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“It’s a paid internship,” he explained. “I’m looking for a student teacher to help with my Freshman-level Mortana classes. The position usually goes to seniors, but the student I hired this year quit already.”
I set the papers back on his desk. “I’m not really qualified… am I?”
“You’ve taken the Freshman-level classes,” he pointed out. “I simply need help with grading and occasional tutoring. I know your journalism professor is prejudiced toward our Cast, and he won’t approve you for a journalism internship. You deserve this opportunity. Besides, it will give us a chance to work closer together.”
I was touched that he wanted me to work with him.
“Thank you, Professor.”
Despite the tension between Professor Warren and me, I was excited to have him on our side, and I was ready to get started on my internship right away. I told Nadine about his offer on our way to class the next day. Oliver and Isa had stayed behind in our rooms.
“That’s great!” Nadine said. “I’m really happy for you.”
“Thanks,” I replied. “I think it’ll be good. I’ll be out there interacting with other students. Maybe I can use this position to recruit people.”
“That would be really helpful,” Nadine agreed.
“Plus, I qualify for a car loan now,” I said proudly. I’d never owned a car before. “It’s not much, but I found an old beater at the used lot downtown. I’m picking her up after class.”
“Lucas, that’s great! I’m really happy for you,” Nadine said as we entered the classroom.
Our Astral Travel class took place in one of the meditation rooms. We sat on yoga mats while we listened to Professor Poppy’s lecture. She was an older Seer, and it sounded like she had a lot of experience on the astral plane.
We were a week into school, and Professor Poppy had mostly covered astral travel theory. The astral plane was a level of existence that all witches could access through their spirit, but it was difficult to master. It involved separating your spirit from your body and entering a plane of existence populated by ghosts and other spiritual beings.
It could be dangerous, too. You never quite knew what types of spirits you might encounter there, or what might happen to your body while your spirit was away. It left you vulnerable, and enemies could attack your body while your spirit was away. Such an attack could trap you on the astral plane, because your spirit was still living without the ability to return to its body. An astral traveling soul was different than a ghost—a visitor to the astral plane, rather than a resident. A living person had to return to their own body eventually. Professor Poppy cautioned us greatly, but also encouraged us to not be afraid.
“We can use astral projection in many positive ways,” Professor Poppy had said. “Seers often use it to communicate more clearly with ghosts. When witches are separated, they can connect on the astral plane and communicate across distances. Through meditation, you can travel the world and escape to places that your spirit finds healing. It is truly a spiritual journey unique to each of us.”
I personally wanted to use it to spy on Leto. We couldn’t use it on the priestess, not with the wards around their headquarters. And they couldn’t come here, either. Professor Poppy said you can only astral travel onto school grounds if you’re already inside the school. It’s to keep students safe while we practice our powers.
“Today, you will be attempting astral traveling for the first time,” Professor Poppy announced. “Most of you will not get it on your first try, and that’s okay. Though there are many ghosts around the school, it’s unlikely that you’ll encounter any on the astral plane, unless you are a Seer yourself. Ghosts will only show up if they want to communicate with you, and most are too confused to know the difference. However, should you encounter another spirit on the astral plane, you need not be afraid. Simply let them be, set the intent to return to your own plane, and your spirit will be reunited with your body. Let’s begin with a meditation to cast our protection spell, in order to protect our mind, body, and spirit while on the astral plane.”
Nadine and I adjusted our pillows and lay down on our yoga mats. She looked over at me and winked.
“Last one to the astral plane owes the other dinner,” she teased.
I smirked. “Only if you’re the one on the menu.”
She giggled, then glanced around to make sure no one heard. “You’re on.”
She took my hand, and I relaxed deeper into the mat. At the front of the room, Professor Poppy guided us into meditation. I imagined my magic like a ball of light, and I sent it out around myself, cocooning my body in a protective shield. It was unlike the shields I’d made before, meant to project defensive magic. This one permeated inward, protecting my spirit from malevolent beings.
The meditation continued, until I hovered on the edge of sleep. I let myself fall deep into the meditation, until I was unaware of how much time had passed. I felt something tugging at the corners of my mind, and a weightless sensation suddenly overcame me. My whole body buzzed with a new sensation, like I could feel the energy of the room around me. My eyes shot open, and I glanced around the room… only to see two versions of Nadine next to me.
They weren’t the same, though. One version looked solid as she lay beside me with her eyes closed. Her chest rose and fell slowly. The other sat cross-legged beside her body and appeared as an ethereal being floating several inches off the ground. She had all Nadine’s familiar features, but her skin glowed with a rainbow of colors. As I sat up, the world seemed to move around me differently, like the colors didn’t quite move as quickly as the shapes. I waved my hand in front of me—my spirit hand, because my real hand was still holding Nadine’s from where I lay on the mat. I could see straight through my hand. It was so surreal.
“I guess that means I owe you… dinner?” I teased.
Nadine beamed. “I was wondering when you’d show up.”
“That was easier than I thought it’d be,” I remarked.
“I was trying to pull you onto the astral plane with me,” Nadine said. “I guess it must’ve worked.”
I recalled the tugging at the corners of my mind. “I think I felt that. But why was it so easy for you?”
She shrugged. “I’m a priestess, and my intuition is supposed to be growing. Maybe astral travel comes along with that.”
