Chapter 6: Anti-Magic

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Chapter 6: Anti-Magic

Alice had run out of excuses. It had been a week since I woke up in this place, and Olivia—me—hadn't attended any classes. The teachers were getting suspicious of whatever reasons Alice had to come up with every time they asked about me.

What could I do? I didn't expect to last a day in this place, what more an entire week? Every time I opened my eyes in the morning, I would wish to be back in the cabin. But instead, I would wake up in the same bed, in the same room I shared with Alice.

"It's anti-magic day for the entire week, Olivia. Hindi na kita matutulungan. Everyone's required to attend lectures." Nag-aayos ng buhok si Alice sa harap ng salamin while pointing out my lack of initiative to attend classes.

"Anti-magic?" I was remained propped in bed, reading one of the notebooks Olivia had left behind. How strange. Even our penmanship looked the same.

"You know, those topics and subjects of the normal world. Physics, science, math, and their own version of world history and geography which don't necessarily apply to us." Alice rolled her eyes at her own remark.

"Then why learn about it?" I blurted out.

"Because it's the NMAS law?" She shrugged. "Don't tell me pati 'yon nakalimutan mo, Olivia," she said. "We're going to be in deep trouble if you do. Bakit ba wala pang epekto ang cleansing potion sa 'yo?"

"That's why I'm asking you," I pointed out.

"Okay, okay," she tried to calm herself down. Alice was someone who held half of the stress of the universe. "NMAS is the Non-Magical Academic System, a law which basically forces us to learn the ways and knowledge of the human world to have a common ground or something, though I don't see why we're the ones who need to adjust and hide our existence. It's not like we're interested in their mundane world."

Mundane. That was my world just a few days ago, unaware of their existence.

"Do they know we exist?"

"Most of them don't." Alice tamed her curls with a thin green ribbon that matched our uniform. "They only read about us through books or things called television. At least, that's what the teachers say. They treat us as fiction to keep the order in their world. That's why both governments have treaties and agreements for us to live harmoniously with each other."

Humarap sa 'kin si Alice. "Have you seen their version of the world map? It's only sixty percent of the real inhabited world. They aren't aware of the existence of different magical nations around them. That's why humans think so highly of themselves," she huffed. "They have this silly mindset na sila lang ang nakatira sa mundong ito and their government doesn't want to correct what they believe. It's like trying not to tell a toddler that Santa isn't real to protect their innocence. Well, news flash to them—we are real."

It was all new knowledge to me. I had a fair share of strange and eerie encounters growing up, but magic was something fictitious to me. It was nothing but silly idea, an escape from reality. But people, real people, actually live in a world where magic existed...and I happened to be in that world.

After breakfast, I had no choice but to come to class with Alice who basically had to drag me to the school tower because I was too apprehensive to go. She and Olivia were in the same section while Claudia and Liam were in the other senior class.

After all the things I'd heard about anti-magic, magical worlds, and governments knowing their existence, it just made me more aware that this...all of this was real. I walked, talked, and had class with people who could use magic.

Sure, they looked normal. They did normal tasks and routines, eat familiar food, and even use technology like cars and electricity. But it was like a perfect balance of magic and normal...which means in here, I was the peculiar one.

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