She walked out of my office as I stared at the door. I was still for a moment hearing the hidden meaning and threat in her words when my phone suddenly went off. It was a screenshot from Souxie where Maggie was texting their group chat about her parents and what they should do. Sighing, I swiped through my contacts before pressing the name as I waited for him to pick up.
“All Dogs Go to Heaven, this is Bellamy Adrias Holmes speaking.”
Rolling my eyes at the piss poor joke, I turned the volume down and spoke.
“What’s the latest on your mom? What’s happening? What are we doing?”
“Patience…patience…. I’m finalizing everything now. Apparently, they needed to confirm if the body was still buried in the backyard or not if it’s been removed given what my mother is.”
I looked at the phone, confused.
“Body?”
Souxie Lafayette
“Settle down class! Settle down! This is Mythic Lineages and Lost Bloodlines with yours truly…”
The professor began to scribble his name on the chalkboard as I glanced at Quan laying comfortably in my tote bag on the floor.
“Professor Langley! I’ve been a professor here at Drew Collins for thirty-five years.” He turned to face us with a pull on his tweed blazer. The class was stacked with rows of desks and chairs going up towards the back. I kept a center seat as the rest of the class began to file in. The chaotic nature of the class, and chatter surrounded me as I sat completely still, back straight, and poised as the professor locked eyes with me. There was a hint of familiarity. Probably from the rumors of me sleeping with the previous professor who shall not be named.
In another life we would have been together but clearly not this time.
“Settle down now! Have a seat everyone! Find your place!” Langley announced as he closed the door. Once everyone was settled, he was just about to start when the door opened again. I smiled when I saw Ayira look up, making sure she had the right door before peeking inside. She was a natural doll in the face and her hair laid like black shiny silk when she stepped in with her maroon pleated dress and heels. Her books were againsther chest when she looked around. Her satin blue scarf trailed behind her like a cape that draped over her head like a loose hood.
“You must be a new transfer to my class?” Langley said with annoyance as he motioned for her to sit. “Come in…you letting my good AC out. Come on.”
It just so happened to be two seats available at the front, so I gathered my things, ignoring Quan’s light hiss from moving him, and walked down as we sat beside one another.
“Alright…brief introduction about this class…we are here to discuss the idea of magic and elements…Can anybody tell me the difference between the two?”
Nobody raised their hand as he turned to the chalkboard to start writing.
“Magic requires a vessel…a body…a person…creature or object. It is the manipulation of elements, but you need to manipulate it for it to work, yes? Magic!” He preached as he continued to write. “Has consequences…action and reaction. Magic can be intentional and contrary to the popular belief; magic can be taught. Whether you have the tools for it is another matter, but magic can in fact be taught. Within this magic system,” drawing a circle, “you have lineages… You have bloodlines…some stronger than others…Shifters, werewolves, bears, lions, weretigers, foxes, the yotes! Shifting is the bending, the transformation and manipulation of the body! For example…”
He rolled his neck with his eyes looking up at the ceiling before his face slowly transformed into the face of a rodent. His teeth were sticking out, nose twitching and his ears twitchedevery which direction before he came back to his regular brown melanated face.
“A murine therianthrope, or a wererat!” He said as his nose twitched. “I am born of magic! Both my parents are the same as me, my family generations back have been living in the underbelly of society for years…just trying to get by. I am the first of my generation to get a degree but will not be the last!”
“That’s right,” a woman clapped as she gave him a dignified nod of her head.
“Magic has hundreds, if not thousands of different ways to show itself. The bloodlines you hear about in the Underground for example…the pack…largest wolf pack in the world…that is magic. You hear about folks mixing and getting with one another, creating a new bloodline, a new way to manipulate the body, manipulate the elements given…That is magic. The most famous family prides themselves on being the First Family of what?”
“Magic,” the class said at the same time as he began writing the word elements on the board.
“The First Family is the manipulation of the human form…whereas Gaia, who it is believed they descend from…would be considered what?”
“Elements,” a few said.
“Wrong. Gaia is neither elements nor magic.”
He continued to write on the board as his stomach slid against the chalk, picking up the white powder on his blazer.
“Elements existed before life itself…Before man, before species…Elements are neutral whereas magic will choose sides, switch sides depending on the outcome…Elements like air, water, moon, sun…earth…metal…Can anybody name any others?”
“Shadow, dark, light, time,” I said softly as he continued to write.
“Yes, yessss,” he encouraged. “Do you see the difference in this… elements will exist long after we are gone and evolve or not!” He shrugged with a half laugh. “They are the true founders of magic and without the elements…a young black boy living in the Bronx discovers he can bend metal with his hands…He is considered magic by way of manipulating the element. A young woman living in Mississippi discovers she turns into a cat during certain times of the year. She is shifter but it is dependent on time…hormonal moods, aura, energy…which can trace back to the moon or sun. The First Family is descended from the moon while the wolves react to it. Would you believe me if I told you, elements are said to have bloodlines as well?”
