Monique stared at the sphere as she softly exclaimed, "I don't believe it."

 

Ryan's eyes darted towards Monique for a second, but he didn't respond, instead turning back to the professor, "I can see why it's called his folly. It's got so many problems with it, I'm not sure it's worth the effort." The professor ran up the stairs taking two steps at a time and came to a stop to stare at the magic sphere from inches away, "Problems? WHO CARES ABOUT PROBLEMS??? The fact you got it to function for any length of time at all is a miracle!" He grabbed Ryan by the collar, "TELL ME HOW!" Ryan's eyes bugged out in surprise, "WHOA! Calm the hell down! Take it down a notch! It's not even that stable. Look." Ryan looked at the sphere and it started to brighten before suddenly winking out, "It can't take that much of a mana load and its size is rather specific. There's a very narrow window where it'll work and-"

 

Professor Thorn grabbed Ryan by both shoulders and shook him violently, "HOW???"

Ryan's head bobbled about, "I used a mana condenser with rotating output at the central axis junction!"

Professor Thorn stopped shaking Ryan and just stared at him, "A what?"

 

Ryan pushed Thorn away and pointed to his sketches, "It's not really two containment tracks, but four containment tracks each one being a semi-circle that shares the same reclamation axis for the re-uptake of mana. So only one fourth of the containment tracks are active at any moment. However, the mana moves at the speed of light so it can cycle through all four containment semi-circles very quickly. It's basically flickering."

 

Monique furrowed her eyebrows, "Light has speed?"

Ryan nodded at her, "About a hundred and eighty six thousand miles per second." Ryan turned back to his sketches, "But the problem is, while it can be stable for very mild amounts of mana, and admittedly does have about a ten percent improvement over a normal circle, it's very limited in what it can do. I bet I could make it more robust if I could figure out how to have it alternate between two opposing semi-circles at a time."

 

Professor Thorn said, "Make it again." Ryan shrugged and popped it back into existence. The professor eyed the sphere, "It... doesn't do much."

Ryan shrugged, "It's just a test version." Other students started to get up out of their seats and slowly creep closer to try and get a look.

Professor Thorn chewed on a thumbnail while he studied the small sphere. Abruptly he ordered, "Dismiss it." Ryan did.

 

The professor fished a gold pen out of his pocket, a very expensive magical tool that didn't need refilling. Such a pen was a symbol of status that told everyone who saw it, 'I am goddamn rich and can afford to waste money on magic pens made of gold'.

 

He turned Ryan's sketch around and started drawing on it. A few pen strokes later he turned it back. Ryan looked at it, turned his head sideways, picked up the paper, then turned his head the other way, "Wait. Nah..." He looked at the professor, "It couldn't be that easy." The professor smiled and waved his hands at Ryan to egg him on, "Try it and let's find out."

 

Ryan reached up and pointed, forming another ball of glowing magical formula. However, as he pumped more mana into it, it didn't collapse like the last one. In fact, it got brighter. It grew brighter and brighter until, eventually, it collapsed like the first one. Still, this was much improved over the first.

 

Both the professor and Ryan started scribbling furiously as they exchanged thoughts and ideas with one another.

"So if that was correct then it'll be stable enough up to-"

"It will be limited to linear manifestation-"

"A projected increase in efficiency of over thirty percent-"

"It'd be more effective if we could condense the over all dimensions-"

"Smaller would be more effective use of mana but could you-"

"Why not chain it?"

 

Ryan pointed and four spheres appeared right next to each other, each the size of a golfball. They were lined up, axis to axis, pointing off to the side, "AHA! Just copy paste!" He smiled, "This just might work!"

 

The professor watched Ryan casually manifest multiple magical spheres and looked utterly dumbfounded, "Not only did you make a functional Burnelli sphere... but you can make four at the same time." He stumbled back to lean against another desk, "Now I've seen everything." He looked at it quizzically, "What's it supposed to do, anyways? It doesn't have any manifestation lanes."

