Wands and Lies
[Alex Russo's POV]
I bit the tip of my pencil eraser. It was hard to think with this baby blue, smooth and unfashionable cloak on. The air conditioner was on, thankfully, but I was still sweating. The cloak was like a skimpy version of a cloth, and these black, oval nerdish glasses made it even worse. Thank Gawd Mason wasn't a wizard; he would've have to see me wearing this.
I raise my hand. A question wouldn't hurt, now would it? Professor Crumbs glared at me and sighed. He was probably thinking I would ask something "irrelevant to wizardry, and unimportant and distractive." Not going to blame him though, the guy knew me well for an occasional student.
"Yes, Alex?" He asked, with a professional look on his face. Professor Crumbs had tiny, baby blue eyes and the longest, white beard I've ever seen. The top of his head was bald and his features were ancient. He was rumored to be about 100 years old, I didn't know if I believed that, but I mean, we are wizards. He wore an oversized, black cloak with gold embellished into it. Underneath his white sleeves, a modern, black watch made him seem more down-to-earth, including his love for muffins.
"May I take off this itchy, hot cloak?" I heard myself ask. A flood of giggles filled the room as the Professor slumped down into his chair, as if he didn't hear me say a thing. I was guessing it was a yes? I shrugged; whoever anyone was laughing at didn't matter. It wasn't that dumb of a question. People were just jealous they didn't get to ask my question.
I looked up at my older brother, Justin. He was minding his own business, probably already on the last question of the exam. My head drooped down to my paper. I was only on question 25! Plus, I guessed most of it. This is usually when I regret not studying.
Suddenly, the wand in my pocket weighed the age of Professor Crumbs. I half-smiled at the thought. It was forbidden to use magic for no good here in Wiz-Tech, but I just had to use it. More than anything, I wanted to escape this ancient school and pass the test at the same time.
Usually, I wouldn't care. But this was the end-of-the-quarter exam. It determined who was staying here for the summer, who was passing, and your wizardry knowledge. I sighed. Sometimes, I wanted to just live a normal, teenage life. I looked around. Everyone was writing and taking time on their tests.
Even Professor Crumbs looked worried; probably worrying about me having to stay here for the summer. Wise man. I slowly took off my cloak, revealing my camouflage baby doll tank under my dark blue cardigan. Below, I was wearing my yellow skinny jeans, light denim skirt on top of it, and lime converse. No wonder I was sweaty…
Just excited for the family trip to California Beach in July. If, I was going. No, no no! I would certainly not miss going to stay in a Beach Resort to celebrate our family Sandwich restaurant. All of my hard work, being a waitress needed to pay off. All this over thinking was giving me a headache; time to put my plan to action.
I quickly made sure no one was watching me. "All clear," I mumbled to myself. Then, I snatched the wand out of my pocket and chanted a spell to make me pass the exam. BOOM! I looked down at my paper and all the answers were filled in for me. I smiled, pleased with myself, and turned the paper to Professor Crumbs.
Justin had a curious expression on his face and opened the door for me as I skipped out, trying not to give myself away. "What are you so excited about?" One of my friends, Hugh Normous asked. His hair was out of place, like always. Hugh came from a family of giants, and was one himself. His family tries to boost his self-esteem by giving him small things. I thought it was pretty funny.
"Nothing," I lied. Hugh frowned and stormed off, mumbling on about how no one trusted him. I felt sorry for him but had other important things to worry about, like how I was going to keep everyone from questioning me tomorrow when I passed the exam.
[Justin Russo's POV]
I put on my black cloak with a long sleeve white shirt underneath. Then I tightened my black and gold tie and touched my "W" (for WizTech) on my cloak, for good luck. I felt like I was forgetting something as I hurried out the door. Then I saw Alex wearing her glasses and ran back to my room, picked up the oval black glasses, and we walked downstairs.
"Have fun at school," our parents Theresa and Jerry called out to us. Alex yawned and I mouthed "thanks", then we left to Wiz Tech. Jerko Phoenix, one of the 12-Ball champions, (along with me) was leaning against the wall in front of the school. He always looked mischievous with his dumb eye patch on, to according to him, "avoid wearing the rotten uniform glasses."
