oh, how convenient for you, she thinks to herself. one more tick towards the idea this is just a hallucination that can't actually talk to anyone else or some kind of prank.

she takes the last bite of her first sandwich and stares down the strange creature through the crack in the stall.

You can talk to her by telepathy too, if you like.

blinks.

'ok, sure, let's try that, why not add a second voice in my head?'

'...where do I aim?'

Her name is Tanya.

Taylor, feeling fairly silly and uncertain tries to aim her thoughts sort of out and loudly thinks 'Hello, Tanya? you there?'

Hey! You must be the potential magical girl Kyubey was talking about?

'so it claims, at least. I'm sure you can understand why I'm a bit skeptical'

I guess so, I've been a magical girl so long I kind of forget how it sounds.

'Well, from where I'm sitting, I'm pretty I've finally lost my mind and you and Kyubey both are just elaborate hallucinations' she freely admits. 'if you've got a nice and easy way to prove otherwise I'd love to hear it'

Well, after school I can show you a witch, if you like? Or you could ditch, I'm not going to tell on you, but your call.

'You're a magical girl, right? so that means you've got some sort of magical powers? If I come outside is there something you can demonstrate to me?'

Sure. My specialty's speed, but I can levitate something since that's more obvious.

Taylor thinks about waiting until the end of the school day, like she should, but as the next period draws closer, the thought of sticking around here is getting more and more miserable. When she overhears some students talking loudly as they pass the bathroom she flinches, half expecting that the trio found her, and ultimately that's what decides it for her. She shoves the final bite of her second sandwich into her mouth and shoulders her backpack.

'alright I'm on my way out, meet me by the dumpster in the alley on the northwest side of the grounds - did Kyubey tell you where my school is already?'

Yep, I knew he was looking for a potential around here.

'so what does it mean to be a potential magical girl?' she asks as she walks through the halls to the northern entrance 'why me and not somebody else?'

Not everybody has magical... uh... potential, I'm not sure there's a technical term. Some people just can't wish for things strongly enough or something, and it's also only girls.

'huh, weird. why is it only girls, do you know?' Taylor notices a crowd of people in the hallway ahead making some noise and detours around slightly to avoid them, almost at the door to the outside.

No clue. I'm in the biiiiig maple tree across the street from your school, in the park.

Taylor narrows her eyes, suspicious. The entire reason she named a specific location herself was to be sure it wasn't somewhere this girl could have preset some kind of ambush. She looks attentively at the park across the street as she steps out of the door and across the small lot toward the alley and dumpster. She'll watch the park carefully but she's not going over there until she's more sure what's actually going on.

'I cant see you yet but if you hop down and head over to the alley I mentioned I should be able to see you coming'

On my way.

A girl wearing a long khaki coat drops down out of the tree and heads over. She waves at Taylor.

...well, ok, she's real. or, at least she's yet another visual hallucination, this time with the complete and full detail of a living human being, rather than a strange cartoon-esque animal. Taylor is officially unsure what's going on. She tentatively waves back as she watches Tanya approach.

"Hey! Any preferences what I float?" says Tanya, after checking nobody's around.

"any weight limits?"

"Uh, kind of? I only have so much magic. Heavy stuff is more expensive."

She nods, and looks around.

"How about that pieces of loose gravel over there? could you toss it over to me?"