Magian High Read online

  MAGIAN HIGH

  By Lia London

  a work of collaborative fiction

  Text copyright ©2012 Lia London

  All rights reserved

  Table of Contents

  Table of Contents

  About the Whole Collaborative Fiction Thing

  Chapter One: The First Day of Desegregation

  Chapter Two: My New Lab Partner

  Chapter Three: Where Magic Comes From

  Chapter Four: Punkers and Protesters

  Chapter Five: What I Saw at Binney’s

  Chapter Six: Miss Flinckey

  Chapter Seven: The Library

  Chapter Eight: I Wake Up

  Chapter Nine: The Party

  Chapter Ten: I’m a Celebrity

  Chapter Eleven: I’m Arrested… Sort of

  Chapter Twelve: The Real Detective Sheldon

  Chapter Thirteen: Real Estate Deals

  Chapter Fourteen: Parallel Parking Guy

  Chapter Fifteen: Amity Acts Crazy

  Chapter Sixteen: A Prank or a Threat?

  Chapter Seventeen: The Bleachers

  Chapter Eighteen: Accused Again

  Chapter Nineteen: The Assembly

  Chapter Twenty: The NMI Lot

  Chapter Twenty-One: New Opportunities

  Chapter Twenty-Two: Picking the Team

  Chapter Twenty-Three: Clorenzo

  Chapter Twenty-Four: Unity Team

  Chapter Twenty-Five: The Gel Ball Game

  Chapter Twenty-Six: A Morning Visitor

  Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Hospital Interviews

  Chapter Twenty-Eight: Trick-or-Treating

  Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Sting

  Epilogue: The Beginning

  About the Whole Collaborative Fiction Thing

  I began an online writing forum for collaborative fiction in May of 2012, and the participants have already created one comic mystery novella, The Fargenstropple Case, and this book, Magian High. I eagerly welcome new participants at any point during the writing of each story, so please check out the website at http://lialondon.net.

  This is a work of collaborative fiction. That means that, although I did the writing, many people pitched in with various skills and ideas. To recognize that, I wish to thank the following people, without whom Magian High would never have come about.

  In the Ideas department, I have to give highest gratitude to Danielle Hoglund. She was the most avid contributor, chiming in with suggestions at almost every chapter. Buzz London and Dawna Morton also shared ideas regularly. We also had the great fortune of having teenagers participating. They pitched in plot suggestions and made sure my characters talked/thought/acted like teenagers. Katie Dietrich, Jacob, Melissa & Sara Mauk, and Steffen Riener, thank you!

  In the polishing & editing department, I had much needed help from Danielle Hoglund, Dawna Morton, Anne Riener, and Tony Shamrell. They scoured the manuscript for mechanical errors, plot inconsistencies, and flaws in logic. They also helped me iron out some style points and determine the best overall feel for the book. They had a rough task because they weren’t allowed to say, “This whole part should be changed” because we needed to keep the integrity of the collaborative end product. It took a lot of time and dedication, and I am deeply touched that they cared enough to be so thorough.

  Chapter One: The First Day of Desegregation

  I have to admit, it felt pretty awesome to stand at the front doors of Magian High on Orientation Day and know that I had taken a part in history. After decades of keeping Mages from Nomers—and dividing the Nomers into “smart” and “physical” sub-groups, the city’s school districts were finally combining and letting all the kids come together. Desegregation had passed! Barely. But all the hard work I’d put in campaigning and lobbying for it had paid off.

  Mr. Blakely, the principal, had his arm around my shoulder, smiling at the arriving buses. “Congratulations, Kincaid,” he said. “It’s like a whole new school. I’m proud of you!” Mr. Blakely is the coolest principal ever. And not just because he likes me. It’s great to have a guy that believes in everyone, whether they have magical power or not.

