Fantasy Carlisle Academy of Magical Arts

[Bellatsakha]

She shifted in her seat, feeling a little uncomfortable answering personal questions, but it was the first time anyone had ever actually asked her so it was a little exciting. Honestly, she was so isolated that she got excited about people asking questions. Ridiculous.

"My parents decided it was in my best interest to send me to the place that could get me the best education," She recited, at a loss as to how to answer. She knew how she felt, but she didn't want to say it out loud because it could be used against her, "Besides, I do train my powers, I just prefer to spend the majority of my time doing other things." She stayed quiet for a few seconds before adding in a softer voice, "Being the best wouldn't be too bad. At least I'd be able to say I accomplished something."

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

"The best education" Jace scoffed. "I can tell you have the best education after I spent hours with you putting that education to good use mowing grass. I mean using your powers or not what about passion. I don't care about my powers, and I'm the best duelist in our age group. Next year, I won't but I am right now and I don't feel any better for it. It got me trapped here."

The last bit of what she said hurt. He did accomplish things. His own happiness was enough for him.... right?

"What's the point of the best. You get judged based off perfection? By imperfect people. It sounds like a terrible way to find satisfaction"

Jace looked at the clock in the room. "By the way pretty soon I gotta be somewhere."

 

[Bellatsakha]

"No one's really perfect. Even me. I can still recognise it though and that doesn't mean I can't try and get as close as possible, even if I never make it, I'll have made it closer than everyone who criticised me." She said, a hint of anger in her voice that was quickly squashed in her next sentence, "By the way, I think when the headmaster said we had to stay together all day, he meant all day."

She had been a little rude with the previous comment, but she wasn't exactly wrong. It was the same for everyone, there was only so far one can get pretending they didn't care about others opinions until they break. She was at stage now where she could differentiate between lashing out in anger and actual criticism and it turned out a lot of what people had to say was actual criticism. Although were a lot of it was said amongst insults.

Besides, she would only be satisfied when she was the best. She had to at least try.

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

"Dope then follow me" Jace got up and shoved his discarded sketch book into his bag along with his moms medical documents. He started to make his way out the door to the fast food chain he always met his brother.

His mind drifted as he walked away. Vanya seemed to hold peoples opinions highly. It might work in high society, but she didn't have to deal with hundreds and thousands of opinions a day. There was only the critics and reviewers. Opinions matter little what mattered was family.

Jace stopped at the door to see if Vanya was coming. If she wanted to or not, Jace had to help his family. If she decided to stay and he was caught at least he had a good run. If she did come, he hoped she didn't recognize his mom since she was just a shell of herself.

 

[Bellatsakha]

Vanya struggled with herself wondering what to do next. She didn't want to miss practice again but if a teacher came to check on them and found her without him there then she didn't know what the next step of punishment would be. She closed the lid of the piano and stood up, straightening her dress carefully. Her violin lay next to her bag and she picked up the bag but left the violin with the intent of coming back and finishing up.

"I suppose my choices are limited." She said with a weary sigh.

Perhaps this could be an opportunity to observe Jace closer. She found him even more odd after that conversation and it was so unlike what she was used to that she couldn't help but be interested. She couldn't remember the last time she had a deep conversation with someone, so she followed and braced herself for whatever trouble he was about to get her into. As long as it was nothing school related since she could threaten the cops with a lawsuit and they'd probably believe her.

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

Jace quickly made his way off the campus and to the fast food chain. Ah good old popeyes. In the back corner, Jace saw his brother. Black hair and blue eyes that made all the girls swoon in the neighborhood. He sat next to his mom. She was frail. Her hair lost its shine and her skin lost its delicate look. Her eyes still burned bright.

Jace hugged his brother and smiled at his mom afraid of harming her in anyway. "Its good to see you Jason"

"You too Stetson... so what's it this time?" A soft voice echoed out. "My bones are brittle, my eyes always hurt and my muscles burn. I can speak for myself honey" Jace smiled and rubbed the back of his neck ashamed.

Stetson slapped Jace on his back before ruffling his hair. "I got some vitamins off the local CVS. It should be enough. I wish I could help more but..." Stetson's smile faded he was the only one in the family not to get manipulation powers. Instead, he was a great summoner to his angst.

"Excuse me, Miss who are you" Jace's mom asked. Jace turned to face whoever intruded on their private moment to see Vanya.

