Down from the hall in the classroom, a teacher with curly gray hair wrapped in a bun; wearing a black and white dress with laces had already started the roll call for the class.

The lady picked up some sheets of papers and read them out loud. “Sebastian...”

“Present.” A blonde-haired boy raised his hand and spoke eloquently.

“Bridget...”

“Here, Miss.” A girl with shoulder-length, light brown wavy hair slowly raised her hand and replied.

“Lauren...”

“Here, I guess.” Another girl, having long mahogany hair and matching sunglasses, raised her hand and muttered without looking at the teacher in an almost non-caring matter.

“...And last but not least, Benjamin” Silence followed shortly after. The teacher glanced in the student's chair and noticed that it was unoccupied.

Now, where could he be?

Before she had time to ask the classmates, the doors to the room swung open, and everyone’s attention turned toward the guy that entered the classroom.

“The dark magician and future ruler of the Earth has arrived! You may now tremble in fear by my presence everyone.” Benjamin announced loudly as he abruptly opened the classroom door.

He stood right beside the doorway for a moment to let the effect of his arrival sink in with his classmates. A collective moan of disapproval and quiet laughter came from the students, while the teacher stayed unfazed by her theatric student.

“Ah, there you are. Hurry and take your seat; we’re about to start class now.”

“Will do, ma’am,” Benjamin replied with a bow and grin.

He headed toward his seat near the corner of the class. Even on the first day, he could easily recognize all of his classmates.

She must be so jealous of my talent that she doesn’t want to admit it yet. I’ll pass the class in no time. Benjamin thought to himself.

He couldn’t help but smile at the thought, knowing that he stood out from the rest of them by the flashing purple cape along with his magician-like appearance. What’s not to like?

The teacher introduced herself as Ms. Glenda before beginning her class.

“Now, you probably already know this, but for those who don’t know, you four are the only ones who are ahead of class so far.” She motioned toward Benjamin and his fellow seatmates. “You’ve all taken your beginner courses, exams, and tests and seem to know quite a lot, which is why moving on to the next phase. Mastering your weapon of either peace or destruction.”

As the word “weapon” hung in his ears, Benjamin carefully watched as Glenda reached into her dress pocket. She pulled out a small remote-looking device and aimed it straight at her desk. In an instant, a giant translucent hologram of the planet Earth appeared, hovering above her desk.

All the kids in the classroom were amazed and sighed a collective “oooh” at its massive appearance. The teacher continued to discuss how important it was to learn about the Earth to either help or conquer it.

Benjamin liked the sound of the latter, to be in charge of the entire Earth and other planets, and have all the inhabitants bow to his every wish. What a fantastic way to live. He hung onto every word, scratched the short brown hair on the back of his head as he wrote as much as possible for later review.

He had to learn all he could about this place, and that grown-up was the way to do it. As Glenda continued to speak about weapons and how to use them, Benjamin couldn’t help but smile.

Now we're talking.

As she carefully handed out the weapons and spheres to each of the kids, Benjamin looked on, eagerly awaiting whatever tool of mass destruction awaited him. Whether it could destroy cities, bring down mountains, control minds, or best of all – do all the above and more! His hand coated in sweat from the anticipation.

The Earth hologram then gave way to a large-scale demonstration, which covered the entire back wall in the classroom. Several older students used their weapons and spheres to show how to attack, heal, and defend.

One student had set himself on fire but didn’t get consumed by the flames. Another created a brick shield to defend against a student’s sword attack. Lastly, a third student healed the wounds of an unfortunate onlooker that got too close to the action. Benjamin got so engrossed in the presentation that he genuinely thought he had forgotten to breathe.

Ms. Glenda mentioned to the class that attacking yourself or others was not allowed for their current stage of training. Everyone else in the classroom acknowledged the instruction, everyone except Lauren, that is.

“So, does attacking on accident count?” Lauren asked sarcastically.

Glenda stared down at her from the rim of her glasses, glaring at her outspoken student.

“Yes,” She replied curtly.

“Can mayonnaise be a vital weapon?” Lauren chimed in.

The teacher calmly ignored the sarcasm and answered with a stern “No.”

Lauren continued without missing a beat. “How about horseradish?”

Glenda’s patience waned. “No,” She repeated, this time, more forcefully. She groaned out loud and rolled her eyes at the thought of having to deal with this kind of ignorance for the rest of the year. Hopefully, the Principal will see her in real favor for all that she is sacrificing for their cause. “Ok, moving on.”

She walked over to her desk beside the chalkboard, unlocked, and opened the bottom drawer. The drawer creaked as it pulled open, almost as if complaining about its service after so many years. She took out a large glowing spherical ball of glass.

Everyone gasped, amazed, except for Lauren, who continued to appear disinterested in the whole affair. It became hard to tell if she was even awake as her eyes hid behind a pair of dark sunglasses.

“This is a crystal sphere;” Glenda explained, “the one you will receive will differ depending on what supernatural being you are and what type of class you choose...”

However, as she discussed how to use the sphere along with a weapon, Lauren sat up a little straighter in her chair. Now she grew interested in the subject matter. Benjamin grew annoyed at her fickle behavior.

She was not going to be a better student or a stronger magician than him. He was the destined one to conquer the Earth, not her. He quietly contemplated what he would be willing to do, as well as what could be necessary should she get in his way.