Riding the broom back was definitely faster than taking the car, but man, my butt was paying the price—it felt like I’d been sitting on a rock the whole way.
This time, Bai Yu didn’t go all Top Gun on me. She kept it slow and steady, and I sat sideways, clinging to her waist as we cruised along.
Peering down at the campus lights twinkling below, I had to admit it was pretty cool—way livelier than during the day.
Nighttime at Witch School had a buzz to it, like the whole place came alive after dark.
What, are witches all night owls or something?
I glanced at my phone’s schedule. Bedtime was creeping up fast, and I knew my sleep routine was gonna make me the odd one out here.
Back home, I was lights-out by now, but at Witch School? I’d probably be the weirdo sleeping while everyone else was just getting started.
Too bad I still had a bunch to do before I could go to bed. Shower, laundry, sleep—the big three for winding down.
And the shower? That was the main event for girls. No way I could slack off like I used to, right?
I could already see Bai Yu catching me cutting corners and smacking me upside the head while I climbed onto bed.
Glancing at the time again, I realized I’d already blown past my usual bedtime.
Sure, I was still buzzing from our Snack Alley trip, but my droopy eyes weren’t lying—I was wiped. Rubbing them didn’t do much either.
Bai Yu, meanwhile, was digging through her stuff. When she noticed me staring, she looked up with an easy smile.
“I’m grabbing shower gear,” she said, folding a huge bath towel and setting it aside. “Hey, Yuehan, you use bath towels, right?”
“Bath towels?” I tilted my head, drawing a total blank. “Uh, nope.”
I mean, I’d showered before, sure—just wiped off with a regular towel and threw on boxers after. Done. Why overcomplicate it? This wasn’t some Instagram photoshoot—I wasn’t about to strut around in a towel for clout.
But I wasn’t dumb enough to say that out loud—not to Bai Yu.
“Never used one,” I added, keeping it short. No sense in pretending otherwise.
“Alright, then after we clean you up, I’ll walk you through it,” she said, totally cool with it. “Not just the bath towel—there’s a hair towel too, for drying your hair…”
“Uh… okay…” I nodded automatically, only half-tuned in.
This was all new to me. Back in the day, my shower routine was simple—water, soap, done. Now I was nodding along to towel lessons, too tired to push back. But seriously, all this hassle over tiny details? Once Bai Yu showed me, I was ditching anything that felt like extra work.
Still, I’d humor her while she taught me. Couldn’t diss Bai Yu like that—she’d been way too good to me.
“Let’s hit the shower!” Bai Yu said cheerfully, grabbing a huge pile of supplies.
I blinked at the stack. It looked like she was prepping for a mission, not a quick wash. “Whoa, hang on. It’s just a shower—why does it look like we’re gearing up for battle?”
She laughed, waving it off. “Girl, showers are a whole deal for us. You’ll get the hang of it. Don’t stress—I’ve got your back. Once you learn, you can adjust it to whatever works for you.”
“Adjust it?” I repeated, narrowing my eyes at her.
If I had my way, “adjusting” meant cutting out every step I didn’t know. Keep it simple—showering shouldn’t be such a big deal!
“Yup,” she said, nodding like it was no-brainer. “Girls have a lot to handle when it comes to staying clean, but time’s not endless. You focus on what matters—like if you’re sweaty today, you scrub extra to get rid of the stink. Or if your hair’s greasy, you tackle that—dryness, split ends, whatever.”
“No way… it’s that involved?” I groaned, slumping a bit.
“You’ll figure it out,” she said with a grin. “Since we’ve got no big plans tonight, I’ll give you the full rundown. Top-to-bottom—the whole deal!”
“…” I opened my mouth to argue—I’ve got plans! Sleep!—but nothing came out. She was in full-on teacher mode now, and I was trapped.
“What’s wrong?” Bai Yu asked, tilting her head. “If you hate doing this stuff, you’ll just have to work harder later.”
“Work harder? How?” I frowned, completely confused. How did “working harder” tie into skipping shower hassles?
