Chapter 7

  Walking down again into the mausoleum, the dark hallway that's not at all dangerous swallows me up again as I pass through it. It's like that dark magic that Machiv was talking about. Not necessarily dangerous, just the perception of it, I suppose. I've been somewhat scared of the dark since I was young, but gradually have come to learn through my life that it's nothing dangerous about it. Dark Magic might imply that too in it's basic concept. It's not the dark itself. It's what the dark is used by, what inhabits it, that could possibly be sinister. It's not the deep shadows themselves that want that, maybe never could want it to begin with.

   With me is Machiv, Hala, and Lu who I managed to convince to come here. I mentioned the mausoleum after we finished classes, and having some time before our afternoon classes started, I suggested it. They first were a little apprehensive, mostly Lu saying that, I think because he didn't want to do anything dangerous. He loves fun, but danger is not in his DNA. Hala though was on board, and Machiv was interested to the point of telling Lu if he didn't come with us that's fine, and Lu, with his invisible tail frantically wagging, chased after us as we were leaving, deciding to come with us in the end.

  The soft blue pool appears in front of me with the room, and I spot Valence floating on the water again. Today he's a little closer to me than to the other side, but is still mesial in position, relatively. I do notice this time though since he's closer that the blazer that is the uniform of CCMS is pulled almost all the way off him, inside out, and sinks below him into the pool, only on his left wrist. The sleeve that lingers there is all that's connected to him, and as the blazer sinks into the pool below him, it's like a dismembered shadow of his. Though, since Valence is closer today, and with the help of the blaze, I can tell that the pool is not shallow but pretty deep, going down what looks like five yards. Though looking at the pool more has my eyes seeing the depth go deeper and deeper. It really seems to be that the pool is deep and then shallow the next moment. It's definitely got to do with the magic of this whole place, and I'm again reminded to be careful around.

  "This place is pretty—weird," says Hala, who looks into the pool, and also sees Valence.

  "Try not to look too much," says Valence, turning his head while he floats to spot me, "it can do things to you."

  "Is this pool magical?" asks Machiv stepping closer but listening to Valence and not staring and also not touching the water, also because I told him and the other two not to beforehand.

  "Yes," answers Valence, "it has properties that are magical."

  "I'm guessing you won't tell me why you're here though," I say, and Valence smiles a little.

  "No, it is not within me to answer that."

  "Are you in pain though?" asks Lu.

  "Not in a way that you would understand," says Valence, turning slightly and causing a rare ripple.

  Machiv moves a little to stand a little away from us, and squints his eyes at Valence, looking at something, while Hala pulls out her purse to fetch a coin.

  "Would throwing a coin in cause an issue?" asks Hala to Valence, and before answering he closes his eyes.

  "For now, it wouldn't," says Valence, opening his eyes.

  Hala nods, and doesn't throw it, but drops it into the water. It causes much more ripples than I expected, and they reach around the whole pool at a very fast speed. But as we watch the coin, it sinks deeper and deeper, disappearing from view as it flutters away into the pool. Moments later, it's back to the deep and shallow cerulean water.

  "The depth seems to be ambiguous," says Machiv, "possibly relying on vague magic."

  "What's that?" asks Lu.

  "Some magic I read up on."

  Looking at Valence, his eyes are still closed, but from the way he smiles a little I can tell that Machiv must be right, asserting the type of magic.

  "Though, it strikes me that there is more magic at play here."

  "What makes you think that?" asks Hala, glancing around.

  "I don't know. I need to go back to the library to read some more," says Machiv.

  "As if you don't do enough of that already," says Lu with a laugh, and Hala and I are laughing a little too.

  Glancing at Valence, his eyes reopen again, and looks at the four of us with an expression caught between melancholy and adoration. But then he closes his eyes and he drifts a little, turning his body.

  "This is a stupid question," says Hala to Valence, "but students are allowed in here, right?"

  "I do not know," says Valence, "the school rules are not within my jurisdiction. Though, I would say, if you were able to walk in here, then you are most likely allowed."

  "What is your jurisdiction?" asks Machiv, and Valence looks over at him.

  "That—is not something I should disclose."

  "Are you a teaching tool?" asks Machiv.

  "Not quite, though I do have knowledge of magic."

  "Maybe you can help us with homework!" suggests Lu excitedly.

