Waking up in my own dorm felt great.

However, what doesn't feel great is my inexperience.

In preparation for being thrown into this new world, I spent the majority of the night studying, only being able to learn a lightning spell and a basic ward spell.

Of course, those two spells aren't tested in a real combat situation.

Even with that, the same fears I felt yesterday still resonate with me.

My true motive in life, my destiny if you will, is to rekindle the fire within my dying family and return them to greatness. I believe that a return to our roots, re educating ourselves in magic, would be a good step forward.

However, my knowledge of magic is severely limited, myself not having even attained basic understanding of the subject.

Relax, relax, it's only the first day, it's not like they're going to immediately press us.

I need to relax.

As I put on my school uniform, I only now realize that it comes with a skirt.

Just like Ms. Holbrooke said, this school is tailored to care of the needs of females, having never having to have males in mind.

I toss the skirt aside, preferring the blue pants I was wearing yesterday.

It's a nice fit, additionally something to mark myself apart from all the female students.

And most importantly, it matches with the blue uniform.

As I leave my room, and enter the hallway, I can't help but admire the new floor they put in after Akko destroyed the old one.

I know it was an accident and all, but I have to admit, the toilets never looked better!

I glance at the clock on the wall, realizing that now it's time to head over to my first class, alchemy.

I head out of the dorm building, walking into the main building, using my school map to help guide me.

Now entering the class, I take time to survey the room.

The room contains multiple tables, all in the shape of a hexagon, with symbols that I have no idea the meaning of, strewn around a metal cup with a fire underneath it. On either sides of the room are shelves stocked with alchemical ingredients.

The teacher herself is an older one, having brown, slightly faded hair that ends in two strands going down the fronts of her ears.

Once more students begin to flood in and the bell rings, the professor begins her introduction.

"Hello students, my name is Ms. Finnalin. Now if each group would go to a table, I would like to begin."

As instructed, every group goes to a table, everyone except me.

Heading towards one of tables, I realize that im naturally alone, myself being the only one in my dorm and thus in my group.

I feel a little left out, being all alone at my own table.

Does this mean that I'm going to be doing things solo the whole year? No group work for me?

Oh well, this just means fewer distractions.

The professor continues,

"As it is our first day here, I would like to see what you already know. I shall observe, occasionally checking on each group. Mix and create whatever you desire, within legal standing of course. Consider this a free day."

With that, the whole classroom comes to life.

Whether it's students experimenting, fetching ingredients, or just messing around with their friends, there is no doubt that the whole thing seems like the happenings from a normal school.

I admit, I have only used a mortar and pestle a couple of times while cooking.

Will it be like how it's shown on T.V.? Just add a mushroom with some toejam and boom, potion?

Probably not.

I walk over to the shelves and am perplexed by the ingredients.

Devil's Feet, Troll's Nose, and Cyclops Eye are some names that stand out.

I grab two jars, their names being Snake's Finger and Dog's Scales.

I still don't get why they would name mushrooms this.

As I move back to my desk, I notice Sucy, one of the problem students from earlier, leave her original table and go up to another, asking one of the witches

"Want my potion?"

The witch answers nervously,

"Uhh…no thank you."

With a nonchalant shrug, Sucy leaves the witch, perhaps in pursuit of another potential taste tester.

What about Sucy is so off putting, anyway?

Is it her appearance? Sure, she looks sick, and has bags under her eyes.

I bet she's a nice person, just trying to make friends.

I find my desk and begin the assignment.

Ok, so let's see what happens when I mix these two together.

As I put them in the pot, it immediately starts to boil and change colors from clear to green.

Just what might happen if I drink this stuff? By the toxic smells coming from the pot, something not good for sure.

With this craft of potions remind myself of Sucy, I look back in her direction, wondering if her quest is still in progress.

I spot her still wandering around the room, trying to get someone to try her potion.

You know what? When she comes by, I will try it.

She slowly shuffles her way towards my workstation and lifts her arm up, revealing a vile of liquid.

"Try my potion." She says rather crudely.

She's probably just irritated that nobody accepted.

"Sure."

I take the potion, much to Sucy's surprise.

I hold on to the neck of the bottle, and unscrew the cap. As I do, a green mist in the shape of a skull and crossbones leaks out.

Sucy begins to put on a badly hidden smile.

I'm starting to think that the other witches might have been onto something, refusing Sucy's request.

"This isn't poison...right?" I ask her, starting to share the same doubts and nervousness that the other students felt.

