Please Closed ~ Died

[ValidEmotions]

Blake narrowed his eyes, eyebrows furrowing and adding creases to the 'v' above his nose. So their teacher felt no need to let the students know who he was (it was definitely a he). Very well then, he could play the same game. As the stranger instructed them to hold out their hands, Blake only leaned forward and watched the others.

 

"How do we know you aren't just playing tricks on us? We can't see you, can't see what you're doing. For all we know, you could be poisoning our minds," Blake challenged, an edge clearly in his tone. "You might even not be a real teacher. Why should I call you professor if you won't tell us who you are?"

 

Leaning back in his seat, he folded his arms across his chest and inspected his nails on his left hand. "The way I see it, you're nothing but a coward who deserves no respect or trust from me," he continued, smiling in an instigating way. "If appearances and names didn't matter, then why wash us in candlelight where you can see us? Why choose a high school where the students will most likely know each other. Are you sure, by being here, that we aren't being targeted as I speak, that our families are secure? Obviously, names and appearances do matter or you sorely misunderstand the basis of trust and willingness."

[Fortune86]

The Professor chuckled again. Diane, despite her excitement over her new magical power, really wished he would stop it. The sound caused her spine to tingle in a very unpleasant manner.

 

"I admire your scepticism, but it is not your respect or trust I desire. You are attending my class of your own violation and what you do or do not do is up to you, as long as you abide by the rules I have placed. If you chose not to believe in the skills of your classmates and that this is in fact some ploy to cause harm to your families, then do so. It makes no difference to me."

 

"Just leave it Blake" whispered Diane. "So what if the guy doesn't want to show his face? It all adds to the fun. It's just presentation."

 

If she had to, she'd admit she was just as curious as to just who the Professor was, but she figured that he must have a good reason for keeping his identity hidden. If and when he decided to tell them, then he would. No point in trying to press it.

 

She looked back at the small ball of fire in her right hand. Holding her arm out was starting to get tiring. After a moment’s hesitation she closed her fingers over the flame to put it out and then sat back with her arms resting on the desk. She wondered if she’d be able to make the fire reappear later, or if she’d need the Professor’s help to do so.

 

[Marcus Pheonix]

Claire looked intriguingly up at the Professor's direction as he gave his explanation.

"Metal?" He said thoughtfully to himself.

He held out his wrist with the watch on and then looked at his other hand. He held his left hand open face up like what he'd done earlier and focused on it, willing the magic as he did before.

Curiously he slowly moved his palm over his watch and to his surprise the hands quickly spun towards his hand , like a compass pointing north.

Intrigued further Claire slowly moved his hand around his wrist in a clockwise fashion and watched as the hands rotated to match his other hands movements.

"This is a lot less obvious then fire..." He said bluntly, glancing over at the fire girl.

He then looked around the room, giving his best puppy dog look, which he wasn't really trying to do.

"Does anyone have the time?" He asked sweetly.

[Fortune86]

Diane held her wrist over her candle so she could read the time on her own watch.

 

"Assuming that you haven't screwed with my watch too, I've got half past."

 

Half past twelve. Had the time really flown by so quickly? It seemed so fast. How long would the lesson last she wondered? And would they have time to figure out what everyone could do? Even Blake, if he decided to pull the stick out of his butt and join in?

 

Resting her arm back on the desk she looked over at Claire, trying to see exactly what was going on with his watch. Control over metal huh? Maybe not as awesome as fire, but she figured it was still pretty cool.

[Kestra15]

'Professor?' What was this, the X-men? Kit leaned back in his chair and sighed softly; magicians needed to create the atmosphere, an aura of uncertainty and suspension of belief, and he decided to leave the man to it. After all, Dynamo wasn't even his real name and was clearly all part of the act so why not this guy? Either way at least the evening was living up to his admittedly-low expectation of providing a break from the norm; some bloke practicing his stage act on a group of sixth-formers was certainly an unusual occurrence. Maybe the guy was due to perform at the Christmas panto later in the year and was doing some warm-up work? Regardless Kit was quite happy to let the guy carry on and work his routine. No need to heckle or ruin the guy's flow. Besides Kit was clearly still a little tired; the room seemed to be fading a little around the edges, seeming just that bit darker. Rubbing his eyes Kit blinked furiously to get the colour to seep back in.

