It seemed like life was always repeating itself, like it was a broken record that no one cared enough to throw away. The day would always have a similar schedule: get up, go to school, do homework, go to bed. Life was wasted. At least, that's what Ponyboy thought. On the books that he read or the movies that he watched, the main character was always thrown in a hectic storyline. Ponyboy wanted a life like that. A life where every day was new.

Ponyboy was sitting on the field, pulling blades of grass out one after the other. His green-gray eyes watched the runners sprint on the track. He glanced at the setting sun before looking expectedly at the coach. It was almost time to leave.

After the last wave of runners finished their sprint, the coach blew his whistle, motioning to the general direction of the locker rooms. Everybody got up, a new burst of newfound energy running through their veins, and ran to change out of their damp shirts and horribly short pants.

Ponyboy took his time and was the last to enter the locker room. By then, most of the boys had already changed back into their clothes and left. This was another thing Ponyboy hated. He didn't fit in anywhere. The majority of the team were Socs and the middle class. Obviously, he wouldn't get along since he was "white trash" to them. He didn't fit in with the greasers either. Ponyboy was just different. He enjoyed books and movies and watching the sunset. No greaser would take the time to do that. At least greasers wouldn't jump other greasers, unlike the Socs.

When Ponyboy finished changing back into his clothes, he picked up his books and backpack and left the near-empty locker room. The only guys who stayed back just wanted to talk to their friends before driving back home. Ponyboy, on the other hand, had no company on his walk back home.

As soon as he stepped out of the locker room, the leftover team rushed through the doors and pushed him down. The books in Ponyoby's hands were strewn across the ground and trampled on as the Socs left. With a heavy sigh, Ponyboy picked up his textbooks that he had to lug around because the school was too cheap to buy more. Lastly, Ponyboy picked up his reading book that he checked out from the school library.

Crap. When was that book due again? Ponyboy opened the cover and silently cursed to himself. The book was due today. Is the library even still open? Without much thought, Ponyboy entered the school through the locker room and down the empty hallways. His footsteps echoed on the floor. As he was ascending the stairs, a shadow passed through the corner of his eyes. Ponyboy whipped his head around, but no one was there. Shrugging, Ponyboy continued his trek.

As he was walking down the hallway again, listening to his clapping footsteps, his blood was cold and his sweat trailed down his neck and back. His body was on edge and it felt like somebody was going to pop out of nowhere to scare him. But then Ponyboy heard an extra set of footsteps. He stopped walking to make sure he was hearing correctly. There were a few more footsteps before they stopped as well. Ponyboy looked behind his shoulder, but didn't see anyone. He continued to walk, pace significantly faster. The other set of footsteps went just as fast. Ponyboy kept glancing back to see someone, but the hallways were always empty.

Eventually, Ponyboy made it to the library. He sighed in relief before a shadow passed behind him. Ponyboy's breath hitched as he looked, but the shadow was gone. Timidly, Ponyboy turned the door knob, but it didn't budge. Locked. Damn it. He peered through the window. Maybe someone was inside still. But, instead of seeing someone, he saw an illuminating, bright light from another room. He pressed his face harder against the glass to get a better look, hands using the doorknob for leverage.

All of a sudden, the knob gave away, and he fell to the ground with a crash that would make anyone wince. Groaning, Ponyboy picked himself up. Wasn't that door locked? He must have been wrong.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" he called out, shadow long forgotten. "I need to return a book."

He received no answer. Ponyboy walked to the return box and placed his book inside. Technically he turned the book in on time.

He walked back to the door, turning the doorknob, and walked through. But, instead of the school he was so familiar with, he was in another hallway that was foreign to him.

Windows stretched down one side of the wall, letting sunlight illuminate the hallway. It was no longer dawn but the early afternoon. He looked out the windows, but only saw rows of trees. Another factor that was strange. He was in Oklahoma. There shouldn't be this many trees next to a building unless purposely planted. Oklahoma was a plain land and the few trees that were indigenous there, were not the trees planted outside.

A sign was set up in the center of the hallway that read: Exam this way. Maybe he could ask questions on where he was. Ponyboy should have just turned back, but sometimes he just doesn't use his head (a shame to his eldest brother Darry, because he was so smart and all) and curiosity killed the cat. Heck, satisfaction brought it back, so what the hell? With that in mind, Ponyboy followed the sign to another door. He pushed it open and hundreds of eyes turned to him like he just murdered someone.

