The Woodward Academy,

Chapter 2: July

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

Jim Gillenham sighed. He was bored. Working in this small diner, here in this small city, was about as boring as life could get. His parents had been adamant, however, that he wasn't going to spend his summer sitting on his butt at home. They had insisted he get out and get some work experience, so that if things should go horribly wrong at school, he would have something to fall back on.

Like I want to spend my life working in a podunk diner.

Working here did have some benefits, however. It was close to the junior college, which meant that a lot of the students would come in for lunch and dinner. A few of them were very attractive, and he had been hitting on them, trying to get himself a date. It hadn't worked yet, but there were two that had shown a hint of interest.

One of them was coming in now. Her name was Dolores, but that fitted neither her looks nor her personality, so everyone called her Dolly. She had bright red hair and blue eyes, and a very nice body to look at. She was alone today, which was unusual. Usually she had several friends with her, and they would sit at a booth and chat. Today, she sat at the counter.

"Hey, Dolly," he greeted her warmly. She smiled at him, but he could see that she was troubled. "What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing. Just an argument with one of my friends. We're not speaking to each other for awhile."

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said. "You want your usual?"

"Yeah... except today, I want a big chocolate shake."

"One depression buster, coming right up," he said with a grin. She smiled at him as he went back to fill her order.

The diner was slow today, and so Jim spent his time chatting with Dolly, trying to cheer her up. Finally, after a bit of hesitation, he said, "You want to see something cool?"

She eyed him, but then said, "Sure, why not?"

Jim looked back and forth, and then he held out his hand, palm up, and quietly whispered, "Tenaga bado." a ball of yellow energy appeared in his hand, just sitting there. Dolly gasped. Jim began to roll it back and forth between his hands, and then across the back of his hands, like a juggling ball.

"What is it? Can I touch it?" Dolly asked.

"It's not safe to touch it," he told her quickly. If anyone other than him touched it, he knew, it would explode. It wouldn't do much damage, but they'd both get hurt.

"Oh," she said, actually more impressed. "What is it?"

"It's magic," he whispered, trying to sound theatrical. Dolly was thoroughly captivated now.

As another customer came in, however, Jim straightened up and quickly said, "Uray." The ball dissipated into the air, as quickly as it had appeared.

"Aw," Dolly said, disappointed.

"Sorry," Jim said. "I'm not supposed to do that in front of other people. Maybe another time," he told her with a smile.

She grinned at him, and finished eating her meal while he went to handle the other customer.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

The next day, Dolly was back. She was still alone, and she sat at the counter again. Jim came over to get her order.

"The usual?" he asked her, after greeting her. She nodded, and he went off to fill her order. When he returned, she motioned him closer. Jim leaned in to hear what she had to say.

"You think you could show me that thing you did yesterday again?"

Jim looked back and forth. There was only one other customer in the diner, and he was sitting way at the back. Jim said, "Okay."

Casting the spell again, Jim brought forth an orange ball of energy this time. He played with it as he had before, moving it around and tossing it from hand to hand. When he saw someone walking toward the door of the diner, though, he extinguished it once again. Dolly frowned.

"I like watching that," she said.

"I'm not supposed to do it in public," he said to her quietly. Getting up the nerve, he said, "If you wanted to go on a date sometime, I could show it to you for longer, along with some other cool things I know."

Dolly smirked at him for that, not knowing if he was using a double entendre or not. She said, "Okay, why not."

"Saturday?"

She nodded.

"I'll pick you up at eight, if you'll give me your address."

Dolly pulled out a scrap of paper, wrote down her address and phone number, and handed it to him. When she'd finished her meal and got up from the counter, Jim was nearby. She leaned over and kissed him quickly on the lips. It was the first time Jim had ever been kissed, and he felt like he was blushing to his toes.

"See ya," Dolly said to him with a smile. Jim just nodded, and waved after her.

-----

Three hours after Dolly left, it was nearing time to close the diner. Jim was cleaning up as two men came into the diner, and walked over to a table. Jim heard them, but didn't turn until he was finished. Then, he grabbed an order pad, and walked over to the table.

"I'm afraid we're very close to closing time, gentlemen, so there isn't much available. I can offer you sandwiches..."

