The bus made loud noises and shook as it went up the curvy road. Inside, Cyrene Galehart moved up and down on her hard seat. Her heavy bag hurt her back. She bit her red hair because she was happy, but also very nervous. She was finally at St. Jude's.
She had seen photos of the school before. It had big stone buildings and green plants on the walls. People said the school was full of magic. Now that she was here, it looked much bigger and better than her old, broken school.
A loud noise behind her made her jump. It was Malric Vossgard. He always had food. He was holding a giant pile of sandwiches.
"We are almost there!" he said while eating. He smiled at her, and some cheese fell on the floor.
Cyrene laughed. Malric was her friend. They met at a magic camp last summer. They both liked playing jokes and did not like waking up early. Malric was messy and always causing trouble, but he was a very nice person.
"Don't get in trouble before we even get our class lists," she said, hitting his arm playfully.
Malric let out a loud laugh that made the bus shake.
"That would not be fun at all!"
The bus finally stopped in front of giant gates. The gates were made of black metal and had the shapes of dragons on them. They sparkled in the sun. Behind the gates, St. Jude's looked like a beautiful dream.
As the students got off the bus, everyone went quiet because the school was so pretty. Even Malric stopped moving for a moment. Cyrene felt nervous. This was the start of her new life.
The headmaster stood at the top of some big stairs. He was a serious man with a long grey beard, but his eyes looked kind. He spoke, and his voice was very loud so everyone could hear.
"Welcome to St. Jude's Academy! This is a place to learn and become great."
He moved his hand, and a bright gold light came out of it. The light moved through the air. Cyrene thought it was a magic spell to make everyone feel welcome. It looked like warm sunshine.
Cyrene still felt a little sick from the bus and was worried about being at a new school. She wanted to be brave and make friends. She moved her hand and, by accident, touched the arm of a student walking past her.
Nothing happened. The boy just kept walking. Cyrene felt better. She did not know much about her magic. Her mom said she could stop other magic from working, but she had never tried to do it on purpose.
The headmaster kept talking. The air was still full of his gold magic. Cyrene felt a strange stinging in her fingers. This always happened when she was nervous.
She looked at the other students. She saw a group of older kids being mean to the new students. They were laughing and acting like bullies. This made Cyrene very angry. It was not fair.
As she got angrier, the feeling in her hands got stronger. She saw one of the older boys push a small kid. Cyrene could not stay quiet.
"Hey!" she yelled.
The older kids looked at her. A tall boy with flat hair walked toward her.
"What are you going to do, little girl?" he asked with a mean smile.
Cyrene's heart beat fast. Her hands felt hot. The gold magic in the air started to shake. She felt her own power trying to come out.
"Leave him alone," she said.
The boy laughed. He reached out to push her. Cyrene moved her hand fast to stop him. She was not trying to hurt him. She just wanted him to move back.
Her fingers touched his arm.
Suddenly, the air felt strange. The boy fell back and looked confused. At the same time, the headmaster's gold magic disappeared like smoke. Everyone was shocked. The headmaster looked very surprised.
The mean boy tried to talk, but he couldn't. He tried to use his own magic, but it did not work. His magic was gone.
"What did you do?" he finally asked. His voice sounded very weak.
Cyrene looked at her hands. She was very confused. She did not try to use magic. It just happened. Now, her hands felt empty and quiet.
The Headmaster walked over to them. He looked very serious now. He looked at the boy and then at Cyrene.
"Why is there trouble here?" he asked in a loud voice.
The boy with flat hair said, "She touched me, sir! Then my magic just stopped working!"
The Headmaster looked at Cyrene. His eyes were very sharp. Cyrene felt small and scared. She hid her hands behind her back, and her face turned red.
"Is this true?" he asked quietly.
Cyrene looked at the floor.
"I think so, sir," she said.
"I was angry, and my hands felt strange. Then he fell back. I am sorry."
Everything was quiet. All the other students watched them. Malric stood next to Cyrene. He was not eating now; he looked worried about his friend.
"What is your name?" the Headmaster asked.
"Cyrene Galehart, sir," she answered.
"Galehart," the Headmaster said. He said the name slowly. He looked at her closely. For the first time, Cyrene felt like he saw something special in her. He saw a power that was strong and hard to control.
"It looks like we have a very special new student this year," the Headmaster said.
He looked at the other students and spoke loudly again.
"Welcome to St. Jude's! Now, everyone, please go to the Hall for your tests."
As the students walked away, many people looked at Cyrene. Her face turned red. She was finally at the school, but she had already caused a big problem. On her very first day, she had stopped the headmaster's magic by mistake. This year was going to be very different.