 

Ryan perked up, "Oh! I'm trying to make a magical version of a rail gun!" Ryan pointed at one end of the four magic constructs, "See, the theory is, you make your element here-" Ryan summoned forth a small piece of ice. It immediately was sucked into the first sphere and shot into the second. The second sphere repeated the action of the first one, but added even more kinetic energy as it passed the small ice projectile onto the third. The third then fed into the fourth, and the fourth spat the lump of ice out at super-sonic speeds resulting in a small boom. The result of the ice breaking the sound barrier was not nearly as loud as the explosion that blew a fist-sized hole in the wall between Professor Thorn's classroom and the classroom next door that belonged to Professor Grobe Schmetterling.

 

Ryan made the surprised Pikachu face.

 

Immediately after the wall exploded, showering plaster and wood fragments all over the occupants of Professor Schmetterling's classroom, a few shouts and exclamations of shock and surprise were heard. This was followed what could only be described as the howl of an enraged wildebeest. The sound of what appeared to be a stomping rhino was heard rapidly increasing in volume. It was coming from the restricted access corridor that linked the various auditoriums together. Thus everyone was watching the door from said corridor when Professor Grobe Schmetterling burst in, her ham like hands holding on to the edges of the double doors as she filled in the doorway with her presence. The doors were buckling under the strain of that grip as she unleashed her rage-filled gaze about the room.

 

To say Professor Grobe Schmetterling was a large woman would be an understatement. We are not just talking about girth or weight, but SIZE. Her figure was made up of straight lines and sharp angles. Think of a seven foot tall brick wall, that was six feet wide and about two feet thick. Give it a head that disappeared into its neck, red-ash brown hair, burning emerald green eyes, THEN put it in professor robes that actually more closely resemble the curtains you'd find keeping out sunlight from a bay window, and you would have a fairly good idea of what the professor in charge of the earth magics department looks like.

 

With steam practically coming out of her nose as her turned her baleful gaze towards professor Thorn, she spoke in a low voice that did little to dispel her intentions.

 

"WHO. DID. THAT?"

 

Professor Thorn pointed at Ryan.

 

Ryan looked at the finger pointed at him, then up at professor Thorn, "Oh screw you!" Ryan looked back at Professor Schmetterling and smiled charmingly as he playfully joked, "Please don't eat me!"

 

The room went instantly silent.

 

Very quietly, professor Schmetterling spoke in a calm and controlled fashion.

 

"Did you just call me fat?"

 

Ryan's charming smile faltered.

 

"Crap."

 

---

 

The headmaster's personal assistant, popped his head into his bosses office, "Headmaster!" The headmaster stood up, grabbed his staff, and started walking out without hesitation, "Reed." He mumbled as he walked past Reggie. Reggie turned to follow him "How-" The headmaster finished Reggie's sentence, "-did I know? You have this particular tone of panic you have developed when Reed is involved."

 

The headmaster stepped out of his office into the main corridor only to hear a crashing sound from the left. He looked over in that direction and sighed.

 

People started to scatter out of the way and a scampering Ryan came running around the corner. He ignored gravity and proceeded to run up the opposite wall from the corridor he came down. Clinging to the wall as he ran over the heads of his fellow students, he jumped back down as soon as he saw a clear spot.

 

And a good thing too because a massive clog of dirt impacted the wall right where he was only a second before.

 

Around the corner came Professor Grobe. If this world had such things as freight trains, she would resemble one as she came barreling after Ryan, howling in rage as she tried to catch up to her quarry.

 

The headmaster sighed and stepped out into the middle of the corridor, quickly making him the only one in their path as everyone else was getting the hell out of the way. Professor Grobe was infamous for her temper and nobody was foolish enough to actually provoke her. Certainly NOBODY would be dumb enough to try and get between her and her prey.

 

Especially not on Ryan's behalf.

