The silence felt like a weight pressing down on him. The Headmaster had left the room with Professor Amora and the sword. He told Martin to continue with his day and that he could show them around once Jack was better. It was still pretty early in the morning so Professor Amora had assured them that Jack would be okay by the Assembly. He was still unconscious and he hadn’t moved at all. His breathing had finally gone from the short gasps to normal. The Headmaster let them stay with Jack and told them to explain everything when he was awake and coherent. Luke felt guilty. If he hadn’t been so careless then maybe Jack wouldn’t be unconscious right now.
“This is not okay.” Alicia said, pulling him out of his thoughts. “I know.” Bethany replied, soothingly. “He was in so much pain. It wasn’t even that bad when he used his magic.” Alicia murmured. “That isn’t what we need to be thinking about.” Luke said. “Of course it is! This is kind of your fault!” Alicia shouted. “I get it okay?!” he shouted back. “Both of you knock it off. We need to be smart about this. We need to be calm because who knows what’s going to happen when Jack wakes up.” Bethany interrupted, sharply. “What I meant was, we need to think about why that sword was in here and why it is specifically designed to hurt Jack.” Luke said after a moment.
“I can’t believe this. What is going on? First the thing in the forest and now this.” Alicia groaned, putting her head in her hands. “The thing in the forest.” Bethany muttered. Luke and Alicia looked at her expectantly. She didn’t say anything more, she was deep in thought. “Um, will you explain?” Luke snapped. Alicia glared at him. “Whatever or whoever was in the forest only affected Jack and now there’s this sword that could kill him? Plus, the Headmaster is the most powerful sorcerer our town knows and he could barely manage to suppress Jack’s magic enough to fix that cut. There was also this morning when I first saw Jack walk up. He seemed a bit freaked. I assumed it was because of what happened with his father but what if it was about something else?” Bethany pondered as she paced the length of the room.
Luke and Alicia thought for a few moments. “Bethany is right. There’s no way these things are a coincidence. When Jack wakes up we talk to him and figure all of this out.” Luke said, finally. “Did you just say someone was right? This moment is historical.” Alicia replied in disbelief. “Look I really do not like Jack but I would never want him to experience pain like that again.” Luke muttered. “He hasn’t moved at all.” Alicia whispered walking over to the side of Jack’s bed. “Seriously? You are so concerned about him constantly and he burned your hand.” Luke grumbled. Alicia looked back at him. “That was not his fault and you heard him, Luke. Have a little bit of sympathy, especially after what you said.” she retorted. Alicia looked at Jack again but there was a tear trailing down his cheek. She quickly brushed it away and she blushed as she did it.
Bethany walked over. “He’s still in pain.” she whispered. Luke sighed and walked over too. He saw the cut on Jack’s arm. It was starting to close then it reopened a little bit. He nudged Alicia and pointed at the cut. Even though he was still hurting, he still wasn’t moving. His fingers didn’t so much as twitch. “Wait, it’s closing for real now.” Luke told them. He was right. The cut was now just an angry red line. “Come on let’s just sit over on the beds. I don’t think he’ll be up for a while.” Bethany murmured. The three of them walked back over to where they had been sitting before.
They didn’t speak for a few hours. All of them were lost in their own thoughts. Luke was trying to sort everything out but nothing made sense. From what happened in the woods to the Headmaster barely being able to suppress Jack's magic enough to help him it was all so odd. He’d noticed how Alicia blushed when she had brushed the tear off Jack's face. She really did care about him and Bethany seemed to as well. He didn’t want Jack to be like this that was for sure. He sighed then jolted upright. “Luke, what now?” Bethany asked. “I was just thinking about how the Headmaster could barely suppress Jack’s magic and once he had he was exhausted.” Luke replied. “Of course! Jack must have more power than any of us realized.” Bethany exclaimed.
“He can control the elements I think.” Alicia said, quietly. Bethany and Luke turned to her. “What do you mean?” they asked in unison. “He controlled the wind and that was when I first realized his magic hurt him. I’ve learned a little bit about magic and what I know is elemental magic is one of the hardest forms of magic to do.” Alicia explained. Luke noticed how she kept fidgeting with her hands. She was worried and he was too. Jack hadn’t moved yet and he was still unconscious. Before any of them could say anything more Professor Amora entered the room. “I see he still hasn’t woken.” she murmured. She walked over to him and ran a finger over the line on his arm.