 

"As this is your first step in the arts, I will aid each of you in your first attempt. Put your hands out in front of you and focus your minds. You do not need to think of anything in particular. Simply will for the magic to present itself. It may not manifest itself right away, so do not be disappointed."

 

Kit smiled and leaned forward in the chair. This was where the fun began - audience participation. He shook off the mental cobwebs and put his hands out half-heartedly in front of him, his attention not on 'willing the magic' but instead trying to use all his senses to feel a change in the room. There was going to be smoke and mirrors, or zipwires, or pyrotechnics...something was about to happen, the first of the Professor's tricks, and Kit wanted to see it and study it. Not to call the man out on it - that would ruin the act - but overwhelming curiosity to see just how it was being done. Whatever 'it' was.

 

Nothing happened.

 

Kit frowned, let the time tick over for a few seconds, then shot a glance at the darkness up front. Perhaps the Professor could see that he was the odd one out? Looking suitable contrite Kit looked at his cupped hands for a few moments, deciding to let everything but his eyes do the work. He let his senses spread, accepting the dark-lit room and the near-silence, the flames dancing at the edge of his vision while his own candle was obscured by his outstretched hands. The warmth of the small candle on his skin, the gentle rhythmic sound of his breathe and blood in his ears, letting his mind accept all those sensations and allow them to fade into the background. Almost like he was melting away into the room and becoming an extension of the world, a spectator to the goings-on around him.

 

"Holy shi-"

 

Damn!

 

With a jolt Kit looked up at the source of the voice, mentally cursing himself. It was like he had almost drifted off to sleep, and thanks to that he had missed the cue. Looking over at Diane he saw the flame sitting just above her cupped hands and frowned. Was she the plant? After all a floating ball of flame would be a difficult smoke-and-mirrors effect, but what if she was wearing something to cause it? There had been work in creating physical special effects using fire including a contraption that could actually create fireballs; it wouldn't be difficult to create such a small-scale device that had an ignition source and a small amount of aerosoled fuel. Impressed, Kit watched as she then managed to split the flame into two while Claire made a comment about his watch and Blake voiced some of his own opinions. Content to let Diane berate the other boy, Kit watched in fascination for the first sign of how the illusion was maintained.

[ValidEmotions]

Blake's frown only deepened at the man's response and then Diane's remark. "Fine. But the moment he tries to pull anything, I'm calling the cops," he warned. Sitting back, he watched the other students and their fascination with the stranger's parlor tricks. While he didn't have a keen eye for catching every slight of hand, he wasn't fool enough to believe in real magic.

 

As if to prove that mental statement, he held out an open hand with his palm down and focused. He urged for the ground beneath the class to tremble and quake but, after nothing happened for some time, he tsked. Just as he thought. Parlor tricks and hoaxes. Unfortunately, it seemed the other students didn't see it that way.

 

Well, that was their mistake. However, someone had to look out for them, make sure this "teacher" wasn't going to play dirty. So he remained in his seat, looking - for all intents and purposes - as if he were disappointed that nothing happened when he gave it a shot.

 

"Fire, metal... What else is there? Water? Air? Maybe Spirit?" he inquired lazily.

[Fortune86]

While trying to watch Claire Diane noticed Blake put his hand out in front of him. It seemed he was finally starting to get with the programme. However after a few moments it didn't seem like anything was going to happen. Blake looked a little disappointed, as far as Diane could tell in the candle light, and asked what kind of powers they could expect.

 

"As I said before" said the Professor. "Your magic will manifest in many different ways. For some of you it is a case of simple conjuration, while others will enjoy the blessing of manipulating an already existing source."

 

Diane thought about Claire's metal watch and realised how lucky he was to discover his magic so quickly. If he had had a digital one he might not have found out for a while.

 

"So...if you don't know what your magic is yet you just got to keep trying with different stuff, in case it's a manipulation thing?" she asked.

 

"Yes" agreed the Professor. "I can only guarantee that each of you will have unlocked a basic form of magic, but what it is I cannot say."

 

[Marcus Pheonix]

Claire looked over at Diane and smiled at her.

"Thank you," He responded sincerely. Rotating his hand further he stopped when it had reached the 12:30 mark. Then lessening the tension in his hand he lowered it, satisfied he noticed that the hands had stopped following him.

He looked around the room and noticed two of the seniors trying but it appeared they had no results.

