Chapter 4

New Friends, and New Knowledge

Like I  said to Calamity, I was “home-schooled.” I can read, I can write. I knew exactly the amount of math I would need to get by in the family trade of farming. Like everyone in my town did. 

 

Everything was new to me with regard to learning magic and I’d only known what I knew because of Wheeler The Wise. In all honesty, I’d just assumed it was stuff that came naturally to Wizards and Witches and it was all just intuited and personal experience and the like. 

 

And now I was here in the opening hallways of a school for magic. My first day of a new life. The hallways were wide. And tall. Big enough to accommodate..everyone? There were so many people. And all I could do was move my eyes back and forth across the interior, my feet glued to the hardwood flooring as I watched every shape of human and nonhuman-looking student pack through the area. 

 

I straightened my back and breathed in deeply as students moved past me. “New year…new me.”

 

I always wanted to say that.

 

The hallway was way more crowded than I expected. The Office was too.  I got my schedule, a notebook…entirely mundane, and yet I never owned a notebook before now.  Imagine how that must sound. A simple grey uniform with long sleeves and a school crest emblazoned on the left side of my chest. 

 

I was also given a scabbard, a strap that crossed over my chest with a single tube shape, i was told this is where my staff would go.

 

My staff. Mine…huh.

 

That’s still taking some getting used to. My whole life this wasn’t mine. But now it is mine. I stole it though..or well…does it count as stealing if no one claimed it? Or the person it belonged to hadn’t reclaimed it? Not once had anyone made an effort to move it the entire time it had been at my village. Hell as far as I was aware I’m the first to touch it since The Witch left it there. 

 

For that matter, is this thing something people would recognize? 

 

Before we arrived Cala (I heard someone call her that nickname) gifted me a messenger bag. Something to carry my books. “You’ll need it. You won’t be given more than you can handle, but it’s annoying to carry them all in your arms,” she insisted. 

 

This girl had given me so many gifts it was starting to feel ridiculous. 

 

Over the course of the day (and many days ahead) I’d be taught history, theory, and application of magic. I’d also signed up for a self-defense class as well. The benefit of learning at a school of might and magic

 

I felt ecstatic. I felt anxious. 

 

“Move it, barnacle!” some random student nearly half a person taller than me shoved past me, making my brain marvel at the size of…holy crap a minotaur?! Do minotaurs attend this school?! 

 

Of course, they did. If Calamity was enrolled here why wouldn’t other beast folks be here? 

 

I continued to marvel at the diversity of people here as I walked through the hallways to my first class. 

 

****

“Good morning class! Welcome to your introductory to magic theory and applications ” The teacher walked in, he was taller than most people I’d ever seen, or at least from my position in the back of the lecture room we were in he sure felt like it. “My name is Mr. Hebden, I’ll be the teacher for the semester” 

 

He didn’t wear robes or cloaks. Just a simple pair of pants with creases in the legs, a jacket, and a tie all over a white shirt to which I couldn’t say for certain the length of the sleeves. 

 

The murmurs of the classroom hushed into silence. Was it rapt attention or just courtesy? I couldn’t tell. I know for me I was just kind of buzzing with a strange excitement that had me ready for whatever he was going to say as I honed in, focusing on every word in a way that I hadn’t since the first-day Dad had let me work with him out on the farm. 

 

“Your first lesson will be the most important lesson so pay attention. They won’t be on a test…but they will be in your heart.” 

 

Turning away from the class and putting chalk to the blackboard Mr. Hebden wrote the most important words on the chalkboard in those following moments. 

 

The. Witches. Gambit.

 

“The Witches Gambit; The Wizard Gambit, The Warlocks Want, the Sorcerors Calling, whatever you choose to call it, it can be defined simply as this. Your personal desires and what you want to do with the magic you can cast.” 

 

There were a few murmurs of understanding as he gestured to the tool he kept securely in a pocket on his belt. A simple two-foot-long rod made out of a white…antler? From where I was sitting I couldn’t make out the smaller details as he removed if from the holder. 

 

“When you cast magic, you are asking for something from the universe, or stating intent to it. I want this…my magic can do that…my magic will do this.  For as long as the magically inclined could cast spells, this is the way it has been”

 

He took a second and flicked his rod, the bronze-coated knob at the end of it glowed an amber hue as he yanked back on it, and in response, the puzzle cube sitting on his desk suddenly launched at him as if pulled by an invisible string, his free hand reached to catch it reflexively. A sign he’d practiced this educational display often. 

 

“Magic can do anything, but it won’t act on its own. It needs direction, and intent from a caster.” 