“This is a good sign. He should wake up anytime now.” she said, confidently. “He hasn’t moved since the Headmaster fixed the cut.” Bethany told her. Professor Amora smiled kindly. “He will be alright. The Headmaster is studying the sword and the Assembly isn’t until this afternoon. It isn’t even time for lunch yet.” she replied. With a final warm smile she exited the room, closing the door softly. “Exactly not even lunch time and Jack has already been through a lot.” Alicia muttered. “Okay really what is your deal with him?” Luke asked. A blush colored Alicia’s cheeks. “He’s my friend and something weird is going on.” she muttered.
All of them looked at Jack again and they waited again in silence. Professor Amora had said anytime and Luke wanted answers. He knew the other two just wanted him to wake up. Another hour dragged by and they were all on edge at this point. Alicia now looked at her hands and he was looking up at the ceiling. “Guys he’s moving.” Bethany said all of the sudden. All of them looked at Jack and Alicia stood up. Bethany was right, his hand twitched. After a moment of intense silence, Alicia broke it. “Jack?” she asked quietly. After a moment his eyes opened and he blinked quickly several times. “Curse that sword.” he groaned. Alicia and Bethany went over to him in an instant. Luke went over more hesitantly.
“Are you alright?” Bethany asked. “Not really.” Jack replied. His voice was quiet and he pushed himself up into a sitting position. It looked like it took a bit of an effort but he did it. “Don’t push yourself.” Alicia urged. Jack looked at her. He seemed a bit happier. Luke knew she hadn’t been talking to him since the event in the forest. He couldn’t believe it had just been that morning. “Are you coherent?” Luke asked. “Somewhat. Did you need something?” Jack muttered. All of them were quiet. “Just tell me.” Jack sighed, turning so he could lean back against the wall.
“Um, well there’s a few things but uh we should probably tell you about the sword.” Alicia stammered. Jack looked at her for a moment then looked down. “It was terrible.” he murmured. They were quiet again. His tone had sounded so...broken to Luke. “Jack, it was designed for you. That’s what the Headmaster thinks. It kept your magic from healing you like it usually did. It just made it worse and he could barely suppress your magic enough to help you.” Bethany said, quietly. “I know.” Jack whispered. “You...know?” Alicia asked, surprised. “Yes. I could feel my magic trying to fight against it and heal the cut.” Jack murmured. “Is that what was...hurting you?” Luke asked, crossing his arms. Jack shook his head.
“What happened?” Alicia asked, softly. Jack was quiet for a long time. “I don’t really want to talk about it. All I’ll tell you is I thought the burning was bad when I used my magic. This was so much worse.” he whispered finally. “Jack, do you know what’s happening? Have you seen whatever was in the forest before?” Alicia asked. Luke noticed how upset she looked as she looked at Jack. She was worried about him. Luke looked at Jack and the response Jack gave shocked him. He had looked up at Alicia and there was so much fear in his gaze, she almost took a step back.
“Jack, you need to tell us what you know about this thing.” Bethany urged. Jack shook his head. “I can’t.” he whispered. “Tell us now you idiot because that sword can kill you and we had the run in with the thing in the forest. You need to tell us what is going on.” Luke snapped. Jack looked down at his hands and didn’t respond. “We just want to help you well, most of us.” Alicia said, quietly. “You can’t help me, Alicia.” Jack murmured. All of them looked at Jack in shock. He wasn’t going to tell them and whatever was going on scared him.
“Please, Jack. Just tell us.” Alicia pleaded. “If I tell you what I know then you might be in danger too. I can’t do that to any of you.” Jack replied. “Danger?” Luke asked. “Look, the point is, you can trust us. These aren’t coincidences and we all know it.” Bethany said. Before Jack could respond, the Headmaster and Professor Amora walked in. Jack looked at the Headmaster in confusion. He hadn’t seen him without the mask, Luke realized. “Headmaster.” Luke muttered to him. Jack nodded a little bit in acknowledgement. “Alright I trust the three of you told him what I asked you to?” the Headmaster said, looking between Luke, Bethany, and Alicia. They all nodded.
