Walking down a hill, Matthew stopped frequently and stared at the ground as if looking through it for something. He moved in a weird sequence of steps as if they were practiced and looked around to see if he was followed or not.
"Hey Kid, you know that I'm the only one following you right?" Harold said, trying to figure out what Matthew was doing. "I like that you're so cautious but learn to relax a little, kid".
Matthew turned around and gave Harold an embarrassed face. "Sorry, old habits die hard I guess".
Harold's brow went from raised to furrowed. 'What does this kid mean old habits? What is he, some super spy?' He thought to himself. "...So...are we there yet, kid?".
"Almost!" Matthew beamed. "Just around this corner here".
On the way to Matthew's house, Harold had been fantasizing about what environment a prodigy would grow up in order to become so smart. Would he have lived in a massive apartment, a mansion or even a castle? But upon seeing the dingy little shack, Harold let out a snicker. "Ok kid, funny joke, now where is your real house huh?". However, Matthew only looked down and had his ears go red from embarrassment. 'No way' Harold thought to himself.
"I-It's bigger on the inside" Matthew said, ushering Harold forward. "Come on Sir".
Still in disbelief that Matthew had been living in such a dingy hut, Harold decided to humor the kid and walked towards the door of the hut. Matthew gave it a series of knocks in a weird order and waited for it to open.
A few seconds later, a rushed series of footsteps hurried up from beyond the door, it seemed as if the stranger from beyond the door was heading upwards from some stairs. The person froze just beyond the door and a sound that sounded a bit like somebody stomping the ground was heard, followed by Harold quickly jumping back.
As soon as he jumped back small spikes shot up from underneath him and disintegrated into nothingness. Matthew stared in shock and the door to the hut shot opened. The figure that stood opposite to the door had a stone cold face that looked to be sculpted skillfully by a master scultpor.
"Mom what are you doing!" Matthew shouted in a hush whisper.
"Zip it honey, get inside, mommy will deal with this" Mary said, pushing Matthew through the door.
Scratching the back of his head, Harold let out a sigh and looked dead in the eye of Mary. "What a warm welcome huh? Listen, you seem to be that kid's Mother, yeah? There's been a misunderstanding, my name is Ha-" He said before getting cut off by a stampede of spikes shooting up from the ground. Though they were small there were many in number and they steadily built on to each other, becoming larger and larger.
"First the kid and then you, what a looney family" Harold sighed in frustration. Before he said another word, he released an aura of wind that seemed to freeze the entire area. "Calm down lady, my name is Harold Kiertzche, Principal of Kiertzche Academy. Your son is a 1 in a million prodigy and I would like to nurture him into being a fine mage".
Mary stared hard at the man and then closed her eyes as if trying to recall something. Immediately, she dropped her head in a bow and shouted these next words. "I AM SO SORRY PRINCIPAL KIERTZCHE. I DIDN'T RECOGNIZE YOU IN THAT ATTIRE!".
Kiertzche scratched his head again. "Well, I'm glad that we don't have to fight to a bloody standstill".
Mary bowed even deeper and ushered Harold inside of her home. Harold had originally thought that Matthew's home would be dingy and dirty but he was far from it. "Seems I was partially right". What he saw was exactly what he had originally thought. Matthew's house was indeed massive, sporting a width of 30 meters and a height of 15, it was as though Matthew lived in a colonized cave.
"Everything here was made by Matthew. It would have taken me years to carve everything out myself, and yet my Son here managed to do it in just a couple of days. Of course I instructed him on what to do, the rest of it was him. He has a massive mana pool you know...shame he was born an earth mage" Mary said, slinking into her chair when she said that last line.
"Honestly, I never got the reason as to why Earth Mages were always so shunned from society. So what if a single earth mage in the past fought 3 strong mages, what does that have to do with the people of today." Harold vented. "God, why can't people grow up".
As if dazed from what Harold had just said, Mary had blanked out and stared deeply at the man. "Y-you really think that?".
"Of course, if we were to remove the magic from everybody then the only thing different about us would be the hair color. Yours is brown and mine is Green" Harold said wisely. "You know, I have some talented earth mages in my academy already. I'm sure they'll treat Matthew well."
Mary's jaw dropped even lower than it had already and she had a baffled look on her face. "Y-you already have a group of Earth Mages at your academy? But what does everybody else think about it? Aren't they bullied everyday that they're in that academy?".
