Jordan followed the headmaster through—what he was told—the main hallway, which connected the cafeteria to the school. It was their first stop, as it was the closest. If he thought the main office was huge, the cafeteria blew it out of the water. Rows of tables lined the room, some having different shapes and sizes; he could only wonder what that meant. Similar flags to the office hung across the walls. James mentioned that those belonged to clubs, and to the sporting teams—who participated every year in some type of competition between other schools.

James reminded him of the cafeteria times on his schedule. At seven a.m. breakfast was served. Lunch was served at noon, and dinner was served at six. Snacks could be obtained later in the evening, though lights off were set at eleven p.m. During the tour, they reached the library, where there were books of every kind. Shelves full of books were scattered around, some on different floors which were connected to the staircase in the center of the room. It felt comforting, he would have to come on his own on time.

Fortunately his classes would start tomorrow, so he could avoid the awkward ‘new student’ introduction.

As they finished the tour he was led to the dorms, where he would—to his surprise—have his own room. As they walked in his room, Jordan held his breath. This wasn’t a room, this was an apartment. A compact kitchen sat in the left corner, while a decently sized living area equipped with a couch and small table were in the center. Opening his room door, a queen sized bed was seated in the right corner next to a wooden desktop. In the left corner, a door to the bathroom. Hours ago he was homeless now he had this. It was unbelievable.

“I hope this is to satisfaction, most share a room; due to your circumstance, I thought this would be fitting instead.”

“This… this is more than enough,” He turned towards the headmaster. “ Thank you.”

“Ah enough of that,” He patted Jordan on the back. “I would be good for nothing if I couldn’t at least do this. I’ll leave you to it,” He began to turn. “Remember, classes start tomorrow, please do set an alarm on your clock. You do not want to be late for your first day.” He raised an eyebrow, and left.

His life had changed now, and Jordan had to take it all in.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Holding a pillow to his head, it took everything Jordan had not the crush or throw the alarm clock that beeped in his ear as if its life depended on it. Groaning, he got up and quickly turned off the alarm. He would be hearing that damned thing in his nightmares soon. 7:20 a.m. read the time; while he would miss breakfast, he wouldn’t be late for his first class, History of Magic 1301. If it was anything like the history he took in school, he’d be in for a snooze-fest.

Walking into the bathroom, basic necessities—like toothbrushes and toothpaste—were filled in the cabinets, and sink drawers. He hopped in the shower, and pondered. It’s been years since he didn’t have to sneak into the gym to take showers. His new life again shocked him. A towel wrapped around his waist, as he brushed his teeth. Looking into the mirror his tanned face could barely be seen with how long his locs had gotten. A day ago it was the least of his worries, now he’d actually want to look presentable.

A quick cut and retwist later he exited the bathroom only to realize he had no other clothes. A small note on this closet quickly diminished that thought.

Open for a surprise.

He never really liked surprises but opened anyway. A full closet awaited him. Multiple pairs of the school uniform were inside, not only that but everything he needed. Socks, shoes, underwear, basic outfits for casual wear, pajamas, and even a backpack all fit inside. Jordan honestly thought students had their items float around with them—he was glad for the small similarity.

The old man had seriously out done himself though. He’d have to thank him again for this. No one has even been this kind to him—well some had, but not for the right reasons. He’d grown to be able to tell when people were only nice for greed but the headmaster exuded nothing of the sort.

Another quick glance at the clock read 7:45 and with his first class being at eight, he remembered James' words about him not wanting to be late. Getting dressed in record times he dressed, grabbed what he needed and left. As a polar opposite of yesterday, the school was bursting with life. Students were everywhere trying to get to their classes. It was a bit overwhelming.

He checked his schedule again and headed towards the 300’s hallway which—thankfully—wasn’t too far from where his dorm was. Each class had a gold plated number next to the door which corresponded to the room they were in. Standing in front of the room, he double checked the number to make sure he wouldn’t walk into the wrong class. He’d done that before and the embarrassment was immense. With the room number being confirmed he walked inside.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Looking to the right, there were four rows of desks on each side of the classroom. The professor's desk, and chalkboard were in front of the class. Students sat next to their friends and talked, while some were getting their things ready. He scanned the room, finding the best seat to avoid attention. Being able to stay hidden, and avoid people were things he learned to do while being homeless; well and stealing. He wasn’t proud of it but he did what he had to, he didn’t have anyone to save him. Pushing those thoughts out of his mind, he settled for the last chair on the fourth row. A giant clock was held on the wall above the chalkboard, the time was 7:59. The word nervous was an understatement, but the feelings of curiosity and excitement crushed it entirely.

