Ackmun's School for Magical Misfits

Chapter 9 - PENS ARE AMAZING

I lay in bed, feeling like my stomach was going to explode. While we ate, the older years in our house sang a few songs, introduced us and showed us to our dormitories.

I curled my wings around me and tried to sleep, but I could hear one of the other boys in the room flipping pages in a book, a soft light glowing from his bed.

"Um, excuse me," I said quetly, trying not to sound rude. "Could you, uh, turn the light off and stuff? I'm kinda tired."

"Oh yeah! Sorry 'bout that. I should prolly gets some sleep as well." It was Allen. He and I hung out together at dinner. He seemed pretty cool. I could tell he had some sort of hyperactivity disorder, because he could barely focus and was practically running his mouth off every second. I liked it though, it meant I didn't have to talk as much.

"It's fine, good night."

"'Night, Fig."

It was almost halfway through my first day of school and I still could not get over the fact that the doors talked. As I had gone to my first class, "Family History," I was met by a door who tried to make me figure out a riddle to enter. I was completely baffled.
"Hello there!" The door had said. "To enter you must answer this riddle! Black within, red without, with four corners 'round about! What am I?"

Luckily Allen knew this riddle, and quickly answered "a chimney." The door accused us of cheating, but let us through nonetheless.

Most doors were a bit more lenient, and just asked us what our names were, "for attendance" they said. Others told us gossip, or rude comments about the teacher who was inside. Each one of these rumors, though, I could tell were obvious lies.

Most of the classes we went to were just explaining the curriculum and a pretest. My mom had said I needed to use a quill for school, but I had brought my G2 pilot pens
(A/N HOLY FRICK THOSE THINGS ARE AMAZING. IM FANGIRLING OVER A PEN WTH)

We had eight classes in all. Astronomy, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Family History, History of Magic, Potions, and Transfiguration. Today we only had four of those classes, those being Charms, FH, Potions, DADA, and Herbology. Tomorrow we'd have the other four.

My teachers seemed pretty cool. Though this class wasn't available until second year, I did manage to meet the "Care of Magical Creatures" teacher at breakfast. She was this space cadet of a girl, around her late thirties. Her name was Professor Luna Lovegood.

The DADA teacher, though, was, like, one of those "OH MY GOSH YOU GOT A PAPER CUT LET ME SEE I'LL CALL 911" But if you like, chopped your leg off it was like "Eh, go walk it off." Sure, let me go just hop around the halls, bleeding profusely until I can find someone who cares about whether or not I die. But, he was pretty cool. His name was Professor Randolph Clouse.

Professor John McNamara was the FH teacher. Like a lot of the teachers here, he didn't actually have any "oddities." He was very strict concerning rules, though, and talking was prohibited, unless, of course, you raise your hand.

The Charms teacher was an old woman, strict as heck. She gave us clear rules on when assignments were due and if given in two days late it would be an automatic fail for that assignment. This crab of a woman was named Professor Melinda Grey.

Gods, I'm gonna fail this school.

Herbology was taught by a short man named Professor Neman Sage. He was short, with a big beard growing in. He seemed nice enough, though he was very protective of his plants, especially the gardenias he had in the back of the room.

When school was over around three o'clock, Allen and I went outside. We found a tree not too far off in the woods, as the teachers would be pretty ticked if they found us out there. We cleared away the dead leaves on the ground and put down the blanket we had brought.

"So, we friends I assume?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'd like that." I smiled.

Two friends. That was a good number.

"So what are you? I mean, I can tell you have wings, so you're like a bird or something?" He asked.

"No idea," I sighed. "What are you?" I couldn't see much of an oddity on him.

"Haha, if I tell you, will we still be friends?" He asked.

"Why wouldn't we be?"

"Just promise."

"I promise," I agreed.

"Well, I guess my mom had this thing with a... Demon? I don't know, some sort of demonic entity anyway. When I get mad it shows, and I inherited some... Qualities. Running my mouth isn't one of them, but it certainly isn't my best," he laughed. "But I will get some 'morbid' thoughts at times, but never act on them. I can control myself, only once have I ever been out of control."

"That's no reason not to be friends, I like you. You're fun."

"Thanks." He smiled.

"Does being part demon have any perks?" I ask.

"Haha, quite a few, actually. I can convince people of things sometimes. It's almost like a persuasion power, like trickery. When I get 'mad,' I guess, my irises turn black and my eyes get all murky, it comes in handy if you want to intimidate someone. I am pretty fast, too," he laughed. "But other than that, not really."

"Yeah, I don't really have much, just a scrawny body and frail wings I've never used before."

"We should fly sometime, I'll come with you," he said. "If I try hard enough, I've been able to have these bat-like wings sprout from my back. Kinda hurts at first, but it helps when you want to get away from a family who hates you for what you are."

"Yeah, that'll be fun." I smiled.

When it started to grow dark, we headed back to the school. Basil found us in the hallways and recounted her day.

"Turns out one of the professors here has the same kind of oddity as you," she said, poking me in the side. "He's an arch angel, I think you could be too."

"I didn't see him, what's his class?"

"He's the Astronomy teacher, I saw him in the hallways this morning," she explained.

Allen doubled over in laughter. "Wow, ironic, isn't it," he smiled. "An angel and a demon, friends." I laughed as well, much to Basil's confusion.

"What?" She asked.

"My friend here, Allen, he's half demon," I explained.

Her face paled slightly, and then she nodded. "Nice, I mean, cool-"

Allen began laughing again, finding this whole situation hilarious. "It's all good," he said. "Your reaction was more calm than most."

She gave a weak smile and nodded. "Well, it's nice meeting you, but I need to go. My friend Hero and I are gonna study a bit, and go over the curriculum for the year, try to be prepared and stuff."

"Ok, see ya later." Allen winked. When she left Allen turned to face me. "Did you see her face?! Priceless, I tell you, I love it when people do that, get nervous around me. I find it hilarious. Makes me feel more powerful. It feeds me ego." He laughed again.