Expelled
"I can't believe we're already back." Sigmund's warlock friend, Ivan, groaned early in the morning as they walked side by side to class.
"Right?" Sigmund sighed. "I really enjoyed my summer for once. I could've used an extra week off." Nicholai, Sigmund's mutant classmate, pointed out his hair to the boys.
"My hair is finally starting to turn blue." He told them, clearly prideful. "My mother said I get it from her side of the family. They're nightcrawlers too! So maybe I'll get some new powers this year!"
"Puberty! Yay!" Ivan commented sarcastically, getting a laugh out of Sigmund and a frown out of Nicolai. "I hardly did anything after visiting Sigmund. In fact, my father made me work at the elixir shop most of the summer. Hated it!"
"At least you got some practice in with potion making, right?" Sigmund shrugged, fiddling with the necklace under his collar. "That's gotta be good for something!"
"Listen to you, Mr. Positivity!" Ivan spat in annoyance. "Lemme guess, you did nothing but snuggle up to your witch of the year all summer?"
"Yup, yup!" Sigmund grinned, pointing his nose in the air as he walked. "All summer~! Jealous?"
"I can tell. You're even talking like her..." Nicolai scoffed. Ivan held back a laugh.
"He is, isn't he?" Ivan snickered. "Didn't know you were a New Yorker, Sigmund!" The sorcerer pouted as his friends laughed. Admittedly, Erin had spent more than a week with him over the summer. Just about every other week, she'd been over and if she wasn't visiting, he was. She'd even been on the set of his show during summer filming and had also been offered a cameo for her own segment on his show by his management team. She'd turned it down, but still helped choreograph more than a few tricks.
He crossed his arms as they turned into Professor Flan's classroom, continuing their teasing.
"I'm not embarrassed! I don't care!" Sigmund mumbled, setting his satchel down on his desk. He was surprised to see Kyle wasn't already there. He was usually early to class, especially on the first day back. Sigmund set up his area anyways and looked up to the front of the room as Professor Flan walked in.
"Good morning, students!" He called out to the class, closing the door behind him. The class responded with a zombified answer.
"Good morning, Professor.."
"Wake up! Wake up!" He clapped after setting his binder down on his desk. "I hope you've all kept a book at your bedsides over the summer holiday. This is a major turning point in your learning. After this term with me, you'll be sorted into types and taking extra classes with upperclassman. This term is NOT the term to slack off!"
Just as the Professor was finishing off his rant, there was a faint knock on the glass of the door. The class turned their attention to the door as the teacher paused to answer it. In walked Kyle, who looked disheveled as he rushed over to his desk. Professor Flan was far from impressed.
"Speak of the devil himself!" Professor Flan spat. "The biggest slacker of them all! Completely unacceptable being tardy on the first day!" Kyle pulled his notebook and pen out and sank into his seat when he noticed the stares from his peers. Professor Flan sucked at his teeth and turned to the board, starting a prompt. "Everyone should be taking notes!"
Sigmund glanced over at Kyle, who was angrily following the prompt on the board. There was a massive brown stain on his purple Milkweed sweater vest and his hair also looked messier than usual.
"Why were you late?" Sigmund whispered. "What happened?"
"Does it matter?!" Kyle spat back. Sigmund pouted. He didn't want to get into an argument with Kyle and the wizard clearly wasn't in any mood to talk. He decided to turn back to his own notebook. Opening it, he smiled when he discovered a pink sticky note inside.
Happy New Term! Have a good day today!
xx
-E
"What are we reading that's more important than taking notes?!" Professor Flan asked, making the sorcerer jump.
"H-huh?! Are you speaking to me?"
"Are we passing notes?"
"No, Professor! Never!"
"Let me make something VERY CLEAR." The professor started, slamming down his piece of chalk. The noise it made startled the students. "And this is for EVERYONE in this room! If you fall behind during this term, there's NO COMING BACK from failure! No make up exams, no re-dos, no extra credit assignments! You WILL be held back from your sorting year and you WILL repeat this term again and again till you pass! Have I made myself clear?!"
"Yes, Professor..." The room spoke weakly. Sigmund sighed, but felt a pang of joy seeing the note again. Flipping the page quickly, he started jotting down the notes on the board. After some time, Professor Flan pulled a stack of papers from his desk drawer.