I didn't even know if that was allowed, nor did I care. "Sup Russo?" He asked carelessly, obviously calling me by my last name. "Nothing Phoenix," I snapped back as I opened the front door for Alex. She smiled, squinting her eyes and tinting her head a little. (Her way of saying "thanks") My stomach grumbled and I got an idea.
"Alex, meet you in our first class. I have to use the bathroom." Alex shrugged, not really caring about if I was at class or not. Then she ran off. She was acting questionable lately, normally she would've said something smart back. I was going to get to the bottom of this, like I always did. I ran to the bathroom and locked myself in the stall.
Then I smiled, pulled out my wand, and chanted "Commakus Pancakus". It was Max's favorite breakfast spell when Mom wasn't looking. In a second, a stack of buttery, mouth-watering and freshly cooked blueberry pancakes appeared on a china dish with a fork and knife. I grabbed the fork and ate up. Suddenly the bell rang. I was late!
(Alex's POV)
Professor Maloney had a short lesson about potions with everyone. I sighed and turned around as Justin opened the door. He had syrup all over his mouth and a pleased expression on his face. Wait a second…we had cereal for breakfast. That only meant one thing, he did the pancake spell and magic was forbidden unless you had a good excuse. Not if you wanted to act like your little brother for a day.
I grinned, mom would love to hear about this. "Your absence excuse, Justin Russo?" Professor Maloney asked. Justin swallowed hard and I smirked, he was never good at lying. "Uh…I was helping Aldo Mickford, the new transfer wizard get to the Study Hall." Justin quickly replied, lying. I frowned; not even I knew there was a new wizard. Being up-to-date does pay off.
Professor Maloney nodded as the clock striked 12:00 A.M. She motioned for him to sit down and he obeyed. Then the Professor left and Professor Crumbs came in, chewing the last of his muffin. That was where the whole "Crumbs" thing came in. He only ate muffins in front of us when he was excited. I smiled, this was a good thing. "Nothing to worry about Alex," I repeated in my head.
"I'm very pleased to announce our average score for the exam was higher than the last quarter." Everyone clapped and waited patiently. "The highest three scores are in the following order: Alex Russo, Justin Russo, and Ronald Longcape." Everyone applauded and looked at me. I had the highest score!
I felt guilty and needed more time to think what I was going to say to Justin. Time passed by and school was out. The teachers praised me and everyone said their goodbyes for the summer. Someone pulled on my shoulder and I turned around, annoyed. Justin charged at me, "You used magic to pass the exam!" Justin hollered, more of a statement than a question. I shrugged and told him to be quiet before someone heard.
"Alex how could you? Learning is valuable and you just sit here, letting your wand do everything for you! Don't you care about how others took time and actually studied and took the test? Pretty selfish," he whisper-yelled. I sighed. I swear Justin was worse than talking to our parents. "Shhh Justin. Okay, maybe I was wrong. I'm sorry, OK? The test was just too much for me. Don't tell-"
Justin raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Why shouldn't I tell Mom and Dad?" He asked, cutting me off. I smirked and quickly said without thinking, "Because our parents would love to know about that Pancake Spell you've been using. Justin pursed his lips and nodded "No". Then he raised his finger at me "You can't get away with it this time, this is like the 50th time I have been sticking up for you. When will you do the same?"
Before I could reply, someone tapped my shoulder. We turned around and saw Dr. Evilini. Her black hair was tied around her light purple extensions. She had darker skin, huge eyeballs, and was wearing a ruffled shirt with droop earrings. Her eyebrows came together and her face was almost red. "Alex Russo, Justin Russo, TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE, NOW!"Dr Evilini yelled.
I shuddered and turned to Justin. He looked like he was going to cry and scream at the same time. We raced to Principal Crumb's Office and sighed. Dr. Evilini had heard everything, and now we were going to make Professor Crumbs mad with us. I hated making him mad as much as I disliked forgetting my daily cup of coffee in the mornings. What was he going to do? Was he going to tell our parents? Only one way to figure out. Justin looked at me and we both walked down the hall to his office together.