Chapter Eleven

Amber walked by Morgan’s side, one eye on the girl next to her, the other on the sort of town around her.

The Academy might have been a school, but it was nothing like the schools she’d ever attended. It looks more like a really fancy college campus than a normal school.

“That’s the cafeteria,” Morgan said. She gestured to a building off to the side. It had stone walls with large windows over them. Inside were round tables and some of those stainless steel buffet-style things that kept food warm. Only a few of the tables were occupied. “The Academy is at a bit over half of its normal number right now. It’ll be busier when the second and third years come back, and when the new students arrive.”

Amber nodded. “You mentioned there only being a couple of hundred students, right?”

“Yeah,” Morgan said. “Half your classes are high-school equivalence stuff in your first year. Second and third year are basically collage equivalents.”

“In just two years?” Amber asked.

“You can get personalized teaching,” Morgan said. “You want to become an engineer? They’ll bring in a professor of engineering just for you. Private lessons a few days a week. So it’s basically at your pace, and being that all the students are magical, that pace is fast.”

“Damn,” Amber said. “So it’s, uh, like an Ivy League thing?”

Morgan hummed. “I think it’s a bit better than that, but I don’t know. I guess it depends on what you want to do with it.”

“What course were you planning to take?” Amber asked. It seemed like a safe enough topic. Boring, maybe, but safe. Morgan, for all that she appeared calm, felt a little bit... off. Not in a crazy way or anything, but more as if she was never too far from an outburst. It was strange when compared to her otherwise friendly but cold demeanor.

“There’s an officer’s course. It’s basically what you’d get if you tried to enroll to become an officer in the army, only the requirements are, well, nonexistent for us. I think I might take that.”

“You want to join the army?” Amber asked.

“My father’s a major. My grand-father was a lieutenant colonel before he passed away. When I was young I wanted to join up too, but I’m a girl so that part of my family wasn’t keen on the idea. Still, I wouldn’t mind continuing the tradition.”

“That sounds kind of nice,” Amber said. “I’m not sure I’m fit for that kind of thing. Um. Maybe I can take something simpler? I considered becoming a nurse or something. A caretaker, maybe?”

“Can your power heal?” Morgan asked.

“Yeah. But I’m not too sure about the, uh, mechanics of it.”

Morgan shrugged. “There’s a general magics elective. They have a few healing techniques that they teach. If you dig into that I’m sure you’d be set to take a nursing course next year. Or you could aim for a doctorate prep? A few more years post-Academy and you’d have your, um, I don’t actually know what the qualifications to be a medical doctor are.”

Amber chuckled. “Me neither. So, cafetaria, or gym?”

“Did you want to spar?” Morgan asked. She seemed a little bit excited at the idea.

“Not... really. Honestly, I don’t even know how to turn back into my costume thing yet,” Amber said. “Maybe some running though? Uh, I never did too much weight lifting, do you know how to spot?”

“Sure,” Morgan said.

Oh, good, she’s one of those types. Not that I should try to fit her into a box. I have the impression that doing that here would be a terrible idea.

Morgan paused before the cafeteria and opened the door for Amber. “Coming in? The grub’s really good.”

“Before gym?”

“You’ll need it. Trust me, you don’t say no to carbs as a magical girl.” Morgan let Amber past before stepping in herself. “It’s worse on Earth. You’ll be eating like a starving person to make up for every bit of lost magic if you don’t know how to control yourself.”

Amber sniffed at the air, and any protest melted away. There was meat grilling somewhere, and the stack of bread buns sitting on a platter to one side was so fresh it was still steaming. There was a fairly wide selection available, it really did remind her of a buffet.

“Oh no.”

Amber turned to her. “What is it?” she asked.

Morgan gestured to one side of the cafeteria where a machine was dropping a tray onto some metal coasters before a magical boy. “Do you have any in-school money?”

“I... have some change in my room,” Amber said.

“Agarthan money?” Morgan asked.

“Uh,” Amber said. “No? There’s Agarthan money?”

Morgan nodded. “It’s all crypto-currency. It’s kind of an agreed-on money between all the magicals. We use it for, well, anything you’d use money for. You can see your balance on your phone.”

“I haven’t unlocked it yet,” Amber said as she dug the bulky phone out of her skirt pockets.

Morgan tapped her chin. “You’re supposed to get a small allowance at the start of every month. More for doing odd jobs, and you get a set amount when you enroll. You should have some from that. I received my allotment a few days ago. Worse case when we’re done eating we can bother admin about it.”

“But I can’t pay now,” Amber said.

Morgan waved her off. “I’ll cover it,” she said, leaving no room for argument.

“I’ll return it later,” Amber said.

“It’s one meal, not a big deal,” Morgan said.