 

I marveled at it all as he carried on with his lecture, my pencil blurred as I wrote note after note listening to him speak. 

 

The next several moments of the whole day blurred not from lack of attention, no but because there was just…so much excitement in my head it all felt like it was moving a mile a minute 

 

 I’m sitting in another classroom, bigger. More standing room. Lots of tables instead of desks. Application of magic. I’m going to be learning spells!

 

The teacher this time, a woman, is instructing us to focus on our casting tool as she walks the entire classroom presenting us each with a small wouldn’t building block, the familiar child's toy with letters or numbers on them that everyone has ever had. 

 

She explains that we will be  Channeling magic. As I focus I feel the magic..the magic in me as I follow her instructions to focus. It buzzes..it’s not like..static? No, it’s…a very strong feeling like..falling without falling? 

 

The peridot gem in my staff glows pulling me back to that moment of excitement in the alleyway days ago. Does it feel like truth? like..I’m going to change the world with this. This action is the first step. 

 

In a moment the teacher is telling us to focus; to imagine the string at the end of my staff that connects to the wooden building block every student was given at the start of the spell training. Slowly but surely I feel a sensation of ‘weight’ between the staff and the block. I don't see it, but I know it’s there. 

 

I pull hard and the block comes at me fast. I wasn’t as prepared as I expected as I feel the sting smack into the spot between my upper lip and my nose with the corner of it. 

 

I’m not the only one who does this. 

 

There are awkward laughs and giggles across the room as we go into practice more. 

 

I catch the block on the 7th try. 

 

I’m magic.

 

I smile as things blur again, the next class is ritualistic. Sigils, symbols, promises of summoning. 

 

Potions class, defense class, and a class on crafting enchanted objects.

 

The day keeps on going and before I know it the day is halfway over and the messenger bag Cala gave me at the start of the day weighs heavier with both the notebooks I’ve started committing to each class and the textbooks from the library. 

 

I hadn’t stopped smiling the entire day so far. My cheeks hurt in the best way. 

 

What a day. 

 

“Roxie!” Calamity slid up beside me as I was on the way to my next class, her mane had been bunched up into a tight ponytail “How's your first day? Judging by your face it’s good I hope.” 

 

“I’ve learned more in the past 4 hours than I think I’ve learned in my whole life Calamity, I’ve never felt this excited before!” 

 

“Well keep your strength, I was thinking about taking you to get dumplings after school” 

 

We turned a corner and while I was walking Calamity stuck out an arm and halted me “One second..heads up” she pointed ahead of us.

 

The most unusual girl was ahead of us approaching us.

 

She was strange. Her face was covered in paper white makeup two blue triangles beneath each eye over her cheekbones. 

 

And then she walked right up to me and smacked into an invisible wall. 

 

What? What just happened?

 

She stood up immediately and proceeded to force her hands up against the unseen wall and began to push as hard as she could, her large shoes squeaking against the floor as she struggled. 

 

“Uh…who is this?” 

 

“Oh…That’s Liltith.” Calamity said walking up to..the invisible wall “I think it’s mime day hold on” she leaned around, taking a second to bend around the wall of sorts, hopping with her paws as if crossing an unseen threshold and reached up to grab what I could only imagine being an unseen doorknob before grabbing Lilith by the sleeve and pulling her out of the…box?

 

Lilith let out the first sound I’d hear out of her a rough-sounding “Gah! Oh..thank you Calamity” 

 

“You're welcome. Glad to see you Lilith had someone I wanted to introduce you to” she motioned a hand to me now “This is Roxanne, a new friend I met a few days ago, just starting out” 

 

“Oooh~ a pleasure to meet you!” she smiled and curtsied at me, the stripes on her skirt making the thing seem much bigger than I imagined it actually was. 

 

“You wanna hang out with us after school today?” Cala asked

 

“Oh absolutely. Mom wants me to help with laundry, I need an excuse to stay away” 

 

“Rockin’ catch you at our dorm room then.” And with that, Lilith walked off with a particular gait to accommodate the large shoes she had. 

 

“So…what is she?” I asked, confused.

 

“A clown” 

 

“A What?” 

 

“Oh, you really are new..like…ummm well someone who tries to entertain people.” 

 

“School just lets her walk around in makeup and weird clothes?”

 

“Well, her dad is part of the faculty and they live on campus, so..I think accommodations are made?” 

 

I nodded “Is she trans too?”

 

“If she is she hasn’t told me” She answered directly “Anyway, I got advanced transfiguration, see you in a few hours.” 

