Badge || Variable eight

Sorrel Cave looked at the list of students, and read the first namehood at the top of the alphabetical list. A girl came from the back of the crowd, and received a guidebook and a badge.

One by one, Sorrel called out each student, and Yew had to wait a long time until she reached the letter Y.

In the meantime, he observed other students, who upon returning back to the crowd, got very innovative with the placement of their badges.

Most kids placed them on the chest, the stomach, or the arms. But several girls hid their badges under their skirts, whereas some boys attached theirs to their underwear or shoes. Yew liked their ideas, and he considered attaching his badge to his sock, until his irate mother’s face appeared in his mind, and hurled this idea out of his head.

"Yew Chirabilva Araukaria Sky," Sorrel called out his namehood.

He approached her, took his essentials with a shy "thank you, madam", then stepped away from the teacheress.

Yew noticed right away that the guidebook had his namehood printed in black letters on the cover page, but he examined the badge first. It was shaped like a white shield with a black Roman numeral one in the center. Above the numeral, there was a white text "School of Hecate" on the red border, which surrounded the badge. On the other side of the badge, Yew found his namehood.

Yew placed the badge on his arm, but then he changed his mind, took it off and placed it on the side of his stomach. He was about to open his guidebook, when Sorrel spoke again.

"The badges are magical, so they won’t detach from your clothes by themselves, and other people cannot remove them either. However, they’re small, so I recommend you pay attention, where you leave them."

Yew's name was the last on the list, but Sorrel didn't dismiss the list immediately. There were two namehoods, which no one claimed, so she checked with the crowd. "Is there anyone here, whose name wasn't called?"

Everyone among the gathered had their essentials and no one came forward, so Sorrel marked the two kids as absent. Then she clapped her hands, and the list of names disappeared together with the remaining guidebooks and badges of students, who didn’t show up.

The teacheress cleared her throat before she continued.

"For the next nine years, all of you will be learning magic. However, that’s not the most important thing. The most important thing is for you to set your own goals. Any work started, but unfinished, yields no results. So don’t waste your time trytesting. Decide once, and don’t change your mind. Stay on one path until you reach the finish line. Don’t give up halfway. Don’t stray. Finish one thing, before you start another."

She took a deep breath, and spoke in a calmer voice.

"Finally, I want to remind you that Hecate, like all schools, has its own reputation. It is a school, where we care deeply about our students, and we want all of you…" She cut off, then she repeated the last three words with a clear break between each one. "All… of… you… without exception, to succeed. As teachers, we’ll do all in our power to help you, but you, as students, must do all in your power to help us."

Some of the students looked confused after they heard the last sentence, but Sorrel quickly explained in a voice akin to a general giving instructions to his regimen.

"You’re not here to blindly obey. You’re not here to please anyone. You’re not here to just pass the minimum requirements. You are here to excel. There's nothing more glorious for teachers than to see their students achieve what they themselves couldn't. And that is what we always wish for. We want you to surpass us, your teachers."

A lot of girls giggled, and some of the boys smirked in anticipation. Yew didn’t do either, because he felt like her words weren’t directed at him. After all, he didn’t come to this school to learn. He had other goals.

Sorrel continued, "I am glad to see that so many of you have high ambitions. That’s how it should be. But whatever you do, always remember about your honor and the honor of our school. And I hope that as graduates, you’ll bring nothing but honor to your parents and to your teachers."

Yew rolled his eyes at the idea of honor. His kindergarten teachers also talked about it all the time, but in the end, it never mattered. All bad behavior was always explained as kids being kids, so even bullies got away without damaging their or their parents’ honor.

"Now I’d like to check how many of you are magicless. As you should know, the term «magicless» is an abbreviation of the longer term «magic-talentless», and our school welcomes both magic-talented and magic-talentless students. Out there in the world, magic-talented people are the minority, but in this school, it’s the magicless who are rare."

Yew also wondered how many magicless students there were in the crowd.

"If you’re magicless, please come forward and stand on my left," she beckoned at the area. "Please, hurry up."

Yew moved together with five other kids. He had registered as magicless, and for that reason he had to act like one, if he wanted to keep his secret.

Out of hundred twelve kids, only six stood by the teacheress. This didn’t surprise Yew, because most magicless people would rather go to a school, where their lifegoals were easier to achieve. Not many would go to the school of magic, and work hard for a future that was never meant to be.

Yet Sorrel was astonished. "Six? This is more than usual."

"Professor Sorrel," a magicless girl, who was standing closest to the teacheress, raised her hand.

"Yes, lass," the teacheress invited her to speak.

"What's the usual number of magicless students?"

"One or two," Sorrel answered. "The most I’ve ever seen until today was three people in one group. Anyway," she straightened her posture. "I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart for choosing our school." She bowed her head toward them, while keeping her palm on her chest. "If there's anything you don't understand, I'm sure everyone will gladly help you the best they can."

Afterward, she faced the magic-talented students. "As I'm sure at least one of your parents graduated from Hecate, you must already know a lot about our school. Therefore, I expect you to learn from each other as schoolmates ought to do, and to take care of those who might need your help."

Yew didn't like that sort of guidance. On the contrary, he would have preferred, if the teacheress had told other students to avoid the magicless kids, but he understood, that that was an unreasonable request.

"Lastly, please raise your hand, if you have already decided who'll be your roommate."

The majority of magic-talented students raised their hands. Yew recalled that in the confirmation form, there was a box at the bottom labelled as «your roommate's namehood». He left that box empty.

"Among those with hands up, is there anyone who failed to pre-register? If so, please come over here."

Several kids approached her, and she commanded the others to lower their hands. She asked the kids for their namehoods, and took some notes in the air.

Yet all Yew saw were colorful circles and dots popping and sparkling, as she waved her hands like a mystical dancer.

After Sorrel finished pairing up the kids, she drew a big rectangle in the air, and waited. A short moment later, a long papersheet materialized in front of her. She took it into her hands, and looked at the content.

"Okay," she said. "Your cottages have been arranged. Please follow me, and don't stray away. If you do, your badge will sound an alert, and you'll only embarrass yourself."

She pointed toward the school. "We'll need to walk for half an hour across the schoolground, but if anyone among you cannot walk for that long, please raise your hand right now."

She waited for a while, but since none of the students reacted, she moved on to the next step. "Great. Let's go then."

She walked at the front of the procession, while more than hundred kids followed behind her. Most of them knew each other already, and they chatted as they walked, but Yew knew no one, and he didn't want to know anyone.

Some of the friendly kids approached, and asked him questions. Yet each time, he had answered in a tone, which discouraged them from any further questioning.

Eventually most talkative kids moved forward, while Yew ended up walking near the end of the long procession among all the quiet kids. However, he enjoyed observing the scenery more than opening his mouth.

His first impression of the school could be summarized in one word: white. The school of Hecate had only white buildings made with white stone walls, white epoxy doors, and white metal rooftops. The paved roads were five meters wide and entirely made out of white pebbles. The pathways between the buildings were one meter wide and filled with dense white sand.

Yet the white color was scarce in comparison to all the shades of green, which dominated the landscape.

Countless trees grew all over the schoolground, many of which were equal or taller than the buildings. The bushes reached up to the windows, ivy plants climbed the walls, flowers lined up the pathways, and wild grasses bordered the roads. Even the lantern poles weren't spared by the vines, which half-obstructed the lights at nighttime.

While it was hard to find a color other than green and white in the architecture, it was easy to spot any color in the clothes of the passerbys. The school had no uniforms, so teachers and students alike were free to dress as they wished.