Freya looked through the various names of schools. Most of them were for the Magical classes and some for Literature.
Freya felt like she was being attacked by the internet.
Just because she chose the wrong subject to study even Tantric spell constructions were trolling her.
Freya looked at the numerous lists but she couldn't find St Vlad's anywhere.
Freya frowned. Was it a new school that had no prior internet exposure? If that was the case then this would be even easier for her. She might get the job.
She had a good Order per cent and wouldn't even ask for extra payment! She was the ideal candidate for employment!
"So, what is this about?"
Freya looked at Ceron.
He smiled and offered the steel glass in his hand. "Here. It's tea."
Freya's eyes widened. "Tea? You didn't have to get me tea!"
Ceron grinned. "Who got you tea? You are overthinking it. I wanted one for myself and so I made it. There was a bit extra left so I brought you a cup."
Freya rolled her eyes. "You don't like tea."
Ceron's eyes sparkled.
"How do you know that?" he asked, breathless.
Freya tilted her head. He was behaving like...It couldn't be that this kid had a crush on her right?
Freya shook her head. Noway! She was thinking too much.
"Don't want to tell me?" he asked with a pout. "Maybe I already know the answer."
"Do you?" Freya asked with a smirk. "What is it then?"
"You are in love with me," he said, his eyes on his cup of tea.
Freya laughed. "Sure. That's what it was all along. I am madly in love with you!"
Ceron frowned at the indulgent tone of her voice. "You might have a crush on me then."
Freya smiled and pushed his shoulder. "You wish. My crush is known to everyone in this alley."
Ceron tensed.
"Who is it?"
"Cregg from Elma Has Lost It!"
Ceron slumped at her words, unsure whether he should feel happy or frustrated. "That is a fictional character."
"He could be real!"
"You are delusional."
"This is why I can't love you."
Ceron gritted his teeth and stood up. "I'll go do my homework then."
Freya grabbed him by the arm and pulled him down. She hugged him to her side.
Ceron felt his heart flutter. He could smell the soft, sweet smell from her hair.
"You are like a girl, Ceron! Getting upset over the silliest things!"
It's silly to you because you are treating it as a joke, he wanted to say but swallowed those words. There was no need to rock the boat and push her away. He had time to make her understand his heart.
"So what are you looking for?" he asked her.
"A school."
"You are going to study again? That's a good idea. Maybe this time you will give importance to the right subjects."
"No, I won't."
Ceron looked at her stubborn brown eyes in wonder. "Can you at least pretend that you will do better if given the chance?"
She rolled her eyes. "Why should I? If I start school again, I will spend my time reading more books on magic than before. Last time, because I didn't know the basics, I had to start from the beginning which prevented me from reading so many of the more advanced ones. I would use the opportunity to read more!"
Ceron blinked. "Wait! So you are going to study again? Which school have you chosen?"
"Not studying. I...I...I found out about a school today and so decided to look it up."
Ceron gave her a sceptical look. "So you ran all the way here in this thunderstorm because you were curious about a school?"
Freya looked at the tea in her hand which was now lukewarm. "I needed a distraction."
Ceron pursed his lips, wishing he could help her out. "How is aunt?"
"She was fine in the morning."
Ceron frowned. "You didn't go back after work?"
Freya shook her head.
Ceron sighed and put down his cup of tea and pulled the Slab towards himself. "What was the school's name? I'll look it up for you."
"St Vlad's Academy."
Ceron wrote the words in with his figure and closed his eyes.
A spell construction appeared under his palm.
Freya's eyes brightened and she leaned forward, studying the structure of the construction.
A circle with two lines at the sides. The symbol of speed.
The Slab flashed and then a list of schools with the name St Vlad came up. There were 84 of them.
Freya sighed.
Ceron took away his hands. "See? It's that easy! All you have to do is give the Slab a second burst of Mana and bang! It connects faster!"
Freya gave him a self-deprecating smile. "Easy, huh? Too bad I don't have a deposit of Mana lying around."
Ceron blushed in guilt. "Sorry, I forgot."
