Page 116 of Class Studies

The three, not charging my runes, dressed and grabbed a to-go cup before heading toward my door.

“Wait!” I yelled, knocking Ashe and the professor out of their mage-trance. “You’re full of my magic. I mean, you look incredible, but it’s sparking in your hair. Everyone will know. And it’s still illegal.”

“Do it anyway,” Professor Garnet stated. “You need to transfer to exist. Illegal or not, we’re not hiding what you are or what we’ve built.”

I brought my hand up to my chest. Beryl gave the professor a mock salute, and the three mages bolted out the door with Vac on their heels.

Professor Garnet watched my door with a smile before slipping back into his mage trance. My stone walls shimmered. Vines slowly grew and crawled toward the chalk’s white edges. Under the professor’s guidance, a new opening gradually formed. On the opposite side of the room, the hole next to the fireplace needed to be cleaned up, and the runes Ashe charged moved faster. The vines twisted, smoothing out jagged edges and forming a uniformed arch.

I sipped my coffee and tracked the patterns before turning to my worktable. We couldn’t use magic to eliminate all the bits floating in my potion. I’d done the best I could with a spoon, but they still marred the surface. I rubbed my cheek, wondering if I should start over, but it had a twenty-hour cook time.

The one good thing about the guys ignoring me was the work I’d gotten done on my runes. I picked up the second part of my new idea. A simple metal handheld mirror rested in my grip. I’d spent every waking moment carving thousands of tiny runes over every surface. I narrowed my eyes, noticing a rough patch, and sat down to smooth it out.

Although I wanted every part of it to be perfect, the runes were complete. I just had to decide if I wanted to risk using my contaminated potion or not.

Tanwyn and Beryl returned with their arms full of food. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously to see Saffron missing but didn’t pry when they said he needed to take care of something. Vac was with the Greek God, so no one should bother him.

With the archways to our expanded home completed, my mages pulled me away from my project to eat. Saffron appeared partway into the meal with only a fraction of my magic still circling his system. I had a feeling he put it in his Golem, but even amongst us, his experiment was a contentious topic, so no one brought it up.

It took at least an hour of convincing from all five of my boyfriends, but eventually, I agreed not to return to my workstation. Tederwinkle’s reenactment wasn’t coming any sooner. The next Aptitude test was months off, and an afternoon of nothing wouldn’t change our already bombing scores.

Saffron plucked a copy of our favorite Alchemy board game out of his dimensional pocket. He hadn’t played since his brother’s death. It opened up a softer side of him I didn’t know existed. Even Ashe stopped being so crabby with everyone as Saffron reminisced about good memories of his deceased brother.

I learned more about Ashe’s son, Professor Garnet's twin, and Beryl even shared a story about one of his childhood friends. I leaned against Tanwyn, both of us only children, and listened, terrified, to break whatever spell Saffron cast to make everyone get along.

Eventually, the conversation transitioned back to the game. Saffron and I explained the rules and some basic strategies to give the others a head start.

My competitive side kept me from saying too much. After only the first round, my argumentative guys passed around the rule book after analyzing each other's plays. They constantly referenced it to check if someone else was cheating or if they could get away with something dodgy. It was hilarious.

By the end, Saffron and I duked it out for first and second place, leaving the others in the dust. I didn’t hold back as I eeked ahead of the Greek God on the final turn. His glare promised a rematch, but at a later date. Ashe and Beryl lost interest pretty early and found a projector somewhere.

“Just use magic,” Beryl said, trying to tape a sheet to the wall to give us a smooth surface for the projector.

Ashe cracked his neck. “I’m just not used to having this much extra power.”

Beryl grinned, and I leaned forward in anticipation, but my door burst open before Beryl could give us his joke.

I ducked my head, not having noticed the professor's absence. He spilled two large trays of miniature pastries and dumplings from the teacher’s cafeteria onto the table, and we feasted for a second time.

With the sheet mostly straight, we settle in for a film about a team of adventurers trying to get to a mountain to kill a dragon or something. But they kept messing it up and getting saved by a wizard.

I sat on my couch, with my back resting against Tanwyn and my legs draped across Saffron. The professor snuggled in next to Saffron and rubbed my feet. Beryl made himself a spot on the floor near my hip, and Ashe sat in his new chair in his usual spot, though turned to face the movie.

I sighed happily, seeing a side of life I didn’t know existed. Movies and snuggles and games. A knock sounded on my door, and my eyes fluttered open from my content daze.

The knock came again, and Saffron hit pause.

“It’s Officer Keres.” Officer Keres’ voice drifted through the layers of stone and wood.

Ashe bolted up and pushed Vac out of the way. I didn’t remember the sun setting, but the only light in the room was our paused movie and its reflection off the snow covering my windows.

Ashe flipped on the lights while opening the door.

I squinted in the sudden brightness.

“Sir,” Ashe said.

Officer Keres’ haggard form came into focus as he stiffly walked into the room.

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