The Cursed Academy

Card games and colors

Seated behind the table marked number four was an older woman . She appeared to be somewhere in her mid-sixties, a little on the plump side with frizzy brown hair and a pleasant smile.  She had a stack of manila file folders and a clipboard with a list of names on it in front of her. 

"State your name please." the older woman instructed.

"Sophia Quinn Lilylight" I replied as she thumbed through the files, locating mine and pulling it from the stack.

"Put your cell phone in this basket." She pointed to the basket at the end of the table. " Do you have any other electronic items on you?" She asked, peering over her glasses at me.

"No, I do not." I answered as I put my phone into the basket.

"Follow me" she said as she took the folder from the table and the basket from my hands. We walked toward the back of the gymnasium where there was a row of  ten black 10 x 10 cubes with a stainless steel door on the front of each one. The cubes were numbered 1-10 and all appeared to be identical in every way except for the number on the door.

 She led me to the cube that had 4 marked on the door. "This is the assessment room.  It is lead lined, soundproof and is made of conductive material that blocks electromagnetic radiation around the exterior of the box. Similar to a Faraday cage.  Combined, these effectively block all outside electromagnetic as well as extrasensory or telepathic influences.  By isolating you we are able to provide a pure, unadulterated assessment of your skills and abilities.   Once you are inside there will be voice prompts instructing you on what activities you are to perform. This entire process should take about an hour and your results will be provided to you on Monday morning.  Do you have any questions?"

I shook my head 'no' as she opened the door.  I stepped through the doorway and looked around.  The woman closed the door behind me and I have to admit, the immediate silence was a welcome sensation.  The room had a glass top desk with a computer monitor and an old speakerphone sitting in the middle of it.  The only seating was a small office-type chair.  Before I sat down in the chair that was facing the monitor and speaker, I slipped the ring that Grandmother had given to me, off of my finger.  Grandmother made sure to tell me that I would have to remove it during the assessment so that my powers would not be muted. I put the ring in my jeans pocket and sat down.

As soon as I settled into my seat the lights dimmed in the cube and the computer monitor flashed on, displaying a "Welcome" sign.  I nearly jumped out of my skin when a voice came out of the speaker.  I mean, I was expecting it.  Eventually. It just startled me.  

"Welcome Sophia." the woman's soothing voice said over the speaker.  "Today we will be conducting a series of tests to determine what gifts you have. This assessment is designed specifically for each individual so no two tests are identical.  Please get comfortable in the chair and relax. " the voice continued. I sat back in the chair and waited.

"Now that you are ready.  Please take the small box to your left."  A drawer on the left side of the desk slid open, revealing a small jewelry box. "Open the box but do not take the item out." the voice instructed. 

I opened the box and inside was a well-worn gold ring. I placed the box on the table and waited for the voice to give me the next steps. "Wait to remove the item from the box until instructed.  When you are instructed, remove the item from the box, hold it in your hands, pressing it between your palms, and close your eyes. Concentrate on the item and describe out loud what you see or feel, if anything. Be as detailed as possible and speak clearly so that we may record your answers. If you see or feel anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, drop the item immediately. When you are ready you may remove the item from the box." 

I carefully picked up the ring, pinching it between my thumb and pointer finger.  I put it in the palm of my other hand and then pressed my hands together.  I sat back in the chair ,closed my eyes and took in a deep breath.  

"Nothing.  I feel nothing. I see nothing. Nada...wait a minute.  My hand is tingling, but it's not." I said.

Suddenly, it was as if a bright light was switched on in front of my closed eyes because all I could see was bright, white color and I could feel a sensation of being pulled backward.  The light went dark and I felt as if I had bumped into the wall abruptly.  It was a sensation of stopping, but I hadn't gone anywhere.  I slowly opened my eyes  but instead of seeing the cube room, I was standing in a beautiful garden surrounded by flowers of all colors and varieties. 

"OK, this is weird. I am standing in a garden.  There is a woman sitting on a bench under a weeping willow tree and a man kneeling in front of her.  He has the ring in his hands.  I feel happiness and joy." I said as a flood of emotion overwhelmed me and I started to cry.  "I can hear him.  He is asking her to marry him.  Will you marry me? She said yes!  Oh wow!  It is like I am right here with them! I can smell the flowers!  I can hear the birds! " I said excitedly. Just as suddenly as I  had been pulled back and wound up in the garden I felt like I was being pulled forward and this time when I stopped I was in a hospital room.  "Now I am in a hospital room" I said for the recording. "I can see the same man and the same woman but this time they are much, much older.  The woman is in the hospital bed and she looks sick.  She is dying!  The man is holding her hand and crying.  I can see him kiss the ring on her finger.  She is trying to tell him something but he cannot hear her! Oh NO!  The machines in the room are all making a solid beep sound.  I think she DIED!!  There are nurses and doctors running in!  Oh no, no, no!  She is gone." I said through the sobs.  I could feel the pain of the man losing his lovely bride and the joy of her release from this mortal world. 

