"Terla…" "Terla…"
"Your callo.."
"Oh."
"Unknown code…"
"Terla…I'm Nick. I'm sorry, I love you."
"Ahh….,who are you again?"
"Nick… please don't play dumb. I said, "I love you." "
"Terla… who are you talking to?"
"No one?"
When Terla looked at the callo again, there was nothing on it.
She walked to her sister…, "VV, have you read this book?"
Now in her hand was a book with "Don't let me go." on its cover.
Bzzt..bzzt… "Terla, your callo."
She found her callo again in her left hand.
"Who is it?"
"Nick."
"Lol…has he decided to come crawling back now?"
"Haha…maybe?"
"Terla, hey you still have feelings for me right?"
"Terla!!"
"Ah, Mom?"
"Terla!Terla!!"
"Mmmm…?"
"Terla, it's time to wake up!!"
"Hmmmm…mommy…?"
"Yes, how lazy you are. Wake up now! Don't make your brother late!!"
"Immm, yes…"
Terla got up, looking around with her dreary eyes. She reached out to her clock and it was 7a.m.
Her vision became clearer and looked around again, her mother was already gone but she could faintly hear her grumbling at the stairs.
"Ha…ha, how funny. I was even speaking into a callo and thought it was real."
It's been a week since that night but strangely enough, nothing has happened and there was no difference from a normal day except from the fact that Adair, Eleni and Zephyr came out sometimes to "steal" her food.
She yawned and stretched herself as she got out of her bed.
She took a quick bath and put on the dress she had bought.
It was a red blouse and a skirt with red Magnolias on it.
She just did a simple half-up, braided at the front.
"Bro's potion is doing a good job, I guess." she murmured as she inspected her now acne-cleared skin in the mirror.
When she got down to the first floor, she saw her sleepy brother and her parents.
"Son, you can still sleep a little longer. You need to be fully energized when you take the magic test."
Mother Ophelia told her son as she looked proudly at the son.
"Your mom's right. It's important for you to be in your best possible state so that you can go all out when you hit the celestial stone." Father Ophelia agreed.
She walked past the group and went straight to the kitchen to prepare herself breakfast.
Is it because of Lucas's potion or is it related to her becoming the library's master, her magic hasn't blacked out a second since that night.
She hasn't tested out all the magic types she possessed but she could freely use any magic she wished.
It's been long since she last enjoyed her abilities like this.
She was once a one in a thousand who possessed and could use multiple types of magic.
It is not uncommon to possess three or four magic types but it is rare actually to master more than one of them.
But she possessed more than nine magic types: light magic, four elemental magic, creation magic, space and time magic, electricity magic, material magic, and other magic she can't make out the nature.
Unfortunately, this fact might be what actually dragged her down. She possessed two many types and wanted to master all of them, which delayed her to practise any one of them to complete mastery and ultimately left her in this state.
# # #
The ceremony is being held at the ceremonial ground located in the middle of all three schools which is built into a stadium.
All the ruling families in Orton are seated at the very front of the stadium with other important authorities including the Ophelias.
However, Terla was just not there.
"Lord Ophelia, where's your daughter?" a middle-aged man beside him asked.
"As you know, Lord Arthur, teenagers these days. She might have gone to her friends." Terla's father answered, shaking his head.
"Same here. Hahaha…" Angelina's father laughed but stopped halfway sensing Lady Arthur's glare.
The truth is Terla left them just as she got off the carriage.
She just doesn't want to sit with her parents even for a minute.
Terla walked about and finally found a seat in the front row.
She turned and looked around to check if anyone she knew was near her.
Only when she saw that no one was around, can she be relaxed.
"Wow…, what a buzzing ceremony."
"Right, I have never been to such a place. Hey, look at that dress…wow, I wish I had one, too."
*hymph* "Not just that one. I would buy you as many as you wish if you became my wife."
"Zephyr!!!!!!!!"
"Hey, hey, guys. Stop. My ears are gonna burst soon if you don't."
"Sorry, Master." Eleni uttered softly.
"Wow, Hanna. You are looking so beautiful today."
"Of course, my mom spent hundreds of gold on it."
