I DO NOT OWN WIZARD101! IT BELONGS TO KINGSISLE! Got it? Good. On with the story.
"Esmee! Wake up! Wake up wake UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!"
"Stop yelling in my ear already," I said groggily. "I'm awake already!" Looking at the clock, I noticed the time. 5:30 AM.
"Go back to sleep, Molly," I told a very hyper sister. "It's too early." With that, I put my head under my pillow, hoping to get some more sleep. But as usual, Molly wasn't going to give up. She got onto my bed and proceeded to jump on top of me.
"NOOOO!" she screamed. "WAKE UP! ESMEE! WAKE UP! WE! HAVE! TO! GET! READY! FOR! SCHOOL!" I pushed her off the bed, but suddenly, I was excited too. This was it! The day Molly and I enrolled in the Ravenwood School of Magical Arts! We were going to be the best Balance wizards the world had ever seen! Ever!
While my fraternal twin sister went to bug my parents, I got ready for the big day. Molly and I had gone shopping for robes to wear the week before, and I LOVED the robes we had chosen. We had decided not to buy yellow and red clothes since we figured that most of the Sorcerers would probably be wearing those colors. Instead, we bought robes in the same style as each other, but in different colors: Molly chose a light blue with orange trim and a matching hat, and I chose all black robes with a black hat which had red trim.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those people who runs around with black hair and black robes crying "Boo hoo" and "Why me?" all the time. Those people are pathetic. I just happen to like the color black!
Molly reappeared, long blonde hair looking perfect as usual, smiling and in her robes. My sister could manage to pull off any look without trying. I, on the other hand, looked like a total sleepy mess. And Molly saw it.
"OK, what can I do to make this look a little better..." she mused. Apparently some lightbulb lit up in her mind, because the next second, she was messing with my hair.
"Molly! What are you--" My thoughts were cut off as she finished, beaming at her work. Hmm, I thought, that doesn't look half bad. My brown hair was now curled out at the ends, two small portions of hair in the front of my head separated from the rest by small ribbons at the bottom of each section. I think I'm gonna do that with my hair all the time! I thought.
After a quick breakfast, we were off to Ravenwood! Our parents dropped us off in front of the school. We were supposed to meet the Headmaster, where we would officially become Balance wizards! I was so excited, I thought I would explode!
xxxxxxx
"LIFE?!!?!? What kind of school is that?!" I was so angry, I swear that if Molly wasn't in the room with me, I would have exploded! I tried to calm myself down.
"Headmaster Ambrose, there must be some kind of mistake! I'm supposed to be a Balance wizard, like my sister and my parents. Everyone in my family has been a Sorcerer. Can't I just take the test over?" Life was a sissy school! I didn't want to have anything to do with healing. I wasn't some tree-hugger, I was born to be in the School of Balance!
"I'm sorry, young wizard, but you are a Theurgist." Theurgist? What kind of name was that?
"I'm sure you'll come to love the School of Life. Professor Drake is an excellent teacher," Headmaster Ambrose continued. "Now," he said, addressing both of us, "you should unpack your things in your dormitories and meet your professors for your first classes."
xxxxxxx
"Life?" I asked Molly for the ninth time. We were outside my dorm, finished packing and preparing to meet our professors.
"Esmee, the test is never wrong! You just weren't meant to be a Balance wizard. And as Headmaster Ambrose said, I think you're going to like it in the Life school."
"Whatever," I mumbled.
"Hey!" I heard a voice call from a nearby tree. I looked and saw a boy dressed in fancy clothes. He wore a top hat and a proper-looking robe with a cape. "Nice outfit!" he said sarcastically. I ran forward to punch him, but Molly held me back.
"Honestly, Esmee, you shouldn't get so mad," she said. "Let him be an idiot. " I wasn't going to have my sister criticize me. I broke free of her grip and stormed off to the School of Life. As I entered, I saw that the room was empty, except for a woman sitting behind a desk. She looked like a hippie, wearing small glasses and some kind of daisy crown. Great, I thought sarcastically. I did have to admit, though, she was rather pretty. Her reddish hair cascaded in ringlets, contrasting with her green and white outfit. In one hand she held a twig-like wand, absent-mindedly using it to draw small circles in the air.
