Chapter Two;
In awe, I stared ahead of me at the two people. Rima Mashiro, my best friend since I was a child, and always the more beautiful than the two of us, had agreed to go to some 'Academy' with what could be a serial-killer kidnapper! His name is 'Ikuto Tsukiyomi', but you just can't trust people who are complete strangers with the ability to drug you and take you to the countryside. The man thought magic existed!
"Excuse me!" I yelled out at them, and they politely stopped to listen. "Hello? Does my opinion even matter here?" I could practically feel the anger radiating from me, and Rima twitched, giving me this look like I was the psychopath here!
Ikuto smirked, and something in my mind told me I would get used to that expression, "Not with that attitude...but I wish it did." He shrugged, turning back around and walking off once again. I began my chain of swears at him, not holding back. To stop me from causing such a scene, he came back to wear I was and said, "Calm it down, I was only joking."
I groaned, "Can't you just answer my questions without any jokes?"
"Fine, fine," he submitted to my request, "go on." And I caught a glance of Rima, who had gone silent this whole time. She looked from Ikuto to me, and then back to Ikuto, and I watched this sick smile appear on her face. She was as smug as ever. My best friend laughed a little bit, mumbling something like, "How cliché..." and once again I had to shake my head to focus.
I thought about what I wanted to say first, and asked, "Okay, where are we going?"
"The Academy." I found his immediate answers very irritating. Yes, I even had to give him that look, and wave my hand for him to continue. Just saying the 'Academy' wasn't really giving me any sense of anything. "Oh, sorry. The Academy is like the schools in the magic-free world all combined. The difference is the lessons. People here don't bother learning Mathematics or Language Arts in the Academy, which is one of the most popular schools here. Although, there are some lower class schools meant just for the common subjects. Usually it's people like you who go there to start off, get adjusted to there new lifestyle, before they dive into magic."
My thoughts on that were pretty big thoughts; so I kept them to myself. All he got was a blink from me, "Wow. Very informative; thank you. Next question, what gives you the right to just take people?"
He gave me a big grin, saying something along the lines of, "I'm glad you asked." He rummaged through his coat and pulled out a little piece of card. I couldn't be bothered to read it, so he told me what it meant, "I'm a licensed scout!"
I blinked once more, giving him a very cold stare and words dipped in thick sarcasm, "That's so cool, I wish I was a magic scout."
"Yeah, it's great! You get to spend three years studying hard for these exams and practicing new spells that are about as useful as cat food is for a fish." Well, touché. Fighting sarcasm with sarcasm. At least he knew some insults in this strange new world. Oh my gosh! I did not just believe him, did I?
I pretended to laugh, making it as fake as possible, "Yeah, that's hilarious. But seriously; prove it."
His tan skin and blue eyes looked at me with a sudden sense of authority, that it made me shiver. He shrugged, "Fine." As he thought of something to do, I took a few steps back, just in case he pulled out a knife and started to attack me for showing him that reality had no magic.
With a quick flick of his hand, I actually had a flicker of hope that something might happen. But it didn't. This was all because of those fairy tales that were read out to me before I went to bed as a child. Great. As you grow older, you still believe a little bit in that crap. I guess I always will. Ikuto was smirking like crazy, he even had a little jump to his step. I laughed indifferently, "What? Is there a coin behind my ear?" I scoffed.
But he wouldn't say anything. Almost as if he wanted me to find out for myself. Find out what? Was this magic real? I sighed, feeling my tail constantly twitch back and forth.
A moment passed by.
"I HAVE A TAIL!" I screamed, whipping my head around to see a white fluffy tail poking out from my pink shorts. And as embarrassing as it was, the even more embarrassing part was me running around screaming off the top of my head, and having my arms flailing around uncontrollably. I looked like Ami have a tantrum. Except when I did it, I was much taller and bigger and lanky. Just all together the most unattractive I have ever looked in front of anyone not a family member.
When I stopped to take a breath, I noticed Ikuto laughing so hard his sides hurt. Rima was on the ground, laughing so much she was in tears. When she tried to speak, all she could say was, "Holy...shit!" And even that was in-between breathes. I stormed up to the attractive but annoying Ikuto, and yelled, "Get rid of my tail!"
