Repurposed

New Life

The year flew by quickly. I now have mastered summoning several weapons, including a dagger, spears, and a sword. I felt accomplished. These weapons will help me out of potentially deadly situations, I was sure. I threw myself wholly into learning as much as I could about tactical combat, as well as keeping up on my core studies. We had learned that not every outcode will be in the same environment, much less a decent one, so an extensive knowledge on how to summon portals was essential. Of course, some were better at it than others, so I guessed they would be the ones escaping to other universes, first.

Markus and I practiced with each other summoning portals every day. He was getting frustrated by his inability to get it right, and I tried my best to help him.

"Concentrate on where you want to go," I instructed him. "Visualize it in your head. Think about every tiny detail."

He closed his eyesockets and focused. A spark of yellow magic appeared before us, and my soul rose in excitement. I looked back at him, and he opened his eyesockets. The magic fizzled out as soon as he did, and he lowered his hands in disappointment. I put my hand on his shoulder.

"It's ok. I'm sure you can do it."

"You've said that every time!" he snapped, brushing my hand away. I looked down, and he sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"No," I met his eyelights. "I get it. You're not used to this."

"How were able to master it so quickly?"

I shrugged. "I guess I just... read about it, and I did what the book told me to do. I'm trying to show you how the book taught me, but I'm not a very good teacher."

He leaned against the wall and rubbed his forehead. "It's fine."

It didn't feel fine. I knew something was bothering him, and I wanted him to tell me, but I didn't push him. It didn't feel right to keep quiet, but I didn't want to put any more stress on his shoulders.

... ... ...

The day of our graduation came, and I woke up excitedly. Ally was already up, probably because she couldn't wait for it, either. We hurried to our seats in the colosseum, and we were joined by Eli and Markus. Eli seemed just as excited as us, but I could tell Markus was more than a little apprehensive. I smiled at him to reassure him, and he relaxed, smiling at me. We turned our attention to the podium just as Chronicle entered.

"Good morning, students! If you don't already know, this is our graduation ceremony! For those who do know, you know the drill. I'd like to personally congratulate our graduates, but they'll have to come down here, first!"

Again, that signature giggle, along with a few laughs scattered around the building. He summoned his book, and read off the names of the graduates. Our group headed down when we heard our names, as well as some others from the beginning of our time here, and we made our way to the podium. This is it. We finally get to go to our new lives! I looked back to find Markus wasn't following us. I gave him a confused look, but he motioned for me to go.

"What about you?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"He didn't call my name. I'm sorry."

I walked back up to him, and engulfed him in a hug. "We'll see each other again soon, ok?"

He hugged back. "Ok. Be safe."

I headed down with Ally and Eli, pausing at the steps to give Markus one last smile. His eyelights were filled with sorrow, and my smile faded a bit. Now I know what had been bothering him. He had been dreading saying goodbye. I couldn't blame him. I wasn't ready to say goodbye, either.