“So this is it?” muttered a young boy. His mahogany-brown hair ended below his earlobes, where emerald studs glittered. He glowered at the scenery.

Expansive glass buildings sprawled across the ground like trash. Crystalline clear, they towered several stories high. Lush greenery sprouted in the empty spaces but cleared for the pathways. The tranquility beguiled the true destructiveness of magic.

As his eyes roved over the welcome signs, they paused on a particular phrase, high school students.

These structures belonged to a school campus. Campuses, to be exact-elementary, middle, and high school. But it only mattered if one graduated from the high school. Just ten percent of applicants squeaked past the harsh standards to enter its esteemed doors.

The boy scoffed at the colorful streamers and signs. His hair fluffed up by wind, making him sigh. A black suit hugged his slender body and a cape covered his shoulders. With resignation, he stepped over the threshold.

He stumbled as a young lady barreled into his back.

“Oh! I’m sorry. I just can’t be late. Of course, that’s no excuse to be rude.”

“No. It really isn’t.”

She blinked. “Right.”

“You don’t make others suffer for your incompetence.”

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and she ran her fingers through her dark hair. She clasped her hands as she bent down to his level. The school jacket creased over a white-collared shirt. “When did they start letting elementary kids use this entrance? I was told that only the high school students could. If you’re lost, I can direct you. I practically grew up here.”

His nose twitched at kids. It didn’t seem like he heard anything else. With anger glittering in his eyes, he hissed at the designation. “Kid?”

The wind picked up in tandem to his voice. It blasted the girl. She squeezed her eyes shut until the breeze passed and shrieked when she felt it on her thighs. In comparison, he enjoyed the flow. A bell rang out in the distance.

With wide eyes, she stammered, “Y-You didn’t see, right? T-Tell me you didn’t see.”
“See what? White? Who cares. You’ve got bigger problems.”

She dashed forward. Her hands clawed his shoulders and almost tore the cape. “F-Forget everything you saw. Do not remember anything.”

He squirmed in an attempt to free himself. It failed. Fury flashed in his green eyes and matched his earrings. “Like that will be hard. Unmemorable. It’s utilitarian. And I do not care.”

From his emphasis on utilitarian, he truly did not. But her stiffness declared that nothing he said mattered. Her nails dug in deeper and she exuded a grim determination. She shook him.

“Do you think you can scramble someone’s memory by doing that?” he asked. “Stop it. I won’t tell if you stop it right now.”

She didn’t.

His ID case slipped out from his breast pocket and tumbled to the ground. They paused to glance at it. Then they lunged.

She won with her longer arms. “I just need your name and address. In case you ever decide to tell. It’s just a precaution.”

“You-!”

Utilizing her height again, she held it over his head, just out of reach.

At that insult, his patience evaporated. He muttered and wind whirled around her. It immobilized her, though she could still breathe.

He bounced up and jumped off her. His feet landed on her ribs and left distinct shoe prints. As he snatched his ID back, gravity tugged her down. Her student card slipped out of her pocket. Shaking his head at her, he rolled his eyes.

“You really should listen, white.” With an exaggerated motion, he bent over her and picked up her card. It detailed her abilities. “Or rather, Sydney Histocry. You should learn to listen or you’ll never survive this place. Although-” he trailed off and shrugged. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Since you didn’t pass the entrance exam.”

Sydney’s vocal cords eked but the wind kept her from speaking.

“I don’t want to stay and interpret. So I won’t.”

He disappeared into the campus with her little black wallet.