"Let's start this term off with a quick quiz to see how many brain cells were lost over the holiday." He grumbled. The students passed the papers back to one another after taking one for themselves. With everyone in the room holding a test paper, the timer was started. "Begin."
Kyle was already fried after the morning he'd had. He was late to return to the academy after his parents booked the wrong train to send him back. Instead of arriving with everyone the morning before, he'd arrived the morning of. Arriving earlier in the morning gave him little time to unpack in the dorm and settle in. Trying to make himself some tea for breakfast had also turned into a disaster and he was still in great pain from spilling nearly the entire cup on his uniform.
He wasn't focused on this test, not even in the slightest. Being insulted by the Professor in front of all his peers didn't help either. In fact, it only made his mood worse. Before he was able to get through the first couple of questions, the timer at the front of the room had sounded off.
"Alright, switch with your table neighbor. Take out your red ink for grading."
Sigmund faced Kyle with his paper and froze when he noticed Kyle hadn't finished. The sorcerer frowned.
"Are you gonna tell me what's going on?" He whispered, setting his own test back down in front of him. Kyle's eyes hadn't met his. In fact, his entire aura just seemed off and he didn't answer. The Professor looked around the room and noticed Sigmund seemed to look a bit confused. Approaching their table, Sigmund gasped seeing the teacher in front of them.
"Is there an issue over here?" Professor Flan asked, his tone obviously rough. When Kyle didn't respond, Sigmund replied for him.
"No, Professor. We're fine." He grinned sheepishly, swapping their tests quickly. Looking down at Kyle's test, the teacher snatched it from the desk to take a closer look. When he realized the majority of the exam hadn't been finished, he walked the test to the front of the room and held it up to the class.
"This is a perfect example of what I don't want to see this term." The Professor announced, scanning the exam paper across the vision of every student in the room. Sigmund covered his mouth in shock, looking down at Kyle. Still, the wizard didn't seem to respond to what was happening, even with all eyes on him in the room. The Professor continued.
"This is an embarrassment! Milkweed Academy is a prestigious school for high level members of the occult. Does this look high level?!"
"No..." The class answered.
Sigmund jumped when Kyle finally moved at his side. The wizard closed his notebook, picked up his backpack from the ground and shoved everything inside. Zipping it loudly, he stood up from his seat with a screech of his wooden chair and walked straight to the door, leaving the room without even looking back. With the door slamming behind him, the class gasped. Sigmund's eyes went wide towards the entire scene. The Professor at the front of the room only grinned a crooked toothed smile.
"Anyone else want to slack off?" He asked the room. "You can follow him out!"
It took everything in the sorcerer to keep himself in his seat. He felt horrible for Kyle. Something was obviously wrong, but he couldn't leave the room the way he had. As the class went on, Sigmund hoped Kyle would return. His eyes darted from the lesson to the window of the door throughout the hour, but Kyle never came back. It was honestly unspeakable. Students spoke to their teachers and upperclassman with high respect. To walk out on a class was a massive slap to the face of any teacher.
As the bell chimed for their next class, the students worked to collect their school supplies back into their bags. The Professor lifted the erasure to the chalkboard and cleared it of the notes.
"I hope today was a lesson for you all!" The teacher called out to the class. "And be assured, your peer WILL be dealt with!"
Sigmund frowned again as he pulled his satchel over his shoulder and met with his friends. They were eager to talk about what had happened, but Sigmund wanted nothing to do with the conversation.
"I can't believe he did that!" Nicolai laughed, his hands on his head in disbelief. "What was he thinking?!"
"And why did he show up all dirty and nasty?" Ivan chuckled with him. "What was that about?"
"You guys shouldn't talk about him." Sigmund interjected. "He was obviously having a bad morning." His friends only laughed harder.
"Oh, come on Sigmund! You don't walk out on a class, no matter how bad of a day you're having!" Ivan replied. "He's gonna be in huge trouble!"
"Huge trouble!" Nicolai repeated. "I wonder what Professor Flan is gonna do. He's the meanest!" That's what Sigmund was concerned with the most. Professor Flan wasn't a forgiving teacher. He was the prime definition of nasty, known to discourage students and talk down to them. His shouting could be heard echoing down the hall on a regular day and it was almost always expected.
