Like Teacher, Like Student /// A Doctor Strange Fanfiction

Chapter 10

Casey leaned back on the smooth wooden bench, her legs folded up crisscross as she looked around at the others at the table. They had fed her a great breakfast with eggs and bacon and tofu and rice and some stuff that she still didn't know the name of. She had meant to ask, but they had been so willing to tell her stories about Stephen that she had forgotten to bother. He had never thought to mention to her that he had been an absolutely awful student at first. But if he thought he was going to try the 'toss you on Mount Everest' approach when it came to training her how to use the sling ring, he was going to be in for an event.

"So...this is like wizarding school." She waved a hand at the carved ceiling and smiled at the woman across from her. She had mahogany skin, short black hair, and light brown eyes, plus a wry smirk. Her name was Lesedi, and she was probably around thirty?

"It's a place for us to hone our art," Lesedi said.

"Definitely magic school," said Martin, grinning. He was sitting to her right, a bowl of eggs at his elbow. He was in his mid-twenties, and with glasses, floppy brown hair, and his skinny frame, he looked like he had escaped an office building somewhere. "Like the Jedi Academy on Coruscant. Cool, right?"

The way Lesedi stared implied she was less than amused. "Don't disrespect is, Martin."

"I'm calling it as I see it."

"It's something," Casey said, "Do you think we could go on a tour?" The courtyard and the cafeteria were neat, but she wanted to see more of the place. There was a library somewhere, and while reading wasn't her favorite pastime, she could make an exception for magic books.

Martin and Lesedi glanced at each other. Lesedi shook her head. "I don't know. It's not really a place for playing around."

Casey frowned. She was almost sixteen, not six. In a couple months, she would officially be sixteen. "I live in the Sanctum in New York, I think I can handle not breaking anything here." The incident with the Blessed Vase of Janus wouldn't be coming up in conversation, and besides, she hadn't been playing with it. She had bumped into its base by accident, and well, Stephen had all the pieces in a box. Somewhere.

"Come on, Lesedi," Martin said, "It'll be fine. We'll just walk and talk, it's not like we're taking her to the relics room and letting her loose."

Ooo, a relics room...

"I suppose that will be all right."

Casey smiled and slid off the bench, grabbing one last piece of bread before looking at Martin expectantly. "Ready?"

"Can't we finish breakfast first?"

"I don't know when Stephen's going to finish talking to Wong, and he'll probably want to go home after that." He had said she could talk to Wong but was a school night, and he actually did try to make sure she went to bed by ten, which was ridiculous. She could stay up to at least midnight without it messing with her ability to do school work. Stephen was probably eating with Wong, right? Huh... She'd make sure he had something before they left, or they would have to stop by a deli or something when they got back to New York.

"I'd like to finish breakfast..." Martin said, giving his bowl of rice a longing look.

"You wanted to give this tour, so we are taking the girl on a tour." Lesedi reached over, grabbed Martin's bowl, and added it to the tray of dirty dishes at the end of their table. She stood up and nodded toward the doorway. "Let's go."

Martin and Lesedi led Casey down a few hallways, explaining some of the artifacts and art along the way. "And that painting always puts you in it when you pass by, and that helmet over there belonged to a 10th century Chinese warrior, and—"