"Oh, my dress costs only twenty thousand silvers."
"That's good, as long as it looks luxurious and beautiful."
"Yeah, that's what I mean."
" Ohh… look. Who put these little dolls here? Hahaha."
"You!!!" *hahaha*
"Poppy, stay calm."
*hymph*
"Little things from 'Hero School'. They only got second in duelling, how come they are so daring."
"That's why you don't need to lower yourself. We got first in the whole land."
"But they are wearing their uniforms. We are not losing, right?"
"Yeah, should we have ordered uniforms for our school? Our "Magic School" can't lose to them this way!"
"That's right. Look now, their egos reaching the sky."
Students from "Magic School" and "Hero School" are natural-born enemies, especially during senior years, so they always compete with each other by every means.
Terla quietly observed the stage as she listened to the gossip behind her.
Unconsciously, her gaze fell on a boy on the stage chatting with the anchor.
As if he felt the gaze, he turned towards her and their eyes met for a second until Terla looked away.
Strangely, the boy's gaze stayed on her and he cut off his conversation, shortly after.
He then came walking toward her and sat down at the seat just beside her.
'?' Terla didn't bother as she kept observing the stage.
He glanced at her for once and took out his callo.
Then he started laughing from time to time.
Terla ignored him at first, 'This guy, why is he laughing like that? So annoying.'
But then his laughter became louder.
Terla became frustrated and… turned at him and glared but just as she saw his side look,
'Nevermind, he is handsome, so I will let him off.' , in opposition to her glare the boy smiled pleasingly as if he was delighted by her glare.
'Master, I think he is trying to get your attention.'
'Right, he's been side-glancing at you a lot. Master, is he your rival?'
*whack* *Ahh*
'Eleni, why would you hit your groom-to-be like that?'
'Groom yourself! Are you even a man? Can't you see he is trying to hit on our master?'
'Yes, do you know him, master?'
'Nope.', then Terla glanced at him again and, 'but I am feeling like I have seen him somewhere.'
'You don't remember him?', then Anna's voice appeared from inside.
'Huh? You know him, Anna?'
'No.'
'Whatever.' Terla thought and tried to move to another seat beside her.
However, just as she got up, a girl took the seat.
She wore a 'Hero school' uniform with her golden brown hair tied up into a ponytail.
'She is,', the girl smiled gently as she looked at Terla.
'so beautiful…..' Terla thought as she couldn't help but stared at her
"Hello 1.2..3…" the host's voice echoed in the stadium.
"Good morning ladies and gentlemen, your worship, honorable chief guests, and all the dignities present here for 'Junior student qualification and Seniors graduation ceremony of our Academy of Orton'. I'm Eric and with my co-anchor Rita, I would like to welcome you all."
"Wo!!!!!Miss Rita!!"
"Miss Rita!!"
"We love you, Rita!!!"
With all the cheering shouts another anchor stood up.
"Good morning and congrats to all the high performing teams and individuals present here....."
'Wow, that lady is really beautiful…' Adair finally voiced, *Ahem* ',but of course, my mom's more beautiful.'
"Now, let's start our ceremony by lighting our sacred ground. I would like to call our principal and our Mayor Mr. and Mrs. Hodgkin to come forward for it."
A middle aged man and a woman came up to the ground and together stood in the middle.
The man has short medium-blonde hair and honey-brown eyes, and the woman has golden-blonde long hair done into a low messy bun. Their clothes were expensive and high-end but they looked nowhere extravagant on them, but added more elegance and dignity.
"Students, rise and recite our Academy Oath."
*rattle*
"We, students of the Academy of Orton, hereby pledge that we shall, in thought, word and deed endeavour to love, protect and uphold the dignity and integrity of our profession, the honor of our academy and the nation in all circumstances….."
All students, young or old, small or tall, all stood up to pledge the oath.
Well, Terla too, of course, stood up but she couldn't follow all the lines which was why she could only keep quiet at the end.
*pff*
The boy beside her laughed under his breath requesting Terla's side-glare.
The ritual finally ended and the headmistress gave her speech.
