We were in the courtyard, Awrin and I. He was sitting on a large rock, drinking from a water flask, while I used my divine broom to clean the courtyard from top to bottom. It was filled with foliage of all colors, with a strong, nauseating smell that stung my nose. Hence the handkerchief over my face.
"Whatever did they do here?" I wondered aloud.
"Probably a practical class on the art of climate manipulation," Awrin replied, in a scholarly tone, before pouring the rest of his flask over his head, slicking his hair back.
A haircut that only reinforced my idea that he wasn't just a simple target for bullying, because there was something… mature and reassuring about him.
"Practical classes?" I said, surprised.
"Yes! There are other classes besides ours, you know? Some are even about to finish their course, not to mention a few special students as well…"
"No, I meant, when will we do practicals?" I asked, stopping for a moment to look at him.
"Well, the curriculum is theory first, then practice, and finally specialization. So normally, not before at least three months," he replied thoughtfully, looking to the side, his right arm resting on his knee bent toward his chin.
A pose far too composed for a mere target of bullying. Even his way of speaking, his unyielding gaze, suggested he wasn't one. This guy wasn't a victim, and I wanted to be sure of it.
"That's annoying. But magic is so cool. I can't wait to get back to the classroom," I said, returning to my cleaning with a delighted expression. "So… why don't you complain to the teachers?"
"About what?" he replied, as if he didn't see where I was going.
I glanced over my shoulder before answering. And seeing his incredulous look, I thought maybe he really didn't know what I meant.
"School bullying is forbidden. You shouldn't let them get away with it," I told him.
"Ah," he said, finally understanding. "That? No, it's nothing serious. It's normal to let off steam sometimes. Sometimes stress builds up so strongly that, even with all our willpower, we can't fight the deep nature of our soul. I understand that. And it's nothing serious, so no need to make a big deal out of it."
As he spoke, I stopped my activity, staring into his eyes for almost a minute, waiting for the words to come back to my mouth. But the more I looked at his expression — no hatred, no anger, just a guy who, without pretension, stood above all these academic foolishness — the more I swallowed my words and decided to stay silent.
"May God grant your mindset to all students in the world, not just those being bullied," I murmured, as the boy's impassive face turned red, and he almost jumped as he straightened on the rock.
Surprised, I turned to him, then followed his gaze, filled with love and passion: Shahid, our teacher in person, radiant in beauty. She was walking just on the other side, holding her books against her chest with a slightly shy — but not too shy — air. Her eyes met ours, and she blushed lightly before speeding up to disappear into a tower on the far side of the courtyard.
"Hmm… you're in love with her, aren't you?" I said.
"I know, you're going to start with your whole teacher-student relationship story again…"
"I don't see anything wrong with it."
"Huh?"
"If you love her enough to lose your exceptional self-control because of her, then you should go."
"Go where?"
"To her room, of course! Go declare your feelings, and marry her if possible."
I didn't see what was so shocking about my words, yet the look in my companion's eyes made me believe they had never been so impactful. He stared at me, shocked and astonished, before adjusting his glasses and regaining his usual calm and composure.
"It's not that simple… Anyway, can I ask why you're sweeping the courtyard with a broom?" he asked, looking confused.
"You want me to sweep with what else?" I replied.
"Well… a spell would have done it long ago, right?"
"Huh?" I said, surprised.
It was so obvious that I hadn't even thought about it. Magic… they can use magic, right? So why did they need me to do cleaning tasks when a simple spell would have been enough? I wondered, almost in disbelief.
Then the answer hit me. My face contorted into an ugly, twisted expression of anger as I finally understood the reason.
"That bastard Shahid Zaviel… he's been mocking me from the start."
I smashed the broom on the ground and stomped on it to break it into a thousand pieces before screaming at the sky at the top of my lungs:
"MY REVENGE WILL BE TERRIBLE!!!!!!"
"Anyway, why don't you use magic?" he repeated, extinguishing the flame of anger in my stomach.
"Well… I… I don't know how to use a spell," I replied, expecting him to mock me like everyone else and look down on me.
Except…
"I see. Here, look, it's actually simple," he said, catching my attention.
