(Day 7 Threzday)

  Another sunny afternoon sky shines through classroom windows, distracting students across campus with thoughts of freedom. After hours of studying, listening, writing, and flexing their brains, simply staying awake is an accomplishment. Professor Grunimull's lecture nears its end, giving the teens a fragile sense of hope.

  The tallest man on campus, he walks around, towering above the students as he articulates the proper names of ingredients, looking over his old, circular spectacles into the eyes of whichever student he quizzes. His once black hair has surrendered to waves of white, though the darker strands are still putting up a fight on the sides of his head and within his well-tapered beard.

  “Meeka,” he says in a voice that many seem to like. “My shining star. I know you won’t let me down.” He reveals his redwood wand.

  Meeka stands behind a wide table between LaTao and Deska. She watches her teacher walk to the front of the class, takes a deep breath… and smiles. With LaTao intentionally avoiding the spotlight, Meeka has shined the most in this class. It is, in fact, her favorite subject. When she sees his wand wave across the board, the words that suddenly appear cause her to sigh with relief. She knows that, once again, she’ll be shining brightly.

  Professor Grunimull whispers to his wand, causing the tip to briefly emit a concentrated red beam of light that quickly fades away. He lowers his hands. “You know how this dance goes.” When he raises his right hand and flicks the wand ever so slightly, the phrase ‘eye of newt’ grows, brightens, and lifts from the whiteboard.

  “Mustard seed.”

  “Correct. If one is in a primitive, superstitious, or overly religious land where magic is shunned and feared, that is the term one would use to keep secret the truth of one’s ingredients.” He flicks his wrist and says, “And what about… ‘dust of the dead?’”

  “Bonemeal.”

  “Kind of on the nose with that one… next.” The professor smirks, then magically reveals a series of terms.

  “Dragon’s tongue. Mannon blood. Grounded dragon Scales,” Meeka replies with no hesitation.

  “What kind of dragon?”

  “Gold.”

  “...and it is the main ingredient of…”

  “Yellow powder. Cure for the frog spell.”

  “I hope you all would have answered just as fast.” Professor Grunimull nods and smiles, motioning for her to take her seat. She obeys, but only after quickly flicking a large lock of her bouncy blonde curls.

  LaTao elbows her and whispers, “That’s my girl!” which further widens Meeka's grin. The rest of her coven joins in her smile, proud of their expectedly proficient premier… but their smiles are short-lived…

  “There will be a test on this tomorrow.”

  A wave of groans and moans washes over the class.

  LaTao fights the urge to roll her eyes. He’s been covering some important stuff! It’s SUPER interesting too! Why does anyone need to be FORCE them to learn this? They should wanna know!

  “The next time I see you all,” Professor Grunimull declares, “each of you should know the basics about Magic Circles.” He takes off his glasses and pulls out a soft cloth to clean them. “--how they work, why they work, and basic powder ingredients.” He points to a large, old bucket filled with a light gray powder. “You will form a working circle and defend against one of my attacks. The moment your shield appears, I will strike… and trust me, it will not be something you wish to block unaided.”

  This news is trivial to Meeka and Kiara. To most, this is a wake-up call, a challenge. They know the teacher isn’t bluffing, and nobody wants to be seen getting blasted in public. It’s a challenge to LaTao as well… but for other reasons. Did this old man just say he thinks I need to boost my shield with a magic circle to block his attacks? HA! More like the other way around! When it’s my turn, he’s gonna be like, “Um… You'd better make a magic circle.” Then I’m just gonna stand there. LaTao grins, imagining herself standing with her arms crossed, reaching toward the teacher with one hand, then bending her fingers as if to say ‘Bring it.’

  A tap on her shoulder brings her back to reality. She quickly looks around and notices that everyone is leaving the classroom. She looks up to find Meeka, smiling and shaking her head. How long was I daydreaming?

  “Girl, Professor literally had the whole class stop and stare at you.”

  Blood rushes to LaTao’s cheeks. “Wait, what? For real?”

  “Yeah,” she giggles. “He said, ‘If she wasn’t so brilliant, I’d be worried about her.’”

