Beatrice has run through all the possibilities in her head countless times on her way back to her dorm room, and once she was back home, she dug up every magic book she had to look for an answer. "It could be teleportation," she thought, "except that people with teleportation magic are only able to transport themselves…" She turned to another chapter of Encyclopedia Magicae. "Maybe speed magic, but I moved too fast. Speed magic isn't enough to move in less than the blink of an eye." She had thought through it many times. There weren't that many options as far as performing such a feat was concerned. "Perhaps…" she thought, "could it… could it have been time magic?" She glanced at a dusty book on the bottom of her shelf, The History of Ancient Magic. Considered a collection of fairy tales, the book attempted to document and explain many ancient and legendary instances of magic. Grabbing it, she quickly flipped to the section on time magic. Time magic was allegedly wielded by the royal family of Atlantis as well as several of the great European noble houses. According to the scant details from various legends, time magic allowed its users to control the flow of time, particularly slowing down and even freezing it. The description aligned with what she had experienced, in fact, it fit perfectly, but she knew better. "No, that's impossible… It's just a myth…" Putting the book away, she decided to finally go to bed. She wasn't done yet, but it would have to wait for tomorrow.
***
As president of the student council, Beatrice had many special privileges. One such privilege was access to the school's student records. Taking advantage of this, she began searching. She remembered his face, so all she had to do was find his file. He looked about the same age as her, so she started with the second year students. After some time, she found him. Seeing his file, she actually realized that she vaguely knew him; he was a part of her class, although they had never even spoken to each other. His name was Jack Richter. He was an American from New York who had applied independently. However, while he passed the entrance exam, his grades were far below average. The worst in the school, in fact. Of course, he averaged low 70s, but at Oleander, anything below 70% was a failing grade. Her eyes shifted to the "Rune" section. What ability did he have? What did he do to save her? She expected to find the answer, but instead, all that was written was "Rune: Non-Applicable".
"He doesn't have a Rune? He isn't even a Magus?" Her eyes didn't believe what she was reading. It wasn't unheard of for non-Maguses to enter Oleander, although they were at a heavy disadvantage, but if he didn't use magic, then how did he save her? She knew that she had been saved from certain death that day, and she knew that it was impossible without magical means. She thought about it for a moment and decided to just ask him herself. They shared the same class, so it would be easy. All she had to do was talk to him after class.
***
Jack Richter sat near the back of the class while Beatrice sat at the front. After the school day had ended, she looked over her shoulder, searching for him, but his seat was empty, he had already left. Quickly gathering her things, she rushed out of the classroom. Searching down the hall, she managed to spot him a fair distance away. Breaking into a jog, she chased after him.
"Excuse me! Jack, right?"
Jack stopped slowly but didn't turn around. "Yeah? What is it?"
"I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Then talk."
"Last night at Saint-Joseph Station, I saw you there."
"What of it? Are you going to bust me for breaking curfew? It's mutually assured destruction, you know. Even Ms. Student Council President is supposed to follow that."
"No, it's not about that. I don't know how you did it, but it was you who saved me, right?"
He stayed silent for a moment. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I know what happened. I slipped, and I was going to get hit by that train, but then I was back safely on my feet. You were the only person there. I know you must've done something."
Jack stayed silent even longer. "Look, you slipped, but it was only a little bit. You're just misremembering it." He took a few steps away. "There's nothing I could've done anyway. I'm not a Magus, so I don't have a Rune."
"No, I know what happened, and I know it must've been you! I don't know why you're hiding it, but you do have a Rune, don't you? What is it? Teleportation? Speed?"
Jack kept walking away. "I don't have a Rune, and none of those would work anyway."
Beatrice chased after him. "Come on, I know you did something! Please just tell me!"
Jack sped up. "I told you, I don't have a Rune and I didn't save you!"
She never expected him to be this unreceptive. All he wanted to do was push her aside. There had to be some way to get through to him. Why would he hide his Rune in the first place? What could it possibly be?
"Wait! Your Rune! Is it time magic!?"
He stopped immediately and planted his feet firmly on the ground. For a moment, he remained completely silent before, without looking at her, he said, "You know that's just a myth, right?"
His demeanor had completely changed. There was no way, could it really be true? Beatrice tentatively approached him. "Do you have time magic?"
He turned around. The difference was subtle, but his face was much more serious. "No."
Beatrice examined him closely. She was confident that she had cracked his poker face which meant that she was at the very least on the right track. "It makes sense, though. If you have time magic, everything lines up."
His expression grows even more grim. "Of course, it makes sense if I have an impossible, made-up ability that does exactly what you need it to do. Now are we done here?"
Beatrice was most certainly not done with him, but there was nothing more she could do. It's not like she had any evidence, and her authority gave her no new avenues, but she couldn't just let him go. She felt something from him. Something special. If she was right, then she couldn't let a lion fall through her fingers. "I want you to join the student council."
Jack laughed. "Are you serious? Thanks for the offer, but I'm okay."
"No, I'm serious, and I won't take 'no' for an answer."
The novelty of such a question already having worn off, Jack's grim expression returned. "Look, I don't want to join the student council."
"But you'll be a great fit, and we need new members."
"That doesn't sound like my problem."
"If you join, it'll be great for your record."
