The Sparks Academy of Magic (discontinued)

Ten- Auditions

The two friends headed to the stadium for Ziara's auditions, along the way, the students in the hallway started started to whisper among themselves.

'What are they whispering about now...' grumbled Ziara to her friend, Diana. 

'You have to be kidding me,' startled, Ziara turned to see Jennifer glaring at her,'You can't be in the advanced magic class. Not after only two days of training, that's even quicker than me or Diana, and we're the best in the whole junior part of the school!'

Diana turned as red as a beetroot next to Ziara. Just then, the school intercom sounded,'Ziara Rowan, please report to the stadium for your auditions.'

Turning as red as Diana was, Ziara hurried to the stadium, doing her best to ignore the whispering students and Jennifer's searing glare. She pushed open the heavy iron door and stepped into the vast, circular room.

'Ziara Rowan, you will now audition for Magi-scouts.' a male teacher sitting with Ms. Siriena,'I am Mr. Fortem, one of the magi-scout guides, and this is Ms. Siriena, another magi-scout guide.'

Ms. Siriena smiled at Ziara and said in her musical voice,'For this audition, all you have to do is pass a few tests. The first test is to tie this rope into a reef knot without touching it, you can only use your wand while standing five paces away from it.'

Ziara gulped, she didn't know what a reef knot was! Suddenly, she remembered her mother helping her younger brother, Julian,  knot his boy scout's tie. She had called it a reef knot. 

Slightly relieved, Ziara struggled to remember how her mother had tied it. She pointed her wand at the rope, and the rope glided into the air and started twisting itself into a knot.

Feeling quite proud of herself for tying a knot that didn't fall apart the moment it touched the table, she smiled slightly, but the smile faded as soon as she saw the guides' grim faces.

'The second test is to build this tent with only magic as well.' Mr. Fortem said.

Ziara let out a sigh of relief, she knew how to build tents, she loved camping! Quick as a whip, the tent was built, but the teachers' expressions didn't change. Ziara panicked, did I do something wrong? Maybe I didn't put the pegs on tight enough... Ziara started thinking through all the steps she did. 

'The last test is a test of endurance, you have to wear this heavy camping backpack and run around the stadium for ten minutes.' Ms. Siriena said.

Ziara blanched, what? Ten whole minutes? Reluctantly, she took the backpack and started running. By the time she could stop running, she was drenched in sweat and she could barely move her legs. Now she was positively frantic, the teachers still looked grim. Ziara was sure she wouldn't get in by just looking at their expressions. 

Ziara was allowed to rest until the teachers holding the auditions for dueling class came to the stadium.

Ms. Circe walked into the stadium, her heels clicking as she strode across the waxed gleaming floor. 

'Hello, Ms. Rowan,' she said,' You are auditioning for dueling class by yourself, so I can't have you duel, so I would like you to try these spells out.' She held a thick spell book in her hands, she flipped to a dog-eared page and showed it to Ziara.

On the page was written:

The Shield Spell

This spell is good for defending yourself against other spells, though it can be quite complex for a beginner.

HOW TO DO SPELL:

Point your wand at the direction the enemy's spell is coming from, twirl the tip a bit, and say the words forma clypeus. 

Ziara looked at the page for a moment, and did exactly as the book said, a shower of golden light burst from the tip of her wand and rearranged themselves into a tightly packed golden wall in front of her. Ms. Circe sent a spell flying towards her shield, but it just bounced off. 

'Have you ever done this spell before, Ms. Rowan?'asked Ms. Circe,'Very few students have ever succeeded in doing it on their first try, and such a strong one too.'

'I've never done it before, Ms. Circe,'replied Ziara.

Looking quite amazed, Ms. Circe sent Ziara back to her dorm. 

When Ziara stepped out of the room, Diana and Mo both started asking questions about the auditions.

They were still questioning her when they sat down for supper in the cafeteria. Ziara told them about her worries of not getting into magi-scouts, but Diana just told her not to worry.

'The results will be coming out in a few days now, just don't worry about it.'She said cheerfully.

But, Ziara still worried, and she couldn't wait until the results came out.