Wizard (Troy Sanders Trilogy Book 1)

10: How to Dine with Crazy 101

Okay, everything in this school must have been constructed to be ten times bigger than normal; the dining hall included. It was about the size of a football field and wide; way wide.

The entrance to the hall was in the same arch form that every other place in the school— I was starting to think that was the official structure form in Firewalt— with wooden double doors covering it. Looking around, it seemed like every student was present but I couldn’t be sure seeing that I didn’t even know the total number of the entire population to begin with.

Long dining tables that seemed to be made out of gold— they were actually glowing— lined parallel across the room with throne-like chairs for everyone. There didn’t seem to be a particular pattern of seating as green mixed with blue and red and white on every table with everyone chatting away happily and I would have continued to just stand around and stare if not that I quickly reminded myself that I came to eat, not gawk; plus it would be bad if I got to add “Gawking till dropping” to my list of already not good experiences in Firewalt.

Moving to the serving table however, I was even more surprised. The entire table was lined with so many foods that it looked like they belonged in a feast; and believe me, nobody was manning them. It was as if the school was hosting some sort of “serve yourself, eat all you can” buffet. It kinda bugged me how the school could manage that kind of service but seeing that it didn’t really change anything- nor did it solve my hunger issue for that matter- I quickly settled for a plate of pasta and a cup of lemonade and walked away.

It took some time before I could find a seat; a task made harder by everyone's constant staring at me. Maybe that's how they stare at every freshman, I thought to myself but it so happened that even the freshmen were staring at me and it was freaky, I tell you.

As if by some divine intervention, I suddenly saw a table unoccupied at the very end of the room and quickly bolted towards it; although I could be sure that it wasn’t reserved for the popular kids of Firewalt. I got myself seated through the still freaky stares of everyone in the room and started to consume my food as fast as I could. A voice at the back of my mind warned me that I could choke but I didn’t care; what was important was to get away from the stares of those people.

I had barely gone through half of my food when I suddenly heard, “Surprise, surprise. If it isn’t luggage boy himself.”

I didn’t need to turn to know who it was; that unique drawl had told me everything I needed to know. Mentally facepalming myself, I turned to look at the grinning face of the girl standing behind me with a tray of French fries and orange juice in her hand.

Thinking about it, I must have really angered some pretty powerful mystic forces for my life to be like this. One day in and I already had another Bella Evans in this place; although this time, she was magically enhanced— I just know how to pick ’em, don’t I?

Giving her what looked like a friendly smile, I returned back to my food and hoped fiercely under my breath she would just leave. From my quick glance, I saw that she was still wearing the same skinny jeans and boots from earlier; but she had changed to a white top instead of the blue T-shirt she wore before and, of course, the red cloak couldn’t be missed.

However, instead of going away like I wanted, she dropped her tray on the table and took the seat right next to me without asking.

“That seat’s taken,” I said as soon as she set her butts down on the chair.

“And who would that be by?” she returned with what was most definitely sarcasm. “Casper, the friendly ghost?”

Knowing fully well that she was just trying to push my buttons, I decided to keep quiet, hoping that she would see that I wasn’t up for a conversation and just leave.

But I wasn’t to be that lucky. “I’m Victoria Elmonton,” she said, extending a handshake, “you can call me Vic.”

Elmonton, I mused within myself, definitely Australian.

“Troy.” I returned the handshake.

Truth be told, I wanted to ignore her at first but Mom had always drilled it into my head: Never leave a handshake hanging, Troy, she always said. If only she had added that weird girls weren't included in that rule.

She brushed her hair with her hand over the shoulder to my side and I caught the whiff of that honey smell again and even though I was halfway through my pasta, my stomach still churned. I opened my mouth to ask her why her hair smelled like honey but quickly clamped it shut- I was supposed to be ignoring her, remember?

“You’re a Sanders, aren’t you?” she suddenly asked, much to my surprise.

I searched her face for any hint of playfulness but it was all set in seriousness. “How did you know that?”

“You don’t have the traditional look but anyone observant can still see the connection,” she replied.

“And what's the “traditional” look?” I asked, now more interested in the conversation.

“Sandy brown hair, brown eyes, set jaws, and hot as hell,” she read off like she had committed them to memory from a book; which I didn’t think was far-fetched coming from her.

“So, what side of the family tree are you on?” she probed further.

“I’m Blake Sanders’ grandson,” I replied, although I wasn’t sure if she would know him. But he was the only one in the family I knew with as much affinity for magic as anyone in this school- well, he was the only one I knew in the family, period.

“You’re Oliver’s son!” she squealed like a girl at the sight of a Gucci. However, it surprised me that her delight came from me being “Son of Oliver” than “Grandson of Blake”; choosing stoic dad over magical grandpa- now, that’s strange, isn’t it?

“You know Oliver?” I asked.

“Who doesn’t?” She gave me one of those “You’re serious?” looks and began to list off things that he’d supposedly done.

But I had already zoned out by that the time. Thing is, I was just starting to realise the extent of the mess I'd gotten myself into. I had a grandpa who was as secretive as a shadow even about the most important issues of life and a dad- a “Hero” of Firewalt, nonetheless- whom I knew nothing about but was already starting to feel the pressure of becoming the exact kind of wizard he was- this Sanders family was really starting to become a lot more than I bargained for, believe me.

“You’re not bad yourself, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Victoria said to me when I didn’t say anything for a while, probably thinking that was what I was thinking about— if only you knew, girl.

“What exactly do you want from me, Vic?” I asked her. Yeah, I knew it was kind of a crazy thing to say to someone who was only trying to make conversation but with this very recent “Sanders family unveiled” session I just had, I had to be sure.

“Simple, I want to be your guide,” she replied, giving me a smile that almost looked seemed to say “I know something you don’t.”

And that smile was all I needed to snap me back to reality, reminding me that this was the same nut job girl who made me carry her luggage earlier just because she felt like it; and I was as sure as hell is hot that she wasn’t done with me yet.

“I don’t need you,” I replied, deliberately making it sound very harsh. “I already have a guardian.”

“And who said anything about being a guardian?” she returned, still giving me that crazy smile of hers, “Maybe I just want to be your friend.”

“Maybe?”

“Maybe,” she replied, letting the conversation drop all together with an air of mystery.

Vic finished her fries and her juice in record time. But instead of leaving, she took my lemonade, drank it and returned an empty cup to me. Then, she leaned in sensually and whispered, “Please be a darling and return both our trays.” And then, she finally left, her hair brushing my face and still making my stomach churn even through my agitation.

As if suddenly released from a spell’s hold, I covered my face with my hands and began to laugh. I had expected the craziness all along but she still managed got to me. With Victoria Elmonton “friends” with me, the coming days in Firewalt would definitely be something to remember; I just had to wait and see.