Sitting in his honors elixir class beside Ivan, Sigmund pulled his crystal ball before class began and tried to contact Kyle. When there was no response, the sorcerer put the crystal back into his bag and prepared for the class, doing his best not to concern himself with the situation any longer.
The elixir class was harder than the sorcerer expected this term. There were new potions added to their curriculum and they were more complex than before. Temperature and timing played a big factor in mixing a couple of the brews and for the first time in an entire school cycle, Sigmund felt a little stressed.
"It'll be fine." His teacher assured him as class ended. Sigmund hugged his textbook to his chest, standing beside the teacher's desk where he'd raised concern about his struggles. "It's only the beginning of the term. You'll have plenty of time to practice and study. Keep to your books!"
"Yes, ma'am..." Sigmund sighed, turning away to walk back into the hall. Ivan met him outside of the classroom and threw an arm over his shoulder.
"Don't look so down!" He spoke to Sigmund. "You know we can always study together if you need extra help! This was all I was doing all summer long!"
"Thanks, Ivan." Sigmund smiled weakly. Though it was time for lunch, Sigmund decided to head back to his room instead of the cafeteria for the hour. The amount of textbooks in his arms was beginning to pile up and he didn't want to carry them all any longer. He parted ways with Ivan and turned down the hall towards the common area where the dorms were housed.
Opening the door to his dorm when he arrived, Sigmund walked in and closed the door behind him. He froze when his eyes fell on Kyle as he turned around, who was sat on the window seat with his knees pulled to his chest and head buried in his arms. He wasn't sure if he should say something, especially considering the fact that Kyle hadn't looked up at him. The aura alone in the room was unsettling. Setting his textbooks down at his desk, the sorcerer slowly approached the wizard.
"Kyle?" Sigmund hesitated to speak. "Do you need to talk?" Yet again, he didn't respond. Sitting across from him, the sorcerer pouted. "Why are you ignoring me? What did I do to you? Is this about the test incident? I didn't want the Professor to see the paper, he came over and—."
"I don't care..." Kyle mumbled. Sigmund jumped when he finally got a response.
"Then what's the problem? And did you stay in here all day? I don't see any of your new books."
Kyle finally looked up from his arms, revealing reddened eyes and dark circles. He'd looked just as tired earlier in the day, but now it seemed as if he'd been crying. Sigmund sighed.
"What happened this morning?"
"It doesn't matter anymore!" Kyle snapped, catching Sigmund off guard. "I'm sick of this school! This place is ruining my life!"
"What are you on about?"
"My parents claim to care about me going here, but they're doing everything in their power to keep me dragging behind! I have no new school clothes, no new room decor, I practically had to BEG for school supplies this term!"
"Oh..." Sigmund frowned. He felt terrible. Before he could insist on Kyle taking whatever he needed from him, the wizard had gone on with his venting.
"And do you think Professor Flan cares about any of that?! He drags me down whenever he gets the chance to! He ALWAYS DRAGS ME DOWN! HE ALWAYS FINDS A WAY TO MAKE ME FEEL LESS THAN! HE ALWAYS GOES OUT OF HIS WAY TO MAKE ME QUESTION WHY I'M EVEN HERE!"
"Kyle, calm down! It's alright!"
"IT'S NOT ALRIGHT! I'M NOT ALRIGHT!"
Kyle sprang up from his spot on the window seat and rushed over to his backpack, pulling the textbook from class and his notebook out. With his hands, he set both on fire, an action that made Sigmund jump to his feet.
"Kyle!" He gasped. The wizard didn't stop. He burned everything on his side of the room. The more he burned and ripped through, the darker the aura around him seemed to grow. Sigmund was afraid to stop him, worried that he'd be next to be burned in Kyle's fit of rage. He couldn't believe the destruction and how quickly Kyle had done it all till the wizard left the room and left him behind to realize it all.
There was nothing but smoke left behind. Catching himself coughing, Sigmund opened the window to their room and rushed out into the hallway afterwards for fresh air. He scanned the hallway, but the wizard was nowhere to be found. The sorcerer hunched over to catch his breath. Walking up the stairs and into the common area, Ivan and Nicolai approached with their lunches and an extra tray for Sigmund, but stopped when they noticed the smoke bellowing out from his room.
"What's going on?!" Nicolai yelled as Ivan stood in shock. Sigmund faced them, his own expression matching Ivan's. "Are you okay?!"
