can actually do, and find out whether any of this is actually worth it.
“What’s your first class?” Cam asks when the convocation finally finishes. We all get up and begin to troop out of the building in a massive wave of bodies.
“Magical Control,” I say.
There are several different kinds of classes, and they vary a little from year to year. For most of them, we’ll be allowed to take our bands off, but not all classes require that—History of Magic, for example. Aurora told me that for the ones where we take our bands off, we’ll be in training rooms that have wards on the walls to prevent the magic from leaving the area and wreaking havoc, and that the professors and staff are all trained in how to handle out of control spells and spell casters. At least for first years, anyway. Once you hit your second year, they start to trust that you can actually use your magic without bringing the whole building down with you.
In my year, there’s Magical Theory, which is apparently all about how and why some people have magic and others don’t, how magical powers manifest, how we organize and classify magic—all that kind of stuff. There’s Physical Training, since using magic is really draining, and without physical strength, it can be harder to control our powers. There’s Practical Magic, where we’ll learn how to use our various abilities in a safe environment. There’s Combat class, where we’ll learn to fight both magically and non-magically—though why they think we’ll need this skill, I’m not entirely sure. There’s a History of Magic class, all about our society and where we came from. And Magical Control.
It’s a lot, in other words, and I’m feeling kind of overwhelmed.
“Oh, yeah, first year with Roman.” Cam grins, coming to a stop on the walkway outside the auditorium. “You’ll love it. He’s intense but a great teacher.”
“Is Roman his first or last name?”
“First.” Cam’s brows furrow. “I actually don’t remember his last name. Most of the teachers are a little pickier about how you address them. If you called Professor Binns by her first name, I think she’d take your head off.”
Asher shrugs. “But Roman’s always just been… Roman.”
“What, like Beyoncé?”
I hear a snort behind me, but by the time I whip my head around, Dmitri’s face is set in a grim mask. Did he really just laugh, or have I finally started hallucinating?
“It’s a really helpful class,” Cam tells me, the mid-morning sun picking up gold highlights in his hair as we walk up the steps of Wellwood Hall. “Probably the best one to have your freshman year. Being able to control your magic makes everything else easier, and Roman’s got an iron clad control on his. It’s insane.”
“Strong willpower,” Asher explains once we walk inside. He looks at me, the corner of his mouth curling upward in a small smile. “Like you.”
I feel my face heat up. I’m not really used to new people being nice to me or flirting with me—at least not in a way that I enjoy—and it’s totally throwing me for a loop.
“It’s on the third floor, east wing.” Cam points as he gives me directions. Then he claps a hand dramatically over his heart. “And now, we must part ways. Parting is such sweet sorrow and all that.” He grins devilishly. “Take care of yourself, Sin, and try not to set off any sonic booms unless I’m there to see it.”
I roll my eyes. “Sure. I’ll do my best.”
Cam salutes me, Asher nods and smiles, and Dmitri is doing a great job of staring at the wall like I’m not here.
If his family doesn’t approve of him being an Unpredictable, his shitty attitude does make a lot more sense—but I have to admit, I’m still a little tempted to punch him in the mouth just to get a reaction.
I make my way through the thinning crowd toward the staircase Cam indicated and wander around the third floor for a few minutes searching for my classroom. It takes me a few minutes to find it, and when I walk inside, I find a wide room with tall windows on two walls and desks lined up in orderly rows. It’s large, but still smaller than I expected. Then again, this is a small school, relative to the sizes of the other magical academies. It makes sense, since Unpredictables are so rare. But it doesn’t bode well for my avoiding my three oh-so-pleasant roommates.