Chapter 2: Book Mimic | 2.1 Summer Program

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Iris sympathized with her past self. Unpacking was no fun, but it had to be done. ‘Just like doing the dishes, if you don’t do it, it won’t get done, so you might as well do it.’ Reminiscing about the adult lessons she learned after moving out, she flinched as a piercing headache emerged.

‘Ow…’ Rubbing her temples, she grimaced and stopped reminiscing. ‘Moving out was too far in the future. If I’m going to remember something, it needs to be closer, so the headache isn’t as bad.’ Taking a deep breath, she wondered if she should hide a bottle of medicine somewhere in her room.

Going over to the journal, she read the last entry. ‘5 years old. I made a lot of progress…’ However, there was a glaring problem. The journal only had a few blank pages left. ‘I…need to buy a new notebook. I’ll have to ask Mom later.’ Feeling reluctant, she looked at her status. ‘I miss my paper magic. If I still had my skills, I would just make more paper…’

In the near future, she started school and learned basic magic. Thanks to their appraisal, the consultor gave her additional advice about what magic she could learn. ‘Should I learn them early?’ She couldn’t find a reason to hold back. ‘How did it start again? …oh, right. I need a mana stone.’

Iris frowned. ‘A mana stone. Would my parents give me one if I asked? What excuse should I give?’ Shrugging, she left her room. Finding her parents, she first asked if she could help. Surprised, they welcomed her help in unpacking boxes.

Under their direction, she organized items until she felt like it was a good time to ask for something. “Hey, mom. I’m worried about school.”

Giving her daughter her full attention, Casey stopped unpacking and looked at Iris. “What are you worried about?” Her face and tone were serious, very serious.

Taken aback by her mother’s seriousness, her mind went blank. ‘W-Wha…’ It was too serious, so she suddenly felt reluctant to answer. “No. Never mind.” This answer made things worse. Iris could feel her mother’s eyes boring into her back.

Since her father was also in the room, he joined the conversation trying to guess what was wrong. “Are you worried about making friends?” That wasn’t the answer, but she flinched upon hearing it because a memory erupted. A student overheard the teachers talking about her magic trait, and she was bullied because of her “monster” trait.

At the age of 10, magic awakens. Children can access their status page and see their magic level, affinity, and trait. Secondary school starts after they awaken, so they can learn more about themselves and magic.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Their information is supposed to be private, but hers became widely known. The school could get into deep trouble for mishandling appraisal information. To avoid damaging their reputation, they ignored the situation completely, and since the bullies never got into trouble, they targeted Iris more often.

Recalling the memories, Iris frowned slightly and clenched her fist. Seeing her reaction, Casey and Mason felt like they had guessed correctly. She was worried about making friends. Thinking for a moment, her mother suggested, “How about joining the summer program?”

Drawn out of her thoughts, Iris asked confused, “Summer program?”

“Your school runs a summer program. It’s mostly used for student to get caught up on work, but… I can call them to see if they will accept you early, so you can get to know the campus and some of the other students before school officially starts.”

‘Hmm. That might be a good idea. If I go to school, I can access their mana realms. That would help me unlock my mana sense quicker.’ Iris rapidly nodded her head. “Let’s do that. Do you really think you can convince them to let me go?!” Her voice was laced with excitement.

Her mother finally relaxed and smiled. “Of course! I will make it happen, so just wait.”

This wasn’t how Iris imagined getting access to mana stones to develop her mana sense. However, it was the best solution in reality. ‘I can raise my level and get mana stones by defeating the mana realm monsters.’ Excited by the possibilities, she cheerfully helped her parents unpack boxes.

Leaving the room, Casey fiddled with her bracelet. A hologram appeared, and she messaged her brother-in-law through the screen. ‘While you’re out with the twins, please pick up some school supplies. I’m going to enroll Iris into a summer program, so she will need…’ She listed a few items.

Closing the interface, she made a determined fist. ‘I’m going to make this happen.’ Returning to the living room, she continued to unpack with her family while planning several different angles of attack. ‘I could do this… but if they say that, then this would be a good idea…’

In the evening, when Uncle Martin and the twins returned, Iris got bags of stuff.

“What’s this?” She asked curiously.

“School supplies and a few other things.” Her uncle answered.

“Look. Look.” Caster and Conner showed off their supplies, new colorful journals and pencils. Smiling, they unpacked their shopping bags in the living room. Her mother helped them put everything into their individual backpacks and pencil cases.

Joining them, Iris unpacked the things they had purchased for her. ‘It looks like I don’t have to ask for new notebooks.’ Organizing things with everyone, she smiled and felt cozy. ‘Family time. I missed this.’ To avoid a headache, she tried to not reminisce and focus on the present, trying to appreciate it.

After dinner, she brought everything to her room and filled her desk’s drawers. Checking the clock, she determined that there was still some time left. To avoid staying up all night, she set an alarm on her ID bracelet before writing more.

Finishing the last few pages in the first journal, she brought out one of the new ones. However, when grabbing the new notebook, the previous one started to glow. ‘What?!’ Shocked, Iris jumped back pushing her chair aside.