''Why, why, why, why, why am I being the demonstration?''


    There I was, being used as the practice dummy for all the exercises, the coach said something about encouraging new students, about how showing how quickly a first year could get it left no room for this or that. It really was not a thing I enjoyed doing though, I envied the others, and especially Sandra (Like come on why me?), who just got to do half the work because I also had to do the exercises as well.


    I hated exercises, not because I thought they were useless, but because I thought whenever I did a plank my elbow was going to slide out on the damn wooden floor, though that might just be me being too skinny or having low pain tolerance. It didn''t help that the others always seemed to be perfectly fine with holding one for a minute, like it''s not that the exercise is hard, it just hurts. I had some many other things to say but it''s honestly better that I stop thinking about it.


    I also have a very bad sense of time, because what felt like an hour for me, apparently, was only twenty minutes.


    "So this will be your new routine you start every day when you finish prepping, it''ll go a lot faster without me coaching all of you and should only take around fifteen give or take for all of you to finish." He takes a breath before looking around, "So for the rest of the time you can all play tag or something while I finish the rest of my preparations for the next few days."


    The word preparation haunted me every time I heard it, for me it always held some kind of negative context, I never pinpointed the exact reason why but it always gave me chills hearing it no matter in which way it was used. I understood that preparation was necessary but one doesn''t usually connect necessary with exciting, at least not for me.


    "Tag!" I heard right in my ear, ''ow'', as someone tapped me on the shoulder breaking me out of my thoughts. I looked around to see who might be easy to get, it never mattered how old I was, tag will forever be something that I find close to my heart, when I was a child, and even now it gave me some irresistible want to join, and who was I to say no to the direct invitation?


    I saw someone to the left of me a bit further out then the others that seemed like a fun target and went after them. While chasing him I went for some of the other students who were along the path just in the chance i got them and could save myself some distance but with no luck. I was starting to feel as if this "class" wasn''t going to be so bad. Then when I tagged him both of us having fun and laughing I pushed him a bit too hard and I watched as if in slow moment his body tip over his front foot slamming him into the ground as he slid a bit further.


    The sound of skin sliding on smoothed wood sounded like the most horrifying screech of any monster in that moment, I stood there, with a look of shock and horror at what I had done.


    I started to tremble as I apologized, "I''m-m sorr-ry, I didn''t mean to." I didn''t turn to look around, I felt as if all the others were judging me as a danger to themselves, although I couldn''t confirm it, I felt as if their eyes were drilling into the back of my head thinking ab-


    "Tag you''re it!" He laughed. I had been too focused on worrying about what I did that I didn''t noticed that he had recovered and tagged me back, I felt a sense of relief flood through my body as I returned to playing with the others, but that sense of unease stayed with me through the entire period. No matter how much I looked around to see the others seemingly perfectly happy to continue playing with me, I still felt a sense of not belonging, as if I were only making their experience worse but I continued while ignoring those thoughts. I continued to enjoy the game while also being as careful as possible to not cause the other students harm even if that meant me getting hurt instead and every time they went "Oghh" and "Ahhhh" expressing their worry but my doubts kept on gnawing at the back of my mind until it was time for the next class.


    Sandra approached me then with a hint of worry on her face, "Hey Lilith, are you ok? Some of those falls looked pretty bad."


    "I''m fine," was the only thing that I could get out of my mouth, not matter how much I felt like the world was going to fall I couldn''t bring myself to express anything besides those two words.


    She looked at me seemingly reassured as we continued walking side by side with no words exchanged until we parted ways where she waved me a goodbye. I felt a pang of guilt from not acknowledging her wave but I shoved it out of my mind as soon as I could.


    I looked up to see the door, although it really wasn''t that big objectively, the fear it caused me of stepping into another room I didn''t recognize held me for a second as I double and triple checked that it was the right one. As I reached for the handle, the door seemed to loom even further over me before I turned and yanked it as fast as I could, only to discover it was a push door as I died even further on the inside. i turned and looked around and just convinced myself that no one saw anything before pushing the door open. The room was made of marbled white stone with seats arranged neatly in rows paired with another at tables in regular intervals.


    The man, who could be presumed to be the teacher for basic spellcasting turned and mentioned, "Seating chart over there take a look," He pointed at a sheet of paper laying on the first table closest to his desk. I walked up slowly and found that I was sitting in the back left corner of the room, ''my dream seat'' but then remembered that I''d have a seating partner anyway, my "partner" had the name "Reed" and I for some reason, failed to consider the fact that names don''t actually mean anything about a person unless it was given after they were born, it was more of a suggestion because I certainly didn''t fit what people would think of "Lilith" at least I didn''t think so. I imagined he''d be quiet and keep to himself for some reason, how foolish I was to believe that.


