Madame Corinne's Club of Winged, Wand-Wielding, and Waterproof Teenagers

Chapter 10 - Natalie

I rung the doorbell, and wiped my hands on my jeans, hoping I didn't look like a sweaty mess.

I was about to take The Test. Not my idea of fun, casual Saturday plans.

This time I was greeted by a woman instead of a swarm of kids. She wore a sheer black shirt over a floral-print bra, and a high-waisted jean skirt with the thickest belt I'd ever seen. Her hair was black, she had the greenest eyes, and there was a mole just a few inches under her left eye.

She was eating french fries.

"Hi, I'm Natalie-"

"I know."

I raised an eyebrow. Okay, so, courtesy was out the window.

"Right," I said, "Then you know why I'm here."

"Yep," she said, "Follow me."

She pivoted on her white high heels and strolled down the hallway. I followed.

"So," I said, trying to keep up with her fast gait, "Are you a teacher here?"

"God," she said, tossing another fry into her mouth, "Unfortunately so."

"And what's your name?"

She glanced at me, rolled her eyes, and said, "Jamie Harthunt. Call me Ms. Harthunt."

"Natalie Alvarez."

I would've added nice to meet you. But I didn't want to lie.

"How lovely," she said, "I don't care. Here we are."

We stopped at a door that looked old. Grandpa old. Europe old.

"Great," I said, "Awesome."

We stood there for a second.

I wondered what was behind that door. I was almost confident that I wasn't any sort of magical. That was crazy. I wanted no part in this magic business and-

"So are you gonna go in or-"

"Yep, right, sorry," I opened the door and stepped in.

So for a testing room, there was a curious lack of anything. Of course, it was a Testing room, not a testing room, so some variations ought to be expected.

Still, a perfectly square, white room, with no furniture and no decoration, was not exactly what I'd thought I'd see when I came through the door.

I braced myself for whatever was going to happen next. But then a minute passed. Then two.

About thirty minutes had passed. Still nothing.

Huh.

I sat down on the floor.

Jenna had told me to prepare for something stressful. This was boring.

I flopped backwards, crossing my arms under my head.

I twitched. There wasn't anything to do. This was very underwhelming.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing. Happened.

My eyes had drifted closed. I wondered when I would know it was over. Obviously I was so unmagical that The Test hadn't even tried. Would they get a notification then? Would Ms. Harthunt get a message on her phone?

The Test: Hey, Jamie, this girl is so boring we're not even gonna bother. You can let her out now. Or you can just torture her and leave her in here to die of boredom. Either way.

I snorted imagining it. Yep, I bet that's what was going down.

I sighed. I really wish I had brought a book. That would give me something to do.

Suddenly I felt a weight on my chest.

My eyes snapped open. It was happening.

Except the room was still square, still white, and still boring.

The only difference was that now there was a copy of Moby Dick (rather dry read, I'd say, but it was for English class) on my chest.

Was that supposed to happen?

Hmmm... I really wanted a... table?

And just like that, there was a table. One of the ones you see outside restaurants, you know, with the umbrella and the nailed on seats.

I wanted to be...uh, in a cottage?

Suddenly, I was in a cottage.

Ooooookay. That's kind of weird. (The cottage and how it clashed with the very modern-looking table that was still very much there.)

I did the whole bibbity bobbity boo, summoning thing after thing after thing.

Was there a limit?

It seemed not, because now I was in the possession of a hundred bars of ice cream, a magic eight ball, a pack of pencils, a bathrobe, etc. etc. (lord knows what else), and was running out of things to wish for.

I got the feeling that maybe this wasn't what was supposed to happen? This was nothing like what Jenna had prepared me for. It hadn't even been mentioned as a possibility, which was odd since I got the drift that Jenna definitely did not think I was going to turn out to have some sort of secret magic talent. Which led me to believe this wasn't a sign that I was not magic.

Although it didn't seem to be a sign that I was either. There was no stressful simulation. I was just kind of here.

... And still very bored. I wondered...

A door appeared. Perfect. I opened it up, ending back out in the hallway I had come from.   

Note: Sorry for disappearing for a while. (Only one update in the whole of March! I'm so embarrassed. ) Thankfully, I'm back now! I have a lot planned for Natalie and Jenna, and I can't wait to share their story with you. Happy reading! :)

(Also, as a side, if you notice any inconsistencies in my writing, please let me know! This is all VERY first draft-level edited, and I don't always catch mistakes. I appreciate any comments y'all have!)