Chapter 6: 6. Breakfast with Witches

Miss Hawthorne looked across the table at me and asked, "Have you had enough to eat Cassandra?"

"Yes ma'am," I replied. "It was great, thanks very much."

She smiled then glanced around at the others, "There's still some bacon left, and two more pancakes. Anyone?"

Marissa grinned and helped herself to one of the pancakes and a couple strips of bacon. Brooke took the last of the bacon and Paige had the final pancake.

I was still getting used to the smaller appetite that came with my smaller body. Two pancakes and three pieces of bacon filled me right up. I barely had room for the half glass of juice sitting in front of me.

It was about eleven o'clock Saturday morning, and the six of us were all sitting at Miss Hawthorne's big old country dining table. I'd been awake for around two hours, and I was one of the last ones to get up this morning. The only one who slept in later than me was Marissa.

I actually ended up having a really good sleep last night too, considering I was on a sofa in a strange place surrounded by people I barely knew. Not to mention being turned into a girl and learning magic was real, then going on a night-time hike looking for ghosts, then actually meeting one and talking to him.

Come to think of it, maybe I slept well because of all that stuff. I was probably mentally and physically exhausted after everything that happened yesterday.

Once we were all awake Miss Hawthorne made breakfast and there was a big pot of fresh-brewed coffee, though I stuck to juice. Paige did too, but everyone else had coffee. And nobody had bothered to get dressed yet. That felt kind of weird, but not in a bad way. Like it kind of made it feel like a sleep-over, except I was invited. And I actually fit in.

I glanced around the table at everyone else as I had another sip of my juice.

Brooke was wearing a small tight pink t-shirt and white panties, that left her long shapely arms and legs on full display. Paige wore a white and pink striped nightshirt, and she had fuzzy blue socks on her feet. Marissa wore a long white nightgown and had some red wool footy-socks to keep her toes warm.

Miss Hawthorne had a warm comfy-looking white housecoat wrapped around herself, and she had cute grey bunny-slippers on her feet. Kaylee was in a pale green nightgown and fuzzy white socks. And I was wearing a black nightshirt and a pair of panties, which our teacher bought for me yesterday.

"So what's the plan for today?" Marissa asked as she munched on a piece of bacon. "Big magic ritual stuff tonight right? But that's like eight hours away."

"Mhmm," our teacher nodded as she had a sip of her coffee. "I think the first order of business is to get Cassandra up to speed on what it means to be a witch? Or perhaps before that, we should all get to know her a little better, and vice versa. Kaylee why don't you start?"

The cute redhead blushed slightly. She looked kind of awkward, like she didn't know quite where to begin or what to say.

"Um," she hesitated, "So like you already know, my name is Kaylee Holt, and I'm in grade eleven. My hobbies are reading and doing research? I also enjoy writing. I'm not sure yet if I want to be an author or a librarian, or maybe I can do both. I'm Club Luna's main researcher, and I also specialize in spiritual magic and healing magic."

Miss Hawthorne picked the next girl to speak.

"I'm Paige Doubek, also grade eleven. You probably already know this stuff, but I'm on the soccer team, track and field team, and heading into the winter I'll be on the girls hockey team. I haven't thought much about college yet but whatever I end up doing, it'll be based on the best sports programs. In Club Luna my specialties are protection magic and I'm a technomancer. That means I do magic to or with machines, computers, electronics, that kind of thing. And sometimes I help Kaylee with research."

Brooke Tremblay went next, and like I already knew she was in grade twelve and an athlete same as Paige. She was Club Luna's leader, and her specialties were divination and protection magic. She also said she was interested in becoming a teacher, so when she went to college next year she'd be taking courses based on that.

And I finally found out why Marissa went by that name instead of her real name which was Cerys Ainsley. She was big into something called Touhou. I didn't entirely understand what she was talking about, but it was either a video game or a manga or perhaps it was both. Whatever it was, she was a big fan and apparently one of the characters was a witch named Marissa. She liked that character so much she took the name for herself. She was the youngest member of Club Luna, and she specialized in both spiritual magic and in her words, ass-kicking magic.