"Mr. Curtis, I'm glad you can make it! Sit down, please. The test is about to begin," a man in the front of the room said. Ponyboy took a step back, looking bewildered. How did the man know his name and what test? He didn't sign up for a test. The students looked at Ponyboy expectedly. With red ears and a large gulp, Ponyboy sat down at an empty desk, a packet and pen already in front of him. "You have one hour to complete this test. You may begin."

Ponyboy flipped the book open instinctively. He guessed he had no choice. It was a math question. Before Ponyboy could try to solve it, the question changed to another math problem, then another.

"What?" Ponyboy muttered. Maybe Ponyboy was just tired. He combed his fingers through his greasy, light-auburn hair. He raised his hand.

"No questions and please don't disturb the other test takers," the man in front of the room said, going back to observing everyone.

With a sigh, Ponyboy placed his hand on the packet. The questions stopped changing, to his surprise. Picking up the pencil, Ponyboy answered the questions one after the other. He finished the test, feeling uncertain, right before he ran out of time.

"Time is up. Turn your packets in. You will be receiving a paper with your next location of the test."

Everyone stood up from their seats to turn in their packet. When Ponyboy gave his packet to the man in front of the line, it was placed in a box before a paper was produced from it. The man gave Ponyboy the paper before he was shooed away.

Ponyboy followed people out of the room, looking uncertainly at the paper. He didn't know where he was going. The crowd led him to another long line he had to wait for. He felt more nervous as he got closer. He didn't know what was going on or why he was taking this test with people that he had never seen in his school. He didn't know why they were testing them one-at-a-time or what would happen if he failed.

Finally, he was called into the room. The room was pretty spacious. On one side, there were some older folks behind a desk. The man in the middle smiled kindly, eyes twinkling. He looked like he was a hundred years old, but, for someone that old, he looked so alive. "What is your name?" he asked, taking the small sheet of paper from him.

"Ponyboy Curtis," Ponyboy answered stiffly.

"I've never heard of that name. Anyways, let's get this test over with. I'm sure you have some questions. Show us some magic."

Ponyboy froze. "Excuse me?" Did he hear him correctly? Did he really just say 'magic'?

"Show us your magic."

"Magic?"

"Is there a problem? You passed your written test. This shouldn't be a problem."

"I can't do magic." Maybe Ponyboy hit his head and passed out when he was pushed. That had to be it. He was dreaming. Ponyboy pinched his arm, expecting to not feel anything, but winced at the sharp sting. Okay, he wasn't dreaming. This was real.

"Sure you can. How else could you have passed that test? I'm sure that you noticed something strange about it."

Ponyboy gasped. "The problems were changing."

"Yes. You needed to use magic to stop the questions."

Ponyboy didn't believe him. Magic didn't exist, as much as he wanted it to. They were only stories. "I don't know how to do magic."

"If you don't do magic, I'm afraid you would fail. What happens when you fail is not pleasant, I assure you."

"What happens?"

"Fail the test and find out."

"But I can't do magic."

"I'm sure you can figure it out. You're a clever boy."

Ponyboy tried to think of something, but he couldn't. It was impossible. He couldn't just do something new on the spot, especially if he didn't know how to do it. He didn't even know it actually existed until then. "I can't." He hated giving up. He didn't want to give up. A part of him wanted to see what would happen if he passed the test.

"Do it!" Another person sitting behind the desk snapped. "You're wasting our time. There are other people waiting to take the test."

"I can't." Something was bubbling in him that he couldn't place. At first, he thought it was anger or annoyance, and maybe it was. But this felt different. This felt powerful.

"Do it now!"

"I can't!" Something snapped in him. The lightbulbs around him exploded, casting the room in darkness. The electric that charged the bulb gathered around him like a shield. Ponyboy's eyes were wider than plates. The hairs on his arms stood on their ends (he was sure the hair on his head would have done the same if it wasn't greased down) and his body vibrated with energy. He couldn't believe it.

But as soon as he could process the scene around him, the shield of lightning was gone. The energy was sucked out of him as the lights repaired themselves, leaving him dizzy. He closed his eyes tightly until his dizziness dispersed.

"Congratulations, Mr. Curtis. You passed," the old man said, smiling. "Welcome to Clonora, School of Mages."

"What…What?" Ponyboy was astonished beyond belief. What just happened? Did he do that?

Blood dripped on the ground. Ponyboy covered his nose with his hand before bringing it back. The corners of his vision started to darken as he tried to focus on his red hand. His head felt light and his stomach was doing flips. The next thing the boy knew, the ground was meeting his eyes before everything went black.

o-o-o

Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders. This also has a lot of inspiration from the show The Magician.