The next morning, it was quiet. When I went to get breakfast, I could hear the whispers. They all thought that I was crazy and dangerous. Keaira, Ariel, and Alex all said hi to me, but I wasn’t in the mood to conversate. I felt terrible for brushing them off, but there was still a lot on my mind.

            After I finished my breakfast, I decided to write in the journal that I kept hidden in my suitcase's secret compartment. I hadn’t written in it since I thought my parents were dead, but I felt it was time with everything that was going on. I sat there for a while, looking at the blank page, trying to figure out exactly what I was going to say.

            After twenty minutes of staring at a blank page, I got frustrated and threw the journal back in my suitcase. There really wasn’t any point in writing what I felt down. I was sure that today was going to be my last day at Helsing Academy. I wondered where I would go after that. It wasn’t like I had a line of family members waiting to take me in.

            As time dragged on, I thought back to last night. I knew that I didn’t throw Leanna. I might have punched her, but I wouldn’t have thrown her, especially not enough to send her flying across the room. There had to be another answer. Something that I had missed. As I ran my finger across the necklace that Ariel gave me, a thought crossed my mind. What if it wasn’t something that I did physically. I remember reading something about magic being affected by a person's emotions. I decided to find where I read that.

            After about two hours, I had found what I was looking for. According to the book I was reading, it was possible to send objects flying under stress. So that was what happened? It seemed to fit. If I was somehow allowed to continue going to school here, I would tell Keaira how to control my anger so that I didn’t do something like this again.

            By lunchtime, I was starting to feel depressed. This having to stay in my room was getting to me. I didn’t see Leanna being locked in her room like a time out when she was bullying me. No, it was like I was being targeted. My aunt did say that I wasn’t going to get any special treatment, but this was a little much. All I did was fight back against the bullying I was dealing with since I came to this school.

            I was still thinking about my punishment when there was a knock at the door. I didn’t even have time to answer it before the door opened. It was my aunt. She came in and sat down on Ariel's bed.

            “I don’t know what happened, but Leanna asked that I not tell her father what happened. Although I should be obligated to contact him, I decided to follow her wishes. However, this does not get you off the hook. There have to be consequences for your actions. So for the next week, you will spend your free time in detention. And you will write an apology to Leanna and give it to her in person,” aunt Brenda said.  There seemed to be a look of relief in her expression.

            “Okay, aunt Brenda. And I think I know what happened. Because of my anger and her words, I believe that somehow I used magic to push her.” I said. She looked at me and frowned. I could tell that this was something that she had worried about.

            “Alright, as part of your detention, you will spend time with Professor Lynex learning how to control your magic. “ aunt Brenda said with a sigh. I wasn’t going to argue. Though I was curious about why Leanna wouldn’t want to tell her dad what was going on. It wasn’t like we were friends, so why protect me.

            “Now, since the day is almost over, you will stay in your room until the end of classes. Then you will report to Professor Lynex. I will let her know to be expecting you,” aunt Brenda said before getting up. As she was walking out the door, she turned to me and said, “for what it is worth, if it had been me, I would have punched her in the face. But I don’t want you to do that. If it is possible, try to avoid any more confrontations with Leanna.

            By the time classes were over, I was going stir crazy. Not having anyone to socialize with was more punishment than I could handle. I said hi to Keaira and them before heading out of the dorm. It was a ten-minute walk to get to Professor Lynex’s room. Why they decided that a castle was a perfect place for a school was beyond me.

            As I reached the door, it opened by itself. This was something I had never seen before. Entering the room, it almost looked like what you would expect a witch's room to look like. There were bottles filled with assorted items on shelves everywhere. There were a cauldron and many books. It felt like I was in Harry Potter. It did make me wonder if the books were based on a real school now.

            “Ah, Ms. Helsing, there you are. I am Professor Lynex. As I am sure you have guessed by now, I am a witch, and your aunt has instructed me to teach you how to control your magic. Using magic on another student is not allowed at Helsing Academy for future reference.” Professor Lynex said as she came out of another room.

            She was an older woman. If I had to guess, she was in her sixties, though I heard that witches could live longer than humans, so maybe she was much older. Her grey hair was pulled back into a bun, and behind her half-moon, shaped glasses were grey eyes. I had never seen anyone with grey colored eyes before.

            “Respectfully, ma’am. I didn’t mean to do it and only recently learned that I was a witch,” I said, defending myself. She gave me a stern look over her half-moon shaped glasses.

            “Be that as it may, you know now. And I will expect you to follow that rule. If you don’t, I will make sure that you are expelled.” Professor Lynex said. There was something about the tone of her voice that told that she was not joking about that. Gulping, I sat down on one of the chairs surrounding the round table with the cauldron.

            “Now, how much do you know about witches and magic?” Professor Lynex asked as she sat down opposite me.

            “Just what I read in the books that I checked out the other day. I know that the Witches of Salem weren’t actually burnt at stake, instead of using homunculus. I also learned that witches get their magic from the Leylines as well as every living thing.” I said. She smiled as she heard what I said.

            “So, you have been studying. Good, because that is precisely what you will be doing here. And not just here. I have asked Ms. Blaylock to help you with your studies. She seemed all too eager to take up the task,” Professor Lynex said.  I was surprised to hear that she had asked Keaira to help. This would make studying a bit easier. I wondered if she knew that Keaira and I were friends. For the next hour, Professor Lynex taught me meditations that would help me sense my own magic.