

They were all startled when they heard honking. Jacob went to one of the windows and peered out, squinting in the bright sunlight. His jaw dropped as his eyes got larger.

"What is it?" Brittany demanded. She went to the window and stood next to him. Her jaw dropped too. She nudged Sean, who had blamed the noise on traffic and settled back down. Sean grumbled but got up just the same.

Evelyn and Jacques went to another window and peered out.

" 'The Magic School Bus?' " Jacques asked in disbelief.

"I was kind of expecting a train," Brittany admitted.

"Like in 'Harry Potter?' " Evelyn asked.

Brittany nodded. "Brianna sure did get mad when I kept called her a muggle. Mom and Dad got upset with me too."

"I don't think this is going to be like those books," Jacob said.

Brittany turned on him. "What makes you say that, Jacob?" she asked sweetly.

Jacob said, "Well, for one thing, those books are British. We're American. The school is American. Another: Harry Potter is fictional series dreamed up by someone who has a very big imagination." Evelyn cocked an eyebrow at him. To her knowledge, he'd never even read the Harry Potter books. "For another thing," he continued, "my parents are wizards."

"They're what?" Brittany asked flatly.

"Wizards," Jacob said. "I was waiting until proof showed up to tell you, since you thought it was a practical joke."

"My mom was a witch," Evelyn volunteered. "My grandmother's a witch too. She gave me some really cool stuff." She grinned at Brittany. "I didn't want to get into another petty fight with you. That's why I didn't tell you."

"This is a conspiracy!" Brittany shouted. Her voice echoed down the tunnel.

Suddenly, a girl stuck her head into the tunnel. She had shoulder-length blond hair and blue-green eyes, with a small nose. She was tall, with long legs. The perfect person to be on the cover of a teen magazine. If she hadn't seemed angry with them for some reason, she would have been perfect. As it was, Evelyn found herself thinking that this wasn't the type of person she wanted to trust, and this definitely wasn't the type of girl she wanted to cross.

"Oh," the girl said when her gaze fell on Jacques. "I was wondering where'd you gone. The bus is here."

"We saw," he said calmly.

The girl frowned, and her brows knit angrily a bit when she saw Evelyn and Brittany, but she said, "I'll see you there," cheerfully enough. Then her expression changed again to one of pleading, and Evelyn felt her blood run cold. Definitely the type of girl you don't want to cross, she thought. "Do you want to sit next to me on the bus?"

"Maybe," Jacques said.

She beamed at him and disappeared.

"Well," Brittany said. "How's that for viper?"

"Devil in street clothes," Evelyn agreed.

"I didn't see what was so wrong with her," Jacob said.

"Me neither." Brittany hit Sean on the arm and glared at him. Sean shrugged, not seeing why what he had said was so wrong. In the end, Brittany rolled her eyes and gave up.

"That's because you're guys," Evelyn told them. "Are there guys where they're incredibly hot, and they come in and try to hog all the girls?"

"So that girl's gay?" Jacob asked.

Brittany rolled her eyes again and told Sean. "You'll have to explain it to him."

Sean pulled Jacob away towards the bus. "All right, Jacob. This is how goes. This is what is commonly referred to as a simile. The girls are saying that those guys who always get the girl you've flirted with but haven't quite snagged are like that girl, who gets the guy the girl likes, and the girl who stole him doesn't even care about him. Thinks of it as another conquest. You know."

"Oh."

"Her name's Marie," Jacques said.

"Marie," Evelyn repeated.

"Rochester."

"Which is it?" Brittany joked.

Evelyn shook her head at her. She imitated Brittany's favorite, trademark saying. "Um... No."

Brittany glared at her. "Um, like hi. I'm a ditzy blond," she said, making her voice higher-pitched and twirling her hair around a finger. "I'm really stupid, and, like, I can't call the police because those stupid phone people forgot to put the eleven key in. My name's Eve, and I- like. Um. I so totally forgot what I was going to say." She giggled, trying her best to act like an airhead.

"You can't be me," Evelyn said. "You're too ugly."

Even though this was how some of their fights usually ended, Brittany still hadn't thought up a comeback. She glared at them, furious, and then began to stomp off. Before she went too far, she turned back around, all signs of anger erased and apparently forgotten. "Jacques," she said. "Are you sitting with us or that Marie girl?"

