First Draft for Capstone

(This is a rough draft of a story I am working on as a part of my last class from Coursera. It is long, and for that, I apologize.  Let me know what you think. Specifically where I could add more detail) 

 

“Two straight lines, please. That’s it. Thank you.” The stern looking woman finally smiled at the group of Guardians in training. “Welcome! I am pleased to see that all of you have made it here in one piece. You’ve all passed your initial classes in general combat magic with flying colors.  Now you will enter your official training.”

Niall glanced over at Aidan. His best friend was talking to some older boy. He paused in conversation to wave him over. Niall smoothly slid over to the second line. “Can you believe this place? It’s big!”

“My house is bigger.” Aidan said. He grinned. “You never did make it back this summer..”

“Yeah, Brendan needed me… “ Niall said. Truthfully, Brendan had told him that things were going to be different between Niall and Aidan this year. So he had started to distance himself from his long time best friend.

“Uh huh.” Aidan glanced up. “Better get back to your place. They’re looking over here.”

“We can’t let society dictate our friendships, Aidan…” Niall began.

“That’s exactly what we have to do… the alternative… well, you know. Your family’s practically lived it.” Aidan said. The lines were moving, his line moving a little faster than Niall’s.

Niall turned away from his friend. Everything he’d said in the second of conversation was true. But they had never before let society dictate what they could or should be. Something had changed Aidan over the summer, and Niall wanted to know what.

“Hey, keep moving.” A low voice said.

Niall scowled at the ground but he followed the taller boy ahead of him. It seemed as though everyone except for him had gone through a growth spurt. He felt less than confident as the line moved ever closer. The school, a repurposed mortal boarding school that had been abandoned, loomed ahead. For the first time he wished that Brendan or Blake had decided to be mentors  to his class.Then at least he’d know someone with a more friendly attitude.

“Ah, you did find your way back here. Good. You’re in the basement dormitory with your brother.” Professor Krumb said.

“But.. Aidan and I have always been roommates…”

