No, Rhonda had to reign in her (righteous) anger. Acting rashly wouldn't help them now, the last time they dealt with the Countess her rashness (and her inability to tear her eyes off the vampire huntress’ bounty, to be fair) was what eventually led to Sofia getting bitten. The latina took a deep breath and grabbed her best friend's hand. “Let's go to the principal!” she said as she started to walk forward. After a few meters she noticed nobody was following her and turned around to see Sofia's arm stretching all the way to her.
“Okay, that’s pretty cool,” Lichi commented.
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Once the three reached the office, the secretary spoke up without stopping her typing on a crystal ball, “Rhonda Martinez, Sofia Weinerschnitzki, the principal is already awaiting you two. Emma Smith, you can wait outside.” Only slightly weirded out by this, the girls did as instructed.
Rhonda and Sofia entered the principal’s room and found two chairs already waiting for them (one of them in a plastic cover). Principal Mala Hexe was sitting on the other end of a big oak desk. Since the last time Rhonda saw her two days ago, she had traded her witch robes for a pantsuit that was doing her voluptuous body no disservice either. “Rhonda and Sofia, I hope you don't mind me using your first names, I’ve been expecting you two,” she cordially greeted them.
“How did you know we were coming?” Rhonda asked as she sat down on her chair.
“I’m the principal, knowing most of what happens in this school is my job,” Miss Hexe answered. “You two have a problem with Miss Youngblood and want me to restore Sofia to her original body.”
Fearing she might still have some problems forming words, Rhonda elected to speak up on Sofia's behalf. “Well, yes, so is there a chance you–”
“Do you have certain proof it was intentionally done?” the principal interrupted her.
“Uhm, no, but it was so obvious that she had planned that.”
“Was it really so or is it just your own biased viewpoint that made you interpret the events that way?”
Rhonda was speechless. There was nothing she could retort to that. Heck, with just one question Miss Hexe made her question her own memories. This woman was scary.
“I do admit,” the principal continued in a calm and professional manner. “I am missing some of the details regarding your shared history and I promise I will take necessary measures if she starts to actively discriminate against you. But fact is, since she came here, Miss Youngblood, even with some of her eccentricities, has been an exemplary member of our faculty. Though she will receive a reprimand for not taking the necessary safety precautions during her lesson.”
In spite of how the situation looked, Rhonda still decided to ask, “Will you turn Sofia back?”
“No.”
While Sofia looked like she had already expected such an answer, Rhonda's face fell. “B-But why?”
“A cocky student botches a complicated spell and ends up transformed because of it. Would you turn them back?” The girls were confused by that question, though the principal didn't give them enough time to answer. “That's what your actions likely looked like to the others. If I turned you back now, other students would swarm me to do the same for them or accuse me of giving some students preferential treatment. Tell me, Sofia, does your transformation impact you in such a negative way that you're unable to continue your school life as normal?”
Miss Hexe’s piercing gaze was directly on Sofia now. “No… it doesn't…”
“The sad truth is, ultimately it is your own fault. You did not reign in your temper and attempted a summon in spite of knowing you were not in the right state of mind. I can assure you, even the lowest level summon would've likely failed in this situation,” the principal continued her impromptu speech. “Do you want to know why I chose such drastic measures as the school curse? To create consequences. Nowadays witches and other magical creatures are often prone to act without considering the consequences of their actions. I’m certain you can remember the mermaid pandemic just a few months ago as an example. I want the girls at this school, you two included, to learn to better consider their actions.”
Rhonda wasn't satisfied. Two days and she was already sick of feeling powerless. When she came to this school she didn't imagine being hit upside the head with a roadblock every other hour. She felt a heat rising from in her guts, a literal one she was certain. But before Rhonda could do something stupid with it, she felt Sofia's wet hand on her shoulder. If she was being honest, the slimy texture felt quite comfortable. “Don't worry, Rhonda… I can handle it.” The dragon’s rage started to dissipate.
“Before we end this meeting, there's one thing I want to check,” Principal Hexe spoke up again. “Sofia, would you kindly lift up your shirt?”
Rhonda was surprised by such a request, but after a few seconds of hesitation Sofia did as asked. The latina didn't know what to expect when seeing Sofia’s stomach, but it certainly wasn't a dark purple orb swimming inside of her guts. She certainly didn't have such a thing when she was turned into a slime.
“A slime core,” the principal said. “Interesting. Anyways, that should be everything regarding Sofia, right? In that case you can go back to your classes now.” Both girls stood up. “I said Sofia can go. There's something I want to talk about with Miss Martinez alone.” Seeing Rhonda's terrified expression she added, “I only want a short private talk, nothing major.”
Rhonda and Sofia only needed one look to have a full silent conversation that ended with Sofia giving a smirk and saying, “Again, don't worry, I can go the way to my nec- nec- next class on my own.”
Sofia left the room, leaving Rhonda with the principal alone in the room, though the former was still too agitated to sit down again.
“I’ll keep it brief,” Miss Hexe said. “I want you to keep an eye on your friend. You two might not have realized it yet, but the core is a clear sign of her being a Dark Slime, a slime subspecies known for its high magical aptitude and, more importantly, ranked at 4-stars. Either Miss Youngblood made a genuine mistake or Sofia's own high magical abilities caused her to naturally mutate into this form during her slime transformation.”
“And why are you only telling me and not her?” Of course Rhonda was now worried about her best friend, but she still felt like she deserved to know.
“I didn't want to burden her with this knowledge for now. She has some tough days in front of her. You might not be aware yet, but becoming a slime by failing a spell will likely garner a very different response from others than someone having herself willingly turned into a dragon. My worries are probably misplaced and I don't expect much from you, just inform me if something concerning happens with her and I hopefully won't have to reevaluate my decision.”
Rhonda took in everything that was said to her and took a deep breath, mostly to just draw out the scene, because she'd do anything for her best friend. “Deal.”
Miss Hexe smiled at her student. “Good. I knew I could rely on you. And a word of advice, taking your sister’s offer might also help Sofia in her current state.”
Rhonda felt like her surprised face was becoming her default appearance. “Wait, what? How?!” Suddenly she felt the need to sit down again. A squelching sound signaled to her that it was Sofia's chair. For a moment Rhonda's biggest wish was for Sofia to gain full control over this trait of her body as soon as possible.
Miss Hexe chuckled. “I told you, my job is to know everything that's going on in this school. That happens to include your secrets, all your secrets.”
“If you know that I’m… you know… then why did you allow me into this school?” a nearly speechless Rhonda replied.
“You should thank your mother, your biological one. When she found out your plans, she set everything into motion to help you. She’s still hoping for you to develop magic powers and thinks an environment filled with witches could help draw them out. I may be willing to experiment, but allowing in a mortal the same year I’m trying out the transformation curse even I considered a bit much. Unfortunately I happened to still owe my dear friend a favor, so I took the gamble. Who knows, you might be the first step towards my goal of making this school a place for witches and mortals. And I have to say, a dragon fits you quite well. Depending on the mythology the dragon stands for power, chaos or even sexuality. I’m looking forward to seeing which you’ll be. Anyways, I think we both already wasted enough of each other's time. You should go to your next class, I’ll write you an excuse for being late.”
“Thanks.” Rhonda didn't really know what to say after she had unexpectedly been confronted with her supposed heritage again. She quietly took the slip of paper and left the principal’s office deep in thought, where she was immediately confronted with…