Musa walked through the halls of Alfea alone. It had been a long summer and she had to come back earlier than normal. Her dad had a new girlfriend and no matter how hard Musa tried to accept her, she just couldn't. She wasn't her mother, she never would be.

She had changed so much over the summer. Would her friends even recognize her? She had cut her hair drastically, some points even poked up like cow licks but way cuter, of course. She had dyed it dark red and it was fried from too much straightening. Her clothes were darker but not goth-ish. No, her friends would not recognize her. Riven definitely wouldn't.

They were so close by the end of the year, almost joined at the hip. When the girlfriend moved in she had become distant and he had eventually stopped calling. If only she could make it up to him, if he would give her another chance. To explain what had happened, at least. Away from home, she could think. She knew she had to eventually tell everyone what was going on, why she had changed. Riven was first though, always first.

Lost in thought, Musa hadn't been paying attention to where she was going. She bumped into Mrs. Griselda with an 'oofh' and fell to the floor, spilling her library books everywhere. "Please watch where you are going Ms….? Actually, who are you?"

"Musa Nebula. I know I changed a lot over the summer but it's still me." Musa sneezed from all the dust still swirling on the floor. Wow. These books haven't been used in months.

"Well, Ms. Nebula. I hope you learn to look where you're going." Griselda was scowling, something Musa welcomed with a warm smile.

"Thanks Mrs. G, for being so constant. I can always count on you to look at us girls like you're disappointed."

"Well, uh, you're…You're welcome, I suppose. Listen Ms. Nebula, if there's anything you need to talk about, well, um, Mrs. Faragonda and I are always here. There's also the school therapist. Look after self Musa." With that Griselda turned and walked away.

That was weird. Musa's phone vibrated, alerting her to a text. She hadn't received one in a month. She flipped open the phone and read.

I'm outside and I'm coming up. We gotta talk. -Riv

Uh-oh. This could be bad. Musa could feel the panic creeping up inside her. With shaky legs and sweaty palms, Musa walked toward the entrance on the first floor, tapping away at the keys of her phone.

I'll meet you at the East Door. You won't recognize me so I'll talk first. –M

Can't wait. -Riv