 

And just like that I was alone again. 

 

And for a moment I saw her again…Ms. Everheart. She was talking to another woman who looked somewhat resemblant to her, whatever they were talking about seemed animated, and eventually the other woman stormed off down the hallway. 

 

A second later Ms Everheart looked down the hallway. She saw me. Our eyes connected. My blood ran cold.

 

It was only a moment. But the moment felt like hours. 

 

She turned and walked away.

 

****

More classes. More learning. So many new things that kept pulling my attention and focus. This was amazing. 

 

But i was tired 

Lucky me that I had a moment of quiet in the school now. Towards the track was a hallway I’d walked down, with lots of glass displays. Trophies, ribbons, awards. Portraits of recipients. 

 

This school had a lot of accolades. 

 

I stared at the display case. 

 

Hazel Goodwyn.

 

It was her. 

 

She was a ways younger than she was when I saw her as a kid, but that was her. 

 

Hazel Goodwyn; three-time dredgeball MVP, one-time mixed magic combat champion team MVP, and two-time winner of the… “Harvest Season Duelist Tournament” 

 

My hand pressed to the glass as I gazed in awe. 

 

She was always amazing. 

 

My eyes drifted to the gem on the tip of the gem in the scabbard on my back. I was carrying on a bit of her history it seemed. And just a bit of history in general. 

 

And then in an instant, the awe was frozen in my blood. 

 

“On your way to class?” The Voice of Ms. Everheart made my mind race in a panic as I turned around to look at her. Stern. Statuesque. Dark. Horrifying. 

 

I couldn’t keep my breathing controlled, but I clenched my fist against one of the pockets in my skirt.  “I have a free period.” I wasn’t doing anything wrong, but I sure sounded like I just got caught doing something wrong. 

 

She towered over me with this sense of authority and judgment I hadn’t felt since my Aunt Hilda who seemed to always assume the children in the family were doing something wrong. “Of course. It seems I’ve seen you around quite a bit Ms…” a leading question

 

“Vangrove. Roxanne Vangrove” 

 

“Of course.” Ms. Everheart asked. “I feel like I’ve seen your staff before. Do you mind me asking where you got it?” 

 

“The Staff?” my hand reached behind, pulling it out and holding it forward a bit “I uh. It was a gift”

 

“Interesting. It just reminds me of well..” she motioned “Hazel Goodwyn, a model student if ever there was one. We graduated in the same class.” 

 

I nodded slowly, it felt like the air in my lungs decided the best place to be indefinitely was in my throat. “Ah. well...I was gifted the staff by a family member. I don't know where it could have been gotten otherwise” my voice creaked in before settling into a semblance of normal as I explained. 

 

“Naturally. Well, I am doing substitute teaching in a potions class shortly. So I should be going.” she nodded and walked. “If you’re looking for a space to relax, the practice track tends to be where most students tend to go. Have a fair day Ms. Vangrove.” 

 

I didn’t exhale until she was out of sight. I slid back against the glass with, my legs turned to pudding as I slide onto my butt. What a terrifying lady. 

 

I used the staff to push myself back up to my feet. She didn’t suspect anything did she? Calamity assured me it wasn’t uncommon for people with no family history to join the school so what exactly about me seems to make Ms. Everheart look at me as if she has some sort of suspicion of me exactly? 

 

Maybe I was just overthinking this. I..well I did steal this staff, and it was Hazels. And I did  run away

 

My gut squeezed a moment as I remember that. 

 

I ran away. 

 

Mom must be worried sick. And I can’t imagine how angry dads gotta be. 

 

How was I ever gonna explain this to them..was that even an option? My stomach continued to curl around itself as the guilt set in. Just great. Thanks, Ms. Everheart. 

 

I breathed one more time and turned around to-

 

“Boo!” 

 

“Bah! Don’t do that!” I sputtered as Calamity and…Lilith that's what her name was both suddenly there. 

 

“Sorry..gosh, don't need to be so wound tight girl.” Calamity gave me a pat on the shoulder. “It was looking like we all have a free period together. Wanna go get food?” 

 

As if on cue my stomach gurgled. “You have no idea how hungry I am” or how guilty I feel. I thought to myself. 

 

“Woo!” Lilith shouted

 

“I thought you were in mime mode” Calamity raised an eyebrow as she looked at her. I couldn’t get over the makeup she was wearing. It was so odd. 

 

“I got bored with it.” 

 

“You get bored too much” 

 

***

 

I watched Calamity flick one of her bracelets, the spikes twirling over her wrist as we sat in the cafe, the motion pulling the fur at its edges easily.  