"Jim Gillenham?" one of them asked. Jim twitched in surprise. He hadn't really paid much attention to the men; he'd been preoccupied thinking about his upcoming date.

"Sit," the other man ordered, motioning to the seat beside his partner. As Jim sat down, he noticed the stylized hawk on the man's coat.

"Aw, shit," he said forlornly.

"You know why we're here."

Jim sighed. "You're going to bust me, over a little bitty magic trick?"

"You know the law. No unlicensed use of magic outside of school. You've done it twice in two days. We might have let once slide, but you're showing a pattern now. Using magic to impress the girl is not wise until you've got full control of it."

"Goddammit. Now what?"

"You'll be coming with us, back to Dugerra."

"You're shitting me."

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, you've got to be kidding."

"Do I look as though I kid very often?"

Jim looked at him. "No. No, you don't."

"Your parents will be notified."

"Dammit, I might have gotten laid! Now she's going to think I stood her up."

"Those are the breaks," the Rimohr said. "Finish closing the restaurant, then we'll go. Don't bother trying to run; we've already erected a containment charm."

"Right," Jim said unhappily. He got up from the table, his good mood destroyed.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David was in his work room, preparing a potion, when the guard said, "Finish up what you're doing, Stroud. The warden wants to see you."

David was surprised, but nodded. He took a couple minutes to bring his potion to a safe stopping point, and he set it aside. He bundled up his paperwork, and handed it to the guard, who did so perfunctory a job of examining them, David wondered why they even bothered with the pretense.

Finally, with all his stuff packed away, he followed the guard out of the room and down the hall to the warden's office. The guard motioned him in, and David entered. The warden was waiting for him this time.

"Good morning, Mr. Stroud. I hope all is going well?"

"No complaints, sir. At least, none worth voicing."

The warden grinned. "I'm sure you're wondering why I called for you."

"Yes, sir."

"About six months ago, we instituted a new program here in the facility. It's called the Big Brother program. We assign new inmates a big brother, to help get them up to speed on how the facility runs, and how to keep themselves out of trouble. It's your turn."

"With all due respect, sir, I think I've been here long enough to know how things work..."

"Exactly. Which is why we're assigning you as a big brother."

"Oh! Sorry, sir, I misunderstood."

The warden chuckled. "No problem. Your job is to get your little brother educated on the rules and procedures here in the facility. Your little brother won't be here long. He was only sentenced to a month."

"What'd he do?"

"Unlicensed use of magic, of course. It's almost the universal cause for people to be here in the facility. More serious crimes are handled elsewhere."

David nodded. "Well, I'll teach him what I know. Where is he?"

"Mr. Shoney, bring in the prisoner." The guard nodded to the warden, and then motioned at someone who was apparently standing down the hall. David turned to see the person who would enter.

"Jim!" he yelled, once he saw who it was.

Jim looked up, and blushed. "Hey, David."

"You two know each other?" the warden asked.

"We're roommates at the Academy," David said, certain that the warden already knew this.

"Well, then. It should be easier for you to show him the ropes. Mr. Gillenham, I'd advise you strongly to listen to Mr. Stroud. He has managed to achieve every privilege available to him here at the facility. Follow his lead, and your stay here will be much more enjoyable."

"Yes, sir."

"You two may go to lunch now."

"Thank you, sir," David said. He motioned Jim out into the hallway. The guard followed behind them.

"What the hell did you do?" David asked Jim immediately.

"I was trying to impress a girl," Jim said morosely. His parents had already chimed in, and were furious. He'd lost his job at the diner, and he worried about his standing at the school.

"Dumb move, man," David said. "Stick to the girls on campus for that kind of thing!"

"The girls on campus are not impressed by what little magic I can do," Jim replied.

"True, but trying it on them won't get you busted!"

Jim, in an effort to change the subject, said, "So what's this place like?"

"Boring as all hell. Even if you have apprenticeship work to do. We get up at eight. Shower, eat breakfast, return to your cell. Lunch is at noon. Somewhere along the lines they changed the policies, and we don't eat lunch in our cells anymore, so we at least get to go to the mess hall for that. After lunch, you can either spend an hour in the yard, or go back to your cell. Dinner's at six. Lights out is at midnight."

"What do you do here?"