  LaTao palms her face, “That was almost nice enough to call a compliment.”

  “Yeah! We all thought you were going to freak out when you noticed, but it was dead silent for a whole twenty seconds and you just sat there smirking and nodding your head.”

  LaTao shrinks down, covering her face with her arms. “Uuuuuuugh.”

  “I’m sorry, Bestie. I didn’t notice you were zoning out until it was too late.”

  “Meeekaaaaaaaa!” she whines. “I looked like a crazy person, didn’t I?”

  “I mean… it’s not like they thought you were normal before.” She rubs LaTao's back and says, “I hope you’re free this afternoon.”

  “I mean… I was planning on studying.”

  Meeka’s bright blue eyes shine with optimism. “Perfect!” She grabs LaTao’s hand. “I convinced everyone in the crew to do a study session together! Wanna join us?”

  LaTao lights up. “Heck yeah!”

  ***

  Kettle in hand, LaTao walks across the soft red carpet. On her way to her coven, she passes by two other tables filled with students in study. Every barefooted step on the soft, clean carpet reminds LaTao of just how opulently the ‘upper class’ live. She half expects a butler or maid to serve them. Instead, it’s she who says, “Who needs a refill?” Not that she minds. She’s happy to see all these girls doing their best.

  Ethur notices LaTao’s genuine smile and asks, “You are WAY too happy. Is it just me, or are you addicted to books?”

  “I mean, you’re not wrong.”

  “You’re not stopping till you’ve learned ALL THE THINGS!” she says, miming with her hands as if her head is getting bigger. “Are you trying to have the biggest brain in the world or something?”

  LaTao pours the hot tea into a few of their cups. The filter holds the tea leaves at bay, allowing the rose-tinted flow of sweet, caffeinated brew. “Actually, my goal is to be the youngest to become a Mage, then the youngest to become a Wizard.”

  Meeka nods. She’s known this for years. “If you were anyone else, I’d think you were joking.” She accepts her cup of tea, then adds, “Out of the millions of people alive, only nine of them are ever Wizards at a time… and you want to do it before you’re even thirty?”

  LaTao shrugs with a smirk. “A girl’s gotta dream.”

  As the girls sip and smile, LaTao holds back her smile of pride, having dried the herbs and leaves herself; she’s glad the combination surpasses expectation. Even April nods after her first sip.

  “Okay!” their leader says. She gives LaTao a ‘thumbs up.’ “I definitely need to know where I can find this!”

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  LaTao winks. “I’m the only supplier, so ya better stay on my good side.” Her smirk should be exaggerated enough to make it obvious to most people that she is being facetious. Even so, she briefly regrets responding in jest.

  “Oh! You made this?”

  LaTao nods. “I don’t have an expensive taste for most things… but I do love exotic teas.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah.” LaTao takes a seat. “I take advantage of my pop’s connections and often get spices and herbs from all around Galtimer.”

  April frowns with raised eyebrows and nods her head. “Impressive. I simply must make sure to update my teas at home. I’ve always been drinking black or jasmine tea sweetened with honey and imported palm sugar.”

  Deska stirs her tea and wagers a guess. “Vidosia?”

  “No,” April replies. “Imported from Baliraguay, actually.”

  “Ah… I remember my first time visiting there!” Deska says, beginning a long story. The moment her story ends, Kami’ka and Ninnifer join in. They speak of summer homes in one country, winter homes in another, fancy yachts and extravagant islands.

  I get it, you’re all rich. What do y'all want? Applause? Is this a competition?

  On the other side of their table. Meeka is leaning over Ether’s shoulder, pointing at an image in an herbology book. As she gently tutors, LaTao feels a tinge of comfort. That’s Meeka for ya. LaTao blows the steam from the surface of her pinkish tea. I know for a fact that Meeka is just as well off as the rest of these girls… or at least in the same neighborhood… figuratively and literally. Even so, she’s still so down to Galtimer.

  Meeka catches LaTao’s look of adoration and immediately blushes. Ethur doesn’t notice, too busy trying to re-re-re-read the sentence beside Meeka’s finger. Eventually, she assists the others as well.

