Thursday morning started out rough. Firstly, I missed my alarm to get up, and because I was running late for my first day of classes, I skipped breakfast. I hope this doesn't become a regular thing.
Lucky I got a tour from Cyrene last night or I'd be a goner. I ran into the academic building with seconds to spare. Today I wore pants and a purple sweater vest. Only because I haven't gotten around to washing my uniforms and I'm already running low on choices. I swear I look like a dude from behind.
My eyes scan the room and I notice every single last seat is filled. Not only that but like Cyrene warned these kids are no older than 13 tops. The youngest I swear looks like a ten-year-old. They all stare and blink at me in curiosity.
I walk in and glance to the front of the classroom. There isn't anyone there. I look around in confusion again before leaning against the wall. I pull out my schedule to make sure I am in the right place.
And it confirms I am.
Professor Puck Stibbons. Gen. course 1.
"Boo!" someone says behind me causing me to scream and drop my paper.
The class laughs at me.
I whirl around and face a rather plump and rounded man. He looks to be in his late 40's, maybe a tab bit younger. He has small glasses that hang on the edge of his nose. He's already balding and wears a fancy cap to hide that fact. Wispy brown hair pokes out the side.
"Told you she scares easily," Vega walks in behind him.
He lets out a nice hardy chuckle and waddles into the room.
"What are you doing here?" I hiss at her before bending down and picking up my paper schedule.
"You'll find out soon enough," she flicks me in the nose.
"Hello class," he says.
"Hello Professor Puck," The class says in unison.
"Finally, the time has come where the wonderful and lovely Miss Ellison joins our class. Remember what we discussed, I want everyone to show her what a wonderful class and experience this will be."
I smile nervously at everyone.
Someone comes in behind me, scraping a new desk across the floor.
They set it right at the front by the door before walking out without a word.
Professor Puck motions for me to sit down so I do.
"Now, Miss Ellison—"
"Emery, just call me Emery," I interrupt.
"Emery," he corrects himself. "You are just a tab bit behind." He pinches the air with his fingers.
The class giggles.
"But no worries, Vega here has volunteered to help get you caught up."
"Oh joy," I grumble.
She smirks at me.
"But! She is also here today for a different reason. Okay, class today we continue our journey into the many types of Casters. We've gone over almost all types, only a few to go. And one of those types just so happens to be what Miss Vega here is. Can anyone guess?"
A kid only a few seats next to me shoots his hand up in the air like answering the question is life or death.
"Yes?"
"Psy Caster." He says.
"Great job Zach, and how did you know that?"
"She has on a pink shirt. Psy Casters wear pink at Belmore."
"And why is that? Who can answer?"
More people raise their hands.
I sink lower in my chair.
"Because they are part of the four-pillar protection. They are held to different standards than regular casters who fall under Elder law." Some girl supplies.
"Who can tell me what else falls under that category?"
"Energy Casters, Reality Casters, and Time Casters."
I grab a pen and write that down in my notepad.
"Correct, but today we are focusing on Psy Casters. What do Psy Casters do? Does anyone know?"
Soon the whole class is trying to answer at once. I glance over to Vega who is looking at me like I'm a fish and she's a cat. I shudder and go back to taking notes.
"Alright settle down, seems like you all have a pretty good idea. As you all know, Psy Casters are Casters whose energies are connected deeply to their mind and consciousness. They can also tap into the mind and conscious of others. They are very powerful, and because of this fact, they must have extra rules and regulations when using their powers. There is a common misconception that Psy Casters are the most dangerous Casters but that's simply not true. While Psy Casters can affect your mind, they cannot do it at a whim. They have to cast spells much like many of us. The misconception stems from a primal fear every being on this earth has, and that's not being in control of your own mind." He explains.
I'm not sure what my face says but when I look at Vega she winks at me.
This girl is really out to get me.
"Any questions so far?" he asks.
"How do you know when they are using their powers or whatever?" I ask
The class giggles.
"Emery, I believe the question you are trying to ask is how can we tell when a Psy Caster is using their abilities. Perhaps a demonstration."
He turns to Vega who smiles sweetly at him before walking and standing front and center of the class.