"Don't care."
"And you'll get special privileges."
"Not interested."
"Um…" She wracked her brain, thinking of any possible thing she could do to sway him. Out of frustration, she decided to just outright ask him. "Well, is there anything you do want?"
Stopping to think about it for a few seconds, he answered, "You're a rich kid, aren't you? How about you pay me?"
"Pay you!?" The offer was a shock. Beatrice couldn't imagine the gall to demand a fee for serving on the student council.
"Yeah. Money makes the world go round. I'll be providing a service, and it's not like you're hurting. How about 100 francs a month?"
"100 francs a month!? That's triple the student stipend!"
"Yeah."
"Student council is voluntary. Members aren't supposed to receive wages."
"I know, but if you want me to join so badly then just take it out of your allowance or something."
Despite coming from wealth, not even Beatrice wasn't supposed to throw around money so frivolously, but she couldn't let him get away. Without any other options, she was forced to relent. "Fine…" In the end, the money will surely be worth it to keep him close.
He smirked. "Great. Pleasure doing business with you. When do I start?"
"Right now. Come with me to the student council room. You don't have to stay long today, we'll just get your application sorted out for now."
"Okay, lead the way."
With Jack following just barely not far enough behind for her to say something, Beatrice led the way. "Just so you know, we generally meet everyday."
"Everyday?" He sighed. "All right…"
The student council room took some time to get to. It was on the top floor of the building in a faculty only area.
"Here we are." Beatrice opened the door, revealing the student council room.
The room was quite nice, fairly spacious, and well decorated with fancy furniture. It had two couches, a coffee table, a big desk, some smaller work areas, and a great view of the school grounds. The room was empty except for a young man sitting at one of the smaller desks doing some work.
Beatrice looked at the young man in confusion. "Thomas? What are you doing here? We weren't supposed to meet today."
Already having looked over, he said, "I told you already. I'm way behind." He turns back to his work. "Anyway, who's he? You know we're not supposed to bring non-members here."
"He's a new recruit."
"A new recruit?" He looks over at Jack and studies him for a moment before getting up and approaching him. "I'm Thomas Maes. Vice-President," he said as he offered his hand.
Shaking it without reservation, Jack replies, "Jack Richter."
Breaking the handshake, Thomas goes over to the main desk. "I guess you want the application forms, huh?"
"Yes, please." Beatrice replies.
"I have some copies." He digs through the bottom drawer of the desk. "Here they are." He returns and hands Jack the application.
Jack takes the papers. "Thanks…"
"Don't mention it. I'll let Beatrice help you with that," he said as he returned to his work.
Jack starts flipping through the application; it's about ten pages long. "What's up with this?"
"Well, we call it an application, but it's really more of a contract."
"A contract? To join the student council?"
"It's a big job."
Suspicious of the contract, he gives Beatrice the side-eye. "Okay, just give me a few minutes to read this over."
"Read it over? Well, all right."
Jack sits down on one of the couches and starts reading the contract. Beatrice, a bit impatient and anxious, sits on the opposite couch fidgeting. He was taking his sweet time reading it over, but it gave her some time to examine him. Jack was very sloppy with his appearance, the complete opposite of Beatrice who always looked like a model student. His uniform had wrinkles, his top button was undone, and his tie was crooked and loose. In addition, he had unkempt hair and bags under his eyes.
"Hey, I've got a question about this contract."
"Hm?" Glad to have the silence broken, Beatrice responds, "What is it?"
"Right here, page 8. It says I'm obligated to participate in 'special military operations.' What's that about?"
"Oh, don't worry about that. It just means special training."
Jack gives her a skeptical look. "'Special training'? Isn't this the student council?"
"Well, yes, but the student council is responsible for more than just event planning."
"So what else is it responsible for then?"
"As far as the training goes, they consider us the cream of the crop of Oleander, so they usually like to have us test new weapons and magic and whatnot. Sometimes they'll have us test out new training methods too."
Jack's gaze narrows. "Look, I didn't sign up to be some lab rat."
"Come on, it's not that much trouble. Is it really such a hassle to spend an afternoon doing some target practice."
Jack sighs. "Whatever…" Grabbing a pen, he signs his name sloppily on the contract before shoving it at Beatrice. "Here. Can I go home now?"
"Yes, your application is complete. You should be accepted by tomorrow, so be sure to come after school."
"Yeah, yeah." He got up, walked to the door, and said, "See you later," before promptly leaving.
Once he's presumably out of earshot, Thomas turns to Beatrice and asks, "So why did you recruit this guy? I know we need a new member, but he certainly doesn't seem too special or even enthusiastic."
"Well… I think he might have time magic."
Thomas bursts out laughing. "Time magic? Are you serious? What is he from Atlantis too?"
"I'm serious! He denies it, but I swear I saw him use it!"
"So what? What's more likely, time magic actually being real or you mistaking something else for time magic?"
"I know he must have time magic! It happened last night at Saint-Joseph Station!"
"Yeah, yeah, all right." He brushes her off. "I'm done with my work now. How about we save this for tomorrow?" He quickly packs his things. "Goodbye, Beatrice."
Left alone in the student council room, Beatrice can't help but feel dejected by Thomas's doubt, but she knows what she experienced.
"I'll show you…"