The New Kid
It was the start of the of the Spring semester at Milkweed Academy, a stressful time for wizards and ghouls. Every season, wizarding exams were set in place, testing the young and centuries old on skills they'd acquired since the very beginning of their training. The prestigious academy was serious about making the grade and the pressure was high. Wizards that lacked the ability to keep up were held back from advancing their studies and forced to relearn the curriculum while their peers around them continued. No one wanted to be that wizard, the one who was still on lesson one while everyone else was on lesson seven or ten. Unfortunately for Kyle the Conjurer, he'd been struggling this semester. Terribly.
Thankfully, he hadn't been held up in his studies thus far, but the lesson this term had been a challenging one and he found himself struggling more than usual. He feared that this would be the straw that broke the camel's back and he'd for sure be held back after this round of testing. It was depressing to think about. Professor Flan had taunted him about refusing to seek a tutor.
"I don't need one!" Kyle protested after yet another fire accident in class. His textbook had gone up in smoke after trying, and failing, at a trick being taught that day. Professor Flan wasn't having it.
"Face it! You're horrible at fire magic! The only person you're fooling is yourself!"
"I-I'm not horrible! I just have yet to figure it out!"
"Figure it out with a tutor! Your magic is simply nothing but hot garbage right now!"
Kyle cringed as he walked into class on a new day and recalled the laughter from his peers after Professor Flan's comments. Turning into the classroom, he dragged himself over to his desk, surprised when another student was already seated and settling in his place. Said student looked up from his leather satchel, which he'd been pulling his supplies from and paused.
"Hallo?"
"Who are you? You need to excuse yourself."
"Excuse me?"
"You fool, I mean from my desk! Get up!"
Hearing the commotion, Professor Flan quickly turned his attention to the middle of the room where the long desk sat. He snapped his fingers, harshly grabbing the attention of Kyle and the student.
"Kyle the Conjurer! There's more than enough room at the desk for both yourself and Sigmund!" Professor Flan gasped. "Every other student shares their desk. He's our new student so have some decency! Have a seat!"
"B-but, this has always been my spot!" Kyle protested.
"TAKE A SEAT!" The professor shouted this time. Sigmund chuckled under his breath.
"Not anymore..." He mumbled, laying his ink pens out on the desk in front of him. Kyle gritted his braced teeth and finally took a seat, angrily dropping his body down in his chair. He quickly conjured a ruler and set it at the middle of the wooden desk.
"You stay on THAT SIDE of the ruler and I'll stay on THIS SIDE!" Sigmund paused for a moment to look down at the ruler and looked away again with an eye roll.
"You're a weirdo..." He giggled, opening his textbook when the lesson started. Kyle pulled his own textbook from his bag and turned to the lesson. Professor Flan used telepathy to write out the lesson plan on the board with a piece of chalk.
"We're getting back into the lesson on fire conjuring." He spoke. "Conjuring fire can be a difficult task, as is conjuring any other element of nature, but it's very possible! It's like riding a bike. Once you've figured out the technique, you'll never forget it!" He held up the textbook and pointed out the page to turn to, the students quickly doing so. "Give those spells a read. Any one of those will help you focus. You'll be conjuring fire in no time!"
Sigmund raised his hand, grabbing Kyle's attention as well as a couple other students in the room. This was his first day at Milkweed and little was known about him except for what a couple of students had heard of him being home-trained by his father. Apparently, he'd been admitted as some type of young prodigy. Professor Flan gave him a smile.
"Do you have a question, Sigmund?"
"No...not really a question.." Sigmund corrected. With a flick of his wrist and a snap of his finger, fire. Instant fire that made Kyle and the peers around them gasp. "I already know fire conjuring, so should I do something else, or-?" The students whispered among themselves, all extremely impressed with Sigmund. Professor Flan marveled at the display of magic. Sigmund had conjured that flame with no effort at all. His attention moved from the young sorcerer to the wizard.
"Hmm..." Professor Flan grinned, stroking his chin when a thought sprang his mind. "How about you help your classmate, Kyle. I'm sure he'd appreciate your help." Kyle's mouth dropped.
"I don't need his help! I don't need anyone's help!" He argued, yet again. Professor Flan instantly hushed him and approached the desk, leaning over to meet Kyle's angry gaze with his own.
"Take the help." He growled, sternly. "Because if another book goes up in flames in this room, so help me God-!"
"Alright, alright! Just get away from me!" Kyle groaned. "Your breath is horrendous..." As Professor Flan turned away from the desk, Kyle shyly looked towards Sigmund, the new student he'd rudely welcomed on his first day. Sigmund turned his nose up to the air when Kyle started a proposal.
