~Dorrie~

Tomorrow, and the day after, are boring. 
Then, on Saturday, interesting things happen.
My eldest cousin, Kaitlyn, arrives by riverboat from The City of Mountains and Snow. Kaitlyn is sixteen, and she visits on her own a lot. We take her to a hotel and assist her in checking in. 
And, walking down the hallway in the hotel, I run into my science teacher.
"Hi, Mr. E," I say. 
"Huh? Oh, hi, Dorrie," he says. "BTW, I'm changing your grade to a B minus." 
"Thanks," I say. 
However, my mom notices this and pounces on Mr. Erlenmeyer.
"Are you Emil Erlenmeyer?" she asks.
"Um… yes, why?"says Mr. E. 
"Why have you been absent from City School?" 
"Circumstances beyond my control," says Mr. E.
"What circumstances would leave you in this hotel?"
"If you must know, I don't have much money, and I was forcibly put out of my house recently." I think he's lying. He looks directly at my mom and doesn't blink at all. As well, he usually uses far less formal language–he calls me Dorrie, doesn't mind if we call him Mr. E, and loves to use contractions.
"Well then," she says. "I filed a complaint, but it appears they got a sub. Keep this in mind."
She then turns on her heel, even though she has to turn back on her heel to actually get to Kaitlyn's room, and we follow her.

~Violet~

Hm-m…the Zeithran Star, I think to myself. I've always thought that it was a simple little tale about magic that my mom would always read to me before bed. A bit of sadness washes over me as I think about my mom. I wish she was here. Then I could ask her all these questions that I have. There are so many things I don't know!

The school is same as always, with a few subs here and there, like the one for science. Nothing too crazy, really. I wish I could say that I like school, but I'm really indifferent about it. There are some good subjects, some boring, some confusing, and making friends usually come easily for me…usually.

My first class is ELA with Mrs. Kynoa, who's a relatively nice teacher, though she assigns a lot of essays. Some are easier to write, like narrative writing, but sometimes, it's not so lucky, like today. We get assigned a research essay on myths and legends, in which we write a detailed summary of its history, where it comes from, if it could be true or if it's fake, etc. At first, I feel a bit of dread writing so much (five pages at minimum!), but then I realize something. I could write about the Zeithran Star! Now that would be an interesting topic, and I can help Ky!

Throughout the rest of the day, I feel excited—excited to work on a research essay, of all things! But this one…this one will be much more interesting to write.

–Morrigan–

I can't stop thinking about the science teacher. So, on Saturday, I go to the City School. 
It's been a while since I was last there. Things have changed. I'm pretty sure that they removed and replaced the train station nearest my apartment, and also maybe the science building is new?
Anyway, I go to the Science Building Head's office, which still belongs to a very fastidious-but-not-nitpicky person named Mx. Alberts. 
"Who are you?" asks Mx. Alberts after I knock on the door. 
"My name is Morrigan Ensley and I would like to visit and ask something about staff changes. Is that OK?" It is; they have a 9:45 appointment but that leaves them with five minutes.
"Yes," says Mx. Alberts, welcoming me in. "You're lucky I have a meeting soon, otherwise I'd not be here."
"Why has a teacher named Mr. Erlenmeyer left?" I ask. "Sorry to be blunt," I add quickly. Mx. Alberts doesn't know much except that Mr. Erlenmeyer was evicted and can't teach until he finds someplace to live. 
"Mr. Erlenmeyer was, sadly, evicted," says Mx. Alberts. "From his house."
Something isn't quite right about that. I remember reading a book called City Laws You Should Know. One of them, called Housing Act 663 A, stated that nobody should be removed from their house based on lack of money. 
"Doesn't Housing Act 663 A state that nobody should be removed from their house based on lack of money?" I ask. Mx. Alberts was told that Mr. E was evicted. 
"I only know what I was told," says Mx. Alberts. "And if you'll excuse me, I need to prepare for a meeting." 
"Of course," I say. "Thank you." I get up and leave.
My next step would be to find Mr. Erlenmeyer, but that would be too difficult, so instead I take Greta up to the roof and watch her while she wanders around. 

~Dorrie~

Kaitlyn mostly insists we do tourist stuff. I am bored by it, so I ask to spend the day with Morrigan. 
"Sure, honey," says my mom, who has been frazzled by Kaitlyn's relentless energy-then-crash method of living. (Example: At the train museum yesterday, Kaitlyn looked at every. Single. Thing, and then, on the top floor, ended up lying down on a bench, complaining about being bored.) 
"I'd honestly like to as well, Mom," says Orin. "Tend my plants, stuff."
"Okay," says my dad.
"I'm so excited to go canoeing in the river, Uncle Oliver!" says Kaitlyn. Knowing her, she'll probably paddle too fast on the outgoing journey and slump over the paddle on the return. "You too, Aunt Elenia. It'll be fun!" 
"Good," I mutter, and then they leave, Orin goes outside to his plants and I go upstairs to Morrigan's apartment. She's sitting at a desk with her typewriter and a turtle. 
"Is it okay if you watch us?" I ask her. "We have an energetic-then-slumpy cousin in town." 
"Of course," she says. "Let me put Greta back in her habitat and wash my hands." She puts the turtle back into a glass tank, washes her hands, and then takes the typewriter. She follows me down all the stairs to our apartment. Orin is already watering and pruning and etcetera-ing his plants, and so Morrigan sits at the kitchen table. 
"Have you seen your science teacher?" she asks me. 
"Not really," I say. "Not since when we went to Kaitlyn's hotel." 
"Say what?"
"He was in there and my mom cornered him and talked to him. He said he was, quote, forcibly put out of his house." 
"Huh," says Morrigan. "I went to Mx. Alberts a while ago and they said that Mr. E was evicted, but there's a law that that can't happen to anyone in the city."
"So Mr. E was lying," I say. 
"Yes, it appears he was," she says. 