"No one import-" a weak slap hit Jace's wrist as his mom evil eyed him. Despite her condition, she still held the fire that won her so many gold medals that all her kids aspired to bring back home.

"Hello dear forgive my idiot of a son Jason. My name is Hannah Birch. This is my eldest Stetson and my youngest Jason as you can tell. Who might you be hmmm" Jason spied the gleam in his moms eye. Always present when she met someone new.

 

[Bellatsakha]

Vanya relished any time she got to spend outside the confines of an estate, whether that be home or school, because it was a rarity. Although the town surrounding the school was relatively posh, it paled in comparison to what she was used to and there was no reason for her to go anywhere other than there. It was another one of those things she just didn’t do.

She followed Jace through the streets, but she fell behind as she looked at all the houses that were a comparable size to her home dining room, and even smaller shops. The food-place, it was hardly a restaurant, Jace walked into looked very similar to a painting she saw in a gallery opening about the class divide or something along those lines, there were so many galleries she began to lose track after a while.

It had a distinct smell of grease and salt that hung in the air like it was embedded in the furniture.
Jace sat with two people who resembled him, she guessed family and she was correct. His mother obviously had something physically wrong with her as she looked as if a heavy breeze could push her over, but it would be rude to ask. She approached the table as his mother called to her. So it was a family matter. She could tell a lot about a person from their family.

She smiled softly, “I do hope I’m not intruding,” She ignored Jace’s little comment, “I’m Vanya Blakely, it’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

"Oh dear you aren't intruding at all. My sons were on their way to order food." At that a pointed look sent the two hoodlums away. Both of them continuing to harass each other and shove each other. The image of rough brother love.

Hannah gesture for Vanya to sit down before continuing. "Blakely as in from the Blakely family? I would've imagined a family as wealthy as yours would've had the finest education at home." Hannah brightened up for a moment before apologizing.

"I don't mean to intrude on your personal life. I'm sure Jace is just as blunt as I am. I have heard you are quite the prodigy." A small smile grace her lips. "Why I'm doing all the talking right now. Where are my manners."

In the background Jace and Stetson were occupied with the cashier. Stetson flirting and distracting her as Jace acted as his wingman keeping the conversation going.

 

[Bellatsakha]

“Indeed,” She said politely, “But school is way more fun with other people.” It was a lie, but she wasn’t going to spill her guts to a stranger, “You could say I’m a prodigy, but I’ve been practicing all my life so it’s almost second nature to me by now. I couldn’t imagine my life any differently. And yes, Jace does tend to get to the point rather fast.” She mused, “What about you? Is there anything exciting going on it your life?”

That was a lot of questions in a short amount of time, Vanya didn’t know which one to answer first so she tried to get through all of them. She could see the similarities between Jace and his mother just by the way she talked and asked into Vanya’s life instead of looking at her superficially. His mother was exceedingly more polite about it though.

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

Hannah smiled and gestured to her frail body. Her face show a small hint of regret. "Nothing too exciting and I doubt you want to hear the woes and worries of an old lady." Hannah glanced at her two sons and saw Stetson holding the cashiers hand while Jace casually went to grab a few premade meals. Hannah tsked at their antics and laid a few bills on the table. "As you can tell my sons are enough excitement for little old me."

"I wish Jason was like you and enjoyed the school. I also wouldn't mind if he brough home a friend or two as bright as you. He keeps asking me to take him out, but I see now that's all a facade to hide the fun he's having." Hannah smiled softly.

"How are you dear at the school? I'm sure for a Blakely you have the finest productions occur there. I never met your parents, but I've heard only good things. I also see their daughter is just as polite and kind as they say. One day when I feel better I'll have to see one of your recitals if only Jace would stay out of trouble" Hannah couldn't help but be happy. Jason had only said bad things about the school. The young lady in front of her gave her hope that maybe Jason would abandon being the hoodlum he was and become a contribution to society like the young Blakely in front of her.

 

[Bellatsakha]

Well, she’d gotten herself into a bit of a pickle here. She had meant for that answer to satisfy the question, not start to bring up family issues. She couldn’t go back now, she’d have to carry on with the lie or it would make her look bad to this woman who had clearly heard a lot about her reputation and she didn’t want to ruin that perception. What a mess.

