Harris Institute for Gifted Students Episode 6: Fish Hooks

Harris Institute for Gifted Students by Pineapple | Content Warnings

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“You’re getting better,” Ms. Fatima remarked, drawing another Zener card. They’d used them since Sofia started at the school to practice her mind reading skills. It was standard testing for telepathy and. At the beginning, Sofia had passed with flying colors, but now things were getting more difficult. Ms. Fatima looked at the design before setting the card face down on the table.

Sofia didn’t wait for the bubble thoughts. She reached out to Ms. Fatima’s mind, searching for a whisper of what the image was. “The blue waves,” Sofia said.

Ms. Fatima smiled and drew the next one from the deck.

“The star.”

Again.

“The square.”

“Good,” she said. She started to shuffle. “I won’t project the answer anymore. Try to break past my defenses.”

Sofia nodded. Ms. Fatima looked at the card and then at Sofia expectantly. When Sofia tried to read her mind for an image of the card, it was blank. It wasn’t static in the way that other people’s were or rainy the way it had been the day before at the old training building. Ms. Fatima was a witch, trained in protecting her thoughts, and unwavering in her faith to the spirits that guided her.

“Is it…” Sofia hesitated. She reached, but there was nothing. “… the blue waves?”

Ms. Fatima knitted her brows. She hummed. “How did you know?”

There was something keeping Sofia from celebrating, though, aside from the fact that she was blindly guessing. There was a tugging at the back of her mind. Or maybe the front. It was hard to tell where it was coming from, but it was like a fish hook stuck in her brain, and something was trying to pull it out.

“You’re lying,” Sofia said.

The smile that came to Ms. Fatima’s face was genuine. “How did you know?” she asked, this time, her voice lighter. She flipped the card so Sofia could see it. The square again.

“I can just… feel it when someone is lying, even if they’re trying to block me.” Sofia folded over the seams of her uniform blazer. “It’s nagging.”

“That can be helpful if you learn to use it,” Ms. Fatima said. She set the Zener deck aside and picked up a different set of cards. “For now, let’s practice your precision a bit more.”

They’d already done some tutting practice. A few candles sat broken on a table over by the bookshelf. One or two plaster statuettes that Mr. Elliot had no doubt made had been successfully shattered. Then they’d moved onto telepathy practice. Sofia’s brain felt like she was processing everything through mud.

“Ms. Fatima,” she said, watching Ms. Fatima’s delicate fingers shuffling absently. Sofia recognized the unique back design as one of Ms. Fatima’s tarot decks. “You said you’d answer my questions today.”

“Did I?” she asked coyly. Not quite a lie, but there was a tugging in Sofia’s brain anyway.

“What’s in the old training building that you’re not allowed to talk about?”

“It’s not exactly that I’m not allowed to talk about it, but it’s more a privacy thing,” she said, drawing a card. She nodded her head. “Your turn.”

Sofia sighed, playing along. “The Hermit.”

“What else do you want to know?” She shuffled and drew again. She frowned at whatever was in her hand, her brow furrowing.

“Why did you suggest I train with Ms. Hera?” Sofia looked down, picking at her cuticles. The images from Ms. Fatima weren’t as pointed as they’d been before. They were murky, distracted. “The… um… Justice?”

“The Tower,” she answered. “A bad omen.”

Ms. Fatima stared at it a moment longer before shaking her head free of it.

“Ms. Hera specializes in transformation. I believe you could aid the transformation of others,” she said. “You have strong empathic powers, as well as telepathy. You know what people are thinking and feeling. But you… you’re also compassionate and understanding. You can see potential in things.”

“Does this have to do with the journey you mentioned at the beginning of the semester?” Sofia asked. She finally looked up to see Ms. Fatima with a new card. “Justice?”

Ms. Fatima squinted at her. “Are you even trying?”

“It’s the only one I can find—”

Ms. Fatima held up a hand to stop her. “Why do you say find?” she asked, dropping the card on the table. It was The Fool.

Sofia shrugged.

“I think I’ve worn you out. Do you have fighting today?”

Sofia shook her head.

“Good. Go rest,” Ms. Fatima said. “If you have any more questions, you can ask me again next time.”

“Can I ask one more?”

Ms. Fatima leaned back in her chair, gesturing. “Sure.”

“When I started, in my intro to powers class, the instructor said that telepathic powers are rarely strong enough to warrant being enrolled into a hero program,” Sofia said, staring blankly at the three cards piled on top of each other on Ms. Fatima’s desk. “But I was. And you’re here.”

Ms. Fatima was nodding along, but her mind was slowly fading into static, a rainstorm in the background, like she was hoping Sofia wouldn’t notice.