The one with the eyepatch seemed quite pessemistic.

"You know you should try be a little kinder. I don't think this is some sort of trick... I mean... so far it seems pretty sincere of what he said... and you could've left. Besides even if it were just things like card tricks and misdirection learning magic would be pretty fun! I could put on some shows outside the restaurant to draw in customers! Maybe unveil the rabbit roast from a hat!" Claire said excitedly.

His curiosity once again aroused he looked back towards the voice.

"You say those are all simple tricks but will we be learning that form of magic as well? I mean, wouldn't it work as a good cover if we were to be discovered... I mean my parents are fine with me coming to a late night class cause they trust me but what if a police officer pulls me over? I don't like lying and if I show them a card trick or something they might believe me without showing them what I actually learn," Claire finished.

[DragonSpirit009]

Just as Wendy took in her seat she heard a not so familiar voice coming from the front of the class room. The tone of the voice did send shivers down her spine but she was also excited at the same time. She listened closely to what their teacher had to say and found certain requests a bit odd but Wendy didn’t move from her seat. She was too captivated by the man’s voice, Wendy didn’t even hear what the others were saying.

 

When the time came to “getting down with magic” part Wendy quickly extended her hands out before her. At first nothing was happening. She looked around at the others and saw in shock that Daine was holding small fire balls in her hands.

 

“No way.” Wendy whispered to herself as she slightly lifted herself out of her seat to have a better view. “So cool.”

Then she heard someone else had done something with his watch. A metal kind of magic. Wendy sat back in her seat and extended her hands out in front of her once again with her palms facing up wards. She stared at her hands for several minutes until a quick spark jumped from her one hand to the other.

 

“Oh! Oh! I think I did something.” Wendy spoke out loud looking at her hands again. Again another spark jumped from palm to palm this time making a small clicking sound. “I think I have electricity!” She exclaimed watching the small spark jumping between her hands.

 

~~

 

Diaval was still sliding into his seat when a mysterious voice spoke. He narrowed his eyes and tried to scan the room to see who was talking but he was unsuccessful. He wasn’t very keen on the idea not knowing who was really teaching them and it almost made him leave but for some reason he couldn’t. He listened carefully to their “Professor’s” requests and it still made him feel a bit uneasy.

 

Diaval wasn’t really sure what to make all of this but he felt stupid for being here. He could even tell that some of the others were a bit iffy about it as well, yet they all stayed. When the Professor said to extend out their hands to see what magic they have Diaval gave a “are you serious” look. He watched as the others did what they were told and to his surprise something did happen. He wasn’t sure how they were doing it but they were doing something. Even Wendy who sat next to him was playing “ping pong” with a small spark of electricity.

 

This can’t be true. Someone is messing big time with me. Diaval thought to himself. He sat there looking dumb struck at what the others were doing. He then wondered if he could do something. Reluctantly he held out his hands and watched but nothing was happening. He then looked at the others again thinking that he was a fool for trying something like this when a small breeze touched his cheek. Shivering from the sudden cold breeze Diaval turned around to see if he could close the window. To his surprise it was closed, even covered in paper as well.

 

“Odd.” He spoke softly to himself before turning back around in his seat looking in front of him. He knew no one passed him and the windows was shut tight; all he could think was that he had something to do with it. Without thinking he held his hands out once more, this time looking deeply into his palms. Once again a small breeze brushed his cheeks. Diaval just smiled.

[Fortune86]

Diane rolled her eyes at Claire. The Professor was trying to show them 'the key to the universe' and Claire wanted to learn card tricks. To her complete non-surprise though, the Professor merely chuckled again. She really disliked that sound.

 

"Your concerns are valid, but not something I can aid with at this time. When you are ready I will teach you ways of removing yourselves from suspicion, although success will depend on personal skill. However, I have no objection to you teaching yourselves such tricks in your own time. I believe you can enlist the help of the internet in that.

 

A cry of excitement from the other side of the room alerted Diane that something else was going on. In the near darkness she couldn't really tell from where she sat, so she stood up, resting her hands on the desk in front of her, in order to get a better view. She could just about make out one of the other girls, Wendy, sitting with her hands out in front of her, a look of amazement on her face. As Diane watched a thin bolt of light passed from one hand to another, crackling as it did so.

 

“I think I have electricity!”