"...Congratulations to everyone of you who have worked hard and brought honours to our academy through various competitions and occasions. And I especially want to congratulate and give my heartfelt thanks to my two beloved students, Ms. Hodgkin and Mr. Aphelia. As all of you might have known, our Dorothy won the first prize in the whole 'Land of Peace' wizards competition and achieved many other awards for us and our Nicholas got us with his team a second prize in "Land of Peace" Academy duelling tournament…"
'Nicholas, where have I heard that name.'
"Great thanks to you, our honour, headmistress for your warm welcoming speech. Now I request our student representatives to deliver their gratitude speech on behalf of our student bodies. Please welcome Ms. Hodgkin and Mr. Ophelia…"
'?'
A girl who was sitting beside the mayor got up as she was announced.
She walked up to the stage wearing a beautiful gown which is sparkling even in daylight as her beautifully done golden-blonde hair danced in the air.
But about the male representative,
".. oh..I mean Mr. Aphelia." *Haha*
"Guess he's not gonna come out if I mispronounced his name again."
The "stranger" boy beside him suddenly got up and walked to the ground after giving a slight glance at her.
Terla composed herself although she was shocked inside.
Top 2 of the Academy was sitting just beside her.
'Does he know me? Did I look stupid acting all proud beside him? Was he just now laughing at me?...', many ridiculous thoughts washed her brain… "Terla!" "Terla!!!!" Suddenly, Anna's voice roared in her ears as she appeared in front of her face.
"Ahh?" "Anna, why did you come out? What if anyone sees you." Terla was alarmed as she looked around and then she was confused by herself.
"Right…, only I can see you."
*sigh* Anna sighed looking at the girl in front of her and disappeared.
"Look! They are so cute together. I can't understand why they broke up in a short time."
Gossips came out from everyone as the two stood together.
"Yeah, do you know which side broke up first?"
"I don't know either. I only heard it by word of mouth."
*chatter* *chatter*
The ceremony continued and the boy came back to her side.
He made a meaningful glance toward her before he sat down and took out his callo again.
This time though his expression wasn't as elated as before.
His callo flashed multiple times and messages came in…
[How's it going there?]
[Yeah, what's going on? You've been sitting there for long enough, why haven't I seen you two talking?]
[I don't know. She doesn't even look at me.]
[You fool? Are you expecting an affectionate gaze from her after all we've done?]
[....]
[Come on. You need to start the conversation. We're watching from here.]
[I am scared.]
[To hell…d**k. We fought against powerful rivals at the tournament and won the second but now you are scared??!!! To talk to a little girl?!!!!!!!!!]
[She's not little. She's older than us.]
[Whatever…, she still feels like a cute little sis to me.]
[Hey, Lenox, say something! You are our brain and you are oblique for this matter too.]
[...]
[That man, he is being irresponsible. ]
[Hey man. Just say something to her. Even if it's just a hello. She can't slap you in public, right?]
The boy turned at her and opened his mouth but luck is just not at his side today.
"Now comes the most awaited moment of our ceremony," Rita read out her scriptright in time, " we senior students are here at the moment to witness our junior-to-be as they go through their assessment along with the authorities. Let's welcome our candidates with the claps."
*clap…clap…clap*
The mentioned candidates including Jack, Terla's little brother together walked onto the stage and assembled around a sacred looking stone with a rune embedded at the bottom.
Terla was excited and feeling uneasy at the same time.
She had been there before too but a lot older in comparison.
They as students had to stand at least two times in front of that stone.
Two times for her, first time, it put her on a pedestal while the second time it ruined her life.
Now her brother, too, is gonna stand in front of it for his life in next four years to be decided by a mere stone he doesn't know about.
She was nervous, more nervous than when she stood there for the first time.
The assessment proceeded and the qualified and unqualified are already visible.
Some are proudly smiling or shedding tears of happiness while some are crying or standing still in dismay.
These kids, they had been practising and holding onto their wooden sword just for this moment, disregarding the bruises and callus on their tiny hands and body.
"Jack Ophelia."
*Badump* *Badump*
Everyone was minding their own business but Terla couldn't.
As he heard his name announced, Jack walked to the front of the sacred stone as he tightly held his wooden sword.