"Psy Casters can do lots of things. Our abilities allow us to dive into the mind, our powers have even been used to help cure diseases such as Alzheimer's or Dementia. But, an easy thing many Psy Casters are good at, is tricking the brain into sensing something that's not there. I can make people taste, see, smell, hear, and even feel things that aren't there. Anything I want." she wiggles her eyebrows.
They giggle again.
I frown.
"I can do it to a crowd," she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.
When she opens her eyes again her eyes are glowing a bright pink color. She outstretches her hands and some type of circular symbol appears. There are many smaller circles with tiny symbols inside of them. It spins around a few times before she steps back and sets her hands on the ground.
The circle sticks to the ground and keeps spinning.
"Alright, what do you guys want to see?" she asks.
"A Dragon!" some kid shouts.
"Dragon it is."
I watch her focus on the circle.
"Great minds think alike, let them sync. Feel, hear, and see the dragon summoned by me," she says.
The circle expands and I watch as the head of a dragon comes through. Like every dragon ever seen in a movie. I flinched when It roared, so did half the class.
"Whoa!" the class said in awe.
The Dragon moved its head around before breathing fire.
I swear I felt the heat on my skin.
Then she snapped and it was gone.
"And, I can make it so only one person sees what I want."
She turns to me and in the palm of her hand a much smaller circle appears and she whispers into her hand before blowing the circle at me.
I cringe away from it but it still hits me.
It felt like nothing, but then I felt a small buzz in my head. Then I heard it around my ears and I felt them swarming around me.
I scream as I swat at bees that only I can see.
Everyone laughs.
I get up and run in circles but it's no use. They follow me.
She snaps and they are gone. I stumble backward and trip over the trash can before falling on my butt. The class laughs.
"Alright, settle down." Professor Puck says.
Vega walks over to me and offers a hand to help me up.
I glare at her and stand up on my own.
"My bad," she says sarcastically.
I huff and sit back in my seat.
"Of course, there are some abilities only Psy Caster's can do," Professor puck goes right along with the lesson.
"Like what?" someone asks.
"Well, I bet none of you can make someone remember something, or even better, forget something," Vega says.
Everyone whispers amongst themselves.
I write that down in my notes.
"What would you need to do that for?" someone asks.
"What if you forgot where you put your homework? Or, you saw your grandma in her underwear and you would really rather forget it." Vega makes a face.
Everyone laughs, even the professor.
"Psy Caster abilities come in handy a lot, much like any other Caster. What I would do to teleport. You know how much I could sleep in?"
Everyone laughs some more.
I feel my cheeks heat up, knowing she is taking a jab at me.
"What would you say is your equal match?" Zach asks.
"Great question Zach. We've been talking about how some Caster's have equal matches such as Star and Shadow Casters. Vega, would you say a Psy Caster has a match?" Professor puck asks.
"Well, kind of. Not exactly, but some might say Reality Casters are our weakness. Reality Casters can put blocks in our minds or alter our perception of reality. Can't really use mind powers when you can't trust your own mind. So yes, I guess you could say the match of a Psy Caster is a Reality Caster."
"Interesting take Vega."
I write that down.
"I would have thought an Energy Caster would have been a more obvious choice." Professor Puck says.
"It's hard to say, I guess that could be true too. I guess anyone in the four pillars could be my match. That's why we are the four pillars after all. Our magic is unlike any other."
"Point taken." Professor Puck says.
I write that down too.
I'm going to need to look into these four pillars.
"Any last questions?" Vega asks.
No one says anything.
"Thank you so much for coming in today Vega. I'll be sure to tell Asherah how helpful you were."
"Thanks, Professor Puck, you were always my favorite." She moves to leave.
"Emery, why don't you go with her. She'll help you get caught up in my class. She'll be tutoring you on the basics for the last half of class every day."
"Great," I sigh and get up to follow her.
We walk out of the class and she swings keys on her finger leading me away.
"Never pictured someone as awful as you as a teacher's pet," I comment.
"Being a teacher's pet has its perks," she unlocks a room and opens the door to an amazing teacher's lounge.
Vending machines, couches, tv's, even massage chairs.
"Whoa," I say.
"Close your mouth or you'll swallow a fly," she says.
I snap my jaw shut.