"I think I'd prefer to sit with you," he said. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked at the bus. "I've known girls like Marie before. The only thing underneath what you see is pain."

"How poetic," Brittany muttered. She raised her voice, saying, "Come on, guys. It's a bright, clear day. Popcorn clouds. A nice, soft breeze. Why waste time thinking about Marie?"

"Because I'm going to have to find ways to ditch her all day," Jacques said.

Evelyn saw Brittany's point and tried to change the subject. "If those seats are leather, in this heat, I think I might kill someone."

"Preferably Marie," Jacques muttered.

As they climbed onto the bus, Brittany murmured loud enough for Evelyn to hear, "Well. This is going well."

"I can hardly wait to get to where we're going," Evelyn said dryly in agreement. Then she heard sharp intakes of breath from herself and Brittany.

"Oh, Holy- Holy... Holy... Whatever!" Brittany said in astonishment.

The inside of the bus was completely different from the outside. The outside was painted a faded chipped yellow; the dented bus had the words "Magic School Bus" written in bold black letters along the side. It looked as if it seated twelve people. The inside, however, looked as if it could seat nearly fifty, if not more. The seats weren't leather at all. They were the blue cushioned chairs you saw in traveling buses. There were already five people in the back, including Marie, who smiled at Jacques and patted the seat beside her. Jacques pretended not to see.

A lady in a navy blue skirt, ivory blouse, with ivory flat-heeled shoes stood up in the front seat. She had thick sandy-brown hair with streaks of gold and small gold earrings. She wore little or no makeup on her ivory-colored face, and no makeup to accent her hazel eyes, which didn't need anything more anyway.

"Please," she said. "Take your seats." She waved to the rest of the bus. "As you can see, there are plenty of seats to choose from."

"Hey!" Jacob shouted. He and Sean were sitting in the middle of the bus, far enough from the adults and the guide/teacher-looking woman for themselves to feel comfortable and far enough from Marie to make the girls happy. Brittany led the way to them, with Evelyn and Jacques behind her.

The woman picked up a clipboard. "Hello, everyone," she greeted them. "It seems we're all here. There are only ten coming today. I'll read the names off the list. When I call yours, you don't have to stand up and introduce yourself, you just have to raise your hand. If you prefer to be called by your nickname, say so. Clear?"

Everyone on the bus nodded.

Jacob shoved himself deeper into his seat with a groan.

"Yes?" the woman demanded. She stared at him.

Jacob looked up.

"Is there something you would like to share with everyone here?" the woman asked.

A movement drew Evelyn's eye away, and she stared at the bus driver. She stared at the back of his head. His ears were pointy, she could tell that much. He had on the traditional black suit of a chauffeur, but she could see that below the black cap was brown hair, and beneath that was green. Green skin. She was grateful when she realized his shoulders were shaking in silent laughter. It made her feel as if she had more in common with him.

Butterflies slowly took flight in her stomach when she realized that she would most likely see weirder things in the future.

"What?" Jacob asked. "Me?"

"Yes, you. Am I looking at anyone else on this bus?" A few of the kids behind sniggered.

"Well, um. I was just thinking that I had been hoping I could get away from school for a while."

"Hoping not to see a strict, bitchy teacher who is no doubt now planning how to make your life an absolute hell?" she asked tartly.

"Um... Kind of. I guess."

"You guess?" she demanded. Her glare intensified; her hair started to frizzle. Evelyn backed away from her a bit, half expecting smoke to flare from her nostrils. Then, the woman's shoulders suddenly fell. A smile replaced her frown; the eyes became kind and gentle. She smoothed her hair down. "Lucky for you I'm not that kind of teacher," she said.

Jacob looked at her with wide eyes, trying to understand what she had just said. After a few seconds, he and Sean exchanged looks. Brittany, Evelyn, and Jacques exchanged looks, then looked over at Jacob and Sean.

The woman laughed out loud, and the bus driver soon joined in.

"My name is Ms. Bronson. Do you guys want to go shopping or what?"

"Shopping!" Marie and the other girl shouted from the back. They laughed, along with Ms. Bronson. Everyone joined in except for Brittany, Evelyn, and Jacques. Jacob and Sean stopped laughing when they saw Brittany's glare.