"I'm lucky enough that Prof. Stott convinced them to allow me to continue my studies. What I did before that was... go stark raving mad with boredom. I've got some books you can borrow, but they're almost all about potions and Herbology..."

"No thanks!"

"I've got a couple others you might actually like, I don't know. Anyway, it's something to do. The warden said you were only here for a month?"

"Yeah. First offense and all."

"Lucky you. I've already been here over a month, and that's just this visit."

"I know. Sucks for you. But I didn't expect to be coming here for something this petty!"

"Learn your lesson. They take the rules seriously. And don't try causing trouble or playing pranks in here, either. You think it's boring now, try spending a couple days where you don't leave your cell at all, for anything. I haven't had that happen to me, but I've talked to a couple of guys who did. It sucks big time."

Jim nodded as they entered the mess hall to get their lunch.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

Jim and David were sitting at dinner together, some days after Jim's arrival.

"If I had to spend more than the month here, I think I'd kill myself. I've counted the bricks in my walls seven times already! There is nothing to do!"

David chuckled. "Been there, done that. You sure you don't want to learn more Herbology?"

"I'm considering it! Damn. And I missed my chance to get laid by Dolly."

"Dolly?"

"The girl I was trying to impress."

"Ah." After taking a bite of his food, David said, "Maybe you could take up drawing or something. They'll give you paper and pencil..."

"It's a thought, though I've always sucked at that kind of thing."

"Well, you know what Prof. Phillips would say about that."

"What?"

"Peractus makes perfect."

Jim groaned. Just then, someone said, "Jimmy G! What're you hangin' around this loser for?"

Jim looked up. "Hey, Rob. David's my Big Brother."

David looked up to see the guy who'd tried to pick a fight in the shower. "Hey, Beckel. Enjoy your days in solitary?"

"Fuck you, Stroud!" the guy snarled. "You just wait until I get you on the yard!"

"Go ahead and try it," David replied. "If you do as well as you did last time, I'm sure I'm in no danger."

Beckel seethed, gripping his lunch tray until his hands turned white. He growled, and then forcibly turned himself away. There were too many guards here to start anything.

"What the hell was that all about?" Jim asked. David related the shower scene to him, and Jim was chuckling.

"Why does he call you 'Jimmy G'?"

Jim shrugged. "Because he can't pronounce Gillenham, I guess. He's three cells down from me, so we see each other a lot."

"He's a troublemaker, Jim. I wouldn't go hanging around him if you want to keep your nose clean in this place."

Jim nodded, but didn't say anything. They continued to eat their lunch in peace.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Visitor, Stroud," the guard said. David looked up from his study to see Gwen entering the cell.

"Hey!" he said, and the two hugged warmly. David motioned her over onto the bed - it was the easiest place for both of them to sit and talk - and then he put his book away.

"I'm glad you were able to get back here," David said.

"We had to cancel one trip because Dad had an emergency at the office. Since I had the time..."

"Well, I'm happy to see you. What have you been up to since last time?"

"We went to England."

"And where is that?"

Gwen looked at him funny. "No, David, England."

"Oh! You mean the normal one! I thought there was another one here in Dugerra!"

Gwen laughed.

"So what did you think of it? I've never been there."

"It was interesting. Nothing like Dugerra at all, but still, very nice. A bit busy in London, though."

"There's probably more people in London than there are in all of Callamandia."

"I'd believe it!"

So, what did you go see?"

Gwen related her trip to him. It wasn't, in fact, a very interesting trip for her, but she knew that David would take any diversion he could get, and she was more than happy to fill him in on all the details.

"How did you get to England, anyway?" David asked when she had finished up talking about their trip.

"Well, Stonehenge, of course. I mean, c'mon... you had to guess that it's another gate to Dugerra..."

"I didn't really think about it. But... where are the hellhounds? I mean, people go there all the time, and they never see them..."

"Normal people can't see hellhounds."

"Huh?"

"You can't see a hellhound unless you're magical. If a hellhound were forced to stop a normal, they would only see its eyes, and feel its breath. Hellhounds create a lot of demon legends."

David chuckled. "I would guess."

The two continued to chat for some time more about random things. After a while, Gwen said, "Oh, and Mom wants me to tell you that you are invited to come stay with us next summer, after you've gotten your license and will be out of this nasty place. Actually, she didn't say 'invited', she just said that you were staying with us... but I figured I'd give you the option."