"Excuse me?" I asked. "Is this the School of Life?" Of course it is, you fool! I thought to myself. The hippie lady looked up and nodded. " I am Professor Sylvia Drake. Are you a new student here?" she asked in a calm voice.
"I'm Esmee. I'm a...Life wizard," I managed to say through clenched teeth. I hated the sound of it. Life. Why couldn't I be Balance? "Headmaster Ambrose sent me here for my first class."
"I'm sorry, Esmee, but my last class finished twenty minutes ago." Yes! I thought.
"But, if you would like to learn your first spells, I would be glad to teach you," Professor Drake finished. Darn.
"Um...sure?" The professor smiled.
"Excellent! Now, the first part of casting spells is drawing a symbol. " She drew a picture in the air with her wand. The symbol resembled a leaf, and left behind a path of light where her wand had been. She smiled again. 'This is the symbol you need to draw with your wand to cast any Life spell." I wondered what Molly was doing. Probably not learning how to draw some stupid picture. Professor Drake indicated for me to try drawing the symbol with my own wand. I took out my wand and drew the symbol, but nothing happened.
"Good!" my teacher exclaimed. How is that good? I thought. Nothing happened! "Now think about making the symbol successfully. Think about it, and it will work." I tried again, and this time the light path appeared. Professor Drake nodded.
"Now for your first spell. The Imp." Ugh, I thought. Professor Drake handed me a card and began talking about what the imp was. I already knew what an imp was. Out of impatience, I drew another Life symbol. Suddenly, an imp appeared. The card disappeared. Professor Drake stopped mid-sentence and stared at me.
Was I in trouble? She certainly didn't look angry. More like...surprised.
"Esmee," she said, "are you sure you're new? You haven't done magic before?"
"Uh...yes. I just got here today." The professor thought for a moment.
"All right," she finally said. "For homework, meet with the rest of the teachers at Ravenwood. You will learn Life magic, but you can also study some spells at the other schools." I was thrilled. I could learn Life, and learn some Balance spells. Even though I didn't want to be a Theurgist, I could still study at least some of what I wanted.
"Thank you, Professor Drake," I said, smiling. There was a sound of something hitting the window. We both looked. Molly was trying to get my attention by banging her fists on the window.
"Sorry," I said sheepishly. "My sister. I guess I'd better get going before she breaks something." That, and I wanted to meet the Balance professor!
"Before you go," she half-thought to herself, "it might be nice if you got some green robes. Green would be a good color on you."
"No thanks," I said. "I've always been a black robe kind of person."
"Anyways, I looked around, and there WAS no School of Balance! Apparently it's over in..." Molly struggled to pronounce the next word, "Krok-o-tope-i-a. And since classes were over, I didn't have to do anything! What took you so long? I was waiting outside the Life school forever!" My sister had a tendency to babble. "Did you like your Professor? She looks really nice!"
"Yeah, I guess," I mumbled unenthusiastically. "But I have homework. I'm going to meet all of the professors in Ravenwood."
"OK, then let's go!" Molly yelled. Everyone within hearing distance stared at us. I cringed.
Ten minutes later, we had said hello to most of the professors. There was Haleston Balestrom, the professor of Storm. I wasn't really sure how they let a frog become a teacher at Ravenwood, but Professor Balestrom seemed like a pretty fun guy...or amphibian. His students liked him, too. Then there was Dalia Falmea, who taught students in the Fire school. I didn't really have much to say about her. I could tell she liked what she did, and her students also liked her, but I just didn't think anything really stood out with her, other than her hair. It was bright red, and stood up. Molly and I both agreed Professor Falmea had the coolest looking hair of anyone at Ravenwood. Professor Lydia Greyrose taught Ice. She was a fairy that reminded me of my grandmother. Professor Greyrose was so sweet ("Can I be a Thaumaturge?" asked Molly after we had visited the School of Ice. "I want Professor Greyrose as my teacher!"), and so we could easily see why so many people liked her. Our next stop was the Myth School. We opened the door, and immediately knew that we had come at the wrong time.
Two men were arguing. Loudly.
