Hyacinth High

.

.

.

Hyacinth High sits lonesome on a strikingly green mountaintop.

Hundreds of years ago, the fortified courtyard palace was home to generations of royal families.

Today, the colonnaded structure and pointed arches host elite magical students from all over Valia, but most notably, from the Hyacinth Valley down below.

Typically, on the ninth day of the month, this early in the day, students ought to be rushing to class with their assignments and, more often than not, with their excuses... There seems to be an unsettling case of magical beasts devouring homework in the valley...

However, on this day, they remained standing and fidgeting in the open courtyard.

The professors glanced sideways at one another with furrowed brows. A few of them stepped back under the shade of the portico to seek shelter from the blazing sun.

The students were not faring much better. They stood in the yard, separated into nine lines: three classes per level, across three levels.

Levels 1 to 3, the A Class, held the prestigious students. They had the brains and the abilities to back them up.

The B Class students across all three levels were as smart and hardworking as the formerly mentioned, but they lacked the magical prowess to make the first cut.

And C Class... C Class students did their best. They certainly had plenty of personality to make up for lack of smarts and powers.

By now, all classes across all levels were getting antsy.

A portal shimmered open at the back, admitting a late student, but no one even reprimanded him.

He slipped into his section’s line unnoticed by the faculty.

Another student from Level 2, Class C, stepped out of the end of his line and wiggled his way to the front, where his shorter friend was standing.

“Sorry,” Dani murmured as he stepped on a few toes. “Let me through, thank you.” He finally managed to squeeze himself between his friend and an annoyed girl who gave him an exasperated sigh.

Pinching his friend’s elbow, he bent closer to ask, “Can you hear what’s happening?”

“They sent a servant to check,” Ran whispered with a hand cupping his mouth. “It’s not clear yet.”

A fit, muscled man of about a hundred years old, though he did not look a day over forty, stepped forward and addressed the students. “It seems our principal will not be joining us this morning. Let us commence the daily prayer in his stead.”

And so it began.

“Our mother in the heavens,” Professor Nasrat chanted, his palms raised upwards. The students echoed behind him in chorus.

“Protector of all that is life,” he continued. “Bless us with your divine love...”

At that moment, a tall, domineering professor broke formation. Her departure unleashed disapproving glances from several other faculty members, who tut-tutted under their breath.

She strode towards the main building, completely ignoring their whispered jabs, then broke into a run once she was out of sight.

Taking the stairs two at a time, she arrived at a hallway to find the same young servant from earlier, knocking at the principal’s door unenthusiastically.

The young girl looked up at Professor Rina’s sudden approach.

“Still no response,” she told the Professor with a shrug.

Professor Rina reached for the door, instructing the girl to step aside. Her nose wrinkled as she turned the handle.

The moment the door swung open, a rancid, sulfuric stench hit them both in full force.

“God, what is that?” the young girl muttered, covering her nose with her palm. She tried to peek in, but Rina grabbed her by the shoulder, holding her still in place.

“Stay here,” Rina stated firmly.

“This’ll be a nightmare to clean,” the girl whined under her breath.

Inside the room, the curtains were drawn tightly shut, shrouding the space in darkness.

On top of a mahogany desk, a burly figure lay slumped, his balding head resting on an outstretched arm.

The girl, ignoring the professor’s order, slipped inside anyway and slapped the sleeping man’s arm to wake him up. Rina pursed her lips, ready to scold her, but it was far too late.

The servant’s eyes went wide with alarm and her lips parted in a piercing scream. Her scream echoed down the corridor as she bolted out of the room.

The professor pinched her nose to stifle the sickening smell and quickly scanned the man’s office. It was in an even bigger state of mess than it usually was.

Drawers hung open, their contents rifled through. Documents, pamphlets, and old newspapers were strewn across the floor and counters. On the desk, a cold cup of tea sat beside his stiff, bulging hand.

Rina stepped behind the desk and leaned over his shoulder to better see his face. His eyes were wide open. Greenish foam clung to the corners of his mouth, and his skin was ashen, shriveled, and cold.

“What the hell are you doing?” Madame Khannah’s voice shattered the silence, snapping Professor Rina out of her spell.

“He has passed away,” Rina announced quietly to the other professor.

Madame Khannah’s brows shot up in surprise, but she quickly schooled her features. “More experienced faculty will handle this,” she spoke tersely. “Please return to the teachers’ lounge.”

Rina didn’t argue. She backed away from the body and stepped out of the office.