The Woodward Academy,

Chapter 3: August

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For the next several days, Jim and David each spent their time at the facility doing whatever they could to keep busy. Jim struggled, internally, with whether or not to tell David about Beckel's plans.

For David's part, he simply returned to his potions work. He wished for another visit from Gwen, or better yet, Penny, but he didn't know if he'd get to see either of them before school started. In the meantime, he would spend his time as profitably as he could, learning his trade.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

Finally, on the day before Jim's release, he couldn't stand it anymore. He sat down with David at lunch, and he looked around carefully.

"What're you looking for?"

"Ears," Jim said. "I need to tell you something, but I want to make sure that no one can hear me."

"Ah." David sat, eating his lunch, while Jim looked around. Finally, he convinced himself that no one of import was within earshot.

"Look, there's something going on you need to know about, so you can stay out of the way. I don't want you to get in trouble accidentally, or get hurt or anything."

David looked at his friend seriously, and waited.

"Rob's planning to make a break for it. Him and a bunch of other guys."

"And you know this because..." David prompted.

"Because when you were off at that birthday party, they asked me to join in. I told them no, since I was so close to release, anyway. Actually, they were supposed to have set their plan in motion already. I don't know why they haven't."

"Do you know how they plan to do it?"

"They're going to start a riot in here, and then go out the supply door."

"Hmm," David said.

"David, when it happens, just keep the hell out of the way!" Jim hissed. "Otherwise, the warden'll think you're part of it."

David nodded. "Thanks for the heads up."

Jim sighed, relieved.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David waited until Jim had been released before he did anything with the information that Jim had given him. He didn't want it coming back on Jim, but now that he was beyond Beckel's reach, David could not sit on the information any longer.

"Officer Enzito," David called out quietly as the guard was walking past his cell.

"What you want, Stroud?" Enzito asked.

"I have some information you might want to get to the warden. Apparently, some of the prisoners are planning an escape attempt."

"Uh-huh. When?"

"That I don't know. The person who told me thought it should have already happened, but that could just mean they got stuck on their planning for a few days."

"And how are they supposed to do it?"

"They're going to cause a riot in the cafeteria."

"Uh-huh. Yeah, I'll make sure to get that info to the warden for you." Enzito walked off. David stared after him incredulously.

I don't think he even believes me.

David lay down on his bunk and stared at the ceiling.

So, what do I do if it happens in front of me?

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

Being a minimum-security facility, NCCMF didn't have a great many guards watching the inmates in the yard. There were a few, but not enough to prevent a determined criminal.

David had decided to take a little yard time, as he hadn't seen the sun in several days, and was beginning to feel a bit mushroomish. He was leaning against a wall out of the way of the other inmates, who were playing some kind of game that he didn't recognize.

David saw Beckel and one other inmate approaching, but the yard was free for all, and so there wasn't anything he could do about their nearness. As they passed, Beckel was closest to David, and the other inmate was in a position calculated to block the view of the guards.

Beckel turned to David and muttered, "This'll teach you to make me look dumb." He thrust a shank into David's gut. David felt the pain stabbing through him. Beckel left the crude instrument buried inside David, and walked off quickly. David remained standing for a few seconds, and then fell to the ground, the pain overwhelming him.

-----

David awoke, to feel the sharp, stabbing pain of a knife wound in his abdomen.

"You're lucky, Mr. Stroud," the healer said, seeing that David was now awake, "that you are already dead. If you weren't, you certainly would be now."

David grunted in grim humor. He turned his head, to see the warden standing across the room.

"Who was it?" he asked.

David shook his head. "I could tell you, but there were two of them, nobody saw them do it, and they would back each other's stories. There's no point in me causing myself further grief from them without any possibility of it going anywhere."

The warden growled, and left the room. The healer turned back to him. "I note you are still in pain. Is there anything I can do about it?"

"You can let me fade."

"How would that help?"

"My physical body heals faster when I am in ghost form. This wound may be painful, and would be fatal on a living human, but it is very small. It is likely that it would heal in just a few hours."

"I'm afraid that fading is not permitted in the infirmary."

"In a few hours, you may not have a choice in the matter. When my body is injured, it will forcibly remain in its 'native' state for time of day."

"Hmm. That could be an issue. Your body would be fighting the security magic of the facility. It could seriously harm you."

"No way for me to stop it, doc."

The healer looked at David peculiarly, unaccustomed to the form of address. Finally, he said, "Let me talk to the warden. Perhaps if we put you in the long-term holding facility for the night."

David nodded, and the healer went away. The pain in his stomach was intense, but not nearly as bad as when he'd been killed. He'd suffered worse, but that didn't make this any more fun.

When the healer came back, the warden was with him. "What's this about you fading?" the warden asked.

David tried to sit up. "When my body is injured, sir, it will force me into my natural state, based on the time of day. I'm supposed to be a ghost at night. I won't be able to stop it from happening."

"The healer said something about speeding up your healing?"

"Yes, sir. When I'm a ghost, my physical body heals much more quickly."

"Okay, take him down to the long-term cell. He's been there before, so he should be comfortable."

"I've been there before?" David asked, confused.

"The place you met your visitor. That's one of our long-term cells, for people who would be stuck here for years. They're all empty now, because those kinds of prisoners are now kept elsewhere."

"Oh," David said, nodding.

"All of the containments are still in place, Mr. Stroud, so don't try anything funny."

"Sir, all I want right now is to go to sleep and let my body do its thing."

The warden nodded, and left again. The guards and the healer escorted David down to the long-term cell, and in a few more moments, he was asleep again.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

The next day, David was let out of the long-term cell just before lunch. He'd missed his potions time, but that was okay; he hadn't felt like doing anything, anyway.

As he came into the lunch room, he saw Beckel sitting with his cronies at a table in the corner. Before he got his own meal, he went over to the table and leaned down to stare Beckel in the eye. He was gratified to see Beckel turn white.

"Better luck next time, asswipe. But here's a tip: you can't kill the undead." David didn't explain further, but walked away, savoring the stricken look on Beckel's face.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

A few days after the stabbing, David was sitting alone in the lunch room. He had taken to sitting close to the supply door. He didn't figure that Beckel had given up his escape plan, and while he had no illusions about stopping him, he wanted to be close at hand in case he could be of help to someone. He didn't like Beckel. If he could trip the bastard on his way out the door, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

David had the feeling that today might be the day, though. He sensed a tension in the air that wasn't normal. He looked around surreptitiously, and he noticed that Beckel and his friends were not sitting in their normal spots.

