As class was in session, I snuck a few glances at Jan. She'd stare into space and yawn quite a lot, and by a lot, I mean a lot. It was safe to say she was bored to oblivion. But what she did out of the blue was something I couldn't comprehend.
The moment she picked up her pen and placed it between her fingers, she flicked it, causing the pen to spin around her thumb. Wha? She would continue to repeat it until she'd suddenly dropped it and proceeded to place her elbow on the desk and a hand to her chin.
Curious about this trick of Jan's, I tried to copy her. I held my pen in the same fashion as she did, flicked my pen around my thumb, however, it flew out my hand, consequently hitting a classmate’s head by accident.
"Ah! I-I'm sorry...It was an accident." Fortunately, he gave back my pen without issue, but I swore he said something offensive under his breath. Although, I couldn't blame since it was my fault. I guess it was a justifiable response, because if someone did the same to thing to me, I'd probably react the same.
Curse you, bored lady, for tempting me! I'm never doing that trick again…However, when I looked back at Jan again, this time she was...sleeping? Was she really that bored? I tried to imagine myself as her, but quickly realized it was impossible for me.
***
As the bell rang, I figured talking to her now would be kind of awkward for both of us since we were kind of an outliers in the class. Level 6...Level 5...On second thought, we probably were outliers.
During magic class, we found ourselves sitting on a patch of grass field outside our classroom. An earthy smell filled my nostrils and combined with the slightly cool breeze; it was a perfect day for an outing. Our magic teacher, an elf, who looked to be in her late twenties, told us to form in pairs for the exercise. Talking about pairs, everyone else chose their partners leaving us Jan and I alone. We'd actually been partnered a few times before, so I kind of expected this outcome.
Stolen story; please report.
Jan barely talked at all, only, when necessary, she did. I can't remember if we ever had a conversation or anything like that. I mostly did the talking and Jan would diligently listen and do the task, so I didn't complain. Although, it was the first time for us to be partners in this class.
For the exercise, the main focus was synergy. While mixing our magical output together, the magic output casted had to be both clear and robust at a specific point in space. Any signs of weaknesses or breakage could result in dire consequences. Like, a small explosion, for example. Otherwise, I was more curious about what Jan's power would be like synergized with mine.
"You ready?" I said to Jan.
She nodded with an expressionless face as always.
Looking at her profile this close, Jan had a pretty messy appearance. Her hair reached all the way to her chest and had bits of cowlicks. Since she was of mixed race, a fluffy set of beast ears popped out from her head, and a pair of elf ears which were shorter and cuter compared to their counterparts. She was of slender physique and with her sharp eyes and a fang sticking out of her lips, she was definitely a sight to behold. Oh, she also had a mini tail attached to her lower-half, I almost forgot.
Naturally, I held no competition to Jan when it came to uniqueness. There was not much noteworthy about my looks other than my dark brown hair that was longer and tidier than hers and the fact, I was human. If anything, I wasn't messy like her. Still, I wondered if Jan could hear twice as better with four ears? Could she hear my thoughts, maybe?
"Okay...er let's focus on this patch of grass." Jan nodded once again.
I pulled my sleeves back, and focused on mixing my magical energy with Jan. Normally, combining your magic output with someone else would be strenuous, but it was different with Jan. As soon as we made connection, to my surprise, it felt so smooth and relaxed. Was it because our levels were similar? Honestly, I'd never felt this sensation with someone else before, it always felt scratchy and tiring even if we stabilized the output. When I looked at Jan, even though she wore the same blank face, I could somehow tell she felt the same.
When the teacher came to see our progress, she looked relieved for some reason and then said "You both pass. Both of you must be tired, take a rest." In contrast, however, I was perfectly fine and probably Jan too. But I didn't mention that to the teacher since I was more curious about how my classmates were doing.
"Even though both of you are weak, most of your classmates are struggling." I don't know if that was a compliment or not.
Suddenly I heard an explosion at a distance and turned my head to see a pair lying on the ground, both unconscious. The teacher then put a hand on her face and sighed. With that, the exercise for this class was done, then the lunch bell finally rang.
I heaved myself to my feet, and finally called out to Jan who was sitting quite a distance from me. And it was this instance that was the start of it all.