Harold had an annoyed look on his face. "Jeez, has the years of being shunned from society finally broke your character, Ma'am? My academy doesn't care about social merit. If you are talented then you will be given the chance to learn at my school." Harold stated matter-of-factly. "We have children ranging from the ages of 4 to 18 at my school. The one thing they all have in common is their talent and your son fits that category".
Still unsure, Mary wanted to go over a contract for her son and Harold went forward with it. The agreements were as such: if Matthew got into trouble then the teachers would fairly look over it, Matthew was to be treated as a normal student and that Hazel would be allowed to go to school too.
"Wait, whos Hazel?" Harold asked, looking around for said Hazel. "You have 2 children?".
"Yes I do, she is currently sleeping in the next room over" Mary smiled sheepishly. "She may be 4 years old but she has just as much talent as Matthew".
Snorting, Harold let a massive grin appear on his face. "Well if that's the case then I'd gladly accept your daughter into my school, same conditions as Matthew?".
"Yes please" Mary nodded. "Just...please promise me their safety".
Dropping the massive grin, Harold had replaced it with a stoic face, laced with empathy. "You have my promise Mary".
Upon hearing the last few words spoken, a singular tear ran down Mary's cheek. "Thank you".
. . .
Matthew's bedroom was on the highest level in his home. Though it did not go above ground, it was close enough for him to make a makeshift window that showed the outside world through it. Matthew did nothing but stare happily at the scarlet sky as it shifted from the said scarlet to an azure blue. 'Today is the day!' He thought gleefully, kicking at the air like a child. As the neighbor's rooster squawked, signaling the beginning of a new day, Matthew jumped out of bed and practically sprang down from the stairs and met with his mother in the kitchen. "Mom! Quickly! I'll help you with breakfast and packing!" Matthew said hurriedly.
Drowsily, Mary made an earthen coin with 2 distinct sides and flipped it. 'Heads I pack his things tails I make myself some coffee'. Coming to a halt upon hitting Mary's palm, the coin revealed it to be heads. "Okay, okay honey" Mary said, walking almost zombie like towards the kitchen. After packing his and Hazel's things Mary went to make herself some coffee. "Oh, go wake up your sister too".
Nodding quickly, Matthew flashed towards Hazel's bedroom and swung the door open, prompting the sleeping Hazel to scream in fright. "Big Brother!" she shouted as she created a small army of pint sized rock fists, launching them towards Matthew.
Catching the impatient Matthew by surprise, he barely managed to create a wall in time and ended up getting grazed by one of the fists. "Ow! Hazel you little rascal!".
Letting out a deep sigh, Matthew decided to suck it up and explain to his sister that it was time for school. "Ok Hazel? Did you catch all that?".
"Yes, I will go to school and I will behave" she said, replaying what her brother had just said to her. "When will I get to see Mommy again?".
"After 6 hours, when school ends" Matthew answered. "I know it will be hard at first but you'll get used to it".
"Oh...okay, I'm okay with that" Hazel said.
Not really quite expecting what Hazel just said, Matthew tilted his head a little. "Huh, no tears? No crying for Mommy? Dang, what a mature little lady".
"Says you! You always get Mommy into trouble" Hazel rebutted, thinking that she was insulted by the phrase "Little Lady".
"That's-I was just-UGH! Forget it!" Matthew heaved. "I wasn't insulting you Hazel!".
"Humph" Hazel pouted.
Mary had overhead the conversation between her 2 kids as she had secretly modified the house so that echoes travelled. Giggling to herself about the current exchange that was going on between her prodigy of an 8 year old and her feisty little 4 year old, she almost forgot that today was a big day for them both. "Oh Desmond...If only you were here." she said in a low sorrowful tone, caressing her amulet that she always wore affectionately. "One day I'll figure out how to save you".
. . .
Readjusting Matthew's and Hazel's new school uniforms for the 10th time, she finally let up and allowed the 2 to leave for the bus. "Make sure to pay attention to your teachers!" She cooed while rubbing her amulet, watching from afar as her children got on the private bus and rode off to school. The amulet that she was wearing was usually a dark muddy brown with a patch of gold in the middle but as the bus got further and further away, it shone a faint yellow glow.
On the bus, Matthew and Hazel decided to sit next to each other until they got to the school. As they made their way to the 2 empty seats on the right, they couldn't help but overhear the whispers. 'Ugh, here it comes' Matthew mentally sighed as he prepared for the onslaught of insults to come his way.
