Arthur was rushing to get to class this morning. He got through the portal late because the girls were still getting dressed. He was excited because he was going to see his friends again that he had just met yesterday. Maybe this school of witchery wasn't such a bad idea after all. Or so he thought until he got to class and noticed that Tommy wasn't there. Where could he be? It was only the second day of class. Everyone else was there after he arrived. Miss Braxton was on her way into the classroom now which meant they were about to get started and Tommy still wasn't here.
Miss Braxton noticed Arthur looking around, then she glanced over at the seat Tommy should have been in.
"Don't worry Arthur, I know all about Tommy being out of class today. Something came up in his family and he has to stay home and take care of it. His father called me last night and explained everything to me. I also talked to Tommy and he told me to tell you not to worry about him. He will be back tomorrow." She laughed and then said, "he wants you to bring him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch tomorrow since yours looked so good yesterday. His words not mine."
The rest of the morning Arthur and Susie chatted with each other. It was fun, but Arthur still missed his buddy Tommy.
At lunch, Susie and Arthur had to eat a lot of stir-fried beef noodles because he had brought enough for three but Tommy wasn't there to help them. Arthur didn't want to take anything back home since he knew his grandmother would complain about wasting food. Luckily his mom was a great cook and Susie was an equally great eater. They laughed and joked all during lunch time and were pretty excited about today's class about magic arts. Today was going to be about transformation according to the homework they had last night. Both of them hoped they would get the chance to actually do some transformation today.
"I certainly hope we can do that," Susie said.
"I agree," Arthur said, "although I wasn't too keen on doing magic in the first place, it's still not a bad thing if I'm here. I might as well learn something, shouldn't I?"
"I totally agree, that's why we're here in the first place," Susie said, "I just wish Tommy was here so he can learn some too. This might be a pretty good spell to know."
"Well I'm sure this is not going to be the last time we talk about it in the classroom. I think spells, like everything else, you have to practice them or you will never get better."
"Yeah you're right. Oops there goes the bell I think it's time for us to get the class. Don't want to be late for magic arts. You know Mister Bumstead has high blood pressure."
They both laughed.
"I didn't know that," Arthur said, "but of course he has high blood pressure with some of the students he has to teach."
They laughed some more as they walked back to the classroom. When they got to the class there was a note written on the whiteboard -- "Please go to the magic arts classroom."
Bumstead was waiting for them when they arrived.
"Okay let's settle down, settle down. Today we're going to rearrange things a little bit because I don't want any more fires. Terry and his partner Johnny move up here to the front of the class right beside Arthur and Susie, and Tommy when he returns to class tomorrow." Pointing at two other students in the front row, "you two move back to where Terry and Johnny were."
There was grumbling and mumbling as the students gathered their things and moved to back.
"Well I don't want to be up here," Johnny said.
"Me either," said Terry.
Mr. Bumstead looked at them and said with a stern voice, "if you hadn't tried to set the classroom on fire yesterday we wouldn't be having to make these changes today. So you just need to live with it."
This new arrangement put Terry on Arthur's right hand side and left very little bit of space between their tables. Susie was on his left.
"At least I don't have to be beside him," Susie snickered and poked Arthur in the ribs.
"Aren't you the lucky one," Arthur groaned.
"When Tommy comes back tomorrow, you can just put him there," she laughed.
"Just my luck, Tommy is out today and now I'm sitting beside my new best enemy."
"You don't even know the guy."
"Maybe not but I know the type."
"Excuse me," Bumstead said, looking at Arthur and Susie, "would you mind finishing your conversation so we could get started with class?"
Susie blushed and Arthur cleared his throat.
Together they nodded shyly. "Sorry," they said in unison.
"Good. Today's class, as we all know from last night's homework, is about transformation."
Everyone started mumbling excitedly. It was so early in the semester and they were going to start with some real magic.
"I know this is the first week of the semester and only our second day of class, but we need to jump right in with both feet, so to speak, so we can cover all this material that is scheduled for this semester. You do know that at the it of each semester students are required to take exams. Failing in any subject means that you cannot advance to the next semester. You will have to retake all the subjects, even the ones you didn't fail. This is a progressive method of teaching that is not used often in Taiwan, but as we are a satellite school with branches all over the world we must adhere to our traditions and uniformly teach our students. There are no midterms or finals, so to speak. There are just comprehensive end of semester exams for each subject. Which means there will be just a single exam, over all practical matters, for the magical arts. Your exam in this class will not be about what you have read nor will it be written. It will be about what you can do, or cannot do. For this reason, it is of the utmost importance that you do your spells correctly. Do I make myself clear?"
