Valhalla High (A Magnus Chase Fanfic)

This One Easy Trick Let's You Skip School Unpunished

January 29

I slept in on Friday because I could. My mother came into the room when she had to go and I got up then. "I hope you have a good day with your friends," she told me.

"Thanks, mom," I replied. "Have a good day at work."

I got dressed in a dark grey sweater and grey slacks. I breakfasted and brushed my teeth before starting some of the schoolwork I'd be missing today. Around 8:30, my father gave me a call. "Hey kiddo," he said. "I'm going to come over at 9:00 and then we'll pick up Alex and Sam, okay?"

"I'll be ready," I promised.

Now you're probably reading this and wondering: why are you skipping school Magnus? More importantly: how did you get your parents' approval? It's simple: we were doing a campus visit. Valhalla High allowed seniors up to five excused absences on Fridays for campus visits during our second semester.

     My father picked me up and then drove to the library where Sam, Amir, and Alex were waiting for us. "I'm chaperoning the two of them today," Alex informed me. "They're lucky it's one of my very male days."

      Alex was dressed in green skinny jeans and a pink sweater vest over a collared white shirt. "You're staring at me," Alex noted as he sat down in the seat beside me in the back.

     "You're looking spiffy," I said, dropping my gaze.

     Sam sat up in the front since she was the one with the best sense of direction and the only one who had been to Asgard University before. Amir was seated to Alex's right. He looked out together as usual, but a little nervous. "How has your week been?" I asked him.

      "Good," he said. "Eid is coming up soon, so my father has a lot of orders. We've been very busy at Fadlan's."

    "I'm sure you'll be making many people's Eid special," I said.

     Amir smiled. Sam was giving my father directions. Alex got out his phone and showed us some memes. The car ride passed like that, as uneventful as could be. We arrived at Asgard University around 10:15. The university was located in a small town and it seemed to make up about 80% of it. The other 20% was a gas station, a grocery store, and housing.

     My father parked in the visitors' parking lot and we went to the student center, which was dubbed "Valhalla." Our tour guide was a Viking lookalike named Snorri with long hair, a full beard, and a keen mind. "Welcome to Asgard University," he said as he led us out of Valhalla and onto the grounds. "AU was established thirty-three years ago as a way of reaffirming the cultural legacy of the Norse."

The campus was very beautiful. There were many evergreen trees and plenty of statues of famous Norsemen from Lief Erickson to Ivar the Boneless. "These statues were designed by students and members of our faculty," Snorri said.

"You have an art program?" Alex asked, looking slightly interested.

Snorri smiled. "Yes. Each student in our art program is paired up with a mentor, you have some say in who it is, who will help you develop a portfolio of work. We also hold workshops and have an annual Artfest which non-majors can also participate in."

    "Do you have a pottery class?" Alex asked.

      Snorri grinned. "We have a pottery studio on campus. We also offer several courses in Ceramics. They're quite popular as electives."

     "Do you have a flight school?" Sam asked.

     Snorri began talking about their pilot certification program. "The Vikings were travelers," he said, "and so we like to encourage the exchange of cultures. About 70% of our graduates have been in a study abroad program, whether for a semester, a summer, or a week."

     Amir asked about where the students studied. "All over," Snorri said. "We also to like to pair students with exciting research opportunities. We currently have two students studying leopard seals in Antarctica. They're receiving credit for it."

    My father looked impressed, but this whole school sounded very elite to me. "How much is the average cost of attendance?" I asked.

    Snorri smiled. "Our academic advisors help pair our students with scholarships. While everyone's cost is different, the average cost of attendance after scholarships is $540 per semester."

    I leaned over to whisper into Alex's ear. "This all sounds too good to be true."

    Alex nodded. "Yes indeed."

    Snorri showed us around more. We saw the library, which was filled with books, computers, cushy armchairs, and included a cafe downstairs. Snorri showed us the Fjord, an expansive outdoor pool, and then led us to one of the dining halls. The food was served buffet-style, so I got a gyro and dolma (stuffed grape leaves); it was good (not Fadlan's good, but still good).

After lunch, Snorri showed us some of the empty classrooms. They looked ordinary enough with either desks or tables and chairs. Finally, Snorri took us back to Valhalla. "The gift shop is awesome," he said, "so I suggest you stop by it."

I leaned over to whisper into Alex's ear. "This is not a sponsored message."

He laughed. "Any last questions?" Snorri asked us.

My father nudged me. "You should ask about the nursing program."

"Alright," I conceded before turning to face Snorri who quickly made himself look like he hadn't heard our exchange. "Do you guys have an nursing program?"

Snorri gave his usual grin. "Of course. Quite a few of our students study health. We partner with the local hospital to offer our nursing and pre-med students hands-on experience."

"And what about business?" Amir asked.

"We offer that too," Snorri said. "Our business school is actually quite large thanks to our generous donors."

I wondered who these donors were and if they were some of the same people who ran Valhalla High. We stopped by the gift shop and looked around before leaving. On the car ride back Alex surprised me by saying, "You know what? I might actually apply there."

   I looked at him. Was he serious? I guess only time would tell, but as the idea of us going to AU together marinated in my head, it became more and more appealing.