Mind Tricks and Empty Stomachs

---

It's easy to manipulate

You don't need magic to do it

All you need is

Confidence

Once they believed me

Their fate was sealed

Once they trusted me

They were certain to die

But I like there to be suspicion

I like to have fun

---

Confused, three pairs of eyes fluttered open, finding themselves looking towards the headmistress. Still puzzled, the three looked towards each other, searching for cuts, scrapes, wounds; something that was a trophy of what had just happened. However, not a scratch was on any of their bodies, they were all in seemingly perfect health.

"It was very bold of you to sneak out on your first night," said the headmistress with a smug smile on her face.

Though instead of replying, the three continued to stare at her blankly, unsure of what exactly was going on.

"Are you even listening to me?" she questioned, staring at the three from behind her desk.

Jessica, shifting uneasily in her seat, was the first to speak, "Where are we?"

"In my office," the headmistress replied, "one of the faculty members found you in the basement."

"The basement?" Jessica muttered in confusion, casting a glance towards the siblings that still seemed to be dumbstruck.

"Yes, the basement," her tone indicated a slight bit of annoyance, "would you like to tell me what you were doing?"

"We weren't in the basement," Vanessa interjected. "Well, we were but then there was this dog and Tristan—" she glanced towards her brother, "stayed with the dog. Then Jessica and I went through this door and we were in the middle of an ocean. There was this creature and—"

A chuckle escaped from the headmistress, an amused smile on her lips. "So you're telling me that you were attacked by a dog and ended up in the middle of the ocean?" she asked the three, focusing her question towards Vanessa.

"Well—" unsure of herself, she failed to finish her reply, choosing to slouch down in her chair instead.

"Are any of you going to tell me what you were really doing?" the headmistress repeated, a kind yet stern look still fixed onto her features.

The three were silent at first, each of them unsure what to say until finally Tristan spoke. "Just exploring," he explained casually, "that's all."

"And are you going to go exploring again?"

"No, ma'am."

"Then I guess we're done here," the headmistress told the three, a kind smile upon her face once more.

At their cue to leave, the three stood from their chairs; Tristan being the only one who walked steadily to the door. The other two still had a look of confusion fixed onto their faces, their vacant gazes staring straight ahead. It wasn't until they left the room that any of them spoke to each other, Vanessa the first to break the silence.

"We didn't imagine it," she told the others, trying to convince herself of such a thing. "We couldn't have, could we?"

"I don't know," Jessica said quietly in reply, beginning to walk down the large stairwell before them.

"It was so real," Vanessa continued, "all of us were there."

"It's a magic school," Tristan reasoned, "who knows what's real and what's not."

Vanessa frowned, arms crossed as she proceeded down the stairwell, "I know it was real." She glanced towards her brother, a quick smile appearing on her lips, "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Yea," he paused, "me too."

---

"You're going to have to wake up eventually," Jessica mused to her roommate as she rummaged through her things on her side of the room.

"Not yet," the groan came from Vanessa.

Jessica sighed, gathering her shower necessities, "The announcement sai—"

"I'm not deaf!" Vanessa protested, pulling her comforter closer to her head. "Wake me up when you get out of the shower."

"Fine," she replied as she walked for the door, her supplies in her hands. She slipped through the doorway, shutting it behind her. She didn't blame the girl for desiring more sleep; in fact she would have gladly thrown herself back onto her bed herself. By the time they had gone to bed the previous night it was late and the questions that the headmistress had left them with hadn't made sleep any easier. However, they had decided to ignore the situation; act as if it had never happened.

After having entered the bathroom, Jessica switched onto the water and placed her things along the shower's edge. Her clothes removed, she stepped into the heated water, pulling the shower curtain around the shower after doing so. It was nice to be clean, but oddly the night's experience hadn't left her with a single speck of dirt. Not only were they unscathed, but they were also as spotless as they had been beforehand.

Had it really happened? She was certain it had, but still the evidence was against her.

Once she finished her shower, she switched off the water and wrapped one towel around her body while another she twisted into her hair. She slinked through the doorway, hurrying into hers and Vanessa's room in order to escape the cold air.

"Wake up," she ordered her roommate, scurrying over to her things to pick out her clothes.

One last groan escaped from Vanessa. "Fine," she growled, rolling out of her bed. "I'm getting in the shower," she told Jessica on her way out the door.

