Daughter of Magic

Chapter 2 ~ I Find Out... What??

So, once again, I'm in the principal's office, for, once again, damage to persons and/or school property. I sigh. My life just seems to suck. Or hate me.

The principal, Mrs. Nordic, chews on the end of her pen. "So you say you didn't do it," she says, "yet all of your class says that you did."

I stare at her in dismay. "All of them? Even Tyler?"

She frowns. "Tyler seemed to be a little traumatized by this, ah... incident, and kept muttering something like 'Don't have time'. I don't suppose you know what this means... do you?" She looks at me, curiosity in her eyes.

I shake my head.

She frowns again and sighs. "I'm sorry, Lyla, but all the evidence is stacked against you. I'm afraid I'm going to have to expel you."

I look down and sigh. "It's not your fault," I say, blinking back tears. This year has been the best so far. I've been able to stay with Dad all year instead of on weekends like my last school, I met Tyler who is one of the best friends I could have, and Mrs. Nordic actually was a great principal.

"Hey," she says. I look up. "I know it's hard for you, but it's probably for the best. After all, you did have trouble with the boys, didn't you?"

I nod and mumble, "But it's always like that.."

She sighs. "I'm sorry Lyla. I have no choice."

After she calls my dad, I sit outside her office in the hallway with my backpack. I draw to take my mind off of being expelled. Again. I don't really pay attention to what I'm drawing, I just let my mind wander and take over. I find that I've stopped and look at what I've drawn.

It seems to be a symbol of some sort... Two crossed torches.

I frown. I feel like I've seen this symbol someplace but...

Where?

I stare at it, as if in a trance, before I realize Tyler is there.

"Earth to Lyla, come in Lyla," he jokes, waving a hand in front of my face.

I shake my head, trying to break the trance the strange symbol I drew seemed to cast on me. "I'm sorry, Tyler," I apologize. "Did you say something?

"I said, did you get expelled?" he asks worriedly.

I sigh. "Yes, I... I did."

He sits next to me. "I'm sorry," he says.

"Not your fault," I grumble. "My rotten luck.

He bites his lip.

"Tyler," I say slowly. "What's going on that you're not telling me?"

He slowly shakes his head. "I'm not entirely sure," he admits.

I'm about to demand him to tell me what he knows, but right then, Dad walks in. He sees Tyler sitting next to me and smiles. "Hi, Tyler," he says.

"Hi, Mr. Frost," Tyler responds, looking over at him.

Dad turns his attention to me. "Again?" he asks quietly.

I sigh and nod.

He looks at Tyler. "It was nice seeing you, Tyler," he says as I stand up.

"Um... Nice seeing you too, Mr. Frost," he says, biting his lip again.

I follow Dad out to our Subaru Legacy. It's a pretty nice car, considering how much he gets paid.

Dad is a part-time writer, part-time artist. I guess I get both of those from him. It's hard for me, though, because I have dyslexia. Drawing helps me, too, because I also have ADHD.

My dad writes pretty good stuff. He's even sold a painting, although not to a huge company or museum, for a pretty good price.

We get in and buckle up, then he backs up and pulls out of the parking lot. "What happened this time?" he asks, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Andrew Morgan kept hitting me with a dodgeball after I got out," I explain in a slightly annoyed voice. Not because of Dad, but because of Andrew.

"Is he the one who's been bullying you all year?" he questions.

"Yeah," I sigh. "I don't know what happened; I just lost it. Next thing I knew, he was on the ground, screaming, and the school was on fire."

My dad smiles wryly. "Did you get him good?" he asks.

I laugh. "I broke his arm."

He laughs too, and it makes me feel all warm inside. He sobers in a minute. "I guess we'll have to find another school for you, though."

I sigh. "Yeah, I guess we will." I look down as thunder rumbles. "Sorry to disappoint you, dad."

"You've never disappointed me, Ly," he says with a smile.

He drives in silence for a little while, then I say, "Tell me about Mom again."

He sighs and smiles a little. "She was very mysterious.. That's probably what got me attracted. She had auburn hair, like you, and hazel eyes... I felt like I could look at them forever." He sighs, almost in a trance. "I was at a magic show, the person was reaally good. Afterwards, I was headed out to eat dinner and she came up to me. We started talking, got to know each other. She said her name was Hannah. I told her my name is Michael.

"We had several dates after that, mostly magic shows. I don't know, something about them seemed to attract us both. After each trick, she would clap and laugh and whistle. She had the prettiest laugh....

"Finally, I proposed to her. She accepted, but wanted to keep it secret. She told me afterwards that her real name was Hecate. Said something like her mother was a great Greek mythology fan. I was a little annoyed at first, but I got over it. As it turned out, she had a job that took her all over the world. She got a call to Switzerland, and sailed off on a boat.

"The ship sank, but I don't think she died. No, Ly," he says, noticing my expression, "I'm not crazy. I think she just may have gotten lost. They had been sailing near the Bermuda Triangle..." He shrugs. "They might've steered their lifeboat the wrong way. Who knows?"

I smile. "No matter how many times I hear that story, I still think it's sweet!" I say.

He turns into our driveway, opening the garage to drive in. He turns the car off and we both get out and walk inside.

I hug him, and he hugs me back, albeit a little surprised. "What was that for?" he asks.

I pull back and smile. "Just 'cause I love you."

He smiles too. "I love you too, Ly."

I jump as a loud clap of thunder resounds through the house. "I don't think we've ever had a storm that close before..." I say.

Dad frowns and nods, scrunching his eyebrows. "It's weird," he says.

We hear rain pounding on our single-story roof. It subsides a little bit, but there's still a pounding. I realize that someone's at the door and jump up to go get it. Opening the door, I see Tyler, his hair flat against his head and two little stubs poking up. "Got here.. As fast as I could..." he pants, leaning against the doorway.

I gawk at him. "What... What are..." I shakily raise a hand and point to his head.

He lets out what I used to think was a nervous laugh, but am now starting to think it's something different. "If you can see them, my suspicions are confirmed. You're a half-blood."