Something's going down. Don't know if it's the escape, or if he's planning something else. Hell, maybe it's payback for me surviving the other day.

One thing David had not done was to figure out the timing of the supply delivery. Thus, when the whole thing started, he was surprised. He heard the door behind him open, but he paid little attention to it. Before it closed, however, two prisoners jumped up from where they were sitting. One of them punched the guard as hard as he could, knocking him into the wall. The supply guy was pushed roughly to the floor, out of the way of the charging prisoner, who shoved a tray under the edge of the door, wedging it open. That first guy ran out immediately.

Chaos erupted in seconds. Three more of Beckel's men were attacking guards, and other inmates were running for the door. For the moment, David stayed put. There were simply too many people running around for him to do anything more than that. Even trying to stand up was likely to get him injured.

He did look around, however. He saw no guards anymore, which he assumed meant they were all on the floor. Whether they were dead, dying, or just unconscious, he didn't know. As the crowd thinned, however, he finally stood.

Beckel had stupidly been one of the last to leave. He had wanted to make sure all his guys got out. As he and one other ran for the door, they only saw David at the very last second. What they saw made them cringe, because he had leapt at them. He collided with both of them, sending them crashing into the wall. He grabbed hold of them by their collars and cracked their skulls against each other. They were both woozy, and David kept a grip on each of them.

"I've got those," a guard said. He had come in as the riot was ending, and he saw the two trying to escape, and what David had done. David handed over Beckel and his crony, and the guard took them away, leaving David standing in front of an open, unsecured door. He shook his head in disbelief, and then looked around. He walked over to where he thought one of the guards was. The man was unconscious, but didn't appear to be seriously injured. The second guard was the same.

The third guard, however, had a gash across his midsection, and was bleeding profusely. He looked up at David, who knelt down, trying to figure out what to do.

"Get... help..." the man urged weakly.

David looked up and around. He knew the guards were busy, and would not hear him. The only person close by was the cook.

"Cook Mayfield! This man needs help, quick!" David shouted.

The cook looked at him and shrugged. "What do you want me to do about it?"

David growled in frustration, and looked around again. The guard reached up with his last bit of energy, and grabbed David's shirt. By chance, he wrapped his hand around something beneath the shirt.

David looked down, and then looked at the guard's hand. The guard was merely pleading with him to get help, but what he had grabbed...

I forgot I had that!

"Hang with me," he told the guard, and then reached beneath his shirt. As the guard's hand fell away, David pulled out the necklace he wore. On it were two vials, and the small crystal that Jailla had given him. The crystal was there for looks. The vials, on the other hand...

Sevat's, or Dendal's? A quick search of his memory showed no usefulness from Sevat's, but Dendal's...

David pulled the vial free of the necklace, and then he found an empty cup. He poured the vial into it, and then he ran over to the cook's station.

"I need some thyme!" he shouted.

"Buddy, you're in jail. You've got all the damn time in the world!"

"Not time, dammit, THYME!" he said, pointing to the canister on the shelf.

"What the hell you need that for?" he asked, reaching for it.

"Look, you want this guard to live, or not?"

"Makes no nevermind to me," the cook said, smacking the canister down on the counter.

David ripped off the cover of the canister, and took a small pinch of thyme. He dropped it into the cup and swirled it around. It only took a few seconds for the thyme to disintegrate, and then the potion turned green. He rushed over to the guard, careful not to spill the potion; he did not have more of it.

"You still with me?" David asked urgently. The guard's eyes had closed. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked up at David, but David could see the light fading fast.

"You need to drink this."

"What..." the guard began to ask.

"Does it matter at this point?" David snapped. "Just drink it!"

The guard opened his mouth, and David poured in the potion. The guard swallowed it, coughing a bit at the strong flavor. He did not feel better, but he could tell that he was suddenly not getting worse.

"I've got to go get you some serious help," David said. "I'll be back."

The guard nodded and lay his head back, staring up at the ceiling. David dashed off down a hallway, looking for the infirmary. He wasn't really clear on where it was, except in its relation to the long-term cell.

Finally, David saw the warden in the distance.

"Warden!" David shouted. There was one guard with him, and they both took a defensive stance as he approached. David stopped, trying to get enough breath to speak. Finally, he gasped, "There was... a breakout..."

"We know that, Stroud," the guard said. David shook his head.

"A guard... needs help... bad. He's... bleeding... cut in stomach."

"Show me," The warden said. He told the guard, "Go get the healer."

David and the warden ran back down to the mess hall, where the guard was still struggling to breathe, but had not worsened, thanks to David's potion.

The warden looked down at the guard and swore. He saw the open door, and realized that David had not 'been left behind', but had simply chosen not to leave. He walked away, just as the healer arrived. The warden pointed, and then stayed out of the way.

The healer knelt beside the man, looking at the wound. He chanted a quick charm, which sparked, before settling. The healer looked up.

"What did you give him?" he asked the warden.

"I didn't give him anything," the warden replied, confused. "Healing is your thing."

The healer looked around, and spotted the cup. He looked in it, and then he looked at David. "What did you give him?" he demanded.

David swallowed hard. He had violated the rules, big-time. "Dendal's Base, with thyme."

The healer nodded, and returned to working on the guard. The warden, hearing this pronouncement, motioned to the guard. The guard took David's arm gently, but the grip was firm. David was led away from the scene and back to his cell. He was told that he was on disciplinary lockdown, and that a hearing would have to be scheduled.

Well, shit.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

Once again, David was standing before the magistrate. It had been nearly a week since the breakout, and David had not been allowed out of his cell except to shower.

"We are here for the disciplinary hearing of Mr. David Stroud, inmate at the Northern Callamandia Criminal Management Facility," the magistrate intoned. "It is charged that Mr. Stroud illegally possessed, and then illegally administered, a magical potion during a prison riot on eleven August of this year.

"Mr. Stroud, how do you plead?"

"Guilty," he replied, shocking pretty much everyone in the courtroom who didn't know David personally.

The magistrate sat back. "If the accused is not contesting the charge, why are we here?"

The warden stood up. "Your Honor, the issue here is not whether or not Mr. Stroud has committed the act. The issue is the appropriate punishment for it, considering the situation surrounding the incident."

"I see. So this is a hearing to establish disciplinary action."

"Yes, sir."

"Very well. Warden Miller, do you have people you wish to present?"

"I do, Your Honor."

"Proceed."

The first person the warden called was Cook Mayfield, who had seen the entire sequence of events, without getting caught up in it. He related all events in as objective a manner as anyone ever could. He didn't, as he told the court, give a damn about any of it.

