An Odd Sort of Magic

Chapter One

Looking up at the place said to be her new home, Jayan felt her stomach drop slightly. The place was more than a dump. It was a witchy house, with a sagging roof, peeling gray paint, and squinting, shuttered windows, which, Jayan was sure, hid quiet, peeping eyes, watching her and sizing her up. And it didn’t help that a rocker on the porch was rocking back and forth, even though there was no wind. She blinked, her right eye staying closed a fraction of a second longer then the left. Her right eye was green, although she called it olive. It seemed more elegant somehow. Ever since her thirteenth birthday, her odd blinks came to mean something. Like now, she was griped with a definite feeling. The house was there. There was no backing out. Her other eye, brown in color (she called it coffee) twitched slightly, upsetting her vision. When it cleared, a figure had appeared on the porch. Jayan squinted, and could make out only that it was female, and clad in a midnight-blue robe.

The woman gestured to her, and she slowly stumbled up the path, her suitcase trailing behind her. “Good, good,” the lady clucked, her eyes twinkling, “you must be Jayan. I was told you were coming. I hope you weren’t waiting long.”

“Um, yeah, I’m Jayan. Your flyer said this was some kind of boarding school? My parents sent me.”

“Well, you’ve come to the right place. I’m Ms. Shelling, and you could say I’m the supervisor. But you must be tired. Come in, please. I’ll show you to your room.” Ms. Shelling led her into the house. Stepping inside, Jayan stared. The main hall was so large, it seemed impossible. It was larger than the outside of the house, and lit with sparkling candles that bathed the room in yellow light. “You’ll be staying upstairs,” Ms. Shelling told her, “come along.”

She ascended the steps, and led Jayan through the hallways, all the while gesturing to closed doors and explaining what was in each room. “And just down the hall,” she pointed, “is the art room. Go ahead, check it out.” Jayan paced down the hall, her strides short and quick.

Walking into the art room, Jayan looked over her shoulder, but Ms. Shelling wasn’t there. She stepped farther into the art room. A little kid was playing with finger paints. He looked up, staring at Jayan with huge, innocent eyes. “Hi,” Jayan said cautiously.

The kid smiled brightly, “I’m Raymond. I’m six!” He said it carefully, enunciating every syllable. He held out his paints, “Want a tattoo?”

Jayan didn’t really, but she didn’t say so, and rolled up her sleeve to let the little kid draw. When he was done, Jayan looked at the little red mark. It was a circle, but it had an ‘x’ through it, and blue dots in each quarter. “What’s that,” Jayan asked, using her little kid friendly voice.

Raymond’s eyes glittered happily, “Ms. Shelling calls it a hex sign.” Suddenly pain shot down Jayan’s arm to her fingertips. As quickly as it started, it stopped.

“Ah, there you are.” Jayan turned, and saw Ms. Shelling standing in the doorway. “Ray! What have I told you about finger painting?”

“Never to do it on other people,” Raymond recited in his squeaky, six-year-old voice.

“That’s right,” Ms. Shelling told him, smiling. She turned to Jayan, “You must excuse Ray, but I’m afraid you won’t be able to move your fingers for a few hours. But your room is just over here, come on.”

She walked out the door and a little ways down the hall, “I’m sure you want to unpack, and at dinner I’ll introduce you to the other ‘boarders’.”

Jayan surveyed the room. It was nice, with a bed, a closet, and a dresser. The entire room was a light sheen of pink. “If you want to refurnish it, just let me know,” Ms. Shelling said, “is there a different color you’d prefer?”

“Well, I’d rather light blue, but…” she turned and saw Ms. Shelling twitch her nose and screw up her face, and with a faint ‘pop’, the wall, bed, and dresser were suddenly the exact shade of blue Jayan had requested. Jayan stared at Ms. Shelling both eyes wide, “you can do magic?”

“Well of course dear,” Ms. Shelling laughed, “only cooking and color magic though. Didn’t you read the flyer? The only students here are magic in some way.” Smiling, she said, “Dinner’s in three hours. I’ll see you then.” She closed the door.

Three hours later, Jayan heard the bell, and her first thought was: Fire! But it didn’t sound like a fire alarm, and listening more carefully, she discovered it was the dinner bell. She stepped into the hall. Various children of all sizes rushed toward the sound. She followed them to a room with a very long, food-covered table.

“Oh Jayan,” Ms. Shelling called, “come here, I’ve prepared a seat for you.”

She sat Jayan down between a slender girl with narrow eyes, who blinked at her, and a perky blond who grinned. Jayan noticed, as Ms. Shelling sat at the head of the table, that all the girls were sitting on the left, and all the boys on the right. There were quite a few of them, and as Ms. Shelling called for attention several of them glanced her way. “Now then, before we tuck in, I’d like to introduce you to Jayan, our newest member. Jayan, your guide for the first few weeks will be Vanessa.” She gestured to the girl two seats down from her. Vanessa was tall and thin, with long brown hair and intense, black eyes. They weren’t actually black, but they looked black from Jayan’s angle. Then Ms. Shelling proceeded to name each student, as if she actually expected Jayan to remember all their names. The blond next to her was Arianna, and the girl with the narrow eyes was Catrina. Most of the names were blurs, but finally Ms. Shelling said, “And of course you know Ray. Now let’s eat!”

She said the last two words with a ringing force, and each kid picked up his or her fork, and some their knife as well, and ate ravenously. Arianna turned to Jayan at once, “Hi! I’m so excited to see a new student! What’s your room number?  Mine’s 372!” she said brightly.

“Um,” Jayan didn’t know how to respond. She hadn’t even realized they had room numbers.

Fortunately, she was saved by Catrina, “I saw you go into 381 with Ms. Shelling.” To Arianna she said, “That’s probably her room number.” A boy across the table leaned forward.

“My name’s Drew. Not to sound nosy, but I’m kind of curious. What’s your ability?” Jayan didn’t know how to answer that either.

“Um, I don’t really know. I mean, I kind of do, but not exactly.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Drew assured her, “most newbies don’t know their powers.”

“What about you?” Jayan asked the girls Arianna.

Arianna grinned, “Using magic, I can turn anything into diamonds!”

“Not gold?” Jayan asked.

“Nope. Weird, huh?” Arianna grinned, like it didn’t bother her that she was odd, magic-wise.

“And you?” Jayan asked Catrina.

“I’m a shape shifter,” Catrina’s expression was an odd one, a combination of sorrow, disgust, and something indescribable, “but I can only do felines. In other words, only members of the cat family.”

“But isn’t your name…?” Jayan trained off, looking confused.

“Don’t say it, please, “Catrina implored, “people always bring it up. I know it’s ironic, but please, don’t say it!” Jayan bit her tongue, and all three girls, and Drew, smiled.

“Okay, bedtime,” Ms. Shelling called from the head of the table. All the students filed away from the table and headed back to their rooms. Jayan slept fitfully, but finally drifted off past midnight.

I used this story for an English project once, and got an A, so I thought I'd share it.