She smirked, like she’d just dropped some deep wisdom I’d unravel eventually.
“Of course, the goal is to become a witch who can cast spells ASAP,” Bai Yu said with a smirk. “There are spells that can clean your body, hair, everything in a flash. Once you nail those, you won’t have to mess with this daily shower nonsense.”
“What? Spells like that are real? Can I learn them too?” My eyes lit up, practically glowing with excitement. This was huge—pure gold for a lazybones like me!
The only catch? I couldn’t use them yet. Lame.
“Yup,” Bai Yu said, all cool and confident. “I’ve already got them in my toolkit.”
“So… uh, could you—”
“Nope,” she cut me off, shaking her head. “You’re still a long way from pulling off that kind of magic, and I’m not gonna be your personal cleaning service forever. You’ve got to figure out showering on your own. Besides, you’re a big girl now—imagine how embarrassing it’d be if people found out you can’t even wash yourself.”
“Ugh…” I winced, shrinking a bit.
She was right, and yeah, getting called out by Bai Yu hurt. It was kinda humiliating. But come on, give me a break—I was still new to this “girl” gig! I didn’t ask for it to be this tricky.
“Come on, let’s hit the shower,” Bai Yu said, freeing up a hand to grab my wrist and pull me toward the giant bathroom.
Stepping in, I stopped dead. Holy crap, this place was massive—like, full-on public bathhouse vibes. There was even a real soaking tub in the corner!
TALK ABOUT FANCY LIVING!!
…
By the time the shower wrapped up, the day was officially over. It was late—like, “am I the only one still awake?” late.
I shuffled back to my room, one hand gripping the bathrobe so it wouldn’t fall off, the other keeping the hair towel from toppling off my head. I probably looked like a total wreck, but oh well.
Bai Yu didn’t come with me—she still had to shower. She’d suggested we jump in together to save time, but I shot that down fast with a hard, “No way, not happening.”
Back in my room, I spotted a neatly folded set of pajamas on the bed—Bai Yu’s doing, set up ahead of time. Once I dried off a bit more, I’d be ready to slip into them.
Picking them up, I realized it wasn’t your typical PJ set. It was a sleep robe—super loose, flowing down to my calves, no buttons, just a single tie to hold it together.
Great. If I tossed and turned in my sleep, this thing would be a twisted mess by morning—or worse, not even on me.
I was still figuring out how to put it on when Bai Yu walked in, her wet hair hanging loose and a towel wrapped around her.
“Whoa—Bai Yu? You’re done already?” I yelped, my voice cracking with a weird panic I couldn’t pin down. Maybe it was just shock at her ninja-fast shower skills.
“It’s late,” she said with a shrug. “I used a spell to speed it up. Couldn’t leave you hanging here, right?”
As she talked, she turned to the side, and her towel slipped, flashing a strip of pale skin down her back.
I slapped my hands over my eyes and spun around. Nope, not peeking—hard pass!
Bai Yu didn’t care one bit. I heard the rustle of fabric as she threw on her own sleep robe, totally unfazed.
Then her footsteps came closer, and I peeked through my fingers just enough to see her giving me a satisfied nod.
“Alright, Yuehan, what’s the holdup? Need help with that robe?” She grabbed it from my hands, adjusted it, and draped it over my shoulders.
The soft, light fabric settled against my skin, and right then, my bath towel picked the worst moment to ditch me, dropping to the floor.
Good thing the robe swooped in to cover me up just in time.
“First time, huh? It’s simple,” Bai Yu said, stepping back. “Like this—done. The tie’s your job. Just don’t knot it so tight you lock yourself in.”
She’d handled it all with her usual laid-back efficiency, then wandered off to dig through a nearby drawer.
I grabbed the tie, looping it around my waist and securing it with a basic knot in front. “Bai Yu, what’re you looking for now?”
“Checking for a hairdryer,” she said, still rummaging. “If there’s none, I’ll dry your hair with a wind spell. You don’t want to climb into bed with it all wet and dripping, do you?”