  As hours pass, the sliding glass door opens. Each time it closes, the number of students is reduced. Deska leaves for a while, but returns with food for everyone.

  As Ninifer is is aided with notes by LaTao, she can’t help but see the sun setting through the large bay window. She nods along, clearly waiting for her nemesis to stop talking. After pretending to have paid attention, she packs her things and is the first of their coven to leave.

  Can’t say that I couldn’t guess who’d leave first… but I AM surprised that April is packing up to follow. “I’m about to brew up some more tea. Anyone else needing a dose of caffeine?”

  Meeka raises her hand. To LaTao’s surprise, so does Kiara. Her table is shrinking as well. “I gotcha.” She walks over to the white teapot, resting half within a metallic basket. She reaches toward a small red gem. It turns green at her touch, consuming a tiny amount of her ethis to resume a spell cast during its manufacture. The inside of the shining container heats up, warming the water within the pot. LaTao sprinkles a few spoons of her favorite mix. She rolls her eyes and tosses a few chunks of palm sugar. It’s not the fancy stuff, imported from wherever, but they been drinkin’ it up just fine.

  As her aromatic concoction seeps, she walks around and peeks at people’s progress. Tired eyes hover over images of twigs, beads, rocks, weird clumps, leaf comparisons, and venom charts. Some even used cards to quiz each other on them. Seeing so many girls working after sundown to better themselves fills this Red Apprentice’ heart with pride.

  Once the tea is ready, she grabs the pitcher and walks about the open bay, filling cups as she makes her way back to her table. As she fills Kiara’s, she notices that she’s the only one who isn’t staring at notes or ingredients. Kiara’s dark brown eyes are gleeful. Her smile is infectious. Her deep-dimpled cheeks force a smile out of LaTao. “You’re not studying for the test?”

  Kiara’s smile becomes crooked as she leans her head back. She leans closer to LaTao and whispers, “Gurrrrl, I’m here for the same reason as you. My friends needed help, and I’m too nice to say no.”

  LaTao snorts, then quickly covers her face.

  “Thought so.” Kiara pulls out a new, thick, and well-made book. The pages are bound in a black leather cover with ‘Kiara Grimoire’ written in hard to decipher patches of green, yellow, and red. She opens it and flips a quarter of the way through, at which point the writing abruptly stops.

  It looks like she’s about to make notes in her grimoire… and it’s a cool lookin’ one too!

  “My friends are gone, so now I can work on the fun stuff!” She places two sheets of parchment beside her grimoire.

  “Fun stuff, huh…,” LaTao says, looking over the collection of ancient writings. She looks at the first sheet. This seems to be talking about converting air turn into a solid material. It seems like it would be soft and barely visible. No immediate use comes to mind… but I’m sure if I– The next sheet halts her thought. The concepts piece together in LaTao’s head in a flash, immediately telling her what Kiara is working on. “‘Fun stuff’ indeed!”

  Kiara nods her head, then thanks LaTao for the refill. She blows the surface with her plump lips and takes a quick sip. “Mmmmm… appreciate it!” She then adds a few cubes of sugar then gestures toward the papers in front of her. “I don’t know how I would use this in combat, though.”

  LaTao walks to her table, pours the remainder of the tea in her and Meeka’s cups. After putting the empty pitcher back in its place, she darts toward Kiara with wide eyes. “I got it!”

  “That fast?” Kiara replies. Once again skepticism pulls down one of her eyebrows.

  LaTao sits down and points to two lines with her pointer and the middle of one hand, the other hand points to just one line on another sheet. “If you change the order of this and then add…” She grabs Kiara’s quill and writes on her own palm. “Add this term, putting it–”

  “Right after that one,” Kiara says, finishing LaTao’s thought. She then points to the first scroll. “And if we add this phrasing!”

  “Exactly! Then you’ll be able to make the middle phrase go into effect right after you release it!”

  “Exactly!”

