The silence and the awkwardness of the argument cursed the room while Farrah went to the restroom. My grandpa stared at the floor, slightly shaking his head.

"Rollie, I can't help but feel responsible for what happened. I'm really sorry about that," my grandpa said.

"Don't worry about it. It's my fault anyways. I'm sorry we got so loud. We've never argued like that before, I promise." I rubbed my forehead and took a deep inhale, but I couldn't quite catch my breath.

Only a couple minutes passed before Farrah joined us again in the living room. She was smiling. "I would like to forget that this whole thing happened. If it's all right with you, I'll keep the necklace and put it in my jewelry box, but I'm not going to wear it, obviously." Farrah laughed dryly.

"No, no, let me return it for you and get you something else. It's my fault,” I said.

Farrah weighed the idea in her head. ”If you insist.”

Farrah handed me the necklace, and I put it back in the box and set it off to the side.

“You should open your gift! I'm so excited about it.” She handed me the present.

I tore away the colorful wrapping paper in front of me, revealing a folded denim jacket covered in an array of bold band patches and logos.

The Ramones, Nirvana, The Clash, The stooges, Misfits, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and others filled out the jacket.

A sense of disbelief came over me. Never before had I seen something I wanted to wear so bad. I immediately tried it on and stood up, it fit me perfectly, and it felt like authentic denim. "Farrah, this is amazing! Where did you get this?"

"I knew you would love it! So, I actually bought the denim jacket, and then I sewed the patches on myself."

"What? No way! You know how to sew like that?"

Farrah rolled her eyes. "I told you before I know how to sew."

I felt my heart sink. "Sorry, I must have forgotten." I smiled as wide as I could. "Thank you so much for this gift. It’s amazing." I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the top of her forehead.

While Farrah stayed with us, we spent time reading and preparing for the classes I would have the following semester. I didn't think it was necessary, but Farrah insisted I had a head start. I would be taking Mythology, Boltology, Arts, and Arcane Magic 1. A lot of it when way over my head and I had the hardest time paying attention and retaining what we went over.

And then I also practiced riding my dragon bike outside and doing drills my grandpa set up. I felt like I could better charge a fire bolt and aim it. There were wooden targets throughout the backyard field, but they didn't burn when I hit them. Apparently, they were specially imbued with magic to handle a bolt or strike from any elemental attack.

One evening after having dinner with my grandpa and Farrah, I asked, "Hey, Farrah, have you heard from your brother?"

Farrah's lips fell into a frown. "No, I haven't, and I can't believe it. It’s like he's just gone missing from the family." A few seconds later, tears trickled down her cheek.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry."

"No, no, it's okay. I had to tell you about it anyways and I appreciate you asking. But yeah, I haven't heard from him at all."

Fortunately, the rest of the time I spent with Farrah was spent without any arguing or any tears. Even when she left to return to Hartsera, she didn't cry. She knew I'd be returning to campus, and she was excited to have me back around.

By the time the end of break came, Head Counselor Jonathan had arrived at my grandpa's house, and I showed him my grandpa’s gift. I no longer had to ride on the same bike as Jonathan.

"Wow, I can't believe your grandpa bought you a Blackbird. That's a beautiful dragon bike. Although not made by my family's company, it still is one of the best around," Jonathan said. "I imagine it's tough to ride, though, right?"

"Actually, it rides really smooth. Better than what I fly at school."

Jonathan lifted his eyebrow as high as it could go. "Wow, I'm really impressed. Only expert riders can handle a Blackbird. Credit to you. That’s impressive for someone your age."

"I had no idea. If it's a nice or more expensive model, shouldn't it be easier to ride around?"

"Yes, but the spirit in every bike is modeled after bonds with dragons. The fastest and best dragons to ride way back in the day required a certain maturity in the rider that not everyone was capable of. If you can ride a Blackbird, it's almost like having approval from one of the most dangerous but fastest dragons. An upper hand, most certainly."

"Can you ride one?"

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Jonathan chuckled. "Rollie, I grew up around many dragon bikes. Even other brands so my parents could see what the competition was pushing out. So yes, I grew up riding one of those as a teenager, but it took me a few more years, older than you are now, to ride the Blackbird."

I smirked. "Let me see you take it for a quick trip. We have time before we get to the boat, right?"

"Rollie, I think we should really head straight to Attleton. I don't want to waste your or your grandpa's time."

I flapped my hand at him. ”It's all good, just a quick little trip. I want to see how it flies for you."

"Okay, fine." Jonathan got on top of the Blackbird and started it up. A wave of blue light went from the center head through the rest of the body. The bike lifted off the ground. Just as Jonathan was about to accelerate a little faster, the Blackbird jerked forward but steadied itself. "You see? This is a tough bike to ride, even for me. A little rough at the start, but we're balancing out now." Jonathan flew a small lap around the house. It only sputtered forward once before landing down in front of me.

"Aside from the two hiccups, that's one incredible bike you got there. Now let's see you ride it, tough guy," Jonathan joked.

I said goodbye to my grandpa and gave his dog Benson and cat Hubert one last pet goodbye. They watched me from the window as I left.

