The Otherworlders Academy - An Original Teen Fantasy

S2-Ep. 4.5 (R) - Have I Got a Project for You!

"Oh, yeah! Right! Right!" Aidan gets back to work. "Okay, let me try out your standard, everyday locking spell."

He wiggles his fingers in front of the doorknob and chants, "Ut in tenebris nocte hac stricta!"

Nothing happens.

"Hmmm..." Aidan strokes his chin. "Okay, maybe Pierce went with your garden variety double-locking spell. "Nemo intrare sine clavem," he chants.

Still nothing happens.

"Aidan," Patrick says, his blood pressure rising. "If Pierce just went to go get coffee or something, then he's probably coming back at any minute. Please, do something! Now!"

"All right! All right!" He waves Patrick back and then takes a calming breath. "When in doubt, you can never go wrong with the classic: Aperta sesame!"  He throws his arms up in a flourish like a birthday party magician and...

Click. The lock slides open.

"Wow!" Jake says in awe. "Aidan! That was sweet!"

"All in a day's work," Aidan replies coyly.

With a sigh of relief, Patrick pushes open the door. He looks back at the guys. "I'll be like a minute or two, max," Patrick tells them. "You guys keep your eyes peeled and if Pierce comes back... JUST STALL HIM."

"Got it!" Jake says.

"Yep, got it!" Aidan agrees.

***

Patrick slips into Headmaster Pierce's office and closes the door behind him. He heads straight for Pierce's desk, pulls open the middle drawer and...

Damn!

The keys aren't there.

Patrick's shoulders slump. What if Headmaster Pierce took the keys with him? Patrick shakes his head, lamenting his bad luck, then in a panic he begins to scan the room.

Maybe the keys are still in the office and just staring him in the face? His gaze skims over the mahogany desk, the fancy side tables sitting next to the couch and the armchair, then over to the bookshelf and... bingo!

Patrick spots the keys sitting in a shallow bowl on the middle shelf and moves quickly to grab them when — from the other side of the door — "Headmaster Pierce!" Jake practically shouts. "Hi! Good to see you, sir! Um... Aidan and I, we were hoping to catch you to ask you about...

Patrick bites his lips as he realizes he's got only seconds to find another way out of the room. Other than the main door, there's no other means of entry or exit other than... the window.

Patrick sighs with resignation and heads over there. He opens it up and leans out over the ledge. By his calculation he's about 30, maybe 35 feet above ground. He closes his eyes, curses his fate and sucks in a fortifying breath before climbing out onto the ledge.

Grabbing the handle, he eases the window closed behind him. Then, hugging the wall, he inches out of sight. He can hear Headmaster Pierce, Jake, and Aidan still talking right outside the office door.

"Well boys," Headmaster Pierce says, "I'm so glad you've taken such a keen interest in the history of Levitation and Telekinesis. You know, many students don't care to dig into the actual history behind these spells and incantations and I think that's a shame. Quite frankly, I could talk about them for hours."

Out on the ledge, Patrick rolls his eyes. Frickin' hell! He's going to be out here forever!

He looks down and, stomach churning, begins to get dizzy. Plastering himself even harder back against the wall, he starts to breathe in and out, very slowly and very deeply, just as his therapist had taught him in order to deal with his long list of phobias — the fear of heights, being at the top of that list.