After a while, Leo got the information from his voice. Strange, he wondered how the voice knew how to read if he didn’t know how to. He didn’t think too hard on it, the crazy voice always seemed weird and he probably learned how to read as a child but forgot. Leo ran from alley to alley, sneaking around the neighborhoods, until he heard a firecracker, rather it wasn’t a firecracker. Leo got up and looked on top of the stage. A man dressed in a robe was controlling a fireball, about the size of tennis ball but exploded into a breath-taking view, cascading down to the audience. Leo reached out to its remnants, warm.

  “Ladies and gentlemen! I am an only a teacher in this grand school! Just see what I can do! If you enroll your son or daughter here, it is guarantee that they would be a great magician! We will accept anybody, low class, middle class, high class, it doesn’t matter!!! As long as you can use magic!”

  The crowd applauded, low-class parents ushering their children to the stages, in the hopes of them becoming magicians. Children lined up on the stage from the edge of the stage to the booth, easily hundreds of children.

  Leo folded his arms,

  “So, you wanted me to go to this sketchy school’s invitation booth for what?” Leo thought to the voice.

  “Try… it…” The voice responded.

  Leo wasn’t stupid,

  “This line would at least take an hour to finish beginning to end, I’ll be late to the food at the orphanage, no”

  Leo started to walk back, then felt a sharp pain within his brain.

  “Fine, Fine” Leo muttered as he got in line.

  …

  Leo tapped his feet was he slowly advanced the line.

  “Not qualified!”

  “Not qualified!”

  Leo heard multiple families leaving after their child failed. Leo rubbed stomach, wishing this to be finished so he could go back to the orphanage. Curse the crazy voice, Leo thought.

  “Qualified! Our first enrollment! Strong Ice and Dark affinity”

  Leo looked in front, to see the lucky kid. Emotionless and dull were the first words to come to mind. Unevenly cut shoulder length hair, chilling black eyes, around Leo’s age. She looked just like an orphan, but the air around her seemed different, though Leo could easily tell. She, like a lot of children, decided not to join an orphanage, and learned to live off the street. Leo just stared at her as she stood by the examiners, dangerous. Let’s not get in her way, Leo didn’t want to die.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Next!”

  The next kid in line walked up…

  A couple hours past, with the examiner yelling next, it was finally Leo’s turn so he walked up to the examiner.

  “Name and age” the examiner asked

  Leo cleared his throat,

  “Leo, and ten years old.”

  “Alright Leo, give me your hand.”

  Leo complied and waited as the examiner held his hand. Nothing yet, how is this supposed to feel?

  The examiner smiled,

  “Barely Qualified! Weak in all elements except light and dark you don’t have affinities for those. Please wait over there with her.”

  Leo walked over, shocked. The crazy voice in his head was right? What a lucky guess! Leo looked over to the girl, who was still looking at the line. Out of all these children, and the only ones picked are orphans, weird. At least he thought she was an orphan.

  After a while, the line emptied, with another child joining them, surprisingly, not an orphan, a high-class boy. He clenched his nose as he passed the girl and Leo. Leo smirked, it wasn’t his fault that he can’t take a bath, water is limited to him!

  “Alright! Three kids, better than last time! Alright, follow me!”

  The examiner got in his bus with Leo following. Since Leo didn’t trust these people, he sat near the back door of the bus, just in case he needs a “surprise” leave. The noble sat in the front and the girl sat in the middle.

  “Be… careful…” The voice said. Though unlike last time, Leo trusted it, since he already knew this.

  …

  The bus parked in the campus, next to the dorms.

  “Alright, we’re here, please follow me.”

  They followed him up the dorms, then he stopped and pointed at Leo and the girl.

  “Leo and Iris, you stop here. This floor is where you would stay for this campus, your seniors will lead you two to your room. The welcoming will happen tomorrow at the main entrance, be there to assign your classes.”

  A teenager led us to our room, a bunk bed and a desk. Graffiti everywhere, the wood on the beds and desk were rotting. Though Leo didn’t mind, it was nicer than the orphanage.

  “I’ll take the top bed” The girl, Iris, said.

  Leo agreed and sat on the lower bed. Since he didn’t own much, he didn’t have to unpack. Leo walked over to the desk, and opened its drawers. Nothing, as Leo expected.

  “I’m going to walk around.” Leo said as he left the room.

  Leo walked around, asked a couple of seniors for places around the campus, which was no help since all they did was laugh, so he decided to figure it out himself. Leo found a campus map, and surveyed the campus. He found out the main entrance, and the basic structure of the campus. As Leo walked, he started to have a sharp headache, immediately knowing the cause.

  “What do you want?” Leo thought

  “Go… to… the… lib--…rary….” The voice said

  “Can’t read, sorry”

  “I… will… teach… you…”

  Leo’s eyes lit up,

  “Really? You’re not a half bad voice”

  Leo went through the campus and snuck into the library and hid in the back.

  “What to pick?” Leo thought. The bright red one, the one with the cool design, or the thin one, so many choices!

  “Top… right…”

  Leo looked around the area, grabbed the book and opened it. It was filled with letters, from the beginning to end, no pictures, Leo smiled wryly and closed his eyes.

  “Introduction… of… Fire… magic”. The voice started…

  After a while, it hit dusk. Leo closed the book and returned it back on the shelf. Leo smiled and snapped his fingers, a small flame appeared. He stood up satisfied and went back to his dorm, in which he found Iris standing in front of him.

  “Where did you learn to read?” She asked

  Leo started to sweat,

  “I can’t read, what are you talking about?”

  Iris pulled out the book he was reading earlier, Leo cursed himself, how did he not spot her?

  “Fine, I taught himself, what about it?” Leo was not about to reveal that he has a make-believe voice in his head telling him the words.

  Iris pulled out a book,

  “Read this to me, I can’t read.” She muttered.

  Leo looked at the book, a covered filled with knights and kings, Cool! Maybe he could get into this.

  “Romance… between… Castles” The voice replied.

  Never mind, Not cool!