"So, ask what you want to ask." She says.
"That show you just did was bullcrap. How did you use your powers on me without so much as a word or a glowy whatever."
She laughs.
"Well?"
"I'm good at what I do. Technically what I did to you is very illegal. Psy Caster's aren't allowed to use our abilities like that. Most can't, it takes a strong and steady mind to do it. It's actually rare. But, like I said I'm good. I can use my abilities without uttering a word or lifting a finger."
"So why? Why are you picking on me?" I demand.
"Why not?" she leans against a table.
"I'm sorry okay! I'm sorry I picked on your murderous sister. Sorry I called you out at the movies and sorry for whatever else I did to you. Just leave me alone okay. I don't want anything to do with you." I say.
"Can't."
"What?"
"I have to tutor you, remember? Plus, with my abilities, I can help you. I bet I can just implant the knowledge in your head. Save everyone the trouble. Here's the thing though, I could get in trouble for that too. It really sucks being a Psy Caster. It's like being a Billionaire but only being able to spend 100 dollars a month freely."
"So what, you have to listen to all these rules and regulations? That didn't stop you at the movies." I point out.
"You don't know what you are talking about," she gets defensive. "I didn't use my abilities on anyone at the movies! You just assumed because we wore a uniform that we were up to no good. I'm glad Dariyah punched you in the face that day because if she hadn't, I would have done a lot worse." She narrows her eyes at me.
"Is that a threat?" I cross my arms.
"It's because of people like you that Psy Casters have to go through what we go through! I almost lost my scholarship because of you! I almost got charged with a crime I didn't even commit! You could have ruined my life!"
"So that's why you pick on me? I said I was sorry."
"Sorry doesn't fix what you did!"
"I didn't do anything! Look, you're still here right? Nothing happened."
"You don't get it," she shakes her head at me.
"Then explain it."
"Just because I'm still here doesn't mean I didn't get punished. I wasn't even supposed to leave school grounds in the first place. All I wanted to do was cheer up my sister and then you had to come along and ruin everything! Now..." she turns her head away and looks at nothing in particular.
"Now?" I say when she still hasn't finished.
"Forget it. You wouldn't understand it anyway. Might as well be talking to the wall. You don't know what it's like, not yet anyway. But you will. Once you learn how to use your abilities, you will."
"What do you mean?" I push.
"People fear what they can't control or understand. Gifts like mine, like yours. They are scary to people who don't have them. Casters and non-casters alike. Maybe I didn't use my abilities on that guy at the movies but just the thought alone that I am able to do something like that, it scares people. Because they fear me, they have to control me. I came here to get away from the four pillars, to try and be a normal caster. Now you... you screwed that all up. Now they have me right under their thumb. Watching my every move as if I am some specimen under a microscope. I can't even sneeze without someone knowing. If I screw up one more time that's it for me. Psy Casters get unfairly punished in the Caster world. Because people fear what they can't control." She finishes.
"So why pick on me then? Why risk it all for a dumb prank?"
She meets my eyes, I can see the frustration and anger written all over her face. I can tell she wants to say something to me, something she probably shouldn't. She's silent for a moment. A moment too long and I start to put the pieces together myself.
If she can't do anything without someone breathing down her neck that means they know she is picking on me. But if they know and they don't stop it, that means they want her to keep doing it. But why would the four pillars want to mess with me?
Unless...
They have something to do with why I am here, to begin with.
Lorelei said it herself, the four pillars are above the council. If they did this of course the council wouldn't know about it. But then, why would the four pillars want someone like me as a Caster?
It doesn't make sense.
She must see me come to my own conclusion before she looks away.
"Once you learn how to use your abilities, then you'll understand. They'll try to control you too. Just like they do to the other Star Caster."
"Cyrene?"
"Next time you see her, ask her, did she always want to be an elder?"
What is she saying?
Cyrene, is she the council's lapdog?
"There are a lot of things you still don't know about. So do me a favor," she turns to me.
I eye her.
"Keep your mouth shut and your head low. Don't go looking into things you don't understand. Don't ask hard questions. Just do what people tell you to do. If you can do that, no one will have issues anymore."
With that, the timer on her phone goes off and she pushes past me and walks out to go to her class.
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