Chapter Three #2
“Well, the Whitlock’s are officially off everyone’s RSVP list,” Tara said. “So if you’re subtly fishing for an invitation, I can’t help.”
“No. Sorry, I’m making this all about me.” Gael ran his fingers through his fauxhawk while his rooster clucked. “And it really sucks everyone’s still icing you out like that.”
It didn’t suck, though. Tara kept it to herself, like so much, but her mind fluttered with excitement just above that somber ocean she carried with her every time she thought about how free she’d become since falling from social graces, thanks to the scandal her father weathered from a distance, one that took him on business outside Chicago.
It didn’t change the fact we still had a lot of work to do when it came to her branch magics and the restrictions she suffered from her casting overlap, but I’d focused much of my time reading materials to pass along to her.
There was so much guesswork to it since every case reacted differently depending on the individual’s branches and temperament.
My students funneled into the classroom and took their seats. Ignoring their casual conversation, I channeled my telekinesis. My muscles still ached from the long flight, but I was determined to spend every waking opportunity, big or small, honing my roots.
Caleb’s vibrant green eyes widened as I telekinetically moved small boxes to each of their desks. His persistent determination had rubbed off on me, and I found myself equally driven to enhance my root magics.
“You all can go ahead and open them,” I said.
“You got us gifts, Mr. Frosty?” Gael asked, batting his lashes and twisting his lips into a minxy grin. “Aren’t you the sweetest?”
I rolled my eyes.
Each of them opened their box, unveiling the stylish gold bracelets fitted with the best technology and magic had to offer when it came to monitoring and improving magical practice.
“This is…” Caleb’s jaw dropped.
Gael squealed so loudly it startled everyone, even his rooster. Despite the outburst, everyone’s thoughts surged as they examined the sleek screen that lit up bright blue from a simple touch.
“ Whoa. A Cast-8-Watch. ” “So pretty.”
“ These haven’t even been released yet. ”
“And the academy’s just giving them to us?”
“ What are they playing at? ”
“ Of course you didn’t get one. How’s it supposed to fit on your chicken legs? ”
“BAWK!”
“Thank you so much, Mr. Frost.”
“ It’s so bulky and gaudy. ”
“ The color is kind of bland. ” Katherine scrunched her face, raising her glasses to the bridge of her nose. “ And I just bought the newer model. Maybe the academy will let me switch them out. ”
Her light brown fingertips brushed along the smooth surface while she mused over the device. Everyone had strong opinions about the Cast-8-Watch’s the academy had provided, but Caleb’s thoughts torpedoed above them all.
“ I was looking at the used model seven but they’re still like 1,200 bucks.
No way could Gramps swing that. ” Caleb gulped, tapping the screen of his watch and studying every facet of its functions with curious delight.
“ Even if I was able to save up without bills, I’d never be able to afford one of these.
It’s got so many extra features even the most advanced Cast-7’s couldn’t handle processing. SO COOL! ”
I’d spent so much time fixated on saving his life, unraveling the mystery, that now his thoughts often rose above everyone else’s when he was nearby.
The incident hadn’t deterred him for a second when it came to his goals of becoming an industry professional working as a top-ranked enchanter at a guild.
In fact, it pushed him to work harder on enhancing his root magics.
I attributed that mostly to his determination and partially to the fact he was never aware how close to death he’d really been.
Whatever the world would’ve looked like without him in it, Milo clearly believed it’d be darker.
It didn’t matter whether I had insight on how much he’d truly improve the world or not, I wanted to make certain he learned everything possible before graduating.
“These are not gifts. They’re state-of-the-art tools, and it’s Gemini Academy’s intention to streamline your training in and out of classes.
” I grabbed a manual and instructed them to do the same since each of them had started tapping buttons without so much as glancing at the how-to setup steps.
Granted, they all had this naturally annoying affinity for tech I still struggled to wrap my brain around.
“ I knew there was a fucking catch. ”
I ground my teeth, tuning out Kenzo’s suspicions because they weren’t far off.
