"Hey Riley, I've been wondering, what academy do you want to go to?"
The students were all getting busy telling each other about the academy they would be attending in their next year of school. Everyone knew about the top academy, Mystic Vale, and everyone who was anyone was planning to enroll there.
"I don't know, I was planning to look at Mystic Vale, but then I thought to myself, 'Why bother taking the easy road? I could make another academy number 1!' Now I am planning on attending a middle ground academy."
Riley wasn't anyone who shied a way from a challenge, he took them head on. He had challenged a lot of the teachers to battles, trying to prove that he was the strongest. This caused him to become instantly famous among the students.
Among the teachers, however, he was known as a trouble maker. He hardly ever did his assignments, missed a lot of school days, and he had even incited a riot in the cafeteria.
"I understand you need to be number 1, but Mystic Vale can help you become number 1. Wouldn't it be better for you to not worry about others?" The student sitting next to Riley had been his friend for years. He knew better than anyone else that Riley had the most potential out of everyone in their year level.
"Yeah, but I just said, I don't want the easy road. Plus Mystic Vale will have the top students across the country. Imagine their faces when they were beat to a pulp by a nobody in the yearly magic festival." A smile spread across Riley's face as he imagined what he would do in the combat portion of the competition.
"You're a real combat fanatic aren't you?"
During their conversation, their teacher, Ms. Wave had entered the classroom and had taken a seat at her desk. Ms. Wave was chosen to take this class because she was the teacher who had the highest ratio of reforming troubling students. The student she needed to reform this year was none other than Riley.
After a few minutes of sitting at her desk, she looked at the clock and decided she needed to quiet the students down. Using her magic, Ms. Wave sent out a soundwave, causing the ears of the students to screech, as if someone was dragging their nails across a chalk board.
After what felt like an eternity for the kids, but in actuality was only a few seconds, Ms. Wave released her magic and let the students return to their seats.
"Well, now that I have your attention I will get straight down to business. As you know, you will be joining an academy next year and will be continuing your magic training there. I am sure that you have all decided what academy you would like to go to, but I have to tell you, you wasted your time."
A few of the students looked at the teacher with a confused expression. They hoped she would elaborate, but Ms. Wave was not that kind of teacher. With no warning, Ms. Wave pulled out a gas mask from her desk drawer and put it on. She pushed a button on the arm of her chair and the entire class went into lockdown, the door bolted locked and the windows shutting, letting no light in.
The class decided to finally ask what was happening, hoping this was all some sort of drill they just missed the notification of.
"Don't worry, just stay seated and don't move from your seats."
Ms. Wave gave no more explanation as she pushed another button on her seat, causing a vent to descend from the ceiling. Gas flowed from the vent and showered the floor in a thick mist.
Riley, confused as to what was going on, got up from his seat and headed straight for the door. Covering his nose and mouth with one hand and trying to open the door with the other, Riley instilled a great amount of panic in the other students.
As more students got up from their seats, another screeching sound pierced the ears of the students, causing them to collapse and hold their hands over their ears. Some fell into the mist, not to get up again, while others collapsed onto their desks.
"I asked you all to remain seated. Mr. Bolt, you have been a thorn in my side for quite some time. You are one of the only students to remain a troublemaker with me as their teacher." Ms. Wave spoke to the struggling Riley, who was still trying to open the door and escape. "It is no use, the door is bolted shut and it will only open when someone outside uses their key to unlock it."
"You know Ms. Wave, I never really liked you. You keep pushing me away from challenges, telling me to take the easy road and use my potential for great things. Guess what? I'm about to be a huge thorn in your side today." Riley, speaking through his hands directed those words towards his teacher, hoping that she could hear him, because he could barely hear her.
Riley, determination filling his eyes, turned to face the Ms. Wave. He eyeballed the gas mask on her face and prepared to charge. Lowering his posture, and winding up his legs, Riley leapt forward with incredible speed, reaching out his hand for the gas filter on the mask.
Before he could reach the filter, the screeching sound he had been hearing this entire time doubled in volume, rupturing his ear drum and causing his ears to bleed. With one quick slap, Ms. Wave had knocked Riley onto the ground and into the bank of gas.
Unable to see clearly, hear anything, or think straight, Riley resigned himself to his fate. His mind went cloudy and he no longer knew where he was.