"All right, then. Roll call. Tabitha Brooks."

The girl next to Marie raised her hand.

"Jacques Dupont."

Jacques raised his hand.

"Josh Harte."

One of the boys in back raised his hand.

"Tyler Harte."

A boy who looked nearly identical to Josh raised his hand.

"Jacob Hudson."

Jacob sank farther into his seat and raised his hand. Ms. Bronson grinned at him. "Don't worry too much about it, Jacob. I do that every year. You just happened to be the one I picked on this time."

"Why's it always me they pick on?" Evelyn heard Jacob mutter.

"Brittany McClure."

Brittany raised her hand.

"William Reiss."

The third boy in the back raised his hand.

"Marie Rochester."

Marie smiled at Ms. Bronson. "Here, Ms. Bronson. Pleased to meet you."

"Not if you don't do what I asked," Ms. Bronson said. "Do you want to be called by a nickname or not?"

"No, ma'am," Marie said, slightly taken aback.

"Then why did you speak?"

"To tell you I was pleased to meet you."

"Well, it was completely unnecessary. Evelyn Smith."

Evelyn raised her hand.

"Sean Waits."

Sean raised his.

"All right, then. BoBob, we're ready." Ms. Bronson sat down.

The green-skinned man, BoBob, seemed to fiddle with the controls for a second. Right as Evelyn was beginning to wonder whether the bus had broken down, the air in front of the bus began to shimmer, and then distort. She realized cars were ever-so-slowly taking shape.

"It's a parking lot," she whispered to Brittany. When Ms. Bronson looked at her, she said, "Sorry, ma'am."

"What for?" Ms. Bronson asked. "I never said you weren't allowed to speak on the bus."

"Thank you, ma'am."

Ms. Bronson looked at her for a few more moments and then turned away.

"Somebody's a suck-up," Brittany sand in a sing-song voice.

"Am not," Evelyn said, disgruntled. "Unlike some people on the bus, I was taught the value of manners."

"You'd better mean Marie," Brittany muttered.

"Marie is included, yes."

And then BoBob started the bus, and they went forward toward the parking lot. As soon as they did, they could see everything clearly.

"This is a mall?" Sean asked.

Everyone on the bus stared in wide-eyed amazement at the large, white building in front of them. It stretched upwards so far that their necks hurt trying to look at it through the bus windows. They could see through windows in the wall to kids running around with their parents chasing them, women shopping for clothes, and teenagers sending sparks out of long sticks. BoBob parked.

"It's a bit of everything," Ms. Bronson admitted. "They've got a roller coaster there, too."

"A roller coaster?" Sean asked. "Oh, geez. I'm going on that."

"Same here," Brittany agreed.

"Does it have loops?" Evelyn asked.

Ms. Bronson nodded.

"Then I think I'll sit the roller coaster out," Evelyn muttered.

"Coward," Brittany taunted.

"Suicidal," Evelyn retorted.

"It's perfectly safe!"

"I'll bet. That doesn't mean I like it, all right? I just don't like roller coasters with loops."

"Probably because of all those times when you were dropped on your head as a child."

"Probably." All the kids piled off the bus. As soon as everyone was on the ground, Ms. Bronson held up her hands. "Now. While you're in the mall, you won't have any supervision. That's what the security here is for. You have four hours to shop for whatever you need. Here are your lists." She passed out papers to all of them. "Now, whatever you do, although this mall is perfectly safe, be sure that you always have at least one other person you know with you at all times. Understood?"

Everyone nodded.

"BoBob and I won't wait here for you. We'll be shopping also. So if you have a problem, there won't be anyone at the bus."

"Speaking of the bus," the girl named Tabitha said, "why's it so beat-up? And why's it named the 'Magic School Bus?' I got too old for that a long time ago."

"Well, for starters, it is magic, and it's also a bus for school. Hence the name. As for why it's so beat-up, it's made to look like a nursery or young children's school bus. If someone looked inside, they wouldn't see the seats and space all of you saw, they would see an awful mess, and perhaps a baby seat or two."

"Oh."

"That all? Then everyone check your watches." Everyone checked on the time. "Be gone with you!" Ms. Bronson said, waving them off to the mall. All the kids walked past her.