"Aren't they the 2 new Earth Mages that Principal Kiertzche enrolled?" One of the students whispered to another. "Yeah, I can't believe that there are 2 more Earth Mages in the academy!" Another replied. Matthew was just about ready to block out the whispers until he heard the next few words. "Yeah well, so what if they're Earth Mages? Principal Kiertzche only picks out the talented and he even enrolled them himself! They must be special". "Your right, it's thanks to Principal Kiertzche that my family can eat. It's thanks to his brilliant mind set that I am in this school. So what if they're Earth Mages right?". "Yeah!".
Matthew was touched deeply by those words. It was as if he had been waiting to hear them all his life. With a soft smile, Matthew looked out the window. "I guess this is the start of something great".
Sitting down on the surprisingly comfortable bus chairs, Matthew had begun to fantasize about all the new possibilities that he had unlocked just by meeting a single man. He started thinking about the future and what life at the school would be like. Deciding to not think too much on the topic, he rested his head against the glass of the school bus and stared at the passing vestiges of buildings and people. Hazel had dozed dozed off right next to him and had used his arm as a pillow. Smiling at the sight of his sister, Matthew had wished that this moment would last forever.
He was about to fall to sleep as well until he saw the 2 faces of strangers staring at them over the chairs.
"Hey!" One of them greeted as they awkwardly looped their arm over the chair to shake Matthew's. "My name's June and this here's Gordon".
A bit shocked at the sudden greeting, Matthew cautiously extended his hand forward to shake June's hand but was surprised when June further extended her hand to shake his. "So, how old are you huh? I'm guessing about...9".
"...8" Matthew slowly unveiled. "What about you?".
Acting overzealously dramatic, she mimicked the act of fainting and howled in pain. "How dare you ask a fair lady her age" June said in a needlessly feminine voice, prompting a laugh to escape from Matthew. "So you have a sense of humor!" June smiled.
"June! stop it, can't you see your bothering these 2?" Gordon reprimanded June. "Sorry for my big sissy's atti-atti-" he said before getting cut off by June.
"Attitude?" She said in a playful tune towards her younger brother.
"Shut up! I was about to say that!" Gordon pouted. "Anyways, I am sorry for her attitude. Me and my sissy are inter-interes-inter" He said again before getting cut off by June.
"Interested" She snickered.
"Stop it!" Gordon hissed at his older sister, glowing a beet red hue and hitting her on the shoulder with weak hits.
"Ow~ Gordon!" June sad as she glared at her Brother. "Mom said no hitting!".
"Well I wouldn't have hit you if you just let me speak! Now they think I'm illi-illiter-illiter-" Gordon said, getting cut off by June again.
"Illiterate?" She sneered.
Completely red, steam could be seen coming out of Gordon's head. "I'LL KILL YOU!" He screamed, going to hit his sister with all his might in the arm.
Seeing the ongoing family feud on display before him, Matthew let out a snicker which prompted the 2 to cease their bickering and just stare at Matthew.
Extending his own hand out for a hand shake, Matthew smiled sweetly as the hand shake was reciprocated by Gordon. "My name's Matthew, I am 8 years old and the one sleeping here is Hazel, currently 4 years old. I hope that we can become good friends by the end of this year".
The 2 other siblings looked at each other and shared a childish smile. "Alright! We hope to be your first friends at this new school. If you ever need help then come find us! Gordan will probably be in the school library and I'll probably be outside in the gym".
"Sure, thanks" Matthew said as the bus finally came to a halt. "Oh, It seems like we're here".
Taking Gordon by the hand, June practically dragged her brother out of the bus. "Bye bye Matthew! Hope you enjoy your stay here!".
Glancing away from the dynamic duo, Matthew gently shook Hazel awake and carried their stuff outside. After getting Hazel fully awake, he couldn't help but stare in awe at the sight ahead of him. 5 Massive buildings that were unique in their own way. The school was split up into 6 sectors for their own year levels starting from kindergarten all the way to grade 12, sorted into 3s. (for example: Kindergarten, prep, grade 1 and so on). The only building that was different from the rest was the one in the middle, it was the center of all the buildings and Matthew could only guess that it was where the staff was, including Principal Kiertzche. Off in the distance he could see a massive gym along with a massive oval. He could only imagine how much this would have cost to get built.
"Attention Students, will all the new students please proceed to the gymnasium where you will be assigned your classrooms" A loud voice boomed.
"Well I guess I know where to go now" Matthew smiled as he couldn't wait to see what this new life would bring him.