My attention was piqued as he began to wipe out half the board with the eraser before writing the words Elemental Bloodlines and Legacies.
“What if I told you elements need one binding component to make magic possible? What is the very thing that connects the two?” He asked as he sat on the corner of his desk.
“Soul?” Someone asked.
“Close.”
“Spirit,” I said as he grinned with a nod before getting up to write.
“Spirit is the binding component that pulls elements and magic together. My spiritual students who feel, see, and hear things others cannot sense…They are in tune with another frequency that we call spirituality. Elemental students are able to manipulate and create magic in its physical form. Shifters are born with the two causing their bodies to react and change based on moods, emotions, and other serious health issues,” he added with a shake of his head. “The First Family is the onlymythic to use blood as magic, bend time, and even pause life but they are still magical beings…Gaia in her truest form without human attachments and stories is what we would call a spirit, the bridge between the two, element and magic. She channels earth otherwise known as mother earth or mother nature and thus uses the vessel of a human or animal to become magic. It’s believed to be rare, but it does in fact happen and can happen at any given time and possibly more than one at a time…”
Langley continued to write as everyone took notes or recorded the lesson.
“Many many many years ago…before life became a thing,” he quoted with his fingers. “You simply had elements. The sun, the moon…stars…light and dark…it’s believed that all of this combined created the first spirit…and with that…came those born of the elements…Please pull out your text books and turn to the first chapter that says Elemental Bloodlines…This week, we will be looking at the children of the earth and her relationship to the moon..”
I glanced down after hearing Quan hiss for my attention, and saw he held up the phone with a screwed expression. His little nails clenched at the side of the screen to hold the phone.
“Did it interrupt your goldfish game?” I asked as I reached down to grab the screen. The very first text from Namir read,
What is the name of your old roommate again?
Chapter Seven
Asha Avery
“Please have a seat Ms. Avery.”
The office looked orderly and neat with the oakwood desk in the center. A plush black rug that looked to be made of soft black feathers. It didn’t feel right walking on them with my shoes, but I wasn’t sure how long I’d be.
“Am I in trouble?” I asked.
The woman sitting behind the desk wore a maroon blouse with a dark curly set wig that had bangs. She was in the middle of eating a packed lunch when she quickly grabbed a napkin to cover her mouth.
“Not at all,” she let out with a shake of her head. Swallowing, she motioned for me to sit down once more. “Not at all. I know you have class soon, so I’ll be quick.”
This was the student affairs building where admissions, counseling, all things academic related took place here. The last time I was here, I was in another office begging to be released and allowed to go back home. Everything I know and love about New York has been pretty much done, and I haven’t looked back. I didn’t even have plans on visiting any time soon, especially now since I’m in a serious relationship.
I sat my things down on the floor, tucked my locs behind my ears, and I looked at the organized paperwork stacked on her desk. I could see my file labeled Taluwi and Legacy. Smiling, I wondered if she was going to tell me they were going to give me another chance at being a legacy.
“First off let me say, my name is Mrs. Maronie and I’m in charge of a newly developed department here at Drew Collins called OAC, Office of Academic Continuance. I am the last stop and the final call when students have not proven themselves–––”
“School barely just started,” I argued. “I haven’t missed a class or–––”
She held her hand up to silence me before taking her fork to dig back into her broccoli and rice meal.
“While the school year is just starting, this is more of a formal warning. Last year, due to the rare incidents at the school, a lot of students were written off as distracted or other. In your case, you played a part in a lot of things that happened including,” she raised her chin to look at the file. As soon as I saw the lab paperwork, I felt my skin crawl at the sight. “Well…I’m sure you don’t need to be reminded.”
“I haven’t missed any classes and so far, we haven’t done any work that requires a grade.”
“It’s not enough to just attend classes, Ms. Avery. Here at Drew Collins, education is currency in the Underground. You need to not only take it seriously, but you also need to take yourself seriously. What do you want to do once you graduate?”
My mouth fell open as I slumped back into the chair, unsure of how to answer that.
“What are your plans once you leave Drew Collins? Do you have a current interest?”
“I’m not sure of that yet.”
“Work study perhaps?”
