Annisa is in a good mood. The English Romantic poets continue to be idiots who are wrong about everything but they can't possibly ruin a delightful morning spent in the shop doing the thing she has been rehearsing relentlessly for the last several years. .... unfortunately between being in a good mood and having tried to escape English romantic poetry as soon as possible, she's the second kid into this classroom, and the other one is bad news. Just very evidently bad news. Annisa's not even sure if it's maleficer vibes or something else about her that just trips all your stay-away radar instantly. 

Well.

 She'll just turn around and leave the classroom and come back in five minutes.

...maybe she opened the wrong door, that probably happens sometimes.

Well, if she keeps hanging around the classroom door, someone else will show up to it within the next couple of minutes, and if he has a vibe at all the only thing it says is that he has too much limb for the rest of his body.

Lissa comes walking up as well, blinking at the people outside the door before reaching to open it.

"Oh hi El!" she calls, waving. "Is class started already?"

Chicago mundie vouching for Ms. Bad Vibes doesn't make her feel any better but she'll go in with unsuspicious boy and a couple other people who arrive at the same time, and sit securely distant from Ms. Bad Vibes.

"Hi Lissa, this one probably doesn't have a lecture so it starts when you find your book. Hopefully no one got too terribly lost on their way here," she adds, glancing at Annisa.

Feeling remotely embarrassed about snubbing the girl, if she turns out to be just a random person with bad vibes, seems like the kind of thing a dead person would do. Annisa is not a dead person and does not feel remotely embarrassed. 

For some reason, the school put her with the same creepy maleficer girl that was in her History of Maleficing class. Maybe it's trying to tell her to keep an eye on her, or something? 

...Still, that doesn't mean sitting next to her is a good idea. She looks around the rest of the room. Creepy maleficer girl, unsuspicious girl who apparently thinks it's a good idea to just sit down right next to a creepy maleficer, assorted unsuspicious-looking people. She checks one of the desks that's not near the maleficer for mals, sits down, and starts reading through the textbook.

Introduction: What is an Incantation?

An incantation refers to the use of specific words, phrases, or other sounds to produce a magical effect. Incantations, along with artifice and alchemy, compose the three primary divisions of magic. However, in most cases, incantations form one element of artifice or alchemical concoctions. Therefore, the study of incantations serves as the foundation for all magical study.

Literally everyone knows this. Why can't the textbook just get to the part where it teaches you spells rather than talking for an entire chapter about obvious things that literally everyone knows?

You know what this class needs? Another creepy maleficer. Good news, it has one. This one is paler and smiles more.

Now, does she want to sit next to Ms. Worse Aura Than Literally Anyone In Pisa, who might be rotten by spring but is an unsolved puzzle, or someone else, or in clear space?

The puzzle is not worth risking her life, so she takes a seat next to... mentally flips a coin... Briar. Who is this girl, is she interesting?

"Hello, I'm Teresa Calloconti. Pisa, languages track."

Lissa smiles at El as she sits down, looking around as everyone else filters in, which does make her textbook appear at some point. She flips it open, nodding a bit at the beginning introduction. Even without any background, it seems to follow pretty logically. Though some of the information about exactly what kinds of words or sounds count seems useful.

Why does this class have so many people with auras of doom in it. Is this not slightly excessive.

Why is everyone in this school a creepy maleficer??

Actually, this girl might not be; she's not nearly as creepy, and she's got a power-sharer, so maybe she's just the ordinary kind of creepy. Still, her aura feels really off.

"Briar. Portland, creative writing." She hesitates for a moment. "Pure mana." Hopefully if this girl isn't a creepy maleficer she won't take offense to that.

Portland, Portland, has she heard of Portland? She thinks no.

"No cheating, even? Bold choice."

Annisa, great, she knows Annisa. Naima sits next to Annisa and then totally ignores her in favor of going over the new flashcards she made during lunch.

Pen sits in the back of the room, because that seems like the least inconvenient place if you're obviously not going to successfully talk to anybody anyway. She opens the textbook and starts reading. Maybe if she learns enough she won't die even though she's apparently totally mute.

Naima's very herself. There's an intro incantations textbook where there wasn't one before; Annisa's going to get started on it.

That's not a helpful answer!

"No cheating! --Not that I have anything against people who cheat."

"Sensible, you wouldn't get many allies if you did. It's hard enough to get through school without that kind of limit."

Annisa cannot fathom what the girl's 'tell Pisa you're strict mana' play is about??? Where is Portland. It's not an enclave, she has all the enclaves memorized. 

Ellen sits down next to a blond girl.

“Hullo. I’m Ürömi Heléna, but everyone calls me Ellen.”

Oh good, at least someone in this class doesn't have an aura.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Briar, from Portland."

"Is that in America? I'm from Üröm, a town near Budapest."

She looks over Briar at Teresa, notices her nails. Teresa is looking at someone on the other side of the room, so Ellen puts the question to Briar:

“Is she a maleficer? I’ve heard they have black nails and a weird aura. I have never seen one, at least that I know of.”

Briar nods. "Yeah, on the West Coast."

She lowers her voice a little, although not nearly enough that it would actually be difficult for Teresa to hear. "And -- I'm not sure. She has the aura, but she also has a power sharer? So maybe she's just creepy? But it's kind of a lot to be a coincidence."

Ellen looks puzzled.

"Is there some reason a maleficer couldn't have a power sharer?"

"I mean, enclavers aren't supposed to be maleficers? Not that anyone should be a maleficer. But it's even worse than normal when enclavers do it, since then other enclaves might also start maleficing to keep up."