 

As Diane watched she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Tearing her gaze away from Wendy's playing with the spark she focused on Diaval instead. At first she thought she had imagined it, but once again there was a strange movement of his hair, barely noticeable in the candlelight. Like Wendy he seemed pretty pleased.

 

"Diaval" Diane asked. "What are you doing? Is it working for you too?"

 

((I hope you don't mind Spirit, but given his hairstyle I though the wind would be blowing his hair around as well if he touched his cheek.))

[DragonSpirit009]

“Mmm…” Davail hummed as he heard someone spoke his name. “Yeah. Something is happening but I’m not sure if it is me or something else.” He spoke now crossing his arms over his chest. The windy effect suddenly stopped causing his hair to look natural again. “Something to do with wind or someone is messing with me.”

 

~~

 

Wendy was still happily playing with her small spark when she heard that Davail might have some unique magic as well. She closed both her hands, causing the small spark to disappear before looking at Davail. She wondered why he was so quite about is magic? Was he happy or sad about what he got? None the less Wendy’s thoughts turned to something else that might be a bit important to their situation.

 

“So… what are we going to tell the other students who know that we joined this class? I mean seeing that we can’t really talk about it. I just think we should have the same story so that no one will think twice about asking about it and stuff. You know... just in case!”

 

[Kestra15]

"Tell them that our Professor is a practicing stage magician and was trying out his new act on us," Kit replied, leaning back on his chair as he looked around the room at his colleagues. He wasn't entirely convinced by this point that there was anything more than a stage show occurring, with the convenient plans in the audience and some fancy light shows. Ruffled hair in the breeze could easily be a wind machine, and the convenient candles reflecting light or emitting something in the open hands of his colleagues would explain the both Wendy and Diane's little stunt. He, it seemed, was not getting any little stunt to play with. Which was fine; all the more time to try and figure out how the other two were achieving their little trick.

 

"Which is fine by me," Kit continued airily, letting his chair drop back onto four legs. "I mean, this has been good and all to watch, and I look forward to the full show at the Christmas show or whenever it will be Professor. If anything, thank you for the preview," he added sincerely. Whatever Kit thought, it was clear that he wasn't upset or offended.

[Fortune86]

Diane nodded in agreement with Kit's idea. It was a plausible excuse, everyone knew how secretive Magicians were supposed to be, and they wouldn't waste their actual lesson time learning stuff they could figure out on their own. It still seemed pretty silly to her anyway, wanting to learn card tricks when they had the real deal at their fingertips.

 

"Good plan Kit" she said aloud. "If anyone asks, we can just say it's for a show."

 

Looking down at her right hand Diana concentrated. To her glee a fireball appeared, just as it had before. It seemed so simple, but she doubted all magic would be this easy. Surely there would be stuff they'd actually have to work at. After holding the flame for a few moments, she closed her fingers to extinguish it.

 

"I am pleased that you have all become accustomed to magic so quickly" said the Professor. "But our time grows short. For those of you who have yet to discover your own magic, your homework will be to do so by our next lesson at midnight."

 

Diane quickly checked her watch by the light of the candle on her desk. It was just a couple of minutes from one AM. The time had passed so quickly. Reluctantly she groped around for her bag on the floor. She couldn't believe the first lesson was over already.

 

 

[Marcus Pheonix]

Claire nodded as the seniors talked and stood up and stretched when their professor announced that the class would be coming to a close for today.

He tilted his head and looked towards the voice. "I won't start randomly drawing metal things towards me will I? Maybe not now cause the powers really weak but when I focus it more? I work with a lot of knives...," Claire's voice trailed off as an image of him constantly dodging knives in the kitchen flashed before his eyes.

[Kestra15]

"We're doing this again tomorrow night?" Kit enquired, mildly surprised. A whole hour had passed - though he wasn't sure where at least forty-five minutes of it had disappeared to - but he wasn't quite sure what other parlour tricks he was going to practice on them. Perhaps tonight was a taster of what they could end up doing and tomorrow the actual work began? Well, it could be much worse, and he was sure he could slip out again tomorrow - well, that evening. "Same room?"

[Fortune86]

The Professor chuckled at Claire's question.

 

"Do not worry about losing control of your gifts. You need to focus to use and guide them. Without that input nothing will occur. You will only draw knives towards you if that is what you are aiming to do."

 

When Kit spoke up the Professor turned their attention to him.

