A Country Boy Can Survive

Who Dented My Truck!?

     The radio filled the cab of his truck with the sound of a guitar and charlie daniels. It was getting late, later than he really should be out, and the sun was dropping below the mountains. He'd struck out again with some pretty red-haired chick, tripping over his words, trying to compliment her. He told her she had a mole. He chuckled and rubbed the side of his face, thinking it wouldn't have worked out anyways. He'd gone home and decided to use his weekend up in the hills, shooting targets and camping out of the back of his truck. He turned up the radio as Fishing in the Dark came on. 

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Tristain, Academy of Magic. 

      A busy classroom filled with second-year students of the prestigious Tristan Academy of Magic. The class began to quiet down a slightly larger woman in purple robes and a matching witches cap walked in. When she took he place at the podium, she turned to the class and addressed them all. 

     "Congratulations to all of you, and welcome to your second year. I am Missus Chevreuse, and I am to be your Instructor. My codename is Chevreuse of the red moon, and for the next two semesters, I will be teaching you all about my Element of Earth." A pink-haired girl in the back of the class could be seen with an intense stare as she jotted down notes as quickly as the teacher spoke. The whispers she heard were tuned out, but a scowl developed on her face as she put more effort into paying attention to her new instructor. This year would be different, she told herself. Mrs. Chevreuse began going into the focus of today's lecture, and Louise found herself writing notes again. 

     "Earth magic is directly involved with the revitalization of all things. To help you better understand this principle, we will be learning one of the basics of alchemy." Shortly after, she pulled out three pebbles from her cloak and immediately demonstrated the spell, turning the stones into a bright yellowish-orange metal. A darker-skinned woman with crimson hair and impressive... assets stood up and shouted in amazement. 

     "Did you just turn those into gold!" the class joined in the excitement, with many exclaiming how impressive the display was. Quickly Mrs. Chevreuse calmed them down and explained it was simple Bronze, and Gold was a far more complex and challenging metal to transform from common stone. After presenting the fundamentals of the spell, visualizing the metal to be formed, and the amount of Willpower required, she moved on to find a volunteer. Placing another three pebbles onto the table, she looked around the classroom. 

     "You there, the pink-haired girl taking notes. Would you mind trying the spell for us all, please?" As the class began to panic, Louise looked up at her teacher. 

     "What is your name, miss?" the instructor asked her. Louise replied with her name and stood to approach her podium. One of the other students nervously raised his hand and called the teachers attention. 

     "Um, miss? I think it would be better if you picked someone else." the student nervously spoke, with many of his classmates nodding and imploring her to do so. The same red-haired woman from earlier stood up then and shouted.  

     "It's too dangerous. Allow me to do it instead," many more students were calling out in agreement, and Mrs. Chevreuse was getting agitated at their attitude toward their classmate. Louise, for her part, felt her face burn in embarrassment and anger at their words. 

    "Now that is enough, there is nothing dangerous about alchemy, and I won't stand for you all treating a classmate this way." Lousie saw the red-haired woman getting ready to continue and decided not even to give her a chance. 

     "She chose me, so I will be the one to do it." The class paled and began moving away from the podium as Louise approached. The teacher applauded her for standing up for herself and glared at the class barricading behind desks. A thin girl with glasses, blue hair, and a staff picked up her book and, while still reading it, walked out of the class and down the hallway. When Louise got to the podium, she heard the woman again protest, pleading with her to stop before someone got hurt.