The Cursed Legacy #1: Ellie Jordan and the Cursed Gem

5. The One With All the Drama

Ellie was sure she would pass her scholarship exam.

After all, she had slogged hard for it and had not left even one question unanswered. However, her sister had differing thoughts, ones she did not wish to share with her for the fear of disappointing her. Olivia knew all about the process that was involved in the school's evaluation; it was ten times as strict for a scholarship. She secretly had no hopes of Ellie ever passing the examination, but for her sake, prayed she would.

On the day the results were to come out - a week after the exam was held - Ellie was very excited; she showed this by singing loudly as she did her daily chores in the morning. Olivia could not help smiling, although she did pretend to roll her eyes at her sister's exhilaration. She just hoped it was all for the better and that Ellie would make it to St. Phillips's, which was the best school for young mages to learn Magic. In fact, three years of attending it was necessary, even if the mage was not really interested in going for a full-fledged course. Those who were, completed all six years and then, joined a guild in order to unleash what they had learnt onto the outside world, in order to gain more experience in their abilities.

There were other good Magic schools, too, but Olivia liked to think that St. Phillips's Academy of Magic was the best of them all. Naturally.

After Lunch, Aunt Lilian went up to take a nap, while her nieces lounged in the living-room. It was a very hot May afternoon and they were very near to dozing off, too, if not for the never-ending blare of the radio that was sitting on top of the fireplace. The girls so badly wanted to turn it off, but then, decided that walking fifty steps for it was worse than the sound itself. And that was how the radio stayed on, till it became a mind-numbing music in the background, with sleep descending upon them...

Only, the descent did not fully take place. It was all thanks to the sudden loud momentary noise, otherwise known as the doorbell.

The thought of the exam results suddenly struck Ellie and she sat up erect on the sofa she occupied in a swift movement.

"I'll get it!" she yelled, as she took off towards the front door. She opened it to a man dressed in red and white and a leather bag slung across his right shoulder.

"Afternoon, madam," he greeted her. "A mail for a" - he consulted the package he had been carrying in his right hand -"Miss Ellie Ann Jordan?"

"That'd be me!" Ellie cried in excitement. She reached out with both her arms. The man handed her a notepad and a pen. She signed her receipt and received the package. As she read the words that told her about the sender of it, she gasped so loudly that Olivia ran up to her in great distress.

"What's the matter, Ellie?" she exclaimed. "Is it not the Academy after all?"

When Ellie turned to face her sister, she looked like she had just seen a ghost. "No," she whispered in response. "It is from the Academy."

Olivia made an impatient noise. "Open the thing, darn it!"

Ellie did not need another reminder, for she at once shut the door and walked back to the sofa she was occupying. She could hardly wait to rip open the package in her hands, but she reminded herself over and over that she had to be very, very careful. Especially since she tended to mess things up just a little more than normal people.

Olivia went up to get a pair of scissors. When she was back - with Aunt Lilian trailing behind, who had woken to the doorbell - Ellie eagerly cut open the tape covering the edge of the mail and tilted it. Out tumbled a sheaf of very thick and very good quality papers. They were turned out to be each of the five papers she had been tested on, individual results for each paper, and the final report card.

"Well, well, well," remarked Ellie in a dramatic voice, her eyes darting between Olivia and Aunt Lilian from the tops of the papers in her hands, "let's see what these babies have in store for us, shall we?"

***

Next update- Sunday!

Also, I've changed the cover a little, in case you haven't noticed.