    Reed was not in fact a quiet kid, although he certainly was nerdy, but he certainly did not keep to himself. The class itself was fine, learning basic chant components like how to initiate what type of spell, the basics of targeting, how to finalize one, and of course, a contract that stated "The school is not liable for any harm received due to this class".


    Just then someone bursts in through the door and shouts, "Someone''s started a fire!"


    I didn''t know what to think. ''Already? It hasn''t been even a day!''


    As me and the other students started to get up from our seats I couldn''t help be notice that Reed and a few others just stayed relaxed in there chairs. The teacher, Richard, seemed to have a look of, acceptance? Tiredness? Resignation?


    Almost as if it''s happened before, "Everyone stay in your seats," All the other students started whispering to themselves, "Liz. Did anyone else you ''warned'' listen? No?" He slowly covers his eyes with his left hand, "Please stop disrupting my class." Richard shoos, the now embarrassed, girl out of the room.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    "Don''t worry about it, my brother attended this place before as well, he told me that these ''emergencies'' happen all the time and to ''just do as your teacher says'' because ''nothing''s going to come of it''." Reed casually leans over to comment to me, I can''t help but have a look of confusion plastered over my face.


    I slowly turn to look at him as he relaxes in his chair after I fix my expression, no amount of shyness was going to stop me from asking, "What in the nine hells do you mean by that?"


    "Yeah, not really a secret around here, what happens happens is the best way to describe it."


    "Wha- Wha, why?" I stutter out, so many thoughts confusing me. First there was a fire on the first day, second, no one seems to care and views it as a mere annoyance, and third, how does Reed look so casual when he says that, am I the weird one?


    My head spins around with these thoughts not comprehending how this school with a "pretty good reputation" would be like this before someone interrupts laughing from the hallway, "Liz, see? I told you so! It''s just a fire, it''ll take a third of the school being blown up like when Lucas attempted ''To create the ultimate rainbow potion!'', in his own words by the way-" The person from outside the room who wasn''t visible seemed to continue trying to ramble on before Robert quite literally kicked "Liz" out of the room slamming the door behind them while mumbling "First years..."


    He seemed to notice my ears swiveling when he said that and gave me a glare as if daring me to do anything about it.


    ''Dad, have you truly forsaken me? I''ll do anything for any other school!'' I internally cried to myself.


    "Oooo, that''s the famous death glare Professor Robert is known for, what''d you do?" Reed mocked, as I did my best to ignore him.


    The rest of the class dragged along as he stopped focusing on teaching and began to go over what to expect in his class. He explained that if someone "dismantles the left wall", "Rearranges their desk", "Inverts the lamp," (No explanation was given on the last one when questioned further) that the poor individual would have to pay for the damages as well as do the punishment that ends up getting spun for them on the "Wheel of Doom" which was a glorified wheel on an axel he had strapped to the front of his desk. It had several colored sections on the wheel with a piece of cloth covering what could be assumed to be the punishments.


    Other than that I paid no attention to the class expectations instead doodling on a piece of scratch paper I had on me until the clock sounded.


    "So have those forms turned in by tomorrow when you leave this room, I can''t teach you more until you''ve signed it, anyone who fails to do so will have to sit outside the door and do make up work, and it is a hassle for both you and me, so he those forms turned in."


    After leaving the room, I took one last look at the teacher who leaned against he desk, his face engrossed in a piece of paper I could not make out from the angle.


    I took out my schedule to find the next room, ''Room 12S? S?''


    Most of the other rooms only were labeled by numbers, I should have inquired about it when I received it but I figured I''d figure it out sooner or later leaving me staring blankly at my schedule. I looked around and found one of the staff members whose whole purpose seemed to just stand in the hallways and judge people.


    "Hey do you know where 12S is?" I asked shyly quiet enough that they might not have heard me.


    "Room 12S? The ''S'' rooms are all in the floor below, the stair way should be around the bend then to the left once you reach the wall." She said gently. I had expected something more demeaning, for some reason I thought she was going to be extremely annoyed as if I should have already known but she instead looked happy to help but I still felt embarrassed about needing help when it seemed no one else required directions as I quickly followed her directions hoping that if I moved fast enough, I''d leave everyone who might have noticed behind.