Next, the warden called the healer to the stand.

"I was called to the mess hall by one of the guards. When I arrived, I was motioned to a prone victim, with a large gash on his abdomen. Officer Svenson was barely alive when I arrived."

"Were you able to repair the damage done?" the magistrate asked.

"Yes, sir, but just barely. Had his condition been any worse, he would not have survived."

"What effect, if any, did Mr. Stroud's potion have on your work?" the warden asked.

"Had Mr. Stroud not administered the potion he did, when he did, Officer Svenson would have died before I arrived."

"What potion was used?" the magistrate asked.

"It was a sustaining potion, Your Honor. He used Dendal Thyme."

"In researching, I have come to understand that Dendal's Base can be used to make a curative potion. Why would Mr. Stroud not have just made that one?" the warden continued.

"You would have to ask Mr. Stroud that."

The magistrate said, "Mr. Stroud? Care to comment?"

David rose from his chair. "Your Honor, the ingredient necessary to make a curative from Dendal's Base is Shepherd's Grass. I'm pretty sure there wasn't any in the mess hall. I only had kitchen ingredients available to me. Dendal Thyme was the best I could come up with."

The magistrate nodded. "Carry on, Warden Miller."

"Healer Zeffel, was there any downside to the potion Mr. Stroud used?"

"Only for Mr. Stroud," the healer replied.

"How so?" the warden asked, a bit confused.

"Look where it got him," the healer replied with a smile. "No good deed goes unpunished. Officer Svenson is still in the hospital, but will make a full recovery. Mr. Stroud's potion saved his life. No, there were no ill effects of Dendal Thyme. There never are."

"Thank you, Healer Zeffel. That is all I have for you."

"Do you have any other witnesses?"

"No, Your Honor. Only Mr. Stroud himself is left."

"Fine, I will interview Mr. Stroud myself. Please take the stand."

David sat in the chair, turned a bit toward the magistrate, since he was the one who would do the questioning.

"Mr. Stroud, relate, in your own words, exactly what happened in relation to the charges before you."

David hesitated a second, and then asked, "How far back do you want me to go?"

"I don't understand," the magistrate replied.

"Well, do you just want to know about the potion, or do you want to know about the breakout?"

"You knew about the breakout plan?" the warden asked.

David looked over at him. "I did, and apparently Officer Enzito did not tell you what I asked him to."

"Perhaps you had better explain," the magistrate said.

"At one point this summer, a friend of mine, Jim Gillenham, was confined to the facility. He became my little brother for his time inside. Just before Jim was released, he told me that Rob Beckel and his friends were planning the escape. He gave me details that roughly matched up with the actual event.

"After Jim had left the facility, I gave this information to Officer Enzito, and asked him to tell the warden. I had waited until Jim left, to make sure that it wouldn't come back on him.

"Anyway, on the day of the breakout, when the supply man was let in... and, just a thought, but why in the world do you have that guy come in when there are inmates in the lunch room?"

"Carry on, Mr. Stroud," the magistrate said, trying to keep a straight face. That issue was already being looked into rather avidly.

"Okay, anyway, when the supply guy came in, someone - I honestly don't know who - jumped up and punched the guard standing next to the door. Someone else wedged open the door with a tray, so it wouldn't close. I didn't actually see that happen, but I could see the tray there later.

"Anyway, after that, it all becomes a blur. Everyone was up and running around. I don't think I could have safely gotten out of my chair if I had wanted to. By the time I could get up, almost everyone had left the room already. I saw two stragglers, one of them was Rob Beckel. I tackled the two of them, to keep them from leaving."

"Why?" the magistrate asked, interrupting.

"Mr. Beckel and I have some bad blood between us, ever since he attacked me in the shower, and then put a shank in me later."

"You didn't tell me that," the warden said. "You wouldn't give me a name!"

David looked at him and asked simply, "Would it have mattered? You didn't have any evidence to discipline him with."

The magistrate looked at the warden. "Would it have made any difference?"

The warden deflated. "No. No one saw anything, and there were no fingerprints. It would have been one word against another, and we don't discipline on those grounds."

The magistrate nodded. "Okay, so you had stopped Mr. Beckel from leaving. Go on."

"Another guard was there, and he took Beckel and the other guy away. I wasn't sure what to do next, until I remembered the guards."

The warden interrupted this time. "Why didn't you run? Everyone else in that room ran out the door."

David shrugged. "Running never even occurred to me. I'll be heading back to school in a couple weeks, and living at the facility isn't so bad that I want to jeopardize my future over it."

"Okay," the magistrate said. "So, you went to check on the guards..."

"Yes, sir. The first two looked like they were just unconscious. I didn't see any obvious injuries, so I moved on. The third guard, Officer Svenson, had this big gash across his stomach. I really didn't know what to do... I asked the cook for help, but he didn't give a sh... er, he didn't seem to care."

Everyone in the room chuckled at David's almost-slip.

"When Officer Svenson reached up and grabbed my shirt, that's when I remembered my necklace."

"Okay, wait. How long have you been carrying a potion around your neck?" the magistrate asked.

"Several months, sir."

"Since before you returned to the facility?"

"Yes, sir. Since I made them during my apprenticeship."

The magistrate turned to the warden. "And why wasn't this confiscated from him upon arrival?"

The warden spread his hands in helplessness. "Your Honor, we do a magical scan of everyone when they enter the facility. Mr. Stroud showed as having no magical items on him at the time. Somehow, he must have cloaked it from our scans."

"Mr. Stroud?" the magistrate asked.

"Sir, I wouldn't know how to do that if I wanted to. The only reason I didn't surrender my necklace voluntarily is that I had forgotten about it. I wear it all the time, and I don't think about it much."

"So why did it not show on the scan?" the magistrate demanded.

"I have no idea," David replied.

"I can answer that question," a voice from the back called out. The voice sounded very familiar to David.

"Who said that?" the magistrate demanded.

Prof. Stott rose from her seat at the back of the hearing room. David looked to see Dean Lengel sitting next to her. He groaned in dismay at the thought of both of them seeing this.

"You are?" the magistrate asked.

"Prof. Samantha Stott, Your Honor. Potions instructor at The Woodward Academy of Magical Arts. I am also Mr. Stroud's Potions Master." she replied.

"I suppose there's no one better to tell us why a potion didn't show up on a magic scan than a potions master," the magistrate said to no one in particular. "Okay," he said to Prof. Stott, "why didn't the scan reveal the potion?"

