Four days before.
"I'm sorry," Ryan said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding eye contact. "I...I should have come to see you sooner."
I didn't reply, just shot him a sidewards glance and turned my focus back to my homework. I twirled the pencil between my fingers, absentmindedly letting it float into the air and then dropping it back into my palm. I did this a few times before Ryan broke the silence I had created.
"I'm sorry," he repeated, "I... Is there anything I can do?"
"What do you want to do?" I said in a flat tone, leaning back in the chair and folding my arms across my chest. I wasn't angry or sad or... or anything really. Just flat nowadays.
"The other kids said you haven't been speaking to anyone," he mumbled, "and that you've only just started going back to class because you've had too many detentions."
"You went to speak to the 'other kids' about me?" I wanted to laugh, but I obviously didn't find the energy to. "It's not like I've ever had many friends Ryan, the other kids all hate me. Why would I be speaking to them of all people?"
"Listen, I get that you're mad with me," he spoke quickly, "but you have to understand that I applied for a new dorm because I just couldn't stand to be there anymore."
"Do you know who's left in the dorms?" I asked him, wanting to sound sarcastic but also just coming out completely emotionless. I just was too tired to put any more energy into this than I had to.
"It's... it's just you... isn't it?" He didn't look at me as he spoke.
"Yes. It's just me now. Everyone refuses to room with me."
"That's not-"
"They all think I'm a freak. That or they're scared of me," I shrugged, flicking my wrist so that the pencil stopped resting on the back of my hand and suddenly impaled into the desk. Ryan flinched instinctively, then tried to visibly calm himself down as if I hadn't already seen his reaction. "So, lucky me. I'm the only one in this godforsaken place that has their very own room."
"Vic, I'm sorry about the way things turned out," Ryan said softly. "I was coming to empathize about Danielle and her condition. I know she was the last person you were friends with... and I'm sorry."
"Yeah, thanks."
He tried to take the seat opposite me at the table, but with a quick wave of my hand I made the entire chair vanish. He scowled irritably, "this is why nobody will be your friend. You can't get along with anybody!"
"I get along with people just fine," I shrugged again, "if I want to. But seeing as I have no interest in our failed relationship anymore, if all you were here to do was give me your pity - then thank you, now please leave."
"Vic, you can't mope about Dani forever," Ryan sighed. "I hate to say it, but if you don't stop with all of this then this school will-"
"All of this?" I snapped and he flinched again. "I get straight As and more-or-less stay in line. I'm the school's most model student and if the professors weren't such gargoyles, then I'd be their favorite. I go to bed when I'm told and STAY there, I wake up when I'm told to and hand in my homework, I basically just float around aimlessly. Tell me how you think the school is going to punish me for this?"
"You were missing class," Ryan pointed out. "You were punished."
I rubbed at my arms, remembering the awful torturous detention sessions I had had. "And I healed myself of all afflictions and was back above ground in less than three hours."
"And there were rumors that the more detentions you got, the quicker and better you learned to heal and consequently the punishments became harsher. Is that the kind of life you want to live?"
"Well, I won't be living it anymore," I said matter-of-factly. "I've been going to class like a good boy. I won't be getting any more detentions."
"Ruben says he saw the bone sticking out of your arm once. He says you hadn't finished healing but came above ground anyway because it was 'your shift at the hospital' and you went to go see Dani." Ryan grimaced as he said the words. "He said it was almost as if you couldn't even feel the pain."
"Why are you telling me all of this?" It was my turn to sigh dramatically. "You're wasting my time."
"I came here to talk to you, not because I pity you but because I'm worried for you. Scared even. You're becoming too obsessed with Danielle and... it's taking its toll on you."
"Oh, NOW you care about me?" I almost laughed again. "Now you care? Piss off Ryan. I don't need this."
"Vic! I'm trying to help you," he said loudly. "Nobody else is willing to talk some sense into you, so I guess I will. You might be the strongest wizard alive, but if you don't sleep or eat you're going to die."
"I am sleeping and eating. Now piss off."
"You're barely eating and barely sleeping. Your ribs poking out of your shirt and the black marks around your eyes are proof of that."
"My best friend - my only friend - might die and you want me to carry on as if it weren't happening?" I wanted to scream, yell or just have any kind of outburst at him. Instead it sounded weak, pathetic and I hated my own voice. "When Dani wakes up, I'll go back to normal don't worry. Now go back to your other new, cooler friends before they find out you've been talking to the school weirdo."
