"Laura, you shouldn't be worried, you've been doing great in our study sessions," Chris said to me as our group finished up lunch and began to head towards Mr. Takahata's classroom.
"Thanks for helping me out. I know doing that with me took up a lot of your time," I replied as I absent-mindedly grabbed and squeezed his hand while slowing down my walking pace.
His eyes widened and latched onto mine while his mouth fell open. I pulled my hand away slowly and he said, "Oh, uh, you'll do fine." His eyes glanced down at my retreated hand as he continued. "Just remember the stuff Takahata harps on. The Silk Road, the caravel, gunpowder, and railways. Use those as your guide when writing your short essays. The seniors last year told me it always works."
"What about the multiple-choice questions though?"
"He follows the book's problem format closely; there's usually a primary source document quoted or a map or a chart that references themes and developments of the period. It's not just a game of memorizing dates, names, family histories, and battles—well not anymore at least. History would be a much more boring subject if it was still like that."
"I had no idea you liked history that much," I said.
"It's more that I like to figure out how the class works if I don't immediately latch onto the material. Doing that is what I find fun or at least how I deal with a class being uninteresting. And if I can figure it out then I will do better at the class. And, well, I kind of have to do well in all classes or else my parents would pitch a fit. At least this way they leave me alone."
"All your classes?"
"Yeah, they want me to go to a top business school after all, and grades are a big part of how you get in."
"So, you are going to get a business degree then?" I asked, the confusion clear in my voice. Chris certainly did not seem like he was interested in that career path.
Chris laughed and replied, "Yeah, that's my go-to response. I blame my parents. I can't let them even get a hint of anything other than what they want to hear. I even feel nervous talking about it with Sarah and Dan. I would rather study biology. Though if I do start trying to study magic, I would likely need some way to make money like Dan mentioned. Maybe a business career path would work, and it would make my parents happy. Hopefully I can still spend a lot of time on this." He pointed at his wrist where his newly refreshed deflection ward sat.
"You know, why have we not read or heard anything about that in history?" I said. "It obviously has had some impact, and it seems absurd to have not come up at all."
"I did a bit of digging on the library computer network. They have access to some older BBS machines and also some archived discussion group emails. I found some..." he trailed off, looking embarrassed. I barely understood what he was talking about and I had no idea that the community college's computers could do more than look up books.
"What?" I pressed.
"Nothing really historical, most of what they're talking about is really recent. And well, do you know Leyline Rising?" I shook my head. "It's the fantasy series I've been reading for a few years now. I really like it and always immediately grab new ones when they come out."
"No. Should I read it?" I asked while confused about where Chris's explanation was heading.
"I like it, maybe you would too. Anyway, my point was that some of the people seemed to think, well, that it's real. Some of it." Chris's cheeks were slowly growing red.
"So, it is a real fantasy?" I asked with a wide smile while holding back a laugh.
"It's set in the present-day, but the world has magic so it is 'modern' fantasy. I, well uh, mean maybe it's not fantasy after all. The book follows a group of girls who fight monsters and other people with magic." At this point Chris was fully blushing.
"I think that would make it a work of contemporary realistic fiction. Anything else?" I asked as I failed to hold back my giggles. We had reached our lockers and I collected my supplies for class. The classroom we were headed to was nearby so we just continued talking at our lockers.
"It's not exactly realistic," Chris said with a shrug. "The fights are a bit over-the-top and some of the plot is possibly a bit convoluted. Also, the characters have specific costumes they like to wear. Must wear? It's a bit unclear in the story. It's fun though. Anyway, the magic they use is circle-based—"
"Not all magic uses circles. For example, consider guardian spells," I quickly added, accidentally cutting Chris off. I fluttered my hand awkwardly as both an apology and a request for him to continue.
"There was speculation that the author just used real magic instead of making something up."
"I would think that making something up would be easier than doing real magic research," I said with a shrug.
"They might not even know it's real. Maybe the author just found a book and is copying it?" Chris responded dubiously.
"So, this writer just stole some other book's stuff?" I asked.
"Well, it isn't uncommon for authors to pull elements they like out of other books' magic systems. I think that is common in some adventure games. But it's not just that!" Chris's voice rose sharply in excitement and he was barely reigning in his volume. "People have tried stuff from the book and claimed they passed out."