  Anyway, I got to be one of the guides on Orientation Day, and I think it went pretty well. All incoming freshmen and transfers from Wiser High and Corporal High got a tour of the campus, and then a round of preliminary placement tests for freshmen and sophomores. I stood around trying to look serious while Mr. Whittle, the Vice-Principal, administered the exams. I had to crack up as the newbies were leaving the cafeteria afterwards. Two girls were talking: “What do you mean you missed the question about what to do if you have fairies in your chicken coop? That’s so easy!” she said.

  The other girl looked at her funny and then glanced at me all giggly and said, “I was distracted by the cute proctor.”

  Then the mean one looked at me, too, and said, “Yeah, he’s sort of cute!” and they both went on by like best friends. Whatever, I think the girl wanted to hide the fact she’s not a Mage because we all know exactly what to do when fairies get into the chickens. That’s a no-brainer.

  The closing assembly proved interesting. I could tell not all the Nomers were thrilled about sitting through “Fields of Magic”, but there were others who took notes like their lives depended on it. The administrators have to get all the facts all out there for the Nomers, though, so they know what they’re up against when the Punkers start the bullying. We Mages have enough trouble with them. I can’t imagine being unarmed and uninformed, too.

  Most of the Nomers had witnessed Travel Magic because Flying and Flash Jumping are hard to resist for those who can do it. I can Flash Jump okay, but I wish I could fly more than four feet off the ground. Elemental Magic freaked most of them out. The possibilities are so diverse in that field, depending on the Mage, and whether they have Earth, Water, Wind or Fire Magic. I’m still discovering what I can do with those, and it’s scary sometimes to consider how much damage I could cause if I wanted to. Fortunately, all the teachers are certified with high levels of Healing Magic. I think the Nomers had mixed emotions about that. No more lasting injuries or illness, but that also means no more excuses for staying home. I hear the Nomers sometimes fake being sick to get out of taking tests. Good luck with that at Magian High. The last bit of the presentation covered Time Magic, which I always wish they’d just skip. It’s not like anyone really understands it or manifests any powers in it, but I guess they legally have to let everyone in on the whole spectrum.

  Anyway, I’m glad they’re mixing us all up. I bet I can learn some things from Nomers, even if the Punkers and the snobby Mages think we can’t. Smart and stupid isn’t limited to Nomers.

  I met one of the senior girls transferring from the Wiser district, and she sure made me feel stupid. She barely cracked a smile the whole day, but still, she was really beautiful in a not-trying kind of way. Her eyes were dark and huge and slanted up slightly, and her body was long and lean, especially the legs. Fortunately, she didn’t travel in a pack, so I slid in next to her walking down the hall.

  “Hi,” I said.

  Her amazing cheekbones almost rounded with a smile. “Hi back,” she said, flashing her sticker nametag at me: ‘Amity Griffin’.

  “Cool name,” I said. She stopped and sort of looked at me skeptically. It threw me off so I couldn’t even talk straight. “I’m Kinky Riley—I mean, Kin—”

  I think she thought I was coming on to her because she walked away looking mad. A couple of the Punkers overheard the exchange and laughed like idiots. I really hope that name doesn’t stick again like it did in 6 grade.

  On my way home after school, I saw her again, walking a few blocks ahead of me. It hadn’t occurred to me that she lived nearby. With the segregation, I had hardly ever seen
teens that didn’t go to Magian. I just saw the buses going by.

  Anyway, right before I Flash Jumped to catch up her, a low-flying flock of Punkers tore by. One of them, a guy named Jack, called out, “Hey Kincaid! You gonna get Kinky with the Nomer?” A second later, they swooped around the corner heading downtown. Amity stopped and stared after them, and it’s a good thing she’s not a Mage, or they’d probably have burst into flames.

  I gave up on the idea of making a good second impression and figured I’d go for broke. In two Jumps, I caught up with her as she reached the corner. She glared at me. “Fast mover, are you?”

  “Uh…?”

  “But not a fast thinker,” she said. I could feel the disapproval.

  “Sorry about earlier. I got tongue-tied at school.” She hugged her school bag to her body like a shield. “My name’s Kincaid Riley.” I said it so weakly that I figured she’d take pity on me. She didn’t say anything, but her face lost its scowl. I tried to think of something intelligent to say, but only came up with “So…you live around here?”

