by Kayla Bashe
By the time you’ve made a long list, you feel a bit better. And even though something terrible just happened to one of your best friends, you can remember that life is still worth living.
Besides, she’d want you to be happy!
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Magical Girl Academy: Awakening Magic, by Kayla Bashe
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She doesn’t seem to know you’re there, though.
You spend a long time sitting with Magda. Her mouth’s fixed in a hard, resigned line. Once she curls into a ball and clutches at her head—and then her body straightens out, her neck tilting backwards as if she’s been electrocuted, and she goes completely, almost scarily, still.
You wonder if she even knows you’re there.
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Magical Girl Academy: Awakening Magic, by Kayla Bashe
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The next day, you receive an invitation, finely calligraphed in dark blue ink on thick cream paper.
“Miss Abigail Gore
Would like the pleasure of your company
In the common room of Marigold Hall, Triumph Suite, at six ‘o clock in the evening." You ask Abigail what she has planned, but she just smiles as mysteriously as a cat and changes the subject.
When you enter your suite’s common room at the appointed time, soft classical music is playing in the background, and there’s a table with a white cloth set for a multi-course dinner.
Abby wears a dark green velvet skirt under one of her usual sweaters, and accessories with black ballet flats and a white silk scarf. She serves course after course with practiced elegance: battered morsels of perfect vegetable tempura, a quinoa dish with bright seasonal vegetables, sweet fruity drinks in your favorite colors, and gorgeous poached pears topped with caramel sauce.
After finishing your food—and complimenting the chef until she blushes—you have an idea. It turns out to be a fateful, significant idea, only you don’t know that yet. “Hey, what if we all played music together?”
Chant sets a few of Abby’s poems to music, accompanying herself on the miniature guitar that she keeps under her bed; Abby hums a low harmony. Your pretty tenor voice weaves under theirs as Magda taps out a beat.
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Magical Girl Academy: Awakening Magic, by Kayla Bashe
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There’s a list of names of people who have read the book. The most recent name, Imogen Rose, is written in round, bubbly pink handwriting.
Magical seals are often used to purify the posessed, to heal damage to the enviroment, or to close portals. With a bit of work and practice, anyone can manifest a magical seal!
The appearance of seals varies depending on the caster. Everyone has a different magical seal! They’re often said to hold clues to their caster’s personality.
You read the rest of the chapter. Then someone brings in sugar cookies! Putting the book back on the shelf, you head off to go get food.
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Magical Girl Academy: Awakening Magic, by Kayla Bashe
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There’s a list of names of people who have read the book. The most recent name, Sophia du Diamanda, is written in neat pastel-green ink, and the I’s are dotted with tiny asterisks.
(, the perfect destination for the intelligent traveler, is a small, artsy town with plenty of eclectic shops…
You settle into a comfortable chair and begin to read.
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Magical Girl Academy: Awakening Magic, by Kayla Bashe
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Magical weaponry is a term that refers to any weapon that a magical person creates with their mind. To create a weapon, one must have a solid understanding of how it is normally constructed. For example, someone wanting to create a sword must know how swords are forged and be able to imagine this process accurately, while someone who wants to create a gun must know how all its parts function and how they fit together.
In the following chapters, one will find an outline of how to create several basic weapons using magic, including a combat knife, a pistol with a revolving chamber, and a self bow, also known as a bow made from one piece of wood.
This book seems really useful—the previous owner must have really appreciated it.
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Magical Girl Academy: Awakening Magic, by Kayla Bashe
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A few days later, you and your squad—what remains of it, at least—are summoned to meet with one of the teachers, Nilam Charis. She’s a chic, dignified young woman with warm brown skin and long, dark hair.
Her office is decorated with blown—glass sculptures that remind you of sea life, like small versions of Chihuly pieces. It’s so beautiful, and it makes you feel at peace.
Three porcelain cups of steaming tea are set out on the elegantly carved table in front of the blue sofa. Shooting puzzled glances at your squadmates—why would a teacher you’ve only worked with a few times want to meet with you?—you sit down. The tea tastes like peach cobbler; sipping it calms you.
At last, you remember to ask why you’ve been summoned.
She nods, smiling. “I’m glad you asked. Recently, three worlds have requested additional protection. We have two teams on standby ready for deployment. We’d like you to be the third.”
Woah, woah, wait. “What?” you manage. And then…
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(1/2) "Are you sure?"
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(2/2) "Why us?"
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Magical Girl Academy: Awakening Magic, by Kayla Bashe
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A few days later, you and your squad—what remains of it, at least—are summoned to meet with one of the teachers, Nilam Charis. She’s a chic, dignified young woman with warm brown skin and long, dark hair.
Her office is decorated with blown—glass sculptures that remind you of sea life, like small versions of Chihuly pieces. It’s so beautiful, and it makes you feel at peace.
Three porcelain cups of steaming tea are set out on the elegantly carved table in front of the blue sofa. Shooting puzzled glances at your squadmates—why would a teacher you’ve only worked with a few times want to meet with you?—you sit down. The tea tastes like peach cobbler; sipping it calms you.
At last, you remember to ask why you’ve been summoned.