"Oh. That means it sort of works. That is not good."
"Yup."
We stood there in silence for a moment in the near-empty hall as the warning bell rang. The harsh tone reminding me where I was and what I was supposed to be doing now. The two of us darted through the door to Mr. Takahata's classroom and as we sat down the start bell rang for fourth period.
The history class for today turned out to be a review session which took up the entire class period. I sorely needed it and silently cheered when the teacher explained today's agenda. Mr. Takahata was kind enough to give an example essay topic and he called on students to name key points to be used in the answer. Terrified that I would get called on, I scooted lower in my seat and tried to hide. Chris, who was sitting next to me, noticed my posture change and his hand immediately shot up when Mr. Takahata's eyes drifted to our side of the room. Chris was called on, answered the question easily, and I quietly sighed in relief.
I tried my best to maintain my focus for the entire class period because I needed all the help I could get. My head swam while a barrage of open-ended short response questions were thrown at us. Many of them were thankfully answered quickly by my classmates and more importantly not me. I tried my best to take extensive notes and as the class ended, I was filled with a potent mix of fear and anxiety.
"Chris, are you up for studying tonight?" I asked as the classroom emptied. At this point I was starting to get desperate, and it must have been showing in my face.
"Yeah. Of course. My place after school? We can order pizza. Oh, and I drove today! I'll wait for you in the parking lot after school. Save you a bike trip, well, if you want."
"That sounds great. Is it okay if we do not invite Dan and Sarah? I sort of want to stay focused on studying and I think I am taking a rain check on more horror movies," I said, strangely nervous.
"Sure, Laura," he replied, with a soft smile.
"See you then."
My next class, Spanish, gave me a much-needed break from the grinding terror of the oncoming history test. The day of this class's test was written in large letters on the board as a reminder: repaso: martes, examen: miércoles. I was just glad the test was on Wednesday and not tomorrow alongside the history test. A review for Spanish tomorrow directly after that disaster would be a good way to take my mind off of it at least. As the class dragged on with yet more vocabulary to memorize, I found myself just listing out new words in my notes. I was not even bothering with noting the example sentences because my mind kept drifting off to what Chris had mentioned about his favorite fiction series.
If the author for this Leyline Rising series knew about actual spells, then did that mean Chris or I could use them? Was the author just copying them out of a book they found without realizing that they were real? It slowly dawned on me that I was going to need to at least skim these books if not read them fully myself. Maybe it would just be easier to make Chris give me the highlights? He said he bought them all, so I bet that he still had them, and I bet I could borrow them if needed.
As the teacher continued to add more vocabulary words to her ever-growing list, I decided I should probably check Aurora's memory for anything like this author. Perhaps she had read the books? A light prodding found that the most recent memories from before bonding with Lucas were dozens of years ago. I doubted that the Leyline Rising series was anywhere near that old, which meant I would need to read them myself.
My attention drifted back to the classroom as the teacher started picking students at random to use the new words in sentences. She was also prodding students to add in today's new verbs and encouraging them to use more complex sentence structures, but with little success. The class was less responsive than usual, and I supposed my peers were stressed with the upcoming exams just like me.
I did my best to stay focused, but my brief dive into Aurora's past had knocked loose a different memory. Aurora, or at least the manifestation of her memories, had told me to remember something yesterday. The last time she was awoken to protect the town she was the only guardian which had been requested to provide aid.
The spell, entity or natural force that called upon spirits decided how many to awaken whenever they were needed and beyond that the guardians had little understanding of how it worked. As I prodded around a vague, hazy memory slipped to the surface of my mind. It was worn down to a nearly empty husk comprised of only vague shapes and pieces of conversation with only the outline of the event still intact.
Aurora had agreed to render services as a guardian for the foreseeable future in exchange for greater understanding of herself and greater access to potent magic. As the spell took effect it had wound through her, digging deep into her very essence, and fundamentally changed what she was. The agreement could not be broken by her no matter what she did, but she had also not tried very hard. She did find some enjoyment in her new self.