Miss Hawthorne translated that for me, "What Marissa means is offensive or attack magic. She's also got a reputation for pranks, but I'm sure none of us have to remind her not to play any tricks on Club Luna's newest member."

There was a warning tone in her voice for that last part, and Marissa cringed slightly in her chair as she shook her head. She'd clearly got the message.

The teacher looked back at me and asked, "Now Cassandra, how about you share a little about yourself?"

I blushed and faltered a bit, "Um. Uh. Well I'm uh, Cassandra Underwood, but you can all just call me Cass? I'm seventeen, in grade eleven, and I uh, don't really know what I'm doing yet. Um, like you all know I've only been a girl for less than a day, and I don't know anything about being a witch? I don't have many hobbies, but I like reading and writing. I uh, usually hang out at the library at school. Like during lunch, before and after school. And um, during gym class."

"How about you May?" Brooke asked Miss Hawthorne.

She smiled slightly, "Very well. I'm May Hawthorne, as you know I teach English and Creative Writing. While I'm not technically a member of Club Luna, I do sponsor the club. And as a teacher, I can provide cover stories and occasionally get club members out of trouble. I also provide guidance and education. Typically I don't get involved directly in club business, but last night was a rather special situation."

After a pause she added, "Speaking of last night, since it seems everyone has finished eating I think I'd like to sit down with Cass for a private conversation? I'd appreciate if the rest of you could take care of the dishes, since I did the cooking."

Marissa was the only one who complained about that, but even I could tell she wasn't actually upset. It was more like she was just pretending to grumble for the fun of it.

Meanwhile I couldn't help feeling more than a little nervous as me and Miss Hawthorne got up and moved to the opposite end of the house. She sat in the recliner next to the fire, and I sat on the sofa next to her.

"What did you want to talk about, ma'am?" I asked.

My anxiety obviously came across in my voice as she smiled, "You can relax Cass, there's nothing to be afraid of. And as I said yesterday evening, you're welcome to call me May outside of school hours."

Before I could respond she went on, "I'm sure you have a lot of questions after everything that's happened. Please feel free to ask, and I'll answer them as best I can."

"Ok," I gulped. "My biggest question is, how exactly did I get turned into a girl? And why?"

May smiled slightly, like she figured that'd be one of my first questions. She took a deep breath then explained, "When the club gathers for a meeting it's routine to cast a protective circle around the location. Brooke and Paige usually handle that as it's one of their specialities. That sort of circle is meant to keep dangerous spirits and energies out, and also provides privacy. It's attuned so only other witches can pass through it. And in the case of Club Luna, they usually make it so only female witches like themselves can enter the circle."

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She continued, "A protective circle tends to have a lot of power charged up in it, so it can respond instantly to any threat or danger. When you stepped through the circle, the magic identified you as a witch and a girl so it let you pass. For reasons I have yet to determine, all that charged up magical energy in the circle was dumped into you when you crossed it. And you used that magic to change your physical body into something which matched your inner self."

"Huh?" I frowned. "That makes it sound like I did this? But I don't know how to do magic."

May nodded, "I'm certain it was a subconscious reaction Cass. Forgive my bluntness but I'm quite sure that you're trans. Even if you hadn't figured that out yet, you wanted to be a girl did you not? You're more comfortable this way? Happier with this body than the one you had before?"

"Oh," I mumbled. My face was probably bright red as I cringed. I might have even tried sinking back into the sofa.

I knew what being trans was, but I never really thought about it as something that applied to me. I knew I was uncomfortable with my body before, but I figured that was normal. She was right though, about me being happier like this. I still remembered how I felt when I first saw myself in the washroom mirror after I got changed into my new clothes last night.

"Sorry Cass," she gave me a sympathetic smile. "Normally I'd be a lot more subtle and patient trying to help someone hatch, but considering you've already magically transitioned I thought it was best to just rip the band-aid off, metaphorically speaking."

