Chapter 1: Charlotte

            It was the typical new school year at Salem Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The oddity was in the title, because of the fact we were nowhere near Salem, Massachusetts. Our school was founded on a small private island off of the coast of Alaska. It was just big enough to hold the dorms and the school, and still have enough space for a lovely beach.

My name is Charlotte and I attend school there with my very openly gay brother, Valentin. His name is pronounced Val-en-tin, the most Americanized way of saying it. Some say our family should be shot for butchering such beautiful French names, I just say it would have been much harder to keep telling people “My name isn’t Sh-are-lit, you idiot! It is Sh-are-LOT!” Valentin did not believe in the same thing my parents did, because against all odds, everyone had to call him Val-awn-tawn. The French pronunciation was just so much more his style, refined, stylish and annoying.

I always stuck out anywhere I went. I was like the opposite of a chameleon, I always stuck out. It wasn’t because I was related to the world’s biggest attention hog, since Valentin was my only friend. I would hide behind my mom and even Valentin so I didn’t have to meet anyone. My shyness became my downfall. I came off as secretive and became the butt end of many a rumor. They thought I was mean, just because they kept asking stupid questions and aggravated me. They called me names, and fat was the most frequent. I was a little overweight. My height helped the appearance of my weight. One does not make a social life by practicing spells or math.

I love spell casting, all it requires is focus and a couplet. For example, the one to open my locker in the morning I have to say “Open, open magic lock/ I have to be in class at nine o’ clock” The reason for casting the spell is the second line, the first being the command. Spells like to know you aren’t just playing around with them, like most things in life.

I could beat anybody in any academic field though, except physics, which in my defense is a joke. If I were going to use physics in real life, I could not go fly a broom in Broom Flying I in my sixth period. I could not cut diamonds just by thoughts. If I needed to use the original ideas of these I also wouldn’t sit and draw out a vector for it. I was contemplating this in my physics class.

Mr. Mark’s job was almost like when my Witchcraft III teacher, Mrs. Hubbard had to tell witches were real to Puritans. Mr. Mark also had no control of the class.

Someone chucked a paper ball at me, which caught me out of my stupor of thought. In the process, I noticed someone new in the back of the class.

He was skinny and even sitting down I could tell he was quite tall. He had black hair and piercing light blue eyes. His eyes were a cold color, yet had a warmness of personality in them. His nose was fairly large, but with small nostrils (I didn’t really know his nostril size until we talked). His nose turned down at the tip a little. He reminded me a bit of Ichabod Crane in an oddly cute way. The tall, lankiness he possesses and the way his nose bent reminded me of Washington Irving’s classic character.

It was not what he looked like that really made me want to know him. It was some sort of spark in my heart. I think it was what we talked about in Magic Attraction, when we weren’t talking about if werewolves and vampires could have kids and if that were to happen what their offspring would be called. It is something close to a health class for humans. Every wizard or witch has a match and when a wizard or witch finds his or her match, the two feel a spark, even if the two are not romantically intertwined. Normally it is romantic, but a couple companions found their match in their best friend. That spark just means is that your life is intertwined with the other person’s and the two of you will do projects and live together eventually.

I was pretty sure that was true of he and I, and I didn’t even know his name. For all I knew, I just liked him because he is tall. I probably liked him for his eyes. Maybe I just liked him because of his resemblance to the main character in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, Ichabod Crane.

Valentin nudged me “Charlotte, pay attention. You’ll never learn vectors like this.” He whispered in my ear.

After two periods, we had lunch. I still sat with Valentin, since I had no other friends and I wouldn’t want to sit alone. I still felt lame next to my brother. After three years at the same school and another about eleven in the system itself, I had never made a friend, other than my brother, who doesn’t count.

“Char, I just met the most amazing guy in my first period!” Valentin exclaimed. “I got the spark!”

Val practically died when a kid named Harrison Phoenix walked to our table. “Hey Valentin.” Harrison told Val.

Valentin exclaimed, “Harrison, I think you are hotter than the Sahara.”

“Great, because the world needs a new awesome gay couple.” Harrison responded. The two just flirted and kissed the entire lunch period. By the end, Harrison was calling Valentin Valentine.

I just ate my sandwich and listened to Chicago, also known as my favorite band. Their brass section makes me want to melt. The complexity is important and modern musicians never get it. Rihanna doesn’t recognize real instruments can make a song go from Sexy and I Know It to Saturday in the Park. I feel it necessary to mouth the lyrics and rock out to my music. I dance in public and love doing it.

Next period, I walked to my all female Witchcraft III class. These girls were the types to hurt me. Today they were all so out of it (hangovers or currently drunk) they only insulted Mrs. Hubbard, who survived the Salem witch trials. Teaching these girls the shape shifter spell was harder. She had said “Shift my shape if you should/ I would like to turn…” She wasn’t getting through to them.

Mrs. Hubble was older than the hills, but the three hundred years had been kind to her. Witches and wizards live as long as they are not murdered or they commit suicide. Death by disease is nonexistent for a wizard or witch. Her face was wrinkled in a smile and it was because she loved teaching so much. She had long gray hair. Her glasses perched on her nose. She was honestly a sweet grandmotherly figure. I could never understand how she could get treated the way she did.

So she asked the class “Change me into something.”

Some idiot yelled “Shift my shape if you should/ I would like to turn my teacher into a pile of wood!”

So, poor Mrs. Hubble turned into a pile of lumber and the class burst into laughter.

Before I turned Mrs. Hubble back, I yelled “Shift my shape if you should / I would like to turn my classmates good!” Everyone suddenly behaved. The room became silent and everyone was good.

I undid the spell by saying, “Shape the shift back to its original shape/ Turn my teacher to the magic evolutionary descendant of an ape.”

Mrs. Hubble returned to her witch being. Her hair was a little frizzed. “Thank you, Charlotte, A+. I was seeing Mother Mary for the fourth time today. Never use this spell to turn into inanimate objects! This is the virtue shape shifter. Charlotte, you displayed a perfect method of using this spell.”

The class behaved for the rest of the year. I got my A, helped out my favorite teacher and possibly saw the guy of my dreams and it was only fourth period.