Evelyn walked next to Brittany. "What do you say?" she asked. "Partners?"

"Sure.

Evelyn nodded and unfolded her piece of paper. "This stuff should be pretty easy. Spell For Familiars; Books; Hat and Dress Robe; Broom-"

"-Wand; Crystal Ball; Candles..." Brittany continued. "Crystal ball?" She made a face. "Divinity?"

"I've already told you," Jacob said, sounding tired. "This isn't Harry Potter. This is the real thing."

"What if Harry Potter is real, though?" Brittany wondered. "I mean, in Britain? They could actually do things that way. There might be an actual Voldemort."

"Oh, geez," Jacob said, rolling his eyes. "This is why I never read those books."

"You sure know a lot about them," Evelyn pointed out.

"Yeah. A few of my friends read them and told me about them."

"Guys?" Jacques asked. They all turned to him. "Why don't you just ask someone here if Harry Potter is real or not?"

"All right," Brittany said. "Eve, you do it. That guy sitting on the bench right there."

"What? I already know Harry Potter is fiction. You ask. You're the one who's so interested."

Brittany humphed. "Fine. I will."

"Go do it."

Brittany took a deep, audible swallow and walked over to the man on the bench. "Excuse me, sir," she said. "But, um..." She looked over at the others, who waved at her and grinned. "But does Harry Potter exist? Is he real?"

She jumped back as she heard a sudden caw and looked into the air for crows. Then she heard it again, followed quickly by coughing, and she looked back at the man, who had rolled off the bench, laughing. He was squeezing his sides, and he had now reached a sort of hooting stage.

"It wasn't that funny," Brittany told him tartly.

The man stood up, keeping one hand on the bench so he wouldn't fall over again. He wiped tears from his eyes and walked away shakily.

"Well," Brittany said, putting her hands on her hips, "he was rude."

"Do you know now that Harry Potter doesn't exist?" Jacob asked.

Brittany shrugged, hating to admit that she was wrong. "I'll just ask someone else," she said.

"Just made sure I'm there," Jacob said. "You can't believe how much I treasure these moments."

They walked inside. Instinctively, they looked up. The ceiling was glass, as for as Evelyn could tell, but it seemed far away, only slightly larger than her thumb. As far as she could see, there were stories filled with shops. Near the top, the floors looked like little lines in zigzags with small ants around them.

Evelyn lowered her gaze at met Brittany's eyes. She grinned a lopsided grin and gulped. Brittany nodded in agreement.

"So, about this stuff being easy to find," Sean said, tapping his paper.

"Shut up," Brittany told him.

Sean walked over to a sign, reading it. "Yeah. I think we're going to need one of these," he said. "Maps," he explained. He held out his hand. "Comefushcia." There was a small puff of odorless smoke, and when it cleared, there was a folded sheet of paper in Sean's hand.

Brittany went over to the sign. Evelyn joined her.

"Step One:" the sign read, "Place hand out in air in front of you."

"Step Two: Say 'Comefushcia.' "

Brittany and Evelyn looked at each other, held their hands out in front of them, and said, "Comefushcia" together. Instantly, there were two puffs of smoke, and when the two next looked at their hands, they saw maps. They began unfolding them. They kept unfolding them. And unfolding them some more.

"What idiots we are," Jacques muttered, unfolding his own map. "A place this big would have an awfully big map."

"Yeah, but does it have to be life-size?" Sean demanded.

Evelyn sighed. "Jacob, have you ever been here before?"

"Nope. Never used magic before either. I haven't learned how to yet. Not allowed."

"In Harry Potter," Brittany said as everyone automatically groaned. She glared at them. "In Harry Potter, he did magic even though he didn't mean to."

"Yeah, well, you need to be a lot more careful. They used to burn witches, remember? Goes for wizards, too. And even today, letting people know you have special powers will either scare them, or it will encourage them to take advantage of you."

"They still have witch-hunts in some of the smaller villages of France," Jacques said. "In the villages that have been mostly forgotten. And in Africa, they only recently outlawed witch-hunts."

"Great," Brittany muttered. "How much time do we have left?"

Sean looked at his watch. "Three hours and forty-eight minutes."

Brittany shook her head. "We're running out of time."

