The Castle of Spells

“Mom, I’m too old to be taking first-day-of-school photos,” Darren complained.

“Well, too bad. Now give me a big smile,” his mom replied. “Also, I packed some animal crackers in your bag, in case you get hungry.”

“Okay,” Darren answered.

After the small, five-minute photo session, which felt like an hour to Darren, he left his house and headed toward school. He was finally a senior in middle school, most people would look forward to it. But after Darren’s best friend moved to another state, there wasn’t much he was looking forward to. He had known Kate ever since they were in kindergarten; they were inseparable. Darren wasn’t really a people person, so he didn’t have any other friends. His mom had suggested joining a club, but he quickly rejected the suggestion. If he could, he would do homeschool instead. He hated having to be put in a room with strangers.

When he got to the school grounds, he saw kids hugging each other, asking how their summer was before entering into conversations he could care less about. He was walking down the hallway when he bumped into something, or should I say someone.

“Oh, hey, sorry, I didn’t see you there,” a voice apologized.

“Whatever,” Darren muttered, looking up to face the person. He was a tall, lanky, pale boy with black glasses. But what caught his attention was the boy's hair, which looked like a faded-purplish color.

“Oh.” The boy noticed Darren’s stare. “I dyed it at the

beginning of the summer. But I’m kinda too lazy to re-dye it.”

“Looks like you used grape juice to dye it,” Darren deadpanned. “Too lazy to buy actual hair dye?”

“Haha.” The boy chuckled. “What class are you going

to?”

“Room 209,” Darren stated in a monotone voice before walking away. Just his luck, the odd boy decided to follow him.

“That’s my class too,” the boy beamed. “My name’s Cole, what’s yours?”

“None of your business.” Darren glared at him before entering the classroom.

It seemed like an old fashioned-style classroom, blackboard and chalk at the front of the room, along with a dark wooden desk. On the surface of the desk was a pile of books and paper scattered in a mess. Along with a huge dusty globe, which looked as if someone had pulled it out of an attic. Darren assumed it belonged to the teacher. As for the students’ desks, they were your typical student’s desks, put into single-file rows. A few other students had already got to the classroom and were talking to their new classmates. Seeing as though there seemed to be no assigned seats, Darren decided to sit at the very back of the classroom, away from everyone. But the solitude didn’t last when Cole decided to plop down in the seat right next to him.

Does this kid not have anyone else to bother? Darren thought to himself as he waited for the teacher.

By the time the bell rang, all his classmates for the year were inside, along with an old-looking man. The center of