  Suddenly her face broke into a grin, which was really nice—until she said, “I take it back. You’re no fast mover. You’re as slow as they come.”

  My shoulders sagged. “Look, I’m trying to be nice here. Welcome you to Magian High and all.”

  “Why? Are you the welcoming committee or something?”

  “No,” I said. “But I was the president of the student club that lobbied for desegregation. I wanted you here. I mean all of you. Not you specifically. I mean—”

  She actually laughed, but not in a mean way. “I get it.” She smiled. After a long, awkward pause during which I wondered if she was going to walk away again, she sighed. “Well, thanks for not hating us Nomers.” She looked down the cross street. “I live on the corner of Fletcher and Meade, one block down.”

  Something inside my stomach moved up into my chest and it took me a second to catch my breath. “I’m two blocks further down,” I said pointing down the street we’d been walking on. “It’s that green house with the porch. We’re practically neighbors.”

  She shrugged. “See you tomorrow, probably.” And with that, she walked away without looking back. Not a total rejection, though, so I’ll take it.

  But as I climbed the stairs to my room, tripping over one of Kelsey’s toys, a thought nagged at me. Jack and at least four of the Punkers I’d seen at school that day lived outside the new district lines over in the rich neighborhoods. I wondered how they got permission to stay at Magian—or if they got permission.

  Chapter Two: My New Lab Partner

  By second period the next day, I started to rethink the whole desegregation thing. Most of the Nomers had a tough time with the tardy policy, and the teachers were pretty unbending about it. Well, really, if they can’t even Flash Jump, it’s hardly fair to expect them to cross campus in only five minutes. That rule will obviously need to be changed.

  But that wasn’t the real problem. Jack and the Punkers made it hard on all the Nomers. It bothered me to see how the kids from the old Corporal district responded. Some of them cried right there in the hall with everyone watching, and some of them got so mad I thought they’d take off a Punker’s head with their bare hands. These people don’t have normal defenses, and if the Punkers push hard enough, things could get really ugly.

  The kids from the Wiser district were weird, too. Except for the handful of them that couldn’t stop asking questions about magic, most of them had the same attitude that Amity had—that cynical, smug thing. And they jumped right into class discussions and answered all the questions. I’m no slacker at school, but I can tell I’m going to have to work to keep the grading curve from slipping away from me.

  Luck had it that Amity Griffin and I were made lab partners in chemistry. I’m the only Mage paired with a Nomer. I don’t think Mr. Petercriss approves of desegregation, and this was probably his jab at me for having supported it. He stuck us in the back of the room with the faucet that drips, as if daring me to do some magic on the water or something. He knows I can’t. It’s common knowledge that I can’t even make a simple Water Ball.

  While he gave the opening lecture, Amity reached over and unscrewed the spout and pulled out the little rubber ring. “Cracked,” she muttered. Then she took the gum out of her mouth, twisted it onto the ring and put the whole thing back together. She finished as Mr. Petercriss came to our lab station to hand us our test tubes. He looked at her suspiciously, but she smiled up at him kind of fake and said, “I fixed the drip.” He grunted and went back down the aisle. “Without magic,” she added under her breath. She turned on her stool and faced me all perky—but like she was making fun of me. “So, are we going to learn how to make love potions or something?” she asked, measuring some kind of oxide powder into the tube. “’Cause I’m thinking you need one handy with your pathetic flirting skills.”

  “I wasn’t flirting. And…this is chemistry.”

  “That’s not Mage code for Witch Potions class?”

  For the first time since we met, I looked at her like she was dumb. “You do know that witches aren’t real, right?” I pointed to my nose and head. “Look. No warts or pointy hat.”

  She floundered for a second before answering. “Of course, but then what makes you Mages think you’re so special—just because you can fly around like superheroes?”

  “Not all of us,” I said. “And I’m not a superhero, either. Look. No cape.”

  “Okay, so you just look like Marvelman,” she said, almost smiling. “But can’t you guys all make stuff disappear in a puff?”

