Inside the medical hall, an older-looking student sat behind the counter. She smiled at me as I walked in. She was the only one around. The lobby wasn't huge, but it was tall and narrow, almost like a cathedral. She was the gatekeeper between the outsiders and the sick beyond the wall. At least, that's what it seemed like.

"Hello, can I help you with anything?" the woman asked. She wore a white cloak with a red shield symbol imprinted on the upper right.

"Uh, yeah. I'd like to pay a visit to Bradley if that's possible," I said.

"Are you a family member or friend of his?"

"Yeah, we're friends. My name is Rollie."

She studied my face. "Well, he is feeling better, but let me check with the head medic to make sure it's okay. I haven't heard any updates about whether he can have visitors."

"That's fine. I don't mind waiting."

"I'll be right back." She stood up and went through a door right behind the counter.

I waited in the medical hall for a few minutes, enjoying the tranquility. No one was around, the benches were made of dark wood, and I took a seat, admiring the stone walls. The room's shape was triangular, like a cathedral. Tall narrow windows let in plenty of light. It was so quiet that I closed my eyes and felt my head go back.

I'm not sure if it took a while, but the girl at the counter came back into the waiting room before I knew it. "Rollie?"

My eyes shot open, and I approached the counter.

"I can take you to his room. He's allowed to see visitors now." The desk worker turned around and waved me in.

Down the hall, there were rooms on the left and right, all with the door open and candles on the wall. Each room had a chair and a bed; they were empty until we reached one of the rooms near the back. The door was open, and a kid was lying on a bed. She ushered me inside, "Bradley, you have a visitor here."

Bradley slowly turned his head away from the window and looked at me. His eyes were half closed. He was exhausted.

"Wow, I have a visitor," Bradley said. Each time he spoke, it was choppy and had a few breaths in between. "It's really true. I'm still having a hard time believing it."

"Well, it's true. You do have a visitor here," I said. I sat down in the lone chair. I felt bad that no one else was around to see him, but I reminded myself at least I was there.

"I'll be back at the desk," the worker said, and she left the room.

It was just Bradley and me. Sitting across from him, I said, "Hello, my name is Rollie, in case you forgot. We met briefly when I was getting a campus tour with Jonathan and Principal Pine."

"Yeah, I remember. Hey Rollie, what's up?" His voice was hollow.

"What's up with me?" I snickered. "You're the man of the hour. How are you feeling? Are you okay?"

Bradley shrugged but barely moved his shoulders up and down. "I've been better." He cracked a smile. "What compelled you to visit? Don't take it the wrong way or anything. I'm thrilled to have a guest. I'm just curious."

"I don't really know, to be honest. It really bothered me when I saw that hellion attack you. You know, I almost was attacked by one myself. It was when I sailed here from Port Harbor. A few hellions came down on our ship, and one managed to get into my cabin. It stood toe to toe with me."

Bradley's eyes widened slightly. "You're kidding?"

"No. Not at all. It was one of the scariest moments of my life by far. And yet, I still decided to come here. Go figure."

"I've never seen a hellion so close before. The one time I did spot one, it was high up in the sky, far away."

"Yeah, they're nasty creatures, huh?"

"The worst."

The conversation paused, but it didn't feel awkward, much to my relief. I felt terrible for him but was happy to see him in good spirits.

"So, how did they heal you up so fast?" I asked. "Where I'm from, you're laid up for a while in the hospital if you get injured. Did you have to have surgery?"

Bradley tilted his head. "Surgery? I just had the head medic use her arcane magic over my wounds. They healed right up, but I'm still in a lot of pain. Fortunately, I have an elixir to help with that." He pointed to a small crystal bottle with neon blue liquid inside.

"Whoa, that's pretty cool. So when do you think you might get out of here?"

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"I'm not sure. Probably no more than 2 days." Bradley narrowed his eyes at me. "You know, you're kind of crazy for coming here, right?"

"What makes you say that?"

"You're a Fyron. I'm a Glacien. You're our rival in Dragonstryke. Us two groups don't get along very well. My housemates would be upset if they saw me fraternizing with you."

I frowned and prepared to stand up." I'm sorry, should I leave?"

Bradley laughed weakly. "Not at all. I really appreciate the visit. I don't have many friends; you're my only visitor."

"Don't take it personally. I'm sure everyone is just afraid of going outside because of the hellion attack. Either that or they're going to their afternoon class. Which I skipped today."

"Really? Why?" Bradley leaned his head a little closer.

"My first class left a sour taste in my mouth. I had Professor Hawthorne, and he was rude to me, to say the least."

"Don't let Hawthorne get in your head. He's a jerk." Bradley laughed again.

It was hard to watch Bradley, but every time he smiled or laughed, it filled me with joy. He stared at me for a moment.

"We barely know each other, but yet, you came. I can't help but think this is a prank of some kind. I suppose it's my karma catching up with me."

"Your karma catching up with you?"

Bradley nodded. "Perhaps that's why I got attacked. I've been a bit of a prankster since last year. I don't get along too well with my fellow Glaciens. They're alright, but I don't sit with them in the dining hall."