David smiled. "Well, it's certainly nice of her to... uh... 'offer'. I honestly don't know what my plans for next summer are."

"Well, just figure on staying with us for at least part of it... she might get mad at you if you don't."

"Why do I feel like I'm getting adopted?" David asked with a grin.

Gwen blushed. "That may be partly my fault. I tell them about you a lot. Mom asks what you're doing, what you're like, and that kind of thing, and I just go on about it."

David put his hand on Gwen's arm. "Thanks."

Gwen blushed further. To change the mood, she said, "It wasn't ready yet, but Mom will be sending you up a box from home, with some goodies in it."

"Oh. Well, tell her thank you in advance."

"I will."

"Say, are you going to visit Jim while you're here?"

"Huh?"

"You didn't know? Jim's here."

"I thought he lived in Earth... wait, you mean here here? As in, here in the facility?"

David chuckled. "Yep. Got himself busted over a girl."

Gwen rolled her eyes and giggled. "That guy really needs to get laid."

"Should I tell him you offered?" David teased. Gwen blushed right down to her toenails.

"God, no! He is definitely not my type!"

"Yeah, Devyn might get jealous," David said, to twist her tail.

Gwen giggled. "No, she's not that type... and we have an agreement about dating boys, anyway."

David nodded. "So, what else is going on in the world?" he asked, just to continue the conversation.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Stroud!" a guard called out. David was eating dinner with Jim, and he raised his hand so the guard could find him.

The guard came over and said, "You need to be ready to travel tomorrow morning at nine o'clock."

"Where am I going?" David asked.

"Apparently, to a birthday party." The guard's sneer showed what he thought of that.

"Really? Whose?"

"Officer Garibaldi's. His wife has made the arrangements."

"Oh. In that case... how do I go about retrieving some of my money?" To Jim, he said, "If I'm going to a birthday party, I should have a gift with me..."

"Makes sense," Jim agreed.

The guard said, "Your clothes and non-magical belongings will be returned to you in the morning. That would include your currency."

"Okay. Thank you."

The guard harrumphed at that, and walked away.

Jim looked at David and shook his head. "Look at you, traipsing off to parties."

David chuckled. "I've never even met Garibaldi's wife."

"Who's Garibaldi, anyway?"

"You've met him. He's the Rimohr who's acting as my case officer."

"Oh, the one who came up to the school when you fell off the floating rock?"

"Yeah, that's him."

Jim nodded. "Nice of her to 'invite' you."

David chuckled. "Yeah. 'Invite'."

The two continued to eat their dinner.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Are you ready to go, David?"

"Agent Sheridan. I wondered who was going to come get me. I assume that my attendance is a surprise for Mr. Garibaldi?"

"You assume correctly," Sheridan replied with a smile. "His wife thought he might like to have you there... and she also thought you might enjoy a day off from this place."

"Well, she's certainly right about that part. Will we have time to stop off somewhere so I can get Mr. Garibaldi a gift?"

"You don't think showing up is enough?"

"Well, technically, I'm not the one giving that gift."

"Fair enough. I'm sure we can stop someplace. We have time."

"Thank you."

-----

David wasn't even sure of the name of the village they stopped in, and he'd never been in any of the shops before. He thought about getting him some kind of trinket, but didn't have any idea what Garibaldi would like. Finally, he gave in, and walked into the book shop. It was almost a tradition with David, and besides, Garibaldi had started it.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" the storekeeper asked.

David said, "I'm looking for a gift for a friend of mine. He does a lot of traveling."

"Oh, you don't say. Well, we have some useful books over here..."

It only took David ten minutes to find just the right thing for Garibaldi, and then he and Sheridan were at the counter.

"As this is a gift, would you like it wrapped?"

"Yes, please."

"Do you want self-unwrapping paper?" the man asked.

"No. In fact... you don't have any self-re�wrapping paper, do you?"

"Come again?"

"Paper that would make it much harder to get it unwrapped?"

The man chuckled, and then he thought for a second. "I don't have any... but come to think of it, I could probably spell up some regular paper... let's give it a go." The man quickly wrapped up the book, and then he uttered an enchantment on it. Finally, he tried to undo the paper. As he let go of the first portion he ripped, it wiggled itself right back into place. It didn't fix the tear, but it held itself firmly to its original position.