“Is there anyone else on campus?” Sofia raised her eyes to look at Ms. Fatima.

“No,” she said.

And it was a lie. A fish hook straight to the brain.

Sofia wondered if Ms. Fatima knew she knew.

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Mickey was passing by when Sofia was coming out of the building. She smiled brighter than the sun, perking up immediately. “Sofia!” she shouted, waving her arms, bouncing over. She took hold of Sofia’s hands in hers. “Fancy seeing you here! I was just going to pick up Samuel. Want to come with?”

Sofia’s mind was like a swamp and she was struggling to keep up with Mickey. She tried to blink through Mickey’s blinding energy. “What?”

“Come on!” She pulled Sofia along. “He promised me a star gazing date tonight. Isn’t that nice?”

“Oh,” Sofia said. “Yeah.”

“He should be finishing his lesson with Alaric soon,” Mickey said. “Have you eaten yet? I figured we could grab dinner while we waited for the sun to set. Maybe watch a movie. You down?”

Sofia realized that she, in fact, had not eaten yet and that that sounded like a good idea. Stargazing could be fun, too. Or pretty. Sofia didn’t know much about it, but Mickey seemed excited.

“There, see?” Mickey pointed. “His class is at the top of the tower.”

Sofia did indeed see the tower. It was Alaric of the Light’s tower. The tower that all the classic sorcery students had their lessons in. She’d never been inside, of course, because Alaric of the Light had beef with Ms. Fatima; he thought brujeria was a bastardization of the craft. But it was impossible to not see it, no matter where you were on campus. It was always looming, a true wizard’s abode, a silhouette in the skyline.

Mickey didn’t seem too worried about throwing the door open and starting up the large spiral staircase. The place was cold and lifeless, like it’d come straight out of the ancient texts. Sofia followed Mickey closely as they ascended.

It wasn’t long before they heard echoes coming from the top, bouncing off the stones of the building.

“You’re squandering your talent,” the voice boomed, followed by an actual boom.

Colors of pink and blue and orange reflected off the black dampness of the walls, and sparks fizzled out as they danced down the stairs. “I’m doing fine,” came the reply. “Whatever you send my way, I can handle.”

“But you could be so much more—”

“I don’t need more!”

There was the sound of shooting. The color of stars.

“Oh no,” Mickey muttered. She started running, and Sofia rushed to follow.

“The tradition is rooted in fools who needed the crutch of a vehicle—”

Sofia reached the top of the stairs, stopping behind Mickey’s protective, outstretched arm. Samuel looked small, his pale skin and hair reflecting the colors of the spells whirring around the room. He in a black turtleneck, his uniform blazer thrown somewhere to the side, his pants neat and pressed despite the fierce look he was sending up at Alaric of the Light.

There were pages from a spell book scattered around the bare top floor. Some of the runes were glowing the same color as Samuel’s hands. Iridescent. Pink and then blue and then purple, shimmering white as it shifted like a living thing.

Alaric was flying, hovering so high he was nearly in the spire ceiling of the room. He was wielding a wooden staff. It was holding magic like Samuel was, but it was more condensed. Brighter and more stable.

“I can make my own path,” Samuel said. “I don’t need you to tell me how—”

“Silence!” Alaric drew a line across his mouth. Sam’s mouth snapped shut and he started gesturing to undo the spell. “You could make a mark in history. You could be one of the greats. You could achieve immortality. You could…”

Sam finally seemed to break Alaric’s magic. “I don’t want immortality,” he shouted. “And I don’t care about the greats! They’ve done nothing to advance—”

There was a crack of thunder. Something broke. Mickey moved to shield Sofia, turning her back to the action and holding Sofia in her arms. But… nothing happened.

It was quiet after that.

Mickey uncurled from around Sofia and Sofia peeked out from behind her. The magic had faded, the ancient runes no longer glowing. Alaric of the Light had touched down to the ground. He looked unhappy.

The two of them were staring at Mickey and Sofia. Samuel was holding a hand to his head.

“If you’d had a familiar, they would have blocked that for you,” Alaric huffed. “This is why the masters had them. This is why you should follow in their steps.”

Samuel glared, grabbing his jacket off the floor. “I’m leaving,” he said definitively.

“I think that would be best.” Alaric turned his back on them and, with a wave of his hand, started cleaning up the room. Pages flew back into the books they belonged to, the rocks fit back into their spots, and upturned cauldrons righted themselves.

Samuel maneuvered past Mickey and Sofia, only waiting until they were around the curve of the wall to look back and make sure they were following.

Mickey waited until they were outside to say anything. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” Samuel said. “At least endangering someone who isn’t his student got him to calm down.”

“Melissa’s gonna be upset.”

