James Hillson sighed as he stared at the paper. “…Rejected.”
He was an average teenager, perhaps a little thin with soft short blonde hair. His eyes were a light hazel brown, and he had a few spots on his cheek from slight acne. He was otherwise not that bad looking. Dressed as he was in casual clothing, a red T-shirt and blue jeans… he stared at the paper showing the seal of Aquilla’s school of magic his hands shaking a bit distressed at the news.
He had passed every test. Math, Physics, Mythology… He was articulate, knowledgeable, trustworthy… what more could they have wanted?
The paper showed his results for the one test he could do nothing about.
The Mana Score.
He was crestfallen and upset as he read the letter over and over, praying that there was something he could do… something he could say. He felt tears stinging his eyes. He wanted so much to be a wizard! He had learned all he could learn about the basis of magic and its general principles. He felt he had a good understanding of it, surly that was enough?
‘I am very sorry but your mana reserves are insufficient. We are grateful for your interest and wish you success in your future endeavours.’
Such a slap in the face! “I wasn’t good enough…” Why? Why was he born with a body that had no magic potential! His mother was there consoling him. Not something he really wanted though.
“It’s nothing you can do…” She sighed. “The way magic works is still so… new to us. We have to listen to them.” She smiled. “You know there’s still other things you can do. You’re very bright.”
James looked up briefly to his mother then back at the letter. “I- I don’t get it mom… I didn’t fail any test… I couldn’t even ‘study’ for this! I just touched a stupid mirror and… that was it.”
“I know it’s unfair. You have still many things you can do! You could do science, engineering, anything!” She hugged her son warmly. “Why don’t we have a look at your future career options. You might find this is a blessing in disguise.”
“… but it isn’t magic,” James whispered wiping away the tears. “I thought…you once said that magic was in our family blood.”
James’s mother sighed. “Well- it was ‘rumoured’ to be, my great grandmother once said it- though dear that’s just a story and a very tenacious connection at best.” She sighed thinking she should have never told that… it would only have got her son’s hopes up. She knew how much he wanted to learn magic… and telling him about the ‘great witch’ in their ancestry inspired him. Though in truth there was nothing to suggest she was real… and even if she was, she probably didn’t have real magic either. She focused her attention back to James. “Look, sometimes… you can only do what you can do. I know it’s unfair… but when one door closes, many other doors open. You can find something else.”
James didn’t care to do anything else… He was going to find a way to do real magic…