_Ky_

The Zeithran Star has been taking up most of my thoughts while I'm working at the cafe. So much so that I nearly messed up a customer's order! (Luckily, my co-worker caught me just in time.) Anyways, I've looked through all the books that I got from the bookstore. Didn't really find all that much, honestly. Mostly fairy tales about how the Zeithran Star was magical and such. No clue about where to find it, or if it even can be found.

As I walk back to Beachside, I overhear a conversation by Violet and Celeste, eagerly chatting away. I can't help but eavesdrop a little, which I'm sure they won't mind.

"So you're telling me that you chose what topic for your ELA essay?" Celeste asks.

"The Zeithran Star!" Violet exclaims. "It's a super interesting topic, and I can help Ky with his… Zeithran Star search thing. Oh, hi, Ky." She glances up at me.

I nod, a bit embarrassed that they caught me eavesdropping. "Good afternoon, Celeste, Violet."

"You can call me Vi you know," Violet says. "Though I wouldn't call Celeste Cele, unless you're me, in which I can call her whatever I want!"

"No she can't," Celeste says firmly, looking at me. She then pauses for a moment before saying, "You probably heard that about her Zeithran Star essay. That way, she can help you research. Why is it that you want to learn about it anyways?"

I shrug, then pull out the letter I got from the Seeker. I show it to them, who look at it eagerly.

"Wow, that's so interesting," Violet says finally. "No wonder. I would go look for it too!"

On the other hand, Celeste says, "Sure sounds dangerous. I wouldn't trust the Seeker, or whatever their name is."

"Either way, just give me an update on if anything odd or interesting happens around here," I say.

"Oh, speaking of which," Celeste says. "Mr. Erlenmeyer was evicted from his house."

"Who?"

"Her science teacher," Violet explains. "And mine. Though honestly, I didn't really look into it. I'm not interested in that kind of…mystery."

Celeste shrugs. "I'm not really interested either, just wanted to say, since you asked for anything interesting."

I nod and give her a thumbs-up. "Yeah. Keep me posted on those." 

–Morrigan–

Me and Dorrie make a long list of what we know about Mr. Erlenmeyer, and then a list of questions. Then Dorrie's mom, dad, and cousin get back and I go back to my apartment and feed Greta. 

-Celeste-

"Thank the stars," I breathe. "It's finally a weekend, a weekend of no school. I desperately need a break from…basically everything!"

"Everything? Even me?" Violet asks, faking a hurt look.

I nod seriously. "Everything."

Violet smiles and says, "Too bad. There's no option from that. But as I was saying, the Zeithran Star! I've researched about it, and discovered some crazy news!"

"Crazy news," I repeat unenthusiastically.

"The folklore, I mean. It's actually fascinating," Violet continues. Her eyes are sparkling with eagerness as she says, "According to the old souls of the City, the Zeithran Star…it could grant magical abilities! Just temporarily, but still! Someone could get an extra ability for 24 hours!"

"Imagine that power," I say. I use my own ability quickly to lower the temperature inside. "That's cool."

"The question is, though," she says, looking puzzled. "What exactly happened to it?"

"Happened to it? Oh, it disappeared," I say, answering my own question. "Have any possibilities based on research and such?"

"Research," Violet sighs. "That has gotten me nowhere. No sites have any sort of information on that. It's as if someone wiped it all out!"

"No results? Seriously?"

"Nope. Zip. Nada," she answers. "And anyways, how does one steal a star? A blazing ball of hot plasma?"

"There's probably some way," I muse. "Maybe through a magical ability?"

"Of what? The ability to store anything into jars?"

I glance up at her, and ask, "You must really be worried about this."

Violet sighs, takes a deep breath, and says, "I am. It's just so…mysterious."

"How about this," I say. "We should take a walk by the Blue Sea to clear our minds, and then come back to this thought once we're refreshed."

Violet nods. "Good idea." 

~Dorrie~

On Monday, school is normal and a tad boring, until physical science. 
There, Mr. Grebnesor asks,
"Has anyone heard of the Zeithran Star?" 
Everyone shakes their head.
"Okay," he says. "Just checking." Then he shows us this very boring experiment and I end up thinking that science is cool. I erase it from my head. 
But what I can't erase is the Zeithran Star. What in the world is it? At the end of the day, I go to the bookshop. 
Morrigan is there, as usual, and so is one of the regular patrons, Ky.
"Hi," says Morrigan. 
"Hi," I say. 
"Have you ever heard of the Zeithran Star?" I ask her.
"I have," she says. "Why?" 
"My science teacher mentioned it," I say.
"The sub?"
"Yes."
"I know it appears a bit in folklore, and a bit in a song, but I don't know much." I can tell by the way she looks over at Ky that she's going to introduce us. "Dorrie, this is Ky Luneswift. Ky, this is Dorrie Delaney, a very nice young child and my neighbor." Ky extends his hand and I know he wants a handshake. I take my hand and shake it, which feels awkward. 
"Nice to meet you," he says.
"I got this anonymous–well, signed The Seeker, whoever that is–letter about the Zeithran Star a while ago," he says. "Do you know much about it?" 
"Not really," I say. "My science teacher–substitute science teacher–asked if any of us had heard of it, and we said no. But there's something sort of weird about him." I tell Ky all about how spurious Mr. Grebnesor is, and at the end he nods and says, 
"If I learn anything about him, I'll leave a note with Morrigan for you, and if you learn anything, will you do the same for me?" 
"I will," I say.