He continued, "so Terry should you want to start any fires during the exam be forewarned that that type of thing will cause you to fail the exam and not advance to the next semester."
Some of the students in the back snickered, again most likely it was Emily. Or so Arthur thought.
"I don't know what you are snickering about," Bumstead said, "that little warning was meant for all of you, just Terry. We have lots of material to cover this semester and I'm sure everyone is not going to grasp it easily. But you have been forewarned."
Bumstead walked back up to the front of the classroom and started writing on the whiteboard.
Arthur turned to Susie. "Oh my God this is going to be so tough," he said.
"Yeah I know. I think we have to do a lot of studying if we want to pass."
"There's nothing practical about the morning classes so I guess we're going to have to take written exams for those."
"I do better with written exams anyway," she said.
"Me too," he agreed.
"I think we might have quizzes and tests in the morning classes. That's about the only way they can determine if we are really learning the stuff."
Bumstead turned around suddenly. "Very good observation, Susie. Yes there will be quizzes and tests throughout the semester for your morning classes."
"But you just said we would only have one exam per class at the end of the semester," Johnny said.
"Well, aren't you the bright one Johnny, paying attention and all that. Yes I did, but that was mainly pertaining to this magic arts class. Morning classes are about standard subjects and are taught in a more traditional manner. What kind of school do you think this is? We do aim to teach you something and we expect you to retain it. Therefore we must have a way to ascertain whether you have retained the knowledge that we have tried to give to you. So quizzes and tests are required for things that can't be applied practically, like math, geography, science, and so forth."
Some students laughed while others looked like they wanted to cry. Arthur and Suzie were laughing.
"Settle back down. I've written the spell for today on the board. It is -- "transformi ĉi tiun eron en kriketon".
Terry started laughing, "great at least part of it is English, but you misspelled it, Mister Bumstead."
"It is not English Terry, it is what we call a false cognate. A word in another language which sounds like or is spelled like a word in our language, but has a different meaning."
"But I thought you said we were going to do transformations today," Johnny said, "doesn't transform mean the same thing as the word you've written on the board."
Arthur could see the irritation growing. Bumstead's face was definitely getting red like Susie said so he must have high blood pressure.
Arthur hoped that his teacher didn't have a heart attack during class. That's the last thing they needed, killing a teacher during the first week of junior high school.
Bumstead huffed and went back behind the desk where he picked up a box and placed it in front of him on the desk.
"In this box, you will find items, ordinary items, that we will be transforming today. I want you to come up and select an item for your team. Then return to your seats, quickly and quietly so that we begin begin the next phase of the class. Let's start with those on the left hand side. That would be you Terry, in case you don't know your left from the right. And work our way back then start back over in the front with Arthur after we have the last person in the back row select. Does that make sense to everyone?"
Terry pushed Johnny to go up front, obviously he did not want to get any closer to Bumstead than he had to. So Johnny went up to the front of the class reached into the brown box and pulled out an apple.
"Very good, Johnny. You have selected an apple for your team. Next," Bumstead said.
One by one students selected an item then returned to their seats. Finally it was Susie and Arthur's turn.
"Would you like to go or do you want me to go up?" Susie asked.
"You can go up if you want to," Arthur said.
"Okay," she said, and ran up to the front of the class, obviously way more excited than Arthur was about the whole thing.
"Do we have any questions?" Bumstead asked.
"I have one," Susie said, raising her hand, "if everybody says the same spell is everyone's item going to turn into the same thing?"
"That's a very good question Susie," Bumstead said, "and yes they will. When we finish and if everybody does everything correctly we will have a class that has transformed every item into a cricket."
"A cricket?" Johnny said.
"Yes, a cricket Johnny. A little small insect that make a chirping noise. I thought it would be best to start out with something fairly easy. Also the words in the spell are unique so we shouldn't have a lot of mistakes. But on the other hand, as we learned yesterday, pronunciation is very very important. So let's have a look at the board in front of us. Where I've written down what to say. now let's practice word by word until we have it correct."
After that Bumstead repeated the words on the board at least a hundred times, or that's the way it felt to Arthur. He was really tired of hearing it by the time Bumstead finally said that they could practice on their own.
"First we can to do it within our little groups. I'm going to roam around checking each group's progress. Stay focused. I don't foresee any problems but... we never know do we?"
