THE MOMENT
"DARA!" Phantae rushed through the door calling the name of one of her roommates while holding the door open for Shayla rolling in behind her. Dara was relaxing on the bed and looked up.
"Yeah?" she asked.
"Do you know how magical you are!?" The two that just came in rushed to the bedside.
"Everyone's talking about it! You're about to be super popular!" Shayla added. Dara's face took on a somber expression as she sat up and gave them all her attention.
"What are you talking about?"
"The magical ability test results got leaked! You're more powerful than most of the staff here, everyone's wondering who 'Dara Sharp' is."
"She's our roommate," Shayla giggled. "But, don't worry! I didn't tell anyone yet. It's only a matter of time before everyone finds out though."
"Oh...," Dara sighed. "Well, I don't feel like dealing with any of that, so I'm gonna leave," she shrugged.
"I told you she would...," Phantae made the comment to Shayla, then focused on Dara again. "Do you really have to?"
"I mean, if we're talking about whether I have to..., I don't have to be here," Dara said. "The whole reason I got to new schools is to avoid standing out anywhere."
"We were getting to know you...," Shayla said.
"That's another thing I don't have to be here for," Dara gave Shayla a friendly smile as she reached behind herself. She picked up a card-sized pane of thin, crystal clear glass and held it up.
"I hadn't shown you guys this yet; this is called a node," she said. She tapped it and the transparent screen came to life with a brilliant white background and red numbers showing the time.
"It's a magic academy.. but, we have smartphones, remember?" Phantae dug hers out to show it off. It was the latest model, thin and light with a bright screen; from the front, it looked almost like Dara's node. but, from the side, the node was as thin as a sheet of paper while Phantae's phone was several millimeters thick.
"I know, but a node is a little more advanced," Dara said. She turned it into landscape orientation and grabbed it on both ends; then, she started to pull. The glass stretched like taffy until it doubled in length and she snapped it in half. "It's made from nanos," she said as she handed one of the nodes to Shayla, then she pulled on it again to make one for Phantae.
"Whoooa.. you had this... were you going to tell us?" Shayla asked as she navigated through the screens.
"At some point," Dara nodded. "But, I was waiting for the right conversation. There's more to it...," She paused for a moment and took in a deep breath as if building her courage. "You guys were nice... I don't usually make friends when I go to a new school, so I never really get to explain this part. Remember when I told you about my mom and said she could get me into any school?"
"Yeah," Phantae nodded.
"You said there were all kinds of special schools," Shayla added what she remembered too.
"Well, the thing about that is... there are. Those schools exist.. but, they're not all on the same Earth.. not on this Earth either." There was a quiet moment as the two girls processed the information.
"You're saying... you're from another universe..?" Phantae asked.
"I am, and these nodes will let us keep in touch," Dara said.
"This can talk to other realities?" Shayla asked with wide eyes.
"More than that, it can take you to them too; you'll learn how if you do the tutorial."
"And.. you're just gonna leave?" Phantae asked. She wasn't as interested in the technology as Shayla was. And, she knew she'd have time to explore it later. Right now, she wasn't sure when her new friend was going to disappear.
"Yeah," Dara shrugged. "It's not like I'm going to burn any bridges in the school. There's no one to report me to, I don't have any family on this Earth. Technically, I only exist in their records."
"Are you going to another magic school?" Shayla asked.
"I dunno yet. I was actually getting comfortable here, so I hadn't considered my next step."
"How do you have so much magic? Did your mother give you that too?" Phantae asked.
"Yeah, but not in the same way she gave me the power to copy abilities. The magic is because I'm something called a Unique Soul."
"You said you were human...," Shayla said.
"I am," Dara nodded. "This body is human, it just has an upgraded soul. You're a half-mermaid," Dara pointed at Shayla, then she pointed at Phantae. "And, you're a fairy dragon hybrid; but, both of you have normal souls. There are versions of each of you in other universes that might or might not be in the same fae bodies. My soul is the only one like it in all universes, there are no other versions of me; that's what a Unique Soul is."
"I hadn't even considered that!" Shayla was excited. "Can I talk to other versions of me!??"
"If any of them have nodes too," Dara nodded.
"You know... it felt like we were getting to know you...," Phantae giggled with a kind of defeated sigh. "And here I thought you being born on Mars was going to be the biggest secret I learned about you. It turns out, that was apparently the easiest thing to share...," she said. "And it wasn't even Mars in this universe...," she added with a shake of her head.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to lie. It's not stuff I'm open about; you can probably understand why."
"No, I get it," Phantae nodded. "But, honestly, I'm a little less sad to see you go now. I want to get to know you," she added as she gestured with the node. "But, right now it kind of feels more like you're some rando than our roommate."
"That's totally fair," Dara answered with a smile. "But, I will say, now that this is out, it'll be easier to get to know each other."
"Any other big secrets you want to share while we're at it?" Phantae asked.
"I haven't decided where I'm going next; but, once I do I'll let you guys know. If any of you want to transfer schools, we can make it happen. It doesn't even have to be the new school I go to; but, I feel like I want to recommend you don't stay here."
"What? Why not?" Phantae asked.
"It's only been two weeks since the school year started and they already had a major security breach to leak those test results. I don't have a whole lot of confidence in their ability to keep it from happening again, or with more personal information."