The Basement - 4
Two o'clock. Time for the last class of the day. Calvin always looked forward to this class, not just for the content but for the teacher. He walked down the hallway, past the rows of lockers and doors, and turned into the last one on the left. He glanced up at the placard on the door as he entered. "MAGIC SAFETY & AWARENESS" it read in big, bold letters. Today they would be starting some practice applications, instead of the book work and theoretical study they had been doing for weeks prior. Calvin usually hated book work, but Mr. O'Leary had a way of presenting it that was thoughtful and engaging.
The room was a typical classroom, adorned with rows of seats with desks attached to them, walls decorated with posters and cupboards, a blackboard with chalk streaks here and there and old formulas that refused to be cleaned off, and a large desk at the front of everything. Seated behind the desk was a tall man with short, brown hair. He smiled and greeted each student by name as they entered, as was his custom. Calvin walked by his desk and gave him a smile. "Hi Mr. O'Leary," he said.
"Mr. Freedman, good to see you on this fine day! I hope you saved some room in that head of yours for today's lesson," the man replied. Dean O'Leary looked ready for a business meeting more than a lesson, in his dark blue suit and jacket. One of the kids asked him one time why he dressed so nicely for classes. Mr. O'Leary said it was because education, as well as magic, should be taken seriously in order to attain success, and wanted to project that to the students not only with his lessons but with his appearance, as well.
Calvin looked around for an empty seat. He noticed Eva near the windows, although all of the seats around her were filled. She had a book opened on her desk and was intently reading its contents. He chose a spot near the middle of room. Once all of the students were seated, Mr. O'Leary stood up and began. "Why do we study magic?" he asked the class. It was a question he has asked them many times before. There were a few murmurs, but no hands shot up. A usual response, from his experience. He gave them a few moments to think, then called on a boy near the back. "Nathan, why do we study magic?"
Nathan, a boy that Calvin had in a few of his other classes, stood up and said, "To understand it better, sir."
"I'll accept that. Why do we study magic safety?" Mr. O'Leary continued.
"So we don't kill ourselves," One of the students answered. a chorus of snorts and chuckles followed.
"In short, yes," Mr. O'Leary said as he paced in front of the chalkboard. "Magic is a very powerful tool, but is also very dangerous. Now that you're able to perform it, you must remember to use it with care and with caution." He looked over the room of kids, his face as grave as could be. Calvin shuddered slightly at the thought of some of the stories of magic use gone awry he had heard and read about. The class was not laughing anymore.
Mr. O'Leary leaned against his desk and smiled. "I assure you that you'll all do fine." He looked around the room at each of the students. "Think about everyone you admire in your life, and all of the great things they've done. They were all here at one point, in this same moment you're in right now. Possibly with me as their teacher." He stopped and let that sink in for a moment. "Every one of you has the potential to do great things. With magic, or science, or healthcare, or any other number of things you're interested in and passionate about, but in order to do those great things you have to take that first step into the unknown, and this is a big first step for most of you."
Mr. O'Leary got up and walked to the chalkboard. He picked up a piece of chalk and scratched a word across the board in big letters: TELEKINESIS. He put the chalk down and dusted off his hands.
"This is our first big step: Telekinesis." Mr. O'Leary turned to the windows and flicked his hand. With a few creaks and squeaks, they unlatched and opened in unison. He turned back to the class. "Some of you may have already received your gift of magic and had a chance to practice this already..." Mr. O'Leary glanced at Calvin briefly. "But for everyone else I'll explain. The key to telekinesis, just like any spell, is imagination. You must have a focused picture of what you are trying to do in your head, or else you won't be able to move a pencil, let alone anything significant. Let's pair up and follow along." Mr. O'Leary grabbed a clipboard off of his desk and began reading down the list of names, pairing off students. He soon called Calvin and his partner, causing his heart to skip. "Eva Foley, Calvin Freedman, pair up. Nathan Gerling, Tony Harland, pair up..." On and on he went, down the list.