"Okay I'm ready," Susie said.
"You most certainly sound excited."
"I can't wait."
"All right why don't you go ahead and I will go next," Arthur said.
"Okay here goes... 'transformu ĉi tiun eron en kriketon'."
They stared down at the apple. Nothing had changed.
"Do you think maybe you said something wrong," Arthur asked?
"I don't know. I thought it was right," Susie said disappointedly, "why don't you give it a try?"
"What makes you think I can do it if you can't do it?" Arthur asked.
"Look Arthur you have to have a little bit of self-confidence, all right? Look there in the back those students are doing it."
"That does it, it looks like we're not going to be first this time," Arthur said, and laughed.
"Not being first is not a big deal," Susie assured him. "We just want to do it and we want to do it right. Besides when you get home you can call Tommy and tell him how great you did in class today. If you get it right, that is."
"Is that a challenge?"
"It most certainly is," she laughed.
By this time Bumstead had worked his way back to the front of the class and was standing beside them. "Okay Arthur I think I heard you say you're about ready to try it. So let's give it a shot."
"Here goes," Arthur said, holding his hand about 6 inches above the apple, he said slowly and clearly 'transformu ĉi tiun eron en kriketon'."
The tension in the air was palatable, neither Arthur nor Susie breathed as they waited to see what happened.
"Well I don't know," Bumstead said. "Doesn't seem to be working to me."
Suddenly has if to contradict Bumstead, the apple started bubbling on the table first it was a slow bubble and then it grew to be more rapid. Then it was like a little mist covered the apple, then it thickened until you couldn't see the apple at all, and finally, in the middle of the mist, a chirp came out.
"Well done Arthur," Bumstead said, patting him on the shoulder. "Well done, I think we have a cricket. It's not too shabby at all, that's the second one today."
"Well if he can do it then anyone can do it," Terry and Johnny said.
"Is that a fact gentlemen? Care to put a wager on it?"
"Mister Bumsteads they are just students," Susie said.
"Nothing that serious, Susie. How about homework? If they can do it, then perhaps we don't need to have any homework tonight, however if they can't, I think we should double the homework tonight. What do you think?
"No, no," Arthur said, "I don't like that idea."
"I don't think they can do it," Emily yelled, from the back of the class. "And I don't think it's fair to the rest of us."
"Well Emily you didn't get yours done either so I don't think it really matters," another student yelled.
"That's not funny," Emily said.
"Well boys what do you think?" Mr. Bumstead asked.
"I think it's a great idea," Terry said.
"Fair enough," Johnny said, "then you can do it."
Terry looked shocked by that idea.
"Okay Terry let's see you do it!" Bumstead said, "and don't forget, this is for a wager."
"All right here goes."
Terry stretched his arms out, interlaced his fingers stretching them twisting them acting like he was getting ready for some kind of great feat of magic, then placed his right hand six inches above the stapler that was on his desk then mumbled some words!
"No! It has to be clear," Bumstead shouted excitedly.
Everyone in the classroom was quiet and had moved up closer to the table so they could watch what was happening.
At first nothing happened, then all of a sudden there was a big bang and a large puff of smoke flew up from the center of the table where the stapler had been. Bumstead waved his hand over the table to clear the smoke, in the stapler's place was... nothing!
"You made it disappear," Johnny said.
Terry popped out his chest and said, "yes I did didn't I?"
"Yes, you did," Bumstead agreed, "however that wasn't what was supposed to happen now was it? And I'm not quite sure how you managed to do it since 'kriketon' sounds nothing like 'forfanti'."
Suddenly the bell went off signalling the end of class.
"Alright then, tonight, read and prepare for the next TWO assignments in your assignment book...you can thank Mr. Johnson on your way out."
"Totally not thanking anyone!" Emily yelled at the top of her lungs and stormed out of the classroom.
"I guess everyone doesn't appreciate your talent, Mr. Johnson."
"Yeah, right," Terry said, and grabbed Johnny by the shoulder, leading him out as well.
It could have been worse Susie told Arthur as they left.
"How so?"
"He could have made a person disappear! That would have been terrible!"
"But isn't the room protected from someone making those kinds of mistakes?"
"Sure, but I don't know how anyone could have thought he was going to say 'forfanti'. You know in order for the room to be protected, they probably need to know what they are protecting it from. Don't you think?
"You might have a point. Anyway, let's get out of here. It's been a long day."