"In simplest terms, Your Honor, it was because a base potion, by itself, is not magical. It requires the final ingredient to become a magical item. As such, it won't show up on a magical scan."

"You're telling me that base potions are completely inert?" the warden asked incredulously.

"By themselves, absolutely," Prof. Stott told him. "Until you add something to them, they might as well be dirty water."

The magistrate sighed. "Okay, so that explains how you got it past the guards. Thank you, Prof. Stott, for your input." To David, he said, "So, you saw the guard lying there, and you realized you had a base potion with you. Then what?"

"Well, after I figured out what I could make with either of the base potions I was carrying that would be helpful, I went to the cook to get some thyme. I made up the potion, and gave it to Officer Svenson. Once it looked like it had worked, I ran off to find some help. The first people I ran into were the warden and the guard that was with him. After that... well, you know the rest."

"Did it occur to you that your actions were illegal?" the magistrate asked.

"In the back of my mind, yes, sir."

"Only in the back of your mind?"

"I was too busy trying to figure out how to help the guard to worry about it," David admitted.

"Why did you care?" the warden asked.

David looked at him as if he'd grown a third arm. "Just because I'm not alive, doesn't mean I want others to join me. The guy was in real trouble."

"You'll have to excuse the warden, Mr. Stroud. I don't think he's used to inmates having any respect for his guards."

"Yes, sir."

"Do you have anything to add to your statements?" the magistrate asked.

"No, sir."

"Do you regret breaking the rules?" the warden asked.

After a long pause for consideration, David said, "In one sense, yes, because I don't like going against authority. On the other hand, breaking the rules in this case saved someone's life, so... no, on the whole, I don't."

"Very well, you may return to your seat," the magistrate told him. David got up and walked back to his chair, carefully avoiding meeting the eyes of Prof. Stott or Dean Lengel.

The magistrate sat back in his seat. "Dammit, why do I get all the hard ones? On the one hand, Mr. Stroud, you have committed a fairly serious offense. Illegal manufacture of a magical item is a major crime. Unlicensed administration of potions is scarcely less serious.

"On the other hand, the circumstances surrounding your actions can be called nothing less than laudable. So, what am I supposed to do with you? Were you a free man, I would urge the prosecution to drop the charges entirely. As you are an inmate, however, the disciplinary regulations require that I take some form of action."

"Your Honor?" a new voice said from the back. David recognized it as Dean Lengel's. His head sank a little lower.

"Yes, Madame Lengel. Do you have something to add to the proceeding?"

"Only a possible easy solution for the court, Your Honor."

"I like easy solutions. Proceed."

"With the court's permission, I am willing to take custody of Mr. Stroud today, and return him with me to the Academy. That would end his time as an inmate, at least for now, and you would not have to deal with this issue at all. Any necessary disciplinary action would be up to us to put forth."

"And what about his return to the facility in December?" the warden objected.

"As I understand the system," Dean Lengel replied, "Each time Mr. Stroud returns to the facility actually resets all of his privilege points, anyway. If such is true for his privileges, I can only assume it should also hold true for his punishments."

"She's right," the magistrate replied. "Since he does officially leave the facility completely each time he returns to school, any disciplinary action against him at the time of his departure would simply be voided."

The warden nodded.

"You have the wherewithal to house Mr. Stroud until school starts?" the magistrate asked the dean.

"Of course we do, Your Honor."

"In that case, I accept your offer. Mr. Stroud, you are hereby remanded to the custody of The Woodward Academy, until the start of the fall semester, at which time your original sentence will be reinstated. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Your Honor."

"Good. This court is adjourned."

-----

David was silent as he was escorted back to NCCMF by two Rimohrs, Dean Lengel, and Prof. Stott. He gathered up his belongings, including the potions supplies he'd been using. When Jailla saw what he was doing, he could not remain silent.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"We," David emphasized, "are going back to school early."

"Oh? Is this a punishment?"

David snorted. "Probably. Mostly it was the magistrate passing the buck. Dean Lengel offered to take me back to the Academy, and the magistrate jumped at the chance, rather than have to figure out what to do with me."

"I see. And will you be disciplined by Dean Lengel?"

"She mentioned it to the judge, so I can only assume so."

"She has not told you yet?"

"We haven't spoken."

"Ah."

By the time David had packed up all of his gear, put on his school uniform, and was ready to leave, the warden had returned to the facility. He waited at the entrance with the dean and professor.

"Mr. Stroud," the warden said, offering his hand. David took it, shaking. Then the warden handed him something else. It was his necklace.

"It's still your property," the warden said, seeing the look on David's face. "Try not to bring it back next time. I'll know to check for it."

"Yes, sir."

David followed the ladies outside, and saw the carriage waiting for them.

"You brought the school carriage?" David asked incredulously.

"It's how I travel," the dean told him. "I like to be able to move around."

The driver opened the door for them, and the dean motioned David inside. He stepped in, and moved toward the back. He set down Jailla's cage and let him out, then he moved over to the far window, looking out. He heard the door close behind him, and then he watched as the scenery began to slide by. He held on to the window ledge as the carriage lurched into the sky, pulled by the pegs. It stabilized shortly, and then he turned and went to sit in a chair. He was waiting for the axe to fall, and he kind of wished the dean would get on with it.

"You look troubled," Prof. Stott told him, coming over to sit next to him.

"I'm just waiting," David told her quietly.

"For what?" the dean asked. She sat across from him. She could see the accusing look on his face. "David, you don't honestly think I'm going to punish you for saving a man's life, do you?"

"I broke the law."

The dean snorted. "You violated the letter of the law, not the spirit of it. What kind of headmistress would I be if I sent the message that helping others is bad?"

"So... why did you come to the hearing at all?" David asked.

"We didn't want you to face it alone," Prof. Stott told him.

"Seeing you there only made me feel worse," David admitted.

The dean shook her head. "I would have thought by now that you would understand we are on your side."

David didn't really know how to answer that, so he didn't. He stared out the window, instead. Prof. Stott communicated with her eyes to the dean, who got up and went across the room, intentionally ignoring the two. Prof. Stott took David's hand and pulled him out of his chair, walking over to the window so that they could talk.

"What's bothering you, really?" Prof. Stott asked.

David shrugged. "I think I so expected to be punished that I can't shake the feeling that things aren't over yet."

"How could you really think that we'd punish you for this?" she asked.

"Sam... I know you care for me, but the dean has a larger responsibility to the school as a whole."

