Chapter 2- Good morning
I watched the land fly by beneath me, the fields all various shades of black and brown. The sun was setting and yet I could see more clearly in these shades of black and white. I was nearing hysteria because of nerves, and the only thing I could do was review the facts I had learned about WCW. Before I signed my name next to the dotted line, I did some research about this school. Overall, the internet has finally failed me. I searched for Wizarding schools in Nevada, and received nothing legitimate. There was no Nevada or anything like that. So I looked for Crescent Valley, NV instead, and found what I wasn't looking for, naturally. The town is tiny, in the middle of a small valley inhabited by some 500 people. The idea of this small insignificant town holding a university seemed unlikely at best, and when even Google maps couldn't show me the face of my future, I considered giving up the idea altogether.
But something made me go. The logical part of me realized that someone had to have sent the owl. Somebody had gone through the elaborate application process with me, and nobody, even the most hardened pranksters, makes a three month practical joke on a stranger! But more important than the logic of the situation was the little child in me, the little girl who wanted it to be real. I wanted to play with magic again, and feel alive. I don't know when everyone in the world decided that to grow up you must let go of imagination, but I wasn't ready for that yet. I hate to admit that I am obsessed, utterly fixated on it. Magic.
Sometime after noon the plane landed in some big city, but before I could really even see it I was shuffled along to another, much smaller flight. It wasn't until dusk that I could see the rolling mountains of Nevada ahead of me. I couldn't stop thinking about my parents, who I had left, and the people I was about to meet. The only thing I knew was that I was about to go and learn how to control this ability I had. Perhaps I wouldn't be getting a wand, or learning spells, hell I didn't know what I was getting myself into. But I knew that I was going to be in a completely new situation, one where I wouldn't be ashamed of being weird. Perhaps I would even find people there who I could call friends, family, or lover.
During the flight the small plane bounced around on the wind. I sat there impressed because I had never really appreciated just how many millions of things were above our heads. The sky isn't empty, or space that we need to fill. It's already full of little molecules, and all those molecules have weight and substance. I've known that since 6th grade, but I finally learned when my life balanced precariously on those tiny little molecules.
I didn't have many people to talk to, but luckily I had a lot to dream about. I thought about what the school would look like, perhaps a modern skyscraper, because surely gravity held nothing against wizards. Or maybe it was underground, explaining the lack of address; I imagined a secret school where only the talented and beautiful lived. A cold nervousness hit me then; what if I wasn't good enough for this school! I hadn't had any real training and I only had a small amount of control over my powers anyways! I brought my hand up off my lap, and spread my fingers wide. I couldn't tell where the power came from, because my fingers looked just like anyone else's fingers. My face looked just as young and naïve as any other girls; yet I can make things explode. I relaxed my fingers and pointed lazily at my glass of soda, sitting in front of me. Usually I focus on fire, excitement, and other bursts of energy to do my magic. Instead here I was, quiet on a near empty plane, bouncing along in an ocean of molecules and possibilities. I had to be calm, or I would go crazy.
So I thought of home. I thought of my favorite chair; the pond outside my home. I could feel the rush of magic, the familiar feeling of energy flowing through me. I looked at the glass and thought 'move'. The soda stirred, shifted and when I moved my finger up the soda tilted the glass backwards. Slowly, delicately I brought all my fingers up to meet my pointer and the soda thrashed dangerous before calming. I flexed my fingers and watched the liquid jump. I felt a rush of accomplishment and pride, and turned my head abruptly to see if anyone else was watching my mastery. That's when the soda exploded out the glass, leaving me and the seats around me splattered with cold soda. I muffled my scream against my arm and leaned back into my chair breathing hard. I was terrified somebody would wake up, but as the seconds of silence turned to minutes a smile crept onto my face.
That smile grew into a bubbling laugh, I had done that! I saw that the tips of the mountains were getting closer and watched the ground approach in the night. A calm voice spoke then, and said to 'fasten our seatbelts and prepare for descent'. I grabbed my carryon bag and held it tightly to my chest. I know I looked childish, but I needed that moment of giddy excitement, of silly delight. In an hour I would be at a school for witchcraft and wizardry. Anxiety became excitement in a flash of what can only be called life.