The Magi (The Magi Series) (7 page)

“Okay,” Elijah agreed. “I need to read my list anyway.” Samuel picked up a book and sprawled out on his bed to read. Elijah looked around. The room was small and plain. On the far wall were two beds separated by a lamp and a stand. Two simple desks sat snug against the wall closest to the door. Across from the desks were two closets. His uniforms were already neatly hung in one.

Elijah walked over to the desk. Sure enough, there was a piece of paper with a to-do list on it. He had four classes this term: literature, history, arithmetic, and biology. His chore for the remainder of term was to clean the hall bathrooms. The paper informed him that his work would be randomly inspected three times a week.

“When am I supposed to do the chores?” he asked, turning toward Samuel. “It doesn’t say.”

“Whenever you can,” answered Samuel, looking up from his book. “Probably right after classes in case you get inspected.”

“What’s your chore?” asked Elijah.

“I work in the kitchen for breakfast. I have to be up at five to get the breakfast ready at seven.” Samuel made a face showing his displeasure with the early wake-up time.

“That doesn’t sound like fun,” Elijah said.

“I suppose cleaning toilets is much better?” Samuel smiled up at Elijah and then looked back down at his book. “That’s right. I looked at your chore list. You’ll get used to it, though. I’ve only been here a few weeks, but I own that kitchen. In fact, you could call me the master of breakfast.” Samuel made a sarcastic salute from his bed.

Elijah tried to soak in all the information that he had just learned. He hoped he could get used to everything, but no matter how well he cleaned those bathrooms, he never wanted to be known as the toilet master.

Samuel had already left for the morning when Elijah woke up, so he was on his own to eat and find his classes. He rushed out of the hall and asked the first person he came across where his literature class was. The boy told him the way and Elijah ran as fast as he could, lugging his pack filled with books.

Surprisingly, he was the first student to arrive. The teacher was very tall with long, shaggy brown hair that didn’t quite get to his shoulders. He had the look of an energetic youth, but the wisdom of an older man. Elijah guessed he was a little younger than his parents. He didn’t look at all like a literature teacher. In fact, he looked exactly the opposite of most of the other adults he had seen on campus.

“Hello, young man. Elijah I presume?” said the teacher.

“Yes, sir—I mean Master—er—sir.”

The teacher laughed and turned to write on the board.

“Sounds like Hawthorne got to you. I’ll let him know his scare tactics are working. I’m surprised he didn’t make you call him ‘His Lordship’–or did he?” Elijah liked this teacher immediately. “My name’s Glen Roddick. You have your books?”

“I think so,” said Elijah. He pulled out a large textbook and two Shakespeare plays.

“You won’t need the plays for a couple of weeks,” said Roddick, looking over Elijah’s materials, “but you’ll need that textbook today.” He looked up at Elijah. “So, I hear you’ve been through quite a lot lately. How are you handling all of this change?”

“Not good,” Elijah admitted. “I’m not sure I fit in with all of this.” Roddick frowned at Elijah’s answer and paused.

“I’m very sorry to hear that. I’ll tell you what,” Roddick said more cheerfully. “When your day is over, come find me. I think I can help. We do a good job here at Saint Phillip’s keeping kids in the dark. I may be able to ease your mind a bit.” Roddick smiled at Elijah and then turned back to the board. “Only if you want.” Elijah thought that it might be nice to talk to someone who seemed to sympathize with him. He thought maybe Master Roddick could help him adjust to this new life, even if it was just a pep talk, so he agreed.

The rest of class was uneventful as were the next two classes. History was spent learning about medieval chivalry and the beginnings of the crusades. Elijah found himself drawing swords and shields during the discussion. Math was the same. He did some problems, but it was very dull.

Science, on the other hand, was not at all what Elijah expected. It was the one class he was looking forward to the most. He and his father liked to tinker with machines and talk about how the world worked during long walks together, so he always had a heart for science. This teacher, however, was very different from Elijah’s father. His name was Master Corgan, and he was built like a tank—wide and burly with very little neck. Elijah walked in prepared to be extra friendly to him.

“Hello, Master Corgan. My name is—”

“Never—speak to me—unless you are spoken to,” Corgan interrupted in a very low, crackly voice. He talked very slowly and clearly, as though he thought Elijah would not understand unless he did. “I know very well who you are, and I will tell you what you need to do when I feel you are ready.” Elijah wasn’t sure if he should acknowledge Master Corgan or not. “Just let me tell you this,” continued Corgan stiffly. “Science is a gift. You either have it, or you don’t. You either understand it, or you don’t.” When Corgan continued speaking, he wasn’t even looking at Elijah. He spoke almost mystically. “The world is a funny place. If you have the gift, the world can be miraculous. There is power to be found in it and power to be taken from it.” He looked down at Elijah. “Some people do not have that gift. Don’t take it too hard. Some things are not meant to be.” Corgan walked away.

Elijah was left standing absolutely dumbfounded. He hoped that the next term he would not have Master Corgan. The rest of class was spent reading out of an old science book. Corgan didn’t seem at all interested in teaching anyone. He walked around with his head held high and one hand perpetually in his coat pocket. He paced around the classroom as though he was waiting for an excuse to punish students.

Elijah decided to find Roddick immediately after class. Following his science class, he needed to talk with someone who could make him feel better. He walked into Roddick’s classroom and saw that he was still teaching.

“I’ll be done in about twenty minutes,” Roddick hollered to Elijah from the front of the room. Elijah gave him a wave of acknowledgement and walked out to kill some time. He wandered over to the front hallway and looked at the old photographs of previous students. They amused him. He looked at all the changes throughout the years and was intrigued by the different styles and trends of the previous students.