The students began rearranging themselves in the room, pairing up with each other. Calvin started to get up, but noticed Eva already making her way over, so he sat back down. He greeted her with a shy smile, and could feel his face turning red. "Hey, Eva."
Eva giggled a bit, probably at his beacon of a face, Calvin assumed. "Hey, Calvin." She sat down in the desk across from him so they could turn and face each other. "Must be my lucky day. I hear you're pretty good at this," she said.
"Where did you hear that?" Calvin asked. He squirmed a bit in his seat as she looked at him.
"News travels fast around here, you know." she answered. "Word is you've been practicing with your parents ever since your birthday last summer."
It was true, he had been practicing regularly since his birthday, giving him almost a year's experience over most students in his class. Although never at the table, that was his mom's only rule. And obviously nothing too crazy, but that went without saying for any force that could kill you in an instant.
"Before we begin, are there any questions?" Mr. O'Leary asked. A short, blonde boy seated next to Calvin raised his hand, trembling slightly as he did so. "Yes, Daniel?" Mr. O'Leary turned his attention to the boy.
"Do we have to participate in this part of the class? I'm scared of overdoing it," Daniel said. A few kids laughed; others looked like they shared his concerns.
Mr. O'Leary chuckled. "Daniel, I assure you that what we are about to do will not harm you permanently. Telekinesis is a very basic form that we'll be going over, and I have bottles of mana on hand just in case of an emergency." He motioned towards a cupboard next to his desk with a clear door. Small bottles full of green luminescent liquid lined the shelves within. Silver tendrils danced in the liquid, moving to and fro to a rhythm all their own.
"It is true that you can potentially die from casting, as we talked about before. Magic is powered by our life essence. The more powerful the spell, the more it draws out of us. If a person were to perform too much magic at once, or too powerful a spell, death is a very real side effect." He paused, then added, "Many brilliant scientists and mages have died seeing just how far they could push themselves. Their research has been invaluable, although they paid the price for it in the end."
Daniel nodded, seemingly satisfied with that answer, although his face still showed a bit of doubt. Mr. O'Leary smiled at him and said, "Don't worry, Daniel. I've been doing this for a long time, and as far as I know all of my students are still alive and well. Magic is like anything in life; if you don't over indulge you'll be fine. We take great precautions to protect all of you so you can learn and study safely." Daniel finally looked relieved, and turned back to his partner.
The room was a typical classroom, adorned with rows of seats with desks attached to them, walls decorated with posters and cupboards, a blackboard with chalk streaks here and there and old formulas that refused to be cleaned off, and a large desk at the front of everything. Seated behind the desk was a tall man with short, brown hair. He smiled and greeted each student by name as they entered, as was his custom. Calvin walked by his desk and gave him a smile. "Hi Mr. O'Leary," he said.
"Mr. Freedman, good to see you on this fine day! I hope you saved some room in that head of yours for today's lesson," the man replied. Dean O'Leary looked ready for a business meeting more than a lesson, in his dark blue suit and jacket. One of the kids asked him one time why he dressed so nicely for classes. Mr. O'Leary said it was because education, as well as magic, should be taken seriously in order to attain success, and wanted to project that to the students not only with his lessons but with his appearance, as well.
Calvin looked around for an empty seat. He noticed Eva near the windows, although all of the seats around her were filled. She had a book opened on her desk and was intently reading its contents. He chose a spot near the middle of room. Once all of the students were seated, Mr. O'Leary stood up and began. "Why do we study magic?" he asked the class. It was a question he has asked them many times before. There were a few murmurs, but no hands shot up. A usual response, from his experience. He gave them a few moments to think, then called on a boy near the back. "Nathan, why do we study magic?"
Nathan, a boy that Calvin had in a few of his other classes, stood up and said, "To understand it better, sir."
"I'll accept that. Why do we study magic safety?" Mr. O'Leary continued.
"So we don't kill ourselves," One of the students answered. a chorus of snorts and chuckles followed.
