Oh Hex No

Dear Mom,

I'm sorry I haven't been able to write often, but Mondhaven has been keeping me busy. I have a packed schedule and I have been taking additional courses on the side. We've taken in an additional roommate in the dorms this semester, so I have a little extra money to spare. I know you tell me you don't need it, but I've enclosed a little bit of cash to help with some of our debts.

I'm sorry I won't be able to make it home for the solstice holiday, but I'll visit the first opportunity I have. Please take care of yourself, and we'll see each other again soon.

Sending my love,

Erik

Erik felt terrible lying to his mother, but he knew it would be worse if she knew what he was really doing with his life. He blew on the ink to dry it faster before folding and tucking it into an envelope. He wasn't writing the letter in one of the fancy dormitory study rooms. Instead, it was a small desk he had put together himself after taking apart some furniture someone was throwing away. He wasn't even in the dorms. His shabby apartment was in the poorer magic districts near Mondhaven, where he was barely scraping along.

The truth was, Erik wasn't a student at all. If anything, he was working as an indentured servant with barely enough pay to survive. When he turned out to have magic sensitivity as a child, the magical world was required to acknowledge and take note of him. He was given the magical altitude exam, and much to the dismay of the Mondhaven enrollment board, Erik passed in natural talent with flying colors.

He was the son of a poor, struggling single mother and no father. Ginny Marvell was only sixteen when she fell pregnant with Erik, and the man who fathered him had left the second he heard the news. Ginny was kicked out of her parents house and looked down on her entire life for being a "whore", but she took all kinds of terrible and difficult jobs and went to great lengths to make sure Erik was safe and taken care of as he grew up.

Unfortunately, Mondhaven's enrollment board didn't admire her efforts quite as much as Erik did. They didn't want a bastard with no money sullying the image of the Academy, but there was no denying Erik's exam scores. By law, he had to be given a wand and taught magic. Instead, they managed to find a loophole. They presented Erik with an obscene tuition fee, then offered him a deal. He could work, and a majority of his pay would go towards the tuition. After a quarter was paid, they would allow him to enroll.

They didn't tell him his pay would be so low, it would take over a decade to make that much. He got his wand, but no one intended on showing him how to use it. There were a few spells he was able to teach himself, but for the most part he worked as an errand boy for Mondhaven's professors as they sneered down at him.

As much as he tried to look like a polished student, his old wool clothes gave him away. He put on a jacket and combed his hair as best he could before heading out, but stopped in his tracks when a small obstacle was standing just behind the door and in his way.

"Bea," he gasped, startled. "I told you not to do that. You can't stand outside my door and wait for me to open it like that. I'll trample you."

The six year old didn't seem too bothered, and had hardly flinched when he nearly stepped on her. She just toyed with her red ringlets of hair and munched on a biscuit as she looked up at him.

"Watcha doin?" she asked.

"I'm going to school," he said.

"You mean work?"

"Yeah. I guess."

"Can I come?" she asked.

"Of course not," he sighed. "Just like yesterday. And the day before that. And all the days before that."

"I'm bored," she complained. "Can I go in your apartment?"

"Bea, go home."

She wrinkled her nose and stomped back to her apartment, right across from Erik. Truth be told, he felt for her. Both her parents worked long hours to make ends meet, like most in the neighboorhood. They couldn't afford a nanny, so most times Bea was left home alone. Erik would sometimes stop by to make sure she was fed when he had time or her parents were running late, but he couldn't take care of her all the time.

He was already running a little late, but still managed to stop by a mail drop and put in his letter to his mother before reporting to the professors who called on him. He worked with anyone who needed him, but the meaner ones usually called on him the most. The ones had an obvious disdain for Erik, and seemed to get some kind of satisfaction from making Erik do menial tasks. A few times, he had heard comments about how he wasn't deserving of the wand he was given. Erik just let it slide. He didn't want to hurt the slim chance that he would get admitted into the school.

He was given his long list of chores and ended up working well into the night. He was finally running his last task of carrying a box of student made potions to the lab for a lesson the next day, and then he could finally go home and rest. Or so he thought. He never could have expected to be attacked by a manic creature that looked like something Bea would draw up from her imagination.

There was a girl in the room with him who clearly something to do with the animal, but that didn't matter. Professor Jorgenson immediately chewed Erik out for it. Like always, he just stood there quietly with his clothes covered in colorful potions as Professor Jorgenson yelled at him.

"And now what are these students supposed to do?!" he snapped. "Young men and women who work hard for their accomplishments, all set back because a silly little boy tripped and fell. I should have your wand for this-"

"It wasn't his fault," the girl piped up.

She had been quietly pressed into the shadows and holding a small white rat, which Erik suspected was the creature that had gone nuts just a few moments ago. She seemed startled at the prospect that Erik's wand would be taken. He didn't bother saying anything or trying to pin the blame on her. There wasn't any proof that the rat had been anything else, and even if there was, Erik would still be blamed.

"I beg your pardon?" Professor Jorgenson asked her, his tone softening slightly.

"It wasn't his fault," she repeated. "I was in here and he was startled-"

"Miss Bellwood, you shouldn't be in here either," he scolded. "There are specific academy facilities designated for after-hours studying. Please move to one of those, or go back to bed."

"But-"

"Now, Miss Bellwood," Professor Jorgenson said sternly, though he wasn't mean to her. "I'll pretend I didn't see you here and it will remain off your record."

Erik still didn't say anything or look at her, but he could feel her looking at him. Professor Jorgenson's gaze hardened again when it turned back on him.

"It's late, and I don't want to write you up for this," he said. "Clean it up and go home."

With that, he left Erik and the girl alone in the lab. Erik let out a deep breath he had been holding and knelt down to start picking up the pieces of glass from the broken vials. The girl knelt down next to him.

"Here, let me help you," she said softly.

"It's fine," Erik said. "I'll do it."

"I think I know a spell that can clean it up quick," she said.

"I said it's fine."

She seemed a bit surprised, and Erik realized his tone had been harsher towards her than he intended. He wasn't exactly angry with her. Just a little frustrated at being yelled at, and maybe a little peeved that she could easily clean it up with magic while he used his hands.

"It's my mess, I'll clean it," he insisted, a little gentler now. "You can go. Get home safe, please."

She was reluctant, but she could tell Erik didn't feel up to arguing with her. He was exhausted, and frankly, he didn't feel like watching her show off. She stood up and smoothed out her frilly skirt, then quietly left. She paused by the door and looked back at him once more, and he finally lifted his head to actually look at her. She didn't look snooty. She actually looked apologetic. He offered her a smile and nod, and though it was forced, he had been told he had one of those warm dimpled smiles that were endearing regardless of the situation. She didn't seem too convinced by it, but reluctantly left so he could finish cleaning the mess.