So I Tried to Write a Next Generation Story

Chapter 2: Torrin

"How can you be so terrible at alchemy? Your dad was one of my best students," Sir Calder complained.

"I'm not bad. I'm average. See, I've done all the research, my grades are almost exactly at the median," Torrin answered.

"If you put half as much effort into your classes as you did into your 'research,' you'd be the best student at Foxfire," Sir Calder complained.

Torrin shrugged. "My elixir is fine."

"Fine isn't good enough," Sir Calder said.

"Fine is fine," Torrin answered. "Also, there are only six minutes and forty seconds left in alchemy. So unless you want me to fling together a replacement in that long, you'll have to deal with average results."

Sir Calder groaned. Torrin was sure he'd given his alchemy Mentor a headache. If Jaye was taking this class session instead of Torrin, Sir Calder would probably be running around screaming. Jaye was good at alchemy, but he was also a obsessed prankster. His most recent elaborate prank had involved imps, a jar full of a human candy called jellybeans, and several tubes of toothpaste.

Torrin pulled a marble from his pocket and began bouncing it across the table. Marbles didn't bounce very well, but they did make an annoying clicking sound that drove Sir Calder crazy.

Sure enough, Sir Calder let him leave two and a half minutes early. It was only two and a half minutes, but it was minutes!

Torrin ran down the hallways toward the cafeteria. When Zoe, Callista, and Jaye finally got out of class, they'd meet up with him for lunch, but he still loved to be early. Unlike Zoe.

As soon as possible, he loaded his plate with as much food as he could, especially butterblasts. Butterblasts were the best!

Why does Callista look so angry? The other elf was stalking through the cafeteria with a terrifying expression. She sat down next to Torrin without even speaking, slapping her plate onto the table.

"You okay?" he asked.

"People are jerks," Callista muttered. "I'd fixed my locker from this morning, but guess what? Someone wrote 'go to Exile' on my locker! I bet it's the same elf. They better watch out."

"I would never want to make a Pyrokinetic angry," Torrin said. Fire was something that really freaked him out.

"Well, someone's making a living doing it," Callista snapped, smoke rising from her fingers.

"Do you want Prattles?" Torrin asked, trying to stay calm and not run as far away as he could before Callista set something on fire,

Callista stopped fuming long enough to peek at his plate. "They don't serve them in the cafeteria."

"They do when I'm around." Torrin snapped his fingers, conjuring a box of Prattles and passing it to Callista. What she didn't know was that he'd used his conjuring to put a particular pin in it.

Callista ate a few Prattles before opening the pin. "A banshee? I've been looking for one for ages." She looked really pretty when she smiled.

Torrin grinned. After months of practice, he'd managed to conjure the pin out and replace it with one of the pins Callista dreamed of having. He could have just given her the banshee pin from his collection, but this was more fun.