"Hah!" the man said. "You either have to be amazingly fast at unwrapping, or..." the man said, tapping the book with his finger three times and saying, "Kitale!" Immediately, the wrapping paper fell off the book and lay on the counter. "Splendid! I have a new product! Thank you for the idea, young man! Just for that, I'm not going to charge you for the wrapping."

"Thank you," David said with a smile. He didn't care about the charge, but he was glad to have made the guy so happy over something so simple. The book dealer rewrapped the book and enchanted the new wrapping paper.

"And there you are. Fifteen granas, if you please."

David paid the man, and then he and Sheridan left the bookstore, back for their coach, which was waiting at the end of the street.

"You could have asked for a share of his profits for that idea, you know," Sheridan told him. "You'd have been within your rights."

David shrugged. "I already have all the money I need. He was so pleased at the results, I wouldn't have had the heart to ruin it for him by talking business over it."

Sheridan chuckled, and then they got back on the coach to continue their journey.

-----

"Bill! Good to see you!" the woman said, giving him a brief hug. She was an attractive young woman, who looked to be in her mid-20's, which was about the age David expected Garibaldi was. She looked to him and said, "And you must be David."

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

"Oof, 'ma'am'. Just call me Zyla."

"Thank you, Zyla," he said.

"And who's your familiar?" she asked.

"This is Jailla. Say hi, Jailla." Jailla complied with a soft series of chirps.

"Well, nice to meet you, too, Jailla. Now, I don't want to be rude, but you have to hide. The party's not supposed to be for three more hours, and I don't want him to know you're here. Bill, why don't you take him out someplace? He's been cooped up in that damned facility for two months. He could use some entertainment."

"Yes, ma'am," Sheridan said, grinning at her.

"You! Go!"

Sheridan said to David, "Come on, I'll take you to a ball game."

"They have those here?"

"It's nothing like you're thinking of, trust me."

David grinned.

-----

The 'ball game' turned out to be some weird version of soccer. They called it dakaball, after the name of the spell used in the game. The players ran along, and were not allowed to touch the floating energy orb with any part of their body at all. The ball would vary in its height above the ground, depending on how it had been 'hit', and the players would then mutter, "daka!" at it, over and over, to move it along, until they got to the right position, and then they would either pass to a teammate, or shoot it. The goalie could block with his body, but he could not grab the ball with his hands.

David found the game entertaining, if baffling. They were watching an amateur game, Sheridan told him, between two village teams.

"I wonder why they don't play this game at the Academy," David said.

Sheridan looked at him funny. "They do play this game. The Woodward Firebirds are the best team in the league! Do you not follow sports?"

"Nothing except baxayr. And that only because one of my friends is on the team."

"Oh? Who?"

"Gwen Hasterscant. She's a third-string forward."

Sheridan nodded. "I've seen her name on the roster, but not read anything about her."

"She's only been in two games, and those only briefly. Maybe she'll move up to second-string this year."

"Is she any good?"

"Beats the hell out of me. They all look impressive to me."

Sheridan laughed.

-----

When Sheridan and David returned from the dakaball game, several guests had already arrived for the party. David didn't see Mr. Garibaldi, however. Zyla grabbed his hand and pulled him into the kitchen.

"Now, Joe's still at work, and he'll be home in about thirty minutes."

"I thought Mr. Garibaldi and Agent Sheridan worked together."

"They did, last year. He has a new partner now. Otherwise, I couldn't have asked Bill to come get you."

"Oh. Wait, if he's at work, why were you worried about him seeing me?"

Zyla blushed. "Okay, you caught me. I just wanted to make Bill let you do something fun, rather than being stuck here. Anyway, I want you to stay in here with me until it's time for the cake. Then you and I will take the cake out to him together."

"Whatever you say," he said with a smile. He sat out of the way on a stool as she rushed around, getting everything ready.

After a while, she looked at him. "You don't talk much, do you?"

David chuckled. "I didn't want to interrupt you. You look busy enough for five people. Is there anything I can do to help out?"

"No, no, you'd just get in my way. You don't know where anything is, and it would take me more time to tell you everything than to just do it myself. Anyway, tell me about yourself. Joe's not really said much about you, personally. Just the awful garbage that was happening to you at the school."