"Tell him I said to bury me where he proposed." I heard the woman's voice in my head.  

"She is telling me to tell her husband to bury her where he proposed." I told the recording while choking back more tears. I could no longer take the heaviness of the emotion and dropped the ring onto the desk.

The sound of the ring hitting the desk and the disembodied voice from the speaker snapped me out of the hospital room and back into the cube. "Place the item back into the box.  This portion of the assessment is completed." 

 I picked the ring up off of the desk and carefully placed it back into the box.  I returned the box back to the drawer which then closed automatically.  I used the sleeves of my hoodie to dry my eyes and tried to take a couple of deep breaths before receiving the next set of instructions.

"Please prepare for the next exam by facing forward with a clear view of the computer monitor." the voice directed. The surface of the desk lit up and there were five shapes on the desk.   The symbols consisted of a circle, square, plus sign, star, and a set of three wavy, vertical lines.  "There are five shapes in front of you.  The computer is going to shuffle a deck of twenty five cards.  The deck has five of each of these symbols.  Once the cards are randomized the computer will select a card and record what card it is.  You will think about that card and you will then touch the card on the table that you think the computer has selected.  We will continue until all of the cards have been presented and all of your answers have been recorded. Please begin."

As the computer screen flashed the cards I touched the one I thought it would be until all 25 cards were exhausted.  

'This test is much easier than the last one. This one hasn't made me cry.' 

"This portion of the assessment is completed.  Please remain in your seat, facing forward for the next activity." the voice instructed.

As I was looking at the monitor a circle with ten different colored pie wedges appeared on the screen. The desk surface in front of me also changed.  The five symbols changed to ten colors that matched those on the color wheel projected on the monitor.  "The computer has chosen one of these ten colors. It is your task to touch the color you feel or 'sense' that the computer has selected. Please begin." I touched a color and the wheel would spin. After 15 minutes I was on autopilot.  I had lost count of how many times the wheel did spin and there was no way I could keep up with how many times I was right or wrong.  I was happy to wait until Monday for my results. 

 Just about the time I was getting bored with selecting colors, the voice was back to deliver a final set of instructions "This completes your assessment.  Please exit through the door behind you and have a pleasant day."  

I stood up and pushed the chair back underneath the desk and turned to open the door.  I put my hand on the doorknob and quickly realized that I had not yet put the ring back on that my grandmother gave me!  I slipped my hand into my pocket and pulled out the ring and put it back on my finger. 

'I have got to be more careful'  I mentally scolded myself as I, once again, reached for the doorknob.  

I turned the knob and pushed the door open.  My eyes were squinting as the bright lights outside flooded the inside of the cube and my hands flew to cover my ears as the noise of the gymnasium was instantaneously deafening after the relative silence of the assessment environment.  I pushed the door further open with my hip and stepped out of the cube, leaving my hands over my ears to ease the volume adjustment.  

"Your results will be available on Monday.  The Headmaster's office will contact you to go over everything. Please exit to the left." said the blonde woman as I exited. She handed me my phone and added "There is a bonfire tonight. Make sure you and your friends take time to go.  They are a lot of fun."

I smiled and thanked her for the information and turned to leave just in time to see Mo step out of cube number 7.  She had her hands shielding her eyes as her assessment proctor appeared to be giving her the same information about the bonfire tonight.  I caught Mo's attention and she darted over to where I was standing near the exit.  

"That was INTENSE" Mo exclaimed.

"That is an understatement." I replied. "After missing dinner last night, I am starving .  Is the dining hall still serving breakfast?" 

"I wonder how Nerezza would look with a pancake on her head?" Mo teased.

"I am NOT wasting my meal on her again today." I laughed.  "Besides.  I am already in enough trouble.  Let's just go eat and then find Andrea.  She said she would show me around campus today. You should come, too! I am sure she won't mind at all" I insisted.

Mo smiled and nodded in agreement "Yeah, I like Andrea.  She gives the best hugs. I'm in! Now let's go eat!!" she added as she dropped her ever-present skateboard to the ground, put one sneakered foot on it and pushed herself off with the other, heading down the sidewalk toward the cafeteria.