“Not anymore.” He none too gently ushered Niall past him and into the school.

~~~

Niall grunted, shoving his trunk open. They were already in their dorms for the night. Getting their class schedules and then visiting the second hand book store on the grounds had almost cost him both lunch and dinner. The little bit of food he’d been able to get from the leftovers barely filled him. He waved his hand over the top tray. “C’mon, cheeseburger…” He muttered.

“That spell is so out of date.”

When he looked up, Niall saw his brother and a taller boy he didn’t know in the doorway. “Hey, it’s still pretty good.” He said. “This place needs better food.”

“Nope. You just need to get healthier.” The new boy said.

“See? Told you.” Brendan crossed the room and sat on the edge of one of the unclaimed beds. “Blake, meet my kid brother, Niall.”

Niall paused in chewing to stare at Blake. He was all too familiar with the name. Brendan had spent way too much time corresponding with him over the  summer. He didn’t see anything overly special aboout him except his age. “So you’re Blake. My brother’s been going on about you all summer.”

“Really, now?” Blake folded his arms.

“Just a little, I guess…” Brendan’s face was a nice shade of pink. “My brother’s an expert in lock picking,  and illusions.” His eyes were bright with pride.

NIall stuffed his hands in his pockets. “By necessity, really…”

“Picking the lock on the snack cabinet a a toddler is hardly a necessity.” Brendan laughed. “But he’s done bigger things since then, too.”

“Cool.” Blake glanced behind him. “Yeah, I’m comin’.” HE turned to Brendan. “Don’t tell him anything right now. We’ll see how things go once he starts classes.”

“Sure.” Brendan gave Niall a shrug, following Blake back down the hall.

****

The dorm room filled up after that. Most of the boys kept to themselves. None of them even gave Niall a second look beyond introducing themselves to him. That was fine with him. Niall had enough to worry about.  “Thanks.” He said as an elder student came in and passed out their robes. He unfolded his, laying it out neat on the bed to give it a once over. The sleeves were too big, but the length appeared to be just right.

“Hey, do we have to wear these all the time? There’s no air in this place. We’ll be dying.” A young boy asked. He had shocking red hair and green eyes hidden behind thick rimmed glasses.

“I think so…” Niall said. He shrugged out of his hoodie and hung it up on his bed frame.  He slid into the robes, moving his arms around. The material felt nothing like the robes he’d tried on at home. Brendan’s robes were softer. This material was itchy, and heavy. Now he understood the red head’s complaint.

“Only for school sanctioned classes and events.” A blond boy said. “My brother Justin started last year.”

“Oh.” Niall was relieved. He slid the robe off and hung it up on his designated hook. “I guess that’s good news.” He started to go through his bag of books and other supplies. Several blank notebooks, 8 different textbooks, a large blank book for personal spells, and probably his favorite thing: A thin long box containing his personalized wand. They’d ordered it two years ago. He’d been using a training wand for the last few years in his formative school. Now it was the real deal. Gingerly, he slipped the lid of the box off and picked up the wand. This is so  light. I hope I don’t break it. He gave it a gentle wave. The hoodie on his bed floated his hook. The robe hanging there levitated out of the way and the hoodie landed there before the robe engulfed it. “Wow…” He muttered.

“We’re not supposed to do that outside of classes.” The same redhead said.

“I won’t tell if you won’t.” Niall shrugged. The lights in the dormitory dimmed. “I guess that’s lights out?”

“Probably….” The boy didn’t seem as know-it-all anymore. He seemed ot shrink into himself. “Do you think they’ll let us do a night light spell?”

Niall turned to face him. “I have never seen one of those. I bet my parents did them when me and Brendan were little, but..” He reached in his trunk and pulled out his pajamas.  “Maybe ask one of the mentors. They’re just down the hall.”

“I’m Jamie.” The boy said,  getting up off his bed to follow Niall.

“Niall.” He didn’t glance over his shoulder. There  was no need to make this kid think he was going to let him cling. He couldn’t get attached to anyone. This era of his schooling, while still boring, was important.  

If Jamie sensed his lack of interest in starting a friendship, Niall didn’t see it. “My family’s been training here for decades. I’m the last in my family to make it.”

“Nice.” Niall commented. He walked into the bathroom and into a large shower stall. “Be out soon.” He turned the water on before Jamie could reply.

~~~

Niall was relieved when he got to the practice room the next morning and saw Brendan there. His brother was joined by a young girl that couldn’t be more than thirteen.  His witch. He straightened up as the doors opened and someone entered.

The class instructor, a guy that didn’t look much older than Blake, stood at the front. He paced quietly, studying all of them. “I’m Seth. I’ll be teaching you more advanced defensive combat magic. I’ve asked my star pupil for the last three years to help me demonstrate some of these techniques today. I want you taking notes. Desks, please.” He waved his hand. The back of the training room  filled with desks that Niall wasn’t sure that some of the taller kids would fit in. He slouched down in his once he sat down. Paper and a pen appeared on the desk. He alternated between watching his brother’s flawless demonstrations with his witch and spacing out. It was warm in the training room. The robes, and close proximity of bodies made it ten times worse.

 When Brendan was finished, Seth applauded then turned to the group of boys. “Now it’s your turn to try. Mercy will stand in for your witch-to-be.” He picked up his notebook, and glanced at whatever was written there. “Nickolas.”

The blonde from Niall’s dormitory came to the front. He turned to face Seth. “What do I do?”

“Use your gut. A lot of magic is best learned using instincts alone.” Seth said. He turned to the witch. “Mercy,  if you would?” HE gestured to the middle of the floor. As Mercy moved to the point he indicated, Seth continued. “Now, we’re going ot use what we call blank spells. That is, spells that are almost accurate, but cannot cause real damage. Your objective is to block or counter the spell. In a real situation, this needs to happen in  seconds not minutes. It could be the difference between life or death for your witch.”