After about five minutes, when Elijah had looked at twenty or thirty class pictures, he came face to face with two students in a picture that made him gasp in surprise. He blinked again to make sure he wasn’t imagining things. He wasn’t. Elijah stared transfixed at a photograph of his father and his uncle Stan posing for the camera, wearing their own Saint Phillip’s Academy uniforms.

****

CHAPTER 5: MASTER RODDICK

It took a long time for Elijah to tear himself away from the photograph of his father and uncle. Was it possible that they walked the same halls as Elijah did now? It certainly seemed like it. The more Elijah thought about it, the more it made sense. William and Stanley Hawk were also orphans, so they were probably raised somewhere like here. Was it by coincidence that Elijah ended up here, or by design? Could it have been the intention of Elijah’s parents to send him here if something happened to Uncle Stan?

Elijah was so hungry for answers that he almost overlooked a glaring question. Why all the secrecy? If all that was true, why didn’t Detective Scott simply say it was the will of Elijah’s parents for him to go? Things still didn’t add up. Maybe there was something, or someone, here that could give him some answers. He immediately thought of Master Roddick. Could he have known his parents? He looked to be their age, maybe a little younger.

He forced himself to slow down. It was tempting to ask every adult if they knew his dad, but his instincts told him that he should be careful. There may have been some truth to Detective Scott’s warning that he needed protection. After all, there was a killer out there.

Elijah looked at the clock. He had a few minutes before Roddick said he would be finished with class, so he ran to the library. Maybe there was some kind of yearbook he could look through. When he asked, the librarian unloaded a massive book on Elijah that contained the names and pictures of all the students from the last few decades. He flipped through all the “H” names. There were no Hawks listed anywhere. He began going through the yearbook, page by page, looking at the pictures and reading the names written underneath.

He found them! Right next to each other, he saw the unmistakable faces of his father and uncle, William and Stanley. However, the caption said their name was Benson, not Hawk. This really puzzled Elijah. Why did they change their name? He wished for Uncle Stan at that moment. Even if he was a criminal, Elijah had so many questions he needed to ask him. His uncle seemed to be the only person who could help.

Elijah returned the book to the librarian and raced back to Roddick’s classroom hoping he wasn’t too late. Roddick would have been finished with his class for ten minutes already. He turned the corner as Roddick was closing up the classroom.

“Hey, Elijah!”

“Sorry I’m late, sir,” Elijah said panting.

“Oh, you’re not late,” said Roddick. “I finished just now. I’m afraid if you get me talking about Charles Dickens, I lose track of time. I hope my students found it as fascinating as I did. My guess is no.” Roddick chuckled at his own joke. “So, where do you want to talk?”

“I’m not quite sure I know of any places around here yet,” said Elijah.

“Well then, do you want a tour? I’m a great tour guide,” Roddick said.

“That sounds fine,” Elijah stated. “As long as we don’t see Chancellor Hawthorne.”

“I don’t want to run into him either,” kidded Roddick. “Let’s just agree if we see him, we’ll go in a different direction.”

Elijah smiled.

Master Roddick walked him through the two long halls on the first floor and showed Elijah the different classrooms. The first floor contained the majority of the classrooms, the library, and the cafeteria. Roddick explained things to Elijah like how to check out books and when to turn them in. He also advised him when the best time was to eat meals, which food was good and which foods to steer clear of.

“Try to stay away from the fish. We have good fishing in these parts, but for some reason, it tastes like rotten pork here. Go ahead and try it if you don’t believe me, but it’ll be the last time you do.”

Master Roddick took Elijah through the halls of the second floor. Most of the rooms were science laboratories. There were a few other classrooms scattered about.

“These classrooms are for the upper division students. If you’ve aced all your exams, and you’re still not old enough to move on to a university, you are allowed to work on a final project,” explained Roddick. “These classrooms are for those students.”

“What’s a final project?” asked Elijah.

“It’s where you get a year to basically do whatever interests you,” Roddick said. “You design your own work schedule and curriculum.”

“Wow. That sounds like fun,” said Elijah.

“It can be,” said Roddick. “But it’s also a lot of work, and not many students get to that point. But if they do, they’re advised by one of us, and we keep them on track.”

“Do you have a student you’re advising?” asked Elijah.

Roddick snickered. “No. Not officially anyway.”

“What do you mean?” asked Elijah.

Roddick paused a moment. “I’m afraid I have a little too much on my plate right now.” Elijah wondered if he would be able to work with Roddick if he ever got to do a final project. He felt comfortable with him and wished all his teachers could be as friendly—especially his science teacher, Master Corgan.

Finally, Master Roddick took Elijah to the third floor, which held most of the offices of the teachers. He explained to Elijah that the students could make an appointment with the teachers if they needed to see them.

“Many teachers will not see you or even let you on the floor without an appointment,” Roddick explained. “However, if you ever want to see me, you can just come up here. No appointment needed, unless I’m with another student.”

Elijah smiled. “Thanks.” They walked down the hall and into the next to last office.

“Have a seat,” said Roddick. Elijah guessed, from his office decorations, that Roddick loved water. Pictures of the ocean hung on the walls. Smaller pictures of rivers and lakes were propped on his desk. Roddick even had glass containers filled with water from all different parts of the world. They were labeled “DEAD SEA”, “ATLANTIC OCEAN”, “NILE RIVER”, and it went on and on. Roddick noticed the fascination.

“I used to travel,” he explained. “Lots of people collect dirt from different places. I collect water.”

“How do you keep it from growing stuff?” asked Elijah.

“Great question!” Roddick said, sounding impressed. “Let’s just say I take good care of it. So, what’s your story? Why are you here at Saint Phillip’s?”

Elijah had just been asked this question the other day in Hawthorne’s office, but this felt different. Less intimidating.