Saturday had come quickly, and at 12:49 Kael boarded his bus, destination Tralin-Station. Sitting in the back of the long vehicle, he looked around, giddy and terrified of what would happen in just a few minutes. Public transportation, a luxury he only rarely used, always had a calming effect on Kael.

The clean and moderately comfortable interior invited him to relax and take a breather from the hectic world outside. There was nothing else to do aside from waiting for the bus to arrive at his destination. No matter who you are or what the circumstances may be, everyone has to wait.

The drive only took around twenty minutes, and there were plenty of spaces to sit. People going about their lives entered and exited. All the while, Kael sat and watched, wondering for a second if any of them might be mages.

As they had reached Tralin-Station, the bus was almost filled to capacity with people waiting to reach their destination. Their destination, it turned out to, was the same as Kaels. Thankful for not having to squeeze himself through a mass of people to leave the bus, he waited for his turn to exit. Once outside, he followed the stream of people leaving the terminal for the central building of Tralin-Station.

Built some fifty years back, the station was one of the oldest, still in use, stations in the city. Once intended as a central hub for transportation, Tralin-Station had lost most of its importance when the city center slowly shifted. In its relentless growth, the capital city had changed over the years. New districts were being added, and new locations for shops opened up. All that is to say that with time, what people called the city center had changed. In addition, a combination of renovated bike paths and rental services in the city center had reduced public transportation use overall.

Despite the reported lower number of passengers, Kael felt overwhelmed when he left the bus terminal and entered the central hall. The hall was a big, four-story building. Surrounding the open center were myriad stores, everything from coffee shops to chain stores offering their wares and services to the busy travelers. Three entrances, appropriately named after their destination, allowed people from all around the district to access the many bus, tram, and subway lines. The crown jewel, however, was the roof of the building. A humongous glass dome flooded the entire hall with daylight.

Orienting himself, Kael stepped to the side, trying not to be swept away by the ever-flowing stream of passengers. He was supposed to meet Marin at the west entrance, which, he hoped, would be to the west of the station. Exit names did not always make sense. That was why he had boarded an earlier bus, leaving him enough time to find his way. Walking towards the exit called "Western Plaza" Kael got lucky. It turned out to be the correct one. Following the directions printed on the walls, he soon exited the station through two big double doors.

Outside of the almost historic halls, office buildings left and right, stretched into the sky. Their modern and entirely uninspired, "all glass, all steel, all the time", design a plague upon the modern city. Looking left and right, he could not spot his friend. Since he expected Martin to wear something other than his school uniform, Kael had little information to go by. If only Martin would dye his hair red or something, Kael thought as he cursed his friend for his unremarkable appearance. With the clock on his phone showing it was still ten minutes till their allotted time, he leaned against a wall and waited.

Time flew, and with most of his attention focused on observing the passing men and women in suits, he did not notice Martin's approach. That was until he felt something nudge his shoulder. "Hey there, don't mind me and continue whatever it was you were doing.“ Slightly startled, Kael turned to look at his friend. "Heyo, haha sorry, just, a lot has been happening over the last few days. How are you doing?“ While he was talking, he quickly scanned Martin from head to toe. Gone were the burgundy and black formal shirt and tie. In their place, Martin wore just some jeans and a t-shirt that said Sounds of Silence below an old photo of two guys with guitars on it.

The contrast in style was glaring, and it took Kael a moment to compute the change. Martin must not have noticed, since he was looking at his phone and, after checking something, said: "So, the next train leaves in 9 minutes from platform 4. If we hurry a little we can still make it. You ready?“ With a nod of his head, Kael pushed off the wall and walked towards the station. "You know the way there?“

Walking side by side, they entered the busy hub dub of the station. "Yea, its a subway line so we have to head down and then keep left. Its on the second level down.“ Maneuvering through the mass of people, they made their way towards terminal 4. The subway lines seemed to be less popular at this time since they could walk normally after taking the stairs down. Following the directions printed on the walls, they soon arrived at the terminal with a few minutes to spare.

"So, you want to let me in on the surprise now?“ Standing on the platform that was apparently used by lines 22 and 37, Kael turned to his friend once again. "Haha nope! You will have to wait until we are there.“ Martin only received grumbling as a reply, making him chuckle. That, in turn, made Kael grumble even louder. Boarding the train when it arrived, they soon sat next to each other in the artificial light of the metal tube. Tuning out the commercial, playing on the screens intended for passenger information, they talked for a while about this and that.

Martin told him about the ugly breakup between the belle of year one and her third-year boyfriend, which had been the hot topic for the past week. Apparently, magic did not stop young romance from doing what it does best: Explode. With all the theatrics involved, Kael began doubting that the institution Martin was visiting was actually a school. It sounded much more like what would happen in a sitcom. From what Martin had said over the weeks they knew each other, the school was home to some... Interesting characters.