The proud little kid swinging his wooden sword magnificently the other day, was not shaking in front of this lifeless stone.
No one knows what he is thinking or maybe he is repeating the same words like a chant identical to what she was doing at his place,
.
.
.
.
.
'For this moment…, for this moment…, I need to get the best results , no I have to… breathe Terla, breathe, you can do this… you've been preparing for this moment…, for this moment…'
Thirteen year old Terla stood in front of the stone.
She opened her tightly closed eyes, took a deep, deep breath and poured out all the magic she possessed into the rune at the bottom.
'10….20….50…' the numbers quickly went up, '70…80…90..' reaching a hundred in less than a second, then numbers faded and crystals appeared around the stone one by one.
*pop*
The first crystal was filled up with a pale gold color.
*pop…pop…pop*
Reddish-yellow colours like blazing fire, ocean blue, earthy brown and grayish-blue, four crystals popped up simultaneously.
Everyone at the ceremony including the Ophelias and young Terla herself stared at the crystals in awe.
But the growing numbers of crystals didn't stop there, another one took shape into a rainbow crystal which represents creation magic. Another crystal which resembles an electric ball followed. Then a crystal with a galaxy in it manifested itself which is followed by another which shape and color alternating into different materials: gold, silver, brass, fabric and so on. After all these nine crystals, a strange crystal appeared. It changed and alternated into various colors and shapes which finally turned to a completely clear crystal and then disappeared. Another such crystal occurred again beside the previous and ended up disappearing again.
Disappeared… that was what everyone saw and thought but Terla knew well they actually didn't , they were just there floating like other crystals although no one could see it or had the ability to make it out.
'50…70..80..90…93…95….9….9….90.'
"Jack Ophelia, 90. Section B."
*dart*
Terla unconsciously got up from her seat and the "stranger" boy's gaze followed her movement.
"Jack…"
'You did a great job. You did…!'
But on the ground, Jack was staring at the other place with a gloomy expression.
Terla knew what he was thinking,
'I'm done. They are not gonna praise me again. I'm done…'
'That's true. They don't look proud for sure. While other parents ran down to their child, embraced them and shedded happy tears, they were there sitting still with disappointed expressions although he worked hard and diligently trained himself to get this 90 on the stone for them. My brother, it's okay because I'm proud of you.'
Terla spoke in her mind, holding in her tears.
"Congratulations and welcome to all the new junior students and for those who weren't fated, don't be disappointed or give up. There are many more ways to achieve success in life and maybe you will find one yourself. Fighting and we wish all the best for your life ahead. Now it's time for the new juniors to be given their qualification certificates and awarded for their outstanding performances by the hands of their outstanding seniors."
"To award our juniors from section A, let's welcome Ms. Dorothy Hodgkin."
"First, James Sterling, 110…."
"...."
"Now, please welcome Mr. Nicholas Aphelia to present juniors from section B their certificates."
The boy beside Terla got up and walked to the stage after glancing at her complicated look for a moment.
"Jack Ophelia, 99. Please come and receive your certificate."
Jack walked to the place with his head facing down which seemed like it might be buried to the ground anytime soon.
He didn't even look up or try to pose for the photo as he depressingly took the certificate.
But…, " Hey little brat," the man in front of him whispered to him, " your sister says, she is very proud of you."
Only then, Jack finally looked up. He looked at the man in front of him and then followed his gaze where he found his sister, looking at him with complicated but proud eyes. Soon, his eyes became teary as he called out, "Big sister…"
Terla as she stared at the two from her seat, vivid memories flashed through her mind…, " Nick."
"Yes?"
"You know what? You look like my little brother."
"No way. I'm definitely not."
"Why? You both are cute."
"What?"
*Haha*
"Terla!!"
"Yes, Mr. Nicholas Ophelia..."
*Haha*
"What, Terla… you can't even pronounce my surname well?"
"Bluh…hhh…"
*Haha*
"Nick." Terla murmured under her breath as she stared at the very stranger she had forgotten.
A.N. : Sorry guys. It took a little longer this time.I was struggling between two scenarios , lol. Hope you enjoy this one.🥰