"Ja...I...I don't know what just happened."
"Mój Boże! Is the room on fire?!" Ivan gasped, setting his tray of food in the corner of the hall to peek into the room. Nicolai followed behind him. Sigmund shook his head.
"No, it's just smoke."
"What happened?"
"Kyle...he just—."
"Kyle was here?!" Nicolai interrupted. "Oh my gods! He's out of his mind!"
"Look at this place..." Ivan marveled as he walked into the dorm and viewed Kyle's side of the room. Ashes and dust, everywhere. Some piles were still actively smoking. The textbook he'd burned was hardly recognizable. The room still smelled strongly of smoke, even with the window opened. "This needs to be reported to the Headmaster, immediately. This is totally unacceptable."
"N-no!" Sigmund pleaded, rushing into the room behind his friends. "Don't! He's already in trouble with the Professor. I don't want him in anymore trouble."
"Sigmund, he ruined your room." Ivan spoke, clearly upset with the wizard himself. "You can't sleep in here, it reeks of smoke. You'll get sick."
"I know, but—."
"But nothing!"
"He's having a really hard time at home, Ivan. It's just been a bad day for him, is all."
"That doesn't give him the right to make your living situation bad too. That was selfish of him."
"Let's get your stuff out of here, fast!" Nicolai suggested, pulling the blanket off of Sigmund's bed. Ivan opened the doors to Sigmund's wardrobe and grabbed an arm full of clothes off the rack. Sigmund picked up as much as he could from his desk and together, the boys set everything into the hallway. As the hallway space outside of the room filled with Sigmund's belongings, students passing by noticed what was going on. When everything was out, Ivan turned to Sigmund again.
"Let's go." He ordered the sorcerer. Sigmund raised a brow.
"Where?"
"The Headmaster's office."
"Ivan, please."
"Where are you sleeping tonight, Nightbreed?"
"I'll figure it out."
"Or you could let the school board figure it out. I'm sorry, but if you don't report that weirdo to the Headmaster, I wi—."
Ivan paused when his eyes fell on Kyle, who'd just entered the common hall. Sigmund turned around as Ivan and Nicolai folded their arms toward the wizard. They wasted no time shouting at him.
"OI! What the heck is the matter with you?!" Nicolai yelled out. "Have you finally lost it?!"
"Who gave you the right to destroy the room like that?!" Ivan added, slowly approaching the wizard. "This is exactly why I never wanted to hang around you. You're a freak!"
"Ivan!" Sigmund gasped, holding him back as he grew closer to Kyle. Ivan pushed Sigmund out of the way to continue.
"First day of class and you can't even take it seriously. We pulled your weight all of last term to help you pass and I'm not doing it again this term. You're on your own! I'm done tolerating your nonsense!"
"I'm not helping either." Nicolai added. "And I don't want you hanging out with us anymore. I only hung around you because Sigmund insisted, but after what you did today, I don't wanna be associated with the class flunky."
"Is that how you feel?" Kyle muttered, his eyes just as depressed as they'd looked earlier. Sigmund shook his head, even when his friends nodded.
"No! That's not how I feel!" Sigmund breathed. He was in disbelief with the other students that seemed to be watching the entire confrontation unfold. "Stop, everyone! Just calm down!"
"I'm over you trying to cover for him!" Ivan spat towards Sigmund. Purposefully bumping into Kyle, Ivan retreated towards the stairwell again with Nicolai following behind as best as he could manage. Sigmund turned to Kyle, almost frantic, and approached him quickly.
"They're going to report you to the Headmaster for the smoke!" He warned the wizard. Kyle stared at him blankly, holding his shoulder where he'd been bumped.
"So what?"
"W-what do you mean?! Kyle, what is wrong with you?! You're being irrational now!"
"I don't care if they report me. I don't care if the Professor disciplines me. I don't care anymore. I'm really tired of this place."
"...are you giving up?" Sigmund asked, his eyes going wide. "Right before our sorting year?"
"I don't care."
"KYLE! Stop and think for a moment! Really listen to yourself. This is the last term before our sorting year. You just have to get past this one term."
"I don't care! No one cares!"
"I CARE! I CARE ABOUT YOU PASSING! I CARE, KYLE! I DO!" Kyle looked away when Sigmund had shouted at him, something that only frustrated the sorcerer that much more. "There's been so many times that I've stopped what I was doing to make sure you'd move up with me. You have to move up with me. You can't give up now. We're so close."
