The next day, Edna found herself walking towards a separate, large academic building. It was situated off to the side of the large courtyard behind the walled confines of the Gran Sars headquarters. Backpack in hand, she boldly strode forth through the doors, paper in hand. She was enrolled in the initial, junior class, Basics of Magic.

“Hm? Who might you be?” a voice called out to her. Edna turned and regarded the source, an incredibly handsome man who looked to be in his late teens.

“Um…your name?” the man prompted, slightly amused by her gawking. “Oh um, Edna.”

“No surname?”

“Er….”

“That’s alright; my name is Vandel, I’m a professor here for Advanced Magic.”

He’s a professor? But he’s so young?! Edna thought.

“You know, I’m actually quite gifted for my age; I’m fully qualified!”

He can read my mind?!

“It’s not that hard; you should work on your transparency. I can read you like a book!”

Edna glumly nodded, trying her best not to reveal anything else.

“So, you’re new, right? I’ll take you to your class.”

“Really? Thanks!”

She followed after the incredibly handsome teacher cheerily. As they navigated the hallways, he was kind enough to give her a brief rundown of the facilities. “Here on the first floor, we have the pool, gymnasium, theater, and general magic classrooms. Below us is the alchemy lab; it’s located there for our safety.”

“Is it because they make stuff that blows up?” Edna asked, to which Vandel nodded. “I like stuff that blows up,” Edna said with a delighted smile. “Out back is the training field for magicians and wizards. The second floor, meanwhile, has the Artificer’s Lab, general classrooms for intermediate magic, and faculty rooms. The third floor holds nothing but classrooms for the advanced magic class, as well as a few for the extremely gifted or unique magic users; their class is incredibly small, rarely bigger than four, if that.”

“Woooow, I wanna be there!”

“Haha, most people dream of having the sort of power to be included in that class, but you know, the training is very strict and specialized. From your colorful appearance, I’m guessing you have an affinity for fire?”

“Yes, but you shouldn’t make generalizations based on someone’s appearance,” Edna pointed out, eliciting a slight chuckle from Vandel. “Too true, I knew a dark mage who loved to wear yellow, if you can believe it.”

“I see…” Finally, they showed up at a single door labelled Class 2-A. “Here we are,” Vandel said cheerfully, opening the door. Inside were several rowdy kids. It was a madhouse; kids were chasing each other around, jumping from desk to desk; two kids were even having a gentlemanly brawl…if you counted slamming your opponent into a desk and breaking it as gentlemanly.

“Oh my, it appears this class is worse than usual,” Vandel murmured. Edna stared with a blank expression at the chaos and slowly closed the door, giving a pleading look towards the professor. “Let’s do a different class.”

Vandel smiled. “Unfortunately, that’s the class you’ve been assigned to, Edna.”

“But….” Vandel reached down and ruffled her hair. “You’ll do well; just don’t get caught in their flow, alright?”

“Ok...” Edna mumbled, cheered up from his encouragement. She opened the door and bravely stepped forward, closing the door behind her. “Oh hey, it’s a new kid!”

“New kid?”

“New kid!”

Several exclamations came from various kids in the classroom as they all stared at Edna, having stopped their previous rowdy actions. Edna hesitated, and then shyly waved. “Hello, don’t mind me…”

And just like that, the kids all exchanged looks and shrugged. And then the chaos resumed. Edna dodged a few crumpled paper balls as she found a seat, nervously waiting for class to begin.

“Yo,” a voice spoke towards her. Edna turned, staring into deep, blue eyes. They were millimeters away from her face; clearly someone had no idea of personal space. Startled at the closeness, Edna yelped and fell out of her seat. “Oh, yeah, my bad…sorry for scaring you,” the owner of the eyes said apologetically. Climbing back into her desk, Edna was able to get a good look at the student.

She was a rather cute looking girl, about Edna’s age, with long red hair, though her’s wasn’t as deep or dark as Edna’s own hair. She was wearing the preliminary student’s school uniform, a simple but impeccably ironed white shirt emblazoned with the school’s logo, as well as a grey blazer and red colored tie. There were differences between the male’s and female’s outfits, with the female’s one having a long pleated black skirt that came down to their thighs, while the men were equipped with black trousers and a belt.

“My name is Charlotte Felicity, it’s a pleasure to meet you…” she extended a hand out towards Edna, who gladly accepted. Her skin is so soft… Edna thought before withdrawing her hand. “My name’s Edna, and likewise.”

“Edna, hm? A quaint name, but one I like.”

“Really? Thanks!” Charlotte gave a wry smile, casting a gaze around her. “Can you believe these guys? We’re supposed to be apprentice mages and here they are, goofing off like animals…”

“I dunno, it looks kinda fun…” Edna remarked, longingly staring at the two kids chasing each other around the classroom. It reminded her of the fun times she had had with Hart and June. Charlotte shrugged dismissively, deciding to question her new neighbor. “I saw you open the door the first time; you were with Mr. Ostwind, right?”

“You mean Vandel?” Edna asked. Charlotte blinked once in mild surprise. “Um, well, yes.”

“He’s so nice,” Edna said, resting her head in her hands and smiling. “Yeah, he’s dreamy, isn’t he…” Charlotte replied, her eyes growing distant. “He’s really popular; most of the girls here are head over heels for him…myself included,” Her cheeks reddened as she added the last tidbit. Before they could continue, the door was thrown open, admitting an elderly man who, despite his age, neither looked senile or frail. Charlotte’s face blanched. “Oh man, we’re in for it now.”

“QUIET! SHUT THE HELL UP AND GET IN YOUR SEATS, ALL OF YOU!” The old man roared, silencing the whole classroom. Edna tensed as an unfamiliar tension arose around her, her very being shaken by his voice. What was this? The others also felt it, instantly cowed by the mighty aura emanating from the old man.

The students sat down one by one. The intense silence was a stark contrast to the previous raucousness. “That’s old man Gerald, the meanest teacher in the school. Just our luck we got him!” Charlotte whispered in Edna’s ear. “Cut that whispering out, or you’ll be the first to see how many times the Blackboard can hold your name!” Charlotte stiffened, returning her gaze back to the aged man, who stared at them with fiery eyes. Clad in a pinstriped suit and similar tie, he might’ve looked quite dapper if it weren’t for the wrath seething outwards in all directions from him. Edna stared at him, awed by the sheer aura imposed upon them.

It was a stark contrast to what she expected, but she was excited nonetheless.

This....is what school is like!