She nods, smiling. “I’m glad you asked. Recently, three worlds have requested additional protection. We have two teams on
standby ready for deployment. We’d like you to be the third.”
Woah, woah, wait. “What?” you manage. And then…
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(1/2) "Are you sure?"
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(2/2) "Why us?"
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Magical Girl Academy: Awakening Magic, by Kayla Bashe
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The next day, it’s your first magic class! At one point, they separate everyone—students with mainly offensive powers go with one teacher, students with more defensive or support-oriented powers go with another.
You’re not sure which direction to head in, so you just kind of stand there.
Miss Poppyseed, one of the teachers, comes over to you. “Is something wrong, then?”
You explain that you’re not sure where you’re supposed to go.
“Well, then, I’ll help you figure this out. What is it that you do, exactly?”
When you rattle off your list of powers—in fact, you’ve discovered several new ones in the last week alone—Miss Poppyseed’s mouth quirks into a smile. “I think we may have to give you a few private lessons, Miss Lucy Angel. Because you’re different. And extraordinary. In fact, if one thinks about it, all differences are by definition extraordinary. Think about it that way, Miss Lucy Angel. Chin up, shoulders back, head high—right, splendid. Come along, then—let’s go be extraordinarily different!”
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Magical Girl Academy: Awakening Magic, by Kayla Bashe
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She nods. “My colleagues and I believe in you; think of it not as flattery or overconfidence, but as an accurate statement. It’s much easier to meet the expectations of others if you tell yourself you’ve already met them…which, in fact, you have.”
She leans in, and for just a moment, her voice becomes less serious. You realize that, actually, she’s not that much older than you are. “Seriously, you guys are amazing. Everyone’s talking about how great you are.” Then it’s back to buisness. “I’ve sent travel brochures relating to the three available planets to your digital devices. Take as much time as you need. I’ll be waiting in the corridor.” She rises gracefully and exits.
You and your squadmates admire the pretty pictures in the brochures, run searches for more information, discuss the pros and cons of each planet. Finally, you come to a decision that everyone’s happy with.
The next few hours are a blur of packing and hugging your friends farewell, although you find time to murmur your travel plans to your comatose squadmate. By the time the stars are coming out and the moon rising, you’re on an interplanetary transport, watching the buildings of Magi Town recede beneath you.
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Magical Girl Academy: Awakening Magic, by Kayla Bashe
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“With your ability to work together and the way you saved so many lives during the recent confrontation at the Academe, we believe you’re more than capable of handling additional responsibility.” She leans in, and for a moment, her voice becomes less serious. You realize that, actually, she’s not that much older than you are. “Seriously, you guys are amazing. Everyone’s talking about how great you are.” Then it’s back to buisness. “I’ve sent travel brochures relating to the three available planets to your digital devices. Take as much time as you need. I’ll be waiting in the corridor.” She rises gracefully and exits.
You and your squadmates admire the pretty pictures in the brochures, run searches for more information, discuss the pros and cons of each planet. Finally, you come to a decision that everyone—or at least the three of you remaining—can be happy with.
The next few hours are a blur of packing, hugging your friends farewell, and—of course—murmuring your travel plans to your comatose squadmate. By the time the stars are coming out and the moon rising, you’re on an interplanetary transport, watching the buildings of Magi Town recede beneath you.
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Please turn back a page
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Magical Girl Academy: Awakening Magic, by Kayla Bashe
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She nods. “My colleagues and I believe in you; think of it not as flattery or overconfidence, but as an accurate statement. It’s much easier to meet the expectations of others if you tell yourself you’ve already met them…which, in fact, you have.”
She leans in, and for just a moment, her voice becomes less serious. You realize that, actually, she’s not that much older than you are. “Seriously, you guys are amazing. Everyone’s talking about how great you are.” Then it’s back to buisness. “I’ve sent travel brochures relating to the three available planets to your digital devices. Take as much time as you need. I’ll be waiting in the corridor.” She rises gracefully and exits.
You and your squadmates admire the pretty pictures in the brochures, run searches for more information, discuss the pros and cons of each planet. Finally, you come to a decision that everyone’s happy with.
The next few hours are a blur of packing and hugging your friends farewell, although you find time to murmur your travel plans to your comatose squadmate. By the time the stars are coming out and the moon rising, you’re on an interplanetary transport, watching the buildings of Magi Town recede beneath you.
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(1/1) >>
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Please turn back a page
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Please turn forward a page
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Magical Girl Academy: Awakening Magic, by Kayla Bashe
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“With your ability to work together and the way you saved so many lives during the recent confrontation at the Academe, we believe you’re more than capable of handling additional responsibility.” She leans in, and for a moment, her voice becomes less serious. You realize that, actually, she’s not that much older than you are. “Seriously, you guys are amazing. Everyone’s talking about how great you are.” Then it’s back to buisness. “I’ve sent travel brochures relating to the three available planets to your digital devices. Take as much time as you need. I’ll be waiting in the corridor.” She rises gracefully and exits.
You and your squadmates admire the pretty pictures in the brochures, run searches for more information, discuss the pros and cons of each planet. Finally, you come to a decision that everyone—or at least the three of you remaining—can be happy with.