Nickolas nodded, his wand out.  “I’m ready.” Mercy stood just out of his reach.  When Seth fired the first spell, a white spark flew from his wand. “Not happening.” He said in a low but confident voice. He followed it up with a slew of other non-English incantations.

“Good!” Seth said, moving to the front of the room again. “Summer session?” He questioned the breathless boy. Nickolas nodded, moving to return to his seat. He materialized a bottled water and took a long drink.  “Not bad at all. But you will need to learn how to exert less energy or you’re going ot run yourself into the ground.”

“Okay.” Nickolas took down a note on his paper as Seth used a charm to clean up some of the debris that his spells had left behind.

“Who would like to try next?” Seth asked. His gaze roamed the group of boys before settling on Niall. “Hey, aren’t you Brendan’s brother?”

Niall nodded. “That’s me.” He stood and moved to the front. He wondered how many others knew about him being Brendan’s brother.

“Heard a lot about you, actually. Keep your spells clean, and follow through. No shortcuts.” Seth warned.

“Hey, I can do this.” Niall wondered exactly what other kind of rumors had gone around the school before he’d even gotten there. “Bring it on.” He added.

“Have it your way.” Seth said.

Niall found himself on his back before he could come up with a blocking spell. “Whoa…”

“You need to be a bit faster than that next time. Get up.” Seth said. “Brendan, you take over.  I need to see another student for a few minutes.”

Niall got up, leveling a glare at Seth’s retreating form. “What a jerkweed.” He muttered.

“He’s not wrong.” Brendan said. “Focus.”

“I know what I’m- “ Niall felt the air go out of him as he collapsed to the floor.

“Come on, Niall. We practiced this exact thing just two days ago!” Brendan said. Then he sighed. He held out a hand. “Mercy, you should head back now and get some of your reading done.”

“This is your brother? What a joke.” The witch muttered before turning away and walking up the aisle. “I’ll be warning my friends about that one.”

Niall glared at the witch’s back. “Brat.” He spat, getting to his feet. “She’s not perfect either, I bet.”

“Don’t worry about her, Niall.” Brendan said. “I’ll be talking to her about that remark later. Just… try not to be so cocky. You’re still young, and there is a lot to be learned here. You’ll be fine. Just focus, and pay attention.” He gave Niall’s shoulder a squeeze, then turned to the class. “Let’s focus on deflecting magic for the rest of the class, alright?”

Niall stalked back to his seat and sunk so low in it he was barely in it at all.  For the rest of the class, he watched his fellow Guardians in Training as they learned and practiced new deflecting techniques. He absently began doodling in his blank book. The girl from the mortal world he had dreamed about all summer. He had only mentioned her to Brendan once, who’d advised him to let it go, and move on. He couldn’t. This girl haunted him.

When the bell rang, he got up and headed towards the back of the room to leave. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aidan coming towards him. He turned to face him. “Aidan, we need to talk… “ He was reminded of how they’d left things the day before.

“Nothing to talk about, really. Things have changed.” His friend stuffed his hands in his robe pockets. “You’re way down here,” he made his hands look like an unbalanced scale, “and I’m way up here. I’m already running circles around you and we’ve only had one major class so far.”

“I didn’t see you get up there.” Niall folded his arms across his chest. Aidan’s change of heart towards him stung. “Aidan, we’ve known each for years. We can’t let-”

“Aidan, we gotta go. Leave the scrud down here where they belong.” A dark skinned boy said. As he passed Niall, he gave him a hard shove with his shoulder.

“What the hell?” Niall whirled on the guy. “What’s your problem?”

“You and all the other lice crawling around this place.” He said. “You and your brother won’t last the whole  year here now that I’m here.” He turned to go. Aidan gave Niall a shrug and followed.

