Nova Terra

Summer break had stopped feeling like a vacation and more like a chore about a week ago. Claire woke up disgruntled again, having stayed up too late doing exactly nothing. Opening her eyes felt like real effort as she turned to check the clock on her bedside table. 12:04 PM.

"Aughhh." She groaned, already able to hear her parents downstairs preparing breakfast, or was it lunch? She didn't know. She had to get out of bed eventually, so after doomscrolling on her phone for about ten minutes, she finally garnered the willpower to stand up. In the mirror on her closet door, her reflection looked back at her: messy brown hair, bangs covering half her eyes, the whole thing looking more like a bird's nest than the neat waves that usually rested over her shoulders.

Not like she had anything to prepare herself for anyway. Claire made her way downstairs, the bickering of her parents and sibling growing louder with each step. In the bathroom, she splashed water on her face and dragged her bangs into some kind of order with her fingers.

"Ehh, looks fine now, I guess," she said, still swiping at her hair as if that alone might fix it.

She walked out, further downstairs, to where everyone sat in the living room eating and watching TV while arguing. She joined them, not the argument, but breakfast, her stomach already grumbling. She waved her hand, conjuring a gust of wind that dragged a croissant straight into her palm.

"Glad you could join us, Claire," her mom said, and whatever argument they'd been having a moment ago no longer seemed to matter. Her little sister's eyes stayed glued to the TV, her dad was absorbed in the newspaper, and her older brother was nowhere to be found, either at work or simply not home yet.

"Yeah, good morning, Mom," Claire said, after swallowing her first bite of croissant.

"You know, you've been doing nothing for WEEKS now." Claire rolled her eyes. She knew that once her mom started, nothing would stop her. "No friends. No job."

Claire had already zoned out, nodding along as she kept eating, when her phone buzzed.

Her mom went quiet instantly. Her dad set down the newspaper. Her little sister turned down the TV volume with a sneaky little motion, as if Claire wouldn't notice her staring.

"Well, go on then. It must be them. It must be!"

Claire had applied to Terra Nova Academy over the summer, the best magic academy in the state. It sounded ambitious, but the truth was that it was extremely hard to get into. This school could make or break her life. Graduate, and she was set. Fail or drop out, and no academy in the state, no academy in the entire country, would take her, and she'd spend the rest of her life stocking shelves. It felt almost privileged to have doubts about a place like this, but honestly, she still wasn't sure.

Claire opened her phone, too nervous to tap the notification directly. Instead she opened her email app first, buying herself a few more seconds.

Subject: Terra Nova Academy — Letter of Admission

Dear Claire Thompson,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Terra Nova Academy. Please find enclosed a list of required texts and equipment.

Term begins September 1st.

Yours sincerely,

Office of Admissions

Terra Nova Academy

Such a short email for such a big moment in her life. She read it through several times, her eyes darting over the same few lines again and again, while her parents watched her expectantly, waiting for her to finally read it out loud.