Chapter 5: The Beginning

The students are brought to their dorms, given their scheduels, and are given time to explore.

"Wait, so you're saying Marietta looked scared?" Derek asked confusedly. They were sitting on the bus as it drove down another rocky path through the forest. The noise had esclated from the earlier rides, with each new Majik gossiping about their powers. It seemed as if the news of Sara's gift had yet to travel throughout her class, and she liked it that way. The noise was enough to keep her and Derek's conversation hidden from wandering ears.

 

"Yea, it was wierd. You'd think she would have been excited?" Sara agreed, munching on the granola bar she had swiped from an oblivious Penny Cleary.

"Well, maybe Silver's a good thing? Have you ever heard of it?" Derek said, glancing at Sara's spiral for the umpteenth time.

"Nope. And maybe, maybe not." Sara stopped chewing for a moment to think. She hadn't thought of it as something bad. I mean, who had ever heard of a power being bad? The only stupid powers were the athletic powers, and even those still had some strength behind them.

 

A powerful bump pulled Sara from her train of thought as the line of buses rolled onto a drawbridge leading to a heavy iron gate. Below them was a moat that glowed a sickly green. There was a lurch as the buses came to a halt. A moment later the gate creaked open, and the buses lurched foreward once again. As soon as the bus entered the campus, the entire bus let out a gasp.

 

The campus was a huge square section of 7ish acres of perfectly manicured grass. The road the buses drove on was smooth asphalt instead of the usual bumpy cobblestones, and lined with trees on either side. To the right was a stone circle with sculptures of art from roman, egyptian, and even mayan times. There was even a giant easter island head in the very center of the circle. To the left was a large maze that made groaning noises and looked, according to Derek, like it was moving. The entire campus was decorated for halloween as well, with glowing jack-o-lanterns suspended from the trees and bats swooping throughout the night sky.  

 

The buses drove along the road, and drove around a large marble fountian of Queen Oranthi that spewed orange water from its hands. The buses turned and stopped in front of an enormous castle that sat directly in the center of the campus. The red and black crest of a hangman's knoose on fire was emblazened above the silver door, the words Salem Academy of Majik emblazened in gold. It was both magnificent and terrifying.

 

Before the students could exit the bus, there was a loud screetching over the intercom, then a female voice spoke. "Welcome young Majiks, to the Salem Academy of Majik, where Majik started for North America, and it now starts for you. It is currently 3AM on October 31st. Happy Halloween! For the rest of the day you will be allowed to explore the campus, learn about new activities, and discover all that the Salem Academy of Majik has to offer. In your envelopes are your temporary room keys, maps, and class scheduels." Envelopes appeared in everybodys lap. "Your classes will begin tomorrow at 8am. Breakfast is served at 7am, lunch at noon, and dinner at 7pm. Good luck, and we hope you enjoy your stay at Salem Academy!" The screetch sounded again, and the bus doors opened. When the students had all filed out of the bus the doors shut and they drove off once more, never to be seen again.

 

Sara stretched as Derek opened his envelope and pulled out his map. "Maybe we should find our dorms and get some sleep." he suggested, examining the moving words along the map. Sara pulled out her room key, a plastic card with a swipe strip and the words Star Tower, room 115 stamped across it. She looked at Derek's card. Pheonix Tower, room 321. "Our dorms are all in the same section." Derek continued.

"Right." Sara agreed. "Let's go."

 

As they set off, they saw more specticles of the Halloween festivities. There was a pack of ghost dogs devouring a deer carcass off to the side, each leaving a trail of fog around them. Ghosts of the students who did not accept the gift floated above them, each one mere skeletal figured of smoke and memories. Their skeletons had been enchanted to roam about the grounds, each one occassionally chasing after another student.

 

Sara and Derek rounded a corner, and came apon what looked like a small town square. It was shaped like an octagon, with an enormous tower sitting at each of the corners. Linning the sides were tables littered with leaflets about different clubs and events offered at the school. There was a cart of candied apples and caramel corn, at which Sara oogled at, off to the side. In the center was a large pyramid of jack-o-lanterns, each one of the faces terrifying. It took Sara a second to realize that the faces were moving, each one reacting to the students coming in. They were also speaking in some kind of foreign language. Probably Vegetable Sara thought, smirking to herself.

 

Sara gave a loud yawn, and Derek looked down. "Maybe we should get to bed." Derek said.

"But I'm not tired!" Sara whined, yawning again.

Derek smirked. "Right. I'll meet you out here at nine." He strode off towards a tower with an orange and gold bird carved above the door. Sara turned and headed in the other direction towards a tower with a sparkling silver star adorned at the top.

 

Sara was too tired to explore the common room. I can see it later. Sara thought as she began to climb up the spiral starcase toward her room. It took her ten minutes to get all the way up, and by the time she shakily slid her card through the door lock she didn't even notice the vastness of her room. All she could think about was sleep. She ignored the crystal ball's urging to come over to it and "Place your hand here". Sara walked up the stone stairs that curved along the wall, walked over to her queen sized bed, fell over, and fell fast asleep.