"I'm done, okay?" Kyle spoke harshly. "There's no we, Sigmund. You're the wizard of the year while I hardly earned a passing grade. You're rich and famous and popular. I'm none of that stuff."
"What the hell does that have anything to do with it?!" Sigmund frowned. He was a little hurt to hear Kyle bring up his status into the argument. It was something Kyle never seemed to acknowledge about him.
"You fit in here! You said it yourself, your family is realm royalty! You belong here! You've belonged here for centuries. I don't belong here! My parents hardly belonged here!"
"I thought we were a team..." Sigmund spoke. "I mean, I know we have our differences, but I just thought we had a mutual understanding."
"We don't, Sigmund. We never did. We're not friends. We've never been, you just tolerated me, like your real friends said."
"Tolerated, huh? Wow..." Sigmund couldn't find it in himself to respond to what Kyle was saying. Students watching the argument were livid with the conjurer, flashing him nasty glances and talking amongst themselves. From the pile of his belongings, Sigmund lifted his satchel and threw it over his shoulder, then lifted his stack of textbooks. He walked past Kyle without a passing glance and passed his friends who were with the Professor on the stairwell.
"Sigmund?" Nicholai called. The sorcerer continued down the flight of stairs in the direction of the study hall. Seeing how upset he had looked just then surprised the boys and quickly, they followed behind Professor Flan as he entered the common area. Students who'd been watching the argument between Sigmund and Kyle were now shocked to see the professor in their space. The situation only seemed to be growing worse by the minute.
Professor Flan was in shock to see the state of the hall. For one, the area was smoked out. The smoke even irritated his eyes as he entered the common area. Then there was Sigmund's belongings outside of the room. Walking around Kyle, who stood in the hall with his head lowered, the Professor took a look inside their room and was immediately taken aback by what he saw. With his attention falling back on Kyle and the hall falling silent to hear the verdict, the teacher pointed him out and turned back to the stairwell.
"Office, NOW!"
As Kyle followed behind the Professor, Ivan shot him a nasty smile and Nicholai waved him away. Kyle kept his head lowered all the way to the great hall. Walking into the Headmaster's office, the professor pointed out a seat for him and Kyle followed through, sitting in front of Merlin's desk. Headmaster Merlin seemed to be surprised by not only the sudden visit, but the state of Kyle's uniform.
"Please excuse me." Professor Flan spoke to the Headmaster. "My apologize for anything I may be interrupting. I'm sure today is a busy day."
"Everyday is a busy one." The Headmaster corrected, folding his hands onto his desk. "How can I help you, Mr. Flan?" Adjusting his monocle, the Professor cleared his throat before starting the list of violations Kyle had newly committed.
"Not only did Mr. Bloodworth-Thomason walk out of my classroom today in the midst of a lesson being taught, but he also avoided attending his other lessons and took it upon himself to destroy his shared dormitory."
"Destroy?" The Headmaster inquired.
"The entire room is up in smoke and burnt to ashes!" The professor exclaimed. "So much so, that the common hall is filled with said smoke and his roommate was forced to pull his belongings from the room! Sigmund Nightbreed will have to be relocated!" With Merlin turning his attention to the wizard, Kyle sank down in his seat.
"Care to explain your actions, Mr. Bloodworth-Thomason?" Merlin asked. "This is very unlike you."
"I think it's very much within his character." The Professor butted in, earning a demeaning look from Merlin that shut him up. Kyle shrugged.
"No, I don't care to explain anything." The wizard responded. Merlin leaned into his desk to question the conjurer again.
"What seems to be the issue today? I can't help but notice your uniform looks unkept."
"I spilled tea on myself this morning.."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Is that what upset you?" Kyle shook his head. "Then what's been bothering you?"
"Everything's been bothering me, okay? I hate this school!"
The response caught the Headmaster off guard. Professor Flan seemed to expect the answer and folded his arms with another crooked smile.
"There's no compromising with this one." The Professor told Headmaster Merlin. "He's a stubborn, hard-headed delinquent! What he did today, from start to finish, was a complete violation of our morals and values at Milkweed Academy and he needs to be reprimanded!"
