Episode 1: Welcome to Wheldrake College: Part 7

Oliver hid her face, wiping the tears away. She stood outside the party, against the wall, not sure if anyone was staring at her, not caring if they were. A few people walked by her, not saying a word, and going right for the beer in the apartment. She tried to calm herself. She pulled back from the tears, stopped them from flowing, but all she wanted was a few friends in her life.

Everyone thought she was weird or a freak or crazy, which meant none of them wanted to be around her. She had two friends in high school, some other people who could use magic, but they both died one night in a car crash. Oliver never believed it had been an accident. She was sure it had been a spell gone awry, but the police wouldn't believe her if it had been.

After they died, she no longer had friends, but college was meant to be different. It was a new start, a fresh sheet, she would tell herself.

Also, don't act weird, just be cool, and be cool.

It didn't work; she had no idea why. She tried to be cool, which is why she wore colorful clothes. She might have worn them anyway, but she had been told that other freaks go to college, too. And those freaks, the ones in her classes, would love to have a new member in their ranks.

She didn't find any freaks in her classes.

No one wanted to add her to their ranks, except maybe for Scott. Scott was nice, normal, and nice.

But Oliver wanted �" no, needed �" to meet people who knew magic. She didn't understand anything about the arcane arts. Her parents wouldn't dare speak to her about it. When she brought it up, they would get mad at her. After a while, and after they sent her a way to help, she stopped speaking about it. She knew magic was in her blood. She could feel it, the world beyond what most people saw or what most people thought was real. There had been something else out there on the edge of things waiting for her to reach over to open the door.

She didn't know where the door stood. She had the key but couldn't find the keyhole.

And now it looked as if college would turn into high school all over again.

Oliver could feel the magic on the campus, some of it dark, some of it not, but all of it still hidden by the shadows.

She wiped her face once more, took a deep breath, and told herself, "It is fine, everything is fine. Gwen doesn't know how great of a friend I can be, and all these people are missing out. I'm going to go home and go to bed. Tomorrow will be ---

Oh, who am I kidding, everything sucks."

She shook her head, looking back at the party, thinking maybe tonight would be a great time to get drunk. She had never done it before, and college, after all, was for new experiences.

"Are you okay?" Mason asked, walking up the steps. He had gone downstairs to get a few shot glasses from his neighbors.

"I don't know," Oliver said, smiling over at him. "Do you think I'm weird?"

"Yes," Mason nodded, coming up to her.

Oliver dropped her head, almost stomping her feet like a child. "But hey, that is not a bad thing," Mason said, quickly moving closer to her. "I have never met a normal person before."

"What?" Oliver said, pointing back at the party. "They are all normal compared to me."

"Yeah, I guess," Mason agreed, looking at his friends and countless other people he didn't know, "but I bet you they all are boring too."

"You think I'm not boring?" Oliver asked.

"Not at all," Mason said, smiling at her. One of his roommates came out, taking away the shot glasses, winking at him, and smiling at Oliver before fading back into the abundance of wasted faces. "You seem like the life of the party when you want to be."

Oliver's smile grew to her ears, and she flipped her colorful hair back over her shoulder. "I can be," she said. "I have a great singing voice."

"Excuse me," a hard voice snapped them both back to the stairs. The tall man, whose upper body looked as if he hit the gym more than seven times a week, stood with his hands in his pockets. He wore the badge of a Campus Police officer for the school, and his demeanor said he had been at the job too long.

"Yes, sir?" Mason asked, glancing into his apartment before stepping closer to the man. Oliver froze up at the sight of him ... or was it something else, something off about him?

"Is this your party?" Officer Lambe asked, pulling his hands out of his pockets. On his left wrist sat a dull golden band catching a bit of the light.

Mason took a gulp and said," Yyy �"ye,s sir, it is."

Officer Lambe glanced at Oliver but didn't say a word to her. He opened his arm to the door to let Mason lead the way. They both stepped into the small apartment, forcing the whole place to remain still. People started to move into the back room, hiding their red cups, hoping not to get busted.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Officer Lambe boomed, "I am doing my rounds to inform everyone to make sure you don't walk home alone. Groups of three are better than groups of two, but do not go walking around alone. We had reports of a strange man on campus. I want to make sure everyone is safe, and if you are too drunk to drive, then stay here." He glared at Mason for a moment and softly said, "Don't let anyone leave too drunk, you understand me?"

"Yes, sir."

Office Lambe spun on his heels, heading for the door, and then stopped, turning back to Mason. "Where did your friend go?"