Sebastian headed to the vast stadium behind the school grounds, hoping to meet up with his wise mentor. Only one person waited for him, though, a tall man with wavy blond hair. He wore a white business shirt with matching shoes, gray pants, and a blue tie crooked to the side. Sebastian tilted his head to the side; surely this couldn’t be the mentor.

Maybe he knows where the teacher is? “Excuse me, sir, do you know when my instructor will be here?” He asked the stranger, getting his attention.

The man turned and gave him a warm smile. “Are you Sebastian, by any chance?”

“Uh, yeah, do you know where the instructor is? I want to speak to him about my training in swordsmanship.”

“Well, you’re in luck. You happen to be looking at him.” The male pointed at himself and winked. “The name’s Trinity. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Sebastian blinked. He stood there, trying to process the words that went through his ears. You can’t be serious. This guy’s going to be my teacher?

“I was expecting him to appear older and wiser.”

“And who says I can’t be wise?” Trinity pointed out. “I take my job and class seriously, just like you.”

“Wow, you must be pretty gutsy to compare yourself to someone like me. So tell me, what’s your skill like?”

“What about you?” Trinity repeated as he checked his body structure and physique. “You seem to know your stuff already; what could I teach to someone like you?”

“I just want to improve my skills, that’s all.”

“That’s cool. Now see, the important factors are intelligence, diligence, and pizza!”

Sebastian shook his head. He got the first two parts, but why include food into this? Is this a poor attempt at a joke?

“You can’t fight on an empty stomach, you know.” Trinity continued. After a brief pause, he added,

“Speaking of which, I’m getting a little hungry. Do you want to go get some food?”

“No, I want to train right now.” Sebastian retorted, standing his ground.

“Ooh, determined, huh? I like it. Ok, let’s get started. First, I’d like you to clean my office.”

“Great!” Sebastian paused as his smile faded. “....What?”

“And when you finish with that, I’d like for you to trim my garden, cook a meal for me, write—”

“Hold up! I’m not doing your chores!”

“Whoa, who said they were personal chores?”

“I did! I am of royal blood and should be treated with respect. I don’t want to be humiliated by some fake ‘mentor’.”

“Wow, harsh much?” Trinity thundered as he wrinkled his nose. “Listen here; I’m not giving you any special treatment just because you're a descendant of famous people. That’s not fair to other hardworking students, and life doesn’t work that way. You’ll have to learn it eventually, whether you like it or not.”

Sebastian’s blood boiled as his face contorted into a grimace. How dare he tarnish his family name like that, and without hesitation, no less?

Who does this man think he is? He’ll pay for that…

He took the sword out of his bag and pulled the blade from its sheath. He presented it in front of the instructor, catching him by surprise.

Trinity jumped back in retaliation. “Hey, what are you—?”

“I challenge you to a sparring duel! I want to know just how good you are.”

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“Are you sure about that? I mean, what do you have to gain from—?”

“Show me ‌you’re not all talk! I want some serious training, and you’re going to give it to me!”

“Well, alright then.” Trinity shrugged. “But you’ll regret it. I’ll let you take the first hit.” He turned around and stood in place.

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed at him. What is he doing? Is this guy taking me for a fool? Why that little— I’ll show him!

Sebastian’s grip tightened around the handlebar. He charged forward and prepared to strike him down. Trinity stepped to the side and let him trip against the grass. Sebastian’s arms and legs shook. He didn’t fall, but was at a loss for words‌. How’d he do that? He shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to think about that. Sebastian regained his footing in no time and ran back to plan another surprise attack. Trinity turned and pulled out his own sword, countering the blow and pushing him back.

The two exchanged blows and strikes at one another until Trinity shot icy mist from his other hand, creating ice below Sebastian’s feet. Sebastian shivered as he tried to keep his balance and focus on the fight, but slipped and fell to the ground with a thud. The ice wasn’t thick enough to shatter one’s skull, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.