"Would you mind excusing us for a moment, Professor?" Headmaster Merlin finally sighed. The instigating from the teacher was only making the situation worse and Merlin had honestly had enough out of him. Turning away with his nose pointed in the air, the professor exited the office and stood outside the door. Merlin sighed deeply, facing the teenaged wizard.
"Mr. Bloodworth-Thomason, I know you're better than this. I want to give you the benefit of the doubt, being this is our first day back to class, but you're making it very difficult for me to understand where you're struggling."
"I'm struggling everywhere. I'm struggling in every class, I'm struggling at making friends, I'm struggling at home."
"At home?" Merlin frowned. "You know, we always have resources here to help you when you're stressed. If you need to speak with someone about your issues at home, the councilor is always available."
"It's not like it'll make a difference..." Kyle mumbled. "My parents hate me."
"I'm sure that isn't the case, there must be some solution to your strife. As for friends, I thought you were good friends with Mr. Nightbreed. Was I incorrect?"
"We're not friends." Kyle replied, crossing his arms. "We've never been friends. We're just roommates."
"Are you being honest with yourself?"
Kyle paused. He knew he was suppressing a lot of hurt and anger. He knew he wasn't being totally honest, but he was tired of explaining himself. The conjurer was burnt out dealing with his family. Last night, after he had realized his train ticket was incorrect, it had honestly been the straw that broke the camel's back. When he expressed to his parents how fed up he was with their halfway parenting and support, they'd completely tossed his concerns out of the window. Kyle was discouraged, disheartened and overall, depressed.
He felt like the root of all his issues came from the academy. His parents expected so much out of him while they invested so little to make it happen. He didn't want to depend on them anymore. He was tired of being compared to his classmates. He was tired of trying to pull his weight and their generational weight to attempt to make them happy. Kyle was tired. He felt bad for saying the things he'd said to Sigmund, and he wished he could backtrack on that whole argument, but the moment for that had passed.
When Merlin didn't receive an answer from Kyle, he sighed again, leaning back into his seat. Pulling a binder from his drawer, he flipped through the pages and pulled the copy of a disciplinary form from the folder inside. Conjuring a feather, Merlin scribbled down on the sheet of paper and waved the professor, who was peering through the window of the office door, back in. Professor Flan rushed back inside as soon as he was called forward.
"I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Bloodworth-Thomason.." Merlin the Magician breathed out in disappointment. "I'll have to suspend you for a week over the destruction of property to your dormitory." Handing the form over to the professor, Flan signed off happily. Once his signature as a witness was down, he held the form out to Kyle to sign off on as well. Kyle refused.
"Fine." Kyle spoke. "Can I leave now?"
"You need to sign the form." Professor Flan spat, shaking the paper in his face. Shockingly, Kyle slapped it away and stood up. "You little brat!"
"CAN I LEAVE THIS BLOODY OFFICE NOW OR NOT?!" Kyle shouted, making the professor jump. The Headmaster frowned when Kyle turned away and exited the office without a response. Professor Flan was heated. Setting the form down on Merlin's desk, he quickly went after Kyle before he could be stopped. Merlin stood up as fast as the ancient magician could manage and followed behind Flan.
"HOW DARE YOU!" The professor shouted down the hall, tailgating the wizard. Kyle pressed on, refusing to give the teacher anymore attention. Flan only continued. "I don't want to see your face around this academy for the rest of the week! I'll be having you removed from my class when you return from your suspension!"
"WONDERFUL! A DREAM COME TRUE!" Kyle shouted back, finally turning around to insult the professor. "YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A GLUTTONUS, DISHOVELED, OGRE OF A PROFESSOR!"
"EXCUSE ME?!" Professor Flan gasped, stopping in his tracks. Kyle gave the teacher a sinister smile.
"Do you think I care if I'm removed from your class? DO YOU?! If I never have to see your acne ridden face and chapped lipped smile ever again, it would be the best day of my life!"
"Scheisse..." Sigmund almost seemed to chuckle when he found himself in the great hall. He'd heard through other students in the common hall that Kyle had been escorted to the office and hadn't yet returned. The last thing he was expecting to see was the conjurer facing off with the professor in the middle of the hallway. The insults felt deeply personal, words that had wanted to come out of the red head all along. The slander spilled from his lips with a fiery passion and they didn't end when the sorcerer tuned in.