“Good. Jack, this is Professor Amora.” the Headmaster replied, turning to Jack. “Are you alright?” she asked Jack. “I’m fine.” he replied. Luke knew this wasn’t true and he knew that he was going to try to get answers from Jack again. He could tell from the expressions on the girls’ faces they were going to do the same. “I want the three of you to leave the room for a moment.” the Headmaster said after a moment. Alicia immediately objected with Bethany close behind. Jack leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. He still looked pale and sick looking in Luke’s opinion.
“Go.” Professor Amora pressed. After a few more objections the three of them finally left. They stood in the hallway all a mixture of irritation and disappointment. They’d tried to listen through the door but they couldn’t hear a thing. “He still looks terrible.” Luke muttered. “Why do you think he was so terrified?” Alicia whispered. They were all quiet for a long time. “I don’t know but he let out that he’s in danger. I think he was going to tell us, but I don’t know for sure.” Bethany said, finally. “Don’t you guys think this is a bit odd?” Luke asked suddenly. “What do you mean?” Alicia replied. Luke could tell she really didn’t like him just by her tone. “So at the Selection Jack was chosen and revealed he has magic. Then something must have happened before we all met this morning. Next the thing in the woods and this sword.” Luke explained, his brow furrowed. “So?” Bethany pushed. Luke looked between the two of them.
“I think someone might want Jack dead.” he told them. They waited in shocked silence. They had been speaking in hushed tones because they noticed that the cracked doors where the sound of chattering had come from before was now quiet. They had heard something was going on and they were trying to listen. Finally after what felt like hours but was really only fifteen minutes the door opened. The Headmaster and Professor Amora walked out. “I will be sending Martin up to finish the tour. He is well enough to walk and by the time you’re finished it will most likely be time for the Assembly.” the Headmaster said. None of them bothered to ask what the Assembly was again.
They all knew they would just have to wait to find out. Without another word the two adults left. “Can I talk to him alone for a second?” Alicia asked. Luke grumbled something but Bethany nodded. Alicia went into the room and closed the door. However they could hear through it this time. Luke thought it must have been some sort of spell that kept them from hearing before. He heard them talking and it only lasted a few minutes. Alicia was telling him that she wasn’t mad at him and that she was only upset because he hurt himself. Luke had rolled his eyes at least five times before the conversation ended. Bethany had just shaken her head and muttered something at his attitude.
Then the door opened and Alicia turned and walked back over to stand beside Jack. He was sitting on the bed still but the color had returned to his face and he seemed to be himself again. However Luke could see that Jack knew that they still wanted answers. “You look better.” Bethany said, cheerfully. She was trying to lift the mood. “Yeah, whatever the effects were wore off.” Jack replied. “May we resume our conversation from earlier?” Luke muttered. “No.” Jack retorted, his voice hard. “We just want to figure out what’s going on.” Alicia murmured. “I’m in danger and there is a sword that caused me so much pain that I felt like I was dying in the most excruciating way possible. That was just from a small cut. That’s all you need to know and I don’t know much more than that myself.” Jack muttered, looking up at the ceiling.
“Jack, I’m sorry about the sword. It seemed so horrible just by seeing your...reaction. Why are you in danger?” Alicia said, quietly. “I don’t know and you don’t have to be sorry. It wasn’t your fault, and before you say it it wasn’t Luke’s fault either. Not much anyway.” Jack replied. “Thanks.” Luke mumbled, sarcastically. “All we want to know is if you’ve seen this thing before.” Bethany said. “It’s a who not a what and no I have not seen them before.” Jack murmured. “Stop being such an imbecile and just tell us what you know!” Luke shouted. Jack glared at him. “I said no. I already told you I haven’t seen them before the forest.” he retorted. Luke opened his mouth to fire back but closed it again as Martin walked in.