Amber followed her. The gesture was appreciated, but it did make her feel a little awkward. Morgan swiped her phone at the tray machine twice, then pushed one tray over to Amber. They started down the line, the one boy ahead of them near the end already.

Amber was a bit hesitant at first, but Morgan didn’t shy away from piling her plate full of everything in reach. Steamed veggies, mashed potatoes, ribs and steaks, the salad the taller girl made had more calories in it than most single meals Amber had ever eaten.

They moved over to one of the free tables, two trays laden down with a wild assortment of food. Amber had picked a tiny portion of everything to taste, and Morgan had chosen a lot of the more plain options, then drizzled some gravy over the whole thing.

“This is a disgusting amount of food,” Amber said as she started to dig in. And it tastes so good, too.

“Better than field rations,” Morgan said.

Amber hummed something that sounded agreeable as she tucked in. It was a whole lot better than the stuff they had at Camp Chett. The thought robbed some of her appetite.

She was a little surprised at how quickly she was going through the food. The meat was tender, the little pot pies went down easy and were still obviously fresh, the mashed stuff had just the right amount of salt in it.

“I feel like someone is losing out here,” Amber said.

“What do you mean?” Morgan asked.

“This food is way too good for cafetaria grub. Something’s got to be wrong.”

Morgan nodded sagely. “It’s a morale thing.”

“Morale?”

“Are you unfamiliar with the term?” Morgan asked. Amber shook her head. “Then just the application in this case. Magicals are their own breed of trouble as far as those in charge are concerned. It doesn’t take much to notice that we tend to be grumpier when we’re not treated well. Hence, great food.”

“So the food is to placate us?” Amber asked.

Morgan smiled. “Like giving a dog a treat.”

“I would be very insulted if the treat wasn’t so damned good. Is this fillet mignon?”

The food somehow all fit in her stomach, and she only felt a little bloated by the end. “Could use a nap?” Morgan asked.

“Are you sure about the whole exercising after lunch thing?” Amber asked.

“We can walk over to admin first,” Morgan said as she stood and picked up her tray. “It’ll help you digest.”

Amber picked up her own tray and placed it above Morgan’s, then they were off. The administration buildings were all to the north, way off on the other side of the castle. Amber frowned. “Does this place count as a castle?” she asked.

“It does,” Morgan said. “Before it was the Academy it was a fortress to protect from the nightmares. It’s big enough to house a few hundred people, with enough room to farm enough food for a decent number of them. There’s a sort of history class about it.”

“That’s interesting,” Amber said. She took more time inspecting the buildings as they moved past. They were older. Stone and mortar and copper roofs. They reminded her a little of early colonial homes. “Who lived here?” she asked.

“The Norumbegans,” Morgan said. “They’re still around. Mostly in the city proper. The Academy wasn’t used as much in the last few years, so it was turned into what it is today.”

They crossed the bridge over the gap in the middle of the castle, then continued on the other side, past the clinic and some stately buildings that were definitely not homes.

“Those are the lecture halls,” Morgan said. “Most of the actual classes are on this side.”

Amber nodded along. It was good to know, at least.

The end of the road led them to a small area with a park to one side and a stately old building on the other. It looked nearly mansion-like, with beautiful stonework and ivy crawling up the sides.

“This is the administration building?” Amber asked. It looked more like someone’s palace from one of those celebrity rags she sometimes indulged in.

“It is,” Morgan said. She started up the steps and Amber jogged after her. The entrance lobby was a large place, with a rug-covered floor and a pair of curved stairs leading up to the floor above on both sides. Opened doors at the back of the room hinted at some office space, mostly filled with filing cabinets and a few desks where normal looking office workers were plugging away at their stations.

Amber noticed that they weren’t the only students around. A girl with pink hair and white highlights was off to one side, digging through a backpack for something. She stood up suddenly and rushed over to what Amber assumed was a washroom.

“Hello,” Morgan said as she moved up to the front desk. If no one else was waiting...

“Yes?” the man behind the desk asked. “How may I help you?”

“This is Amber, she’s newly enrolled. We’ve unlocked her phone but I think because of the poor timing she doesn’t have any credits,” Morgan said. “It will be hard for her to purchase equipment or food.”

“Ah, that’s a problem,” the secretary said. “One moment, I just need to check your in-school account, then send a notice to accounting. This might take a little while. Do you want to sit while I work on it?”

Morgan shrugged and moved over to the sofas by the entrance.

Amber followed, but paused when the pink-haired girl came out of the washroom and sprinted past. She skipped up the steps two at a time, the secretary looking up at her with a frown.

“Uh,” Amber said. “Is that normal?”

“No,” he said. “Upstairs is mostly filing. No one ever rushes to that.”

Amber paused for a moment, then went to join Morgan. None of my business.

Something thumped in the washroom, and when Amber turned, it was just in time to see the door and walls around it stressing against something.

And then, quite suddenly, the building exploded.

***