HONOR SYSTEM (any gender mid teens to mid twenties)
You know the school honor system: If you let your magic get exposed in any way outside the school, you have to tell.
Tonight I had an accident. I was in my room, I was refining some powders. Mr. Metcher gave me a mix of them for homework. But he must have given me a some lethal combination because the powders caught fire. Now there are burns all over the second floor walls of my house.
I did the right thing. I called Mr. Metcher tonight and told him about it. He said-
(pause)
He said I have to use gasoline to burn the rest of my house down. He says there's too much risk of powder residue being discovered. As if anyone other than a wizard is going to know those powders. But if I don't burn the house, he'll just do it for me and I'll be kicked out of school.
The kind of magic you do- a lot of people warned me about it. But they've also told me that you're the only wizard who scares Mr. Metcher.
Can we talk?
Copyright 2016 by Matt Haynes.
If you would like to use this piece, please credit: "Courtesy of Matt Haynes and The Pulp Stage"