 

The headmaster dropped the tip of his staff onto the floor. The resulting thunderclap rolled down the hallway causing everyone, Ryan and Grobe included, to stop what they were doing and cover their ears. Ryan stumbled then rolled to a halt at the headmaster's feet. Still holding his hands over his ears he looked up at the professor and shouted, "No Kill I!"

 

Professor Grobe shook her head to clear it, staggered, then recovered her senses. She refocused on Ryan and started to slowly build up steam again, "Reeeeeeeed..."

 

The headmaster cleared his throat, "Professor Schmetterling! How nice to see you! Taking a break from your class I see?"

Ryan scampered behind the headmaster, using him as cover. Grobe stabbed a chubby finger at Ryan, "You!" She looked at the headmaster, "Do you know what he did? How many HOURS of work he DESTROYED!?"

The headmaster smiled softly, "I am afraid I am unaware, but I'm sure I'd be willing to listen to you explain the situation at length."

Ryan spoke up, "Look lady! I'm sorry about your wall! It was an accident!"

She moved closer, looking for a way to get around the headmaster and grab Ryan, "You called me Fat!"

Ryan raised a finger as he dodged back and forth behind the headmaster, "Technically I only implied you were fat."

Grobe growled and tensed up to lunge. The headmaster held up a hand, "Professor? This is unbecoming." She settled down, but not much. The headmaster turned to look at Ryan, "Sir Reed, would you care to explain?"

 

Ryan stood there for a few moments then scratched the back of his head, "Well..." He let his arm and shoulders drop in defeat, "Oh C'mon! You know me! I got verbal diarrhea!" He started gesturing as if he was throwing up, "Stuff just comes out of my mouth! I don't even think about it!" He gestured to professor Grobe, "YES... I may have implied she had... density issues-" Grobe glared even harder, "When I mentioned that I hoped that should wouldn't eat me."

 

Ryan held up a finger towards Grobe, "BUT! I insult everyone equally! Even myself." He pointed at his crotch, "Take my dick for example." He held up a thumb and finger an inch apart, "Absolutely tiny." She blinked and pulled back in confusion. Ryan nodded, "Indeed. When it gets cold, it becomes literally convex." He held out his hands, "I went to the doctor the other day, he said I had to go to a veterinarian because he thought it was a mosquito fang." The headmaster blinked and wanted to interrupt, but Ryan was on a roll, "I told the doctor to be serious and explain why I had all these scales on my dick."

 

"He said it was reptile dysfunction."

 

Grobe snorted.

 

"I asked the doctor how do I cure it? He said, 'For starters stop masturbating.' I asked him, 'Why?' and he replied, 'I'm trying to examine you!'"

 

Professor Grobe covered her mouth and tried very hard to keep from laughing, but it was obvious from her red face it was barely contained

 

Ryan started bounce his shoulders, "If they say having sex with two girls is a threesome, and having sex with three girls is a foursome... Well... Now you know why I keep getting called HANDsome!"

 

Professor Grobe burst out laughing and doubled over, obviously ashamed at laughing at such an absolutely raunchy joke, but at the same time she couldn't help herself. Just about everyone else, however, was just staring in utter amazement. A few chuckled at the jokes, a few girls nearby tried to pretend to be offended, but obviously more were amused than shocked.

 

In fact, watching Ryan take himself down a notch took someone nearby off guard and made him reconsider things.

 

The headmaster was one of those who were completely flummoxed by Ryan's behavior. He couldn't help but just stare at the sudden outburst of vaudeville comedy. Ryan started to back down the hallway, "Hey! Thank You! Thank You! I'm here all week! Try the waitress and tip your veal!" He turned to run when the headmaster stuck out his staff and landed it sharply on Ryan's shoulder. Ryan stopped dead then looked back over his shoulder. Ryan let out a nervous chuckle.

 

"I see a request for an encore performance."

 

---

 

The headmaster glared from behind his desk.

 

Both Professor Grobe and Ryan were standing before him, looking sheepish. They had moved to his office to talk in private.

