Charms and Contradictions

Chapter 1

Somehow, my struggles that day managed to begin right as I woke up. Of course, that was probably due in part to me only getting 2 hours of sleep, but I was truly not expecting to completely fall over at my first attempt at standing up. My head hit the floor with a loud thunk.

"Carmen, you're going to be late!" my mother's voice rang from downstairs. I stood up again, successfully remaining upright this time, and quickly got dressed into black ripped skinny jeans and a black see through blouse. I wore a black lace bralette underneath. I grabbed my bag and my suitcase and carried it downstairs to the front door. "Good morning sweetie, would you like some food before you go?" asked the gracious figure of my mother while I got my shoes on.

"No, I'm okay," I said with a soft grin. She was wearing her favourite red dress and the necklace my father had made for her.

"Well alright then," she said softly, looking down at the floor. "I hope I'll see you soon."

"You too mom," I said. "I love you." I was out the door as the words left my mouth. She was always right - I was going to be late.

I rushed to my car and shoved my suitcase into my trunk. I threw my bag into the passenger's seat and flew out of the driveway, speeding the whole way. I listened to my favourite playlist, which I'd curated specifically to make me feel unstoppable whenever I listened to it.

Unfortunately the playlist was not long enough to last me an entire two day drive. Yes, the drive was two whole days. I made it through the first day and a half or so - yes with no sleep, yes I was fine, sleep is a luxury for people like me - when it ended I didn't want to restart it so I played probably the worst playlist choice I could have picked.

My vent playlist.

It got me fired up, but in the worst way. I'm sure if I hadn't have cast a charm on my car after the first time I'd gotten pulled over, every police car I passed would have immediately suspended my license, no questions asked.

"YOU MADE ME HATE THIS CITY!" I screamed the lyrics. God, rock covers were really my saviour.

Unfortunately, I screamed that just as I entered school property which was mostly noticable due to the massive forest that surrounded the school. My magic always went haywire when I listened to this playlist - yet another reason why it was a bad choice - and as the song ended with me screaming at the top of my lungs, my car abruptly stopped. As in, I was going about 100km/h and in about 10cm, my car had come to a complete stop. If it hadn't have happened from magical means, my neck definitely would have snapped.

"On campus for not even a second, and already using unsanctioned magic!" a voice bellowed from outside my car. A person whom I'm pretty sure was the headmaster was striding towards my car in a manner that was both graceful and intimidating. I turned my music off and rolled down my car window. It had sounded like he was right next to me. I hadn't read enough about the school - he must have been a witch.

"Sorry sir, I was just a little, um, excited," I said nervously. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Obviously. And please do not call me sir. Just Professor Foster will do," he said.

"Professor? I thought you were the headmaster," I said with a bit of relief. His eye twitched a bit.

"Well, unfortunately there is no gender neutral version of 'headmaster', so I just stick with Professor." The realization dawned on me as they were talking and my eyes widened and my jaw dropped a little.

"Oh my God. I am so sorry I didn't mean to assume-" they held up their hand for me to stop talking.

"It's alright," they relaxed a little, but I  could tell they were still a little irked.

"No, really. It's my bad. Please forgive me," I said, bowing my head a little.

"Thank you," they said softly. When I looked back up, they had a gentle twinkle in their eye. "Quite refreshing to meet a witch that's not so stuck up," they said with a wink. I looked down at my steering wheel. I'm sure they saw it as a little embarrassment, but I was actually yelling at myself in my head.

Idiot, no one acts like that these days. Especially not witches. Get it together!

"Uhm, am I in trouble for using magic?" I asked.

"No, you are not. But in the future, I'd try to avoid things that... rile you up too much, yes?" they said. I nodded.

"Just to be sure, what pronouns do you use?" I asked.

"Just they/them."

I nodded. "Okay," I said.

"You should probably get in there. You're already an hour late," they said.

I know.

"Oh! Also, you car will be confiscated when you get to the end. Students aren't allowed personal vehicles."

"WHAT!?" I yelled, but when I looked back outside, they had disappeared. Well damn. It took me a full minute of debating what to do. I was not going to let them take my car. I decided the best course of action was to hide my car somewhere in the forest and walk the rest of the way in hopes no one would find my car and I could keep using it.

My car was my happy place and I was not letting them take it away from me. It was the only car I'd ever owned and I was planning on dying with the red '78 Camaro. They could take it over my dead body.

I found a decent clearing and parked my car between two trees twisted into each other and a massive shrub. I pulled my suitcase out of my trunk and slung my bag over my shoulder. I locked my car, put my keys into my bag and started the trek down the road to the school.

15 minutes later I could finally see the building through the trees. I dropped my suitcase and rolled it the rest of the way on its wheels. It was only once I'd completely cleared the trees that I could actually see the whole building.

Holy Guacamole, this place was massive.

Yes, I am starting a new story, no, I don't think I'm going to finish it soon, but I've been on a relatively impressive writing grind for this one, so I am putting my belief into finishing this story for you all!

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