 

"Classes will happen every night for the next month. Same time, same room. I advise you to spend this time wisely, as once the course is complete I may offer the best of you places on the advanced course."

 

This announcement caught Diane's attention. Advanced course? That must mean there was even better magic then he was prepared to show them right not. That made sense to her, as they were all newbies to this.

 

Standing up and slinging her bag over her shoulder, she made a silent promise to do what she could to get a placement.

[ValidEmotions]

[[Hope it's okay for me to have Blake make his exit. It seemed safe to move along.]]

 

Blake frowned but remained silent for the rest of the class, listening to the various voices and comments. There was one other boy who seemed of a similar mind as he. Good. At least he wasn't the only student there who wasn't fooled. At the end of the class, he rubbed at his visible eye and got up, making his way out of the classroom.

 

Every night? The only way Blake saw he'd be able to keep attending without losing so much sleep was if he caught a nap before arriving. Which wouldn't be so bad but he'd have to get his homework done sooner then.

 

Oh well. He wasn't going to let his classmates be tricked into something regrettable. Someone had to make sure the disembodied voice didn't pull anything.

 

Exiting the building, he felt the cool air of the night press around him as he stepped towards his bike, pulling his keys free from his pocket. With the hum of his engine starting, he slipped on his helmet and backed out of the parking spot, leaving the campus to head home.

[Kestra15]

Making polite words Kit stood up, collected his equipment, and exited the building not long behind the rather quiet Blake, who had said even less than he. Perhaps he too was dubious as to the nature of the lessons? Certainly Kit found it odd to think that this would be a regular occurence, but he supposed it may be some form of hazing or ritual into the 'magic circle' or whatever the Professor's union body was. He couldn't see the harm in attending a couple of more times before making a hopefully unnoticeable exit from the sessions if he felt they were not going anywhere. Besides, it wasn't as if he would be overtired from attending; Kit was fortunate enough to be able to get to sleep anytime, anywhere, and rely on power-naps to get through the day when necessary.

 

Reaching his bike he watched as a motorbike pealed away into the night - Blake, Kit surmised - and instead prepared to take the healthier, if slower and more tiring, alternative. Strapping his helmet into place and unlocking the bike, Kit slipped onto his saddle and started making his way home through the cool night air. There was something pleasant about cycling this time of night, he decided as he disappeared out into the night. His headlight was just strong enough to show any immediate hazards but otherwise he let the cool air envelope him and the dim night provide a cloak of solitude as he took to the route around the edge of town.

 

It didn't take long for Kit to fall into an easy, ground-eating rhythm on his way home, and he let his mind wander back to the session. It been almost surreal how quickly time had passed in that darkened room, and much more calming that he had first suspected. That he had nearly drifted off was a mild frustration, but it had given his mind a chance to simply relax and absorbed the world around him, much like while he was cycling. The constant, regular rise and fall of his legs, steady breathing, and minimal steering meant he could let his body do all the work and his mind simply drift away and enjoy the gentle night. It was blissfully quiet out here, and Kit could easily have just carried on doing a lap of the town in this state of mental peace.

 

At least, he would have if his bike bucked and nearly threw him clean off.

 

Curse cut short from leaving his lips Kit battled with the suddenly-wild bike beneath him, his front wheel letting out a horrendous groaning, crackling sound as it juddered and jerked beneath him. He knew what a sudden puncture felt like, but this was much more violent. Brakes bringing him to a sudden halt Kit quickly jumped off the bike and examined the front wheel in the gloom.

 

"The hell...?" he muttered softly, looking at the mangled remains of his front wheel. The tire had been split straight through, and the metal rim bent sharply outwards with several spokes having pinged free also. There, embedded into the metal of the wheel, was a jagged edge of hardened rock. How such a shard could have managed to do so much damage was beyond him - it looked absurdly like it had been shot out of a cannon, or otherwise forcefully propelled radially into the wheel, rather than simply been something he'd ran over. Either way it was clear he was going to be walking the rest of the way - and his poor bike was going to need a lot of attention in the morning.

 

It took a couple of attempts to yank the blade of rock out of the metal, giving him a few little scratches on his fingers and a ragged cut to the palm of his hand, and Kit swiftly bandaged it up from the small cycling first aid kit strapped to the crossbar of his bike. Sighing, he took his helmet off and strapped it to his bag, and with a rhythmic groan and crunch of metal he started the last mile home on foot.