She kept up her smile, trying to maintain authenticity despite the settling anxiety, “Thank you, that’s very kind of you. I’m auditioning for a part in a production at the Royal Ballet so that will premiere in about half a year so perhaps I can reserve some seats. If I get the part of course.” She added that last bit hastily, no matter how confident she was in her own skills it never paid off to be big-headed.

“I have to say though, that type of school isn’t for everyone; I’m not even sure it’s right for me.” She joked, “I don’t know much about Jace, we only met very recently, so I couldn’t comment on whether he’s having fun or not, but if he really wants to leave, there’s probably a good reason for it.”

She intentionally skipped over the school question, not wanting to dig herself into too deep of a hole. Hopefully, Hannah wouldn’t bring up what she’d said to Jace otherwise she would probably be on the receiving end of a lot of anger.

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

Hannah smiled what a delightful girl. Jason would do well to take notes. She was humble, intelligent and honest. A quick glance at her children and Jace was slowly making his way back with Stetson kissing the back of the cashier's hand. She was leaps and bounds better than her own children.

"I would love to see the royal ballet again. I would say save a seat for my children if you could, but you can tell they aren't ones for culture." Hannah smiled wistfully wishing she was in her prime to deal with them. Hannah shrugged off Miss Blakely's remark about Jason.

"Jason doesn't know what's good for him. He should study more and be like you. If he tried he could become a duelist like me and make the Olympic team." Frustration was clearly on her face. "He just wants to joke around and have fun. You should see him in the tournaments. If he practiced he'd be better than me at his age." Hannah wanted to ask how her parents were doing.

Instead, that moment Jason and Stetson placed 4 meals on the table in front of them. Jason went out of his way to place the utensils correctly in front of Hannah as he sat down she shot him a death glare. Jason turned bright red and did the same for Miss Blakely's meal.

Jason sat next to Hannah opening up her medical documents and explaining what he would do. "The long and the short of it. I can help with the head aches and bones, but we might need to think about sending you to a real Doctor."

Hannah waved him off "just do what you can. Vanya here just told me you're wasting your potential, skipping class and being an idiot"

Jace rolled his eyes already hearing the start of what she always complained about every time he saw her. Vanya wasn't a snitch... so far.

 

[Bellatsakha]

And she’d found the problem. Every family had one but some hid theirs better than others. This family’s problem seemed to be that Hannah was trying to live through her sons. She didn’t know about the eldest, but Jace was surely not having it and it was definitely something that brought a lot of tension to the relationship. She could tell just by the words Hannah used.

Vanya wasn’t one for sports, though she’d sat in the box for most international games, so she wasn’t sure of who Hannah was but she could guess she had been of some notoriety back in the day. Evidently, Jace wasn’t too keen on following in her footsteps and therefore did the opposite of what she said. Family drama was ever so fun to watch, but no so much to be involved in.

“That’s a slight exaggeration, but alright.” She said as Jace came over. It was the same trick journalists used on her to make it seem as if she was a lot more opinionated than she really was. She’d say she wasn’t a fan of apples and all of a sudden she wanted apples to be banned in all supermarkets, it was a minefield talking to them. However, she didn’t think Hannah was doing it intentionally.

She could smell the unhealthy fats and sugars in the meal Jace had placed in front of her. Her palette was rather refined to be fair, but it probably wasn’t the best for someone on a daily basis. She pushed it away as politely as she could and stated, “I’m sorry, it’s ballet season so I have to watch my diet a bit more carefully.”

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

Hannah smiled sweetly before a word left her mouth. Jason grumbled out. "We'll swing by something that suits your figure on our way back." Jace grabbed the bottles of vitamins and turned them into the required base form in a pill format. He then placed in front of his mom who quickly swallowed it as Jace closed his eyes and slowly began the process of manipulating his mother's body to accept the nutrition.

"What's her name Stetson?" With half a chicken finger in his mouth Stetson swallowed it as best he could.

"Uh.... Sandy?"

"Then why does her name tag say Vivian" the table got quiet and Jace quickly finished the job and awkwardly dug in his food.

"Jason, Miss Blakely mentioned shes performing for the royal ballet. She must have extraordinary talent wouldn't you say?" Jason squirmed in his seat. Out of all his siblings he was the only one to inherent the raw power his mom once held. The others were just as powerful, but they didn't shine as bright as Jason.

