Ever Lost

3

The mage common rooms were unsurprisingly bustling with students. They filled the halls with new spells summoning clouds, teleporting staircases, those same staircases became escalators, the floor made of water that wet our shoes and whole ecosystems existed beyond it but we walked upon it regardless, the ceiling became a sky, doodles on the walls came alive, and so much more. At the end of every year, the dorm would be cleaned but the best spell would get to stay. This would prevent the dormitory from being filled with utter chaos, but not for long as one day, there'd be so many spells, they'd have to clear them all out or stop the tradition entirely.

I kicked through the heavy clouds, sunk on the floor, noticing a pair of kids playing on the stairs. A girl drew up a bubble, which the boy she stood beside took a running start and jumped, landing on her slippery  conjured sphere. A reckless decision, which would have dire consequences if the thing were to pop, and it would, but curiosity and nostalgia got the better of me, so I watched the pair. The girl, though she had conjured up the thing voiced her concerns, commanding the bubble. He assured her, promising he wouldn't fall, but he did, the bubble sunk, and the boy became unsteady on the bubble. He quickly began a descent toward the ground, but the bubble caught up to him and caught him, absorbing him in its walls. The girl brought the bubble to the ground and popped it, chastising him. He laughed as if it was the most fun thing he'd ever done.

I walked past them as I head up the stairs and caught a wisp of their conversation. "I'll never do that for you again." The girl said. The boy replied with something catty, and the girl embraced him with a tightly punishing but loving hug. They couldn't have been older than year eights. Too old to be so reckless but it was clear the two of them knew that. I felt the bitter tinge of jealousy, I remembered sitting on these stairs, laughing, playing. Those days were filled with joy, though they hung heavy with grief there was a ray of sunshine in the form of Stella Black. My longtime friend, and roommate, we were inseparable until one fire season, she left, she never returned, never wrote.

I pressed back the memories, finding my way to my dorm room. There was nothing special about these dorms. If anything, they were pretty standard. Hard wood flooring, individual mattresses a little bigger than the average twin size, two dressers and a mirror of which hung over them - ours were covered by sheets - and a rug in the center floor. We had few decorations in our room, Alice and I had yet to unpack anything, so the items we did have - suitcases and bags - were sprawled about on either side of the room. All we had time for was to simply cover the mirrors. Even our blankets and sheets were still folded neatly on our beds. Since I was here, I made my bed, but bothered not for unpacking. I'd get to it when I needed to shower. The sheet fell off the mirror, and I snapped my attention toward it, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My pressed-out curls were messy from the bumpy ride and my face was oily, my lips a little drier than they'd been when I arrived, and my lip liner rubbed off from breakfast. My eyeliner melted, only half of the wing remained. The rest of my makeup was fine, and since I wouldn't be doing a full face, I figured I had time for touch ups.