Knight School: A Mystic Brats Novel Vol. 1

I can’t believe people are saying it’s over. That we won the never-ending struggle. That the Knight Academy has been rebuilt... but more importantly... my mother has finally awakened from her seemingly endless sleep. A year ago, I wouldn’t have thought I could be so happy. None of this would have been possible without my friends, the Mystic Brats.

Nara, Barry, and Julie risked their lives to save mine... along with a little help from Mr. Louis. I was infuriated with him for wanting to use Nara as bait to save my mother, but where would the four of us be without his methods?

“...I’ll tell you where we would be, Jay, in four shallow graves!” said Barry.

We were touring the new campus for the Academy. It was different, to say the least. Our new school used a new combination of science and magic, called MysTech, to keep the Academy in a new location. The Nexus. All of us are now living in between the other five realms to keep us safe while we train. The only downside is there’s no sword fighting arena, but we do have a state-of-the-art training room that can simulate any environment. We also have... I’m sorry... I’ve seemed to have lost my train of thought... I was talking about Barry and me touring the campus, right? Good. Let’s get back to that.

“I know that, Barry,” I sighed. “I need to apologize the next time I see him.”

“You haven’t already?” asked Barry.

“A lot has happened in the past month!” I said. “I’ve been in constant meetings with the Council about our team, and in my free time I’ve been visiting my mom. I haven’t had any sleep in weeks.”

“How has everything been going with your mom?” asked Barry.

“Better than expected,” I said. “I always thought that when Mom woke up that she would be mad at me. That she would blame me for what happened to her.”

“Dude, she was attacked by a psycho with a mystic arrow fetish!” said Barry. “Don’t blame yourself. Blame online dating.”

“But I’m the one who ran away and left her with that freak,” I pointed out. “And he did have some feelings for her... weird obsessive feelings. Plus, we argued constantly about money, school, and responsibility. Gramp’s told me before he disappeared that family takes care of family. Those were the last words he ever said to me... and I just ignored him.”

“Wow,” said Barry, mockingly. “You are a scumbag!”

“Shut up,” I laughed. We were entering the new classroom for Mystical Studies when the strangest sight met our eyes. Julie was helping a stumbling Nara walk in high heel boots. Nara was struggling to maintain her balance and was holding on to Julie for support. But, wait, that wasn’t even the strangest thing. Julie was wearing a pink sweatshirt, blue jean skirt, and sandals. In all the time that I’ve dated Julie, she had never once worn a skirt or sandals. She hated wearing either of those. Now, Nara at least was dressed normally... well... normal for Nara. She had on a tight-fitting purple dress. The only thing was that her hair didn’t seem right. It seemed flatter than usual.

“What’s up with the girls?” asked Barry.

“No idea,” I replied. “The last time I saw them was two weeks ago.”

“How are things between you and Julie?” asked Barry. “Are you two together or...?”

“Definitely or,” I sighed. “Julie told me that she needed time... that she was going through changes. So... yeah... definitely or.”

“Just what are they doing anyway?”

“I told you, wearing high heel boots is an art,” laughed Julie. “You should have taken a practice run first.”

“I have never failed at anything before,” said Nara through gritted teeth. “At least I look normal.”

“Excuse me!” said Julie in an unusual girly voice. “But my new wardrobe is seriously drab, and I just had to glam it up a bit.”

“Glam?” remarked an annoyed Nara. “You have got to stop reading those fashion magazines.”

“Um... girls?”

Nara and Julie turned around in shock. They looked like they had seen a ghost. I’d never imagined that they could be so flustered. Julie even dropped Nara.

“Ouch!” said Nara, struggling to stand up. “Could you give me a little warning next time?”

“Sorry,” said Julie. “Hey, Jason... and Barry. What’s up?”

“Nothing more than usual,” I said. “Nara, do you need some help?”

“No,” said Nara, blushing. “I can handle this... just like I always do!” Nara then let out a weird little giggle. It was a creepy giggle. She didn’t sound like herself.

“Are you okay?” I asked Nara.

“She’s fine,” said Julie. “Totally fine! If fine was a person, it would be Nara! Even though that sounded more like a banshee’s scream than a giggle.”

“Well, I could always do a spell to fix that if it bothers you that much, Julie,” said Nara.

“No!” said Julie. “...I mean ... that is... you could still be unused to the magic of the Lunar Necklace. So, you probably should practice a little more. That’s my motto, y’know, practice makes perfect. I am still a teaching assistant... and an overachiever... so... y’know.”

“Julie, can I speak to you in private?” I asked.

Julie looked as flustered as I did on the night we met. I had never seen her so vulnerable before. “...Okay, Jason. We can talk in my office.”

“You’re what?”

Julie led me to a small metallic room. She shut the door behind us as soon as we walked through. “Pretty cool, huh? I guess with a new school comes new perks. We should be able to talk in here without anyone overhearing us.”

“Good,” I said. “Julie, I know you thought I had feelings for Nara... and a part of me might... but that doesn’t change the way I feel about you.”

“Jason, stop, I can tell where you’re heading...”