He took a few minutes to stop laughing, although there was still a slight smile on his face, "Only when you admit magic is real."
"Magic is not real!" I screeched, panicking all over again as the tail flickered back and forth on its own.
Ikuto smirked, and raised a blue eyebrow my way. I finally resigned, "Okay, okay, I believe you."
"Say it."
"No."
"Say it."
"I said I believe you!"
"Say...it."
"Magic is real!"
And with the snap of his fingers, I felt normal again. Just to be sure, I turned my head to see my spinal cord not coming out into a tail. Yay. Too bad I had to admit to his stupid rules. With a depressed attitude, we began our walk to the Academy all over again. Rima was grinning from both ears, and I spat, "What's so funny?"
She just giggled again, "Oh, just you."
x
We had made it to the Academy, and what he hyped it up to be wasn't a fake. The building was massive. Let's just say my old school, Seiyo High, could fit into it about ten or more times. Yes, massive. And I wasn't sure I would ever be able to roam around the whole thing in my lifetime, let alone memorize it. The outside walls were made of red brick, and I could tell there would be a courtyard. A giant courtyard. Even dormitories! That little bit got me excited. Sharing a dorm with Rima? Utterly cool! I wondered if I was starting to get used to this and the whole idea of magic.
I certainly believed him now.
Usually, I was the center of attention. Sometimes I didn't even want to be. But with my hair and my attitude, all eyes were on me. At least back in the other dimension. Over here, it was a whole different story. As soon as we took our first few steps through the double doors, my breath was taken away again. The ceiling was so high, I couldn't help but just look up. There was a circular staircase up ahead, that seemed to go up forever. Right against the staircase, one part of the tower, was made completely of glass. Some of it had mosaic designs; but the rest was just glass. So all of the light and warmth filtered through and lit the place up. To my left was a long corridor with plenty of doors, and to my right there was an identical corridor. Ikuto explained that both corridors lead to classrooms, and then eventually the outside courtyards.
"Are these all classrooms for a certain age group?" I asked, only partly listening, because I was mostly awestruck.
He laughed, taking it all in again, "Well, the corridors you see also keep turning and turning, almost identical to a maze. So, trust me, there are a lot of classrooms for Grades Nine, Ten, Eleven, and Twelve."
I just stood there, staring at the rainbow-like light filtering through the room, "No homerooms?"
"No homerooms, come with me." He didn't grab my hand like he wanted to, I could tell, he made a little hand twitch before deciding not to offer me it. I was glad, too. Ikuto might be date-material, but he wouldn't be anymore if he moved too fast. We start the long descent up the stairs, moving in a circle, up and up and up. Everything looked so wooden, or golden, and just so antique. The whole place was beautiful.
I asked about the dorms, and Ikuto explained that only people of the same grade shared a dorm. It was the usual; two people per room. There was apparently one building for each grade, starting from Grade Six to Grade Twelve. I looked out the window at one point and saw the seven buildings. They all had different colored doors. I figured it was class time, because hardly anyone was roaming the halls. A girl in a uniform, she looked about two years older than me, rushed past. My eyes widened, and I took a double-take. Her hair was rainbow, in a messy fishtail braid. She had gray eyes. Rima stared too, "Is that natural?" she asked Ikuto, her first question ever.
He shrugged, "It's possible. Not natural at some point in the family. People can cast spells on their hair for it to grow in a certain way, with a certain color. And then if they have a kid, it could be stuck naturally with hair like that. Genetics with magic; anything can happen."
As we trudged up the stairs even farther, Rima seemed to have an epiphany, "Wait a second!" And we all stopped on the stairs. I asked, "What's wrong?"
"Why did Ikuto bring me here?"
He smiled, knowing the answer since the start, "I forgot to tell you, you've got a specialty too."
She twisted one of her long, golden locks, staring out into space, "What's it like?"
"Mine." Ikuto said the word in such a defeated tone, that I worried for Rima. I, apparently, was going to become a magical genius. But by the sounds of Ikuto's deflated voice, Rima didn't have a lot of options. I wondered if that would cause a problem in our relationship. I didn't think it would. We were too close of friends. Rima's parents fought when she was just a child, and her father abused her sometimes. So she would come to my house, looking for a shoulder to cry on. Even if I was out, Mom or Dad would be there to make her a hot chocolate and give her a pat on the back.
