Way of The Wand

Chidi almost always had a ton of homework to do. Airad seemed to love submerging its students in a drivel of work, and Chidi, being Chidi, often waited until the last minute to get his assignments done,

He’d been unusually free the past few days though. One of his teachers had fallen sick, consequently turning that teacher’s periods into free time.

Chidi knew better than to think it would last. Even if his teacher didn’t get well soon, Airad would probably hire a substitute to teach the class. For the mean time though, he put his extra hours to good use. And good use of time to Chidi included gazing out of his window to enjoy the dusk scenery and doing nothing.

When Chidi got bored of staring out his window, he turned to his left, to the only thing in his room worth looking at: the portrait of himself and Jira they’d gotten on their date at the palace.

With his roommate out, it was just Chidi, his thoughts and this painting. It always reminded him of Jira, but this time it took him back to a few days ago, when Jira came to Airad desperate to speak with him.

Since the tournament hadn’t been cancelled, he figured she had managed to convince Tomi’s parents to allow the little girl compete.

A loud creak interrupted the savoury silence of the room.

Chidi jerked at the unexpected noise of the creaking door and got up.

He hung his to the side, a plain reaction to his indignation at his visitor’s identity. Good thing he had his wig.

“We have a strict knock before you enter policy in this room,” Chidi said.

He drew a mocking sneer from Daila. “And now that I violated your policy, what are you going to do about it?”

Even when she was admitting wrongdoing, Daila’s voice was still filled with venom.

Chidi repositioned his leather chair so that it faced Daila then plopped down.

He sat down like a king, exuding a level of unusual confidence. This wasn’t how he usually reacted to Daila’s presence. Maybe because this time, she’d come to his room, his personal space.

“What threats have you come to make this time Daila?”

“Oh I’m getting to that,” Daila replied, taking a giant stride further into the room. “What’s this I hear about you putting your name down on the cheer team for the final task tomorrow?”

Chidi’s face broke into a smile. “I just want to be among those who cheer you on tomorrow, screaming your name and hailing you to victory.”

“You expect me to believe you’re rooting for me?” Her voice revealed a deep mistrust in Chidi’s motivations.

“Why not?” Chidi expressed faux shock at the suggestion he was hoping for Daila’s defeat. “We go to the same school after all.”

“Right,” Daila expressed an equally fake note of understanding. “Unfortunately, I don’t want you on the cheer team. I don’t want to see your face in the stands tomorrow. I banned you from sneaking out to go see Jira; you’re only doing this as a way to skirt around my ban. I won’t allow it.”

“Luckily for me,” Chidi responded getting up, “It’s not up to you. My application has already been accepted; I’m going whether you like or not.”

Daila lowered her head and scoffed, as if she was mourning Chidi’s arrogance. When she spoke next, her voice came out straight and hard.

“If I see you at the arena tomorrow, you can kiss your scholarship goodbye. You’ll lose everything. I’ll make sure you end up on the streets with nothing.”

Like all her other threats, this was supposed to force Chidi to back down, to cave in to her demands like he usually did.

But Chidi had had enough. There was only so much a person could take and Chidi’s bowl of patience had filled up.

“If that’s the case, I won’t be needing this anymore,” he said snatching the wig off his head and revealing his cornrows.

Daila stepped back in shock.

“Oh, that’s right,” Chidi continued, “I’ve been wearing a wig this entire time.”

He tossed the wig to Daila, but she stepped aside and let it fall to the ground. “Pick it up if you want it. I have a feeling it’ll look better on you than it did on me.”

He stepped closer to Daila, getting square in her face, something Chidi never thought he would be able to do.

“I am fed up with your rules and your blackmail. I will go to the arena tomorrow, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me. If I have to fight every last person in this school to make it there I will. And it’ll fill me with pure bliss to watch Tomi hand you your ass tomorrow.”

Chidi wrapped up his venting. “Now leave my room. You’ve overstayed your welcome.”

Daila was stunned into silence for a good moment, then she readjusted herself, and with a deviant smile on her face, dropped the bomb. “Well in that case, perhaps now is a good time to inform you the principal has asked to see you.”

“What?” Chidi’s arrogant confidence disappeared like the fake gold coating on cheap jewellery. “The principal, as in your mother? Right now?”

“No, the principal as in your mother. Of course, it’s my mother. She’s in her office. Better don’t keep her waiting.”

Chidi wanted to ask Daila what Principal Kalinda wanted from him, but given how rude he just was to her, there was no way she would oblige him with an answer. He clenched his daw as Daila made her dramatic exit, intentionally slamming his door shut on her way out.

Chidi hurriedly changed out of his pajamas and rushed to the topmost floor of the Airad pyramid where Kalinda’s office is located.

He knocked and waited for permission to enter before pushing the door open.

“Principal Kalinda,” he greeted as he made his way in.

The principal is seated behind her large desk in a flamboyant black cloak dress. She waves him the seat opposite her desk. “Sit down Chidi.”

Chidi tentatively took the seat, still confused as to why the principal would call for him this late at night.

“You’re dating my daughter, right?” Principal Kalinda said straight away.

Chidi coughed out of shock and almost chocked on his saliva. “Yes…yes,” he stammered, regaining control of his voice.

“Tell me something,” Principal Kalinda, “when you found out you got the scholarship to study wizardry here at Airad, how’d you feel?”

Chidi shifted to the edge of his seat. This had to be Daila’s doing. She has convinced Principal Kalinda to rescind his scholarship. He stammered as he tried to find the words to defend himself.

“Principal Kalinda…I…I don’t know what Daila told you, but—”

“Daila?” Principal Kalinda cranes her neck, confused. “What has Daila got to do with this?”

Chidi got even more confused. “Daila didn’t put you up to this? You didn’t call me here to tell me you’re rescinding my scholarship?”

Principal Kalinda broke into a bout of laughter that eased Chidi’s nerves. “Gods no! Chidi. I called you here because I want to know how your family felt when you got the scholarship. I know you come from a long line of witches, and I always assumed they were thrilled when you informed them, but recently, I’ve been questioning my assumptions. So, help me out here. Set me straight.”

Chidi relaxed his shoulders. Thank the Gods this wasn’t what he feared.

“Well, my father was ecstatic about the news. I mean, most graduates from Airad often go on to become wealthy, and my family’s quite poor.”

“And your mum?” Principal Kalinda asked.

“My mum was a different story. She wasn’t happy I’d decided to become a wizard. She said I was going against our family tradition in a bid to become wealthy.”

The revelation roiled Kalinda. She reclined into her seat, pensive, her surprise plain on her face. “I would have expected anyone to be happy about their kid getting to study at Airad.”

“Well, not my mum. At least not at first. She eventually came around, but that was after I explained that I wasn’t trying to become a wizard simply to increase my chances of becoming rich. I mean, don’t get me wrong, that’s a part of it, but there’s also more to it than that. I’ve always been drawn to wizardry in a way I can’t quite articulate. It’s what feels right for me.”

Principal Kalinda folded her arms as she listened to Chidi’s explanation.

“I’m lucky my mum got over her initial reservations about my studying wizardry. Our relationship might have become strained otherwise.”

Principal Kalinda sat up and sighed. “Thank you Chidi. That’ll be all.”