"Yeah, Boris and Chris told me you sit with them."

"You met Boris and Chris?" Bradley smiled. "I'm pretty covert with my pranks. Out of the three of us, I'm the one who covered our tracks the best."

"What sort of things would you do?"

"I don't know where to begin. Sorry, my voice is too weak. It would take forever to go over all of it. You should eat dinner with Boris and Chris tonight and have them tell you stories. We usually cause a ruckus in the rec room of some kind." Bradley snickered and gazed at the wall as if he remembered a fond antic. "It's weird. I'm not that close with those guys, yet we hang out because there's no one around for us. But they probably won't visit me." Bradley tried shaking his head and winced. "I never like to mess with specific people. Whenever I pull a prank, it's usually directed at a random person or the buildings, you know?"

"Sure. I understand that. And you never know. I think Boris and Chris will come around."

Bradley smirked. "Thank you for dropping by. Even though I don't know you, it means a lot. Unless you're the one who put the hellion there in the first place?"

I chuckled. "No way, man. I have no idea how to get fire to shoot out of my hands. But, yeah, man, it really messed me up seeing you get hurt earlier, and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"You're too cool, Rollie."

"Maybe I'll pop by tomorrow and tell you how the rest of my classes went."

"If I'm still here, I'd like that a lot."

I smiled, left the room, and saw a woman standing by with a white cloak. She was much older than the girl who sat at the front counter. This lady also had a red shield patch near her heart. She observed my face for a little too long in silence.

"Uh, I was just visiting my friend. The person at the counter said it was okay."

"It's not that. Sorry, pardon my staring. My name is Susan. I was just noticing the bruise over your eye. Would you like for me to remove that for you?"

"Remove it for me? How would you do that?"

She held up her hands. "How I mend all cuts, gashes, wounds, and bruises. With the arcane magic that I've devoted my life to."

"Uh, I don't have much time," I lied.

She puffed out a laugh." That's no issue at all. It will only take me 1 minute. I'm pretty good."

"That's alright, thank you, though. I need to go back to my dorm."

"Are you sure? A bruise like that is unsightly. Not to be rude, of course."

I shrugged. "I kind of like it. It suits me."

"And suit yourself indeed. If you change your mind, I'm the head medic, Susan. I handle all injuries and medical issues here on campus. I hope I never see you again!" She shook my hand.

"That sounded a little harsh," I said.

Susan smiled. "All I meant was I hope you have such a healthy life that you don't need me to mend any of your injuries."

"Got it. Thanks." I smiled and waved, leaving the medical hall.

Rather than returning to my dorm, I walked around campus a little more. I felt awkward about how the exchange went with my roommates earlier, and I didn't want to bother them or be bothered by them. Besides, it was pleasant outside. Even though the sky was cloudy, the weather felt nice, or maybe it was the magic of my cloak.

I spent the rest of the afternoon sitting up against a tree, staring at the education building 50 yards away. A handful of trees surrounded me, but no one was around. From my angle, I couldn't see any Officers, but I'm sure if I turned my head, I would spot one in the distance. It was hard to pull my eyes away from the masterpiece architecture of the educational building. The white marble pillars and the massive Acropolis were unlike anything I had seen except for history books. As I stared at it longer, I imagined what I would be like in my 5th year at Attleton.

Kids would probably whisper to themselves, "That's Rollie Magpie. He has the most amazing fire blasts I've ever seen."

No one would look at me as I walked their way, but they would stare in awe as I went past them. Yeah, that was going to be my future at Attleton.

I closed my eyes, enjoying the gentle breeze outside. I felt tired for someone who didn't do much with their day. But what I had experienced so far was mentally exhausting, no doubt.

My world went black.

"What in the world?" Someone said. "I've never seen anything like that before in my life."

I slowly opened my heavy eyes. My whole body felt fuzzy and tired. There was an Officer in a silver cloak a few yards away from me. He was staring at my arm; when I looked over, I saw a cute tiny bluebird with a bright orange beak and black button eyes. It chirped melodic beeps at me.

"Hey, little guy," I said.

The little bird flapped its wings as it stood on my elbow. I barely felt its feet hanging on.

The Officer a few yards away approached me, but the bird took off in the opposite direction.

"Goodbye," I whispered. It still felt like I was in a dream. I've never had a bird land on me and sing a short tune.

"Hey, kid, it's not a good idea for you to be outside," the Officer said.

I stretched and stared at the Officer. "Hello. Why isn't it a good idea?" I asked, not really thinking.

"Don't you know what happened today?" The Officer scowled. "Besides, it's going to be dinner time soon at the dining hall. It would be best for you to go there."

"Thanks, I guess." I stood up and dusted myself off. "You woke me up from my nap, though."

The man just shook his head, grumbling something to himself, but paused. "Hey, how did you get that bird to land on you like that?"

"I don't know. You woke me up, and it was just there." I shrugged.

The Officer rolled his eyes. "Just make sure you stay indoors, kid." He turned around and strode off, and I waited for a moment before I headed toward the dining hall.