“Everything alright in here?” he asked. “Yeah, everything’s fine.” Bethany replied. Jack’s words echoed in Luke’s mind… “I felt like I was dying in the most excruciating way possible. That was just from a small cut.” Was he being serious? Is that what it really felt like to him? As the Headmaster had left earlier he’d noticed a small cut on the top of his hand. Maybe he was trying to see if the sword had the same effect on others. It didn’t look like it. He was drawn from his thoughts by Martin saying something. He didn’t catch what but he saw Jack stand up. He seemed fine now. He wasn’t supporting himself on anything and it didn’t look like his legs were going to give out.
Alicia stood beside him and Bethany was standing by Martin now. “Come on.” he said and they followed him out into the hallway. Martin led them down the short hallway and Luke saw a few people peeking out of their rooms at them. When Luke met their eyes they would quickly shut the door. Luke was irritated with Jack. Even more so than usual. All of these bad things were happening and Jack wouldn’t tell them anything. He nearly walked into Martin when he stopped. He hadn’t been paying much attention to their surroundings as they were walking. Now they were in a large room with grand windows letting sunshine pour in. There were rows of seats in the room and there was a raised platform on the opposite side. There was a flight of stairs leading down into the room.
They were standing in the doorway. Everyone else was looking around, marveling the room. “This is where the Assembly will be.” Martin told them. He then led them out and up the spiraling staircase again. They came out into a larger hallway and students of varying ages were walking back and forth talking amongst themselves. However their conversation usually paused for a moment when they saw the four of them with Martin. Their eyes would linger on Jack the longest. Luke was happy that Jack seemed uncomfortable with it. He wasn’t even doing anything. He smirked to himself. “This is where you will go to have lessons with the teachers to prepare. There is a plaque on each door naming the teacher.” Martin said. “On the sixth floor is the dining hall. Where we will be heading shortly to have lunch. Then after that we go to the Assembly. Once that is over I will show you one more place then you are free to explore.” he added after a brief pause.
“What floor are we on?” Alicia asked. “Third.” Martin replied as he led them down the hall letting them see the different doors that led to each classroom. Students emerged from several different ones. Luke caught a glimpse of blue as one of the doors closed. “Better question, how many floors are there?” Luke asked. “Thirty-seven.” Martin told him grinning at the shocked look on their faces. “What is even on all these floors?” Jack asked. “Classrooms, dorms, and other things. You will learn more about the Academy if you pass your test. Which is why you may only explore the first ten floors for now.” Martin said, turning left. There was another staircase at the end of it.
Luke wondered how many staircases were in this place. He also planned to change into warmer clothes as soon as possible. There were drafts in the hallway and it was cold anyway. He wanted to explore the forbidden floors as well but he didn’t think that was such a good idea. He didn’t want to get in trouble on his first day here. He overheard a conversation between two girls as he passed them. “That one with the crazy blue eyes is the one who can do magic already.” one of them whispered. The other one giggled and whispered something back that Luke didn’t catch.
Luke glanced back at Jack and saw Alicia trying not to laugh and Jack nudged her. “Stop it.” he mumbled. They had probably heard the conversation too. Luke noticed a larger group surrounding this one girl. She looked to be about their age, maybe a year older. She pushed through and looked at the four of them approaching. “Martin.” she said, her voice had an air of smugness in it. He saw the small crowd she had been in the middle of standing behind her. They listened to her every word and paid their full attention to her. Martin reluctantly stopped. “Yes?” he asked.
“I simply wanted to meet the Selected.” the girl said, innocently. She had short black hair and brown eyes. She wore nicer clothes than anyone else in the crowd behind her. She stood confidently and she didn’t seem to care that Martin was older. “Very well.” he muttered stepping aside. The girl closed the short gap between them. Everyone in the hallway was watching now. The Selected stood in a staggered line. Luke looked at her with the same confidence she was airing. Bethany looked calm and collected, Alicia seemed fine with the attention, and Jack looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. “I’m Raven McCallister.” the girl told them as if they should already know who she was.