"If you know I care for you, why did you not want me there?" she asked.

"Who wants to admit to breaking the rules in front of his teacher?" he asked reasonably. Sam smiled at him.

"Oh, is that all I am?"

David looked over at the dean, who was still studiously ignoring them, and too far away to hear them, anyway. He turned back to Sam.

"Well, when we have clothes on..."

She smiled at him, and leaned in, kissing him softly. She hugged him, and held him for quite a while, even after they'd stopped kissing.

-----

"You're in Pegasus Dorm this year," Dean Lengel said as they were riding up on the rock-lift. "We're going to let you stay by yourself in your dorm room until the other students arrive."

"I thought the RA's weren't back yet," he objected.

"They're not," Dean Lengel said. "But I think anyone who thinks it's more important to check on guards than try to escape out an unguarded, open door, isn't going to give me any trouble for the next few days. Besides, if you need to go somewhere, Misty is around, so you can just call her."

"Thank you."

"David," the dean said, forcing him to turn to face her. "I know that last year was hard on you. I know that I may have seemed to be more interested in keeping you in line than making your life better. But I had hoped that you knew that I do care what happens to you. I know what punishment the magistrate would most likely have imposed. I couldn't let that situation continue."

"What would he have done?" Prof. Stott asked. She had wanted David out of the facility for her own, purely personal, reasons.

"He would have left him in solitary confinement for the rest of his stay. He would have had no time out, except for hygiene reasons. It's pretty much the only punishment he could have given him that would have made any sense. Those cells are so small, I can't imagine being stuck in one for even a day."

"It's not a lot of fun," David confirmed.

As they rode down on the rock lift toward David's new home, he asked, "Are the new books and supplies available in the bookstore yet?"

"Not for a few more days, I'm afraid," Dean Lengel replied. David frowned. "What's the matter?"

"I still don't have anything to do," he said. "Nicer place to stay, just as boring." He smiled at her, to show he was only teasing.

"I think we can find something for you to do," Dean Lengel said. "Can't we, Sam?"

"I'm sure," Prof. Stott replied with a smile.

David was led up to his dorm, which was on the first floor this year. "Here we are, room A42," the dean said. The door swung open at her touch, and David walked in. He was a bit confused by the layout.

"What's in there?" he said, motioning to doors off the side of the main room.

"Bedrooms. You'll have three suite-mates this year. The main room is for studying, chatting, whatever, and then you sleep in pairs. The room in the middle is your bathroom."

"We get our own private bathroom?" David asked.

"Yes. And, since the bedrooms have doors, you will be able to study out here in the main room without disturbing any of your roommates. Jim will be joining you again this year."

"Is he in trouble?" David asked.

"He will receive some counseling," Dean Lengel confirmed. "As we always do with troublesome types."

"Oh, yeah? When's mine start?" David asked with a grin.

"We leave your counseling up to Prof. Stott!" Dean Lengel told him, chuckling. David shook his head ruefully. It was entirely clear that the dean knew about him and Sam. That she found it entirely acceptable only weirded him out all the more.

"Anyway, I'll leave you to get settled in. I'm sure you and Prof. Stott have apprenticeship details to work out, as well. I probably won't see you until school starts back up, unless you need something, so consider this like a mild vacation."

"Thank you, Dean," David said, offering his hand. She looked at his hand, and then gave him a hug, instead. Then she left the room.

"Apprenticeship details, my ass," Prof. Stott said to David as soon as the door was closed behind the dean. "Why do you still have on clothes?"

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

"Hello, David!" Prof. Qwellyn said when he appeared at her office door. Then she realized he probably hadn't heard her, and she switched into her human form and repeated her greeting.

"Hi, Miss J. Prof. Stott told me to come see you. Is there something you need?"

"Well, there are two things, really. First, I have to move around all those plants again, and I was wondering, since you have some free time, if you would be willing to help me."

"Sure, no problem."

"Good. Let's get to work on that, and we can talk about the other thing while we walk." As they left her office, she asked, "So, are you continuing your apprenticeship with Prof. Stott?"

"Well, yes. Is there some reason I wouldn't?"

Prof. Qwellyn shrugged. "No, not really, but some students take the school break as an opportunity to break their apprenticeships, as well."

"Oh. Well, I spent the summer continuing work on mine, so..."

"Right. I just wanted to make sure that you and Prof. Stott were actually on the same page, so to speak. She has asked if I would participate in your apprenticeship, David."

"Oh? How so?"

"Well, if you are agreeable, we would take one of your apprenticeship days each week, and instead of being in the workroom with Prof. Stott, you would be in the greenhouse with me. I would teach you about the care of herbs, the best time to harvest, how to do it safely, for you and the plant, and other things like that."

"So... would this be like an Herbology apprenticeship?"

Prof. Qwellyn smiled. "It would, if there was such a thing. I don't have apprentices, as such, and I've never actually heard of one. Most Herbologists end up getting their knowledge through running their business, after several years of classes in college."

"In other words, the hard way," David said with a smile.

"Yes," she agreed. "I suppose it would make more sense to have apprenticeships, but fairies don't do that kind of thing, so..."

David nodded. "Well, I'm certainly up for learning more about caring for the plants, and if Prof. Stott wants me to learn it as part of my apprenticeship, I'm all for it."

"And I am an acceptable teacher?"

David looked stunned by the question. After a second of thought, he replied with a slight grin, "I am not worthy." She actually blushed, reading his meaning clearly.

"Thank you, David. That means a lot to me. I've only taught for the one semester now. It helps to know if the students are satisfied."

"Well, I sure am. I learned a lot last year."

"Good. Now, let's start moving plants."

-----

The plant move started in Firebird Dorm, the home of the seventh- and eighth-year students. They cleared away any plants left behind by the eighth-years, to make room for the new ones they would be moving over from Thunderbird Dorm.

They progressed from one dorm to another, moving plants to follow the students. When they arrived at Pegasus Dorm, David was expecting to have to remove a lot of plants, but the planters were largely empty.

"What happened here?" David asked.

"A great many people stop going to school after their second year. They take their plants and go back to Earth to live. Many of the plants you see will also be going to the school grounds, as some of the students who left, also left their plants behind."

"Oh. Hey, who took care of the plants while all of us students were gone?"

"I did," she said.

"I thought fairies weren't allowed to support these plants."

"I did it the old-fashioned way, with a watering can," she said with a smile. "I didn't really have anything else to do all summer."

"Oh."

