Sebastian and Bridget waited in the classroom for everyone else to return for lessons to start. Bridget took out one of her books and read a few spells to herself. Sebastian wrote ‌notes in his notebook before staring outside the windows.

“Are we starting class soon?” Sebastian asked. “The second bell will ring momentarily.”

“Beats me,” Bridget replied, not taking her eyes off the book. “I’m sure the teacher will at least get here on a given notice.”

The door opened as Benjamin stepped forward into the room, posing with a smirk on his face. “Worry no longer, everybody, for I have arrived at the scene.” He greeted them with a bow.

Sebastian massaged his temples and groaned. “He’s seriously doing this again?”

“How typical,” Bridget added, rolling his eyes. “Well, it’s Benjamin. Shouldn’t be surprised that he’s doing this.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Wish he’d stop doing it, though,” Sebastian muttered.

“The great dark magician showed up in your presence,” Benjamin continued. “So, you better—”

“Benjamin, you’re in the way.” Glenda interrupted. “Could you take your seat already?”

“Oh, but of course.”

As they took their seats, Isabelle leaned over to whisper to Bridget. “Hey, what was that all about? Does he always act like that in class?”

Bridget nodded. “You have no idea. At least it’s not as bad as before.”

Benjamin didn’t respond. Either he didn’t pay attention, or was too occupied thinking of other things to notice what either of them were saying. Isabelle wasn't sure if she should be concerned or confused.

“Quiet guys, class is about to start,” Glenda said as she sorted papers from behind her desk. The other students straightened up as their eyes focused squarely on her. “Alright, since this is your first day, why don’t we review what you learned?”

Glenda clasped her hands together, her eyes brimming with excitement. “You could work together to create one spell or go one at a time.”

Benjamin snapped out of his funk right away. He and Sebastian raised their hands as high as they could. The two glared at one another as they waited for Glenda to choose between them.

“What makes you think you’d be capable of performing first?” Sebastian inquired, breaking the silence.

“Well, I don’t know about you,” Benjamin scoffed confidently. “But I’ve been practicing and have improved since the last time.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Oh please, have you even fused your wand with the crystal sphere yet?”

Benjamin smirked as he pulled out his wand and pointed it at Sebastian. “As a matter of fact, I have.”

He spun his wand, making the bookshelves at the corner of the room glow. Countless books floated out from the shelves. Dozens of pages ripped out of the books and darted towards Sebastian. Before he had any time to react, the paper got a hold of him and knocked him off his seat, entrapping his body. Benjamin watched Sebastian squirm and struggle while everyone else gasped, frozen in place. Before Glenda could say anything, Sebastian broke free from its paper-like grasp.

Benjamin gritted his teeth as he twirled his wand again, this time, transforming the shredded pieces of paper into arrows. The arrows darted straight at Sebastian, but he pulled out his sword and sliced them all up before they could get in contact with him again.

Benjamin gathered the smaller pieces of paper to form a ball and hurled it in his direction. Sebastian gripped the end of his sword, preparing to counterattack, when Bridget threw an ice beam at the paper sphere, catching the guys’ attention. The orb fell to the ground as Bridget got out of her seat to perform a power kick, breaking the object into little pieces. The pieces fell as Isabelle stared at the visual spectacle, unable to move.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

That was amazing. I wish it would’ve lasted longer... Isabelle thought.

Glenda clapped but kept her serious demeanor, which put pressure on the other students. “Very impressive, you guys, but you didn’t have to destroy my books.”

Everyone but Isabelle lowered their heads. “Sorry, Miss...”

Glenda smiled and took out her wand as well. “Why don’t I show you guys something?”

With a flick of the wand, the pages flew up, came back together, and went into the book. One of them spun around and opened wide. A blast tore through as many words and mystical creatures, such as unicorns, dragons, and leviathans, came out of the book. Strong winds blew through the classroom, lifting everyone off the ground until the teacher closed the book, and they landed with a thud.

Once the students got up from the fall, they tried to process what happened. Isabelle’s face lit up, practically fidgeting in her seat, unable to sit still over what she had just witnessed.

This is great! This is exactly what I signed up for! When are the lessons going to start? I want to learn how to do spells like those as soon as possible. She glanced over at the others. Despite the mishap from earlier, all of them tried their hardest to contain themselves from excitement.

“That’d sure make learning more fun, wouldn’t you say?” Glenda asked with a grin.

Bridget raised her hand. “How’d you do that?”

“Yeah, I want to know too!” Isabelle added. She covered her mouth, putting together that she didn’t raise her hand as well. “Oops, sorry...”

“It’s fine,” Glenda said. “There are many more spells you guys can try out. Powerful, Technical, defensive, healing, etc.” She paced the room, taking small glances at the students. “So, take classes to learn specific spells, as they could help you with your main planet quest.”

Isabelle’s smile faded, remembering her talk with Glenda before class. This time, Isabelle made it apparent to raise her hand so she wouldn’t interrupt the teacher.

“Yes, Isabelle?”

“Um, say that you did the best and got more planets under your control than everyone else. What happens after that? Well, I mean, do you receive or win anything besides bragging rights?”

Glenda adjusted her glasses and hummed. “Well, that’s the best part. We will reward the winner or winning teams with the right to graduate and choose whatever you want with your occupation and abilities.”

Everyone cheered except for Isabelle, who got lost in thought again.

So, is that why? But wait, isn’t that like a college? Isn’t there an easier way to go about it without...?

“By the way, is it alright if I ask you a question or two?” Glenda asked.

Isabelle flinched and jolted up to the teacher’s friendly face.

“Oh, not at all,” Isabelle replied, resting her clasped hands on the desk. “What did you want from me?”

“As the new student, would it be alright if you showed the rest of the class what you’re capable of?”

“Oh, sure thing.” Isabelle nodded. She took out the laptop from her bag and turned it on. “Allow me to demonstrate.”

She stared at the keys on her laptop, pondering over which one to show off to the class. It had to be something extraordinary, something to impress and knock their socks off. She was certain Glenda would want the best from the only human able to harness the crystal sphere’s power. Isabelle had to think fast, as they waited with bated breath for her to perform. All eyes were on her.

Then she came up with an idea. This would be the perfect time to experiment and press multiple keys at once. Large sparks shot out from the screen as they hit the lights from the chandelier, causing the power to black out. Glenda flicked the power back on by replacing the light bulbs with flickers of flame, as they illuminated the area with its presence.

“There we go,” Glenda said with content as she put her wand away.

Isabelle lowered her head and closed her laptop. “I’m so sorry...”

“It’s alright, no need to apologize. You’ll need to learn to control your powers, get used to them, and adapt to them. There’s nothing wrong with experimentation, either. It’s why you’re all here in the first place.”

Eventually, class flew by in a flash. Soon, the bell rang, and lessons for tonight ended. As the students got up and headed out, Glenda handed them flyers containing the other classes they could attend on the sidelines. Once she finished passing them out, she called out to Benjamin and Isabelle before they left the classroom.

“Benjamin, Isabelle, a word with you, if that’s alright.”

Benjamin froze; his chest tightened, already guessing what she would say.

“Are we in trouble?” Benjamin asked, with hesitation in his voice.

“No, not quite,” Glenda replied in a stern tone. “I do, however, want to give you guys a warning. Please stay out of trouble this time.” She peered at the boy. “That goes double for you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I understand.”

“Very good. You’re both dismissed.”