At this point, Sucy can't hide it, and her smile takes full fledge.

"It's not poison…it's remedy."

With caution, I put the bottle up to my nose, and take a whiff.

The odor begins to burn my nostrils, as my eyes begin to water.

Sucy takes notice of this,

"Oh come on. Your nose is big enough to take in that whole cup."

My nose isn't that big.

I begin to pour the concoction into my mouth, causing my face to go numb.

Putting the now empty bottle on the table, I ask

"Really? That's it-"

I'm cut off, as a burning sensation starts to envelope my mouth.

It only gets hotter and hotter, almost as if Krakatoa itself blew up in my mouth.

In a both terrified and instinctual move, I slam my face against the faucet, trying to claim some liquid.

My face, turning bright red, causes Sucy to burst out laughing.

"Haha, your face is as red as a tomato!"

Gasping for breath, I feel the pain begin to die down, as my body temperature and face color returns to normal. Sucy asks,

"So, what did you think?"

What did I think?!

A few words come to mind. Sadist, narcissist, and masochist, but only one of those words works here.

I finally settle on,

"Never again."

"Ha, yeah right." Sucy smirks out, doubting my claim. "But I like you. You're the first person to try my potion."

Still a bit shaken by this encounter, I sarcastically respond

"Ohhh, I'm so honored."

Sensing my hostility, Sucy says

"Hey, don't get too down. You should be honored…"

"Why, because you're sooo special?"

"No." She bluntly says, having enough of my tone. "Listen Squidward, I consider you a friend now. Not many people would try my potion…and still be conscious. I like someone who can take abuse…and not cry about it."

"I guess we're friends then." I say to her, not knowing if this is good or bad.

She does a little smile, revealing her sharp teeth, and says,

"I'd better get back to my table…Akko and Lotte are going to have a fit."

She then starts to slink away, before stopping herself.

"By the way, who are you?"

All of this without even knowing my name?

"I'm Theodore."

"Well Ted, see ya around."

"Bye Sucy."

She begins to walk away, only to stop herself again.

She points one of her long, pale fingers at my brew,

"Oh, by the way, Snake's Fingers and Dog's Scales makes a pretty good poison, nice work."

She then walks back to her table.

Well, that was interesting.

With that, I begin to clean up my workstation, cleaning test tubes, washing the pot, and even storing my recently created poison in a bottle, putting it into my satchel.

Hey, it could come in handy later.

As the bell rings, the teacher says her goodbyes.

"Alright students, if you haven't already, gather up your potions and clean up your workstation."

My part already being done, I leave the class and begin to walk to my next class, magic history.

Walking down the hallway, and into the class, I see to my left elevated desks that resemble a classroom in college. On my right, sits the teacher's desk, with an older woman sitting there. Behind the table rests a giant chalkboard. I also see Akko, Lotte, Diana, Hannah, and Barbara. Those five all in the same class? Taking into consideration their encounter during orientation, I think I'm going to like this period so much more now.

The professor begins her lecture,

"Welcome to you all, my name is Ms. Europa. Now, if you would all take a seat, I would like to begin."

I move and take the seat closest to the board, as I normally do.

The other students, as they normally do, try to grab a seat in the back. It takes, what I think as, too long.

The teacher continues,

"I would like to welcome you to my class. We will be learning about the history of magic and study novels based on the subject. Like the book we will be discussing tomorrow, 'The Old Straight Track' by Alfred Watkins."

Hearing the thought of starting work on the second day of school causes the class to collectively groan.

I personally like teachers like that, people who start us learning as soon as possible.

Hey, we didn't come here to goof off all day.

"Any questions?" She asks us.

I do have a question, something I have been wondering since I came here.

I raise my hand.

"What is it?"

"What is that big green light at the top of the tower?" I point through the window at it.

"Well, that is the Sorcerer's Stone. A powerful artifact used as a sort of a container for our magic that we utilize day to day. Does that answer your question, Mr. Sempronia?"

I nod.

I have never been called mister before by a teacher. I wonder if Ms. Europa is the type to do that often.

"Since it is your first day here, I will go rather easy on you today."

She pulls out a wand and points it at a stack of papers on her desk.

They begin to float up and move towards us.

The process only takes seconds.

When it is all over, each student has an assignment in front of them.

"I would like you all to finish this worksheet in class."

I take the paper, reading the first question.

'Which was worse to witch-kind, The Inquisition or The Salem Witch Trials?'

