Winnow (On Hold)

Prologue

Riley Salvatore, a half Haitian, half Italian sixteen year old laid back on her fluffy brown duvet-clad bed. She drew with her finger in the air while staring out her bedroom window into the street of her quiet suburban neighbourhood. Violet smoke and silver sparkles followed her finger, dissipating before it could fall to her caramel coloured skin. She fanned herself with the other hand, regretting wearing her favourite burgundy sweater during this particularly warm month of April. The sweating teen dragged her finger to create a lazy heart, then a lighting bolt once the first drawing had disappeared.

"Riley! Can you come down here for a second? There's a letter here for you!" Riley's father, Don Salvatore, a long-time janitor at the local primary school, called up to his one and only child from what Riley could only assume was the mud room. Don was a stubborn man and Riley knew that he wouldn't even attempt to meet her halfway, thus she began to make her way down stairs.

Once approaching the mud room, Riley noticed that her mother, Farah Salvatore, a kindergarten teacher, was standing alongside her father looking dumbfounded.

"What is it?" Riley queried.

"It's a letter. A letter saying that you must not return to GSS this upcoming school year." He read aloud. GSS stood for Goulding Secondary School, a public high school located in the small town of Glascen, Ohio.

"What did I even do?" Riley scoffed at the thought of herself doing a deed that was bad enough to get her expelled. The teen barely talked to people in her grade, what could she have done to bring this on?

"It says here that you have been selected, amongst thousands of other gifted youth around the world, to begin attending classes at," Mr. Salvatore had to squint for a few seconds to make sure he was reading the bizarre letter correctly, "Winnow School of Magical Arts. At this school, they train youth with magical powers to use them effectively. The amount of time allotted for developing said skills is four years. After successfully earning your certification, you will be able to start a life in the magical world."

"Sounds like bullshit. They're not taking my baby away from me for four years!" Ms. Salvatore whined dramatically.

"I want to go. This is a great opportunity to meet more people like me. Plus, it sounds like fun."

"Riley—" Mr. Salvatore was cut off immediately by his eager daughter.

"Where's the school?"

"You're not going. It's like university and you're too young for university. Maybe if we don't sign the letter and mail it back your powers will disappear and we could go back to the way thing used to be," Ms. Salvatore sounded hopeful but Riley was hopeful too, if not, more than her mother.

"I could make new friends and finally fit in. This will open up a bunch of new doors for my future. Mom, this is the opportunity of a lifetime," Ms. Salvatore mulled over what her daughter had said for a few moments. She stared down into her child's almond shaped hazel eyes before finally breaking under the pressure. Farah sighed and leaned against the wall for support.

"The school is in Ignatius, Colorado, but it said in the letter that we have to fly to LAX and we'll get instructions from there," Mr. Salvatore cut in.

"Does that mean I can go?" Riley queried, bracing herself for the disappointment she always felt when her strict parents disallowed her from going somewhere. Mr. Salvatore looked to his wife, waiting for her signal before making a decision.

"Maybe. We have to discuss a few things first," Farah sighed, looking as if she was on the brink of losing her balance. Riley knew far too well that maybe always meant 'yes' and that she was going to that school in September. Farah and Don's only daughter jumped up and down excitedly like a ten year old school girl who had just been offered an extra piece of cake for dessert.

"Okay, okay, okay. Now let's talk about a few guidelines that your mother and I have to set with you." Mr. Salvatore interrupted the celebration before leading his family into the den.