The Magic Factory

“No luck yet,” he managed to stammer. “You?”

She shrugged. “I could do it with the goggles but not without them.”

Oliver suddenly remembered the ridiculous-looking glasses he was wearing. He tore them off, embarrassed.

“So are you settling in now?” Esther asked sweetly. “Know your way around?”

Tongue-tied, Oliver just nodded. “The school’s very big though. I’ve only seen a fraction of it.”

“Have you been to the garden yet?” Esther asked. “I love it there. It’s my favorite place to go.”

“I haven’t been there yet,” Oliver admitted. Then suddenly he blurted, “Maybe you could show me?”

Esther paused. Her lips twitched into a smile. “Yes. I’d like that,” she replied. “After class?”

Oliver nodded, then Esther turned back to face the front.

Hazel leaned over to Oliver.

“Did you just ask Esther out on a date?” she asked, eyebrows raised in disbelief.

“Yes,” Oliver squeaked. “I think I did.” Then, with a sudden surge of realization, he added, his voice trembling, “And she said yes!”

Hazel dissolved into fits of giggles. “Nice one, Romeo.”

Ralph looked impressed. “I don’t think Esther’s ever agreed to date anyone,” he said, slapping Oliver on the back. “Now, just make sure you don’t screw it up.”

*

“Ready?”

Oliver looked up from his card into the eyes of Esther. Class had finished.

“Oh, uh, yes,” he stammered, feeling suddenly shy. He packed up his things and stood, catching his friends out of the corner of his eye winking and throwing thumbs up.

Oliver and Esther left the lecture hall and headed across the main atrium to one of the doors that Oliver had not yet had the opportunity to enter, the one marked with a G. When he opened it, he was surprised to see that it looked in every single way like the outside, though he knew it couldn’t be. Everything in the school was underground, the gardens included, but it really looked like he was walking out into open ground. It even smelled of fresh vegetation and there was a gentle breeze. The air was warm, like a spring morning.

They walked slowly together through the grass, and reached a hedgerow filled with bright pink roses. Beside it was a faded brick path, which they followed together.

“Wow, it’s nice here,” Oliver commented.

“It’s a great place to meditate,” Esther told him. “For those of us who struggle to relax into our powers.”

“You struggle?” he asked her. “Why?”

Esther looked uncomfortable, like she didn’t really want to discuss it. “My specialism is sonar,” she said. “It means I’m quite limited.”

“Everyone says that’s the worst one,” Oliver commented, recalling the rankings his friends had told him.

Immediately, Oliver regretted his words. Esther looked crushed.

“Not that I think that,” he said hurriedly, trying to backtrack. “I mean, other people say magnetism is the worst so I guess it’s a matter of perspective.”

Esther gave a little grunt in response. Oliver felt awful. This was going terribly!

They walked in awkward silence. Esther kicked at some stray pebbles on the path. Oliver racked his brains, desperate for something to say that may save the disastrous date.

“So when are you from?” he asked.

“1977,” she said. “New Jersey. You?”

“New Jersey!” Oliver exclaimed. “Me too! Only about forty years after you.”

“Neat,” she said. “So in your timeline, I’m like fifty years old. Creepy.”

Oliver couldn’t tell whether he’d saved the conversation or not. Esther was hard to read. And making her think about herself as an older woman might not have been the best idea. He tried to think of more things to ask her, but Esther spoke up instead.

“So are you Italian?” she asked. “My family are. Were, I should say.”

Oliver heard the hint of melancholy in her voice. It was evident to him that something had happened to Esther’s family. He didn’t want to press it, though.

“Me? No,” he replied, chuckling as he pointed at his sandy blond hair. “My family moves around a lot. We’d only been in New Jersey about a week before I came here. And I don’t really know my ancestry. It’s not really talked about at home. Not much is.”

Now melancholy had seeped into his voice. Families were clearly a touchy subject for the both of them.

Oliver wanted to steer the conversation to something safe. Pets? No, that would be a bit boring. Favorite switchit players? Not something he had a lot of insight into.

But before Oliver had the chance to utter any of his questions, something in the distance caught his eye.

“Hey, look,” he said. “What’s that?”

Esther squinted up at the sky where Oliver was pointing. A dark mass was moving on the horizon, undulating like some kind of strange cloud. It soon became apparent that it was made up of winged creatures, moving like a flock of birds.

“They look like bats to me,” Esther said.

“Have you ever seen bats in the garden before?” Oliver asked.

Esther looked confused as she shook her head.

All at once, the cloud of bats changed their trajectory. Now they were heading right for Oliver and Esther, and they were racing at an alarming speed.

“They’re coming this way,” Oliver stammered, starting to feel wary of the strange sight.

Just then, Oliver saw a flash in the eyes of the bats. It was a peculiar kind of shimmery blue. He remembered instantly Professor Amethyst’s words, about the strange blue color in the eyes of their enemies. Could they be rogue Seers disguised as bats in order to infiltrate the school?

“Rogues!” Oliver shouted.

Esther reached out and grabbed Oliver’s hand, clutching it tightly in hers. She looked petrified.