Wendy was talking as we walked. I didn’t hear a single word of what she said. I was following Kalli on my map.

I suddenly stopped, “Um, Wendy. I just remembered something I forgot to do. Do you mind if I take a rain check on the lunch?”

The girl stopped suddenly, “Is everything okay?”

I replied, “Yeah. I’m fine. I just need to head back to the dorms.”

Wendy raised an eyebrow, “What could be so important on your first day?”

Was she interrogating me? I tried to think of an excuse. I decided to go with a story that was sort of true, “I promised Kalli that I’d meet her.”

Her eyes widened for a moment and she asked, “Are the two of you an item?”

I looked down at the floor, trying to come up with an answer. Kalli boomed in my head. Don’t you dare.

Kalli’s comment made me bite my tongue. Wendy watched me hop around in pain for a few seconds before saying, “Never mind. Go do what you need to. I’ll catch you later.”

She ran off before I could reply. With no further distractions, I followed my map back to the dorms.

I was unsure which of us started toward the dorms first. I assumed that Kalli was headed there and that I should join her, but she might have raced ahead so she could be there before me.

In either case, the boy she was walking with was nowhere to be seen when I arrived at her room. When I arrived, the redhead stood by her dorm with her arms folded across her chest. So, what did you want to tell me that was so important that you just had to say it in person?

I thought I saw a hint of a smile play across her face.

I don’t think I should show you here. We need to find a more open space that’s private.

Kalli rolled her eyes at me. You are planning to summon a 20-foot-tall tiger, aren’t you?

My only answer was an ear-to-ear grin. She sighed and took my hand and began to drag me back toward the elevators. I looked at her hand in shock and allowed myself to be led. Kalli was being uncharacteristically aggressive and I liked it.

When we made it to the hall with the elevator, Kalliphae led me in the opposite direction. I think there is some kind of room at the end of this hall.

A glance at my map confirmed what she was saying. There was a room at the dead-end ahead. We found a locked door barring our path once we made it to the end of the hall.

I was debating whether or not I should edit the lock when loud giggling caught our attention. Kalli and I both turned around in alarm only to catch two familiar girls creeping up behind us. Stefanie whispered conspiratorially, “Do you think they are going to do it?”

Wendy gasped, “They wouldn’t.”

Stefanie giggled uncontrollably, “It sure looks like they want to.”

Kalli barked at both of them, “What are the two of you talking about? I thought you two were my friends.”

Wendy planted her hands on her hips and asked, “You know…it. There has to be some reason that you snuck to find a secluded place. Usually, when a boy and a girl sneak off to be alone together, there’s some nooky involved.”

Kalliphae turned bright red, but she wasn’t about to give up the fight. She scowled at Wendy and said, “Melvin here is about to show me his new summoning skill.”

Wendy squealed and cried out, “I would personally love to see another demonstration of Melvin’s skills. He literally blew me away in wind magic class.”

I could tell that Kalli wasn’t very fond of Wendy at the moment. Stefanie chimed in, “I would also like to see a summon. What can you summon, Melvin?”

I was a bit nervous to show them before I had a chance to see what was actually about to come out.

I think it would have been safer if we told them we were here to make out.

Kalli turned her glare on me. Do you have a death wish?

I swallowed hard and turned my attention back to the lock, saying, “Do any of you have magic that can open a lock?”

My hopes of getting out of trouble were dashed when Wendy walked up to the lock and produced a key, “Any time you want to visit the makeout room, just ask someone in your dorm. There are a lot of copies of this key.”

You brought me to the makeout room.

Kalli fidgeted. I didn’t know it was used for that.

The door creaked open after Wendy unlocked it. Inside was dark but I could see that it was lined with crates. There was a wide-open area in the middle of the room. Stefanie proudly walked us over to a crate in the back of the room and pointed out a gap that led to a cramped little nook that someone had decided to line with dirty blankets.

The girl winked at me and explained, “This is where students come to make out and other things.”

My voice cracked, “Other things?”

The girls both giggled. Kalli glared at me. Boys.

“Alright, show us”, Stefanie demanded after we made our way back to the open part of the room.

I looked to Kalliphae for guidance.

Should I do it?

Kalli looked apprehensive. I don’t know. Do summoners usually summon big things like that? Will they find it odd?

I turned to Wendy. She was usually helpful. “What kinds of things do summoners usually summon?”

Wendy rubbed her chin and answered, “I’m not really sure. I’ve never paid much attention to a summoner before.”

I turned to Stefanie who just shrugged. I sighed and confirmed with Kalli.

I’m just going to do it. What’s the worst that can happen. I’m going to have to summon him in class in front of the teacher anyhow.

Kalliphae nodded her approval and I dropped to a knee and mentally willed the great white tiger to appear before me. I felt its draw on my mana almost immediately. I let the mana flow through me to my hands where I condensed it down into a ball the same way I had witnessed the other kids doing it.

The mana swirled in my hands, constantly siphoning more from me as it continued to coalesce. Several minutes later I was starting to think I had screwed up again when the mana siphon slowed down and a system message appeared.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO FORM A BOND WITH: BYAKKO, WHITE TIGER OF THE WEST? Y/N

I took a deep breath and mentally selected YES while wondering if Kalli had seen the popup in my head. She didn’t let on if she did. The ball of light dropped from my hand to the floor and started to rearrange itself.

