Return to Magic Academy

Chapter 1: The Grand Return

You stretched in your bed, still trying to get used to the feeling of sleeping on a waterbed. This was the bed that had come with the apartment you now owned; you were hardly in any position to try to buy a new one. It was difficult enough convincing your new boss to give you enough advance pay to even get an apartment. You would have had nowhere else to live, so it was inevitable you'd get help.

It felt like only a week ago that you'd graduated from high school; probably because you'd only been conscious for about a week since you had. You remembered it perfectly. You were out, celebrating with your friends, when you had started to feel ill. Excusing yourself from the festivities, you went outside to get some air when you'd apparently collapsed.

The reason why you'd collapsed wasn't anything too serious, just an allergy that could be easily treated in the hospital. It was the doctors' handling of the situation that had made it so terrible. Your first doctor had used a medication that you were also allergic to, which made your blood pressure drop dangerously low and sent you into critical condition. Rather than try to remedy that with a counter-medication, a team of new doctors decided that slow, gentle recuperation was the best decision. Before you knew it, five years had passed.

Sure, you'd missed five years of your friends' lives too, but you were sure they wouldn't hold it against you.

You finally got the strength to trudge out of bed and get a shower, starting to wonder what everyone had been up to. Everyone that had been in your year was probably done with college or university (if they'd gone). Sure, you could just try and call some of them, but how exactly would that conversation go? "Hey, it's [name]. I know I disappeared for years, but how are you?" And even then, they probably had new numbers.

"Oh, I have a voicemail..." you said as you re-entered your bedroom. You set it to play as you looked for something to wear.

"Good morning, [name]. It's your former headmaster and current boss Barret here. Just a couple of reminders here. You might wanna get over here early to get your stuff set up and try to re-memorize where everything is inside the building. We've had a bit of a renovation since you left. Anyway, just stop by my office when you get here. I got some materials that you might need. Uh... I think that's all I got. So, see ya in a few hours, I guess."

You smiled. "At least I still remember where the headmaster's office is. Uh... I think. Whatever, I'll find it."

Now, on to find something teacher-y to wear. Fortunately, your shape hadn't changed much since high school, and you felt that the peach linen skirt suit in the back of your closet was perfect for this type of thing. The skirt, a pencil skirt, reached your knees, and you tucked in the white, silk, collared shirt. You slipped on a pair of ballet flats; the school day lasted eight periods, and you were not willing to brave that in heels, you didn't want to end up back in hospital. You decided giving your hair a nice brushing was enough, and gave yourself a once-over in the mirror before deciding that you looked decent enough for the job. Okay... maybe a little mascara wouldn't hurt...

In the break between putting mascara on both eyes, you looked up at the corner of the mirror that sat on your vanity. Placed there was a picture of you and the four girls you'd always been around in your year, all dressed in your graduation caps and gowns.

You smiled, just thinking of all the fun you used to have with them: the eternally upbeat Vanille, brutally honest Maceida, always polite Yuna, and amazingly intelligent Quistis. The four of them had easily accepted you into their little group as one of their own, even though you hadn't even started going to school with them until junior year. They were wonderful like that. Just about everyone at school had been, really.

"We'll reconnect again someday, girls." You gave the picture a pat before standing and leaving your small apartment.

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