The Rise of Sigmund the Sorcerer

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Separated

My first term at Milkweed Academy had gone by so quickly and the summer holiday had gone by even quicker. I was the busiest I'd ever been in my life, but I was also the best I'd ever been in my life. Although my schedule was filled to the brim, I still returned to Milkweed Academy at the start of my new term in the Autumn. Kyle and I had once again decided to dorm together and I was thankful for that. I didn't have the time or the energy to switch rooms.

This new term was also the last term I'd have with Professor Flan and it was set to be an intense one in preparation for the year to follow, which was to be our sorting year. The sorting year was the start of the formative years of study in every student's life. Instead of taking miscellaneous classes, the way we had been during our last term, the curriculum was made more specific by a wizard's magic class or type. It was exciting to think about, mainly because I wasn't exactly sure of what type I'd be sorted into. I felt like I'd always been good at a bit of everything.

Kyle hadn't been in our dorm the morning of our first day and I hadn't seen him unpacking when I'd arrived the night before. I found that strange, but I still headed off to class with Ivan and Nicolai. The two were happy to see me and started up an instant chatter to catch up.

"My hair is finally starting to turn blue! Look at the roots!" Nicolai beamed, lowering his head to give us a look. "My mother said I get it from her side of the family. They're nightcrawlers too, so maybe I'll get some new powers this year!"

"Puberty! Yay!" Ivan retorted sarcastically.

I couldn't help but laugh at that, much to Nicolai's displeasure. Ivan sighed as he continued.

"I hardly did anything after visiting Sigmund. In fact, my father made me work at the elixir shop most of the summer. Hated it!"

"At least you got some practice in with potion making, right?" I shrugged. "That's gotta be good for something!"

"Gotta? Ha! Listen to you, Mr. Positivity!" Ivan snickered. "Lemme guess, you did nothing but snuggle up to your witch of the year all summer?"

"I can tell." Nicolai chuckled. "You're even talking like her. You said y'all earlier and that caught me off guard."

"Didn't know you were a New Yorker, Sigmund!" Ivan finally laughed, Nicolai instantly joining in.

I rolled my eyes and fiddled with the jewelry under my collar. Ivan took notice.

"And what's with the necklace? You've been twirling it since I saw you last over the summer."

"Erin gave it to me." I shrugged, pointing my nose away from them as they laughed more. "And I don't care, I gave her one too!"

So yeah, maybe I did spend more time with Erin over the summer than originally planned, but it just sorta fell into place.

Apart from enjoying each other's company, I'd been filming all summer long out of a production studio in New York City. When we first started filming, I'd sneak Erin in during my lunch breaks to look around the studio. Eventually, we got caught when we'd been snooping through the costume closet of another production, but my management actually loved Erin and let her stick around. She even helped with the show by giving me solid critiques on my magic, something the normal people on staff couldn't do, and she'd even given me pep talks at times when I was stressed. Not to mention the hugs. I relied on those after a while.

I wasn't embarrassed about admitting we'd been around one another. I knew Ivan and Nicolai wanted me to be, but I'd never give them that satisfaction.