Flint woke up the next morning well after the sun had risen, no matter how hard Kiara tried to wake him up. His reply to Kiara’s incessant knocking was “My class ain’t until noon!” to which Kiara continued her attempt to break down his door. Flint even took the effort to slide his timetable under the door just so Kiara would believe him.
When he finally came out of his room, fully dressed, but looking more miserable than when he got home yesterday, Kiara couldn’t help but to inquire. “What’s wrong with you, Flint? You haven’t even started your first day of classes, and you already look like you’re being forced to go. What happened to your energetic enthusiasm from yesterday?”
Flint grunted, and said nothing else.
After poking his late breakfast for some time, he finally got up and started walking to school, in an effort to prevent creating a scene like he did the day before.
He walked all the way to his class in a zombie-like trance, completely oblivious to his surroundings as well as the students who were yelling things at him such as “Oh look! He finally took a glance at a watch!” and “Hey your class isn’t for another week!”
He was early, alright. The class was still empty when he got there. The tables all had lit candles on them. He walked straight to the back corner of the class. He wanted as little human interaction as possible.
His wish went ungranted, of course. As the class started filling up with other students, there were a few snickers as they looked at him and whispered at each other. There were also the unavoidable taunts that he received from some of them, which he turned a deaf ear to.
“Ignore them,” said a voice to his right. Flint looked up. The voice belonged to a brunette girl who Flint would’ve thought absolutely gorgeous if he wasn’t in his miserable state. When Flint didn’t say anything, the girl raised an eyebrow. “I’m Gracey. Mind if I sit here?”
Flint managed a small nod. There was no squirming out of this one without offending her.
“Great! It’s a bit far from the front for my liking though, but I guess it’ll do,” said Gracey, to which Flint resisted to pointing out the other empty seats around the class.
“Are you really not going to say anything, Mister Moody?” she asked after sitting down.
“The name is Flint,” he forced himself to say.
“Oh, he talks!” said Gracey sarcastically.
Flint grunted again.
“Cheer up, why don’t you! It’s the first day of school! Don’t listen to the others. It’ll all blow over in no time,” she said, to which Flint managed another grunt.
Gracey sighed. “Gosh, do you really need a lesson on how to smile? Here, look at me!” she said as she pulled Flint’s shoulder. He wasn’t even in the mood to resist.
“Smile! Like this! See?”
Gracey showed him a huge smile, exposing her gleaming teeth. Flint couldn’t help himself. A small smile crept upon his face.
It was only then he realised how beautiful she was. Her wavy brunette hair falling over her shoulders, her light green eyes, her high cheekbones. She was breathtaking, which made Flint wonder why she even chose to sit with him. Someone like her must have friends flocking all around her. But he pushed it to the back of his mind.
“There, that’s better,” Gracey said while smiling, pleased with herself.
“Okay, settle down everyone!” Professor Kalyani said as she entered the class wearing another set of blouse and skirt, of which the blouse was white this time. The class was already full with students, though there was only a fraction of the amount of students that were in the hall. Flint realised that they must have been split up into groups. “Shall we begin then?” continued Professor Kalyani.
Both Flint and Gracey straightened themselves in their seats and faced the front, ready for the class. Flint was feeling much better now.
Silence fell across the classroom while Professor Kalyani swept her gaze across everyone.
“Today you will be learning how to use your timetables,” said Professor Kalyani, followed by humoured chatter across the classroom.
“Oh? You think that's funny? Well, we will see in a couple of minutes how funny it really is,” she said, which silenced the class immediately.
“Magic. What is magic, really?” she asked the class rhetorically. No one answered. “Magic is when we use our bodies to channel energy from one source and turn it to another type of energy. Our bodies become a conversion unit for energy, and with the proper mastery, we can convert that energy into whatever we desire.”
Silence. Professor Kalyani had an air of command that no one dared challenge.
“Everyone has the ability to do this, of course,” she continued, “but whether you can actually succeed in doing so depends on you. Today, you will attempt to unlock your magical potential. Your ability to channel energy is blocked by a sort of barrier in your mind. By breaking through this barrier, only then will you be able to call yourself a magician.”
Everyone seemed to be holding their breaths.
“To make your timetable show you your classes for other weeks besides the one already on your parchment, you will have to feed it energy. This is, of course, achieved by magic. Unless you manage to do this by the end of the week, you will have to start asking your friends around you what classes you are to have.”
A few students found that rather amusing, and some giggles were heard.
“Right, to provide the energy for your timetable to change, we have provided each of you with a lit candle. Fire is one of the most basic and easiest sources of energy, as the heat and light are right there before you and easily accessible. To start, concentrate fully on the candle in front of you. Feel the energy exuding from the flame. When you can feel it, attempt to soak up that energy. You will be faced with a block within your mind. When you can pinpoint this block, forget about the flame and concentrate then on breaking this barrier. It may be as easy as ripping through a piece of paper for some, and it may be as tough as a brick wall for others. Either way, the hardest part is to identify the block. Once you have found the block, raise your hand and I will aid you in breaking through it as it is impossible to do so yourself without direct, refined magical energy to the barrier. You may begin.”
The class remained deathly silent.
Flint had no idea where to begin. All he could do was stare at his candle, which was dripping wax. He tried to concentrate.
Ten minutes passed. Not a single word had been murmured since they started.
Feel its energy. How do I feel its energy?
Flint reached out for the flame with his hand.
“What are you doing?” Gracey asked him, obviously frustrated with her candle.
Flint ignored her question. He touched the flame with the tip of his finger and immediately jerked his hand back from the pain.
“Congratulations, genius, you have just figured out that fire is hot.” Gracey said with a hint of amusement.
Flint shushed her. He figured that the easiest way to feel the energy was to touch it. Even if it meant getting burnt.
He concentrated on absorbing the energy, and he touched the flame again, but this time it didn’t hurt. He felt the heat and light energy flow through his body. He was actually doing it! Flint concentrated on moving the energy to his piece of parchment when suddenly the energy hit a wall. It stopped flowing. Flint felt his fingers being burnt again and he pulled his hand back and snapped out of his trance.
Gracey watched in amazement. “You touched that flame for a full minute without getting burnt! You’ve found the block, haven’t you?”
Flint nodded. He knew exactly where it was now.
He looked around the classroom for Professor Kalyani’s aid. He noticed some other candles begin to flicker. Professor Kalyani was holding the hand of another student who was drenched in sweat, obviously exhausted. “I can only provide you with magical energy, Rachel,” said Professor Kalyani to the girl, “you have to use that energy yourself and direct it to the barrier. No magician has the power to manipulate what is in another’s mind. I can’t break that barrier for you, you’ll have to do that yourself.” Everyone else was fully concentrated on their flames, unfazed by what was happening with Professor Kalyani and the girl, Rachel.
Gracey was back to concentrating on her flame, seemingly as determined as ever.
No way to break through the barrier without additional magical energy, hmm? No harm in poking at it then, while Professor Kalyani is helping Rachel, thought Flint.
Flint closed his eyes and focused on the barrier in his mind.
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