"What do you want to know?" he asked.

"Well... you grew up in Earth, right? What was that like? I was born here in Dugerra."

David described his previous life to her as she continued to move around the kitchen, getting everything ready. She would ask questions occasionally, which sent him off on additional explanations. By the time he was done, she looked at the clock and frowned.

"He'll be here any second. I have to go get everyone hidden. You stay here."

"Yes, ma... uh, Zyla."

She grinned at him, and then went into the living room. David sat quietly, twiddling his thumbs for several minutes. Finally, he heard the front door open, and a few seconds later, he heard the multi-voiced yell of "SURPRISE!" David marveled that they did such silly things here in Dugerra, too.

After a few more minutes, Zyla came back into the kitchen. "Well, it's time. You ready?"

"Sure," David said, hopping down off his stool. He hefted one side of the large cake, and grunted. "Yikes. You just wanted me here to help lift this thing, didn't you?"

Zyla giggled, and then they walked together toward the door. Zyla went first, backward, with David following. Garibaldi was chatting with another person near him when they set the cake down in front of him. Garibaldi turned to look at it, admiring the work his wife had put into it. He looked up to tell her how nice it was, and then he jumped.

"David! How'd you get here? Shouldn't you be in jail?"

"Oh, nice! Just a wonderful way to greet a birthday guest," David told him with a grin. "And after the very nice Christmas card I got you last year, too!"

Zyla laughed, and so did Sheridan. Garibaldi blushed. He said, "Nice to see you, David. The cake is beautiful, Honey."

"Well, cut into the thing, so we can eat it. I'm hungry," Sheridan said.

"I offered you a hot dog at the game," David said to him.

"Yuck," Sheridan opined in reply. David grinned.

-----

While Mr. Garibaldi's party was getting underway, it was dinner time at the facility. Jim was sitting alone, since David was off having fun. He wasn't alone for long, however.

"Jimmy G!" Beckel said, sitting down next to him. Another guy sat down on the other side of the table.

"Hey, Rob. What's on your mind?"

"Where's your nursemaid?" the other guy asked.

"Attending a birthday party."

"You really need to stop hanging with that guy," Beckel said. "He makes you look bad."

Jim stared back at him. "First off, the guy's my big brother here. Second, he's my roommate at college, and third, he's probably the best friend I've got. You don't like him because he got you in trouble. Fine, I got that, but don't bother trying to drive a wedge between us, 'cause it isn't going to happen."

Beckel looked at the other guy, who stared back at him, then looked around the room.

"Whatever. It's your life. Look, wanted to make you a little offer."

"I'm listening," Jim said cautiously.

"In a week or so, me and some of the guys are gonna bust out of here. We were wonderin' if you wanted in."

"How the hell do you plan to break out of here?" he whispered.

"You see that door? It leads right to the outside. We cause a ruckus in here, take down the guards, and break through that door."

"That door's got to be magically sealed."

"It is, but we've figured the exact time they unlock it to let the supply guy in. We can make it out, no problem. You say you can spell quick, that's useful when we get on the outside. If you're in."

Jim sat, considering for only a second. Then he shook his head. "No thanks, guys. In a week, my time here will be nearly up. I don't want to spend the next however-many years in prison to shave a couple days off my time."

Beckel frowned, but nodded. "Fair enough. But, and I think you know this, Jimmy G, you never heard any of this. And you sure as hell don't tell that 'friend' of yours."

Jim nodded, but said nothing. The two men picked up their trays, and then walked off. Jim sat, thinking about whether or not he should, in fact, say anything about the breakout plan to David.

-----

Back at Garibaldi's party, it was time to open the presents. David was getting some insight into the man by watching the gifts his friends had brought him. Apparently, Mr. Garibaldi had an affinity for magical gadgets.

When he came to David's present, he looked up at him. "When did you have time to get me a present? Just how long have you known about this?"

David grinned. "We stopped on the way here."

Garibaldi looked down at the package. He knew it had to be a book, but he set to unwrapping it.

Or tried to. Every time he let loose a piece of the wrapping paper, it would whip back into position. Garibaldi ripped and ripped, tearing the paper into smaller and smaller pieces, but they stubbornly continued to slide back into their proper place.