Nothing about the industry came free, and this investment was no different than any other.
Katherine’s eyes locked onto mine as I explained the purpose of the Cast-8-Watch they were each assigned, from how it was synced to their specific channeling frequency for casting, to how it’d record their progress and growth in all four root magics and their branch magics.
Those fledgling permits they’d all obtained allowed them more practice in and outside the academy, but now we’d track every second of progress or lack thereof.
“ Branch magics. ” Tara dropped her head slightly, hiding behind her long blonde hair.
“These devices will allow the academy to record your improvements so we can properly rank students and see who among you will participate in the Spring Showcase. It’s not as important to place your first year, but for second year students, it can be make or break when it comes to internships.
Consider this your one practice run. If you don’t place this year, you don’t get to practice, so take this time you have to train seriously. Any and every opportunity.”
Except it was make or break in some cases.
These kids needed every edge they could get to stand out by the time they reached their second year where they’d compete for internships against every witch at every academy across the state.
Each young witch held the same dreams they all held, and as much as I wanted to guarantee their hard work would pay off, life had a tendency of proving me wrong.
“Place?” Caleb asked with a shaky voice.
“Only the top 160 first-year students will be considered. We don’t have the time or resources to present an event for every single first year.
” Well, we did, but administration wouldn’t consider committing that much when the Spring Showcase for the first-year students didn’t bring in a quarter of the revenue the second-year showcase did.
“ There are 600 first-year students. Without considering the variables on how we’re ranked, those numbers give me a .
0016 percent chance of placing. ” Caleb scribbled numbers and variables, all of which floated about his surface thoughts like an insufferable mathematical jigsaw puzzle.
“ Depending on the specifics for evaluating, that could increase my likelihood or massively decrease my chances. ”
I silenced his mental ramblings because the stats and figures hurt my head. “This is about more than the Spring Showcase, though. These will also help specify exactly which areas of magic you need the most assistance with.”
There was a lot of truth to that. While I wasn’t a fan of these devices or the fact my twelve homeroom coven students held tech in their hands that, when added together, cost more than twice my yearly salary, I did like this would provide in-depth data on their magical output, where they struggled, and help isolate and pinpoint ways for improvement.
“Can we backtrack to what you mean by ranking us?” Katherine raised a hand, asking her question before I’d even responded to the gesture.
“I thought the purpose of academies opening their doors was to move away from those outdated practices. Hence why the entrance exam was tossed because it’s archaic and does little to truly evaluate all forms of magic or success in this very diverse industry. ”
She made a lot of valid points, but they were directed toward licensing in general, which wasn’t the purpose of these rankings or Gemini’s reasoning for implementing them.
Kenzo huffed. “ Shut up, know-it-all. ”
My breath hitched, fighting the piercing strike of aggression.
“You bring up some great points, Katherine.” I cleared my throat, ignoring the profanities leaping from Kenzo’s thoughts and the mutterings under his breath.
“But these rankings are important to the guilds who wish to sponsor interns. They often won’t commit to such intensive training and fieldwork experience without having some assurances on skill sets prior to signing you. ”
“So you’re telling me if there was a guild looking for an intern with an enchantment magic like mine, they might pass because of my ranking?”
“Possibly. Some guilds and enchanters won’t consider any applicants below a particular ranking,” I said, almost immediately regretting my choice of words as fear funneled from students.
I squeezed the bridge of my nose, burying the burst of thoughts before they reached me.
“It’s also possible some won’t consider rankings at all,” I said, attempting to calm their minds.
“Many guilds are looking to highlight unique magics they currently don’t have.
There’s no set rule on how the industry works. It’s all very subjective.”
“ Subjective? ” Katherine crossed her arms and pouted. “That’s a terrible system.”
Agreed, but the industry wasn’t changing anytime soon. All I could do was prepare them to navigate the one we had.
“Obviously, they have to have some type of evaluation in place.” Kenzo glared. “Otherwise, guilds wouldn’t know our capabilities, and they’d hire any idiot loser off the street just because they wanted it.”
