As Glenda explained how the sphere was something no one should take lightly, Lauren lost all hope of patience. She wanted the teacher to get to the important stuff and stop wasting her time. Lauren already hated school and didn’t want to spend time on trivial things. She wanted to learn the basics so she could move on to more important things. She had a plan and didn’t want to divert from it.

Benjamin found Lauren’s intrusion into the presentation annoying. Glenda moved on with the demonstration, much to Benjamin’s delight and relief. With a wand in one hand and a crystal sphere in the other, she joined them with a sleight of hand that left everyone dazed and confused as to how she had done that. Benjamin wished that he recorded the moment so that he could watch it and analyze it in slow motion.

He was about to raise his hand and request repeated demonstration so that he could get a better understanding of what happened when the teacher swirled the tool over her head. It made a whooshing sound that grew louder and louder, like an oncoming hurricane.

Books, papers, and other school supplies flew around the room, causing posters everywhere to get torn from the walls forcefully. A strange glow manifested around the teacher and twisted into a maniacal deformation of her original gentle smile.

It felt as the air expanded and forced the classroom walls outward. For a split second, Benjamin contemplated running from the room for fear of his life, but his pride stopped him from appearing cowardly in front of everyone else. Ironically, the other students were struggling with the same thing.

When the energy surge became almost unbearable, Glenda threw the device down against the floor with a loud and resonated “boom.” Items on her desk fell to the ground as it shook the very building under their feet.

Benjamin was speechless. He thought for a split second that maybe he would have to change his underpants, but fortunately, nothing was out of place. That was a close one. This sphere was just what he needed to realize his plans for domination. Ready to receive his weapon of power, Benjamin quickly got out of his chair the moment Glenda asked them to form a line. But Lauren beat him to it.

Lauren accepted her weapon and sphere and looked at the teacher with a mischievous smirk on her face. The teacher dismissed her with a look that declared a stable “no.” She didn’t have the energy, patience, or time to deal with any more of Lauren’s shenanigans. Benjamin was next in line. He grasped his wand and sphere in both hands and waited for the surge of energy to consume his body.

He closed his eyes and focused on the image in his mind. He imagined himself atop a mountain, raining down fear and misery to all that would oppose him. After a few minutes of nothing, he opened his eyes and realized that everyone was staring at him. Embarrassed by the whole event, he quietly approached the teacher to ask how the two were supposed to interact and create the spectacle that she demonstrated.

“Hey, uh, how do I merge and make them more powerful?”

“Well, that’s part of the assignment,” Ms. Glenda replied.

“Really? It is?” Benjamin couldn’t believe his ears. Much to his shock and dismay, he soon discovered that this was a part of his assignment.

“There are a ton of different ways to do it depending on you and your weapon,” The teacher continued. “You just need to discover it.”

“But—”

“You have a week. Good luck.” She dismissed.

Benjamin sighed. Well, this task was going to be a lot harder than he thought.