Jace made a move to brush his leg against Vanya's and casually motion his head towards the door. "Jason I was also wondering if you were going to enter the summer regionals? I just got a letter you qualified"

 

[Bellatsakha]

Vanya ignored the comment, she was used to them by now as whilst most of the student population her age had developed into young adults, she remained in the body of a twelve-year-old. It was perfect for ballet but not so much for fitting in. Also, Stetson’s behavior reminded her of a Duke’s son she met at a ball once who forced her to dance with him the entire night so she chose to ignore him altogether.

Hannah definitely had something wrong with her, but unless one of the other brought it up, Vanya couldn’t say anything no matter how curious she was. The conversation was turned back onto her accomplishments and she was beginning to feel as if she was back in a business dinner with her parents bragging to the other parents about all the pieces she could play; then the other parents listing off a slew of tournaments their children won. Luckily,the conversation switched to Jace before Hannah could continue.

Jace’s body language screamed uncomfortably, but Vanya wasn’t going to leave until he did lest she risk punishment so she ignored it, “Oh, how exciting.” She commented.

So he was good at something, he just didn’t seem to care about it.

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

At this point Jace felt like he was playing footsies with Vanya as he kept nudging her under the table with his foot and other small motions for her to cover his ass, so they could leave.

"I'm surprised you even qualified. I thought you were too busy wasting your talent." Stetson spoke up for his youngest brother a look of defiance on his face.

"Stop giving Jace a hard time. He helped heal you. He's able to pay for heat" Stetson held up a fistful of bills to prove it.

"I'm just concerned my son is wasting his time. I'm proud I have at least one child who can properly use his powers. I can't say the same for you. My eldest can only summon and not that well at that" Stetson turned bright red and looked at the table the napkin in front of him very interesting.

Jace all but stopped nudging Vanya under the table suddenly more interested in the dirt under his fingernails. Jace's mind went to Vanya. She must be fortunate being able to please her parents.

 

[Bellatsakha]

Things all of a sudden started to get intense as slight negative comments turned into down right harsh ones. Jace was nudging her almost frantically by now. She understood it and she would've said something had it been a different circumstance, but it just wasn't her place to intrude amongst family discussions. Although, on second thought, they all seemed to have an argumentative spirit so it could go on forever and possibly escalate into something worse.

It was very different than her parents who preferred to make small snide comments throughout the meal, not that they ate together anymore, but they'd always keep them quiet until any guests had left. Frankly, it was odd that Jace's family would put it all on display as they did. It definitely showed how Jace had grown up to speak his mind.

"Well, would you look at the time? I have to be at ballet practice in half an hour so unfortunately I must cut this short." She stood up and wiped down her dress. "This has been absolutely delightful, it was so nice to meet you all. We should do this again some time. Jace, do you mind escorting me back?" She said in a sweet yet firm voice that made no room for arguements.

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

Jace shot up like if a beam of lightning hit him. "I would love to Vanya. Mom it's been a pleasure tell me when I earn your last name." Stetson smirked and hugged Jace and whispered in his ear.

"Your mom's favorite bro. You're not helping arguing with her." Jace made an effort only to be snagged further into the hug. "Just win nationals and she'll shut up" Jace snorted like winning nationals was a walk in the park.

His mom made no effort to hug him. Instead, she pulled out a folder filled to the brim with papers. "I called in a few favors. These are your opponents from this year to the next 3 years to enter the Olympic team. Next time, I see you I want you to have A-K memorized and 3 separate ways to beat each one."

Hannah stood up and hugged Vanya. "Its been a delight. I hope my son didn't run you off. He should be taking notes from you"

Jace just stood there awkwardly waiting for a hug that would never come. A sliver of jealousy enter Jace's heart watching Vanya.

 

[Bellatsakha]

Hannah seemed to really push her expectations on Jace and it made Vanya feel awkward as a witness. It was a bit unreasonable, but it wasn’t like she could say anything so she just pretended it didn’t happen. That was one ability she could thank her parents for giving her.

It was rather similar to the pep talk her parents would give her whenever they clashed at home, which wasn’t often anymore considering she was away most of the year, but when she was younger it was at the forefront of her mind whilst doing anything. They were the first people to tell her the way she was behaving wasn’t good enough. She struggled to figure out whether that had been a good or a bad thing because whilst it gave her heaps of anxiety issues, without it she wouldn’t have gotten as far as she had.