Kenzo’s gaze shifted to Caleb, who shrank in his seat. While aggressively rude for no reason other than to assert his dominance in the room, he wasn’t incorrect.
“ Ranking us based on our branch magics… How much of that score will be based on our branch alone? Will I have the same evaluation? Will they omit that score because I don’t have a branch, or am I just going to lose the points?
” Caleb continued sinking further into his seat, dwelling on questions to things I still didn’t have answers for.
I paused. A whirlpool of doubt circled Caleb, filled with thousands of words wailing how he’d never be good enough, picked the wrong path, wasn’t special or chosen or meant for anything great because he was just another average branchless dud.
I cracked my neck, quelling my telepathy before he dragged me into the depths of his worry, when suddenly, he shot up in his seat.
“ If I’m already starting in the negative because I’m branchless, then that just means I’ll have to make sure I score above everyone else in every other area. ” Caleb straightened his posture and raised a hand.
“Yes?” I said, resisting smiling back at Caleb as his determination swelled and a smile filled his face.
“What other areas will our rankings be based on?” he asked, reaching for his notebook and prepared to take a thousand notes to bury the doubts and voices and memories that said he’d never be good enough for the guild industry.
“Everything from academics to personality,” I said. “It’s something we’ll focus on as the semester progresses.”
“ Please, they’ve been evaluating us since we stepped through the front doors. ”
I ignored Kenzo again, but again, he wasn’t wrong. The kid rarely was. “For today, let’s just make sure you’ve all got your Cast-8-Watch synced up and working.”
These rankings wouldn’t affect chances of obtaining a license or internship—that was an academy guarantee. But poor rankings would limit their options, preventing certain pathways, and I wanted them to walk away from Gemini with every possible opportunity, not just the basic academy guarantee.
“ Guilds expect the best of the best, and I’ll show them I am the best!
” Caleb hyper-fixated on the directions, reading each step closely while jotting notes in preparation for his many what-if thoughts bouncing about.
“ If Enchanter Evergreen can master the rankings, I’ll just have to do even better. ”
Not that the ranking systems for guilds were identical to Gemini Academy’s, but they were cut from the same cloth.
Guilds had more functionality with their system whereas academies had more fluidity.
Ranking witches under close scrutiny by evaluating their every movement was something these kids would never escape if they pursued professional casting.
Milo’s continued high ranking as a guild witch wasn’t anywhere near Caleb’s situation, yet he clung to the comparison.
My homeroom coven read over their manuals and set up their Cast-8-Watch while I walked around the room, assisting those who needed it.
Gael’s spikey knee clinked against his desk as the words jumbled.
I paused a few desks away, next to Tara, who struggled with the frequency settings.
Gael took a breath and steadied his shaky knee as he reread the words until he’d tackled the setup independently.
He preferred not to draw attention to his dyslexia, and I did my best to respect his choices.
“ It’s like the academy found the perfect way to track how shitty I am. ”
I pointed to notes I’d added in the margins based on what Tara and I understood about her casting. There was still so much to unravel, and I hoped it helped in even the smallest way.
“Thanks.” Tara turned in her desk, facing away from me.
I sighed. Clearly, I was still mostly unhelpful.
“ I don’t need a fucking babysitter. ” Static popped on Kenzo’s watch as he attempted disrupting the tracking software. It figured he’d be the first to realize the connection to the academy’s added security measure.
“Having trouble linking your hex?” I shook my head, feigning concern. “I warned admin you might not be able to cast without breaking it. It’s unfortunate your precision is still floundering.”
“What?” Kenzo’s pale face burned bright red. “That’s not why I’m—”
“HA!” Gael and King Clucks chuckled in unison .
The way the rooster’s chest puffed when imitating his human partner’s laughter was such a bizarre sight, but it worked to settle Kenzo, who gave up messing with the device out of sheer spite and simply synced it to his magical frequency.
I spent the rest of homeroom helping them each lightly cast their roots so their watches would register their channeling flows without destroying my classroom.