[Fortune86]

Diane carefully made her way across the gloomy classroom towards the door, trying not to bump into anyone else. Kit and Blake had left pretty quickly. Out of all of them they had been the only two to not awaken to their magic, so they were probably disappointed or still sceptical. She wondered if either of them would try and figure out what their gifts were, or if they just dismiss the whole idea and drop the class. It didn't really matter to her she supposed, but Diane felt that the class ought to stick together. They were on the brink of something awesome, she could feel it.

 

Once back out in the hallway Diane blinked in the light. After spending an hour with only candle light to see by it took her eyes a few moments to adjust. Walking a little way down the corridor Diana held her palm out in front of her, wondering if the magic would still work. Thankfully it took just a little concentration to re-summon the small flame in her hand, causing Diane to smile with glee. She knew she probably shouldn't be messing around with her magic, fire was still fire after all, but it was very addictive. Every time she conjured or dismissed the flame was exhilarating. She hoped that feeling would never go away.

 

She extinguished the fire before she reached the main doors. If there was anyone passing the school Diane didn't want to draw any attention. The last thing she wanted was to wake up to find a picture of her with her hands on fire on Facebook. Returning to her SUV she dumped her bag on the passenger seat and buckled up. For the first time that night she was starting to feel pretty tired. It was probably time to get some sleep.

 

Starting up the engine Diane backed out of her parking spot and left the car park. Her house was only a few blocks away, so it wouldn't take too long to get home.

 

((I'm going to move onto the next day in my next post. If anyone wants to wrap up their night please do so.))

Edited June 16, 2015 by Fortune86

[ValidEmotions]

Finally home, Blake pulled into the driveway, parking his motorcycle to the right of his mom's car and turning off the engine. Kicking down the stand, he made sure the compartments were locked up and his bike protected by its cover before heading to the front door. His keys jingled faintly, one of them tapping against the door, as he unlocked the bolt and twisted the knob to allow himself entry.

 

As expected, the house was silent and dark, his mother and little brother still asleep. They'd gone to bed long before Blake needed to leave for the class. His mom had her reserves about him taking such a late class but, she was pacified when he promised to tell her every detail of the class without any lies.

 

Heading up the stairs quietly, he stepped into his room and set his helmet and keys down in the corner of his desk. With his bedroom door shut behind him, he slipped out of his street clothes and accessories before plopping himself into bed and promptly falling asleep.

 

[[Figured I'd just post my wrap up.]]

[Fortune86]

When Diane woke up the next morning it took her a few moments to collect her thoughts. Her parents had been in bed when she got home the night before, so she had simply gotten changed and went to sleep herself. Now as the memories of her mysterious night class started to seep back in she sat upright. Had it all really been real? Had they really done magic? Could she really conjure fire?

 

Glancing at her door to make sure it was closed Diane held out her right hand and focused. A small fire appeared in the palm of her hand. Whoa. It really had happened.

 

Hearing movement from the hallway Diane quickly closed her fingers to extinguish the flame and swung herself out of bed. She was just standing up when the door opened her mother popped her head into the room.

 

"Morning sweetie. You get home okay? We didn't hear you come in."

 

"Yeah it was fine" replied Diane. "Streets were empty."

 

Diane's mother nodded and opened her mouth to speak again, but the phone rang and cut her off.

 

"Oh that'll be Joe. He said he needed to talk about the last order. Don't forget to come to the shop after school okay? We have a big order to do."

 

Some big order. It was only a couple of bouquets and a display. Things had started to dry up for the boutique lately, but even though there was so little to do her parents insisted she came round the shop to help.

 

Sighing Diane got showered and dressed as quickly as she could. She didn't want to think flowers at the moment. There was something much more important now. No one had really much of a chance to talk last night, but Diane wanted to speak to someone about it. If she got to school early enough, maybe she'd see some of the others before classes started.

 

By the time she had had breakfast her mother and father had already left for the mall. Grabbing her bag Diane raced to her SUV and climbed inside. It wasn't long before she was on the road heading back towards school.

[Marcus Pheonix]

The day always starts early for the owners of a breakfast, lunch and dinner diner. Though his parents had allowed him to sleep in a little longer than usual due to his new late night class Claire was soon up, and showered working in the kitchen on preparing breakfasts for their early to work patrons.