She froze in the hug, but gently placed her arms around Hannah. Unsurprisingly, Vanya’s family didn’t do physical affection so it always caught her off guard when people attempted to touch her. As soon as she was let go, she replied, “Don’t worry, I can be pretty stubborn when I want to be.”

It seemed like she and Jace had more in common than she’d previously thought.

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

Hannah rolled her eyes as she spoke. "My dear you are perfect. Don't let anyone tell you differently, Jace on the other hand is no better than his father. Hmph at least he did me the common decency of giving me a son who had talent." She let go of Vanya and stared at Stetson who went out of his way to pretend not to notice the cashier as she casually walked by and waved to him.

Seeing an opening, Jace just smiled and gave a half hearted goodbye as he slung an arm around Vanya. He reasoned it was so that way she couldn't get wrapped back up with his family. In reality, he was using her more as a shield from his mom. A way to show she really did have ballet practice.

He didn't stop until they were a block down the road.

 

[Bellatsakha]

Jace almost rushed her down the road with his arm around her and she almost wanted to remove it but she didn’t because it would be a bit rude. She didn’t know what to make of Hannah after that, but she had it set that Vanya was an angel sent from heaven and although that was what Vanya wanted to be viewed as, the perfect one who could do no wrong, something about it just felt off.

She wasn’t sure what to say about the situation, anything too deep would probably make it more awkward for her so she settled on, “You’re family seems… Interesting.” But it came out a little more strained than she'd have liked.

She was going to say nice but that would be too much of a lie. Interesting was the socially acceptable way of saying ‘what on earth just happened?’

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

The moment she spoke Jace let unsung his arm and shoved his hands in his pockets. His mom was right Vanya was better than him. Maybe, he'll show up for practice again. It wouldn't hurt to give those files a quick look every night.

"Yeah, my mom the gold medalist, and her disappointments" Jace felt bad for his mom after saying that outloud. He really should consider sharpening up.

"You still hungry?" Jace's stomach growled. He didn't eat any of his food since either he was rearranging his moms body or being torn down by her. Jace looked at Vanya's slim figure and remembered a nice Mexican joint that served fresh food and a reasonable amount of grease considering what part of town they were on.

 

[Bellatsakha]

“I could eat,” She said, a little worried about where Jace was going to take her considering she doubted there were any salad bars around, “So, are we going to ignore everything that just happened, or what?”

It was a genuine question because, in her experience, whenever other children had altercations with their parents and someone was an unwanted witness they would make a deal not to talk about it. Especially with children who came off a tad rude that, once she saw the parents, she understood how they turned out that way, but they didn’t want anything to change so she’d just pretend not to see anything. That could range anywhere from an insult to downright abuse. It was amazing what rich people thought they could get away with behind closed doors. Although, not really ‘thought’ because they usually did get away with it.

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

Jace shrugged at Vanya's question before answering. "I'm not going to ignore it. I'll just make nationals and everything will be fine." Jace opened the door to a gas station. Inside was Mrs. Sanchez's restaurant. Waving hello Mrs. Sanchez pointed at Vanya with an eyebrow raised.

Jace sat on the stool and in seconds a 4 steak sopes were in front of him as he ate. Jace looked at Vanya. "Vanya what do you want? All the vegetables are fresh from her garden and the meat is from Mr. Jones' farm."

Jace couldn't help but smile. He loved it her everything was fresh and Mrs. Sanchez worked for a 5 star chef before coming here, but it was illegal to say the least. She didn't have a liscence or health inspection, but the whole block would protect Mrs. Sanchez for her food. An expecting eye went to Vanya to see if she would "corrupt" her palette.

 

[Bellatsakha]

She pursed her lips at Jace’s answer. In her opinion, having taken audition after audition for various ballet companies and orchestras, one had to practice every waking hour or the day in order to make it through, even Vanya had to despite being labeled a prodigy. Jace didn’t seem like the type to do that.

The place he brought her to didn’t look like it was the most high-end on the block, but the smell was miles ahead of the previous place, so she’d give it a go. Jace certainly made it sound alright, but his idea of fresh was probably very different than hers. She wasn’t sure how the ordering process went so she took the safe route and left it up to him, “I’m not sure, you know this place better than I do.”

He seemed a lot more comfortable in the current place and Vanya didn’t particularly want to disrupt the mood by pushing, but she felt it was necessary to at least warn him, “Also, not to intrude on your plan, but don’t you need to practice to make nationals?”