Hey there, adventurers! It’s time to begin our third installment of Choose Your Own Adventure, the series where YOU get to decide which YA cliched plotlines you want to explore. Last week, we asked y’all to vote on the genre and give us Mad Libs-style suggestions, and Magical Boarding School came in with 44% of the vote!
So grab your wand and broom, and let’s spell out some high school drama…
Chapter 01: Magic School Is Now In Session
The bell chimes just as you walk through the door to Potions class, and you congratulate yourself on waiting til the last possible second before submitting to the torture of Professor Mortweed. Seriously, someone must have cursed you, because that’s the only explanation for why you not only have Potions first period, but you got stuck with snoozeworthy Mortweed instead of Professor Bradford, the new faculty member rumored to be a total hottie.
Several girls eagerly wave you over to open seats, but you simply offer up a polite wave and settle into an empty table in the back. Undoubtedly those girls just want to kiss your ass, and you’re totally not in the mood.
Professor Mortweed clears his throat and shuffles the papers on his massive desk to signal the beginning of class. You do a quick scan of the room for new faces and are pleased to discover a few unfamiliar students– even better, most of them are boys. Senior year is already looking up.
“Good morning, boys and girls,” Mortweed’s voice wheezes. “Before we begin today, I’d like to offer a special welcome to the new students joining us from Braxton Academy. This is indeed a momentous day in the magic world, and it pleases me a great deal to see our two communities finally come together. I am sure we have a great deal to learn from one another.”
“Yeah, like how necromancers can bite me,” a deep voice whispers in your ear. Startled, you turn and stare right into the electric blue eyes of Dace Shaw, the most gorgeous boy in school, who also happens to be your boyfriend.
“Dace, seriously, you have GOT to stop apparating like that,” you sigh, feigning annoyance. It’s important to keep a boy like Dace on his toes. He rewards your effort with a kiss, and even though it’s brief, it still sends tingles down your spine.
“In order to promote a spirit of friendship between our two communities,” Mortweed drones on, “I have decided to assign potions partners in this class.” Everyone, including you, groans. “There is no better way to get to know someone than through the trial and error of potion-making. Please listen for your name, and I will direct you to your seat.”
You look back at Dace, who rolls his eyes. “There goes the last chance of this class not totally sucking.”
“Tabitha Whitley,” Mortweed eventually calls your name and points to a table in the middle of the room. “And Eli Vance.” As you gather your things, you spy a tall, dark haired boy move towards your assigned seat. He’s pale and ghostly like most necromancers, but you find yourself drawn to his heavy-lidded green eyes.
“Don’t miss me too much,” you mutter to Dace before making your way to your new potions partner. People begin introducing themselves, but the chatter is subdued and uneasy.
You sit down and decide to go for the direct approach. After all, you’re from one of the most powerful magical families in the country. You’ve got nothing to be afraid of.
“Hi, I’m Tabitha,” you say, sticking out your hand. “But you can call me Tabs.” You flip your blonde hair over your shoulder for extra effect.
The boy looks over at you but doesn’t take your hand. “Yeah, I heard.”
“You heard?” You raise an eyebrow. “Well, I don’t know what exactly you heard, but I’d prefer to make my own first impression.”
His mouth hints at a grin. “I mean, I heard the professor say your name. Just like you heard him say mine.”
So your new potions partner is a smartass. Great. “Well, Eli, hopefully your potions skills are as good as your listening skills, because I fully intend to ace this class.”
He shakes his head, chuckling lightly. “You people really don’t know much about necromancers, do you?”
You feel your temper start to flare. “Well, how much do you know about wizards? It’s not like any of us went through some kind of workshop to prepare for desegregation.”
He looks at you, really looks at you, for the first time. “You think I want to be here? You think that everyone at Braxton doesn’t want Congress to go to hell for deciding that our own school isn’t good enough?”
He stares at you, waiting for a response, but your anger is already gone. At least you agree on one thing– Congress is batshizz insane.
You spend the rest of class paying more attention than ever before to Mortweed, just to take your mind off of the mysterious Eli sitting next to you. When the bell chimes, you grab your wand and books and stuff them into your bag, itching to get out of the room. Dace walks over to you just as Eli saunters out, and you notice several of the Braxton girls staring at him with undisguised longing. What is it about that guy?
Do you:
A. Walk with Dace to your next class and analyze all of this desegregation shizz.
B. Follow Eli into the hallway in the hopes of talking to him.
C. Chat up one of the Braxton girls to get the scoop on Eli.
D. Talk to Professor Mortweed. He may be boring, but he definitely knows more about the necromancers than you do.