When they arrived on the Griffin Dorm roof, the first thing David did was to go check on his own plant. He found his eternium plant where he'd left it, and in fine shape. There was, in fact, a small bloom on top of it. When David touched the plant, the bloom opened.

Prof. Qwellyn, who had come over with him, was impressed. "Apparently your eternium missed you. It never opened for me."

David smiled, and gently put the plant on the cart so they could move it over. They had commandeered one of the floating rocks on a semi-permanent basis for this work, and so it didn't take long. He left his eternium plant for last, and he settled it carefully into its proper place in the planting table. He noted the empty space next to it, and he knew that he would somehow have to find another plant to join the eternium.

How am I going to find something as unique as my first one? he wondered. He let the issue drop for now, figuring he'd find something eventually.

Once they'd finished up, Prof. Qwellyn led David back to her office, where she gave him some fruit juice to drink.

"I want to thank you. That would have been too much work for me by myself."

"My pleasure, Miss J. Using the rock-lift to move the plants around on Thunderbird Dorm was a great idea."

"I spoke to one of the former Herbology instructors about that," she admitted. David grinned.

"Is there anything else you'd like help with?" David asked when he'd finished his juice.

"Not today," she told him.

"Well... since I have an entire week to go before school begins... would you want to start our... uh... teaching sessions... next week?"

"Sure, we can do that. You can help me get some plants ready for the school year, and I can show you how to handle them."

"Great," he said. They worked out the details of day and time before he left to go back to his dorm room.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David had spent his time before the semester quite profitably, and had not only managed to continue his apprenticeship with Professors Stott and Qwellyn, but had gotten a jump start on reading his textbooks, as well. He had also spent a long night with Penny, which they had both enjoyed thoroughly. He'd taken the chance to fill her in on all that had happened at the facility afterward.

Now, it was Sunday, and he was waiting for his roommates to arrive. He had chosen his bed, and his desk, and had set Jailla up near the window, which looked out over the countryside beyond Mt. Woodward. At the moment, though, it was looking out over the ocean, as the dorms moved in their endless circle around the mountain.

The first student to arrive was Jim. "Hey, David," he said when he walked in. "I wondered if we'd still be together this year."

"Hey, Jim. Staying out of trouble?" David asked with a smirk. Jim blushed.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Hello, Melissa," David said to the vervet monkey. She came over and hopped up on his arm to say hello, then clambered across his desk, and then back down onto the floor.

"You know who our other roommates are?" Jim asked.

"Nope. Prof. Stott told me that they were 'screened', whatever that means."

"Probably that they were looking for someone who didn't hate you," Jim said with a smirk.

"Probably," David agreed.

In a little while, as Jim was settling in with his stuff, the door opened again, to reveal Simon. David knew Simon pretty well, as they'd been in class together several times the previous year.

"Hey, Simon," David called out.

"Hey, David. Hi, Jim."

"Hey," Jim greeted.

"Not afraid of being in the crosshairs anymore?" David said, needling Simon about something he'd said to David right after David had been outed as a demighost.

Simon blushed. "Sorry about that. But hey, you're probably not going to be much of a target this year. Not after the thing with Marcus."

"I hope not. Another year of that crap would not be fun. Say, who's your friend?"

"This is Koda," Simon said, holding out the medium-sized fruit bat for Jim and David to see. "Say hi, Koda."

The bat stretched out his wings and let out a screech, then folded up his wings and hunkered back down onto Simon's shoulder.

"We've already taken the window-side bedroom," Jim told him. He had automatically bunked with David.

"No problem. One's the same as another," he said.

"You'd think we'd get like a small food cabinet or something in here," Jim said. "Since we're second-years now."

"You'll get to eat soon enough," David said.

While Simon was out of earshot, Jim asked, "So... did Beckel ever try his escape plan?"

"Oh, he tried..." David said.

"What happened?" Jim asked eagerly.

David related the whole story to him.

"Geez, can't you ever leave well enough alone?" Jim asked. "It was just a guard, for crying out loud!"

David looked sharply at Jim. "He was a person, Jim."

"I suppose."

"Besides, it got me back to school several days early... which of course meant I spent more time with Prof. Stott..."

Jim grumbled, as David had fully intended. He knew this was an easy way to needle his friend, and he was a little miffed at Jim for suggesting the guard had not been worth the effort.

As the three were sitting around, talking, the door opened again, to admit their final roommate.

"Hey," the boy said. "Nate Tipjon. This here's Neomithy," he said, gesturing to the large owl on his arm. "Call him Mith, for short." Jailla ruffled his feathers a bit.

"What?" David asked him.

"I'd just like to point out this is my perch," he told David.

David chuckled. "That owl couldn't fit on your perch, anyway, you silly bird." David told him.

Nate chuckled. "If he's worried about his perch, he doesn't need to be. Mith won't sit on a perch like that one, anyway. He likes ones covered in material he can sink his talons into."

"The last bed's in there," Simon said, motioning to the hallway-side bedroom.

"Gotcha." Nate disappeared for a while, to put his stuff away. After that, he came back out and sat at the table with the others.

"I don't remember seeing you around last year," David said.

"Yeah... you kind of intimidated me, actually, until the fight with Marcus, so I kept away from you."

"Intimidated?" David asked.

"Yeah. I've got nothing against demighosts, but it made you seem a bit... well, spooky."

David chuckled.

"How did the fight change your mind?" Simon asked.

Nate shrugged. "He played it straight. I mean, really, you could have fought him while being invisible the whole time. It would have been to your advantage... but you fought fair, mostly."

"What do you mean, mostly?" Jim demanded. David put his hand on Jim's arm, to calm him down.

"Well, he did go invisible a couple times. Anyway, after that, I figured you were just like the rest of us. I mean, aren't we all different from each other somehow?"

"True enough," David said. "While I'm thinking about it, and before we go to dinner, I'll let you two know that I go to bed late, and I get up very early. You might want to keep your bedroom door closed when you sleep, so I don't disturb you while I'm out here studying."

"How early is early?" Simon asked.

Jim replied, "Early." The other two laughed.

"I only need about four hours of sleep a night."

"Damn," Nate said.

"Can we go to dinner now?" Jim asked. "I'm hungry."

"You just want to ogle the first-year girls," David said. Jim blushed, and the other two chuckled.

"C'mon," Simon said, "We might as well go. It's about time, anyway."

-----

The boys entered Byron Hall, and looked around. It took a while before they spotted anyone. Finally, David pointed. "There's Rick and Olissa."

"Oh, there they are," Jim said. They all went and sat down, introducing the new people around.

"How was your summer?" David asked Olissa.