"Agh! You son of a bitch," Garibaldi said in frustrated wonder.

"I think you should let him off the hook now," Sheridan told David.

David grinned, nodded, and then tapped the book three times and said, "Kitale!"

Immediately, the wrappings fell free of the book. The audience applauded. David would have blushed. "It's not my spell," he told them, not wanting to take credit for someone else's work.

"But it was your idea, wasn't it?" Garibaldi demanded.

"Well, of course it was!" David grinned.

"You bastard," Garibaldi said, chuckling. The rest of the group there laughed. When Garibaldi turned the book over, he laughed again. It was titled, "How Stuff Works: A Wizard's Guide to Traveling to Earth".

"Thanks, David," Garibaldi said. All kidding aside, David could tell the gratitude was sincere.

"Hope you like it," David replied. Then there were more presents to open.

-----

It was later in the evening, and all the guests had gone home. David was spending the night, as was Sheridan, since David was his official responsibility. They were all sitting around the table, eating dinner.

"So, apart from the hazing," Sheridan said to David, "how did your first year at the Academy go?"

"Well, the classes were great. I still have trouble believing where I am sometimes. I remember talking to one of my friends about Divination... and then stopping in the middle of our conversation, because I'd realized I was seriously talking about looking into the future. It's crazy sometimes.

"My apprenticeship is going well, I guess. Prof. Stott just keeps repeating that I'm doing better than expected."

"She isn't one to give praise lightly, if that's your concern," Sheridan told him. "If she says you're doing well, she means it."

"Yeah. And if she says you suck, she means that, too," Garibaldi said. David grinned at him.

"Didn't do well in Potions?" David asked him.

"Not in the slightest."

"What did you do well in?" David asked.

"Goofing off," Zyla offered, to the chuckles of the others.

Garibaldi objected. "Hey! I did just fine in Charms and Hexes, and Enchantments and Curses. I was pretty good in Metamorphosis, too."

After taking another bite of dinner, David asked, "Why is it you don't like the school?"

Garibaldi squirmed. "It's not that I don't like the school, David. It's that there are bad memories there."

"What happened?" David asked, curious.. Zyla set down her fork. She knew her husband didn't talk about this lightly. Sheridan was also interested, as he had never had the courage to ask the question David had.

Garibaldi paused, then looked over at his wife, who merely looked supportively back at him. Garibaldi set down his own fork, and leaned back.

"Well, you have to understand that there are basically two kinds of students. Those like you, that take their education very seriously, and those who intend to spend as much time at school as they can, so that their parents will continue to support them, but they don't really give a damn about schooling.

"When I started at Woodward, I was in the second group. I spent most of my time screwing around. I hung out with a group of like-minded students, and we collectively caused a lot of grief for teachers and students alike.

"Things changed for me at licensure. I squeaked by on my licensure exam by a single right answer. Had I gotten just one more question wrong, I would not have gotten my wizarding license.

"Well, after that, I took things a lot more seriously. It was a wake-up call. I realized that, if I actually wanted to stay in Dugerra, and not end up in Earth doing Lord-knows-what, I was going to have to knuckle down and try harder. I knew that the Citizenship Examination was quite a bit harder than the Wizarding Licensure, so I knew there was no way I was going to make it without a lot of effort.

"Well, the problem with shifting my focus like that, is that my friends didn't. They were all still cut-ups and goof-offs, and expected the same from me. I tried, half-heartedly, at first, but it wasn't possible to do all that and keep up with my studies.

"Eventually, I drifted to the edges of my normal group, and tried to reach out to the serious students, to try to get some help with my work.

"Unfortunately, after two years of pranking them and causing them grief, there were few students willing to believe that my motives were clean. They all expected it was some kind of trap to play another prank. I was on my own, as far as my schoolwork went.

"The goof-off crowd started to not want to have much to do with me, either, because I was spending so much time actually studying. I got called quite a few names, and they even started pranking me.

"Well, I couldn't deal with that. So, in an effort to prove to them that I was still 'one of the guys', I started performing pranks on my own. The problem with that is that it is very easy to get caught when you're working alone. If you have a group, you can share tasks, and it's harder to piece it together. When it's just you, you have to do everything, and there's more chance of you getting caught doing something you can't easily explain away.