I bubble in The Inquisition.

By the time I finish the quiz, the bell rings.

The teacher then says her goodbyes,

"Don't forget, we have a short break."

The class and I then leave the room.

As I'm about to walk down the stairwell, I hear a familiar voice cry out

"Hey Theodore, wait up!"

I spin around, wondering who called me, until I see Akko, Lotte, and Sucy catching up to me.

"What?" I ask them, not knowing the purpose behind their wanted encounter with me.

Akko talks first.

"We thought that you might want to spend the break with us."

"What made you think that?"

I don't even know these three.

I saw Akko suffer in a magic duel, Sucy poisoned me for her own pleasure, and Lotte ran away from me due to embarrassment.

"Well, we did say that we were friends." Sucy replies.

"And friends spend time together." Lotte adds.

I never thought that I would have a group of women wanting to hang out with me.

There has to be some kind of ulterior motive.

"What's the catch?" I ask.

Impatiently, Akko puffs out her cheeks in frustration.

"There is no catch, all we want is a new friend!"

Not knowing anyone else, and not having anything better to do, I finally say

"Just take it easy, Akko. Sure, I'll hang out with you three."

I just don't want to sit next to Sucy.

"Great!"

They lead me down the stairwell, and to one of the many tables strewn around the break room room.

As we all take a seat, Akko immediately begins to bombard me with questions.

"So, why is a boy here? Do you like Shiny Chariot? Where are you from? Do you like Shiny Chariot? How do you like the school? Did you see that explosion yesterday? Wasn't it so awesome?!"

Sucy interjects,

"Akko, I don't think our friend here can keep up with your jibber jabber."

"Ohhh Sucy, you're always so mean to me!"

"Well, it's not like you make it difficult…"

As those two continue to argue, I turn to Lotte.

She seems to be the only one I can talk to.

"So, do those two get at each other's throats often?"

"Well, they-"

She is cut off as the bell rings, signaling the end of break.

Akko sighs and mutters,

"Ah, that couldn't have been five minutes."

I stand up, saying

"Well, I suppose it's time for us to get a move on."

We say our goodbyes, and go up the stairway.

As I continue my trek, I notice that the three of them are heading in the same direction as I.

"So Theodore, you're going to broom riding class, as well?" Lotte asks.

I nod a yes.

"That's great, I guess that means we can goof off!" Akko shouts, clearly satisfied.

Apparently, the class isn't in the main building, but instead takes place in the tower. I guess flying wouldn't be any fun without heights.

But still, I have never ridden a broom before. I have no idea if they expect me to be able to fly or not.

We enter the tower and see a crowd of witches already waiting.

The room is in a dome shape, with benches hugging the wall. In the middle is a statue to someone called 'Jennifer the Witch.'

We sit down, not a moment too soon, as the teacher comes strolling in.

Wait, I've seen her before.

Yeah, she was that unpleasant lady that handed out my equipment.

She speaks in the same scruffy tone from before, making me think that this is her real voice.

"I'm only going to say this once, so listen up! My name is Ms. Volare, your flying instructor. In case you're too much of an idiot to realize, you will be learning how to fly brooms. Now, come with me to the courtyard!"

Just as sour as I remember. I guess she acts this way to everyone, not just me.

We get up and follow Volare outside.

The courtyard itself is a large rectangular shaped field of grass. On one side of the wall is the tower itself, while the other side is dominated by the forest that surrounds this school. The professor continues,

"Grab a broom from the far wall, so we can begin your lesson."

We turn our attention towards multiple wooden stands, each one holding a broom.

Once we all have a broom in our hands, she continues.

"Since it's only day one, we will get to know the broom itself."

I let out a sigh of relief.

Good, I was afraid we would begin flying today.

The teacher goes over multiple, and in my opinion, unnecessary parts of the broom, including how to hold it and how to turn.

Even if she has an air of hostility, I can say that she's at least knowledgeable on the subject.

Once she is done describing what types of wood goes faster, and other useless information, she moves on,

"Now that we got that out of the way, I will judge ya based off your immediate skill. When I pass by you, show me the proper flight technique."

I guess it's not too late for me to make a fool out of myself.

She passes by multiple students, each time giving them an A, until she stops by me.

"Well, look who decided to stay, the grand moff himself! So I trust that you can do something as basic as ride a broom, or are you that much of an idiot?!"

Just what is this girl's problem?

