Head Instructor Vigo's private office. I've never seen anyone enter.
A short reminiscence on the joyful memories he had of the class compelled him to move, and he went.
He knocked. He tapped with the middle knuckle of his index and middle finger; softly, but just enough to be audible.
"I do not wish to be disturbed, Clive. Leave me be."
The voice sounded weary, tired, and full of sorrow.
Arthur stood without moving for several seconds.
Agh—I want to talk with him again—but he just ordered me to leave. My pass should only be used for classes at night—I shouldn't be here.
After three or four steps, he heard a voice within a heartfelt sigh.
"Arthur…"
He imagined the voice saying it, empathizing profoundly with all the pain, melancholy, and somnolence in the tone.
He found deep closure and confidence in this. And with it, he made his first of many moments of capitulation.
He drove the door open with his palm. The doorknob struck the wall hard, causing the plaster to crack. The sound that came from it would be the last sound heard for the next thought.
His eyes widened all at once, as if he were seeing a ghost.
"Arthur?"
What do I say next?
The hardening of Vigo's eyes, the absence of hope a second after, was the last thing Arthur saw before turning away.
He looked around the room: shattered glass, cracked tables, and shelves filled the space.
Someone—Head Instructor Vigo is affected—hurt by my death!
A tsunami hit him with billions of gallons of joy.
The desire to matter to someone, to leave an impact, is selfish and childish. Succumbing to any form of joy is dangerous; yet…
"What brings you to my office, Cedric?" Vigo asked with a lack of emotion, while wiping his lens with a thin white cloth.
"Oh, I—"
"Please, sit." He brushed the broken matter off a wooden chair before presenting it to him.
Vigo took his seat after Arthur.
"I apologize for the state of this room. It seems I am still quite restless from the unfortunate loss of your late brother; he was a brilliant mind, and I had high hopes for him."
Arthur tensed at his every word, suppressing the reaction with all the willpower he had, imagining a prideful smile behind Vigo's beard.
"I apologize for wandering from the main subject." Vigo straightened himself, and Arthur followed suit. "I believe this is the first time we've met. I am Head Instructor Sivan Ruarc Vigo; but you may refer to me as Vigo."
He's introducing himself now, the same way he did to me back then!
"What can I do for you?"
"I was wondering if I could join the Magic Engineering Supplementary Class."
Silence. There was no hint to anything other than the second of silence. Arthur did not notice that this was not what the ambitious man was expecting to hear.
"While I appreciate your interest in this field that I love, it is much too late for you to join; even with supplementary classes, you would not be able to pass the class."
He grabbed his armrests and leaned out of his chair.
"Please, Head Instructor! Even if I won't be able to pass the class, the credits given in the second semester is more than enough!"
"Cedric, even with your instruction on Magic Theory with Head Instructor Clive, your lack of knowledge on key concepts of Magic Engineering from Semester One will make it impossible for you to even understand what is being said in the lessons. You won't be able to pass."
"I would be glad to have you in your third year; I would even use my connections and influence the Board to have you in your second year; but taking you in so late in the year is not possible."
"Please, I insist!" Arthur exclaimed; it was then that he realized he was not acting anymore.
Though it was restrained by a realistic mind, Vigo held an empathetic heart.
"Alright, I'll give you a chance."
He pulled out a file cabinet and took out a twenty-page thick, softcover booklet. A small green orb appeared in the middle of the desk and sent a gust of wind out in all directions, sweeping away the trash before disappearing.
He set the book flat on the table and flipped to the first page. It was lined paper that was mostly blank, except for a word or two that occasionally appeared on the left margins of the page.
"This contains most of the terms discussed in the first Semester."
He pushed it forward, closer in front of Arthur, before standing up.
"Fill that out with the proper definition, and turn it into me by the end of this month, and you can start the Second Semester with a 75%."
He said this while walking to a pile of broken wood that resembled a shelf. Setting his cane on the red rug as he crouched down, he picked up a book here, and a book there, without so much as a glance at the cover.
Five seconds passed, and he had six 300-page thick textbooks in a neat stack hovering beside him, propelled by a continuous geyser of wind.
As he reached for his cane, he suddenly stopped and held his head still. He stared at one other book for three or four seconds before picking it up and placing it on his other side, with its own wind geyser.
Turning around, with a movement of his pupils, the larger geyser flew to the table in a curved motion, and carefully dropped the stack of six.
"Use those books to help you with that task," he said, returning with his cane.
The other wind geyser continued after he sat down. The spell was only released after he placed some ten sheets of paper on the table that he took out from the cabinet.
"Compile and connect all the terms in the booklet into a coherent and accurate essay; this will count as your first exam grade."
As he finished speaking, his eyes pointed toward the table, watching as a book was slowly being pushed towards him. Vigo picked up the book and flipped through one page at a time.
"These definitions are not comprehensive enough; they don't demonstrate true understanding," He said after reaching the last page.
"I apologize for the informality;" Arthur rose. "But please, test me."
Vigo squinted his judgmental eyes, but then closed the book and set it aside.