Feeling no need to reply, Jessica simply rummaged through her closet instead, unsure as to what exactly would be suitable for the day's events. Deciding on a pair of shorts and tank top, she threw them on hoping that it wouldn't provide her with problems later. Combat Arts was their first class, Reizo being the teacher. From his looks alone it could be easily deduced that his teachings would not be easy nor would they be simple, so it was best to be prepared.

By the time the three of them were ready about an hour had passed, Tristan easily getting ready in the last ten minutes. Their other roommate was still nowhere to be found, possibly having not even arrived at that school yet. Not that it bothered them; they had greater things to worry about.

"So, where's the dining hall anyways?" Vanessa asked aloud, still playing with her dark curls.

"I think the map said the floor above us," Jessica replied.

"Great, we don't know where we're going."

"I just told you!"

"You said 'you think' it is, which implies that you don't know."

"It's on the floor above us," Jessica snapped.

Vanessa laughed, "Oh, and what makes you so sure now?"

"Shut up," Tristan interposed. "We'll go upstairs."

The dining hall had fortunately been located above them, the three arriving as other students continued to flood into the large room. A total of four large tables were in room, each of them great in their length. Above each of the exquisite pieces there were large signs that were floating, the names of the various hallways imprinted upon them. The Reizo Hall sign was located at one of the furthest, hanging above its middle.

The three students walked over to its location, having to manage their way through the large crowd of students that chattered excitedly. Once they finally arrived at their assigned places the three of them sat down, Tristan and Vanessa next to each other while Jessica sat to Vanessa's side. At the moment no food was before them, in fact the only thing in front of them was a tall glass of water and a smaller glass of orange juice.

"Where's the food?" Vanessa complained, reaching for her glass of water with a frown on her glossed lips.

"Obviously not here yet," an unfamiliar voice answered, a hint of attitude apparent in its tone.

Annoyed, Vanessa shot her eyes up towards the speaker, finding a girl sitting across from her. "And you are?" she questioned.

"Willie," said the girl as she slouched down into her chair. "And you?" she asked, twisting her cup of water on the table.

"Vanessa."

"Oh, and I'm Jessica, and this is Tristan," Jessica interjected eagerly, attempting to slice through the tension her roommate had created.

"Nice to meet cha'," Willie drawled, her brown eyes still focused on her glass. Though she glanced towards the three for a second, a quick smile appearing on her face before she spoke, "You want to hear something interesting?"

"Sure," Jessica answered, knowing that the others would probably remain silent.

"I've heard some stuff 'bout this place," she began.

"Like?" Vanessa muttered, her interest sparking just a bit.

The short hair girl leaned forward, a smile creeping across her lips, "Some crazy shit is gonna happen here."

Vanessa laughed. "Oh?" she asked, "and who told you that?"

"Doesn't matter," Willie replied, shrugging it off as she leaned back in her chair. "I ain't lying though," she defended. "Isn't that right, Miss. Jessica?" she asked, her eyes flickering over towards her.

Caught on the spot, Jessica shot her gaze towards the girl, unsure as to why she questioned her specifically. Perhaps Willie could tell what people could do, the abilities that people had. "She's not lying," Jessica agreed.

"And how would you know?" Vanessa snapped irritably.

Jessica shrugged, "I just do." There was no need to delve into the reason; it wasn't as if Vanessa probably cared that much anyways.

"Good morning, students," a chipper voice announced, interrupting the conversations all the students had been having. "It's nice to see you all on the first day of classes. I'm excited to see how all of you do." That was only somewhat of a lie. Sure she wanted to see how the game was played, but she didn't wish any of them the best. "That being said, time to eat."

By the time the students averted their gaze back to their table the food was already there, a feast before them. Pancakes, bacon, waffles, eggs, everything that could possibly be a breakfast food was there before them. Hungrily, all the students lurched for the food, dishing it out onto their plates. The day that was before them would be an adventurous one, and they knew it. But for the moment everyone enjoyed themselves, the three friends ignoring their suspicion as the rest of the student body continued to go about their way obliviously.

None of them knew the surprises that the classes would bring; the three friends not knowing that they would have to relive the nightmare of the night before.

A/N

You can't argue with me on this one. It is dreadfully boring chapter. This chapter's purpose was really just to show how some of the relationships are developing and how the headmistress is going to act towards suspicious students.

So yea…

Willie is an interesting character. She's not a main character or anything, but she'll be appearing throughout the storyline. Basically, the characters in the same hall as them will be the one's in the classes with them so naturally those are who you'll get to know. :]

The next chapter will be super exciting though. So, if you want to learn more about Reizo and the school itself keep reading~