It was the same dream Dax had every other night. Except it wasn't really a dream, was it? More like a memory. A nightmare.
He wasn't always invisible. When he was 7, he had friends. He was actually pretty popular, about as popular as a second grader could be. Even the 5th graders liked him.
He remembered that day vividly. He jumped off the bus, skipping the stairs like he always did, a massive grin on his face as he landed. Mom wasn't there to pick him up, but he wasn't worried. Sometimes she forgot, so it wasn't unusual for him to walk home himself.
He knew she wasn't happy about him. She tried to make him believe she loved him, but he knew she regretted him. He knew she had never wanted a kid, and even though he didn't fully understand, he knew he'd been forced upon her somehow. He knew her life would be better without him. Everyday he tried to do his best in school, so that one day, she wouldn't regret him anymore.
He ran home as fast as his little legs could carry him. He was so excited to get home. He'd gotten an A+ on his math test today. She was going to be so happy, maybe today her smile would be real, maybe when she said "I love you" she'd finally really mean it.
He opened the front door, and stepped inside. He paused. All the lights were off. Normally she'd be watching TV, or cleaning, or doing any number of things. She never took naps.
His heart pounded in his chest. He couldn't understand this feeling, this fear that pulsed through his blood. Why was he so nervous? Maybe she'd just been extra tired today. Maybe she was folding clothes in her room. There were a billion reasons for her not being in the living room. So why was he so scared?
He paused in front of her bedroom door, taking a deep breath. The test crumpled in his hand slightly as he gripped it. He let all his nerves go. He shouldn't be scared right now, this was the big day! The day he'd finally prove to her she could be proud of him, that-
He felt the world stop as he opened the bedroom door.
He felt everything fade away. He could no longer hear his heartbeat. He forgot about the test, about making her proud. The bedroom disappeared, the house disappeared, everything disappeared.
All he could see was the hanging body of his mother.
***
"Geoff. You're late." Geoff rolled his eyes as the principal scolded him.
They were in a dark room, the only light coming from the torches on the walls. 5 people sat at the round table, their faces moodily lit.
There was Geoff, who no longer wore his glasses, his eyes vibrantly violet in colour. On either side of him sat Mac and Angeline. At the head of the table sat the headmaster, Silas, a fat, older man with a thick beard. Beside him was Tanner, who was the same age as Geoff, but had pure white hair, and a heavily scarred face.
"Faith and Artie aren't even here, but you're chastising me for being late?" Geoff chided, earning a fistbump from Angeline.
"They have business in mississauga." Silas grunted, his voice deep and gravelly.
"Plus," Geoff felt Tanners nasally voice prick his ears as he spoke up. "This is your screw up, Geoff."
"The kid agreed to become a Warlock." Geoff leaned back in his seat, his shoulders shrugging lazily. "Don't see how any of this is a screw up."
"He's a weakling!" Tanner's laugh was full of disbelief. "This is the chosen one we're talking about! All that potential, wasted!"
Mac folded his hands on the table, clearing his throat before speaking up. "Did the child not defeat a golem in a single blow?"
Tanner snorted. "Any of us could do that in a second. Golems are weak."
"He's 15. We're all 30."
"29." Angeline piped up.
A groan tore from Tanners lips, as he fell back against his seat. "It was his first time using magic! We all know how that works, you spend however many years absorbing majik, and then your first time using magic, you let it all out 'cause you can't damn control it! Then, all those reserves are gone, and you're back to square one! I would put money on him not even being able to beat a golem in 10 attacks if we threw another one at him."
Geoff brought his hand up to his chin, rubbing it with his thumb as he thought. "Okay. So the kid isn't at his full potential. He hasn't had any training, don't see how that's my fault. We just recruited him."
"You know what?" Tanner grinned, his eyes sharpening like a predator who'd just spotted its prey. "It's not your fault. It's all because of that wench of a sister you have."
Silas sighed, putting his head in his hands. Mac and Angeline both glanced at Geoff, but he didn't move. "Continue."
"I will. Your worthless sister wasted his potential by not teaching him anything. She put in no effort. Not only did she not introduce him to our world, she wasn't a good mother in general! Just a lazy, useless, disgusting sack of-"
Geoff launched out of his chair, slamming his fist on the table. "That child was forced on her, and she did her best! She didn't want any part in this, she didn't ask for a child, but she got one, and maybe she wasn't the best mother, but you know damn well she tried! This is not her fault, it's not Dax's fault, and it's not my fault, so why don't you try shutting up for once, Tanner?"
Tanner chuckled to himself as he stood up, rolling up his sleeves. "Shut up, huh? Why don't you make me? Why don't we take this to the grounds, see who really-"
'BOTH OF YOU." The tension in the air was sliced through by the headmasters booming voice, frustration etched on his mug. "SIT. DOWN. Geoff, calm down. Tanner, shut up."
They glared at each other for a second longer… but they both sat down.
"Thank you." Silas adjusted his collar as he calmed himself down, pulling his chair closer to the table. "Now we can continue the meeting. We already know what's happening with the boy. We will train him along with the other first years. He has nothing to do with this meeting, and we can wrap up that conversation. What we are here to discuss is the other schools, specifically in Missisauga and Toronto."
"Are they big brothering us again?" Angeline raised an eyebrow, and everyone in the room collectively sighed. There were many schools for Warlocks across Canada. There were 3 in the GTA alone - Toronto, Mississauga, and Brampton. All 3 schools shared a board, meaning they had to agree to all major decisions - getting "big brothered" was when the two much larger schools bullied the smaller school into agreeing to decisions they didn't want to agree to.
"Yes." Silas grunted. "They are considering taking measures to combat the recent rise in summons."
'They want to merge the schools." It was only a guess, but Mac knew he was spot on based on what Artie had told him before leaving. "That's where Faith and Artie went, to meet with the board."
"Sort of." Silas nodded. "They are suggesting a transfer of students. We send all our students over to the Mississauga branch to train temporarily. I know the Mississauga principal, and I can guess he's found a loophole to keep our students there. If we have no students…"
"They'll shut us down." Geoff sighed. "They've been waiting for an excuse for a while."
"And if we just tell them to screw off?" Angeline asked.
"They have their foot on our necks. They have claimed we aren't sufficient in training our students, and no matter how wrong they are, that's not something that's easy to fight back on. Plus, ideally, we want to fight back while keeping relations as strong as possible. Things are getting bad out in the world, and we need as many friends as we can keep." Silas grunted. "No offense, but there's a reason you, Tanner, and Geoff never get sent on diplomatic missions."
Angeline shrugged. "So, what do we do?"
"The annual event. It's in, what, like 5 months? That's plenty of time to teach our students." Geoff mentioned.
"If only our teachers were competent…" Tanner muttered under his breath, but this time, no one acknowledged him. He frowned.
"We send the cream of the crop, and win the event. Prove our students are the best. They step off our neck." Geoff shrugged, pulling his black lensed glasses out of his pocket and placing them on his face. "We have the chosen one, and our other students are strong."
"Well, if anyone is in agreement…" Silas nodded, and looked around the room, making eye contact with each person there. He gave them a second to speak up, or argue, but no one did.
"Meeting adjourned."