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MOLLY DIDN'T MISS BEING BACK IN CALIFORNIA, despite being miles away from her previous neighbourhood. The heat was blistering from the second their group stepped off the plane - but it only truly affected everyone except Molly and Cordelia.
The group dressed in black for the occasion, Myrtle excluded. The young Second Coming decided along with the other ladies that despite Hawthorne being seen as a brotherly counterpart, they couldn't be trusted with a secret of this magnitude. For now and possibly forever more, she was merely Molly Cromwell - a witch.
She tucked her sleek hair behind her ears, having had it straightened for once, while her eyes remained fixed on the men awaiting their arrival. Their smiles were encouraged by their excitement, but there was a definite falsehood underneath them that she didn't fail to pick up on.
"Are you sure we couldn't have made them come to us?" Zoe asked, annoyance in her tone from hours of travelling.
"Rules are rules," Myrtle explained, "and besides, did we really want all those men traipsing around our house?"
"I could have easily transmuted us here, the stuffy as hell flight was unnecessary," Molly grumbled, unusually negative.
"Ah yes, nothing speaks unsuspicious like a teenager travelling across states in the blink of an eye," Myrtle commented sarcastically, silencing herself after a swift warning glare from her Supreme.
The Hawthorne Academy wasn't much of an academy at all - rather two circular walls aboveground that hosted an entrance to a vast underground system beneath. Molly hated it inside almost immediately. The filtered air, lack of sunlight and generally dark colour scheme made her feel trapped. It would be easy to get lost between day and night while residing inside here.
Ariel led them to a large hall, the centre room of the establishment. A table was set up for the meeting, looking entirely ominous with a fire blazing in a pit behind it. There were four chairs either side, each witch taking a seat across from each warlock. The atmosphere was tense, and Molly sensed that there was a little animosity between the two groups.
"Let the record show that at the request of Hawthorne school, we have assembled an emergency meeting of the council," Cordelia began as soon as everyone was seated comfortably, expression tight and posture stiff.
"In order to address what must surely be a matter of grave and pressingimportance," Myrtle added, a sarcastic undertone in her voice.
"We weren't aware a new member had been recruited," Ariel commented, his sneaky glare fixated on Molly. Cordelia swallowed silently, before forcing her lips into an innocent smile as she relayed her pre-prepared response.
"I have taken Molly here under my wing, she has been with Miss Robichaux' for a long time and we're merely training her to eventually become a council member," Cordelia explained, placing one hand over another. Ariel's eyes did not lift from Molly, nor did she look away from him. She refused to be intimidated by the Chancellor, who was clearly suspicious of her presence.
