Mage Academy

Goodbye Earth

"This is it, Gibby, my last day on Earth..."

I turn to the pink and purple creature on my bed. No one really knows how to describe Gibby-he is the size of my hand and shaped like a chubby monkey. No one really knows how to react to him, either-he is my ghost, which is a lot different to what human beings think of ghosts. A ghost is actually a spirit animal-he is the physical form of my magic. Amazing, really. Apart from when he wears his I-am-correcting-you face. Like now.

"Well... technically Mage Academy is still on Earth, in a spell that keeps humans from seeing it. And also, technically, you will be coming back here in the autumn. It's a summer camp; not a mission to mars."

I throw a pillow at him and he ducks. "Technicalities-what matters is that I'm leaving this boring town, and finally going to have excitement in my life!" I walk around my bedroom, gazing at its walls covered in band posters, teddies and books. A typical teenage girls' bedroom-without any traces of the other side of me, the unique, incredible side... the side that is a magician.

"I've been waiting for this day my whole life! Finally, I get to meet other magicians my age!" I sit down on my bed, pushing my dark brown hair behind my ears. "I'm so excited..."

"And nervous-you always do that with your hair when you're nervous." Gibby climbs into my shoulder. I take a deep breath.

"How do you know me so well?" I ask, even though the answer is obvious.

"I've been with you for your entire life, Malory. Technically I am you."

"You use the word technically too much." I say, distracting from the fact that I have butterflies rising in my stomach.

"Show me some magic."

I open my palms and focus. I have been practising on this one for days. Slowly, pink flames start to steam out from my palms, and blaze in a flickering glow. It's energy magic-it's what magicians have as well as element magic; air, water, fire and earth. Energy magic is easier to learn. I'm still terrible at water and earth, and not too good at air and fire either... the butterflies double, erupting all over my body.

"Oh, Gibby, I'm not going to be nearly as good as the other magicians."

"Relax... you don't even know how good they are yet."

"I know that they haven't led a sheltered life like I have, being hidden away from the magical world for seventeen years." I fall back onto my bed and close my eyes, and the pink flame dissolves. Gibby leaps onto my chest and pokes me on the nose.

"That all ends today." He soothes, still poking.

"Malory! It's time to go!" My mother yells from downstairs. I sit up, Gibby jumps back on my shoulder, and I bend down to pick up my green backpack. I take one last look around my bedroom, trying not to think that it will be two whole months before I see it again. Then I make my way downstairs and out of the house, to see my mum climbing into the car, my luggage already inside.

"MALORY!"

I swivel around and get bombarded by a flurry of Georgina. Georgina can only be described as a flurry. Gibby has already turned invisible.

"I almost missed you!"

"Hey, Georgina..." I smile at my best friend. She's a great human, but we aren't as close as she likes to think we are. It's hard to get really close with someone who doesn't know such a huge part of who you are.

"I wanted to say goodbye to you one last time-I still can't believe you're leaving me for the whole summer!" she pouts.

"We'll save our adventures for the autumn!"

Georgina rolls her eyes. "I will ask you one last time: why on earth are you going to a young authors camp for two months?"

I nervously chuckle. My mother told me to use that as a cover story, but I don't think it was the best one to pick. "I need to improve in my writing... plus it should be fun..."

"More fun than hanging out with me?"

"Sorry, Georgie, but I got a scholarship for this. It's a good opportunity." I feel bad lying through my teeth, but am also surprised at how easy I can do it.

Georgina sighs. "I know, I know. It just sucks. But I'll call you all the time, and you promise to tell me all about the cute boys you meet?"

"And all of the exciting books..."

Georgina winces. "You can leave that part out." I laugh. She pulls me into a hug, we say goodbye and she walks away. I watch her leave, and once she is safely gone, Gibby materialises again.

"I won't miss having to go invisible every time she's around, but she's a good kid." I nod and start to feel homesick already.

"Come on, we'll be late!" My mother yells from the car, and I climb into the passenger seat.

"You excited?" My mother asks, smiling. She looks excited. Her only child is going to her alma mater. Her alma summer camp.

My mum is a magician too. She's an amazing, brave monster hunter; one of the toughest and most dangerous jobs in Moonbeam, which is the magical world. Most days she wakes up, sees that I'm getting ready for school or whatever it is I am up to that day, has breakfast just like a normal mother, then walks out into our garden, opens a portal and disappears for hours. But she always comes back by dinner time. I have tried many times to follow her to work, to see what exactly she does, but she never lets me: "It's far too dangerous for you, Mallie. You need to brush up on your magic before I can allow you anywhere near what I do for a living." I have tried to brush up on my magic, I practise every day, sometimes for hours, but there's only so much you can teach yourself. Mum occasionally gives me lessons, and whenever I visit my grandparents in Moonbeam I always ask them to help me, but what I need are Teachers-fully fledged magicians. Which is what they have at Mage Academy.

"Malory?"

"Huh? What?" I say, brought out of my thoughts.

"Are you excited?" She repeats.

"Yeah, of course!" Gibby pokes me in the neck. "But... I'm also really nervous."

Mum smiles, driving us out of town and along winding country roads. "It's natural to be nervous, Mallie. I was when I went. I thought that everyone would be better at magic than I was, but you know what? Everyone is in the same ship as you."

"Not everyone would have lived on Earth, and been sheltered from magic their whole lives." I huff.

"You have lived a sheltered life because of how dangerous my job is-monsters know who I am, Malory. They want to find me, they want to destroy what I love..." Mum's face falls. I immediately feel bad.

"I understand. I just wish that you weren't in an evil spotlight."

Mum laughs. "Well, Mage Academy is a chance for you to escape from that spotlight for a while. Be your own magician."

I look out of the window, and she continues. "You'll love it, Mal. It won't be easy at times, but just remember that this is what you've always wanted."

"Excitement..." I mumble, looking out hazily at the rolling fields on the other side of the window. I take a deep breath and try to settle the butterflies.

Mage Academy. This is it. My entire life has lead up to this day. And I have no idea what's going to happen next.