"I'd be BLESSED to never have to smell your foul breath or watch you slug down mountains of carbs first thing in the morning! It would be the GREATEST HONOR to be removed from your class!"
"I REFUSE TO BE DISRESPECTED LIKE THIS!"
"I'VE TAKEN DISRESPECT FROM YOU FOR THREE TERMS NOW, FLAN! THREE TERMS! Don't you remember what you called me just this morning in front of all my peers? The EMBARRASSMENT OF MILKWEED ACADEMY!"
"Oh my..." Merlin gasped, listening from the doorway of his office. Hearing the ongoing bickering coming from the great hall, members of the board slowly began to appear from inside the office to see what the noise was about. Professor Flan crossed his arms.
"And you're only proving my statement to be true!" The teacher spat back. "The proof is in the pudding!" Kyle's eyes narrowed towards the Professor and Sigmund watched him slowly pull his wand from his cape pocket.
"Pudding, huh?" The wizard growled as the tip of the wand began to glow. Before Sigmund could stop him, Kyle shot at the Professor. A massive beam of light blinded Merlin and Sigmund and as they uncovered their eyes, a shockwave hit in the hallway. "You like pudding?! Well, there you go, you disgusting pig!"
Flan turned to a literal, living and jiggling pile of flan. The sight of him was enough to make Sigmund feel nauseous. Quickly, the sorcerer turned away from the scene to gag. It was horrifying, to say the least. The professor hollered in terror when he realized what had just happened. The caramelized coating, glistening at the crown of his head seemed to drip down as he backed away from the teenaged wizard. With every step, his entire being wiggled.
"Y-YOU MONSTER!" The Professor gasped. Kyle chuckled.
"Takes one to know one."
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"
"Mein Gott, I can't stomach this..." Sigmund groaned when he'd tried to look up again. Holding his stomach, he exited the hall as quickly as he could. Merlin was at a loss for words as the professor desperately turned to him. The members of the board seemed to collectively gag at the teacher's appearance. They were just as shocked as Merlin seemed to be. As a couple retreated back into the office, Professor Flan cried out.
"MERLIN! LOOK AT WHAT HE'S DONE!"
"In all my years..." Headmaster Merlin breathed out in disbelief. Never had he ever seen something like this from student to teacher. Never.
Following the curse placed on Professor Flan, Kyle was called back into the office to have it undone. When he refused to cooperate, the board voted to raise his discipline and have him expelled from the academy instead of the original suspension. Sigmund had informed his friends of what he'd witnessed and it was only until the Professor was spotted exiting the Headmaster's office that his story was taken as fact. The students watched on in horror, just as the faculty had, as Professor Flan walked himself down the hall and back into his classroom. Some students thought it was right for him to have finally gotten a taste of his own medicine, but it was unthinkable to actually see it executed. And by another student, at that.
When Sigmund was called back to the office to place his ballot on Kyle's expulsion from the school, he immediately protested.
"Why?!" The sorcerer asked. "He was being abused by that professor! You and I heard it! If anything, he should be excused for what happened today."
"I did my best to have that happen." Merlin told Sigmund. "I agree with you completely on that issue, but given the opportunity to undo the curse, Kyle outright refused."
"Then increase the suspension penalty. I'm not signing off on him being expelled."
"That's just not an option anymore..." Merlin sighed. "And unfortunately, the board has voted against you."
Sigmund felt a knot in his stomach. Even though Kyle had told him they weren't friends, he refused to believe that. Kyle was the first person he'd come into contact with when he transferred to Milkweed as a magic rookie. They'd butted heads more than a few times along the course of their first term together, but it was always out of, what he thought to be, brotherly love. Kyle helped him learn about the culture of Milkweed and in return, Sigmund helped Kyle get through his term. Kyle was the one person he felt he could always turn back to when things seemed to be unbalanced to unapologetically bring him a dose of reality. This wasn't the news he wanted to hear at the beginning of their final term potentially together before sorting. He shook his head.
"Wait." He pleaded. "Let me talk to him. Maybe I can get him to agree with reversing the curse. Please."
"Mr. Nightbreed, I know you mean well, but the document has already been submitted for review and the vote has already been placed. We can't go back on it, it's against protocol."
"Headmaster, please." Sigmund almost seemed to cry. "Just this once!"