 

"Professor Schmetterling... I understand he showered your students with wood and plaster, and that he disrupted an experiment that took you hours to properly set up, AND he insulted you." This resulted in a particularly harsh glare directed at Ryan, "However, I do not think it is correct behavior to go running through the halls attempting to maim our students."

 

Professor Grobe just nodded, "I am sorry I let things get out of hand."

 

The headmaster looked at Ryan, "As for you, please do not go around making offensive remarks about people's size." He gestured towards Ryan indicating his short stature, "You of all people should be sympathetic about such things."

Ryan nodded and kept his eyes cast upon the floor, "I too am apologetic about my uncouth remarks."

The headmaster shifted in his seat uncomfortably, "Furthermore, please refrain from making jokes about your... ehh..." The headmaster seemed at a lost for words to continue.

Ryan helpfully interjected, "Junk?"

 

The headmaster smacked his forehead, "See? That is what I am talking about! You- ... ARG! ..." The headmaster reached for Ryan as if to strangle him, "Will You STOP insulting yourself?" The headmaster fell back into his chair with a facepalm, "You will be the death of me."

Ryan looked around then shrugged, "Sorry? Self-deprecation is sort of my thing."

The headmaster looked at Ryan through his fingers, "Why DID you blow up the wall, anyways?"

 

Ryan arched his eyebrows, "Oh. Uh... well. I had apparently solved the Burnelli sphere equation which is some sort of big deal and I got carried away fine tuning it with Professor Thorn. I accidentally set off a chain of them firing a chunk of ice into the wall at approximately seven times the speed of sound."

 

The headmaster's hand fell into his lap, "Sound has speed?"

Professor Grobe blinked, "You solved the Burnelli equation?"

 

Ryan nodded held up a finger and poofed into existence a stable, three dimensional magical construct at the tip, "Now it still needs work... some fine tuning." He held out his other hand and wobbled it from side to side, "And it does have a bunch of limitations, However-"

Professor Grobe grabbed Ryan by the shoulders, lifted him off the ground and pulled him up to her face, "SHOW ME HOW YOU DID THAT." Ryan would later admit that her face at that moment was far more terrifying than when she was trying to murder him.

 

The headmaster held up a hand and half stood up out of his chair towards the two of them, "Now Calm Down!"

Grobe looked at the headmaster, back at Ryan, smiled, then gently put Ryan back down, "I am terribly sorry." She smiled even wider and folded her hands as if begging, "If you tell me how you managed to make Burnelli's sphere work, I assure you, all will be forgiven!"

 

Ryan looked her up and down while half turning away to give her only one shoulder to grab, "And... the experiment?"

Grobe spread her hands wide and shrugged, "What experiment???"

 

Ryan nodded and slowly, cautiously, reached out to snag the headmaster's pen and a piece of paper, "Can I borrow this?" The headmaster just nodded and sat back to watch as Ryan quickly sketched out a three dimensional multi-layered, multi-tracked Burnelli's sphere.

The headmaster interrupted near the end, "What's that?"

 

Ryan looked up, "That? I call it a mana condenser. It's sort of like a... capacitor... but it can also function as a transistor." He rolled a hand in the air, "Thorn figured out how to combine it with a splitter instead of just rotating the output. You see-" The headmaster stopped listening to Ryan babble. The headmaster's mind started to reel at the implications. Professor Grobe, who but fifteen minutes before was prepared to murder this student, was now cheerfully going over the particulars of the most ground breaking change in magic in over a hundred years WITH said student.

 

It was as if nothing had happened.

 

The headmaster steepled his fingers and stared over them at the drawings on his desk, ~Not only has he charmed Grobe, but this boy has no idea he just turned the entire magical community on its head.~ The headmaster leaned back and stared at the ceiling, ~How do I keep him here in this school forever? I can never let him go.~ The headmaster noticed Ryan was looking at him expectantly.

 

The headmaster smiled in a fatherly fashion at Ryan, "I'm sorry. What did you say?" He cleared his throat as he sat up.

 

 

 

"I was thinking about the future."