A Day in the Life of Gage Noxx

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Primtalia: School of Sorcery
Chapter Twenty-Five
A Day in the Life of Gage Noxx

The boy with the messy black hair and bright blue eyes gave out a loud huff as he the door closed behind Vladimir and Arthur who had the audacity to give such a half-assed lie to him of all people!

He waited in his seat for a minute in quiet protest before coming to his senses and realising no one was going to enter the room again. So, he pushed Amber's book into the pocket of his robes and decided to finally head out.

He smiled lamely to himself as he imagined the entire school bowing to him and the headmaster proclaiming him a "Valiant and Intelligent Hero" for solving the mystery of who had killed Amber. While some help was always welcomed in his eyes, he of course preferred if he could solve it on his own like he had with Hayden (despite the fact it wasn't actually him who piled the evidence against him in the end, he liked the idea that he placed the stepping stones all the way there).

Upon exiting the library, he frowned his brows immediately. From a small supply closet, he could smell trouble. He shook he doorknob to enter but doing so proved futile as, despite seeing the lock on the outside, the door seemed to have been locked from the inside.

With his wand in hand he chanted, "Abrindo," the unlocking spell. Though the spell always worked when it came to nongifted locks, it did not work this time, meaning that whoever was inside cast a more powerful spell to keep people out.

The thought of it being someone malicious quickly popped its way into his head and he grew more eager to open the door.

He pounded on the wooden door twice before he could hear shuffling and muffled whispering coming from within. He waited for three seconds before pounding on the door again. This time, there was a response, "Coming~!" Sang a high-pitched voice.

It took about ten seconds more and all of Gage's patience before there was a small WOOSH sound coming from the door as the lock spell they cast was removed. Then, came a click followed by another before the door opened, revealing none other than Francis Bonnefoy, a fourth year Ians student and Gilbert Beilschmidt, a seventh year Ailat Prefect.

While Francis stood in front, obviously trying to make himself larger so as to block Gages view of what was Gilbert obviously trying to fan smoke through the small window right behind them.

Gage sniffed the air before furrowing his brows, "Is this... Are you two dim-witted morons actually smoking citrusflower petals on school grounds?!"

"Uhoho—" Laughed Francis, who was still not completely aware of his surroundings, "This is a fool question, no? Ohohoh!" He continued to crackle.

"I should report this, you know. It's such a waste of good potion and medical ingredients." He muttered, watching as Francis's expression completely shifted.

In truth, he didn't even care about it as his mind was elsewhere. Even so, a smile crept on his face as he leaned on the door, "I don't usually make offers like this, but... Perhaps I could look the other way... Just this time."

Gilbert stopped fanning and Francis began nodding quickly to the sudden proposal.

"I just need a little favour. Come to me when you two idiots stop smelling like oranges and I'll explain, yeah?" He cooed quietly.

"Of course!" Francis cheerfully beamed, "And to think we didn't have to even use an ignorance potion this time!"

"What?" Gage asked, his expression shifting immediately, "This time?"

Francis quickly covered his mouth and with his opposite hand, shoved the door shut on Gage's face, causing him to stumble back a bit as he covered his nose.

"What do you mean 'this time' you coward!!" Gage repeated as he stormed back to the door to try to open it back up. Unfortunately, however, it was now locked again. He pounded on the door a few times, but from within, he only heard crackling from the two boys as they continued in their irresponsible bliss.

Gage gave an eye roll, knowing that really, he should have to report them to a professor, but knowing the two idiots now owed him a big favour, he couldn't help but find the thought of reporting them just not enticing enough. Besides, what fun would the reporting be if Antonio wasn't there to enjoy the punishment alongside his two best friends?

The boy hasn't made it even ten steps before he found himself stopped again, this time by Professor Hyenni who walked with her nose held high as she looked down at him with a look of curiosity but fondness as he wasn't one to break rules or get awful grades.

"Ah, Gage, dear, I was just looking for you." She spoke soothingly.

"You were, Professor?"

She nodded, walking beside him and leading him down the hall, away from the dining hall he was previously headed towards.

"See, I don't want to cause a scene, however it has been brought to my attention that one of Miss Amber's objects has been stolen." She spoke. Gage blinked thrice, understanding where this was headed. "It was a book she had at the time of the incident." She continued. "Not that I quite understand why a book of all things was stolen, but the headmaster theorised that whoever stole the book is perhaps behind her attack."

"Do you imagine there's something inside the book, Professor?" Gage asked, trying his best to sound as clueless as possible.

She gave a slow nod, "We don't know exactly when it was taken as it has been quite a while, however we've only just been made aware of it after looking through the report of that night..." She trailed off before noting she hadn't explained what the book looked like to him. "It's titled Hello, Goodbye. There was no author's name on it, simply their initials, 'B.T.S.'" She explained, "I hope this serves as ample information."

"It's more than enough, Professor." He replied, feeling the book press against the side of his leg with each step they took.

She smiled broadly, causing the makeup on the outer corner of her lips to crack as she did so. With a slight bow of her head, she retreated down the hall to make her way towards the classrooms on the second floor.

He stared at her for a second before squinting his eyes at the tall and pointy hat that rested on her head.

A hat just like the one Amber had drawn in her book.

Without a moment of hesitation, he made a dash towards the headmaster's hall where portraits of all the current and previous professors lines the large walls.

He looked dumbfounded as he saw what they all had in common, the pointy black hats which were a part of the uniform. Discovering this revelation, he felt his stomach sink.

Surely someone would have noticed if there were bad apples amongst the professors, right?

The question of why there would be professors acting out in such a way was still a question Gage couldn't fathom quick enough to answer, however if there were truth in the thought, it would explain as to why they would be able to get away with so much.

From how they were able to speak to _______ so many times without getting caught by anyone to how they were able to overpower another professor and even cast a killing curse with such simplicity.

Gage furrowed his brows as he spent another minute in the empty hall recollecting his thoughts.

The pointy hat Amber had drawn had to mean the professors.

Sure, it could be a coincidence Professor Hyenni was searching for Amber's book, but there could also be the chance that she became paranoid upon finding it gone. Perhaps she was just under the impression that if someone was willing to steal the book, there was the chance that there was something worth stealing in the pages of the book.

From his robes, he pulled the book out and flipped it open. In a swift movement, he tore the page with the symbols out as cleanly as he could before shoving it back into his pocket and tossing the book into a large vase that adorned the hall.

He had a library to get back to.

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