Whatever, I'll show her. I'll show everyone here just what kind of power and pride I have.

If anyone can get that good of a grade, then surely someone like me can pass with flying colors.

I grab the handle, with one hand close to the other, and put the broom in between my legs. With this task complete, I await her response.

"Well kid, your starting grade is a C."

This news of my failure hits me like a bullet.

"What?!"

"Just for the back talking, it's now a C-"

I shut my mouth, now aware of this little game we're playing.

The more I talk, the more she will lower my grade.

However, it seems she is using my silence to her advantage, shouting abuse at me without repercussions.

"What kid? Cat got your tongue?! I would've thought that the only boy here would show greater strength than-"

She is cut off, as the bell begins to ring.

I turn towards the door and begin to walk away, away from her.

"Hey, Theodore!"

I turn, expecting to see Volare, but instead see Akko, Lotte, and Sucy catching up to me.

"Are you okay, Theodore? Ms. Volare was acting very immature." Lotte asks.

"Are you going to cry or something?" Sucy asks.

"No Sucy, I'm not." I answer her, before muttering. "Why is she always targeting me?"

"Who could say? But, you'll look even more like a fool if you're late to your next class."

The idea of being late to class sits worse than her calling me a fool.

I'll let that one go.

"That's true, don't want to be late on the first day."

After we exchange our goodbyes, I make my way back to the main building.

I go up several flights of stairs until I reach my next class, Destruction Magic Class, one that I've been looking forward to.

When I enter the room, I notice that it is not like any normal classroom.

The room is completely vacant, save for the students and the professor. In fact, there is no whiteboard, no desks apart from her's, no table, not even sufficient lighting. Just an empty room. I also note that I don't recognize anyone here.

Still hovering my gaze through the sea of students, I spot features that stand out to me.

I'd remember that finely combed blond hair and good posture anywhere, Diana.

The professor is wearing a standard teacher's outfit. However, she seems to have customized it, as she decorated her sleeves with a flame pattern.

As we all gather around her desk, she begins her introduction.

As she speaks, her tone is a bit monotone and bland, almost as if she's had to rehearse this opening about a dozen times, each time worse than the last.

I bet that's the case.

"Hey class, Ms. Faralda, your destruction teacher. Over the course of this year, I'll be teaching you several defensive as well as offensive spells, hopefully ensuring your survival should a duel happen. God forbid you might actually have to preserve yourself. Anyway, don't let that subject name give you the heebie jeebies. The school board has required a class like mine to take many precautions including, but not limited to, armor specialized in deflecting magic used by special wands that we provide. Now does anyone have a question?"

Diana raises her hand,

"Has there ever been any accidents involving this art?"

"Of course. There has been students using non specialized wands, but there have never been any serious injuries."

Completely skipping any other hands that may be up, Ms. Faralda points at a shelf, saying with much more enthusiasm than before

"Now, if there are no more questions, would you all put on the armor over by the shelf?"

We oblige, myself putting on one of the suit, noticing that it smells exactly like old gym clothes.

Just another reminder of my old schooling system.

Once our outfits are on and the wands have been exchanged, Ms. Faralda continues.

"Alright!" She exclaims, clasping her hands together in satisfaction. "Now that I've gotten that boring intro out of the way, we can have ourselves a little fun!"

She strides away from her spot at her desk, saying to us.

"Pair up with another student, and go to the opposite ends of the room. You will duel each other to see how you will fair in this class, and to give myself a bit of entertainment. If there's one thing I love more than teaching Destruction Magic, it's watching destruction magic!"

I turn around, and realize that everyone is already being paired up with friends, probably made from years of wizardly education.

All the while I've been subjected to the regular educational progress, and now being in this brave new world, not knowing anyone to partner up with.

Well, not knowing anyone except Diana.

I note that she as well doesn't have a partner.

Maybe word of that fire duel she had with Akko spread.

She notices this as well and walks over to me.

"Well, I suppose we are the only ones left."

"I suppose so."

"Given the circumstances, I believe it would be best if we were to partner up."

"Sounds fine to me."

She lets a little smirk slide, saying

"Well, this shouldn't take long."

We make our way to the middle of the room as do the rest of the students, preparing for the duel at hand.

Only now do I realize that everyone, including Faralda, is watching us.

And it's only now that I realize just what I'm getting myself into.

Myself, a fresh faced wizard with no real experience, facing off against Diana, the student who took down another one in less than a second.

Well, just as she said, this shouldn't take long.