“Hello class, may I have your attention?” The professor stood. “I am Professor Atlas Thorn! Feel free to call me any nicknames—the realms know I love a good nickname!” The cheery man smiled. “As you know I’ll be teaching History of Magic 1301, this course isn't difficult in the slightest; in fact it will be quite fun.”

History fun? Yeah right. Jordan couldn’t believe that for a second. Every history teacher he’s had has always been the same. Middle aged men—who always seemed depressed—who hated their job and took it out on the students. Though with how happy Professor Atlas seemed, maybe he would break the cycle.

“Unlike the other teachers, I won’t bombard you with work—I do know you have other classes. But an effort still must be made!” Atlas waved his hand, calling a book to him, “This book here will be your saving grace! It has most of everything that will be covered in this semester; if you want to read ahead, don’t stop yourself.” He grinned.

Maybe this school wouldn’t be so bad. First day and his history teacher already seemed pretty cool. Professor Atlas waved his hand once more, and the stack of books that sat next to his deck spread out the students. Everyone else seemed unimpressed like this was completely normal, but Jordan was still trying to wrap his head around everything.

The book landed on his desk which read: Magic History by J.F Cowl.

“Today we’ll only be skimming over the beginning few chapters. I’ll explain a bit more about this course and have you situated and ready for tomorrow's pop quiz!”

Everyone gasped, and Jordan thought he might vomit. Pop quiz? He was definitely wrong about this guy—

Atlas doubled over in laughter, “Just kidding! You all should’ve seen your faces.” The man was very pleased with his joke, “Wow—” he wiped a tear from his eye—”That gets people every year.”

The class groaned in unison.

“Right! Anyway please turn to chapter 1.”

Jordan grabbed his bag when the bell—which signified the end of class—rang. This class wouldn’t be bad at all. Even though the first chapter of his textbook was utterly confusing, he could at least try; that would be enough. It was like learning a new language on an entirely new planet. Well—that was actually pretty close to his situation.

Grabbing his schedule from his slacked pants, his second period Herbology 1400 was also very close. They had a 15 minute passing period, which made sense. The school was so big, he had no words to really encompass it.

Upon entering his second period, he walked into a completely different classroom from the one he had just left. Unlike his school—where every classroom was the same—apparently this was different here. Flowers, vines, and things as such were held everywhere around the classroom. Flowers he’d never seen or heard of before sat in pots, and vases along the shelves.

If he didn’t know any better the professor who sat at his desk could be mistaken for a flower himself. Wearing a floral tie with a color matching suit. Jordan was pretty early for this class—considering it was close to his first—so the class was close to empty. Instead of the rows of tables that the first class had, there were separate desks which sat in a row. Jordan picked the last row, of course.

The bell rang, and everyone was seated.

The professor walked from his desk to the center of the room, “I am Professor Reed Cloud, and will be teaching you all this year. The first thing I want to say is, plant life is to be respected as you would your own life.” Reed said. “Though during the first course of this semester will be all about textbook learning, in the second semester we will begin meeting in the garden.”

“This course isn’t easy, and isn’t meant to be. I hope you all give 100% effort, as that is expected from you. Now!” He grabbed the thick book to his right. “Every night I expect you to read on your own time. There will be time for such in class occasionally, but nevertheless every Friday starting next week will have a quiz on the chapters you read.”

Jordan had to stop himself from groaning. All hope that came from his last class drained. Why did he expect all his classes to resemble the first?

35 grueling minutes later, the familiar bell rang and he headed towards his next class.

It took a bit longer to get to his next class due to it being upstairs—despite that, he was able to make it on time. Beginner Spell-craft 1802 was his third period. It was the second course that interested him the most besides Beginner Battle Magic 1607. He would actually be able to learn spells, He was personally a sucker for magic as a kid. In one of the only memories he had from when he was kid, he’d remember trying to learn card tricks with his parents. If only younger him knew.

The room was a lot more tame in comparison to the garden of a classroom he just left. It had the same structure as the first class, so he was happy to go back to the same seating area he sat in before. One thing he noticed was different though, It was the aura. The room had a similar feeling to the one he felt when the headmaster first used magic in front of him. This added to his excitement.

Immediately, the class was full, and instruction began.