We kept walking up for not much longer, and made it to the top floor. On the way up, there had been different levels, so I figured the tower was somehow connected to the rest of the building. This floor had two big double doors. They were green with golden engravings. Just the important-looking appearance made me nervous, and my hands started to shake.
Ikuto kept his cool, though, and knocked on the door, his voice fluid and his tone even, "Headmaster. It's me, Ikuto."
"Oh! Ikuto! Come on in."
We followed the tall, mysterious boy into the room, and I wondered what he had done to be in such good relations with the Headmaster of the Academy. Behind a giant desk, on a tall velvet chair, sat a man who appeared to be in his sixties. His hair was practically gone, there were a few white and gray wisps left. His robes were a purplish tint of gray, and they had the same symbol the girl I saw earlier had on her uniform. It was a few inter-looping circles and a tiny moon. The supposed Headmaster exclaimed, "What a pleasant surprise! Two new students." His eyes glazed over for only a moment, and I wondered what he was doing, but I found out relatively quick. Headmaster had an open mind. "Wow, Ikuto - every time, you give me great students. The blonde has an element I've never even heard of before, and the pink one has four elements! The last time we saw that kind of magic was decades ago."
It seemed like Ikuto could tell the man was about to ramble on about his history, so he interrupted, "Can we have two uniforms please? Grade Nine?"
"Hey, hold your horses Grandson - their school system is different over there. Look, you two girls, in this realm we have a different sort of understanding of the world. It's because, well, the world here is completely different! And for school at the Academy, I and the school board prefer that every new school year stars in January and ends in December. Every two months of school, you have one month of a break. So, I'm sorry to say this - but you're going to have a lot longer Grade Nine year than you expected."
Rima groaned, but I tried to keep polite, "Um, Headmaster, sir...pardon me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Amu Hinamori. And this is my close friend Rima Mashiro."
"Yes, well," he smiled, and I thought I might really like it here, "pardon me as well! This is my Grandson, Ikuto Tsukiyomi, and I am the Headmaster of the Academy, Robert. Everyone calls me Headmaster."
The blonde beside me suddenly stared off to the corner, and I followed her gaze. I never even noticed the secretary in the corner. She had ruby lips and hair so blonde it was almost white. There was some definite damage to her hair, almost as if she didn't care for magic enough to use spells on her hair. A little strange, but I would definitely respect my elders if they were like that. You know, into the "good ol' magic-free days". The name on the desk said, "Lucy Flanagan." She was typing madly on a computer, wearing what looked like a blouse from Aritzia. I wondered if this job paid good money, or if there was a spell to make magic or expensive clothes.
She spun around to face me in her office chair, smiling to reveal naturally white teeth. "The uniforms will be here any second, and here are your schedules. If you want to be in different classes, or the same dorm room, or any types of problems at all - call the number on your time tables." And after her piece had been said, she focused on the computer screen once more.
Sure enough, a glittery pink cloud magically appeared out of thin air, and as it evaporated, there were two uniforms on the Headmaster's desk. They were folded as neatly as could be, with a gray pleated skirt and blazer. There was a white blouse. And the most noticeable piece, a pastel pink and yellow plaid tie. On the very top of the folded bundle of clothes were black knee-high socks, with matching yellow and pink stripes near the top. The shoes were black.