Samuel pouted. “She’ll be more upset if I don’t tell her,” he said. Mickey reached over and rubbed his shoulders. He shrugged her off and took a few big bounds ahead.

Mickey exchanged a fond look with Sofia, falling into step with her as they followed him to the clinic. When they arrived, Melissa saw them and immediately looked like she wanted to panic.

“I’m fine,” Samuel said preemptively. “Alaric was just…”

Melissa held up a hand. “Stop,” she said and then pointed. “Sit.”

Samuel did as he was told. “Alaric was throwing a fit again,” he said. “I didn’t notice Mickey and Sofia until it was too late. I broke the rock that almost hit them, but some of the debris hit me.”

Melissa frowned, glancing back at the other two. “And you two aren’t hurt?”

“We’re fine, thanks to him,” Mickey said affectionately, which was good. Sofia was too stunned to really answer. Sam had barely acknowledged her, but apparently he not only knew she was there but also her name. They’d only met once that she could remember.

“Good,” Melissa said. She went to her desk and grabbed a file from a drawer, dropping it on a pile of others just like it, then she went to grab supplies to clean his wound.

Samuel gestured to the folders and paperwork. “You don’t have to make a whole incident report about this…” he started.

“We have to keep track of injuries, Sam.” She gave him a wipe to clean his hand and then started dabbing away the blood that had dried on his forehead. “Make sure nobody’s getting out of control: instructors and students alike. You know that.”

“How hasn’t he been fired already, then,” he said dully.

“Sam!”

“I’m kidding.” He looked down, crumpling up the towelette he was holding. “Mostly. But I imagine there’s few in the world who could match his knowledge in classic sorcery.”

“I wish there was someone else,” she said wistfully. She put her hand on his head, but Samuel pushed it away.

“I’ll heal in a few days. Don’t waste your energy on me,” he said. “Greyson will probably come in soon needing healing up, anyway.”

Melissa pouted, looking almost exactly like her brother when he did the same thing.

“It doesn’t even hurt, Mel, I promise.”

“That’s because I put an analgesic powder on it!” she shouted, incredulous. “This isn’t the first time this has happened, and you don’t want me to—” Melissa stopped. She sighed, sinking into the stool by the cot, and cradled her face in her hands. “I just don’t want you to…”

“I know,” he said. He patted her on the shoulder. “It’s okay.”

Sofia winced as a quick, sharp pain shot through her head. A fish hook.

When Melissa looked up, Samuel put his hand back in his lap, his gaze quickly shifting to the corner of the room.

“Can you just let me help you?” she asked, her voice low, frustrated.

“Fine.” He didn’t sound happy about it, but he didn’t stop her when she held her hand up to his forehead. There was the faintest glow of red where their skin made contact. “Thank you,” he said, grudgingly.

“You’re welcome,” she said shortly, spinning around in her seat to start filing through the papers she’d piled on the desk.

Samuel sighed, scratching at the newly healed cut. “I’m leaving,” he said.

“Okay.”

He glanced at her. Groaned. “Mel…”

She shooed him away without looking.

“Mel, don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad,” she said.

Mickey grimaced. She gestured to the door, mouthing a question to Samuel, but he waved her off.

“I’m sorry, alright? It’s no big deal.” Samuel spun her so he was in her field of vision.

“I just want to help,” she said. “It’s all I can do to heal people. Can you just let me?”

“You’re right,” he answered, resigned. “I didn’t mean… I’m not trying to make you feel like you can’t do anything.”

“Sahar is gone,” she said. Her voice was so soft that Sofia almost couldn’t hear. She tried not to. She tried to think of something else and give them privacy.

Sahar.

She’d heard that name before. Right after the earthquake. At the assembly.

Mickey went very, very still next to her.

“I searched the whole tower,” Samuel said. He glanced over his sister’s shoulder at Mickey and Sofia. “He isn’t there.”

“I know,” she said. She’d softened, slumping in her chair. “I just… don’t want to lose you, too.”

“I…” Samuel paused. “Me too, okay? I’m doing everything I can to find him.”

Another fish hook. Sofia tried not to wince this time. There was a tug in her brain. A question and an answer, somewhere, out of her reach.

“Eat something?” Samuel suggested, snatching a bag of tail mix off the table for her. He handed it to her.

She nodded sullenly. “If you have a headache later, come back and let me know.”

“Yeah,” he said. He looked at Mickey and Sofia. “Ready?”

Sofia stood up. “Actually, I’m kind of tired. It was a long day for me. Maybe I’ll tag along if you do it next time.”

Mickey’s face fell. “Are you sure? We can reschedule. Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. You guys should do it, though. Thanks for inviting me, anyway,” she said, and left before either of them could protest.

She wondered if they could tell she was lying.