"Dull," she replied. "Yours?"

"It had its moments," he replied with a grin. "I'll tell you about it sometime."

Shortly after the boys sat down, someone hugged David from behind. He looked up to see Gwen's smiling face.

"I see you made it out of the facility okay. I went to see you again, and they said you were in solitary."

"Yeah, I broke one of the rules, and they got a little pissy. Hey, Devyn. How was your summer?"

"It went well, thank you for asking," she replied.

The group continued to chat until the dean stepped up onto the speaking platform, then the entire group grew quiet.

"Good evening, students. For those of you who have not yet met me, my name is Emile Lengel, and I am the Dean of Students here at The Woodward Academy. I want to welcome each and every one of you to the new year. I have a feeling it's going to be a spectacular one!

"There are just a few notes to go over before we begin our start-of-year feast, so if you will bear with me, I'll try to get through them just as fast as possible.

"Tomorrow is registration day, for those of you who did not register early. The office opens at nine o'clock, and will stay open until everyone registers. I strongly recommend you register early, to assure you get the class times that you want.

"Tuesday will be an activities awareness day. There will be displays and tables around the campus to introduce different clubs and organizations. Please note that all sports clubs and teams have their displays set up in Firebird Stadium, so if that is your interest, you will need to go there."

David leaned toward Gwen and asked quietly, "You on the baxayr team again this year?"

"Yeah. I'm hoping to move up to at least second-string."

"Good luck," David said.

"Apprentices should note that licensure tutorial classes will begin next week. If you feel that you may need to join one, please contact the office, and we will find a place that fits your schedule.

"Finally, Prof. Qwellyn would like to inform students that Greenhouse Six is off-limits to students, due to the fact that it contains juvenile lightning ferns, which are known to attack people who are not careful around them.

"Well, I think I have held you up long enough. Let's eat!"

As the dean stepped down, the menus popped into being, to the surprised cries of many first-years. David chuckled, remembering his own experience.

As he placed his order with the pixie, David felt someone behind him. He turned to see the dean.

"Yes, ma'am?" he asked.

"David, on Tuesday morning at ten, I'd like you to go to Lythgoe Hall, room 24. It's downstairs."

"Okay... can I ask why?"

"There's something I would like you to do. It will be explained when you get there. Can you be there?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good."

As the dean walked away, Simon asked, "What's that about?"

"Damned if I know. Guess I'll find out on Tuesday." Just then, David's food appeared. He wasn't hungry, being a demighost, but the food here was usually good, and he tore into his, finding tonight no exception.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

Registration day had been a breeze for David, as he had registered early, and he had only had to finalize a couple details. Tuesday, he expected to be bored, as he knew the clubs had not changed, and he still wasn't interested in any of them. He figured he would simply stick with his school work and his apprenticeship, and leave the social stuff to others.

He did not forget, however, that the dean had asked him to go to the library at ten o'clock. He walked down into the basement, and searched until he found room 24. He knocked, and heard the dean tell him to enter.

When David walked in, he found the room to be a conference room, with a large table in the middle, and writing boards on the side walls. The dean was standing at the far end of the room, and there were three people sitting at the table.

"Come on in, David. We're waiting for one more person."

David sat down at the table, and nodded to the others. No one offered an introduction, and he didn't know any of the people, though the one girl looked familiar...

She's the one that won the morphing tournament last year. What was her name?

Before he could figure that out, the door opened and in walked the final student.

"Dirk, good. Come on in and sit down. Now this is everyone, so we can begin.

"I've asked you all here because you have one or more traits that will help us with this project. Now, your participation is entirely voluntary, but I'm asking you to help us as a favor to the school."

"What would we be doing?" Dirk asked.

"Creating the first ever Woodward Academy Student Handbook." David smirked, and the dean saw him. "Yes, David, we are stealing your idea. After some of the strange questions I've gotten this year, we decided you were right, that we need something to bring new students up to speed.

"Each of you has a skill that is important to the project. Dirk is a good writer. Cherise is excellent at imaging. Lisa, you've had a lot of experience producing flyers and other booklets for various things. Jared, you're a brand-new student, straight from Earth, so you'll help us know what needs explaining. David, you are also fairly new, only known about magic for a year, but you're also an excellent organizer and quite persistent. If you're up for the job, I'm assigning you as project leader."

David was stunned. "Won't there be a staff person leading the project?" he asked.

"No. Prof. Whitaker will act as your advisor, if you need assistance, but she's not going to supervise you."

"I'm not familiar with Prof. Whitaker," Dirk said.

"You should get familiar with her, Dirk. She's part of the arts department." To the others, she said, "We don't let you into the arts department until you've gotten your licensure; there's too much to learn."

"Why was I chosen?" Jared asked. "I can't be the only new student from Earth. What makes me different?"

"Because your family is not magical, you weren't raised with any real knowledge of magic and wizardry. Also, your family didn't bring you to Dugerra regularly, so you never got used to it that way. In short, you are as close to the state David was in when he got here as possible.

"Now, does anyone not want to participate?" No one said anything. "Good. I'll leave you all to get acquainted and to set a meeting schedule. I've left you a folder, David, with a very rough outline of the kinds of things I think need to go into the handbook. Feel free to add to it, but I think I've outlined a minimum set of information."

"Yes, ma'am. What is our deadline?"

"The end of the year. I want to have it ready to give to our incoming students next year."

David nodded. With that, the dean left the room. David looked around. "Um... so, okay... how do we want to start?"

"Why don't we introduce ourselves?" Lisa asked. "And... you should stand up there, since you're in charge."

David sighed, but he got up and walked to the head of the table. "Okay. My name is David Stroud... as if anyone except maybe Jared doesn't know that." The others chuckled. "For Jared's benefit, I am a demighost. I was born in Earth. I... don't really know what else you want to know. I'm a second-year student." he said, finishing up. He gestured to Dirk, to kick off the other introductions.

"Dirk Stanton, I'm a third-year student. I'm from Shulot, here in Callamandia."

"Lisa Kurrow. Second-year student, as well. I'm from Earth."

"Which part?" David asked.

"Maine. You?"

"Illinois."

"I'm Cherise Cabalon. I'm a second-year student, but I waited a year before entering the Academy, so I'm a year older than most. I'm from Eovandal originally, but my family moved to Callamandia when I was twelve."

"Why'd you wait a year?" Lisa asked.

"Well, that's private, silly," Cherise said with a little giggle.

"Oh, sorry."

"No problem at all!"

