A lot has happened to me these past few weeks. I went from being a normal high school student. To a bigoted witch. To a Caster. To a candidate for student precedency, and then back to just being a normal caster.
Well, normal is subjective. I am one of two Star Casters in the whole world. I have been getting strange visions about different timelines. I have befriended my bullies and made strange allies. I have a girlfriend who can read my mind and a mentor whose girlfriend wants to kill me.
Does that count as normal?
I have a feeling it doesn't.
I do a once over of my appearance.
I don't want to give these council members any reason to patronize me. I plan to get to the bottom of this, today. And I won't give them any excuses not to take me seriously. I want them to know they can't just control me and have me go along with their every whim.
Emery Ellison is no pushover.
I wear the pleated skirt and the black button-up that comes with my uniform. I make sure my shoes shine and pull up my socks. I actually fixed up my ginger hair and straightened it. I filed my nails and washed my face. I even brushed my teeth, twice. To get them extra white and shiny. Then I fix a purple tie around my neck and shove my phone in my pocket.
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with?" Vega asks.
"No, they want me to come alone. Plus I have a bone to pick with them." I say.
"Fine, just, be careful." She pecks me on the lips.
"I can teleport you know." I point out.
"Questionable," she smiles against my lips.
"I'll show you," I threaten.
She chuckles before kissing me again.
I feel all flowy inside. Is that a word to describe a feeling? Flowy? Well, it is now. Because I feel flowy.
"Ew gross, put a warning sign on the door or something." Dariyah walks into the room.
I sigh and pull away.
Vega glares at her.
"Are you sure we can't get rid of her?" I ask.
"Try it, I dare you." She flops on her bed.
"You are such a troll," I snark.
"Call me that again and I'll flatten your face." She cracks her knuckles in her spike gloves.
I narrow my eyes at her.
"Enough you two, do I need to get a time-out whistle?" Vega says.
"Do I even want to know what that is?" I ask.
"No," they say in unison.
"Whatever, I need to get going anyways."
"Can I at least walk you?" Vega offers.
"No, I'll be fine." I peck on the lips again.
She sighs in defeat.
I stand straight and walk out with my head held high.
"Try not to die," Dariyah calls after me.
I roll my eyes and ignore her.
On my way out I run into Nerissa and Ro.
"Hey, what did your parents say?" I ask.
"They just gave me the run-around. Something is definitely going on." She warns me.
"Somethings definitely going on behind closed doors," Ro adds.
"I'm going to get to the bottom of this," I assure them.
"Be careful," Nerissa looks me in the eyes.
I nod before moving to go to the conference hall.
"You are so dead!" I see the usual jerks chasing Darko.
I sigh and run over to him.
"Hey!" I stand in the way.
"You again." They sneer at me.
"Grow a personality already." I grab Darko's hand and teleport to the guy's dorm.
"Thanks," he sighs in relief.
"Hate those guys," I grumble.
"You on your way to meet the council?"
"Yeah." I sigh.
"Nerissa caught us up. Good luck."
"Thanks," I smile at him.
"Please don't go out by yourself anymore. I prefer your face not pounded in," I pinch his cheek.
He laughs and swats my hand away.
"Look, there is Bastion. He's strong and cool looking, go be his friend." I push him over to him.
Bastion sighs when he sees us.
"Please protect him," I say to Bastion.
"I didn't sign up for this." He says.
"Got to go, bye!" I teleport away.
I don't stick the landing and stumble forward before catching myself on the wall.
"Needs work," Cyrene says, standing outside of the conference hall with her arms crossed.
"Hey, I figured this one out on my own. Give me some credit," I grumble.
"Teleportation isn't what you should be working on," she comments.
"It comes in handy." I dust myself off.
"Come on," she opens the door for me.
We walk into the council room together. The council members are all in their usual spots, and they all stare at me. I take a deep breath. Time to get my game face on. I won't let them intimidate me.
"Thank you for joining us Emery," the representative for water Casters says.
She's never really talked before. At least not to me. It's clear to me she has south Asian roots by her looks. If I recall correctly her name is Nadia Asuki. I did my research yesterday on the members, at least so I can know their names.
"I'm sure you have questions." She says.
"That's putting it lightly," I say.
They shift uncomfortably.
"So, ask away." She folds her hands out in front of her.
"Why did you pull my election run? That's not fair." I say.
"To put it plainly, you are not a Caster." The scary lady with the deep-set eyes says.
I've learned her name is Helena Hecate. She's a Necro Caster, whatever that means.
"What?"
"You are not a Caster." She says it slower.
"What does that even mean?" I ask.