"I'm sorry, Sigmund."
Sigmund bolted out of the room and in the direction of the common hall, his uniform blazer flying behind him as he dashed up the stairwell. Students watched him pass their rooms to stop at his own, where Kyle had been instructed to visit one last time to collect anything inside that belonged to him. When Sigmund entered the room, he closed the door behind him to keep preying eyes from looking in as Kyle's eyes met his. The sorcerer looked just about on the verge of tears, but his face reddened in anger.
"What's wrong with you?!" He shouted, his voice cracking as his anger reached a boiling point. "I can't help you this time! They won't let me stop the discipline! You've screwed everything up!"
"Sigmund..."
"I don't care if we're friends or not! I don't care about the spilled tea! I don't care about any of it! Why did you do that? Why?!"
"I'm just tired...okay?"
"I'm tired too, Kyle! I'm tired of working and studying at the same time! I'm tired of running from meeting to meeting with the school board on my only free days! I'm tired of people only wanting to be friends with me for my money! I'm tired of having to save face in front of our peers because of my grades! I'm tired of touring when I'm supposed to be on holiday! I'm tired of my parents not coming home anymore! I'M TIRED! WE'RE ALL TIRED!"
Kyle was taken aback by Sigmund's venting, even more so when the tears in his eyes finally fell down his face. The sorcerer leaned against the wall in frustration, looking up at the ceiling to collect himself before he spoke again.
"Who am I supposed to talk to now?" He asked the wizard. "Ivan? Nicolai? All they ever care about is being around me to make themselves look better, it's obvious to me. Ivan's been comparing himself to me since our first grading cycle. Nicolai is a total dunce who does whatever I tell him to! They're soul-less!"
"I'm sorry, okay?"
"It's beyond sorry at this point. I can't help you. You've ruined everything. Look at our room.."
Taking a look around the dorm they'd shared for three terms, Kyle's expression softened and slowly saddened. It really was ruined. Sigmund wiped his eyes quickly with the back of his hand, turning the handle on the door.
"Good luck to you...with whatever you do." The sorcerer spoke down to the doorknob, catching Kyle's attention as he opened the door. "Maybe we'll see each other again, soon. Maybe..."
Before Kyle could respond, Sigmund slipped out of the smoky room and closed the door gently behind him. With the news of Kyle's expulsion reaching his parents, they had made the trip down to the academy themselves to collect him. Furious, Kyle's father argued with the board for a resolution, but was met with opposition and ultimately was unable to reverse the order. When Kyle reached the great hall with one measly bag of belongings, he was practically dragged out by his father in front of the entire board, minus Sigmund. Kyle looked back to the board for mercy, but was seemingly met with none.
When he finally gave into his father, Kyle allowed himself to be pushed towards the family's car at the front of the academy.
"And if you even think you're going back home to be in comfort, you've got another thing coming!" His father went on. "I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU, KYLE! HAD IT!" His mother opted for the cold shoulder method of shaming him, taking her spot at the passenger side of the car as his father took the driver's seat. Opening the back door, Kyle tossed his bag in first and then took his seat. Before he could close the door, he paused when he heard his name.
"KYLE! KYLE WAIT!" Sigmund rushed down the steps of the academy and raced over to the Bloodworth family car. Kyle's father shook his head.
"Close the door, NOW!" He ordered. Kyle figured he was in the biggest fumble of his life. Instead of listening to his father, the wizard hopped out and met Sigmund halfway. Pulling each other into a tight hug, Kyle buried his face in the crook of Sigmund's neck and finally seemed to cry. It was the emotion that had wanted to come out all day, but hadn't hit till it was time to go.
"I'm sorry..." Kyle whimpered, clutching Sigmund's blazer. "I'm really sorry."
"Me too..." Sigmund muttered.
As Kyle's father approached, Sigmund seemed to pivot their stance to keep the wizard away from him. His eyes peered sharply in Oliver's direction, almost reading off as a warning, before he finally let Kyle go. Kyle wiped his eyes quickly, though he let out a sniff and a hiccup and finally turned back to climb into the car. With Kyle's father returning to the driver's seat and both doors slamming shut, Sigmund watched as the rusty, burgundy vehicle slowly pulled away.
From the back window, Kyle peered out. Sigmund gave a weak wave, but Kyle's head lowered and he turned away instead.
