Page 16 of Self Studies

Slipping into my next class was just as easy as my first, though more students took note this time. Unlike meditation, plastic chairs and metal desks filled the bland square stone room. I sat in an unoccupied spot in the back left. A few students I recognized from meditation took the time to point at me and whisper. Fortunately, most of them were more interested in their phones. That suited me fine.

An older man dressed in khaki slacks and a knit vest stood behind a white and silver desk. “We have a new student.” He gripped a piece of paper with a bright pink slip attached. “Your paperwork doesn’t have your full name. Please stand and introduce yourself to the class.”

I flipped down the hood as I stood. “Aphrodite.” Unsure what else an introduction should contain, I quickly sat back down.

A few people laughed.

The teacher pursed his lips. “Do you have a last name, a surname?”

“Ah, no.” I pulled my hood back up.

I’d used Heliot when placing orders for Damon, but I would never use that name again.

The teacher grunted and narrowed his eyes at me.

“Is she for real?” Someone fake whispered.

A few students laughed. Most of them turned in their seats to give me an unfriendly scowl. I’d not realized how many more boys than girls there were in the class, and it made me pause.

I once again tried to disappear into my hood.

The teacher pounded on his desk. “Let’s move forward. Aphrodite, we’re a third of the way through the History of Western Magic. I’m assuming you have my book list already, along with the necessary supplies.”

I looked around the desk, hoping what he asked for would magically appear. “I do not.” I pulled on my braid. “Where should I have gotten those from?”

The teacher took a long, painful breath. “You received them with your schedule. Willful disregard of the institute’s procedures isn't something someone in your position can afford. I suggest you rectify the situation before the next class.” The teacher shifted his focus away from me. “Now, to pick up where we left off.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. There’d been no lists. There’d been no supplies. Just like there was no uniform. I was starting to feel like I’d been set up to fail.

In any other circumstance, the dry history lecture would’ve sent me to sleep, but today I found myself engrossed in separating fact from fiction. I knew so much and so little at the same time.

Humans and mages didn’t get along. I’d already guessed that: based on the occasional graffiti on my old apartment door and Damon’s muttering about pesky human police. He’d told me the MA existed to pick on mages, like us, who couldn’t afford to pay for our licenses—the means the MA used to control and limit our lives.

Damon hadn’t been entirely wrong, but the MA seemed to do a lot more than that. Or at least, the institute run by them wanted me to believe so.

They function as peacekeepers and liaisons between the human and magical worlds. Although the image of uniformed officers setting fire to everything I’d ever loved would never leave me, the MA, at least in concept, didn’t seem quite as evil as Damon taught me.

Evil. The ambiguous word made me huff with frustration. Next to me, a kid gave me an odd look and edged away. I pulled on my braid and focused on the lecture.

“Now, the battle of Brian the Bold and the state of Virginia,” the teacher’s drone filled with excitement. He began pacing. “I wish I’d been alive. This was maybe ten years after we saved the world by converting the energy from the nuclear holocaust into magic. Brian the Bold, at the time, was the head of the Magical Science Study Team, which, as we all know, would eventually become the MA. Humans raided his lab, where he’d collected many animals and plants modified by the fallout.”

The teacher laughed darkly. “Well, the details are in your textbook. What you need to remember: over the three days, at least a hundred people died. Mages and humans alike, including Brian himself. He lost his life to a talking pig, if I remember correctly. It’s this battle that made us realize exactly how unstable magical fallout is.”

A dramatic pause filled the room before the lecture continued. “Brian was a Rimmed Mage. This fight is the defining moment which separated Natural and Rimmed mages, those of us created by the magical fallout versus mages who had lived hidden in society throughout human history. In the aftermath of this battle, humans admitted their advanced technology couldn’t compare to magic. Natural Mages were welcomed into the mechanics of human government. This brings us to Chapter twelve. The beginnings of a new era.” The teacher paused. Orange words glowed against the stone wall behind him, listing off the reading for the next class. “Supplemental materials are available at the library under my name. Do not skip them.”

The sounds of rustling papers and beeping tablets filled the classroom. I didn’t scream this time when the double foghorn blast ended class, though I still flinched at the noise. Like before, the volume from my fellow students rose. I’d gotten warm with my hood up and taken it down in the middle of class. Something damp squished against the side of my face, and a few students laughed. I grimaced as a kid walked up to me.

Expecting another wet paper ball, I held my hand in front of my face. A white cloth waved behind my hand. I dropped my arm, flushing.

“You seemed really into the lecture for not being prepared.” The kid’s soft voice cracked mid-sentence.

I looked skeptically at the offered cloth but accepted it and began wiping off my cheek. Bright candy apple green rims encircled the kid’s light brown eyes. His freckle-spattered friendly cheeks tilted up, watching me with curiosity.

He couldn’t be more than thirteen, and, unlike everyone else, he’d extended a hand in friendship. I took a breath, oddly excited to have a conversation about everything I didn’t understand but held back.

‘Never admit your ignorance. Knowledge is power.’ Damon’s teachings filled my mind. Although I didn’t want to listen to it, Advisor Crowe’s vague warnings about Aptitudes mixed with my master’s words and now Roisin’s warning. This could be part of the tests I still didn’t understand.

Instead of engaging with the kid, I returned his cloth and hurried out the door.

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