Magic University

He almost couldn’t believe his eyes. June Bethany’s parents had told him on his eighteenth birthday that he could live with them until he graduated high school, but that if he couldn’t get into college then he was going to have to find a new place. That had been in January, and after nearly a hundred applications he had only gotten twenty letters back, and all of them had been generic pre-written messages saying he wasn't going to be accepted. But the fear was over, replaced with shock.

Sitting on his bed June stared excitedly at the letter of acceptance, and a full ride scholarship including lodging for MIT. It was almost too good to be true but there it was, in his hands, with only a few months left before his graduation deadline. He quickly scanned the letter, reading less than he should have. Then set it aside and grabbed a pen to fill out the basic enrollment sheet. He flew through the answers as fast as he could, put the paperwork in the envelope and ran down to the apartment mailbox, slipping the envelope in the outgoing mail slot, then hurrying back inside.

June went straight back to his room, knowing no good would come of talking about it with his parents. He hadn’t wanted much to do with them since his birthday. Besides, it was late and he had school in the morning. So he went through his normal nightly rituals, then stripped and climbed into bed. His mind lingered on the prospect of going to study engineering at MIT of all places, and after an hour of restless imagining, he finally fell asleep.

Of course, June should have read the acceptance letter a little closer. His tendency to try and skip ahead to the good part was likely why none of the other colleges had accepted him. The Letter did clearly say MIT on it. But if he had looked closer June might have noticed that this was not the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, rather it was the Mirewood Institute of Thaumaturgy.

As June fell asleep a wicked grin spread across a woman’s face in a different realm. With a wave of her hands and a recited chant the magical circle in front of her lit up with a soft pink light. Then shadows poured into the circle like a cloud of dark smoke. When it cleared a naked young man laid on the ground, quickly waking at the feel of cool windy air on his skin.