Chatoyant College Book 8: From the Earth

Chapter 1: Practice

Wednesday, November 5

Corrie got up that morning feeling both excited and nervous. She was excited because she knew she could do the magic they'd be practicing in class. She'd already done it on Monday. On the other hand, she was nervous because she had no idea if she'd be able to control it. She didn't really know what she'd done on Monday that had made the candle flame up like that, so she didn't know how she'd do it differently.

She confessed her worries to her friends over breakfast. Roe gave her a confident grin. "Don't worry. I'm absolutely positive that you'll figure it out."

"You are?" Corrie asked, slightly confused. Then her eyes widened as she understood—or hoped she did. "You had a vision about it? Tell us!"

Roe shook her head, still grinning. "I'll tell you later."

"Oh come on, I want to hear what's going to happen," said Edie. "I'm not going to see it."

"You'll hear it from Corrie," said Roe. "Come on, we have to get to class."

Corrie glanced at the clock, saw Roe was right, and hurriedly gulped down the last of her milk. Then she, Roe, and Dawn waved to their other friends and raced outside through the frosty air, not wanting to be a moment late for their second ever class in the practical use of magic.

They were the last ones there. Nobody else wanted to be late, either. Professor Lal had mentioned at the beginning of the year that it was possible some people wouldn't be able to do magic, but Corrie was glad that hadn't turned out to be the case. She would have felt bad, and guilty, especially since her own magic seemed to be so strong. That would have been too many emotions to deal with at once.

Professor Lal entered the room just as the clock ticked over to tell them it was time for class. She barely raised her eyebrows at the unaccustomed sight of the entire class sitting in their seats, facing forward, with nothing in their hands (they had been told to bring nothing to class), and not even talking—a hush had fallen as soon as the professor appeared. She was holding two very large tote bags, which she set down on her desk. She looked around the room for a bit before finally speaking. "Brian, would you pass out the buckets? Everyone but Corrie gets one."

Corrie turned in her seat—along with most of the rest of the class—to see Brian stand up and reach for a pile of buckets that were in the back of the classroom, leaning against the back wall. Corrie hadn't noticed them when she'd come in. Brian picked up several buckets and handed them to one of the people sitting at the back of the room, to be passed down the aisle. At the same time, Professor Lal started walking up and down the rows with one of her tote bags, taking out pieces of what appeared to be logs and tree branches and putting one down on each desk. Except, of course, for Corrie's.

When everyone had some wood, the professor returned to the front of the class and explained. "Since you all managed to light your candles in the last class, this class will be spent working on larger fires. The buckets are metal and further treated to be flame resistant. Each of you will place your wood inside the bucket, so as to avoid any danger, and attempt to light it on fire. The ultimate objective is an even, steady burn with noticeable release of both light and heat. Do not worry if you consume your wood too quickly or have any other problem with your wood; I have plenty more." She patted the second, untouched tote bag, which Corrie now recognized from the lumps in the fabric must also be filled with wood.

Noise returned to the classroom as people stood up and did as they were told, putting their firewood in their buckets. "Professor Lal, I can't get this to fit very well," complained one student.

"That's all right," she said calmly. "Not all of the wood is of a convenient size. The flames shouldn't spread, though; go ahead and reach for the magic. I will be walking around the classroom while you work, so I should be able to catch any problems quickly."

Corrie was sitting quietly at her desk, the only one with nothing to do, trying to keep the nerves from taking over. Finally, as the classroom quieted again, with everyone focusing on their task, Professor Lal opened a drawer and then walked up to Corrie's desk.

In her hand was a plastic bag full of tea lights. There had to be fifty in there. Corrie grinned and stood up. "I guess you're not confident in my control."

"I'm sure you'll manage it," said the professor lightly. "But it's always good to have plenty of practice."