    I stared at the sign reading "Potions and Elixirs" and couldn''t help but think about "Rainbow Potion" as I giggled. I grabbed the door handle this time with a bit more confidence than last time and pushed the door in. There were no desks this time instead several fancy tools seemed to be scattered about with a open clearing where everyone who had already gathered were standing and chatting with each other.


    The teacher glanced over and waved for me to approach her, "Hello I''m your teacher, Miss Rueci, what''s your name?" She asked in a polite tone, completely different from how Robert had treated me when I entered his class.


    I blushed with embracement with her direct invitation to a conversation, "I''m Lilith."


    "Hey Lilith, so you''re a wolf beast kin? How wonderful! I always imagined how great it would be to have better hearing, sight, and smell, well maybe not smell, I can''t imagine how bad that''d get sometimes," I stiffly laughed not correcting her mistake, "So here you''ll learn how to make potions and the properties of the ingredients mix together to affect the final result, I hope to get to know you better!"


    She turned back to talking with the students around her before another person entered the room and she repeated a slightly modified version of her previous introduction.


    I settled in leaning against an open wall as the others ignored my presence at most giving me simple glances before finding something else to do.


    After a while the teacher claps to get everyone''s attention, "So everyone''s here now! As I''ve probably told you already, I''m Miss Rueci, this should be my first time having all of you and it''s always great to see new faces, I teach Potions & Elixirs I, II, and III before those of you who want to continue this subject pick a more specialized class where I teach Ingredient Discernment!" Now this is what I had expected the teachers to be like, helpful and kind, "Some of you already seem to know each other but I still want you all to introduce yourselves!"


    "Let''s start with Ema, there''s only twelve of you in this class so it shouldn''t take that long."


    "Hello I''m Ema, I''m a human girl, and my hobbies are chess, conjuration, and debating." Miss Rueci points to the next student.


    "I''m Ryan, I''m Ema''s boyfriend..." Ema play smacks him on the arm, "and my hobbies are chess and art," we laugh as Ema''s face blushes.


    The next boy starts on his own, "I''m Tristan, elf, there''s two ''Tristan''s, my hobbies are sword fighting, boxing, and..." He pauses deciding what to say next, "stealing girls," This earns him a tackle from Ryan who was clearly targeted by the last comment as the class continues to laugh as the instructor pulls the two boys apart.


    "Victor, um, I don''t really want to share anything else," he looks away from us as we stop giggling.


    "You sure? I promise these people won''t bite." Victor doesn''t comment staying in the same awkward pose, Miss Rueci sensing that she isn''t going to get anything else signals to me.


    I tremble nervously as I start to speak up, "I''m Lilith, I''m a beast kin," I intentionally omit the species, "I enjoy, um reading? And just spellcasting in general I guess..."


    The teacher nods as the next girl starts, "I''m Erick, I''m an aspiring businesswoman seeking to earn money through selling, a new product I''ll invent sometime!" She gives off a aura of confidence and relaxations that puts me at ease.


    Everyone turns to the next boy, whose mind seems to have wandered somewhere else before noticing everyone''s stares, "Oh sorry! I''m Luke, Dwarf, some of you might not be able to tell, I''m a giant compared to the others where I look like a short human. I enjoy dreaming, hehe, and making friends." The class giggles with him.


    I turn and see a familiar looking girl, the same "Liz" who had barged in during my previous class, "I''m Elizabeth, you can call me Liz, I''m a peacock based demi-human, wait I meant beast kin," I didn''t know what a peacock was, "My goals are to become a future professor like Miss, uh what was it again?" Liz nervously plays with her hair.


    Miss Reuci turns and repeats her name, "I''m honored, it''s a great job, keep on with that dream!" She turns to the rest of the class and jokes ,"Pay could be better though."


    "Hello, I''m Chris, dwarf, my parents are in charge of Fort Warken, I enjoy smithing and enchanting. Also Luke really is a giant, to me, I don''t know why I feel the need to say that," The teacher nods to the next girl.


    "Rachel, dragonborn, I enjoy cooking, hunting, and uh... nevermind," She relaxes looking around to find any judgement from us other students, after a while the teacher points to the next girl.


    "Hi, I''m Jessa... I enjoy fishing and hiking and oh yeah I''m a human." She hums herself a tune after finishing her introduction.


    "Hey, I''m Eino, I enjoy spell weaving, and weapon production, I could tell you exactly how the standard issue javelin is enchanted, its material, and whatever else you want." Despite his boasting he doesn''t look smug, instead looking genuine.


    "So now that everyone''s been introduced I need to go over some ground rules."