The World's Start

Heath

"I lied to Professor Tenney," Heath Corrigan sighed. "The Purpose is, really, a book club."

"No, no, you don't get it," he added, after seeing the puzzled look in Norma's brown eyes. "For the first time ever Mister Tenney called me qualified! The most qualified, with Jack Edens Junior, in a group of five, but it is something that I'd never thought someone said about me."

Ken looked down at the parquet, black and polished, of the room Heath had chosen to become the place of their meetings. "But you're the Laoch," he commented.

"Yes, there's that," Heath said unhappily. "It's probably the only reason I made the qualifications at all. You know how I feel about murdering, wringing necks, stealing and all that stuff we study at school."

"Besides, you told us you were going to improve at school last year, and you're a man of your word," Norma reminded him with enthusiasm. "I see your grades are a bit better now."

"Norma, you can call me many things, but a man of my word is not one of them," Heath laughed. "However, I have to stay sharp during the lessons, you know? I could never let Jack Edens get away with being the best pupil. There must be somebody to remind him that his tacky clothes and his reckless behaviour can only go so far. We're spies, for goddess' sake. I know I could never hope to blend in, being the Laoch and all, especially with my pink hair... Jack reminded me of that the first day of lesson. But he could blend in and he's choosing not to!"

"That, is a very valid point," Norma approved. "Let's find something to fill these empty shelves with. I'll start ordering all the books Timothy Lewalski has written from the nearest bookstore."

"You better," Heath said, for the room looked empty at the moment except for the three couches the friends were sitting in. "And we have to keep up appearances, so Ken should practise a bit of martial arts, you have to order other books about engineering, though you've read them all, and I'm going to relax in this couch for hours on end to sharpen my great intellect for plans."

This made Ken and Norma laugh, and the former was about to start practising handstands, when the door opened.

"You don't have to knock!" Heath called out to whomever it was. "You know I never keep the door locked..."

"While I trusted you with this little project of mine," Paul Robert Tenney interrupted him. "It doesn't mean that you can do what you please, including arriving late to the communal lessons. Today we received a very important visit --- it's from the Prince of Pavoa, Prince Filippos. I trust you all know how to act around royalty. To be completely honest, I don't trust the lot of you to know how to act, some of you especially, but I imagine you're not going to want to slander my reputation."

Heath had personal reasons as to why he wanted to impress Mister Tenney, and with them came the fact that he knew how easy it was to anger the man. Once one had successfully succeeded, the punishments were harsh, and this was something the other pupils knew all too well. So he sobered up immediately and followed Mister Tenney into the room they used for studying and talking of theoretical concepts.

"Thank the goddess your hair isn't very pink today," Mister Tenney huffed, when walking beside his pupil.

Everyone knew Heath's hair changed colour when he used his magic, so he doubted it could offend Prince Fillipos' eyes. However, Mister Tenney was amongst the people who didn't like it.

Just like Jack Edens, Heath thought. It must be tasteless people.

His hair that day was closer to his natural color, sandy brown, but it had dark streaks of a reddish-pink in it. It was how it was supposed to look when he didn't use his magic much. Instead, the days Heath performed many spells, his locks became paler until, on the worst days, his whole head was a light hue of pink.