Three weeks later...

“See you in the summer!”

Mrs. Nash sniffled, waving her tissue at her son’s retreating back. “Oh, John... He’s still so young. Don’t you think the city might be too much for him?”

Clapping a hand onto his wife’s shoulder, Mr. Nash shook his head. “Let him go. He was very mature to take failing the test so easily. I think he’ll be just fine in the city.... They have some nice non-magic schools there.”

“I don’t know...” Sighing, Mrs. Nash turned back into the house. “Maybe you’re right- he saved up to pay for this all by himself. I just feel like he was hiding something.... Do you think he’s still upset that I-?”

“You knew he wasn’t going to get in. No gold for miles- Really, seeing you there would have only made the rejection harder for him. I’m sure he understood.”

“Of course, you’re right.”

Stepping inside, they closed the door as the sun slowly rose over their small house.

oOo

Hewitt breathed a sigh of relief as soon as his small house was out of sight and began running down the dirt road towards town. In one hand, he clutched a bus ticket, not for the city, but for the beach shores- Laraine Beach, to be specific. Just a few miles from the actual school he was heading for. His other hand held the strap to his bag over his shoulder, keeping it from slipping down over his narrow shoulder.

“Hey! I heard you were heading out for the city!”

Hewitt jumped as Nyle plopped down beside him on the bus stop bench, the taller boy grinning as always. Nyle had popped up frequently over the past few weeks, talking to Hewitt as if they were old friends instead of semi-familiar acquaintances... probably to cheer him up after the test failure.

“Yea.” Hewitt looked down at his lap, smoothing out his robe nervously. He didn’t want to lie, not when the other boy had been so nice to him lately... but he didn’t trust Nyle enough to say where he was really heading.

“What’s with the long face?” Nyle asked after a brief, awkward pause. His smile faltered slightly. “Aren’t you happy? You’re getting outta this dump of a town- Hey, maybe you’ll get a good job over there and save up some gold for a real school... Then you won’t have to become a lawyer or something rotten like that. You can still be a wizard!”

“Yea...” Glancing up at his peer, Hewitt didn’t dare say anything more than that- he was sorely tempted to point out he wouldn’t need to go to a wizarding school after he left. Fortunately, the bus arrived before he had a chance to change his mind and blurt something he’d regret. “Bye.”

“Oh- Write me! I’ve always wondered what the city was like... See ya around!”

“Ok.” Hewitt climbed up the bus steps, passing a bronze piece and his ticket to the driver. He picked a seat close to the back and waved at Nyle through the window as the bus pulled away, feeling a little put-out that he’d never gotten to be friends with the other boy in all the years he’d known him... Nyle was actually kind of nice, when he wasn’t teasing, and Hewitt could’ve used a friend who wasn’t his mother.

oOo

The ride was long and lethargic, sending Hewitt into an awkward doze he blinked in and out of regularly. A skeletal woman in a floral blouse snoozed beside him, making odd whinnying noises in her sleep like a horse. The nasal “Neeee- neee!” woke him more often than even the snort of traffic as the bus passed through a busy town.

His stop came late, when the sun was sinking back down behind the dusty gray mountains. Hewitt sat up straight in his chair, pushing his green hat back on his head as he stared out the window at the white beach peeking out between small, compact houses. Squeezing past the bony knees of the woman (he was by now convinced that she was a victim of some sort of horse-themed jinx), he scrambled up the aisle and cleared the steps with one jump.

“Thank you, sir.” Hewitt called over his shoulder to the driver just before the bus doors snapped shut.

Pulling his bag back over his shoulder, Hewitt sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly as the bus rumbled away down the street. Alright, so the first part of his plan was complete- he was at the beach. Next course of action? He needed to pin-point the school. That sounded easy enough- and it was.

Hewitt only had to turn to the right and there it was- a great big metal sign set into a stone wall.

Welcome to Wilona’s Witch School

The wall seemed to stretch outward forever, even going so far as to disappear out onto the beach sand and under the water. A high gate loomed a few feet down from where Hewitt stood and he was left wondering just how he hadn’t noticed all this when he was on the bus...

Well, at least he wouldn’t forget where the school was. Now it was time to begin his deception.

Trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, Hewitt strolled down the near-empty street until he found a humble-looking diner that was well out of sight of the gate (no sense in testing fate). It was fairly crowded; mostly filled with smiling, rosy-cheeked men and women who were getting ready to head home for the night, and Hewitt was able to slip to the restroom easily enough.

Locking the door behind him, Hewitt edged the toilet seat down with his foot and dropped his bag on it.