She looked at Luke expectantly. “Luke.” he said with nonchalance. She nodded and turned to Bethany. She listened to her introduction but her gaze kept flicking to Jack occasionally. Luke figured everyone here must think he’s a freak too. Raven moved to stand in front of Alicia. She was a bit taller than her so she looked down at her a bit. She was glaring at her. Alicia mumbled her name. Raven didn’t even seem to care. She then turned to Jack and smiled at him. Luke hid the shock he felt but he thought he might have been a little late. “And you?” she asked. Although Luke knew she already knew exactly who Jack was. “I’m Jack.” he said, meeting her gaze.
“Oh yes. Would you do some of your magic for us? I saw what you did at the Selection.” Raven replied. “Sorry, I can’t.” Jack murmured. “I think you can.” Raven said brightly. Jack didn’t answer. He looked down at the ground once again. “He said he can’t. If he doesn’t want to then don’t press him.” Alicia told her. Raven scowled at her. “I didn’t ask you for your opinion so why don’t you just keep your mouth shut.” she said, coldly. “I don’t have to listen to you.” Alicia retorted, but she wasn’t confident enough for it to pass. “Well you should because you are nothing.” Raven replied with a smirk. Martin was about to say something but Jack beat him to it.
“Don’t talk to her like that. If it’s so important for you to make others feel like nothing then maybe you aren’t as confident as you seem.” he snapped. He turned from her shocked expression to Martin. Who quickly led them back the way they’d come. Alicia had her head down and Jack walked beside her. Luke was surprised. Jack didn’t usually call attention to himself intentionally. “Alicia, what she said was not true at all.” Luke heard Jack murmur to Alicia. He couldn’t see their faces because he was walking in front of them but he listened to the conversation. “You didn’t have to do that.” Alicia muttered. “You’re my friend and she was being a jerk. You don’t deserve that.” Jack told her.
“Thanks, Jack.” Alicia whispered. “Anytime.” Jack replied. Luke could hear the small smile in his tone. Luke wondered why this Raven girl seemed to hate Alicia so much. When Jack had defended Alicia, Luke could see that he was angry. He didn’t think that it was right. Once they ascended two more floors, Luke noticed many students were heading in the same direction. He could see them filing into a large doorway down the hall. Martin led them expertly through the crowd of students and through the doorway. Luke had to catch himself before his jaw dropped. There were three huge windows on each side of the room which let sunlight fill the room with a warm glow. There were rows of tables with benches on both sides.
There were six rows of tables in total and students were already filling them. Martin led them to the table to the far right that was mostly empty and told them to sit. He said he would be back once lunch ended to take them to their last destination on the tour. Jack and Alicia sat on the far side and Luke sat beside Bethany across from them. “You know this place is cooler than I could have ever imagined.” Bethany said, excitedly. “It really is.” Jack agreed. Alicia nodded enthusiastically. Luke nodded too but he was looking out one of the windows. He could see trees going on endlessly and the sky was bright blue. It was such a beautiful sight. He took a mental picture so he could try to sketch it later.
“You know you get a lot of attention here.” he said, looking at Jack. “Well I don’t really like it. Plus it isn’t really me that’s getting the attention anyway. It’s my magic.” he muttered. “Your magic is well your magic.” Alicia told him. Jack didn’t respond. He closed his eyes for a few moments then opened them again. “You okay?” Alicia asked. “Yeah.” Jack replied. “You’re lying.” Bethany said. “How do you do that? You seem to know exactly what people are feeling or when they are lying.” Luke cut in. Bethany shrugged. “I’ve always been able to do it.” she said. “Just a headache.” Jack replied.
“Oh Jack. Do you want to come sit with us?” a familiar smug voice asked from behind Luke. He turned and Raven McCallister was standing there with a group behind her. Luke rolled his eyes. This girl was annoying and what was her deal with bothering Jack? “I’m fine here.” Jack muttered. “Come on it’ll be fun.” Raven told him with a smile. “Thank you for the offer but I’ll stay here.” Jack said, politely. “Well my offer will still stand when you’re done with...that.” Raven replied, gesturing to Alicia. Then she turned on her heel and led her group to another table.
