People say that the last day of school is meant to be fun. There is no work left to be done, everyone is planning their holidays and hoping to get jobs. But once you reach a certain age, that doesn't happen to kids.
For Joseph Zephyr, that age was 16.
Joseph, instead of planning any holidays or going out in search of a job, was searching for a magic academy that would accept him. He had a problem controlling his magic, sometimes releasing more than he needed and sometimes releasing barely half what he needed.
All his problems caused him to lack social skills necessary to help him make friends. This didn't stop him from trying though. He would often go up to groups of his classmates and try to join in on their conversations.
Being known as the 'control failure', however, caused people to steer clear of him, scared he would blow them all away without any warning. He had only done that one time. He had saw one of his juniors being attacked and couldn't stop himself from intervening.
Joseph lost his cool and gusts of wind had appeared, blowing not only the attackers but also the person he was trying to help 10 meters down the school hallway. He tried running after them to apologise but they were scared of him from that day on.
"Okay students, settle down, I know all of you are excited to be going on holidays, but you are still at school so act like it." Quieting the class down, Joseph's teacher, Mr. Root started handing out pamphlets to the class. "You are all turning 16 or already are sixteen. That means you will all be going to an academy for the next 2 years, until you are adults."
Receiving one of the pamphlets and starting to read, Joseph was confused by what it said.
'Congratulations! You are all either 16 or about to be 16. This means you will be attending a magic academy for the next 2 years. And while I am sure that many of you have registered to attend an academy, you will be given a test and your scores shall decide what academy you are placed in.'
Rereading the pamphlet, Joseph asked the question that many of his classmates wanted to ask as well.
"Mr. Root, it says here that we will be given a test to decide what academy we go to. If that is the case, why did you make us search for academies that we wanted to attend?"
"Excellent question, Zephyr." Making sure that everyone heard who had asked the question, he went on to explain. "The top academies only accept those with the highest marks on the test, making you look at the academies you want to attend will make you understand how important this test is."
Understanding finally dawning on him, Joseph was unable to realise that every other student was now glaring at him. If pressure could kill, he would have been nothing but a ball of flesh.
Another student then had a thought, her parents had never told her anything about a test to get into their academy. They had always said they were chosen by theirs.
"Sir, this says we need to take a test? Why is this the first time we are hearing about this?" The student voiced her concern.
"Another excellent question, Chamings. You see, the test is at a surprise date, and all the adults have been sworn to secrecy. If anyone had told the students about the test, they would have been executed once word got out."
No one was giving glares towards the student who had given this suggestion, as she was the student everyone wanted on their side. From a strong family with a powerful magic attribute, no one would dare to antagonize her.
Joseph had gone up to her multiple times and tried to enter her conversations, only for the same thing to always happen. Being called a 'walking calamity' behind his back and to his face made him realise that he would never be able to be friends with someone like her.
A final student had picked up something from the last answer. He voiced his concern before the bell was about to ring.
"Sir, you said that people would be executed for spreading news about this test. Doesn't that mean that you will be executed for telling all of us?"
Before answering this last question, Mr. Root walked back to his desk and sat down. He opened a drawer an put on what looked like a gas mask before finally speaking.
"Unfortunately you are mistaken. On the day of the test, teachers are allowed to disclose this information."
After finishing his sentence, a loud THUNK could be heard from the door. A large metal pin had moved into a slot, locking the exit. Large metal plates had fallen from the ceiling, blocking all the light from the windows. With no light left in the room, vents appeared from the ceiling.
"I am sorry kids, but your holidays will not be quite as glamorous as you had previously thought." Leaning back in his chair, Mr. Root pressed a button on the arm of his chair. "The gas that is about to flow into the room is a sleeping gas. If you breath it in, you will fall to sleep. The person to last the longest in this gas was able to go for 2 minutes before he succumbed."
As he was speaking, a blue gas had started flowing from the vents, falling to the floor and spreading out towards the walls.
The students, now scared out of their minds, began panicking and rushing for the exit. They tried banging on the door, only to see it wouldn't budge. Now panicking even more, they began looking towards the teacher for help.
"Sorry kids, but this is the last time any of you will be seeing me. Have fun at your new academies!"
Enclosing himself in an earth prison, the teacher pushed another button on his chair activating fans to spread the gas throughout the room.
Realizing there was nothing more he could do, Joseph breathed in as much of the gas as he could. Within seconds his mind became cloudy and he was falling to the floor. He heard the other students screaming before he completely lost consciousness.