Orange covered every inch of my vision when my eyes snapped open. Sparkling rays of sunlight shone softly on my skin as I groggily sat up, rubbing at my eyes.

Strange, I thought as my mind chased away the last remnants of sleep. The orange isn’t going away.

I almost had a heart attack.

A panicked squeak flew out of my mouth, making Amber, who was already up and awake, turn to me with a concerned glance.

Right. I got kidnapped and rode a flying train to an alternate magical dimension.

“Sorry,” I said, awkwardly. “I forgot."

Amber laughed. “Oh yeah, you missed an announcement this morning. The assembly starts in about an hour or so. I was just about to rip you off the bed, you dead sleeper.”

I got dressed in record time, overly-excited for the new day, and pumped from a wonderful morning. Greeted by a friendly, respectful, energetic fellow human being in the morning… my life was the exact opposite from yesterday.

Dressed in fresh clothes and full from Amber’s legendary oatmeal, we easily found the room where the assembly was being held. (To be fair, it did take us seven different maps and an angry lobby lady to find it, but those are just technicalities.)

It was in a grand hall, just as majestic as every other room and building in the city. Velvety-colored curtains stretched up to the ceiling while shimmering fluorescent lights cast a waterfall of light on the grand oak wood stage. Soft, cushioned theater seats set in neat formations were occupied by many students. I found myself looking for Moxie, the small child I had met yesterday. I looked near to the center of the hall.

There she was, sitting quietly by herself, looking distantly towards the stage. More importantly, Gwen wasn’t with her. I pulled Amber over with me and plopped down, sinking into the softness of the leather seats. Her face lit up as soon as she spotted me in the crowd.

Before I could open my mouth to greet her, the crowd suddenly fell dead silent. The lights dimmed, and a few spotlights focused on the stage.

A woman swept onto the stage with a child shadowing her steps. Midnight-black hair shaded her sharp features and hung cropped at her neck. Piercing, purple eyes surveyed the crowd.

“Hello.” She said in a mundane but sharp greeting. Although her voice showed no emotion, it echoed strongly across the room. “I am Principal Sagewing. This is my daughter, Minh.”

The girl behind her made an arrogant flick that almost looked bored.

I gave her a sideways look as I realized how strange she appeared. She looked a lot like her mother, but her features were less defined on her slightly rounder face. A flick of green light leaked from her hand as she swept it behind her back. Her purple eyes were a lighter version of her mother’s, and her hair was a raven black.

I don’t really know what the feeling is, but I could sense the powerful aura that radiated from the both of them. I guess everyone else could feel it too as a general sense of discomfort and obedience made everyone shuffle uncomfortably in their seats.

“Hi,” she said flatly.

The mic in front of her rang loudly, making a few of the students wince. She stepped a bit away from the mic, eyebrows drawn upwards with annoyance. She gave an obviously faked, tight smile.

“I will leave all the welcoming to Gwen Lars, your wonderful student body president.” Minh didn’t bother with hiding her scorn, and tossing a handful of sarcastic green glitter and a mildly disgusted glance at Gwen.

Next to me, Moxie made a small gagging noise and we both giggled. Amber shushed us from the other seat.

“Hello, everyone! I am Gwen Lars, your student body president!” Gwen announced with a confetti-bomb of her own. Obnoxiously turquoise glitter flooded the stage.

Most people gave a few half-hearted claps, except a few girls that I guessed were her friends cheering their heads off. Tough crowd. I guess she was less popular than I originally believed.

“Newcomers, welcome. Some of you may be confused, but I shall explain.” Gwen paused and cleared her throat.

Her eyes shifted right to me. The glance turned into a stare. Then into a glare. She quickly wiped the scowl off her face as she realized she was on stage.

Gwen whirled back to the crowd, dusting herself off and tearing her face into a smile. “A long time ago, as most of you may know, there was something called the Salem Witch Trials. These were held to prosecute people accused of practicing witchcraft. People have been prosecuting supposed witches for hundreds of years before this. Unfortunately, the majority killed were innocent people. Yes, majority, because not all of them were “innocent.”

A few whaaats and woahhhs rose through the crowd. Others just rolled their eyes. I sat up a little straighter in my seat, figuring that as much as I disliked Gwen, she would at least provide a quick briefing on how magic worked.

“Well,” Gwen continued, ignoring the gasps and the eyerolls. “Powerful beings of magic live among ordinary, bland humans. In every culture, every country, every continent on the earth there are witches and magicians who live amongst the normal. The ones who died weren’t very smart. The truly powerful witches survived and passed on their legacies. Today, each witch has an incredible power, like mine. Mine is to summon any creature I want.” Gwen said, obviously pleased with herself.

“It’s hardly incredible,” Moxie whispered to me.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Anyone could do it if you yell loud enough.” We giggled again.

Gwen didn’t stop at the sighs that hung over the auditorium. “When one witch dies, the next born witch, even if not related to the deceased witch, adopts their power.” She paused, waiting for a reaction that obviously didn’t happen. Becoming frustrated with the lack of enthusiasm, she continued.

“In addition to their unique ability, every witch can do many other things that normal, boring people cannot do.”

“Wow, harsh,” I commented. “Poor normies.”

“Yeah,” Moxie repeated. “Dumb, right?”

Gwen continued on with a direct stare at me. “Examples of these abilities include creating and utilizing potions, make things appear out of thin air with a few words, and a lot of what would be considered a ‘supernatural occurrence’ by most.”

Moxie noticed Gwen’s glare in our direction. She stuck out her tongue.

“Back to the witch trials.” Gwen rolled her eyes and her speech became clearly less enthusiastic. “After it ended, the Immortal Council of Witches, the only witches that have eternal life, decided that their descendants needed to be trained to use and hide their magic more wisely. They could not stand to let the beautiful, talented magic workers be killed again by living amongst the ignorant, savage humans. Henceforth, Glowing Dragon Academy, or GDA.

