The Diary of Fitz Vacker

7. The Fungus

My father signaled for Sophie and I to follow him down the path leading to wear the Councillors were. She asked me what this test would decide and how it would effect her future, and boy she was dumb. I mean her upbringing wasn't exactly her fault,  but for how smart she supposedly was, you'd think she'd be able to piece together this simple information; You pass the test, you have a good life. You fail, you don't have a good life. No, you barely have a life. Anyways, I answered with "They're testing to see if you qualify for Foxfire." I mean, I was surprised that they were even allowing her to come to the school at all, like she knew nothing. Proving my point, she asked "Isn't that a glowing fungus?" I may have gasped. Stared maybe. My dad cracked up which was even more insulting to me. "It's our most prestigious academy." That should have been enough to stop the fungus questions from her, but apparently not. She retorted with "But... the light comes from fungus." I rolled my eyes, and took a deep breath. As much as I though Biana was bad, she was nothing compared to this Sophie. I tried not to shout, and calmly answered "Will you stop saying fungus? Only those with the strongest talent qualify for Foxfire, and if you don't get in, you might as well kiss your future goodbye." Harsh, maybe. True, yes. My father glanced at me reprovingly, and put a hand on the girl's shoulder, saying "You'll have to excuse my son. He's very proud to attend Foxfire- and it's definitely an accomplishment. But don't let him worry you. The earliest levels are more of a testing ground, to see who develops abilities that qualify them to continue their studies." Well, that was my dad's nicer version of "My son loves Foxfire, and he's really good there. Don't let that concern you, though it probably should. As long as you can use your telepathy like a basic telepath, which so far, you are eh at it, you might just survive." She was silent for a few minutes, and then turned greenish and shivered, asking "Will it be hard to get into Foxfire?" I almost answered, but then realized my dad's answer would be better for her to hear right now. My dad calmly answered "Councillor Bronte will be difficult to impress. He feels your upbringing and lack of proper education should disqualify you. Plus, he doesn't like surprises. The Council had no idea you existed until today, and he's more than a little miffed about it. But you only need two out of three votes. Just do the best you can."  As he finished, we arrived at a clearing, where the gnomes were bringing food for our dinner with the Councillors. I focused on the food, not the conversations, until Sophie asked 'So... you have gnomes for servants?" Both my father and I stopped to stare at her. I couldn't believe what she was implying. If she said anything like this in front of Councillor Bronte, Councillor Kenric, and Councillor Oralie, we were screwed for sure. My father answered her, but I was too busy worrying about what the Council would do to my family if she messed up like this. We found her, so it would be our fault if she messed up, right? We moved on, my father led us down the hall and said "This way" to Sophie. He took her hand and led her down the widest hallway, which ended at the doors with the mosaic of two unicorns racing across a field of flowers. I liked that mural, well until Keefe told me that the two unicorns were probably dead because of humans by now. That ruined the vibe for me. Thanks, Keefe. I pulled open the doors for them, as my dad told her "You have nothing to be afraid of." I bowed, as one should. Of course, Sophie didn't. We were off to a great start already, how much worse could this get?

______________________________________________________________thanks for being so

 patient as this finally uploads. On the plus side- wifi is back up so ill be able to upload more ASAP! anyways happy late holidays, and have a good winter break :)