Page 36 of An Arcane Education
“Any clue what sort of lab we’re doing today?” I ask them.
AJ shakes his head. “Nope. It’s kind of ridiculous that he doesn’t tell us, honestly.”
“It’s intentional that he doesn’t want us to be able to prepare for the first lab. He wants to be able to test our current knowledge and skill level. I’m sure he’ll give us more information to prepare for the following ones.”
As if my worry wasn’t already rising steadily, Joanna’s statement is enough to spike it. Stupidly, a part of me had been hoping there’d be some sort of non-magical demonstration followed by a non-magical lab assignment, but that doesn’t sound like it’s the case.
I can do this, I tell myself, though I’m not sure if I believe it.
The entire class filters into the greenhouse over the course of the next fifteen minutes, the rain tapping against the ceiling and cascading down the glass walls like slow teardrops.
When Dr. Vale enters—right on time, as always—the chatter dies down and we all wait for his further instructions.
He gestures to the front wall of the greenhouse where multiple wooden work tables hold small planter pots. The tables are positioned a few feet away from any of the other planters or garden beds. “I’d like each of you to stand before one of these plants.”
We collectively make our way back to the workstations and each pick a plant. The pots contain a small sprout, only a couple inches tall, with tiny cotyledon leaves.
“I’ll be observing you today to gauge your level ofcontrol regarding your Affinity use. These are sunflowers, or Helianthus annus. Before we work with any potentially dangerous plants, I want to see how you handle something more innocuous. All I want you to do right now is encourage one week’s worth of growth in your plant over the next half hour. Utilize your knowledge of how plants work at a cellular level to guide your magic. Once you do that, call me over and we’ll discuss next steps.”
“That’s it?” I hear Joanna whisper to AJ, and he shrugs.
My stomach sinks with dread. This is what I tried to do back at home, and I only managed to kill whatever I touched.
“Remember,” he adds, “the growth should happen slowly and in a deliberate, measured process. Doing it more quickly than the half hour you’re allotted risks damaging the internal systems of the plant. Support, but don’t force. If we impose our will upon nature too strongly, it no longer becomes a natural process but an artificial one. Any questions?”
I stay quiet. Everyone around me looks relaxed and relieved at the supposedly easy assignment, and I have to remind myself that I’m here for a reason. How hard could it really be?
“On that note, proceed with your task. I’ll be walking around and checking in,” Dr. Vale states.
Everyone moves, some cupping their hands around the pot, some dipping their fingers into the soil. I decide to follow AJ’s lead, resting my fingertips on top of the soil before attempting to feel the life of the plant.
It only takes a moment before there’s a small tug in mychest as I hone in on the current of life in the small sprout before me. I attempt to control the flow of magic from my fingertips, letting through a trickle of it rather than an uncontrollable deluge like before.
Over the course of the next few minutes, the plant grows almost imperceptibly, and I’m able to relax, if only a little.I’m doing it.Some of the students have begun to chat again, apparently not requiring the intense focus I do for this task.
Dr. Vale meanders amongst the tables after about ten minutes, checking in on each of the students’ progress. When he gets closer to me, I can’t help the flutter of nerves in my stomach. I tell myself it’s just because I’m being graded on my magic for the first time ever, but a part of me knows that’s not true.
I’m thinking about the last time we were in here together, the intense way he stared at me, the semi-flirtatious conversation we’d had.
He takes a step closer, and I become distracted by the same question I’ve had since that night. Why didn’t he simply tell me he was a professor? Annoyance flares in my chest, and in an instant, the steady trickle of magic surges, flooding through me, and whatever control I’d been using to contain it breaks. The energy pours out of me and into the plant, which grows almost a foot in a matter of seconds.
I panic, lifting my hands immediately, but it’s not soon enough. Despite the fact that I’m not touching it anymore, the plant continues to grow, latching onto my unbridled power, and I have no idea how to stop it.
Every eye in the room is locked on me, and Dr. Vale isat my side in an instant. I stand there mortified but powerless to stop the growth. The stem of the plant explodes upward, leaves unfurling at an impossible speed, and yellow petals blooming in an instant. Students around me gasp, and I want nothing more than to crawl beneath the dirt and disappear.
When the sunflower reaches full maturity, the seeds that make up the center of the flower explode outward, shooting every which way and causing students to duck their heads and cover their eyes. It’s a grand finale in my very public embarrassment, and the silence that follows is deafening.
“Well, that was certainly an interesting display. Ms. Harver, could you meet me outside, please?”
I nod at Dr. Vale’s request and keep my eyes down as I rush out of the greenhouse. This will probably be the simplest task I’m assigned all year, and I couldn’t even do that right. Everyone will know now that I’m a fraud, including Dr. Vale.
He steps outside to join me a moment later. I don’t make eye contact as he joins me on the wooden bench.
“What happened?” he asks simply.
I shake my head. “I don’t know. I thought I had control of it, but then something inside me snapped and I couldn’t restrain the power like I had been. And it probably goes without saying at this point, but I’m new to magic.”
“How new?”