"It means, you're still new here. You are learning. You don't know enough about this school's systems and inner workings. You don't know enough about what this school even offers, about the students you want to represent, about the extra circulars that go on here. You are still very much an outsider. And we don't think it's right for someone who knows nothing about this school and its people to represent us all."
I sigh and look down.
"While we appreciate you diving headfirst into our culture and adopting us into a vital part of your life, you still have much to learn." Pierce McDonald says, the fire caster with the slicked-back black hair.
Cyrene puts a hand on my shoulder to comfort me.
"You have spunk, that will get you very far. You remind us of another Star Caster we all know and love so well," Tabitha Tamer, a beast caster says.
I look at Cyrene and she smiles at me.
"You have started a conversation that has been needing to happen for a long time. Thanks to you the community outside of Belmore wants to get more involved. Casters are trending all over the world as people talk about breaking these walls down and bridging the gap between Casters and non-casters. You have potential," Nadia continues on.
I look back at her.
"Potential?" I say.
"Potential to one day be a great leader and maybe be on the council yourself." She says.
My eyes go wide in surprise.
"In fact, we are so sure you'll progress into greatness that we want to help you get there even faster," Peirce says.
A side door opens and out steps Gideon, Latavius, and Lorelei. The representatives of the higher council. A time, reality, and energy caster.
All the hairs on my arm stand up.
"For the first time in our history, we have put together a joint task force just for you. Not only to continue the investigation as to how this happened to you but to help train you and aid your growth as a Caster. These three are from the higher council and starting tomorrow will help train and teach you all that you need to know as a Caster."
"Oh, uh, thank you," I say in surprise.
Nadia opens her mouth to continue but the door behind me opens and I turn to look. In steps this woman. With striking blue eyes, and hair as dark as the night. She looks to be in her early 40's late 30's. She's dressed in a pantsuit and just radiates big boss energy.
"Sorry, I'm late. Still getting used to this new schedule." She strides past me.
"Ah, Emery, allow me to introduce you to my wife," Dominic Ross, Dariyah's dad and the blood caster representative, says.
"I'm Vergina Ross," she outstretched her hand towards me.
I hesitantly take it, remembering all the awful things Vega said about her mother. Seeing her in person, she doesn't look like what I pictured a nightmare mom to look like. But then again, they never do.
"I'm the new Psy Caster representative from the higher council. Busy, busy, busy, who knew this new job came with all these new obligations." She is winded.
"Dr. Ross has been working with non-casters for years and with this new interest from the community, she was elected to a higher council seat. She volunteered to come down here and help you with this transition. She's a counselor and is perfect to help you transition into your life as a Caster." Nadia says.
"I look forward to getting to know you, Emery," she smiles sweetly at me.
This is awkward. I force a smile back.
"We want you to know you can count on us, but more than that we want you to lean into us and rely on us. Both councils are dedicated to helping you and making this situation as painless as possible." Nadia says.
"While the faculty at Belmore will be there for you, they aren't exactly equipped to aid in your situation. Asherah and her team can only do so much. While all of us in here have more resources at our disposal." Pierce says.
That leaves a sour taste in my mouth, almost like they don't trust Asherah, or they are trying to discredit her. Even though she's the one that's helped me the most in this entire room.
"Have you made any headway into what happened to me?" I ask.
"Your investigation is very unique," he selects his words carefully. "While we are using everything we can to help get to the bottom of this, like every system we have limitations. But we are confident we will get to the bottom of this and give you some answers and peace of mind."
I sigh.
"I want you to look around because the people in this room won't just be your support system for your time at Belmore, but for the rest of your life. We want you to feel like one of us Emery." Nadia says.
"We want you to become a true Caster," Helena adds.
"And we think you can." Pierce finishes.
"And though I was initially mad not to be included in the decision after hearing their reasons, I agree with the council's decision to pull your bid for the election," Cyrene says.
I turn to her.
"Focusing on your studies and honing your skills comes first." She squeezes my shoulder.
"Okay," I relent.
"We apologize for this inconvenience but we hope you understand our reasons," Nadia says.
"I do," I say.
"Now that the air has been cleared and we all know where we stand we look forward to watching your growth as a Caster, Consider this our official welcome to Belmore, but more than that, our welcome to you into the world of Casters."
I glance around the room to all the unfamiliar faces.
Gideon waves at me.
Latavius nods.
Lorelei crosses her arms and eyes me.
Dr. Ross looks annoyed and bored.
When I glance at Cyrene she gives me a reassuring smile.
I wish Asherah were here. Something about her absence from this feels wrong. But I'll keep my mouth shut for now. For now, I take a deep breath and say,
"Thank you all for giving me a chance to prove myself. I promise to make the most out of this opportunity and become a true Star Caster."