The key to being a chef at a diner like this was time management.

You always had to be prepared.

Generally the lunch and dinner menus were set cooking well in advance, slowly cooking be it that morning or the night before.

Then when it came time for the orders to be made all they had to do was sample some of the meat that had been sizzling all through the night, add the spices and boom it was out.

Breakfast was a different matter however, they only had a limited number of overnight cookers, so they were all designated for the lunch and dinner menus, which pulled more people and thus had a higher necessity.

As such their breakfast menu was more ordinary, quickly cooked bacon, hash browns. Patrons could butter their own toast which was free so long as they spent a minimum amount on the actual food.

Claire stood in front of a pan frying some bacon. His cooking was fine tuned to near instinct so he could happily think about other topics while preparing food.

Of course his thoughts were focused solely on the night before and the wonderful event that had taken place.

Magic! Actual Magic! Claire thought anxiously. After a nights sleep he had been a little disappointed that all he had gotten was metal manipulation as opposed to something more extraordinary like fire or lightning. But it did have some merits, glancing over his shoulder to check that his parents were busy with their own duties Claire let go of the spatula and focused his thoughts. Satisfyingly the handle hovered in the middle of his hand, as if it were surrounded by magnets.

"Claire, go get changed it's time for school!" His mothers cheerful voice called out to him from amidst the tables. The voice snapping him out of his thoughts Claire scooped the bacon out onto a plate and slid it across the table to his father.

Removing his hair net and apron he hurried out of the kitchen and up the steps to his room.

A short change later Claire emerged from the back of their diner, his hair now in a small ponytail. Hopping into his mothers car again he set off towards school.

[DragonSpirit009]

Wendy was up a lot earlier than usual. The excitement of last night caused her to stay up most of the night and play with her little ball of electricity. She even now and then tried to see what would happen if she dropped it or when it touched certain electrical devices. To her conclusion dropping it didn’t cause much. In fact it only disappeared. The test with electrical devices didn’t go all too well. One thing for sure is trying to charge an old toy’s battery kinda caused it to break… a little bit.

 

“Wendy, are you up? You’re going to be late!” A woman’s voice called from down stairs.

 

Wendy’s heart nearly came to a stop when she heard her mother’s voice. She wondered if she heard anything from last night but that thought didn’t linger to long in her mind. If her parents heard any thing they would have already questioned her.

 

Quickly jumping out of bed they young girl got dressed and grabbed her school back as she headed down stairs. Her father was already off to work and her mother was busy doing the dishes.

“I made a toasted sandwich for you.” Her mother spoke still continuing with her chore.

 

“Thanks mum.” Wendy spoke as she took in her seat by the kitchen table.

“ So how was class? What was it about?”

 

“Oh um…” Wendy paused a bit trying to think what to say. She couldn’t tell her mother about the magic class even if was fake or real. “It’s a kind of a social science thing mum. You know how to work with people and communicating. Something like that.”

 

“Really?” Her mother turned around to look at Wendy. “It’s an odd time for them to hold the class then.”

 

“Uh yeah… the teacher said it’s so late that we don’t get distracted or something. We’ll learn more as the class goes one.” She spoke giving half a smile. She then gave a quick look at the clock and decided to leave before her mother asked more. “I gotta go mum. Thanks for breakfast. Early class and everything you know.”

With that said Wendy left with her toast in hand before her mother could ask anymore questions.

 

~~

Diaval’s mornings were the same as usual. Waking up just as his parents was about to leave only giving him at least a quick chance to greet them. When they were off he then went to the dining room to have his breakfast that the servants left out for his family.

 

As he sat and silently chew on his toast he thought about the night before. He still wasn’t sure if it was all a trick or if it was real. He wondered if he should try it again but decided against it, there were too many people in the house that could see him. Many he will give it a try later the afternoon when he is on his own somewhere.

 

Fed and bored Diaval decided to leave and head to school early. Maybe he could meet up with the other and see what they have to say about last night.

 

[Fortune86]

When Diane reached the school car park there were several other vehicles already there. As well as the teachers there were many other students who liked to arrive well before the first bell, usually to hit the library. Many times Diane would join them, but today she didn't feel like getting some extra studying down.

