Chapter Two

"Okay class. Today I will be teaching you how to grow plants."

All the girls smiled and started talking excitedly to each, while the boys all groaned.

Ms. Tehy clicked her tongue. "Oh come on. This will be fun! Now, I've placed a pot on each of your desks."

Ms. Tehy swung her hand through the air and pots lined up on one of the shelves swooped down on each desk.

"Now, everyone remember the flaming spell? This is that, but in reverse. Instead of destroying it, make it sprout!"

The room suddenly burst into noise. Some were grunts, others pants, but most were little signs of satisfaction. It wasn't necessarily a hard spell. Ms. Tehy had picked it because she thought that Gray would be good at it. But she was beginning to see how wrong she was.

Gray sat at his little desk, grunting and wheezing, willing the plant to grow. His eyes squinted shut as he poured all his might into the small pot filled with dirt.

Ms. Tehy watched worriedly. How could Gray not do such an easy spell? It is not hard to make a plant grow at all. And it was an important skill.

After watching Gray struggle for a few minutes, she realized that everyone else had finished.

"Okay class. Good job. Everyone can go outside and play now. Naturally, by the time everyone else had gone outside, Gray was still in his seat, trying to sprout his flower.

He looked up and noticed Ms. Tehy watching him.

"Do you need help?" she asked. Gray nodded warily, and she walked over to him. "What are you having problems with?"

"Everything!" Gray snapped. "It won't grow! How am I supposed to pass the exam tomorrow if I can't do the most simple magic?"

"You can do some things."

"Like what?"

"You can… do emotion charms! You can change people's emotions. You were able to do that first!" Tehy said encouragingly.

Gray didn't look satisfied. "What help is emotion changing on the exams? I'm going to be kicked out of magic for sure."

"How about you go home and practice. I'm sure you'll do good tomorrow. Now go outside and have fun."

Gray stumbled out the door, slamming it shut. Ms. Tehy just looked at the door, thinking. There is no way he can pass that exam. She told herself.

Gray sat out in the grass, gazing out towards the other kids, but not paying attention to anything. Gray did that a lot. He just zoned out, going somewhere else from the rest of the world. He had come up with a plan to get better. He would get tutored. By the bets magic person in the village.

The school bell dinged. Because exams were the next day, they got out at 12:00 instead of three hours later. Gray immediately jumped up and started running to the story telling spot. He tripped and fell. So he walked instead.

When Gray got there, he saw Yura sitting by himself. When he walked over, Yura looked up and smiled.

"What can I help you with today?" Yura asked.

"I would like for you to give me magic tutoring," Gray said confidently.

Yura seemed concerned. "You having trouble with some things?" he asked.

"More like everything!"

Yura sat thinking for a while. Finally he looked up at Gray. "How long until exams?" he asked.

"Um, they're tomorrow."

"TOMORROW! Well we better get started then! I hear that the most common thing on the test is element spells. So lets work on those first! Hurry, hurry. You are going to make fire!"

Yura was a much different teacher than Ms. Tehy. She carefully ran through every step of the process, what to think, what to feel. Yura talked about how to actually do the spell, what should happen, what shouldn't happen. He talked about the spells like he actually created them. It was amazing!

In the space of an hour, Gray had managed to ignite a stick on fire, then douse it with water. He had never done either of these spells before. It was such a wonderful experience to do them. He closed his eyes, and urged the stick to light. But instead of pushing it, and clenching his teeth, and shaking, begging it to catch, he calmly commanded it to light on fire, just as Yura told him to. He opened his eyes and the stick was blazing. Yura was smiling at him.

He did the same thing with water. He closed his eyes, heard a splash, and when he opened his eyes, the fire was gone, the stick and his hand were soggy, and he was standing in a puddle.

"You have some of the most talent I have ever seen," Yura told him. "You were just doing it wrong." They went through some more spells, then Gray walked back home to tell his mom the good news. She was going to be so happy. He was going to pass the exams! He would be the best!

I can do magic! I CAN DO MAGIC!