The Magic Pawn Series: The Discovery (Volume 1)

Chapter 14: Getting to know Eric's dark side

The next day I started off in the gym. After a twenty-minutes warming up, the instructor found it amusing to have us run five more laps around the field that was quite large. Obviously, I only managed to do three. My fitness condition was lamer than ever. Whoever thought of the idea of putting two gym classes from 8 in the morning had a bad idea.

Lucky for me, the instructor, a very tough man and much too fat for his job, was most of the time busy reading some papers. So I managed to skip some of the activities without him seeing me.

After the super warm-up, Maggie went for volleyball and I for basketball. I was not too good at it, but I managed. Now however, I did not feel like doing anything, not to mention that my energy level was down to non-existent. After ten minutes, during which I basically did nothing except for walking on the field and passing the ball when it came my way, I dropped it altogether. I found my way out among the others and, before the instructor finished his reading, I left the gym. He had called the attendance list at the beginning of the class and, given how many we were, the chances of him figuring out that I had left were very slim.

Two classes of Self deduction followed afterwards. I thought I was going to go mad. Christine felt the same.

I was not myself. The fact that I felt so drowsy made me feel very peevish. And it was not because of the gym class. Truth be told, I had not been very active either. Moreover, I could not concentrate on anything; nothing important. I could only think of Eric. I had not seen him since the day before and I planned on avoiding him for as long as I could. He had called me several times, but of course I did not answer. Mystic had also called me to check how my first day in school had been. It was an odd conversation. She seemed nervous and she is never nervous. We did not talk that much. She was going to come see me the following day. She told me that I could always count on her for anything I needed. No matter the time of day. That was nice of her, but it's not like I was going to open up to a stranger.

I was sleepy and the only thing I wanted was to put my head on the desk and sleep. But Maggie always showed her intention to give answers in class so the professor had her eyes on us. She loved maths as much as I hated it. When the professor began explaining to us how to calculate the angle we want to choose for a spell, I instantly felt how I got a headache. Of all the theorems she explained to us, the only thing I understood was that any spell is done on a certain perimeter. So, depending on how large you want the area you're making the spell on to be – that's for more complex spells – you have to first calculate the theorems of life.

Christine and I skipped the following Self deduction class. I could not have stand listening to another theorem. I had heard enough for one day.

Finally, the well-deserved lunch break. When Maggie and I entered the cafeteria, Camille waved at us. She was glowing and the boy next to her was the only reason why she was in such a good mood. Christine was already there together with Beatrice, her roommate. We also met Arriana Gomez, a blonde with straight hair down to her shoulders, and Mayte Sanchez, a red-headed who had her hair very long and very straight. They were both much taller than I was. They were Christine's colleagues and they had been best friends since the fifth grade; two goofs who had come all the way from Mexico.

When Nate Pattinson, Ethan's friend, the one that Camille liked, came to our table, the two Mexican girls also began flirting with him, having eyes only for him. It was all about guapo this, guapo that. In Spanish it means beautiful. Truth be told, he was not at all bad looking. He had green eyes, dimples and a smile that widened every time he looked over at Maggie. She however, paid more attention to the tuna salad she was eating instead of to him. Unlike Christine who was eating chicken thighs with French fries, Maggie was always careful with what she ate. I had to make myself eat the Bulgarian salad I had taken. It was good but I had not had much of an appetite those days.