"In short, yes," Mr. O'Leary said as he paced in front of the chalkboard. "Magic is a very powerful tool, but is also very dangerous. Now that you're able to perform it, you must remember to use it with care and with caution." He looked over the room of kids, his face as grave as could be. Calvin shuddered slightly at the thought of some of the stories of magic use gone awry he had heard and read about. The class was not laughing anymore.
Mr. O'Leary leaned against his desk and smiled. "I assure you that you'll all do fine." He looked around the room at each of the students. "Think about everyone you admire in your life, and all of the great things they've done. They were all here at one point, in this same moment you're in right now. Possibly with me as their teacher." He stopped and let that sink in for a moment. "Every one of you has the potential to do great things. With magic, or science, or healthcare, or any other number of things you're interested in and passionate about, but in order to do those great things you have to take that first step into the unknown, and this is a big first step for most of you."
Mr. O'Leary got up and walked to the chalkboard. He picked up a piece of chalk and scratched a word across the board in big letters: TELEKINESIS. He put the chalk down and dusted off his hands.
"This is our first big step: Telekinesis." Mr. O'Leary turned to the windows and flicked his hand. With a few creaks and squeaks, they unlatched and opened in unison. He turned back to the class. "Some of you may have already received your gift of magic and had a chance to practice this already..." Mr. O'Leary glanced at Calvin briefly. "But for everyone else I'll explain. The key to telekinesis, just like any spell, is imagination. You must have a focused picture of what you are trying to do in your head, or else you won't be able to move a pencil, let alone anything significant. Let's pair up and follow along." Mr. O'Leary grabbed a clipboard off of his desk and began reading down the list of names, pairing off students. He soon called Calvin and his partner, causing his heart to skip. "Eva Foley, Calvin Freedman, pair up. Nathan Gerling, Tony Harland, pair up..." On and on he went, down the list.
The students began rearranging themselves in the room, pairing up with each other. Calvin started to get up, but noticed Eva already making her way over, so he sat back down. He greeted her with a shy smile, and could feel his face turning red. "Hey, Eva."
Eva giggled a bit, probably at his beacon of a face, Calvin assumed. "Hey, Calvin." She sat down in the desk across from him so they could turn and face each other. "Must be my lucky day. I hear you're pretty good at this," she said.
"Where did you hear that?" Calvin asked. He squirmed a bit in his seat as she looked at him.
"News travels fast around here, you know." she answered. "Word is you've been practicing with your parents ever since your birthday last summer."
It was true, he had been practicing regularly since his birthday, giving him almost a year's experience over most students in his class. Although never at the table, that was his mom's only rule. And obviously nothing too crazy, but that went without saying for any force that could kill you in an instant.
"Before we begin, are there any questions?" Mr. O'Leary asked. A short, blonde boy seated next to Calvin raised his hand, trembling slightly as he did so. "Yes, Daniel?" Mr. O'Leary turned his attention to the boy.
"Do we have to participate in this part of the class? I'm scared of overdoing it," Daniel said. A few kids laughed; others looked like they shared his concerns.
Mr. O'Leary chuckled. "Daniel, I assure you that what we are about to do will not harm you permanently. Telekinesis is a very basic form that we'll be going over, and I have bottles of mana on hand just in case of an emergency." He motioned towards a cupboard next to his desk with a clear door. Small bottles full of green luminescent liquid lined the shelves within. Silver tendrils danced in the liquid, moving to and fro to a rhythm all their own.
"It is true that you can potentially die from casting, as we talked about before. Magic is powered by our life essence. The more powerful the spell, the more it draws out of us. If a person were to perform too much magic at once, or too powerful a spell, death is a very real side effect." He paused, then added, "Many brilliant scientists and mages have died seeing just how far they could push themselves. Their research has been invaluable, although they paid the price for it in the end."
Daniel nodded, seemingly satisfied with that answer, although his face still showed a bit of doubt. Mr. O'Leary smiled at him and said, "Don't worry, Daniel. I've been doing this for a long time, and as far as I know all of my students are still alive and well. Magic is like anything in life; if you don't over indulge you'll be fine. We take great precautions to protect all of you so you can learn and study safely." Daniel finally looked relieved, and turned back to his partner.
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