 

Parking her SUV Diane left the car park and walked towards the school entrance. There were a few benches along the walk way so she chose one and sat down. She didn't want to go inside yet, she might miss the others in the hallways. She'd have a better time spotting them out here if they hadn't arrived yet.

 

To keep herself occupied while she waited Diane inspected the flower bed by the bench. Many of the flower beds around the school contained small scraggy rose bushes. It was no secret that the gardener was having trouble getting them to do much and current opinion was that he should just rip them out and plant something else. Picking through the rough soil they grew in Diane picked up an old dry leaf. Glancing around to see if anyone was watching she huddled over a little and risked conjuring a small fireball just long enough to set fire to the leaf. The moment the leaf was burning Diane extinguished the flame. So she could set fire to stuff. Cool.

 

As the flame on the leaf neared her fingers Diane realised she could feel the heat of the flame. She dropped the leaf on the floor and quickly stamped it out. So she could conjure fire, but she wasn't immune to it. Interesting to know.

 

Turning her back on the sick rose bushes she looked down the path towards the road to see if anyone from the night class was coming.

[ValidEmotions]

His alarm started going off at 6:00, the grating noise stirring Blake from sleep as he groaned and rolled over to shut it off. Sitting up, he rubbed at his eyes before climbing out of bed and getting dressed. As usual, he slipped on his eyepatch. This time, it concealed his left eye. It always took him a moment to adjust to the position change but, after a few heartbeats and experimental grabs, his depth perception was corrected for.

 

Bandana, dress shirt, vest and coat, pants, and gloves.

 

Blake headed downstairs with his back over a shoulder and his fingers weaving his tie into a loose knot around his neck. His mom was up as well, working with his little brother to get him ready for daycare. "Morning sweetheart. How'd you sleep?" she asked him.

 

"Not bad," Blake responded, taking a seat at the table where his mother pointed. She was almost done with cooking breakfast so he started setting up three sets of ware for them to use.

 

"That's good. Now, tell me about this late-night class," his mother prompted, a curious smile on her face.

 

"Well, I don't like the teacher. The room was too dark for any of us to see him and he wouldn't provide us a name. When I asked, he said names and appearances don't matter. So, he rubs me the wrong way but, there are seven other students I fear don't feel the same," Blake started, grabbing a stack of napkins from the pantry to place them in the center of the table. "He swore us to "secrecy and self-responsibility"." A snort of derision emphasized his disregard for the man. "The responsibility I can understand but, secrecy? For a bunch of parlor tricks? He wants us to believe that we're learning real magic but I know stage acts when I see them. One girl thinks she can actually control fire while another believes she has electricity. And a boy got fooled into believing he can manipulate metal. It's all a hoax though."

 

His mother brought breakfast to the table, a mixture of eggs, diced potatoes, and sausage with bell peppers for added flavor. "It sounds like you won't be attending the next class then?"

 

Blake shook his head and frowned. "I have to. Next one is tonight. If I don't go and keep an eye on him, then who knows what will happen to the others? I don't trust him. The others don't seem to care enough to keep a watch out for anything funny so, I'll be the one to call the cops as soon as he gives me a reason to." Serving himself a bit of the food and rolling it up in a slice of buttered toast, he took time to chew and swallow his first bite. "But, the guy expects us to "experiment and discover what we control" before then." To make a point that he wasn't believing in any of this, he stuck a hand out, palm up. "Supposedly, something's going to happen when I do this."

 

Out of Blake and his mother's attention, a small potted plant by the kitchen sink quivered. Blake's little brother gasped inaudibly and quickly looked towards the other two. Beyond that, however, he didn't say or do anything.

 

"See? Nothing. Just parlor tricks that need prior set up. Anyways, I'm gonna brush my teeth and head out. I'll see you after school, mom," Blake stated, waving his hand dismissively as he got up, kissed both his mother and brother on the cheek, then briefly disappeared upstairs into the bathroom. Once his teeth were brushed, he went out the door with his mother's "have a good day!" trailing behind.

 

His motorcycle rumbled to life and he pulled out of the driveway, making his way towards the school. Once there, he took a moment to find a decent parking spot. As he set his helmet down, he noticed Diane off towards the side, bent over the flower bed. Curious, he walked towards her and noted the burning leaf as she stamped it out. "Didn't your parents teach you not to play with matches? Plus, that's awfully rude to the plant. What if it got up and set your hair on fire?" he asked her, smirking playfully.