“I really do not like her.” Jack muttered. Alicia was obviously hurt by the remark. Bethany smiled at her but Alicia dropped her gaze. “You know I think she’s just jealous because she can already tell that you’re amazing.” Jack said to her. Alicia looked at him, blushing slightly. “Really?” she asked in disbelief. “Yeah.” Jack replied, smiling. “I agree with Jack.” Bethany added. “You really shouldn’t care that much what she thinks.” Luke muttered. He didn’t really know what to say and that was the best he came up with. Then smaller doors on the opposite end opened and several adults dressed in grey walked out. They were all holding plates of food and the ones at the end held plates and utensils.
They moved down the rows and set the massive plates on the table. All of them were now full with students. The students who had sat at the table where the Selected were kept a few seats between them. Luke wasn’t used to feeling like an outsider. “Just ignore it.” he heard Alicia mutter. “I hate this.” Jack replied. Luke looked at him confused then he looked around again and saw yet again that many eyes were on Jack. As the adults reached them he saw what the food was. The plates were piled high with sandwiches and others with a variety of fruits. A fork and a white plate was set in front of him. He saw the same had been set in front of the other three and there was a plate of sandwiches and one of fruit between the four of them now.
The adults moved back through the door however some stayed, watching silently. Adult supervision, Luke thought. He put a few sandwiches on his plate and grabbed a handful of fruit. “Bet you haven’t even seen any of this before, Jack.” Luke teased. He had to get a jab at Jack at some point today. He didn’t want Jack to think he’d gone soft. “Shut up.” Jack retorted, but Luke knew he was right. Now they all had food on their plate and ate in silence. “Alright this is killing me.” Bethany said out of the blue. “What?” Alicia asked after swallowing a mouthful of sandwich.
“It is so quiet and awkward. We’re going to be stuck with each other for a bit so can we at least try to have a conversation?” Bethany said. “About what?” Jack asked, he had barely touched the food on his plate. “For starters how are you not starving?” Luke asked as he popped another piece of fruit in his mouth. Jack shrugged. “Distracted I guess.” he muttered. “I hope you're distracted about how you are going to give us answers.” Luke retorted. “Actually it was about how an idiot cut me with a sword that is made to hurt me.” Jack replied, quietly. “Enough both of you. Let’s just go around and say something we like to do. Like a hobby or something.” Alicia interrupted. “Good idea.” Bethany said, appreciatively.
“You start.” Alicia told Bethany. “Hm I like to look at the stars from my roof.” Bethany said after a moment. “Luke?” she asked. “Do I seriously have to do this?” Luke grumbled. “Yes.” Alicia sniffed. Jack laughed at the expression on Luke’s face. Alicia and Bethany joined him. “I like dueling.” Luke huffed then looked at Alicia. “I love reading.” she said immediately. “That’s a good one.” Jack replied. “And you?” Bethany asked him. Jack hesitated. “Don’t really have any hobbies or anything.” he said finally. “Come on there has to be something you like to do.” Alicia replied. “I just like being with my brother and sister.” Jack said, shrugging.
“Did you guys do anything to celebrate or anything yesterday afternoon before you left?” Bethany asked, trying to keep the conversation going. Jack and Alicia exchanged a glance then smiled as they looked away. “Did we miss something?” Luke asked, curious. “Besides you trying to destroy me yesterday? No not really.” Jack replied, dodging the question. Alicia laughed quietly. Luke scowled at the both of them. “Back to your question, Bethany. Yeah we went to this river that we usually go to. We were just goofing around and being ridiculous.” he said. “There’s more.” Bethany stated. “Um we had to head back earlier than we meant to.” Jack replied, looking down at his plate.
“Why?” Alicia asked. Luke paid attention too. He was curious because it didn’t seem like it was a good reason. Maybe this is when Jack had encountered the thing that was in the forest earlier. “My little brother got hurt.” Jack muttered. They were all quiet. “Wait you said that you’ve done what you did with Alicia before was this when you did it the first time?” Bethany asked. Jack nodded. “We were all laughing then my sister and I noticed he wasn’t standing with us anymore. I found him unconscious in the water.” Jack said, quietly. “How’d he get hurt?” Luke asked. This could be when it happened. “He was laughing and he said he fell back and hit his head.” Jack replied.