"So, um..." Kyle grinned sheepishly, twirling his wand in his fingertips. "Sigmund, is it?"
"Ja."
"W-what are you studying?"
"Sorcery. Performance art."
"O-oh. I'm more of a dark magic connoisseur myself.."
"Are you going to apologize to me or not?" Sigmund finally asked, startling Kyle from his ramble.
"W-what?"
"You need me, I don't need you. Clearly."
"EXCUSE ME?!"
"The professor called you a conjurer, right? Conjurer, but you can't even conjure fire. Amateur he must've meant. Or constipator, seeing as you can't manage to get the flames out..."
"Y-you pretentious little-!" When Professor Flan's head turned in the direction of the desk, Kyle instantly straightened up, something that made Sigmund smile coyly. He shook with frustration, and through gritted teeth, he growled out an incoherent apology. Sigmund leaned over, cupping his ear in Kyle's direction.
"What was that?" He asked. "I didn't catch that~!"
"I said SORRY! Okay?"
"That's nice."
"What do you mean? Are you gonna help me now?"
"I'll think about it." Sigmund stood from the desk as Kyle balled his hands up into fists of anger. He grabbed the bathroom pass and gave Kyle a wink before leaving the classroom. Sigmund hadn't returned till the class was nearly over and when he was back at the desk, he pushed his belongings back into his satchel. Kyle didn't even bother to ask why he'd taken so long, it was obvious that Sigmund was toying with him.
When classes were finally finished for the day, Kyle walked himself to his dorm room. He paused when he noticed the door to the room was opened a crack. Had someone broken into his room? Or was it another classmate borrowing a potion without asking again. Rushing over, he flew in and felt his body stiffen at the sight. Sigmund was hanging a leather coat in the unused wardrobe in the corner of the room. It looked as though there were a couple other coats and vests already hung along the rack. Kyle nearly choked up on his own words.
"W-WHAT ON EARTH-?!"
"Oh, hallo new roomie!" Sigmund waved.
"ROOMIE?!"
"Ja! This is my room now too. What are you gonna do? Put a ruler on the floor?" Kneeling down to the suit cases on the ground, Sigmund pulled out a stack of brown slacks and turned to the drawer under the plainly made bed. He figured the other, the one that was decorated plushly with pillows and a teddy bear, had probably belonged to someone else. He wasn't expecting Kyle though. "Nice bear~!"
"Ah!" Quickly, Kyle pushed Admiral Fluffington under his comforter. Sigmund closed his suitcase and in a hail of sparkles, it vanished as he turned to his dusty desk. He conjured a rag and cleaning solution and got to work to clean his space. Kyle balled up his fists, though he was very impressed with how quickly and efficiently Sigmund's magic worked. "N-no! I don't want you here!"
"That sounds like a personal issue." Sigmund shrugged, setting his books down on the clean desk. He finally sat down and opened a textbook, eager to read through the lessons inside. Kyle plopped down at his own desk and folded his arms. He figured if he put in a complaint, his request to have Sigmund removed would most likely be denied by the board. He opened his own textbook and pulled his wand, turning back to the page for fire conjuring. He really struggled and seeing how easily the sorcerer had managed to conjure flames earlier frustrated him. He swallowed his pride and turned to him.
"Sigmund?"
"Hm?"
"Um...how did you manage to conjure up those flames today? And without a wand?"
"That's just how I was taught." Sigmund responded, turning in his seat to face Kyle. "Why can't you do it?"
"I don't know! And I'm really trying my hardest!" Kyle answered honestly. "Professor Flan just makes me so bloody ANGRY with his stupid, fat headed comments!"
"Oh, there it is." Sigmund pointed out. "That's your problem."
"What is?"
"Your anger. You let it cloud your focus. That's why when you try, nothing happens."
"But I'm not angry all the time!"
"Is that so? Every time I've seen you today, you've shouted at me..." Kyle blushed. He was right about that.
"Sorry...I'm just stressed about wizarding finals. I can't say I expected a new face at my desk or in my room. You caught me off guard, is all."
"It's fine, I guess. Do you want me to help you?"
"Could you?" Kyle perked up. "Please?" Sigmund stood up from his desk and went for his satchel, pulling a wand from it. He motioned Kyle to stand up and he quickly complied.
"So, I don't use a wand, but I'll just use it for the purpose of tutoring." Sigmund started. "In the textbook, the chapter states three different ways you can conjure fire, but you have to-"
"Wait!" Kyle coughed, interrupting Sigmund. Sigmund's eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"What?"
"If you don't use your wand to conjure fire, I'd rather not use mine either."
