Julia was listening to the lecture in Witchcraft 101, and even though Mr. Penn acted unusual last class, he was quite expressive in his lectures. He had good intonation and articulation in his voice, and gave off the atmosphere of a true Warlock with his looks and attire. They were learning a different spell for adjusting their wardrobe, using the old attire as a base.

“This is the spell I used,” whispered Cole

Julia nodded.

He was sitting behind Julia, as usual. Before class, she had seen he was wearing a striped shirt with jeans. She noted down everything, in a random manner. Julia was wearing her usual attire of skirt and top. Lindsey was wearing a hideous grey sack-like oversized coat with a blue top and a skirt. Everyone else was wearing grey basic clothes.

“We may soon learn how to make varieties in your magic witch outfit as well. The same topic is covered during Basic Transformation Science, how many of you have that this semester?” said Mr. Penn

Julia and a few others raised their hands.

“Hmm, not many,” said Mr. Penn

He looked back at the clock and said, “Class dismissed.”

They were let go three minutes early. She noticed Lindsey staring at her with her piercing blue eyes, but chose to ignore her.

“See you later, Julia,” said Cole

“You too,” said Julia, smiling

She dashed off to her second class. There she saw Silvio listening to music with earphones. He was nodding his head to the music. Upon seeing her, he took off his earphones.

“Hi,” he said, putting his earphones and smartphone in his bag

“Hello,” said Julia

“Let’s go,” said Silvio

They were the only ones in the class. No one arrived yet. She sat at her usual spot, and so did Silvio.

“So… how’s Witchcraft?” said Silvio

Julia didn’t turn around to face him.

“It’s fine. How’s Defense?”

“It’s taking a toll on my health. I’m always exhausted,” said Silvio

Julia turned and said, “Umm, what are you defending?”

He blinked and smiled. He coughed, as if to hold back a chuckle. At that moment, Julia was thinking that Silvio must’ve really thought that this girl knows nothing. It wasn’t her fault that her awakening wasn’t complete.

“We’re defending against the Deep Thought Chaotic Aggregation. You can just call them DTCA,” said Silvio

“Oh, are they harmful?” said Julia

“We’ve got the defenders to protect against them,” said Silvio

His eyes grew serious and gave off reflections of her. His eyes were a beautiful shade of green. She couldn’t see Cole’s eyes that well because of his glasses. Julia then wondered why her thoughts of these two were always somehow linked.

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Silvio put his eyes to his notebook, and then his eyes rose again, towards Julia after he caught her staring. He clenched his fist and put his head down on the desk.

Julia returned to her previous state, except with her eyes on her notebook. She sighed. For some reason, she started to feel like Silvio grew frustrated with her. But what was the reason? They hadn’t known each other for that long. Same goes for Cole. Ugh, she started drawing parallels between Cole and Silvio once again. Julia wished she could only think of one of them for once.

Some students started to come in. Aqua walked towards Julia’s desk.

“Hey Julia, I got the assignment printed,” said Aqua

“That’s great,” said Julia, in a low voice

“Is there something wrong?” said Aqua

“No, nothing important,” said Julia

Professor Kacey walked in, so they all went back to their seats. Julia watched as Aqua, Silvio and some others handed in their group assignments.

Silvio walked with brisk steps and went back to his seat.

“What’s wrong?” whispered Silvio, after sitting down

“Nothing important,” whispered Julia

The lecture started. Julia could concentrate on every word and concept. Professor Kacey explained the limitations of the science behind this magic system. She showed the components of the human brain on the projector, and talked about how the magic in their world arose from the imagination of those in the normal world. It made sense.

Professor Kacey talked a great deal about the subconscious mind, and how everyone in the room was a mere symbol of the dreamer’s life and mind. This gave rise to questions in Julia’s mind. Why was she a light-type when Patricia appeared manipulative, and did something terrible to Julia? It didn’t make sense to her. With every new slide, the questions kept piling up.

Sunny sat beside Julia today, and was drawing the brain diagram on her lined notebook with a yellow pencil. At that moment, Julia began to wonder. If emotions were reduced to simple messages of the brain, then the superego’s rules must be false. They must be fabricated by individuals, by society, by education, and by religious scriptures. Surely those rules and laws must serve a purpose. For example, if person A stole something from B, they’d cause B a lot of problems, trouble and mental pressure. Hence there is a law that stops both A from stealing, and B from taking revenge. However, if person A just asked for it from B, there is a good chance that B wouldn’t give it to A…

“Hey Julia, class is over,” said Silvio

“It is?” said Julia

“It sure is,” said Silvio

Silvio offered her his hand as he helped Julia get up. They held hands for a minute, until Julia let go. The hallway was empty.

“You can tell me anything, if you want to,” said Silvio

He looked at Julia. He was dressed in a purple tank top with an open black half-sleeved shirt, and faded jeans. His expression looked less carefree and more like he was trying to hide his emotions. His eyes were dull and lips were taut.

“Now is not the time,” said Julia

“Hmm? You want to tell me later?” said Silvio

They walked down the stairs.

“Yes,” said Julia

“Fair enough,” said Silvio

There were few trees near the campus buildings, and they flowed in the breeze. Her hair also flowed in the breeze, and her skirt fluttered in the breeze and sometimes showed her safety shorts.

“You sure are mysterious,” said Silvio

Julia looked up at Silvio. She looked at his face.

“I’d say the same about you,” said Julia

The tension in Silvio’s face disappeared. He had a relaxed smile.

“Cole isn’t a bad fellow. In fact, he seems to be too good for his own good. I actually don’t mind…” Said Silvio

He stopped there.

“Don’t mind what?” yelled Julia

He got startled, and almost stumbled after hearing Julia yell. He put his hand on his mouth and appeared to be lost in thought.

“I don’t mind spending my time with him. Seems like he would be a good ally. Later!” said Silvio

Julia stared at him as he left. For a moment, it seemed like he’d say like he doesn’t mind competing against Cole. Perhaps that was what Julia wanted to hear. She stood in the same place as she felt someone’s hand on her shoulder.

“Julia,” said Cole’s voice “Did he hurt you?”

“No, not at all,” said Julia

She faced Cole.

“Then why do you look so… Never mind, I guess you don’t want to say anything,” said Cole, sighing

Julia came closer to Cole. She gave him a tight hug. He flinched. She could feel his hand in her hair.

There were many things she wanted to say.

“Do you like me? Will I end up playing the both of you? No… I can’t do that. Will all three of us end up with broken hearts?” thought Julia

But instead, she stood there hugging Cole for a few minutes, feeling his every breath and standing in the middle of the grass.