I continued blushing for a bit more, but asked "So um, about the witch thing? How can I be a witch?"

May sighed, "That's actually harder to explain than the first question. People aren't usually born witches. Witches aren't a different race or species, they're ordinary humans. Well most of them anyways. People become witches by studying and learning magic, though some people have it easier than others. Just like some people excel at sports while others do well at academic studies? You have a natural talent for magic, and it seems that you're already attuned to witchcraft."

"To be honest," she added, "That usually only happens when someone's parents are both strong witches themselves. However I've met your parents and I'm quite sure neither of them are witches."

I cringed again, and I was still blushing as I mumbled "Actually I'm um, adopted? So maybe my bio parents were witches?"

"Ah," Miss Hawthorne nodded slightly, "That might explain it."

After a pause she asked, "Have you any more questions?"

I frowned as I thought for a few seconds, then nodded. "What's the deal with everyone having a speciality? Like Kaylee does spiritual magic and Paige does protection stuff and all that?"

"Everyone has different areas of interest," May explained. "For instance, you mentioned you enjoyed reading and writing? You're taking a number of different classes at school, but reading and writing are two which interest you more than the others? It's the same with witchcraft. There's many different ways magic and spells may be categorized, and some witches gravitate to certain aspects of the craft that interest them more than others."

She continued, "Sometimes that special interest coincides with an aptitude or particular skill as well. For instance Paige's technomancy. She has a knack for computers and electronics, which means practicing technology-based magic is easier for her than it would be for someone who was computer-illiterate."

"Ok," I said slowly. "So how do you learn all this stuff? Like how would I find out what my specialty is, how do I learn magic?"

May smiled, "Like learning any other subject, it takes time. How much time depends on how much effort you put in. And you'll figure out what your speciality is as you learn. Although..."

Her voice trailed off for a moment, then I noticed a flicker of that faint purple light in the air around her. It seemed to settle at her left hand, which was resting closed on her lap.

Before I could ask or comment on that she said, "Actually Cass, I have some questions for you if that's ok? Last night you mentioned being able to see the orbs that Kaylee and Marissa were working with, and you said you could see something you thought was magic. When was the first time you saw that?"

I frowned. "Um, I think it was when Paige unlocked the gate? I saw a glow around her hand and the lock."

"Very well," she nodded slightly. "And when was the last time you saw it?"

I grimaced, "Like ten seconds ago? I saw it in the air around you, but it ended up at your left hand."

May actually looked impressed. She turned her hand over and opened it up as she asked, "What do you see in my hand?"

I frowned as I stared at it. The first thing that came to mind was it felt like the magical equivalent of a captcha. Like I knew there was something there and I knew I could see it, but I couldn't say for sure what it actually was.

After five or ten seconds I finally responded, "It looks sort of like one of those orbs that Kaylee and Marissa worked with last night? Smaller though, smaller than a golf-ball I think? And it's hard to tell what colour it is? It's almost like all the colours, like a rainbow or something. Like it's every colour but also no colours..."

I grimaced as I added, "Or um, maybe I'm just seeing things. I'm not sure."

She smiled as she closed her hand, and I saw another flicker of faint purple light as she commented "That's very good Cassandra."

"What's it mean?" I asked. "It's something to do with that magical sight thing Kaylee mentioned last night, right?"

May nodded, "That's correct. Magical Sight is something witches have to learn. It's not quite like a spell, but it does require training and practice. It's usually one of the first things a newcomer is taught since it's rather useful. And it's a good way to learn how to attune oneself with magic."

After a pause she concluded, "You have a very rare gift Cass, which we call natural Sight. Along with your natural talent for magic, you are a rather uniquely gifted individual."

"Oh," I frowned. I wasn't sure what to think or say about that, so I finally said "That's neat I guess?"

She smiled, "Indeed. Now let's rejoin the others, and perhaps we can begin your education in the craft."