Chapter Six: Contestants 1-Z

He became indifferent, disconnecting from the world around him. His upper half hunched over, arms dangling weakly at his sides while standing upright on his feet only by instinct. Otherwise, he would have collapsed to the ground and died. There was nowhere to lie down in line and surrender to his despair, so he didn’t. The realization that the time passed could not be recovered ate away from the inside out. The line moved on, but he did not. He had nothing left in him much less the capability to move an inch.

A small green alien, shorter than him, with two antennas protruding from its head and large round black eyes bumped into the youngest. In a foreign language, the alien scolded the poor lad, saying, “Zexal punks.”

The noise seemed muffled to the boy, as if all sound were filtering through miles of rags and brushes.

Seeing his brother in the state he was in, Aze, as gently as possible, regretfully said, “Now, I know what you’re thinking, but look on the bright side. At least we’re here safe and sound.” This was the one thing said that got through to his brother, whether it had been out of anger or piqued interest.

A thick black aura of depression surrounded Noel like a dark cloud. “Not funny, and you do?” he said. “What am I thinking, then?”

“Well,” Aze started by saying, “You’re thinking that this is all my fault. I should have read the spell in its entirety." He nodded his head agreeing with himself. "Our mission is still the same. To do this qualification thingy and attend Alt, remember.”

Noel rolled his eyes. He said sarcastically, “You said that perfectly. And yes, I remember. It’s literally happening as we speak!” Now infuriated, he said, “How could you not have known that the spell was directly correlated with the caster’s intention? It’s inscribed on the god-darn scroll! Here. Right here, the second sentence is in bold!” He pointed out in plain English, “You wanted to be here on the same day as the video taken from the crystal, didn't you?”

“Yeah, so what? I remember thinking something like that. How’d you know?”

“I know you.” Noel poked the scroll dangling in his hand and said, “It's also right here... In bold…” He rubbed his face and around his eyes, saying, “You understood the destination, but not that the school was built only a hundred years ago. We’re 100 years older than this place,” Noel cried more. “Just so you could be here, present on this specific day.” he said.

“I’m so sorry.” Aze apologized with complete sincerity: “Time travel is confusing. We’re on the same boat though. You know, I’m missing the two hundred years of my life as well.” He clenched his fist and said with concern, “Mother, what’s become of her? Back home, everyone there...” He couldn’t finish the sentence. “You knew the consequences too, and so did I. But don’t worry. I do have a plan to get us back. Trust me.

He worried more, but heard what his brother had to say: “What is it then, the so-called plan?” Noel said doubtfully.

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“I'll just do it again,” he simply said. “This time, when I recast the spell, we’ll go back to the day before we decided to leave. Smart, right?”

Noel stumbled back. Things were moving too fast for him to comprehend. What should he expect next from his brother’s lips? Certainly not this, but they were already in a foreign land at a different time.

Looking side to side and addressing the elephant in the room, he said, "What if you don’t make it in? What if we aren't cut out for this school?"

Aze bit his bottom lip. “We have too.” Aze said determinedly, “There is no other choice.”

“But-” Noel was cut off the instant he said, but.

“But nothing.”

Now it was time to face reality. Noel combed through his hair and said it again, this time more sensible: “But what if we don’t? What then? All of this would’ve been for nothing.”

Aze took a moment to recollect himself before telling his brother, “Maybe you’re right.” He knew the answer but couldn’t fully admit to it. Looking down at his brother’s feet, he said, “We will leave this place with our heads down in defeat. I’ll take my punishment, whatever it be, because this is my fault, my decision, and”

Aze couldn’t muster the last few words up, but for his brother's closure, he did.

“And we’ll go back home... to be what we were destined to be as magicians."

Noel bowed his head in agreement with what he heard. It sounded fair enough and honest. Aze’s plan, if it could be called that, proved to help him when he didn't think it would. His brother was always good at giving speeches; no one back home knew, but Noel did.

He smiled. “I wish we had worked these kinks out before,” he said happily. “If we succeed, I really think we should stay here. You and I are in K. city. When you said I wanted this too, you were right. We’re on the same boat now.”

Aze clapped his hand in excitement, finally getting the acceptance he wanted. He felt he was dragging his brother along for the ride. He hugged Noel, lifting him off the ground.

Dak interrupted them,” Sorry to ruin the moment that is going between you two right now.” Aze put his brother back on the ground. He said, “You’re up next after me.”

“How much did you hear?”

“All of it.” Dak replied back to the two, “The both of you have serious problems. There are no such things as magic b.t.w.”

“Btw? What the heck does that mean?” Aze said, thinking about the acronym and what it could mean.

Dak left, going into the school. In their deep talk about their current situation, they had unknowingly taken steps as the line grew smaller and smaller until they were next at the doors. The wait couldn’t have been much longer. The two stared intensely at the entrance; their eyes began to water and sweat poured down their faces as their hearts pounded vigorously.

The school's pointed Victorian roof and wooden facade, with a large clock hanging in the middle of it, were stacked above a set of steel stadium doors. The tall school wall, combined with the position of the sun casts a shadow large enough to cover the entirety of the asphalt parking lot they were in. The boys began to bite their nails, chopping pieces onto the ground.

The doorman opened the stadium entrance, yelling, “Next!”

Aze and Noel both gulped, swallowing their anxiety, before entering the school premises.