Realizing my mouth was open in awe, I quickly closed it. I grabbed my uniform by its box, bowed to thank the Headmaster, and headed out the door with my time table. On it was my dorm number, which ended up being different than Rima's number. We both pouted, but decided not to be babies and got over it. This was just another reason to meet new people. Here was my time table:
Monday
8:00 - 9:00 : Cafeteria Open for Breakfast
9:00 - 10:15 : Earth Class (Block One)
10:15 - 11:30 : Water Class (Block Two)
11:30 - 11:45 : Lunch (can be eaten during next class as well)
11:45 - 1:00 : Fire Class (Block Three)
1:00 - 2:15 : Air Class (Block Four)
2:15 - 3:30 : Minor Spells Class (of your choice)
3:30 - 5:00 : Social Studies
5:00 - 6:00 : Cafeteria Open for Dinner
6:00 - 8:00 : Free Time
Curfew at 8:00
Tuesday
8:00 - 9:00 : Cafeteria Open for Breakfast
9:00 - 10:15 : Earth Class (Block One)
10:15 - 11:30 : Water Class (Block Two)
11:30 - 11:45 : Lunch (can be eaten during next class as well)
11:45 - 1:00 : Fire Class (Block Three)
1:00 - 2:15 : Air Class (Block Four)
2:15 - 3:30 : Minor Spells Class (of your choice)
3:30 - 5:00 : Sciences
5:00 - 6:00 : Cafeteria Open for Dinner
6:00 - 8:00 : Free Time
Curfew at 8:00
Wednesday
8:00 - 9:00 : Cafeteria Open for Breakfast
9:00 - 10:15 : Earth Class (Block One)
10:15 - 11:30 : Water Class (Block Two)
11:30 - 11:45 : Lunch (can be eaten during next class as well)
11:45 - 1:00 : Fire Class (Block Three)
1:00 - 2:15 : Air Class (Block Four)
2:15 - 3:30 : Minor Spells Class (of your choice)
3:30 - 5:00 : Mathematics
5:00 - 6:00 : Cafeteria Open for Dinner
6:00 - 8:00 : Free Time
Curfew at 8:00
Thursday
8:00 - 9:00 : Cafeteria Open for Breakfast
9:00 - 10:15 : Earth Class (Block One)
10:15 - 11:30 : Water Class (Block Two)
11:30 - 11:45 : Lunch (can be eaten during next class as well)
11:45 - 1:00 : Fire Class (Block Three)
1:00 - 2:15 : Air Class (Block Four)
2:15 - 3:30 : Minor Spells Class (of your choice)
3:30 - 5:00 : Languages
5:00 - 6:00 : Cafeteria Open for Dinner
6:00 - 8:00 : Free Time
Curfew at 8:00
Friday
8:00 - 9:00 : Cafeteria Open for Breakfast
9:00 - 10:15 : Earth Class (Block One)
10:15 - 11:30 : Water Class (Block Two)
11:30 - 11:45 : Lunch (can be eaten during next class as well)
11:45 - 1:00 : Fire Class (Block Three)
1:00 - 2:15 : Air Class (Block Four)
2:15 - 3:30 : Minor Spells Class (of your choice)
3:30 - 5:00 : Athletics
5:00 - 6:00 : Cafeteria Open for Dinner
6:00 - 8:00 : Free Time
Curfew at 8:00
Oh my gosh, I had real hard-working school up until five o'clock. I flipped the time table over to look at my map and find out where all the other classes are. Rima and I were in deep thought of our own papers as we made our way down the stairs, through a door and to the dormitories. Thank God the dormitories were same sex; I just had no idea what the people were like here, and I was trying not to take any chances.
The Grade Nine dorms had a pastel orange coloring to the inside of it. Like the decorations, the doors, the dorm keys...
Rima and I took the elevator up, and sadly, she was on a different floor too. We said our goodbyes. I thought about texting her, and then a realization hit me! My phone! I scrounged through my pocket to take out my iPhone with its TNA case still intact. I turned it on, and just deflated instantly. No service. But I did use it to check the time, because apparently, both dimensions had the same time. It was 2:37, and with a quick check of my time table, I would've been in minor spells. I wondered how I was going to choose my classes this late in the year?
The elevator stopped and I made it to room 285. I rummaged through my box, and below the uniform was a dorm key. I used it to open the door and then I quickly closed it and locked it behind me, for safety measures. There was a big window that took up a lot of space on the wall, and I kinda liked it. The room was a decent size, with a bathroom and kitchen. I wondered if magic factored into this; so many students and so little room. But yet each dorm had its own kitchen and bathroom...strange.
I unpacked my suitcase, sad that all of my clothes were gone and my phone didn't work. Maybe I could conjure clothes and make-up with the flick of my wrist or the snap of my fingers? Once my uniform had been pulled out, I stared with wide eyes at what remained in the box. Was I dreaming? I picked it up and twist it around in my hand, making sure it was 3D and real.
Nope, not dreaming. I had a wand.