We flew our bikes to the port, took a boat to Port Harbor, and took the transfer to Attleton. It was a long ride, but I was excited about returning to campus. On the way back, we didn't see any hellions flying around, which was a relief. But I still sat in the cabin talking to Jonathan. I told him about how I gave Farrah a present that she was allergic to.

"Oh, Rollie, I'm so sorry to hear that. That's unfortunate. Yeah, they stopped producing fleming silver because, as it turns out, many people are allergic to the metal."

"I just feel like a huge idiot about it," I said.

"I'm sure you can make it up to her. Sounds like you had a nice break with her outside of that."

"Yeah, it was pleasant. My grandpa is a really great guy, and it was nice to stay with him after the debacle that happened on campus last. How was your break?"

Jonathan shook his head. "You know, the last Winterium, I didn't visit my parents, so I felt guilty about it and decided it would be good for me to go and visit them this time. But I can't stress enough how horrible it was."

"Why?"

He sighed. ”Like I told you before, they're very judgmental of my life, being the Head Counselor at Attleton. But I love it. It's one of my favorite places I've ever been. And I've seen how the family business drains them, and there's greed that never seems to be satisfied. My family is so wealthy, but it doesn't feel like it's enough for them. My whole life, I knew I never wanted to be anything like them. It was just constant arguing and yelling and hostility. And unfortunately, my siblings took to it during school. After they graduated, there was even more pressure on me to join them but-" Jonathan shrugged and turned his stare towards the window. "It never really seemed appealing. And sure, do I make less money working as a counselor at Attleton? Sure, but every day I look forward to being on campus." Jonathan looked back at me. "Sorry, don't mind my stream of consciousness. You don't need to know all that, and I'm probably boring you."

"Don't worry about it. I think it's interesting to hear." Having a big house and not worrying about finances seemed like a dream to me. Still, that environment sounded hardly different from the one I grew up in. Just a nicer home, but I would have much preferred that upbringing.

When we arrived back on campus, I went to my room which I hadn't been to in almost a month. My roommates were in the living room except Mortimer who was sleeping in our shared bedroom as usual. My two suitemates stared at me like a science experiment gone wrong but still waved hello.

"What's going on, guys? Did you have a good break?” I asked.

"Uh yeah. And I would love to stay up and chat, but I think I'm going to bed," Randolph said -the older of the two. He stood up and went to his section immediately.

"Well, that was a little weird," I said to Tim, who was still staring at me with widened eyes.

"Rollie, you're back? Are you sure you're allowed to be here right now?"

I rolled my eyes. "Good to see you again too. And yes, I'm allowed to be back on campus. If you have an issue with it, or if you're scared, go talk to Head Counselor Jonathan or Principal Pine. In the meantime, I'm going to go to sleep. It's been a long day of travel." I went to my room and slammed the door shut.

"What the heck was that!" Mortimer was already in bed. I felt like I had woken him up.

"It's just me, sorry. I'm back. I'm just trying to go to bed." I was as loud as possible as I waded through the clothes on the floor and hurled my belongings against the wall. Then I got ready for a night’s rest.

"Could you keep it down? I'm trying to get some shut-eye.”

"Dude, I'm pretty sure you sleep 20 hours a day. You'll have plenty of time to get back to it, just give me a second!" I snapped.

"If you were sleeping, I'd be quieter for you."

"Yeah, well, I didn't turn the light on, so pretend this is some white noise or something." As I finished putting my belongings away and changing for bed, I crawled on top of the mattress and tucked myself underneath the sheets. I couldn't turn my mind off. I became overcome with regret. I realized that while I was being rude to Mortimer, he didn't mention anything about being uncomfortable I was back. It was like he had no idea there was a stigma surrounding me. Perhaps my return to campus won't be that bad after all, but then again, I never saw Mortimer leave the room. He practically lived under a rock.

The next day I made my way to the dining hall for breakfast. Campus was stunningly beautiful, the ground was covered in a thin layer of snow, creating a serene atmosphere. Kids were excited to see their friends as they ran up to each other and hugged them. Mages from different abilities all seemed in good spirits. The educational hall with its greco-roman pillars and structure stood silent and calm. Even the Clock Tower housing the dining hall had a special charm in the snow, gleaming its orange light through the gray overcast clouds.

Entering the Clock Tower Student Center, Jonathan beckoned for me as I approached the cafeteria.

"Hey, what's up?" I said to him.

"Rollie, I just wanted to remind you that if anyone makes you uncomfortable or references the damage to the statue at you, please let Principal Pine or myself know. And let us know who brought up any of that information. Any situation like that will be handled both swiftly and accordingly. But you must inform us whenever it happens."

"Well, my suitemates already suspect that I’m the culprit."

"Oh no, really? They said something to you?"

"No, they didn't say anything explicit, but they asked if it was okay for me to be on campus still."

Jonathan furrowed his brow and shook his head. "Maybe we can work on getting you transferred to a different room later in the--"

"Honestly, it's fine. It's nothing I can't handle, I promise you."

"Still, I don't want you to be subjected to that treatment. And it's a topic the students have no idea what they're talking about. It could lead down a dangerous path."

"It's not a big deal, I promise you. Unless you have anything else for me, I will have breakfast now."

"If you say so. Please come to me if that issue persists.”

I waved and went to fix myself a massive breakfast.