She quickly found that she was now able to form bonds with humans, but any actions or decisions that she would make while under her role as guardian would have to be permitted by the human she was bound to. Under the power of that all-encompassing spell Aurora found that her bonded could not have their own will overridden, but Aurora could still be decisive and act quickly if needed. Aurora also found that the enchantment would release its harsh grip on her between duties and she had usually taken those opportunities to rest at length until she was called again. Part of me felt like such an existence would be torture; an indefinite servitude which spanned across multiple human lifetimes. I flinched as I remembered Aurora was hundreds of years old.
Her previous obligation had taken weeks and realizing this I recoiled abruptly. The task happening right now required three guardians to resolve and because of that I figured it would likely take much longer. The bottom dropped out of my stomach and my heart rate jumped while my hand desperately clamped onto the side of my desk. My eyes darted around the room uneasily as I forced myself to relax.
There was no immediate danger. Not to me, and not to my friends. There might be three guardians active in Thread Creek, but I was not in a fight right now. I needed to focus on this mundane class and push all this magic garbage out of my head. I forced myself to breathe deeply until I was able to let go of the desk without falling out of it. The bell rang as my panic finally began to recede. Only one more class left today. I hoped that exercising during gym would help me clear my mind.
After a quick stop at my locker, I bolted down the hall to the gym to make it there early. As I rounded the corner someone darted out in front of me. I tried to move to my right, but our shoulders collided with a sharp jolt that almost knocked me off balance.
"Not looking where you're going?" he said in a sneering voice. I quickly took a few steps back and saw he was wearing a varsity jacket. "Looks like you still need to learn some manners, Lucas." I knew that voice from last Monday—Tommy. It looked like gym was not going to be relaxing, it was only going to cause me more stress.
"Well, Thomas, excuse me. I am just trying to get to class. Also, I will remind you that my name is Laura," I replied uneasily. The last trick I used to get away from this jerk was out of the question; I still did not even have the tiniest spark of magic available to do anything like freezing the floor. Maybe back then I should have frozen him instead. I tried walking around him, much further away this time, but he still moved to block me.
"You know, I always wondered why Dan hung out with you. Glad I don't have to play football with him anymore. I had no idea he was like that," he jeered.
"I have no idea what you are even talking about. Are you planning on making us both late?" I rolled my eyes.
"I'm sure you can handle a single tardy mark. I've got some questions. Like: what the hell happened to you? It's been bugging me for a week," he said, curiosity creeping into his voice.
"Again, I have literally no clue what the hell you are talking about," I said firmly.
"Okay, let's start with your hair. It isn't a wig."
"Yes, it is my hair," I said, forcing as much boredom as possible into my voice. "What's your point?"
"How did it get so long over a single weekend?"
Thankfully I had already a prepared answer for this. "Have you heard of extensions? I am sure you could get some at a salon if you wanted. I do not have time for this." I tried again to dart past him, and he clamped his hand onto my arm.
"I saw you, Dan, and that girl at the river on Friday."
I froze.
"So, you were following me?" I breathed. My stomach clenched as I stared directly at him.
"Yeah, I saw the lot of you all playing with sticks and running around. Makes sense that both you and Dan enjoy swordplay."
"Wow, so brave Tommy, going to the cursed, haunted creek."
"The creek isn't gonna scare me away. I'm no coward, you freak. Though, I must know. Did you get cursed or something?" A creepy, toothy smile spread across his face.
"No...?" I said slowly, the inflection in my voice betraying the question. I had not been cursed, but had Lucas? Based on Lucas's reaction at the time, I knew he would surely have referred to the transformation that way.
"Oh, you don't know! Does that mean it's going to happen to Dan too? Holy shit, that's gonna be so funny. And what about four eyes, too?" His smile grew even larger as he laughed in my face. I tried to back away, but his grip held firm on my arm.
The warning bell echoed through the hall, and I frantically wracked my brain for anything I could use as a distraction. Out of nowhere inspiration struck me.
"Are you not worried then?" I said, forcing a smile onto my face. I had to sell this.
"Huh?" He uttered as his smug expression faltered.
"Well, you were there, right?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Tommy's face shifted in the direction of worried.
I paused, enjoying his faltering confidence before continuing, "You know. The curse."
"Oh, so you will admit it!" he said triumphantly. "I knew it!"
"Let go of me," I said sternly. "Maybe it spreads on contact?"
His eyes went wide.
"Stupid bitch," he spat as he pushed my arm away.
With my arm free, I took the opportunity to bolt for the women's locker room.