A huff came from behind them. Aunt Mary had come in while Ceron was using the Mana.
"Mom?"
"I don't know how you can forget," Aunt Mary said with derision.
Ceron narrowed his eyes and went up to her. The two started to talk in hushed whispers.
Freya started to look through the names, trying to find the one she was looking for.
She searched and searched and reached near the end.
'...School of Merchants...nope...school for girls...nope...school for mages...nope...school for the gifted...nop-'
Freya looked back at the last name again.
'St Vlad Academy for the Gifted.'
Freya clicked on the link in excitement.
"Mom, how can you say that?" Ceron asked in anger.
Freya started and looked over.
"Am I wrong?" Aunt Mary asked.
Freya ducked her head and looked back at the screen.
'St Vlad Academy for the Gifted is a school for all the-'
Lightning struck outside their house, with thunder following immediately after.
The room plunged into darkness.
Aunt Mary screamed in fright.
"Freya! Are you okay?" Ceron asked.
Freya blinked her eyes in the darkness. "I'm fine. I am still sitting on the chair."
"Ceron!" Aunt Mary scolded. "I'm your mother! Are you not going to care about me at all? If you are like this now, how will you be after you are married and have children? Are you going to kill off your mother then?"
Ceron sighed. "Mom, please. You are right next to me. Freya was using a Slab in this whether. I've heard that the spell constructions of Slabs are very delicate and would blow up if too much energy is used near it and we know how much energy lightning has."
Freya sighed. "I'm okay."
"Stay there! Let me go get a candle!" Ceron said and went away.
The sound of footsteps echoed.
Freya frowned. Why would the entire house's power go out though? Weren't the spell constructions of power supplies able to withstand 12 lightning bolts close to it? The power shouldn't have disappeared just like that.
In the deep darkness, a bright yellow spell construction lit up. Only a single symbol was in the circle. It flickered a bit and then changed into a small fire.
A basic fire spell.
The source fire flickered as it lit up a candle.
The room tinged with a shade of orange.
"I wonder when the power will be back," Ceron said as he put the candle down, next to Freya.
"It shouldn't have gone out in the first place," Freya said.
The orange light on Ceron made him look even more beautiful than normal.
"Hey, Ceron," Freya called with a sigh.
"Yeah?"
"Why are you so pretty?"
Ceron blushed. "Wha-what? Don't talk stupid things. Now tell me what you meant by 'shouldn't have gone out?'"
"Don't you remember? The power supply can't go out like that with-"
"The neighbours have light!" Aunt Mary exclaimed.
She ran outside.
Freya blinked. "Did something happen to your house's Spell Construction?"
"We have enchantments on it though," Ceron said. "But that's not a guarantee I guess. Let's go out and see."
Freya looked at him with a conflicting look as they walked to the door.
"What? Think so I'm pretty that you can't take your eyes off?" He asked with a light blush on his face.
Freya shook her head. "You haven't been practising your control exercises."
Ceron looked at her in confusion.
They walked out into the cold air and shivered.
The rain had let up a little but the wind was still harsh.
Aunt Mary was in the far corner, arguing with a figure in a blue raincoat.
Ceron and Freya walked towards them.
"What do you mean by no practice, huh?" Ceron asked.
Freya sighed. "You couldn't handle an Inverted triangle. It kept flickering. Why couldn't you handle an Inverted Triangle? As an Elementalist, the basic symbols should have already been mastered by you."
A boisterous laugh echoed in the air.
They looked at the man next to Aunt Mary. He was lean, frail, and looked to be in his sixties.
"An Elementalist who can't even get the basic symbols down," the man said. "That's so scary."
Aunt Mary flushed in embarrassment.
"So this is the great son you would use to teach me a lesson?" the man asked Aunt Mary.
Freya stilled as she realized she might have said something she shouldn't.
"Leave then!" the pudgy woman said to the man.
The man laughed and walked away.
The pudgy woman turned to Freya in anger and raised her hand to slap her.
Ceron grabbed her hand.
"Mom, what are you doing!"