Magic Tricks

weirdo

Toby Edger is 11 years old. It's September 3rd and it's his first day at "big school". Toby is British, so the weather is lousy. He had gotten used to the stares, the fleeting looks, the "what a freak" glances. People, especially teenagers, get scared of what they don't understand.
"Do you have everything?" His mother is cooing over him, giving him one final kiss and checking his bedraggled hair is somewhat tidy.
"yes mum, can i leave for school now?" he says, somewhat irritably.
"You look so handsome," smiles his mother wistfully.
"thanks mum."
"Do you have your lunch?"
"yes"
"Your glasses?"
"i'm wearing my glasses, mum"
"Bandit?"
"mum, i don't need bandit. i'm not 6 anymore."
"But you loved that bunny!"
"yes, i know that. now let me please go to school, or i'll be late and get detention on my first day."
As if brought back to Earth with a thud, Toby's mother was shooing him out of the house.
"What are you waiting for, you will be late! And you don't want detention on your first day, do you?!"

Toby arrived at his form room just as the bell shrieked.
"Toby?" His form teacher was taking registration as the class filed into the room.
"yes"
"Edger?"
"yes"
"Fab, take a seat, Toby. I'm Miss Harrow, it's lovely to meet you!" Toby nodded and entered the classroom. It was cluttered with tables and chairs, as though haphazardly scattered by a blind man. The rest of the pupils were sat around the desks in groups. Toby assumed the boys would have no worse nightmare than sitting next to a girl. Toby didn't understand the problem. He sat next to a girl with a pixie cut. She looked cool.

"Good morning everyone!" Miss Harrow exclaimed, clearly pretending to be excited, "let's all get to know each other, shall we? Does anyone have any talents they would like to share?" No one raised their hand, "come on, class! Surely one of you must have something?" Toby found himself raising his hand.
"Fabulous! What's your name, sweetheart?"
You literally just asked me that thought Toby.
"toby."
"Lovely! What would you like to do for us, Toby?"
"magic." He withdrew a pack of cards from his slightly oversized blazer pocket. He pushed his glasses up his nose.
"Ha, he's Harry Potter!" sniggered a boy behind him. Toby stood up and walked to the front of the room, ushered by Miss Harrow.
"you can shuffle these." Toby said to the boy who had laughed. He passed him the cards. The boy looked flustered as he attempted to shuffle the cards.
"They're stuck together."
"pass them back." When he took back the cards. he started to shuffle the cards flawlessly. He looked the boy dead in the eyes.
"weakling."