  “That’s a cheap theater trick with smoke bombs and trap doors, Amity,” I said, starting to get mad. “Matter is matter. You can move it around, but you can’t make it disappear. That’s a basic law of physics.”

  Her eyebrow shot up. “Can you name a single law of physics?”

  “I…”

  Mr. Petercriss stopped by our station right at that moment to rescue me by chewing us out for talking more than working. Amity started moving quickly, trying to light the Bunsen burner. It didn’t work, and her face started showing all kinds of angry.

  “Is everything at this stupid school broken?” she griped. “We’ve got to heat this now, or we won’t have time to test the reaction.”

  Putting the test tube back in the rack, I touched the rounded end with my finger, let out a few sparks, and then pulled back to let a short flame lick the bottom. The stuff inside started to melt, and I ventured a sideways glance at Amity. Her mouth actually hung open.

  As soon as she saw me looking, she smirked. “Okay, Kincaid. How did you do that?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. Just did it.”

  “But you have to know how. Did you think something, or say a spell, or—?” I shot her a warning look. “Sorry, but really, how?”

  The whole time she talked, she sketched the chemical reactions on our worksheet and did calculations in the margins. “How do you do all that?” I asked, trying to change the subject. “I can’t even spell half these chemicals, let alone diagram reactions that fast.”

  That was probably the least impressive thing I could have said, but apparently, really funny. She laughed so hard she snorted. I mean actually snorted, and half the class looked back at us. Great, I thought. Kincaid, the Kinky Lover of Pig Nomers. I can see it coming.

  I ducked my head down to avoid the stares. “Why do you ask so many stupid questions if you’re so smart, anyway?”

  “Can’t magic be learned? I want to learn.”

  “I don’t think so,” I said. “I think you’re just born with it.”

  Mr. Petercriss passed our station and rapped a test tube scrubby thing on the counter. “Back to work, you two,” he barked.

  “Yes, sir,” said Amity, wiping the scrubber splatter off the page. As he went a step or two further, she added, “We’re almost done, by the way.”

  Mr. Petercriss spun around and glared at her. It was weird, really intense.
I looked around and saw that a lot of other kids were still bent over their worksheets. “We’ll see,” he said, and then went back to patrolling the aisles.

  Amity leaned back and folded her arms across her chest.

  “Don’t worry about him,” I whispered. “He’s a jerk.”

  “Yeah, whatever.”

  “Let it go,” I said.

  “Look, I just didn’t want to leave Wiser, okay? I hate this school.”

  We didn’t talk much for the rest of the class, and when the bell rang, she got up and left. I stared down at our worksheet. It looked like some foreign language to me, but I put my name up under hers in the corner and turned it in to Mr. Petercriss. He glanced at it, and I couldn’t read his expression except that I got the impression that she did something right.

  ***

  Hadley was waiting on my front steps when I got home. We hadn’t scored any classes together, and I figured he’d spent lunch with his girlfriend, Elizabeth, so now we got past the small talk and raided the kitchen. He leaned against the fridge with a Coke and looked at me hard. “I wonder if you know what you’ve started,” he said.

  “What?”

  “This whole desegregation thing,” he said.

  “You helped, too.”

  Hadley shrugged. “Yeah, but now I’ve met some of those Wiser kids. Man! They really think they know everything.”

  I had to laugh a little. “Yeah, I’ve got one as a lab partner. Some chick named Amity, and she—”

  “Amity Griffin? The Amity?” He shook his head and drank his Coke with wide eyes.

  “What? What do you mean, ‘The Amity’?”

  “She’s legend at Wiser, man,” said Hadley. “Smartest kid ever to walk the halls, and they’re really pissed that she had to come here, like she’s going to get all contaminated by our magic or the Corporals’ stupid or something.” I closed my eyes and groaned inwardly. “Better luck next time. Maybe at semester, you can get a Mage,” he said, punching my arm. “C’mon. Let’s go play FarStar before your sister gets home and starts hogging the gaming board.”