  “Gimme dat tiny hand!” she says, grabbing LaTao’s wrist. She turns one of her pages and scribbles the phrase from LaTao’s palm in the corner. She then pretends to kiss the back of LaTao’s hand. “Mmmwaah! Thanks a lot, Queen!”

  LaTao gives a curtsy.

  “And let me say, you are as down to Galtimer as I’ve been told. You’re as sharp as most people make you out to be.”

  “Awe! Thanks! I aim to please!” She turns to walk away, then spins right back around, “And… AND!”

  Kiara awaits in anticipation. “And?”

  “I got the perfect name for it!”

  “Come here and write that shit right down,” she loudly orders, pointing at the top of the open page in her Grimoire.

  LaTao smiles. This time, she’s the one with only one raised eyebrow. “Are you sure you don’t want to hear it fir–”

  “Grrrl if you don’t get your butt back here and start writing!”

  LaTao laughs and says, “You are WAY too confident in me right now.” She jogs around to her side of the table and grabs the quill. She carefully and artistically writes the spell’s name on the top of the page. The letters glisten as if the ink were filled with flecks of glass. They briefly glow, then dry, leaving her words to be read centuries later on this thick, enchanted paper.

  “Oooo! ‘Gravity Blanket!?’ I like that!” When LaTao goes to hand her the quill, Kiara instead grabs her hand, pulls in close to her lips, then kisses the back of it for real this time. “You’re a genius!”

  “You’re not wrong.” LaTao gives her a wink and heads back to her table. Now, only Meeka and Ether remain. Both are too preoccupied to notice anything. She chuckles, glad Meeka isn’t asking if she’s cheating on her with a new bestie.

  The moment LaTao’s butt touches the chair, both of the others point to the same image and say, “What is that?”

  LaTao immediately replies, “That’s a Soul Lilly. It looks dumb because that one is dried. If it was alive, you’d’ve known what it was immediately,” she says, giving them the benefit of the doubt.

  Meeka throws both of her arms up and glares at Ethur. “I TOLD you so!”

  ***

  In her peripheral vision, LaTao notices Kiara stepping out of the bay, leaving LaTao and Meeka as the last ladies standing. “You ready to go?”

  Meeka takes a deep breath and stretches. “Depends… are you going to bed… or are you going to your room to study some more like a maniac?”

  LaTao chuckles awkwardly, looking side to side. “Well…”

  Meeka giggles. “I knew it!” She stands up and gathers the reading materials while LaTao cleans up behind the others. “I’ll study with you.”

  On their way to LaTao’s room, LaTao can’t help but think about how she and Meeka are taking things more seriously than the others in the coven. Everything is going smoothly so far, but I still really wish it was just us two like it used to be.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Meeka says as LaTao clears a spot on the side of her desk. “And no, I’m not going to kiss your hand like Kiara did.”

  “Hey! She only pretended to kiss my hand…,” LaTao says. She then whispers, “...the first time.” LaTao sits down on the foot of her bed and lays her notes on the desk. She pulls out a drawer and grabs a bright red nighty, then hands Meeka a white one that she knows will fit.

  “Thanks!” Meeka says. As they two get comfortable, Meeka says “I’m surprised, though. I didn’t know you two were so close.”

  “Me either!” LaTao says as she organizes her notes. “I didn’t expect her to be so open. She treated me like she already knew me. It was strange… but it was cool. I mean… if you weren’t in my classes, I probably would’ve hung with her all the time.”

  “Yeah. Makes sense. She is brilliant.”

  LaTao bends over toward Meeka, leans her head forward, smiles through barely open eyes, and bites her whole bottom lip. When Meeka sees LaTao’s silly face, she tries not to react, but LaTao can tell Meeka’s fighting a smile. “Aaaawe,” she says, obnoxiously rubbing Meeka’s back. “You’re jealous.”

  “Oh, hush!”

  After a few laughs, the duo study on into the night. Eventually, Meeka doesn’t even notice her slowly drooping head. Resting on her forearm, her long blonde hair falls over her face, shielding her eyes from the candle lights. Before long, she fades into oblivion.

  Should I change the title? If so, which should I use?