"I spent a lot of the next two years in detention housing. My pranks got worse, because I thought I wasn't trying hard enough to regain my place among my friends.

"At the end of my fourth year, I did something... have they regrown the lawn in front of Alton Hall yet?"

"There's a patch of snapping violets there," David told him.

"Wow... so they weren't able to regrow the grass. I hexed the land with... some dirty words. I won't tell you what I wrote, but it was bad.

"Of course, someone saw me, and I got caught. Dean Lengel was not amused. I spent the remainder of the year in detention housing, and she told me that, whether or not I passed my citizenship exam, I would not be welcome back at the Academy the following year."

"Ouch."

"Yes. I learned my lessons, but stepping foot on school grounds still brings back a lot of bad feelings."

"I'm sorry. Why did you agree to be my case officer, then?"

"You volunteered?" Zyla demanded.

"Thanks a lot, David," Garibaldi said with a wry grin.

"Oops. Sorry. But why did you?"

"Because I knew what you were going to go through, as soon as they found out about your condition. And I had a feeling that you were going to be a bit of a problem child. On that one, I seem to have been wrong."

"Don't sweat it. But there's something I don't understand."

"What?"

"How did you go from being a screw-up, to a cop?"

Sheridan and Garibaldi both chuckled at that.

Garibaldi said, "For a couple years after school, I bounced from job to job. Actually, from town to town. I hadn't figured out what I wanted to do, and I was aware that, as a mere Conjurer, I had limited options. I was trying to find something that suited me.

"One day, I happened to run across a Rimohr doing battle with a dark wizard. Everyone else was fleeing, to get out of the way. I dunno, it just didn't seem like I should be running, it seemed like I should be helping. I pulled out my wand and used a stunning spell to paralyze the dark wizard long enough to give the Rimohr the upper hand.

"A couple days later, the Rimohr came and found me at work. He recruited me into the academy, and here I am."

"There's a Rimohr Academy?" David asked.

"Yes," Sheridan told him. "It's really more of an apprenticeship, depending on your skill level as a wizard. It can range anywhere from a few months to two years."

"How long did it take you?" David asked Garibaldi.

"Two years," he said, blushing. David grinned.

"So even after going to college, you've got to go to school again to be a Rimohr? Why not fold those classes into the academic system?"

"They're too specialized, and there aren't that many people that want to become Rimohrs. It's a tough and thankless job. Most people respect us, but they don't necessarily like us. And the people we have to apprehend are very seldom as pleasant and cooperative as you were."

"You didn't exactly give me a choice," David said.

Sheridan shrugged. "Giving you options isn't part of my job."

"Why all the questions?" Zyla asked. "Are you thinking about becoming a Rimohr?"

David shook his head. "I have no idea what I'm going to do with my future. It's just that, aside from the mother of one of my friends, you guys are the only Dugerrans I know outside school."

"That'll change, once you get your licensure. It'll change more greatly once you get your travel endorsement."

"Travel endorsement?" David asked.

Sheridan explained, "Your licensure only allows you to perform magic. It still requires you to live in Earth. At the end of your third year, you will take a test for your travel endorsement. It allows you to travel unescorted in Dugerra. If you don't have your travel endorsement, then you can only come to Dugerra if you are accompanied by a Conjurer or better."

"And do you guys track down unauthorized travelers?"

"There is a specific task force within the department for that," he confirmed.

"Are there other races in the Rimohrs? I've only ever met human Rimohrs... of course, I've only seen three of you..."

"Actually, you saw quite a few today. For cultural reasons, Rimohrs try to stick to areas populated by their own race. We have the authority to go anywhere we need to, but we've found that people are more comfortable if the Rimohrs they see most often are like themselves. There are several races in the Rimohrs, including elves, gnomes, and even some centaurs, although they are very few in number."

"Interesting. I know a couple of centaurs."

"Oh? Do tell," Zyla asked.

David related the stories as they sat around the table, just enjoying some pleasant conversation.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"So, how was the birthday party?" Jim asked.

"Cool. Met Garibaldi's wife, some of his friends. Got to frustrate him with a present that kept re-wrapping itself."

Jim laughed.

"Anything happen here?"

Jim paused for a long moment, then finally he said, "No, nothing of interest."

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~
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