The morning had started at seven for Braelyn, the time she always woke. This gave the girl time to shower, brush her teeth, and dress appropriately. Compared to most mornings, however, there was a small smile on her face. The Cetus found it nearly impossible to explain. It was like puffapod seeds had landed in her stomach and her chest and sprouted a bunch of pink flowers that couldn’t help but make her cheerful all the time.

It was a nice yet strange feeling.

She started feeling this way over midterm after Andersson asked her to be a couple. Even though it was wrong, and such disrespect to her bloodline was scary, Braelyn couldn’t help but be happy about it.

Once her auburn hair was pulled back in a white headband, the last touch to the day’s appearance, she picked up the library books she needed to return. She’d stop at the Finer Diner for breakfast before going to the library. Andersson was typically there, but she couldn’t spot him that morning, which was a little odd.

The house elves had set aside hot chocolate for everything that morning, too. It was a little out of place, but the house elves at Rocky Mountain International were generous compared to most house elves. Her family never used the creatures because Father thought they weren’t aesthetically pleasing, but from what she’d seen of others, they were extremely timid. The ones at school were very lucky to work there.

She drank the hot chocolate while she ate her breakfast. It wasn’t her typical beverage of choice, but it tasted very good. Braelyn rarely ate sweets, so this was a treat. Mother and Father would never approve of something so sweet for breakfast, but she was doing a lot of things they wouldn’t approve of, now wasn’t she? She smiled a little to herself and picked up her bag when she finished. She really liked how she felt.

After her walk to the library, however, something felt off. Braelyn couldn’t place what it was. She couldn’t stop herself from greeting everyone she saw. It was like she was Adisynne! How odd. She shook her head and returned her books before looking at the shelves to find a new one to read.

Braelyn didn’t get far before she saw Milo Sarkes.

A sudden anger boiled up inside Braelyn and before she could stop herself, she’d walked over to her fellow pureblood and yanked the book he was reading out of his hands. “Milo,” she whispered angrily, “I don’t know why you felt it was your business to tell my mother that Andersson is Muggleborn, but it was none of your business. What were you hoping to accomplish?! After being so rude to me before midterm…do you know you made me cry? I cried. I cried a lot. I thought we were friends. I liked you, but that didn’t matter. You said you didn’t care about me, but you cared enough to try and ruin my friendship with the one person who cares about what I think and what I feel!” She stopped suddenly and blinked her dark eyes, surprised by her unexplainable outburst.

“I…I apologize. I don’t know what’s wrong with me; I can’t seem to stop talking.” And it was true. She really hoped Milo decided to silence her before she said anything else. Still, he deserved it. He told Mother about Andersson, and after claiming to not want her friendship or to care about her in any way, he must have done so out of cruelty. Braelyn would never do something like that to him, especially if he was happy, and she had every right to be angry.