By the amount of mana I pumped into the ball, I expected it to grow into the gargantuan tiger that I had seen when I was summoned. What I wound up summoning was barely a couple of feet tall. The light of my spell shone so bright that it filled the room and when it was gone, a shimmering white tiger stood on the ground looking up at me. The first thing I noticed was that Byakko was glowing. The dog that had been summoned in class had been completely normal.

Kalli reacted first. The redhead rushed up to Byakko and squealed, “He is so cute. Do you think I can pet him?”

Byakko sat on his haunches and replied in a high-pitched voice befitting his small size, “You dare to stroke the fur of a celestial?”

Kalliphae froze with her hand extended over the cub’s head and stammered, “I, um, I didn’t know. I’m sorry?”

The tiny tiger made a chuffing sound that was clearly meant to be a laugh, “I jest. I jest. Make sure you scratch behind my ears. It’s been centuries since I’ve had a good scritching.”

The girl looked like she was going to fall over for a moment before she knelt next to Byakko and dutifully rubbed behind his fuzzy white ears. I suddenly remembered that Wendy and Stefanie were in the room. I looked back to find them both standing near the door, slowly inching away.

I asked the girls, “Are the two of you okay?”

Wendy looked nervously at Byakko, “That thing you summoned spoke.”

I stared at the girl, “Yeah? So? Is that not normal?”

Stefanie shook her head, “I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Laughing nervously, I said, “He’s not going to eat you or anything. He’s safe. I have a bond with him.”

Wendy stopped backing up but she didn’t come back either. “Aren’t you in the beginning summoning class?”

Kalli rescued me when I couldn’t think of anything to say. “Just because he started in the novice class doesn’t mean he can’t test out of it when they see Byakko.”

The girl seemed to have won the tiger’s trust because Byakko had rolled over onto his back and was chuffing happily as she rubbed his belly.

Stefanie peeked out from behind Wendy and asked, “Why is he glowing anyways?”

I shrugged, “I don’t know. Byakko, why do you glow?”

The tiny tiger flipped over suddenly, causing Kalli to gasp, and sprang to his feet, “Is it not obvious? I am Byakko, White Tiger of the West. King of The Beasts. The Immortal Tiger. I glow for the same reason that I speak. I am a supernatural being that dwells in the heavens.”

Wendy raised her hand, “If I might ask, Mr. Byakko. How did Melvin here summon you?”

Byakko bounded over to the girls, causing them both to shriek and jump backward. He chuffed at them and replied, “He requested and I accepted. This is how a bond works. I can tell that neither of you are summoners.”

When he was satisfied that both girls were silent, Byakko returned to Kalli and nuzzled her leg, instructing her to pet him some more. Remembering the time, I suggested, “We should go grab some lunch real quick. Afternoon classes start soon.”

Byakko pranced about ahead of us as we made our way to the dorms. Stefanie leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Does he ever go away?”

While I shrugged, Byakko somehow heard the girl and replied, “Do you go away? I go away when I choose to. Or when my bond runs out of mana. However, while his mana pool may be small, it flows like a raging river. Unless I grow bored, you mortals are going to have to deal with it.”

All eyes were on us as we entered the girl’s common area. Wendy led us to a small window near the rows of tables and taught us how to order lunch. “Each day of the week we get three selections for our daily meals. On the weekends there is a special buffet that goes on all day long. Today’s choices are pizza, fish, and corn dogs.”

I bent over to look through the window into the kitchen. Old lunch ladies with netting in their hair stared back at me. I looked at Wendy and asked, “Aren’t those rather plain meals for a magic school?”

Stefanie laughed and answered for the aeromancer, “What did you expect in the commoner’s dorm?”

I raised an eyebrow, “You mean the rich kids have their own dorm?”

“More like their own estates”, Stefanie replied, rolling her eyes.

Wendy waved her off, adding, “Most of us don’t care about things like that. The bloodline children are mostly friendly…enough. Some of them may be a bit spoiled but you get used to them.”

Kalli stepped up to the window and flashed a smile at the lunch lady, “I’d like the pizza please.”

The tray she received included pizza, a cup of fruit, and a carton of milk. It reminded me of my old school. The only difference was that the pizza looked really good. It wasn’t that cardboard stuff that the school usually provided.

Just when I was about to order, Byakko leaped onto my shoulder and said, “Part of our bond requires you to feed me. I prefer raw meat.”

I leaned into the window that Kalliphae had just vacated and requested, “Do you have any raw meat back there?”

I was met by an old lady who leaned right back at me and announced, “No substitutions.”

I ordered a corn dog and held it up to the tiger who sniffed it and shook his head. Wendy laughed and said, “You will probably have to talk to the teachers here to see about feeding him. I doubt you’ll find anyone on campus who sells raw meat.”

Byakko helpfully suggested, “I can also eat your enemies if you wish. They make an excellent source of nutrition. Just point them out to me.”

The only person who came to mind was Tim, but he wasn’t an enemy anymore. When I realized everyone was staring at me, I quickly stammered, “No eating people, good or bad.”