Page 84 of Self Studies

I flipped to my new chat with Roisin, remembering last night.

I’d stayed safe in my dome when my roommates all came in from their various evening activities. Although my stone dome was strong, it wasn’t soundproof and Roisin had talked me into exchanging phone numbers. She immediately sent me a selfie, my dome in the background, titled a ‘pile of noodles.’ It made me giggle, and with enough convincing, I sent her a very dark selfie of myself inside it. Her giggle cut through my stone and the last of my hesitation. I’d spent the rest of the evening messaging her questions.

Coming out of the memory, I took a deep breath and remembered why I’d picked up my phone.

I flipped to Mêler and scrolled through the Institutes' informative posts. The dry news cooled my joy—eleven dead, including the suicides. I’d been unconscious for the mass funeral. Five of them had been in my Practical Magic Application class, including Deadeye, one of Derek’s friends.

A tear ran down my cheek, and I forced myself to breathe. There wasn’t anything I could do other than comfort my friend. I messaged Derek, but he didn’t respond. I’d see him in class soon. Hopefully, he was eating breakfast with his friends.

The tritone of terror chased me out of the library’s solitude and into the masses. Butterflies beat their wings like hummingbirds in my gut. I slowed outside Practical Magic Application.

Cowering as deep into my hood as I possibly could, I rushed into my seat next to Derek.

“Hey,” a baritone voice said from behind me. “Aphrodite, right?”

I didn’t want to respond. I wanted to check on Derek. Before I could do either, the tritone blasted twice starting class.

“Aphrodite, stand now,” Magus Terra bellowed.

The room went silent. I popped up, shaking like a leaf.

“It has come to my attention,” Magus Terra continued. “That you practiced magic for the first time. Please, tell the class how you did it.”

My mind spun. Magus Terra’s questions were never as simple as they seemed.

Quietly, I tried to recount what I did, leaving out any emotions. “I remembered what you said; magic’s sheer will and imagination. I controlled my emotions, visualized what I wanted, as described at the beginning of our textbook, and then I pushed. I honestly thought nothing happened.”

“Very good,” Magus Terra’s voice rumbled.

The entire class let out a collective breath. I eyed them, and most gave me nods or encouraging smiles. My little world tilted with confusion.

“Now, if you’d kept reading, you would’ve noticed you should never need to ‘push.’ Magic should never be forced,” he explained evenly. “I’ve noticed you didn’t check out any of the books I asked you to from the library.”

I looked at the floor as the students around me began whispering. Although excuses about being unconscious came to the forefront of my mind, I’d also spent most of last night and this morning on my phone. My peers' obsession with the little black boxes made more sense now.

“Your place for today is in the back of the classroom reading.” Magus Terra pointed to a desk. “And if those books aren’t checked out tonight. Don’t bother coming to class tomorrow.”

I expected to see anger on his face. Instead, he gave me a disappointed frown.

My gut twisted with guilt, but I picked up my light bookbag. Derek gave me a reassuring smile which made me feel worse. I hurried to the back, grateful to be separated from the rest of the class.

The rest of my morning went by smoothly. Although a few students who used to ignore me tried to get my attention, they either gave up or respected it when I didn't respond. I didn’t see a single spitball, but someone stuck a loud fart rune on my skirt in history class. It echoed every time I stood or sat. Whoever did it didn’t quite get the result they’d hoped for, as I cracked up every time it went off.

I finally got a moment alone with Derek in our last class together. We huddled in the back of a classroom, pretending to point at things in one of our textbooks.

“Relax,” Derek said. “Everyone wants to at least not be on your enemies list now. Most of them will want to be your friend. Some of us don’t know how to do it.”

I glanced at my friend. “Fart runes make friends?”

“Fart runes make friends,” he repeated. “You laughed too. I wish I’d thought of it, honestly. It was hilarious.”

I shook my head, reminding myself Derek and his peers were still on the cusp of puberty. “Regardless, I thought I was negative points.”

“I never said you were negative points,” Derek corrected. “I said Beryl was. New students are just new. Not all of them make it, and it makes everyone else jaded.” His face fell. “What’s the point of making friends with someone who’s going to die?”

Derek closed his mouth, and I looked at the floor, both of us thinking about Deadeye. I didn’t know what to say to comfort my friend, so I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and squeezed him into my side. To my surprise, Derek turned and hugged me tightly. His tears stained my shirt, though he wiped them away before I saw them on his face.

He shook his head and forced himself to smile. “You have enough magic in you that you almost blew up the Sphérique. The administration had to knock you unconscious to save themselves and the building. You’re super powerful, and you're my friend.”

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