"Have you ever considered that Dani might never wake up?" He asked gently.
"Shut up."
"Vic, I'm serious. There's a chance that... that she... I was talking to one of the nurses. They said I shouldn't tell you because of how often you go to see her. They didn't want to tell you because they were worried of how you'd take it but... but I think you should hear this."
"Shut up Ryan, I'm not joking."
"Vic, there's a ninety-percent chance that Dani has permanent brain damage. The nurses said IF she even wakes up, she'll-"
Ryan never finished the end of that sentence. I had snapped my hand open and sent him flying through the bookcases.
-
I was cradling my snapped wrist in my other (thankfully, not broken) hand. I had refused to cry when the bones in my right wrist started to melt and fuse together underneath my skin. I had watched the flesh of my wrist bubbling, feeling like it had been encased in flames even though it seemed like nothing was happening to it.
One of my professors had put a spell on me, one that was taking me a little longer to undo. I hadn't cried during my punishment which had annoyed him greatly, but I had bitten through the flesh of my lip and blood had trickled down my chin. Satisfied with that, he had left me to my own devices on the cold rocky ground of the dungeon.
He had left the door open - the professors had learned quickly that once I was done healing I just teleported out of the room, so they no longer bothered to lock it.
I knew that I was the most interesting thing to all of them: powerful enough to take on their harshest punishments that would've been too much for any other student. I knew they liked testing out new ideas on me and liked to time how long it took me to finish healing.
My broken wrist was my punishment for spraining Ryan's leg when I had thrown him. It was a minor offense compared to what I could have done and yet the professors hardly ever gave me mild punishments anymore.
I just didn't care about anything anymore. According to Dani's vision our time was ticking, slipping away with each minute. I didn't know when her vision would come true, but somehow deep down I just knew it would. She hadn't gotten a false premonition or made a mistake - this had been a long time coming and I knew she was right.
Her vision had been bad enough that it had put her in a perpetual coma. Nothing really mattered to me anymore: knowing that in the grand scheme of things, I could die any day now.
Eventually I felt my bones separating from each other and I able to flex my fingers without pain shooting through me. So I just stood up, dusted my jeans and teleported.
I took my usual seat by Dani's bedside and held her cold hand in my warmer ones.
"Fifteen minutes, Mr Fuentes," my professor said in front of me and I looked up to see him standing with a stopwatch and clipboard in hand. He made a quick note before putting everything away. "That spell took me five days to undo when I had it done to me. I could barely stomach the pain, I kept blacking out."
After any punishment I was given, the professors had worked out that I immediately teleported to Dani's bedside. Now whoever had dealt the punishment just stood here waiting for me to arrive.
"I'm not you," I said meekly, looking back at Dani's sleeping body.
"Watch your tone," he warned but without malice. "You're impressive, to say the least."
I didn't know whether to thank him or laugh so I did neither and just remained quiet.
"I have a proposition for you," he said and I could hear the grin in his voice. "The council is extremely taken by your abilities. They want to meet with you."
"Pass."
"You can't 'pass' on this, Mr Fuentes! Any other wizard would feel immensely honored to even be considered by the council at your age, let alone have their presence specifically requested!"
"Neat. Still a pass. I'm not interested in meeting with any old men."
"Well too bad. It's an honor for this school to host members of our esteemed council and we wouldn't dare decline such a request. You will meet with them and you WILL be a polite, eager young man."
"I can't guarantee it. I've never been those things."
"Then you'd better learn quickly. If you even so much as annoy any of the council members, you could have your powers stripped from you."
I looked up at him then. "Okay, I guarantee one thing: not a single one of them is nearly as capable as me. I'd like to see them try to even so much as block one of my spells let alone strip my power."
"You will watch your tongue! This is not a joking matter, Mr Fuentes," the professor snapped. "This is an extremely serious affair, even someone as naive and arrogant as you should take care to be not do anything stupid."
He turned to leave, thoroughly upset with my shenanigans but stopped when he saw Dani's hand in mine. He seemed to soften at the sight and I wanted to roll my eyes at him.
"I'm sorry about your friend-"
"Don't even start."
"Fine then." He straightened up, all hardness returning to his posture and his face. "Take care not to get in trouble, Mr Fuentes. The next time I see or hear of you should be when the council arrives."
"And when do they arrive?" I asked as he was starting to leave the hospital wing.
He continued walking, throwing his head back and shouting: "they'll be here in four days!"
And as he said that, I felt Dani's fingers twitch in my grasp.