"Let's split up," Jacob suggested. "Guys go one way; girls go the other."

"I'm okay with that," Evelyn said.

Brittany bit her lip, looking at Sean. Sean saw the problem and said, "I saw some clothing stores through the windows."

"Girls and boys," Brittany agreed.

"Jacques?" Evelyn asked.

"I'm fine with that."

"All right. Then it's settled. And screw these crazy maps," Brittany said, crumpling hers up.

"Agreed," Evelyn said sourly. She folded hers back up. "Later, guys!" She and Brittany started walking the other way. She heard one of the boys say, "Roller coaster!" followed by Brittany's groan.

"Won't even go on roller coasters with loops," Brittany muttered.

Evelyn stopped and turned around.

"What is it?" Brittany demanded.

"Watch," Evelyn said simply. Brittany sighed and watched as a woman went up to the sign, read the directions, and said the spell. When the map was in her hands, she pushed the sides inward. To the girls' surprise, the map actually shrank. The woman said a word, and the map sprung open. She walked past the girls, oblivious to their awed expressions as she read the map.

Evelyn and Brittany looked at each other, jaws dropped. Then, they raced each other to the sign. They searched it for more directions, which they must have missed.

"Here!" Evelyn said. She was kneeling on the floor. "Step Three:" she read aloud. "Arrange the size of the map you want." She took her map and pressed the sides inward as she had seen the woman do. "Step Four: For map to open, say 'Open Sesame.' "

" 'Open Sesame?' " Brittany asked.

Evelyn nodded and said it. Instantly, the map unfolded. She and Brittany held the sides while they read it. It was a key.

"How did we miss those directions?" Brittany asked. She looked back at the sign. "Now the directions are gone!" she said.

Evelyn looked. Sure enough, she didn't see any directions. "They were in really small type when I saw them," she said. The she shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we'll just have to ask Ms. Bronson when we get back to the bus."

"Yeah. Wands first?"

"Cool."

Brittany reached out and tapped "Wands" on the map. The paper shimmered, and then a list popped up. "No Ollivander's," she muttered.

Evelyn grinned but didn't say anything. "Then let's go to King's Wands and Other Magical Objects."

"Okay."

Evelyn pressed it, and a map showed up. The floors were small, and one by one, all but two disappeared. One was a floor with a red dot on it, saying "You Are Here" above it. There was a red dot on the other floor saying "King's Wands and Other Magical Objects." Slowly, a red line went through the first floor to another wall, where a small sign popped up, saying "Transportation."

"That's what we want," Evelyn said aloud.

Brittany glared at her. "Listen, I may refuse to believe Harry Potter doesn't exist, but I know full well how that map works."

"Didn't you crinkle yours up saying, 'Screw these maps?' " Evelyn asked sweetly.

"Shut up."

Evelyn watched the red line while the walked, following it. It disappeared behind them.

Brittany started to sing, or at least attempt to. "We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard named King. Because, because, because, because, because of the wonderful wands he has!"

"Oh, Lord," Evelyn begged. After fifteen minutes of telling Brittany at regular intervals to shut up, she finally spotted where the line ended on this floor. She nudged Brittany, who said, "Ow! Geez, I'm know I'm not the greatest singer, but that's no reason to-"

"Not that. Look."

Brittany looked up and saw what Evelyn saw.

"It's nothing but a guy there in a huge thing of smoke!" she exclaimed.

"Well, that's where the line ends," Evelyn told her. She looked at the man, took a deep breath, and went up to him. "Excuse me, sir," she said.

"Which floor?" he asked.

"Which floor?" she asked, slightly confused.

The man wrinkled his brow and peered more closely at her. Brittany came up behind her. "Oh, I get it. Which school are you going to? You're knew at this, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir. We're going to SAM."

"Oh. Well, then. Good luck."

"Thank you." Evelyn looked back at Brittany. It wasn't a good sign when someone wished you luck for school.

"Where are you two headed?"

"King's Wands and Other Magical Objects," Evelyn said.

"Twenty-first floor." The man pointed at them with a wand, said a long string of what sounded like gibberish, and the next thing she knew, Evelyn was in a cloud of smoke, coughing, with no ground below her. And then, as quickly as she had realized she could no longer touch the ground, she realized she was falling. Falling way too fast...