“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to but um what injury did he have and what did you do?” Alicia asked. Jack was quiet for a moment. “He had a gash on the side of his head. I tried to heal it and it was more of a trade. I had his injury and he was fine.” he murmured. “And before you ask, same effects plus getting the injury.” he added, glancing at Alicia. “What are these ‘effects’ that we seem to not know about it?” Luke asked, seeing the confused look on Bethany’s face too. “Using my magic exhausts me and causes me a lot of pain. Like earlier when I said the cut from the sword was worse than the burning.” Jack whispered. “We really cannot have a cheerful conversation.” Bethany sighed, shaking her head. “How about we talk about what we think the test is?” Jack suggested, looking up again.
While they all thought about it, Jack finally ate his food. Luke caught the surprise on his face when he tried it. He didn’t even try to hide his smirk. “Well maybe it isn’t something written. It could be something we have to actually do.” Alicia said, thoughtfully. They were all done eating now and just thinking about the test. Luke noticed how everyone else seemed nervous maybe even more so than he was. There was a lot riding on this test. “That seems likely. They might teach us spells or something then we have to do them.” Bethany replied.
“What if it’s both?” Jack asked. “Then we’re doomed.” Luke joked. They all laughed and the tension seemed to decrease between them. “Okay wait what about this “Assembly?”” Luke asked. “No idea but if we have to stand in front of everyone, I think Jack might have a heart attack.” Alicia teased. “How dare you!” Jack exclaimed, throwing a piece of fruit at her. “Oh come on, Jack. You know it’s true.” Luke commented as Alicia threw a piece of fruit back at Jack. That quickly ceased as one of the adults walked by. “Hate to say it but Luke’s right.” Bethany admitted. “Jeez, I’m being ganged up on. That’s not cool.” Jack muttered with fake irritation.
Alicia shoved his shoulder lightly. “Just admit it.” she told him. “Fine, fine, you guys are right.” Jack admitted, laughing. “Wait a second did you just say I was right?” Luke asked, turning to Bethany. “Oh now I wanna take it back.” she groaned. “This is a historical moment.” Luke said, imitating Alicia from earlier. “That was the worst imitation ever!” Alicia exclaimed. “No, that was so spot on.” Luke replied, grinning. “What do you guys think?” Alicia asked, turning to Jack and Bethany. “You first.” Bethany told Jack, smiling slightly. Jack sighed. “Honestly I think that this is dangerous ground.” he said. Alicia punched his arm lightly.
“That is not an answer!” she exclaimed. “Was too. I agree with Jack.” Bethany chimed in. “I agree that I did the best imitation of Alicia.” Luke declared. “No you didn’t.” Alicia replied. “This is so pointless.” Bethany told them. They were all silent for a moment then they all burst out laughing. Luke enjoyed this moment. He was just being ridiculous with the rest of the Selected and they were having fun but all the bad things still nagged at him. He figured he would ask later or try to figure it out, but for the time being he was just going to enjoy being at the Academy. Besides he’d probably make friends quickly that were better than the other Selected. However right now it wasn’t that bad.
“Alright are you four ready to head toward the Assembly?” Martin asked from behind him. Luke jumped and the others laughed, Martin chuckled too. Luke saw that the majority of the students were exiting the room already. “Okay really what is this Assembly about?” Bethany asked. “I guess you’re going to find out.” Martin replied. Bethany sighed and got to her feet. The other three followed suit and Martin kept them over there until most of the students had exited. Then he led them through the doorway and out into the hall. Luke could have gotten to where they were going on his own he figured. All the students were going in the same direction so this “assembly” was probably mandatory. They made it to the room Martin had shown them earlier with the rows upon rows of seats however now they were starting to get filled with students. There was also a row of adults on the raised platform. In front of them stood the Headmaster who still wore no masks and among the adults Luke recognized Professor Amora. These adults must be the teachers.
470Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRa5O4xKGlK
(Hey to anyone who's reading this. I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I hope you enjoy the two issues I posted!)470Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6NCorumUJ