 

I hadn’t really gotten a good look at it but the school was built throughout the town. Parts of the campus seem to just be plopped right there with school. While most of the classes I took were in the primary building things like the Auditorium, the sports track, and a few other things I hadn’t gotten to see yet were in separate buildings.  

 

Throughout those spaces in between were businesses that were taking advantage of free-roaming students passing from place to place and living in the dormitories. Case in point, this little cafe ‘Sun Shakers’ sold sandwiches and drinks, key among them was apparently a particular lemonade that absolutely rocked my socks. There was some sort of local honey and other secret stuff that made this particular recipe as amazing as it was. 

 

The school had been over for an hour now. Most of my assignments were reading, and writing some sigils for enchantments (it only felt right to take a class on it given how much it was going to change my life going forward)

 

“So how was the first day?”  Calamity smiled leaning forward. 

 

“Exhausting!” I groaned. “My head hurts in the best kind of way though” 

 

“You sound like you’ve never been to a school before” Lilith commented 

 

Cala admonished “Lily!” 

 

“cause…I haven’t” 

 

“Oh..oh geez, sorry.” some of the makeup on Lilith’s skin had smudged off revealing dark skin underneath. 

 

“I’m..not upset.” I don't know why but I let out a laugh “Trust me, I’m gonna bet every one of the teachers is gonna notice” 

 

“So what's your plan?” Lilith asked. It was framed like that last question Cala had asked me the other day. What did I wanna do with all the things I was gonna learn at Arons School of Might and Magic? 

 

“I don't know,” I sunk in my chair, staring up at the umbrella keeping the sun out of my eyes. “Honestly. I don't even think I know the whole ‘gambit’ thing yet” 

 

“Wanna know mine?” Calamity asked. 

 

I looked over at her 

 

“The Gambit is flexible. For me..I believe magic can be used to protect people. I don't know what I wanna do out of school..like I could do the court mage thing or some sort of wandering witch or something, but I know I wanna be the sort of person who rushes in at the last second and just Bubble shield!” she punctuated that with a whirl of her hand, the bracelet glowing leaving a brief trail of glowing blue light trails from her spikes 

 

“Why does that sound familiar” I chuckled 

 

“Heh, what can I say” 

 

“And I think magic can make people happy!” Lilith slapped he hands on the table, pulling her hands up in a flash as a bunch of confetti flittered and shined in the air from her palms. 

 

“Huh that..does sound pretty flexible” 

 

Cala pointed her thumb to her chest “Take it from a second-year student; they teach you that the gambit will color the sort of magic you cast. But at the end of the day it’s all..well it is all you, I wanna say. But don't worry about it now, you’ve had a pretty wild last week if I get it right” 

 

I rubbed my forehead “You got that right.” 

 

“Well, I sadly gotta run. Mom wants me to help with a dress at home, so I’ll see you later…oh and Oh-don’t-look-now-but-Briar’s-been-eying-you-from-across-the-street-byeeee” Lilith smiled as she walked soon breaking into happy skipping. 

 

“Wait..she said, Briar?” I suddenly looked over and caught a glimpse of her as a spike of anxiety lanced through me.

 

“Don’t look her in the eye.” I suddenly shoved my head down, poking my forehead directly into the straw of my cup of lemonade with a loud ‘gah!’ 

 

“Just ignore her. She won’t mess with us while we’re at the cafe. Too many onlookers.” 

 

“What's her deal anyway?” I asked curiously.

 

“Oh, she resents me.”

 

“Why?”

 

“We come from the same hometown. She used to have a crush on me..well..the old me.” Calamity smirked a bit “She’s not into girls, and I became the ultimate thing she couldn’t have so…”

 

I nodded slowly before suddenly something clicked and I asked the stupid question “Wait…girls can date girls?” 

 

“Oh my goddess you really are sheltered.”  She stared at me “Yeah. Obvious..what makes you think that's impossible?” 

 

I thought on that a moment before answering “I don't know.” 

 

I don't put it against you. Hell until a while ago you didn’t even think you could be a girl. So…”

 

“well...I wanted to.” 

 

“But did you think you could?” 

 

“I…really don't know how to answer that”

 

“And that is perfectly fine, not every question needs an answer, my dad taught me that much” 

 

In al that silence after me and Calamity simply drank. Had small talk, then we left. As far as it seemed Briar had vanished so a sense of calm existed between us as we walked to our dorm. Calamity wanted to show me some music she’d collected and I was looking forward to that.  

 

The first day of the rest of my life…I liked it.