Their Betrayals: A Change of Heart (aka SkullWitch Academy)

Annoying People

"Another exhausting day," I sighed as I got out of bed.

It was my last year of teaching at SkullWitch Academy and then I could retire. I had taught here ever since I had been offered the job at twenty-one. This year, I was going to be turning thirty-one. You see, I was called a prodigy among most students in school. I skipped middle school altogether because I was that smart. Well, in my opinion, everyone else were just idiots if they couldn't do simple magic. Oh right, I forgot to mention that the schools I attended taught magic.

Normally, kids in this world are born with magical abilities. seventy-five percent of the population has magic in their blood, so it's kind of a normality here. Everyone excels at different specialties of magic, though. For example, one kid may be talented at controlling fire or some other element, but another would be great at reading minds. These abilities are called Talents. Everyone has a unique Talent that gets passed down from generation to generation. For those who don't have Talents, most of them practice sorcery to fit in.

Unfortunately, as the times change, magic isn't really needed. With the increasing amount of technology, it's just not used as much as it used to be. The only school district that still teaches magic is the SkullWitch District. That's where I teach.

Being one of the few sorcerers left, I was offered to teach at SkullWitch Academy to get kids into magic again. The people who run the district assumed that someone like me could inspire them to bring magic's popularity back. When I told them that I didn't like working with kids, they offered to pay me well. That's the only reason I'm teaching.

I snapped my fingers and a new change of clothes appeared on me and my pajamas (basically an oversized black t-shirt and shorts) teleported to my dirty clothes hamper in the corner of the room. My shaggy hair could look brand new just by thinking of it, but it takes energy out of me when doing so. Instead, I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to make it look at least decent, and called it a day.

After I was done with getting ready, I stepped into my pink slippers, wrapped my scarf around my neck and walked out of my dorm (teachers and students both have dorms here because the school is located on a mountain range that would take two hours of driving to get there).

As I was heading down to my homeroom class, I yawned. I thought about teleporting myself to class, but then I'd probably fall asleep in front of my students again. That wouldn't be great. As I was thinking, I felt a tug on my sleeve from behind.

"Hey, Teach! I have something to ask you!"

I turned around to face the unknown student, "Hmm? What do you want, kid?"

She started, "I know this is weird and all, but could you tutor me? I've heard so much about you and I just need to know how you do what you do! I know you're a sorcerer, but I still want to learn!"

I continued walking to class as I processed the information she had given me, "Sorry, kid, I don't do private tutoring. Not my thing."

The student told me, "But I want to be like you! I mean, who wouldn't?"

I got to the door of my classroom, "So what you're telling me is that I'm somehow famous and that you're a fan? Look, kid, I honestly do not care. I don't need another job to do. If you really want someone inspiring to mentor you, go to the counselor for that. He'll probably take your offer. He'd be a better mentor anyways," I took out a key to unlock the door,"Besides, I have a class to teach right now. And you have a class to attend. I'm not going to give you a late pass because you're talking to me."

I unlocked the door and glanced back at the student. She looked like she was disappointed in my answer- as if she expected more from her idol. I shrugged it off and entered my classroom. As time went on, I saw more and more students fill up my classroom, taking their seats. Eventually, the bell rang and my students quieted down. I cleared my throat and they looked at me, waiting for me to say something.

I introduced myself to them and told them that this class would be their homeroom class. They would listen to the daily announcements and I'd take attendance. If anyone needed help on a certain subject or wanted to ask a question, you could do so in this class. That was the entire purpose of the homeroom in this school. Sometimes, though, I'd sub in for a teacher if they were sick or something. Even so, I told them that today would be picture day. A couple kids groaned at the notion of that. I saw at least two students wearing green so I assumed that they probably forgot about it. Anyways, we all lined up and headed to the gymnasium to take school photos.

As my students and I walked through the halls, I saw the three other homeroom teachers with their students heading towards the gym too. One of the homeroom teachers- Ms. Myra I think her name was- opened the door to the gymnasium and propped it open. Her class followed her in, and then the other classes followed. Mine was last and I told my students to get in line. As they wandered off into rows of kids, a familiar sight caught my eye. The student from before. The one who had been pestering me before class. I rolled my eyes and decided to take a nap while waiting for the kids to finish their photos. I closed my eyes, but I heard footsteps approaching me. I sighed, knowing that I wouldn't be getting a good rest.

"Heya Sorcey! I still can't believe that this is your last year here! I'm gonna miss you, y'know!"

I knew that voice anywhere. It was that loud shapeshifter teacher. Technically, I don't even know if she's female or not- she could've changed her vocal chords or something. Unfortunately for me, all she did was talk and talk the same old thing again and again. 'It's so sad that a handsome hunk like you isn't married yet. Do you want to go out? It's hard to look away from a pretty face like yours.' That kind of talk gets old quickly, so I just zone out. And when I've had enough of her blabbering, I normally end up dozing off. Even so, the sleep that I get when she talks to me is lousy because of her. I like peace and quiet, but no matter what I tell her, she keeps talking.

I open my eyes to see the shapeshifter still flirting with me. I let my eyes wander around the room and my eyes furrow when I notice the kid from before. She was a little bit aways from the kids in line- probably because she was waiting on their classmates to finish taking photos. I sigh, and make my way over to the student. The shapeshifter is too busy having her head in the clouds to notice me walking away from her. Thank goodness. I make my way over to the student and tap them on the shoulder.

"Hey, kid." I started.

She immediately turned around when she heard my voice, "Oh, Teach! Hello!"

"I thought about what you said earlier," I lied, "And I've decided that you have to prove yourself worthy of being my apprentice. Got that?"

Their eyes were full of light, "Understood! I'll make sure that I'm your best candidate!"

"Good," I said, "By the way, what's your name?"

"Huh? Oh my goodness! I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Iris!

"Well, Iris," I turned away, "Don't make me regret this."