  I understand why Lu is excited though, Even though we're all not struggling in classes, there are certain topics in majestic theory, and for me in math too, that I could use help in.

  "Yeah, good idea," says Hala, and turns to Valence, "it seems like you don't get a great deal of customers here, so we'll stop by often for questions on magic. You seem smart, and we're not."

  "I—I might like that," says Valence, and smiles again.

  "What fields of magic are you well acquainted with?" asks Machiv, and I see Lu smile at Hala, both of them laughing at the visible hunger Machiv has for knowledge, not that it's bad, just something we all adore about him.

  "I'm very well acquainted with Verse Theorem, and a specialist on the topic. I also understand some amount of integral magic."

  "Can you explain the schools of magic to me? I have a hard time understanding it," says Lu with some desperation.

  I smile as I recall earlier that both Hala and Machiv tried to explain the concept, but Lu had some trouble. He doesn't have class with Mrs. Loop, but with a different Majestic Theory teacher, and I guess that one isn't the same as Mrs. Loop.

  "The schools of magic in simple terms are the major ideas on what magic does," says Valence simply, "why and how magic is used for what. That's the central aim."

  "So, I understand Classical and Parallel, but what's with Hypermodern and Walpurgis?" asks Lu.

  "Walpurgis is magic that emerged in the dark ages," says Valence, "it has at its center the mission of individuals, and individuals who use this magic are focused on the goals they have, or that of others. It has magic that deals with death reversal and the bending of minds. Hypermodern came around in the last century, and is much younger. The best way to remember Hypermodern is that it indirectly controls whatever it wants to. If fire is to be created, it is the flint and stone that is manipulated, not the actual fire itself."

  "See, that I can understand," says Lu while pointing and nodding.

  "What school of magic are you?" asks Hala, and Valence doesn't answer immediately.

  "Erm, don't worry about that," says Valence, and he turns in place to hide his face a little.

  "Eh, well, I'm thinking I'm not sure what magic school I am," says Hala.

  "It's said that the individual and school find each other, not one over the other," says Valence, and smiles, "you'll know it when you do. And it's not distinctly crucial to using magic."

  "I have no idea what that means," says Hala honestly with a shrug.

  "You will, one day."

  Hala and Lu, along with I, continue to talk, while Machiv hops in every now and then to ask a very specifying question, but he observes more than he talks. Valence floated near the middle, but comes closer. Not that too close, but closer than before. I take it that he's a little more invested in talking to us, and smiles his sad smile as he converses with us.

  A wind picks up just as the bell rings, and we have to get going.

  "Alright, well," says Hala as she glances at her watch and her pearl earrings shift their orbs of shadows and light, "we have to get going, but we'll be back later. I have club, but now I know that you're here, I guess homework will be a little easier."

  "Yeah! You're better than some of my teachers," says Lu as we begin to move away from the pool, "see you later!"

  We wave as we leave, and Valence raises his hand up to the wrist out of the pool to wave back. I smile, and then we start to head toward the classes we have next. I guess he really does enjoy our presence. I'm guessing he's a little older than us, at least, his appearance indicates that. So, all in all, he's like an upperclassman that us newbie students are bothering. Hopefully, we're not a nuisance, and from how Valence seems to enjoy our presence, I'm going to say he likes us around. And, he says as such, so I can appreciate going to spend time there.

  Heading out across the garden, other students who spent their time in here during lunch break are going in to their next classes too. It's warm still out, being Florida again, and the breeze that continues to blow is fresh. I've been to the other gardens, but I'm thinking this might be the nicest one, since it is the biggest, and maybe it lets the most wind blow in and allow the air to be new and vitalizing all the time.

  "What class do you have next?" I ask Hala, and she thinks for a moment before answering, "History."

  "Oh, me too," I say, "but it's different classes."

  "Yeah, I'm with Hala," says Machiv, "Syl will be there."

  Hala's lips twitch a little, recalling how Syl can't seem to get the guts to interact with Machiv outside of friendly banter.

  Waving to the three this time, I head on over to me history class. I make it in and take a seat. We changed out seats recently and now Keito serendipitously sits next to me. Well, in this class the seats are placed in the blanks of the next row. That way, Keito is next to me but more to my right and forward, but not exactly diagonal. 

  His usual large form and mask has me smile and greet him, saying, "Hey Keito. How're you today?"

 "I'm well. You?"