"But Kyle.." Sigmund quickly interjected. "I've been trained for a very long time with this. Fire magic was some of the first dark magic I learned and I burned plenty of times before I got it right." He pointed out his leather gloves to the conjurer. "I still use these to be safe."
"That sounds like a personal issue." Kyle responded, repeating Sigmund's earlier statement. The sorcerer smiled and tightened his gloves with a nod.
"Alright then. No wand." He grinned deviously. Kyle grinned back. "Then I guess we won't do it by the book either. Come, follow me." The boys turned towards the door, walking the halls of the dormitory together. Sigmund waved at a few of their peers from class when they gave waves of their own in his direction. Kyle pouted. They never said hi to him like that! Walking out into the courtyard, Sigmund stopped to stretch. Kyle rubbed his arms and hugged himself when a cool breeze passed through the fabric of his Milkweed pullover.
"What are we doing out here?" He complained. "It's cold out tonight."
"Stretch!" Sigmund ordered. "We train now!"
"Train?"
"Ja! You wanna do it my way? My way was bought up on tough training! Stretch now!" Kyle rolled his eyes and limply rolled his shoulders back. Sigmund shook his head. "No, no! You have to really loosen yourself out! Look, hold your arms out in front of you."
"Like thi-?!" Before Kyle could finish his question, Sigmund swiftly pulled him downward. As Kyle's back bent, a loud crack popped from his spine and the wizard let out a squeak. "WHAT THE-oh...hold on..."
"Feels good, ja?" Sigmund chuckled, cracking his knuckles. He took a couple steps back and snapped his wrist the way he did earlier. The flames jumped from his fingertips. "Fire magic requires complete control and concentration. The one who holds the flames in their hands needs to stay steady. Strong!"
"Mentally strong, right? Because physically-"
"PAY ATTENTION!" Sigmund groaned. He put the flame in his hand out and slowly went through the motions again. "Give your wrist a good twist when you feel the adrenaline in your veins. You'll feel it, it's a little hot under the skin. Follow the flow of the heat and then...SNAP!" Again, the flames jumped out. "Give it a try."
Kyle looked down at his hand and instantly tried giving his wrist a twist. When nothing came out, he snapped. When that failed, his face slowly went red and again, he twisted. Nothing. Snapped. Nothing. Twisted and snapped. Nothing. Sigmund held in a laugh with how upset Kyle was becoming. He was entirely impatient and it was beyond entertaining.
"Hold on! Hold on!" Sigmund laughed when Kyle had gone into full on rage.
"I SEE YOU LAUGHING AT ME AND IT ISN'T FUNNY! I'LL BE HELD BACK A LEVEL IF I CAN'T DO THIS!"
"Kyle, please-!"
"WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? I'M DOING EXACTLY AS YOU SAID AND NOTHING'S HAPPENING! I FEEL THE ADRENALINE AND NOTHING'S HAPPENING!"
"I think that's your blood pressure rising, not the adrenaline...whoa! Slow down!"
"I CAN'T DO IT! THIS IS IMPOSSI-!"
Sigmund screamed and hit the ground when a blast of green flames escaped from Kyle's palm. Kyle himself screamed, once from his hand going up in fire and twice when he realized he'd set a line of shrubs near the courtyard entrance on fire. He waved his hand around, desperate to put his hand out, and ended up dropping to the floor himself to roll the fire out. Sigmund patted the top of his head, his face instantly going pale. Hair was missing.
"MY HAIR!"
"MY HAND!"
"What in Beelzebub's NAME-?!" Professor Flan gasped, rushing out into the courtyard after students reported smoke bellowing into the dormitory. When his eyes fell on the shrubs on fire, he quickly conjured a fire extinguisher and hopped around to put the fire out the best he could, to the entertainment of the students watching and laughing from their windows. Then he turned it onto Kyle, covering him in white foam till he was hardly recognizable. The students in their rooms wailed with laughter. Sigmund himself, giggled a little till he remembered his own situation. He covered his head quickly, but a couple students had already seen the bald spot at the crown of his head.
"Both of you, inside, NOW!"
Side by side, Kyle the Conjurer covered in foam and Sigmund the Sorcerer with singed hair, walked back into the academy, heads lowered in embarrassment. Sigmund couldn't stop touching the bald spot on his head. He hoped he could manage a comb over or switch up the parting to hide it. He glanced over at Kyle, who looked down at his hand. Sigmund's eyes grew when Kyle suddenly twisted his wrist.
"Wha-!" Before Sigmund could shout, their bodies went stiff. They both paused when Kyle had managed to do it. Fire. And without the use of a wand. Professor Flan had caught a glimpse as the weak flame died out in Kyle's hand. The boys stared at each other and smiled brightly.
"You're not a constipator after all..."