“No. I’m sure you don’t,” I said. “Julie, you’re the kind of girl I would die for... but in the end, I’d do the same for Nara. In the past year, since I’ve met you and Nara, I have felt so many new emotions. Emotions that I never knew were possible. You make me feel more in control of my destiny, free. While Nara is entirely different. She reminds me that even though all kinds of terrible stuff is going on in my life... I can still smile at the little things... that I can still be happy. So, until I can figure out what love is, you’re right, we can’t be together. It wouldn’t be fair to any of us, but that doesn’t mean I want to lose you as a friend. We will remain friends, right? Maybe one day you’ll even recognize me again... or maybe I think too much...”

A small tear ran down Julie’s face as she smiled. “I see what you did there. I guess you really can’t stop being a jerk for two seconds, can you?”

I smiled back and said, “Nope. Never going to happen. Still friends?”

“You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried, Jason. I’m just surprised you’ve found such clarity. Things have changed a lot since last year.”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “It just goes to show that bringing someone back from the brink of death may make them a little crazier, but a lot smarter. Or maybe it’s because my soul is now linked with the smartest, greatest, coolest Mystic Brats in any world.”

Julie wiped away her tear and turned to the door. “We’d better get back to the tour.”

“Yeah.”

Julie went to open the door but hesitated.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Just wondering if I should do something stupid...” replied Julie.

“What’s that?”

“...This!”

Without warning, Julie turned around and kissed me as no one else had ever done before. It was even different from any other time she had kissed me herself. She was almost like a different person.

“Julie — wow — why did you do that?”

Julie’s face flooded red. “I just wanted to know what it would be like to kiss you right here and now... for one last time, I mean. We better get going.”

The new campus was an exciting place. The nexus that surrounded us consisted of blue skies, long flowing green rivers, and snow-covered mountains. The school itself had been built from the wreckage of its predecessor. A modernized castle with a lethal security system that could kill any type of intruder.

“Which means no student will try to sneak in or out after curfew,” said Mr. Louis.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” I replied. “Almost every student here loves a challenge. Plus, with the new MysTech transporter, they can teleport to anywhere on earth.”

“You forget, Jason, how much I relish a good opposition,” smiled Mr. Louis.

“Yeah, I’ve recently discovered just how cool it is to win one of those,” I said. “Even if it means taking a little risk.”

We were inside his new office, hours before the end of the year celebration. At the end of the party, Mr. Louis would be handing out special medals to Julie, Nara, Barry, and myself. He would also be announcing the Council’s latest decision — the four of us, along with Mr. Louis as our handler, would become an official division of Legend. To answer your question, yes, we will still be called the Mystic Brats (Barry insisted). We will be sent on missions that adult agents can’t, but I have to be honest — I’m still not sure what that means. We’ll also keep attending classes in our free time (if you can call it that).

“Mr. Louis... if it hadn’t been for you and Nara, I would be dead. Mom wouldn’t have ever woken up from her coma, either. What I’m trying to say is... I’m...”

“There’s no need to apologize, Jason,” said Mr. Louis. “You were trying to do the right thing by protecting Ms. Roman. The heroic thing. Your grandfather once told me something that I had long forgotten about until you sacrificed yourself for Ms. Brooks. He told me that the funny thing about being a hero is that once you get a taste of it — there’s no going back. It is the same way with you as it was with Eddie. Once a hero, always a hero. For Eddie, it took battling a dangerous creature. While all you needed was something to fight for. Your friends.” Mr. Louis took a small package out of his briefcase. “I’ve always known that you are an exceptional young man. Do you know why I’ve started calling you by your first name, Jason?”

I shook my head.

“Because you earned my respect. You’ve accomplished something that I could never teach you. You found another emotion more powerful than your seemingly uncontrollable anger. Love for your friends. As long as you concentrate on how much you care about them... anger goes away, replaced by a very capable hero.”

Mr. Louis handed me the package.

“In all the time I have had the pleasure of knowing you, Jason, you have never given up on anything. Now I must ask you to continue the journey you started two years ago.”

“Is this what I think it is?” I asked.

“It’s Eddie’s journal,” said Mr. Louis. “I promise you we will find him, Jason.”

The end of the year celebration was one party that made me feel at home. Every student was happier than they had been in years. We had been through hell and back. We had survived everything Merlin and the Order threw at us, and we were better for it. All those obstacles made us stronger. Together, we ate, drank soda, and danced the night away. This was truly the beginning of a new era.

I was inside the new trophy room, later that night, where copies of our medals had just been displayed beside Gramps’ award and so many others. “I did it, Gramps. Now all I have to do is find you. I promise you that I won’t stop until I do!”

“He knows you will.”

My mother had entered the room. She was just discharged from Legend’s hospital. She also carried a white streak in her long, dark hair. She smiled at me as I hugged her.

“Thanks,” I said. “But how do you know that?”

“When you love someone just enough, you’ll find out that you have a deep connection to that person. You can feel when they’re angry, sad, happy, or worried even if you are a million miles apart. You and your grandfather have had that kind of connection since you were born. It’s how you know he’s alive... and how I knew that I would one day wake up to see you again.”

Tears began to run down her face.

“Mom? What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Oh, Jason... I don’t know how or why... but... I’m pregnant...”