Radiate: Part 2 (Unlocking My Magic)

Here's Part 2! Sorry if it feels rushed, I didn't have that much time to submit this story. If you haven't already, please read Part 1 to have some context to this story! I also changed the perspective to be Brook, since its more natural for me. I hope you enjoy!

The three check our pockets. All we found were a couple of pennies, a paperclip or two, some scraps of paper, and a couple of receipts. Since we had practically nothing, we decided to head over to someone's house, but we didn't know exactly whos.

"By the way, I'm Kat, and this is Jordan," Kat points towards Jordan, "And you are..?"

"Oh! I'm Brooklyn, but call me Brook." I say, hesitation. I've never really talked to anyone, let alone been asked my name, so it felt unnatural that these girls wanted to get to know me.

"That's a really pretty name!" said Jordan.

"Thanks!"

"So, could we head over to your place? To get some paper?"

"Um, my parents aren't home, and, uh, I don't think we have paper.." I know, I know, a lame excuse. But if I told these girls that I'm a homeless orphan, they might think that I'm weird or something. Or they might call Child Services. Whatever it is, it's gonna be bad.

"Okay then... we'll just head over to my place!" said Kat.

"Okay sure!" Jordan says, grabbing her cake-pop.

~~~

We reached Kat's house, and went inside. It was one of those nice houses, cozy, yet big enough for a family of three.

I haven't gone inside someone's house for years, so I was pretty self-conscious for a bit. I hope her parents aren't home, I thought to myself. I looked like a mess.

My long, brown hair was messy and tangled. I scavenged a small comb once, but it didn't help detangle my hair half the time. I wore a gray tee that said, Beach Vibes, worn out jeans covered in stains from dirt, and a dirty black sneakers. I looked like I rolled around in mud, and didn't bother taking a bath for 10 years.

"Kat, are you home? Are you going to accept the invitation?" asked a woman's voice from the stairs. She had dirty blonde hair tied up into a high bun, with a pencil holding it together. She wore a gray robe over nurse scrubs, along with fluffy white slippers.

"Yea, I am! So is Jordan, and my new friend, Brook!" said Kat, pointing towards me.

I give a small wave, "Hi, miss!"

"We just need some paper to register. Could we borrow some, Mrs. Lyke?"

"Of course, Jordan! And tell your mom I said hello!"

"Will do! And thank you!"

"No problem girls!" I nodded, and followed Kat and Jordan to a table with art supplies, and black sheets of paper. Kat hands each of us a pencil and some paper.

"Okay, Brook, has your magic been unlocked before?" asked Kat.

"Has my what been unlocked?" I asked, confused.

Kat sighed, "Every mage has to get their magic unlocked before they go to a school to learn how to channel their magic. My mom can do it for you though!" Kat's mother comes over holding a box of 7 crystals, lined up perfectly.

"Ok Brook, pick a crystal that stands out to you." Mrs. Lyke tells me. I hesitate.

"It's better to close your eyes." She says with a warm smile.

I close my eyes. At first, I have no idea which direction to reach towards. Suddenly, I feel pulled towards slightly to the left. I hesitate, but reach out towards to feel a crystal in my hands. As soon as my fingers touched it's surface, I shiver, as if part of me resonated with it. I pull the crystal towards me and open my eyes. I had picked the last crystal.

The crystal fills with colors, from a deep maroon, to a lime green, to a neon blue. Round and round the color spectrum, until the crystal stops on a deep, rich purple.

"Ooh, nice choice!" says Jorden, "I got an emerald green!"

"I got a light pink!" said Kat.

"Dark purple, purple, purple.." Mrs. Lyke mutters to herself. She scans through a stack of cards, colored all the colors of the rainbow. She stops at a dark purple card, and hands it to me. It read:

Dark Purple:

If your magic aura is dark purple, your brave, courageous, and willing to do whatever it takes. Only 3% mages have this aura, and 13% of the time they're Evil.

Huh, interesting.. There are Good AND Evil mages...

"Ooh, you got a brave aura! Neat!" said Jordan, "I got an illusion aura, basically means I'm really clever and can pull off a lot of tricks."

"I got a kind aura!" said Kat, "That means I'm kind to everyone I meet, so I know for sure I'll never be an Evil Mage."

"Okay girls, chit chat time is over. You have to register before everyone else does!" said Kat's mother. We all nod, and write our letters accepting the offer...

~~~

The rest of the summer went by pretty fast! I would scavenge for food in the morning, come back for lunch, then I go and meet up with Kat and Jorden.

On August 31, I packed everything I needed. Kat's mother helped me buy the books we needed, and also got me a luggage (I claimed that my family doesn't travel often.)

"Clothes, check! Books, check! Snacks, check! Shoes, check! I think I'm ready!" I called downstairs. I closed my luggage, and carried it downstairs to see everyone waiting for me. I gave everyone a quick hug.

"Don't worry! I'll be back for Christmas!" I say, with a smile. I walk to Kat's house with my luggage, with Kat and her mom waiting for me.

"Hi Brook!" said Kat, taking my luggage, "We're all ready to go! We're just waiting for Jorden!"

Jorden runs up behind me, heaving her luggage, "I'm here! Let's go!"

~~~

As we board our plane, we take out snack and some books for the 4 hour flight, and start reading. I had brought my favorite book, The School For Good and Evil: One True King with me. I was so excited for the flight! I had never been on a plane before! I open it up to the first page and began to read.

~~~

I woke up to Kat shaking my arm, "Wake up!" she exclaimed, "I think we're about to crash!"

"Wait, what?" I exclaim. I look out the window to see us heading straight towards a formation of three rocks, in the shape of a triangle.

"Are we heading straight for the Bermuda Triangle?" Jordan yelled. We all started freaking out.

"I heard that everyone that goes in never comes out!" said Kat. Which didn't help our nerves.

"I think Brook was right! That was a scam letter! We're going to die!" Jordan screamed.

As we drew closer and closer towards the eerie rocks, we brace for impact. What impact, we had no idea. But I was thinking of some sort of creature, grabbing us by the waist and pulling us into the ocean. And surprisingly, everyone else on the plane wasn't freaking out.

I don't want to die yet, I think to myself. God, why me?

I close my eyes as we dive straight into the water. I expected the plane to be filled with water. I hold my breath.

"Uh, guys?" says Kat, "We're not dead."

I open my eyes and look out the window. Instead of seeing the Atlantic Ocean, I saw.. a blue sky? I looked down to see a village, the buildings so small, there were the size of a fly from the plane. It was a cozy little town, something you would see out of a storybook. The sky was more bluer than normal, the grass greener, the clouds fluffier, it looked like something out of a 5 year old's imagination!

We landed shortly after, and we exited the plane with our luggage. The people were very different!

Some people had wings, some had capes that turned you invisible, some had wands, some were floating in mid-air, and some were even casting spells!

I noticed this boy, about my age, he sent an orange blast of light towards the sky. It burst, and turned into a phoenix!

"We're definitely not in New York anymore."