Having gained the upper hand, Trinity stood over and pointed his sword at him.

“Well, well, you seem to be lacking in technique and skills. And you say you’re better at it than me?” He laughed it off.

“What?” Sebastian sat up straight and pointed at him. “But you cheated!”

“Oh, did I? I didn’t notice.”

“When will you stop lying to me like that?”

“What does it matter to you?” Trinity retorted, putting his sword away. “Your enemies won’t play fair against you, so you can’t hesitate or let them get the upper hand!”

Trinity walked over and extended his hand in front of the boy. Sebastian rubbed his head and attempted to get up himself, but failed. He grumbled under his breath and reluctantly grabbed Trinity’s hand, pulling him back up off the ground.

Sebastian sighed and looked away as the instructor took care of melting the ice. He’d still have to get back at him for ruining his outfit and hurting his head. But Sebastian couldn’t deny that he was in over his head, for once.

“Alright, you win. I have much to learn when it comes to swordsmanship.”

“That’s more like it; I couldn’t have said it better myself. Do you want to get started?”

.-.-.-.

Isabelle lightly knocked on the door and entered the classroom. Inside, Glenda organized her desk. The teacher turned her head as her face brightened up.

“Oh, hello again, Isabelle.”

“Hi, there. I hope I’m not bothering you...”

“Not at all. So, what brings you here?”

“Well, it’s about yesterday,” Isabelle replied as she closed the door behind her. “I thought about it, and I’d love for you to teach me some magic.” She walked over to the desk and placed the written documents down. “I heard you talk about books and electricity, one I enjoy, and the other I feel could help me in the magic academy. Not to mention, I’m more familiar with you than the other teachers here.”

“That’s a superb choice; I’m glad you chose to attend my special classes. I’ll do my best to help you in any way I can. Would you like to show me what you can do?”

“Sure thing.” Isabelle took her seat and brought out the laptop from her bag. She opened the device and made a couple of breathers to steady her nerves before continuing. Ok, please don’t mess up this time.

Isabelle’s hands hovered over the keyboards as she typed a spell out. However, she made a typo, and a giant electric orb emerged from the laptop. It floated in the center of the room, with a yellow wire attached between the orb and the laptop. She needed to take her time controlling it, or else risk unleashing chaos in the classroom.

Glenda adjusted her glasses, watching the display unfold. A shiver fell down her spine, fearing the orb would cause collateral damage and overgrow in the small area. Glenda didn’t want to be pessimistic and let her student see her reaction, so she stood by, watching and waiting with bated breath. Isabelle continued to move it at a leisurely pace but looked back down on her keyboard, trying to figure out how to stop it, or at least shrink it, to make it easier to control.

The look from Glenda made her heart pound faster. She exchanged glances between the orb and laptop, having no idea what to do next. Her fingers slipped, pressing the wrong button. The sphere shot up towards the ceiling, causing the rubble above to fall and hit the floor. As the grounds shook, the duo hid under the desks. The orb flew up to the skies. Isabelle slammed the laptop shut, making the sphere disperse.

Once the shaking had ceased, Glenda took out her wand and prepared to fix the ceiling. Isabelle opened her laptop again to help and used arrows to clean up the rest of the rubble surrounding them.

“Well, that was something,” Glenda said, wiping her glasses with a cloth.

“I’m sorry I messed up your classroom,” Isabelle murmured, taking a bow. “And you tidied before I arrived.”

“It’s not a big deal. After all, we took care of the problem.”

“I mean, that’s true, but it was my fault it even happened in the first place...”

“Everyone makes mistakes; your skills are exceptional, and I can tell you’ve been practicing outside class.”

“Oh, thanks, Miss Glenda.” Isabelle scratched her cheek and looked away, her cheeks flushed pink.

“Not everyone can get it right on their first day. I’m sure if you keep practicing, you'll be sure to master the techniques. That’s what these classes are all about...”