Standing on the rock, he held out his hand and used magic to lift all the leaves into the sky, gathering them into a large sphere. It looked like a huge yellow ball of foliage—but that was exactly what it was.
"Wow… that was… amazing," I said.
"Calm down. It's just a basic gravitational magic spell: levitation!"
"Yes, but that doesn't tell me how to use it."
"Oh, right." He jumped next to me and began explaining. "So, to use this spell, you first need to understand what it is, and also…"
Blah blah blah… and it went on for over ten minutes before I finally understood the concept. I never liked theories anyway, so I quickly moved to action.
"First, recite the formula in your mind. Then visualize the leaves rising and lifting off the ground."
I did exactly as he said, and the result was spectacular. I did it. The leaves floated into the sky as if carried by an invisible force, spinning in a beautiful dance. All around me, thousands of leaves and stones hovered in the air.
"Hahaha!" I exclaimed, stunned by such an unreal yet sublime scene. "Hahahahaha! I did it! I used magic!"
Even if my memory were erased one day, I don't think I'd ever forget that day. The sight of countless leaves flying around me, in their beautiful shades of yellow, in the courtyard, under the majestic sunlight that seemed to bless us, would make me dream for the rest of my life.
"Hahahahaha! I did it! I'm using magic!!!!" I shouted with all my strength.
Awrin, standing behind me, was so surprised by my reaction that he stood there, speechless.
"Hey, Awrin, would you teach me more things like this? Please?" I asked, turning to him.
Awrin was first surprised, almost reluctant. But after glancing at the magnificent art I had created with the foliage around me, and then at my face filled with joy, he gave a small smile, adjusted his glasses, and returned to his impassive expression.
"Alright, if you want," he said.
"Great. In the end, you're my first friend here," I said to him, without thinking, not noticing the troubled look on the young boy's face.
After that exchange, Awrin and I spent the rest of the day training me in basic magic. He taught me a spell for chores, from cleaning the courtyard and toilets to moving objects without touching them to feed Hell Dog.
"It's a movement spell, not gravity. You use levitation to lift the object, then a movement spell to manipulate it however you want," he explained in the courtyard before I went to feed the overly aroused dog.
"Eh… I can't just move things with levitation?"
"No! That spell only lets you levitate. If you apply it too strongly, you could end up in space."
"This thing with two spells at once… it's complicated," I admitted. Can you even think about two things at the same time?
"There's nothing complicated. Just follow my instructions carefully and it'll work."
It was about four o'clock when we started, and by the time we finished, it was past eight. Still, the dog had been fed without me having to enter its enclosure. Perverted beast.
That's when Awrin and I said goodnight. He wanted a bite to eat, and I wasn't very hungry. Magic was exciting, but also exhausting. I was out of breath and overwhelmed with sensations. My heart was beating so hard I could barely breathe. Awrin explained that it's a side effect for beginners, but still—it burns.
I hurried back to my dormitory, and when I opened the door, a shocking scene left me speechless.
The red-haired twin was lying naked on Seraphina's bed while she… attended to him, and the other twin was behind her with Khael.
I was speechless, but at the same time, I thought it was predictable given their mentalities, and the red-haired twin clearly drooled over Khael. Birds of a feather… I quickly closed the door and slipped away unnoticed; they were too busy.
But it didn't improve my condition. I still felt awful and exhausted. I walked without knowing where I was going, almost fainting. My only thought was to find fresh, pleasant air to catch my breath. I didn't even notice where I was going until I reached it: a magnificent terrace overlooking a starry sky, enough to captivate the most poetic soul.
It was sublime.
We were so close to the sky that one could almost pluck a star from it. As if by magic, my pain disappeared before I even realized it. I was so dazzled by the beauty of the sky that I didn't even notice I wasn't alone that night.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" came a soft, pleasant voice.
I turned to her and was dazzled for the second time that night, and the third time that day.
"Paradoxe."
"Hi, boy."
She had never looked so beautiful, even though her wide smile and bright eyes now held more darkness than light. She stood there, back against the wall, in a mini-skirt, wearing a sweater, with an Italian cigarette in her mouth. She exhaled a long puff of smoke before turning back to me.
"It's… been two days, hasn't it?"