  "I'm alright. I went with Lu, Hala, and Machiv to visit the mausoleum I was talking about."

  "I see," replies Keito, nodding, and I remember that he's not disinterested, just not one of many words.

  "I will go next time to see," says Keito, saying something from himself, which is a pleasant surprise.

  "Okay! Are you interested too?" I ask curiously.

  "Yes. Somewhat," replies Keito, nodding again.

  "I'll show you to it when I stop by next time," I say as the teacher walks in, and Keito nods before we both turn to pay attention and be good students.

  The topic today has moved on from the beginning topics, and mostly revolves around the Egyptians and Mesopotamians. I think I remember Hala saying she wish she was in Egypt to look at the type of jewelry they had on, and I nodded along because I have an affinity for silver, which might've not been as popular back then was definitely there. I'm sure they didn't have anything like my box-chain, but whatever else they did have would pique my interest to look at. 

  After writing down the last few pieces of information about the Old and Middle Kingdom in Egypt along with Babylon Calendar, I pack up my belongings and head out with Keito. Walking some amount through the hallway I part ways with him and head to my last class for the day. It's just math, and spotting Hala and Tula has me smiling and waving, and during the class nothing else particularly happens.

  "Alright, well, I gotta go to basketball practice," says Hala to me while picking up her backpack, "I'll see ya at dinner."

  "Alright. Tell Morgan I said hi," I say.

  "I will," says Hala, and heads off.

  "Do you have track practice today?" I ask Tula, and she nods, her dark hair shiny and graceful.

  "Yeah. It was raining yesterday, so coach is probably going to try and crank in more today."

  "Ooh. Well, good luck," I say with a smile, and Tula returns it.

  "I'll need it. Thanks."

  "See you at dinner."

  Heading through the crowded halls, I'm just turning a corner when I spot Iverson. He's quite near, near enough to hear him and him me, and after a mutual shy smile we're conversing.

  "Hey, uh, Revel, right?" asks Iverson, and I notice that he's about an inch taller than me.

  "Yeah. Um, Iverson?"

  "Yeah."

  "I think Machiv introduced me to your existence, as he would say it," I say with a smile, and Iverson laughs.

  "Yeah, Machiv tends to be blunt in his wording. He'd say something like that."

  "You're in my class, right?" I ask, and he nods.

  "Yeah, though, to be honest, I might've not been able interact with you enough to cement that in either of our memories."

  "It's alright," I say, "I don't want to be rude, the first interaction I recall with you was when we almost bumped into one another. On the first day of school."

  "Yeah, there was that," says Iverson, laughing, and I return it, maybe because I just want to mirror him, for whatever reason.

  "Oh, uh, my name's Leonard, Leonard Iverson. I didn't properly introduce myself, didn't I?" says Leonard, as I know him now, and reaches out a hand.

  "No, but I didn't either," I say with a jovial manner, and shakes his hand too, a soft one, "I'm Revel. Revel Ester."

  "Nice meeting you, Revel," says Leonard, his cheeks a little pink, "um—"

  "Are you single?" I ask first, and my interruption makes Leonard light up with a smile, and I laugh.

  "Y-yeah," says Leonard, and fumbles for his phone, which I pull out mine too, but don't slip it out from my grip, "can I have you number?"

  "I was going to ask," I say, and Leonard smiles, and gives me his, and me to him.

  "You're pretty outgoing, aren't you?" asks Leonard suddenly, and I halt before thinking and smiling.

  "I guess," I say, "it might just be that I'm impulsive recently. I'm not usually so, but maybe it's a new habit of mine that I've made since I came here."

  "Because the school is nice?" asks Leonard with some understanding.

  "Yeah, exactly," I say, smiling, can't stop smiling around Leonard, "since I came here."

  "I know what you mean," says Leonard, and then I can't find anything to say, and we seem to just stand in each others presence.

  "Well, I've gotta go to swim practice, but I'll message you later," says Leonard, breaking the silence between us and putting his phone away, and I smile again.

  "I look forward to it."

  Leonard nods, before going off. I look at him as he does, turn away, start to walk, but find myself turning around to look at him. I'm surprised to see him glance back, and our eyes connect, and this time it's the both of us blushing and turning away quickly. I don't turn back again, but I do find myself skipping a little, as I make my way back to the dorms, and smile both on my face and inside.