"I tell you, there is a way to make a Hydra attack in Myth, Life, and Death!" the first man protested. He was bald, with blue eyes and blue and yellow robes. I assumed he was the Myth Professor.
"Maybe there is, but it doesn't exist yet," the second man said cooly. Unlike the Myth professor, this guy had hair, and wore black and gold robes.
"Ah, but it does!" retorted the first man. "I discovered the spell last night!"
"Then summon it!"
"Fine! I will!" These guys were acting like little kids! The myth professor took out a card, drew a symbol with his wand, then stopped. The spell fizzled as he noticed Molly and I were standing in the doorway. The mens' expressions changed from anger to surprise to embarassment. Finally, the man in black spoke.
"Young wizards."
"Hi!" Molly said, trying to make the situation a little less awkward. "I'm Molly, and this is my sister Esmee. We're looking for the professors of...uh..." She looked at me, hoping I would say something.
"Myth and Death?" I asked. The man in yellow and blue sighed.
"Another student wanting to study Myth, I presume?"he asked my sister. Without giving Molly an opportunity to answer, he resumed speaking, "Well, I suppose if you would like to attempt becoming a Myth wizard, you can see me." Obviously this guy was still angry.
"Uh, thank you, professor," Molly said, not wanting to tell him that she was really a Balance wizard. "I think I forgot to ask you your name."
"Cyrus Drake," the professor said haughtily.
"And you, young wizard," said the other man to me, "you are interested in studying Death?" I figured he assumed that because of my robes.
"Um, no, I'm studying..." Here was that word again. "Life. My professor sent me here to meet all of the other teachers."
"Ah." The man's eyes suddenly lit up. "Professor Drake is one of the finest teachers at Ravenwood."
"So I've heard," I said.
"Studying Life along with Death will lead a wizard to have one of the best army of spells possible. Study Death, and you will have power and courage along with the power of creation. Think about it, Young Wizard."
"I will, Professor--"
"Drake. Malistaire Drake." God, why so many "Professor Drake"s? I thought. Did the Headmaster want all professors to have that last name? Molly and I left the Myth school.
xxxxxxx
"Ugh! I am NOT studying Myth!" Molly announced to me. "Never ever! Did you see that Professor? He seems so mean! I wonder if anyone ever liked him when he was in school...And the Death guy? He was so weird! 'Study Death, young wizard!'" she mimicked Professor Malistaire. "Did you see the way he looked at you? It was crazy, like he would force you to study Death no matter what!"
"Yeah, well, I don't think I'm going to study Death anytime soon. It's Life and Balance for me," I told Molly. It was getting dark, and we were outside Molly's dorm. Molly yawned.
"I think I'd better get some sleep," she said, yawning again.
"''Kay. See ya in the morning," I said, and went to my dorm. That night, I couldn't sleep. Voices kept on echoing in my head.
"...but you are a Theurgist."
"...the best army of spells..."
"The test is never wrong!"
"...the first part of casting spells is drawing a symbol."
"Cyrus Drake."
"...force you to study Death, no matter what!"
"LIFE??!?"
"...young wizard..."
"Professor Sylvia Drake."
"WE! HAVE! TO! GET! READY! FOR! SCHOOL!"
"Drake. Malistaire Drake."
"...Think about it, Young Wizard."
xxxxxxx
A girl is sitting in her dormitory at Ravenwood. She hears a knock at the window and opens it. A young man with pale skin and jet black hair climbs through the window and into the room. He sits on a nearby chair and smiles.
"You're not supposed to be here!" the girl whispers. The boy's smile broadens.
"That's what makes being here all the more fun," he says, loudly. The girl presses her finger to her lips.
"Be quiet," she says. "We don't want anyone else hearing you. Headmaster Ambrose would kill us!"
"Hmm..." he contemplates. "I don't think the Headmaster is a problem. It's that tattletale brother of mine." They laugh.
"That's probably true," she says, now smiling as well. "But you still need to keep it down."
"Well, I just came to say good night," he says. "So..." He pauses, thinking of something else to say. Finding nothing, he merely says "Good night." He kisses her on the cheek and climbs back out the dorm window.