“Each of you will be trained through the ways of a witch. If you have not discovered your powers yet, you will discover it soon. Glowing Dragon Academy will pull your own magical essence out. You should discover your powers by next week.”

That sounded uncomfortable, as if they were going to yank it out of my ear or something.

“We at GDA also understand that you could be new here and not know what is going on right now. You were signed up at a young age and your parents might be dead. It’s unfortunately common for witches, but that’s just the price of being one. Now, Parker Boarding School is merely a code name we use. Usually we plant ideas into your caretaker’s mind that gets them to send you to this boring boarding school. Don’t worry, your guardians still think you’re going there. And if you’re nervous, remember this: it’s safer here than out there.”

I sank a little further into my seat. GDA has been exciting so far, but my entire future has suddenly become uncertain. I shouldn’t be dwelling on that, right? The best thing I can do is to embrace what was happening, and hope this all isn’t a dream…? Right?

Sure, I have no clue what the future holds, but I can finally control what it will hold. Teresa is no longer a part of my life. It’s time to stand up and live the way I want to.

A wave in front of my face from Amber snapped me out of my thoughts and I blinked twice.

“Hey, you’re drifting off. Gwen’s still talking,” she whispered.

Gwen’s voice rang out again. “Now step in line to get this year’s spellbooks.”

Principal Sagewing stepped in. “Thank you, Gwen. For the Ted-Talk. Now, please head to the glowing orb.”

Gwen spun to face her and murmured something at Principal Sagewing. She merely sighed and walked off stage, with Gwen trailing behind.

The crowd moved out of the hall, and I let myself get swept away with them. Brianna was there again, directing people into separate lines.

Moxie, Amber, Max, Max’s roommate, and I all stepped in one line. We each received a little leather book. The cover read, Elementary Book of Spells. Small clear stones dotted the letters lined with gold.

I shook my head, wondering how I could ever be allowed in this school, with everything seeming so expensive.

However, that was not what everyone was gaping at.

The line snaked towards a glowing orb. A student placed his hands on the orb, and his whole body suddenly glowed with a series of moving colors. The orb then matched its own hue to that of the student. Then the orb dropped something into the student’s hands. Same with the next.

Swords.

I felt excitement and confusion running through my veins. A weapon? Being a witch just got seven hundred billion times cooler.

Max smirked at me and Amber. “Pretty cool, right? They’re gonna just hand us a sword that our ancestors used.”

“But we’re all children!” Amber replied, crossing her arms. “I don’t think this is entirely safe. Also, what do you mean ancestors? Aren’t they...”

Amber’s voice faded into background noise. I couldn’t wait a second longer. Anticipation was threatening to swallow any shred of common sense I had. I barely listened to Max and Amber’s conversation.

“They’re gonna teach us how to use it,” Max assured her.

“Why swords?” Amber asked, looking ahead at the orb again.

“Glowing Dragon Academy is well-known for its unparalleled swordsmanship. Other schools exist, and they specialize in other weapons… but their locations are unknown due to safety reasons.”

I nodded and drifted off once more as Max continued his lecture.

When I finally stood in front of the vibrant orb, hesitation pricked at the edges of my excitement. I gingerly placed my hands on it.

Floosh.

Colors flooded my vision. Although I’ve never truly experienced a supernatural force before, I could tell this was pure magic. Unfamiliar strength streamed through my limbs and into my head. I flexed my fingers and felt the world’s energy bending to my will.

For a second, I could take on the universe.

Then, it was all gone as soon as it came. The emptiness that suddenly hit me was overwhelming. It clawed at me from the inside, begging for that strength, that certainty, that confidence to flow back.

My hands shivered uncontrollably as I opened my eyes. The power was gone, sucked away from my body, but something else was in my hands.

A...sword!

It was a decent weight as well. I could swing it easily through the air. The glowing silver hilt read:

MOONSHINE

A smile crept onto my face.

Amber’s sword read Whirlwind’s Wrath, and Max’s read Throat Slicer.

Dang, such cool titles. I thought as I glanced down.

I gave them both a smirk before I ran my hands up and down the sword. It had a hilt that was comfortable to grip, and it had the carvings of a crescent moon on each side. The carvings glittered with diamonds, and the blade itself was a silvery-white.

It felt like it was a part of me. It felt like it was alive. I only took one look at this sword, but I knew, with no doubt, that this sword was meant for me. This blade was an extension of myself.

I guess the name doesn’t matter.

“Insane,” Max said, awe-struck. His sword looked almost normal, except for the deadly spikes running up and down the sides.

Amber was speechless. Her sword was a glowing bronze color, with a stylish carving of a silver gush of wind crawling up the blade.

Moxie was apparently “too small” to have a sword. The orb glowed as if it was telling her: wait for it, your chances will come.

“It’s okay,” Moxie said with cheerfulness. “I’ll just shoot fireballs from my hand!”

“Uhh, pardon?” I whirled around. “What do you mean by-”

A huge grin spread across her face as she lifted her hand. A heated glow came from her palms, and with that, a blazing white fireball bursted across the room. It shot into an open window and kept flying into the outdoors.

“WHAT-” I gasped, almost dropping my sword.

Moxie already knew her power, and precisely how to wield it. Her tiny ball of flame emanated vigor and control.

Everyone around us was admiring their new gear, and when Moxie’s fireball sailed over their heads, half of them flopped to the ground.

“Alright everybody!” Principal Sagewing yelled, and looked directly at Moxie.

I felt her shrink next to me.

“Since some of you are already eager to begin,” she said, still staring at Moxie. “To the training island! Let’s see some brawling!”