Now Playing: ballad of a homeschooled girl by Olivia Rodrigo
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TW: blood (not gorey)
Story playlist in the comments -->
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30 seconds to get to class.
Three hallways.
Two left turns.
One incredibly unlucky student.
You got this, Y/N.
Probably.
You rush through the halls, clutching the strap of your backpack for your life. You stumble past a pack of popular teenagers perfectly blocking the entire hallway, making you fight the urge to hex them all. Although, with your luck, you'd end up hexing yourself by mistake. You were finally about to get into your class, when your dumbass tripped on oxygen and you found yourself face planted on the floor. Aaand the bell rung.
"Titan, I'm a complete disaster." You mutter, standing up slowly and brushing yourself off, rubbing the numbness out of your face. You reach for the door handle to class and notice blood smeared on your hand. "Dammit." You mumble, stepping into class.
"L/N. Late. Again." Your teacher says, looking over at you for a split second. "Y/N, go to the office and get your face cleaned up.
"What? Is it bad?" You glance around the bard classroom to see some awkward glances from your classmates.
"What did you do this time?"
"Well, I was running to class, and I was really about to be on time this time! I'm like five seconds late! But I tripped.."
"I can see that. Go to the healer's office." They scribble something down on a hall pass and hand it to you, exasperated. "Now, most of you have a storytelling class as bards, but how can we incorporate that into the musical aspect of bard magic?" They start as you walk back out into the hall. You wipe your face with your sleeve, the blood barely showing up on the red fabric of your uniform, but was clearly smeared across the palm of your hand.
"Titan, Y/N. Why can't you try harder?" You mutter to yourself, fiddling with the hall pass. You stop by the bathroom to look at yourself in the mirror. The sight of your face was definitely not pleasant at the moment. A fresh area of broken skin on your cheek, the source of your bloodied hand. You fight the urge to reach up and touch it and turn to head to the office. If you try rinsing it out, the water will probably turn out to be fire and you'll burn your face. Anxiety was lying for the most part, but worst-case scenarios are your specialty. And anxiety with reason is more like good advice.
"Y/N, good to see you again." The lady at the office desk says, looking up at you and then a look of disgust/worry washes over her face.
"You too." You smile awkwardly.
"Healers?"
"How'd you guess?" You joke.
"Ms. Benney?" She calls. "L/N kid is back."
"Y/N, how's my best student?"
"At least one of the adults here thinks I'm the best." You shrug, walking over to Ms Benney and following her into the healer's room.
"Y'know, if you wanna be in here so often you could just join the healing track."
"I hardly trust myself with myself, I don't think healing is a great idea for me."
"Oh, well. I tried. What was it this time?" She asks, opening a cabinet. "Sit, love." You sit down on one of the little beds with tissue paper on them.
"Just tripped in the hall."
"Y'know, you're talented. If any ordinary kid tripped and fell in the hall, they wouldn't get to skip class for a trip up here. They'd be perfectly fine." She walks up to you and draws a spell circle over your cheek.
"Not that I'd mind being a little more ordinary." You laugh.
"Ah, where's the fun in that? You'd still be a Glandus kid if you were ordinary. This'll leave a scar for a day or two, by the way."
"Thanks." You smile. Your parents had wanted you to join in on their potion making business, so you were in the potions track at Glandus until the explosion incident that got you expelled and ended you up in the Hexside bard track. Well, after you were in the Hexside oracle track and got moved because of the ghost incident. And then the abominations track before the goo incident. There was a list of incidents that could be traced back to you, some of the teachers called you an accidental Clawthorne repeat. But it's not like you're purposefully this unlucky. Eda Clawthorne was a legend for doing horrible things on purpose. You were more like a walking 'what not to do' example.
"Alright, you're set to head back to class." Ms Benney says.
"Thanks, again." You say, standing up and heading out the office door. You stop by the bathroom to wash your hands before going back to class.
"Welcome back, L/N." Your teacher says, clearly exasperated.
"Thanks." You mutter, taking your seat.
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You strummed your guitar, lifting random objects in the room. As the song progresses, you get a little too taken away from reality, only the music on your mind.
"Y/N, Y/N stop!" Voices you can hardly hear start to make their way into your mind.
CRASH
"L/N!"
Back to reality, you idiot.
"Shit." You say, looking around at the mildly destroyed classroom, multiple broken desks around the room, including the teachers. Scattered papers, and a smashed window.
"Class, you can all continue practicing. Y/N L/N, come with me." Your teacher says sternly, and you smile awkwardly.
How wonderful.
"I am so so so sorry." You say as your teacher leads you out of the room.
"Y/N, you're too reckless with your magic."
"I am careful, I swear! I just- I'm just not a very good witch." You mutter.
"I think that may be the opposite of your problem, L/N."
"What?"
"Maybe we should have you switched to something safer. Illusions, maybe. An illusion never hurt anybody." They say.
"What? But- I- I'll just mess that up too!" You complain as they lead you into the office. "I was just finally starting to get good at bard magic! I'll be more careful next time."
"Back so soon?" The office lady says.
"You wait here, I'm talking to Principal Bump about your behavior."
"Oh Titan." You groan, sitting in one of the chairs and shoving your face in your hands. Didn't they get it? Didn't anyone get it? It's not a behavior, there's just generally something wrong with you.
---
"Y/N L/N, will you come in here please?" Principal Bump says opening his door. Reluctantly, you stand and walk into his office as he shuts the door behind you.
"Principal Bump, I swear it was an accident-"
"We think another switch to find the right track for you may be best."
"But bard is the right track for me! I was trying, I was getting better! I really was! Today was just a slip up!"
"You've had too many slip ups for it to be safe." He explains. "Too many complaints from parents."
"We're having you switched into a class for students who need to relearn their basics."
"Like baby class?"
"Well-" Principal Bump pauses. "A little bit. We'll send you into illusion magic after you finish the course."
"But-"
"This is final, Y/N." He says. "I'm sorry, it's just not safe for you to be practicing difficult magic anymore."
"It's just basic 10th grade magic." You say. "Please, I- I'll study extra hard, and-"
"This is our final decision. It's this or expulsion."
"Actually, we'd rather L/N isn't placed in a class for witches far below their power level." You're all interrupted by the door opening and the Lilith Clawthorne standing in the doorway, Emperor's Coven scouts behind her. "And we'd hate for you to expel your strongest student."
"Ms. Clawthorne." Principal Bump and your bard teacher both stand up and bow, and you do the same.
"Ma'am, this student is a disaster." Your teacher explains.
"This student is being invited to compete for a training spot in the Emperor's Coven." Lilith says, looking down at you.
"Me? This-" You laugh awkwardly. "Ma'am, this must be a mistake."
"You are Y/N L/N, right?"
"Well, yes, but-"
"Then we will see you on Saturday."