"Hey, I'm Jared Jacobsen. Everyone calls me JJ. First-year student, obviously, from Baltimore."

"Okay, so that's everyone. I guess now we need to pull out schedules, and see when we can meet..." David said. Everyone nodded, and grabbed for their respective folders.

~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~~≈≡≈~~

David sat down next to Jim in class. He looked around to see who else he knew. Olissa and Rick were sitting together across the room. He didn't see Gwen, or Devyn, but Flo was a few rows up.

"You actually going to pay attention this year?" David asked.

"Guess I better, if I want my license," Jim said. He had not done so well on his year-end exam last year, and now he was a bit freaked out about the whole thing.

"You joining one of the tutoring sessions?" David asked.

"Yeah. You?"

"Not yet. Maybe later. I want to see how I do this year, first."

Before Jim could say anything more, the professor arrived and started talking.

"Well, good morning, class! So nice to see you all back from vacation, rested and ready to go! For those of you who may not know me, I am Prof. Charles Phillips. If you are not here for Charms and Hexes 201, I suggest you go find the right classroom."

The girls all giggled, while the boys rolled their eyes. The professor had not lost his charm.

"In this semester," he continued, "We will be continuing your progress from last year. The charms will be a bit more generic, depending more on your concentration and intent. Also, we will introduce one charm that you are intended to do silently. This will be very tricky, and I expect us to spend several class sessions on it."

"So, I don't think we need to dawdle, since this is a second-year class. Let's get out our books, and open to page 48. Yes, I know I'm skipping that first chapter, but I don't think you need it. Feel free to read it later if you disagree," he said with a grin.

David groaned.

-----

"All right, let's settle down," Coach Hall intoned. "Oscar, get off my desk!" The professor shooed away the cat, and then he sat on the edge of his desk.

"Welcome to MagEc 201," he said. There was a sudden disruption as one student, who was almost certainly a first-year, got up and hurriedly left the room. There were some chuckles from the Apprentices.

"Let's try that again," Coach Hall said with a grin. "Welcome to MagEc 201. This year, we will focus strongly on using magic in your day-to-day life. We began this last year, but this year we'll take it on much more fully. We will especially be covering health issues, such as magical maladies, and their cures and preventatives."

With a sigh, he continued. "And, now is when I either make you overly eager, or I freak you out altogether. Or you were lucky enough that someone told you about it already.

"This semester, we will also have a discussion of sexual activity, and how magic can be used to enhance the experience."

Coach Hall waited for the expected murmurs and laughs, and received them. He knew the laughing was mostly a nervous reaction. After sufficient time, he continued.

"Now, you will, in fact, be graded on how well you understand the knowledge in the sexual education section in a practical sense. And I do mean practical, as you will be required to practice what you learn. That is, you will be required to have sex with someone, using magical techniques."

Here, Coach Hall paused again, for the uproar he was well aware would follow. He gave it a count of fifty before he raised his hands for quiet.

"All right!" he cried out. "That's enough. Let me explain how this works." He waited a few more beats for everyone to settle down before he went on.

"In order for you to receive credit for this portion of the class, you must select a partner with whom you have never before been intimate. You must sign a contract with them, and give it to me, so that I know who will be reviewing you. After you have learned the lessons sufficiently - and you will decide what is sufficient, though it must be before semester's end - you will use what you know with your contractual partner, and they will then turn in a critique sheet on your performance.

"If you have philosophical reasons for not wanting to find an unfamiliar partner, such as being in a committed relationship, or if you cannot find a willing partner, you may still sit in on the classes, but you will receive no credit for them. Let me make this clear: the only real drawback to not receiving credit for this section of the class is that, should something untoward happen between you and a partner during sex later on, the magistrates will look less favorably upon you for not having had this accreditation. Thus, if you are opposed to participation in this part of the course for any reason, do not feel obligated.

"I will be passing out the contracts a little later. It is merely an agreement between two parties to have consensual intercourse, and it stipulates that you, as the instigator, will use magical techniques during the act. It also obliges the other party, the recipient, to file a review of your performance within three days after the act.

"For various reasons, not the least of which is to reduce the tension and overexcitement of the students, we will cover this material first, starting next week. That will give you the entire semester to find a partner, get comfortable with the material, and perform the required actions.

"Now, for today and Friday, we are going to cover something related. We are going to talk about fertility. How to prevent it, and how to promote it. Please open your texts to 464."

David's head was a little swimmy, as he was sure many students' heads were. He had never expected his professor to tell him to go get laid.

But with who? It can't be anyone I've slept with already, which rules out Amanda and Olissa... not that either of them would have sex with me now, anyway. I don't think Gwen or Devyn are interested in me; they're too busy making goo-goo eyes at each other. So who does that leave?

Well, I guess I'll figure it out, David thought to himself as Coach Hall began his lecture.

-----

"Hello, David," Prof. Fibblebitz said as she walked by him in class. "How was your summer?"

"Boring, mostly. How about yours?"

"Never a dull moment," she said with a smile, then turned to walk up to the front of the class.

"What is it with you and teachers?" Simon asked him. "They all single you out."

"I think it's the dean. I think she tells them to watch out for me."

"That must be nice," Simon said.

"It has its good points, and its bad points," David allowed.

Before Simon could ask further, Prof. Fibblebitz said, "Good afternoon, class. Welcome to Metamorphosis 201. You've all had my class before, so I won't go through the whole introduction. This semester, we are going to cover more complex changes, doing more than one thing at a time to an object. Near the end of the semester, we'll get back to morphing people, as well. I will warn you that this is the stage where many people begin to have trouble with Metamorphosis. I don't want you to be discouraged if you cannot complete all of the charms we will try.

"Now, let's begin with a simple one, as a refresher, shall we? Get out your red cubes, and let's get started..."

-----

"Ugh. I forgot how hard that stuff was," Simon said.

"It's not that bad. You have a mental block because you sent me into convulsions," David replied, teasing him.

"Thanks for reminding me!" Simon told him, punching him lightly on the arm. "Hey, you want to go back and practice this shit in the room?"

"Can't. I have apprenticeship time with Prof. Qwellyn in less than a half-hour."

"Wait, I thought you were apprenticing with Stott."

"She asked Prof. Qwellyn to teach me more about Herbology. They're related fields. So I spend one day a week with Miss J."

"Oh. Well, okay. You be at dinner?"

"My apprenticeship ends at six."

"Oh. I can't wait that long. Hell, I'm hungry now."

"No problem. You and the others eat when you want. I'll talk to you later."

"See ya."

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