The next day, Brent caught the bus on time. He recalled the moment yesterday when Amelia had rushed into the classroom claiming, after she caught her breath, that she had been chased all afternoon by other students who were crowding her concerning her victory earlier that day. Well, before she had burst into the classroom and Brent, Amelia, and Professor Alexander had spent the rest of the afternoon chatting, the Professor had been immensely helpful on the topic of the essay. Brent felt that with the notes he had taken from the Professor's explanations alone, he might be able to write over half the essay. And indeed, he had finished finding necessary citations and whatnot on the Internet last night. Now all that remained was to put those notes into a paper, which Alexander had offered the previous day to help Brent with during the lunch period.

He walked into the school minding his own business as usual, and most people didn't care who he was today, that he had Dueled in an exhibition match yesterday, or that he was even in the Fusion Course. Oh well. He didn't feel like he could deal with the fame that Amelia had won from the new students the previous day. He simply roamed the halls searching to see if Joshua, his typical companion, lifelong rival, and perhaps polar opposite at times, had arrived yet.

---

Gale couldn't get her mind off of how awesome her Duel with Michelle had been the previous day. Those fairies were just so amazing! Then something caught her eye as she walked through the halls of the school: A student with long, dark, bluish-green hair . . . wearing a mask that looked like a member of a Mexican Mariachi band. Gale did a double-take to ensure her eyes weren't deceiving her, then, certain that all was as it seemed, walked over to the student. "Um . . . " she began, wanting to start a conversation but unsure of how to do so with a person hiding behind such an item. "Nice mask?" she said, unsure of herself.

"Do you really like it, or are you here to just poke fun at me like most people do?" the boy said inquisitively . "It doesn't matter, either way," he explained, removing the mask. "I find them enjoyable."

"No, it's nice. It's just hard to start a conversation with someone who's hiding like that," Gale said.

The boy grinned at her. "But it's not hiding. In fact, it reflects how I feel on the inside, bringing the inside out."

"So . . . are you feeling . . . Mexican, today?" Gale asked, realizing it must have sounded ridiculous.

"Ah, no. It doesn't reflect in that way."

"Then . . . you feel like playing a trumpet?" she asked again, utterly baffled.

"Again, no, but you're getting warmer. Try one more time," he said, his eyes bright.

"Hm . . . " Gale pondered. "I got it! You feel like breaking open a piñata!"

The boy looked like something obvious had just passed straight over Gale's head. He blinked once . . . twice . . . thrice in awkward silence. "I got it wrong again?" Gale finally asked.

The boy shook his head. "It's just one word: 'Festive'," he explained, looking as dumbfounded as Gale felt. "Anyway," he spoke after a moment, "my name's Kaeru. What's yours?"

"Gale," she replied.

"Well, Gale," Kaeru said, "I'm going to have to explain to you what masks are all about, but I think we can be friends regardless," he laughed.