Niall let out a frustrated growl before scooping up his notebooks and pencil box. He would prove them all wrong, including his brother. He just needed the right opportunity.

~~~

The opportunity presented itself almost a month later. Niall had  made it his personal mission not to conform to what the school wanted. He practiced all of his own specialties, and incorporated only a few  of the school’s techniques when he had to.

Today, Niall was sitting across from Brendan and Blake in the courtyard. The overcast sky threatened rain again. He hoped they’d be done with their business before it let loose. “You wanted to see me?”

“We have something we need you to do.” Blake pulled the plastic wrap off of his salad and poured a generous amount of sweet smelling dressing on top. “Brendan?”

“You know Professor Crowe, right? I think you have her for history?” Brendan said.

“Yeah. She’s probably the only one who can tolerate me.” Niall said. He took a bite of his sandwich.

“Not the only one, but one of the few.”  Brendan said. “Anyway, we need you to get a key for us.”

“Get? As in swipe?  You want me to swipe something from a professor?” Disbelief turned to excitement in an instant. “And you said my skills wouldn’t serve me well here.”

“Don’t get so uppity. Consider it a trial.” Brendan sipped something in a dark colored cup with a lid. “If you can do this, well…” He slid a glance at Blake.

“IF you do this for us, I might consider  letting you in on the bigger job.” Blake studied him. “But don’t get caught, and don’t tell anyone else.”

Niall nodded. “Tell me more.”

“Sorry, that’s all you get.” Blake said. “I can’t have rumors floating around. Bring it to your brother’s locker tomorrow.” With that, he shoved the last bit of his salad into his mouth and got up. “Come on, I told Mercy you’d help her with the fractions.”

“Oh joy.” Brendan sighed. “Be thankful you don’t have a witch yet, little bro.” He stood, pulling out his wand. “Clean up.” He uttered. The mess on the stone picnic table vanished save for Niall’s own lunch. “Have fun.” He added before turning to follow Blake.

~~~

“Who can tell me the name of one of the fathers of modern Witchcraft in the mortal world? Yes, Aidan, I know you know the answer. Let’s let some else have a chance, shall we?” Professor Crowe said.

Niall rolled his eyes, raising his hand. This was a question he knew the answer to. For all his daydreaming, sometimes he learned something. “Aleister Crowley.”

“Correct.” She went back to the white board and began to write their weekly assignment. . “This week, I want you to pick a tarot card and meditate on it.” The class groaned. The professor pretended not to notice as she went to the back. .

Niall lifted his wand a bit, aiming it at the supply cabinet. A simple utterance was all it took for Crowe to realize she couldn’t get into the cabinet. Niall heard her utter a curse  ass the class got up to get their cards. He wedged himself into the middle of the line.

He went over his plan as he waited his turn. He would use a materialization incantation to force the key into his palm. He’d been picking locks and stealing things for as long as he could remember. He was so into his thoughts that he almost crashed into the girl in front of him when he was  jostled.

“Sorry.” Aidan laughed as he pushed his way through the crowd and smirked.

Niall bristled, feeling his hand ball into a fist at his side.“Piss off, you arrogant jerk.” He snapped as he grabbed his card and passed by the taller boy. The bell in the high tower clanged. Niall placed the card haphazardly in a folder. He swung the strap of his bag over his shoulder.   As he passed by the professor’s desk, he ran a hand over the surface. The cold metal of the skeleton key made his sweaty palm cooler. He slid it into the pocket of his cargo jeans.

Niall didn’t bother to turn around. He nodded to a couple of friends on the chess team as he passed through the main arch to head towards the residential wing of the school.   His eyes lit up as he saw his elder brother and Blake coming out of the Potions laboratory. “Guys!” He called out. He pressed through the rest of the surging crowd to meet them at Brendan’s  locker.

“Did you get it?”  Brendan murmured.

“Duh.” Niall fished in his pocket for the  key.

“Thanks, Niall. Knew we could count on you.” Blake  punched his arm.

Brendan sighed. “C’mon,  Blake. I can’t leave him.”

“Why did I steal a key from the only professor that likes me?” Niall folded his arms, eyebrow raised.  “I want answers.”

“That’s classified.”  Blake slammed his locker shut.  “If you slow us down, you’re coming  back here.” He and Brendan went into their room. Niall headed to his, ready for this new chapter.