Model Magic Circles
After the first period on model magic circles ended, the kids scurried around busily, hunting for partners for the performance evaluation.
Si-hu and Se-ri went without saying—they were popular with everyone, boys and girls alike.
“This is too much... is this even okay...?”
“Then you should've made your groups before us.”
“Si-hu, sorry! Just lend me your seat for this class.”
I'd already promised to pair with Yuna, so I shooed Si-hu off somewhere else and plopped Yuna down next to me. But she seemed really anxious—even after sitting, her leg wouldn't stop bouncing.
“Nervous?”
“Yeah... a little...”
“Magic's fun. No need to tense up like that.”
“If only I could think like you, Nami...”
The performance eval wasn't a huge chunk of the grade, but it still affected her semester score. That grade obsession that had chained Yuna down for years wouldn't vanish overnight, no matter how much her home life improved. There was the promise I'd made to her mom, too—to help her enjoy school. It was something we could fix bit by bit.
“Hey, stop biting your nails.”
“Ah, sorry. But isn't the classroom kinda cold?”
Now she was shivering all over with chills. So pitiful. Guess it was time to deploy my secret weapon.
“Yuna, face right and sit still for a sec.”
“Huh? Like this?”
Yuna obeyed my order without a clue what I was up to. She kept sneaking curious glances back over her shoulder.
A bit early for elementary kids, but from middle school on, everyone's must-have item. The tail comb.
“From now on, your hair's mine.”
“What're you talking about?”
“Don't turn your head. Keep looking straight ahead. No moving.”
“Eek!”
Simple Casting: Heat Transfer
Before the full comb-through, I gently untangled the knotted sections bit by bit. Yuna's hair wasn't too thick, so a light sweep had it falling smooth on its own.
“You should only comb dry hair like this. Right after washing's bad for your strands and scalp.”
“Really? I always combed while drying mine!”
I pressed the tail comb to her nape. Starting from there up to the crown, against the grain, I teased out the red tangles.
“Feel that? Refreshing, right? Upside-down strokes from bottom to top shake out scalp dust and flakes.”
“Ooh, cool. But isn't regular straight combing bad for you?”
“Starting at the crown overstimulates the oil glands—could lead to hair loss later.”
“I don't wanna go bald...!”
As I kept combing, the tension in her shoulders started melting away. Proof she was relaxing. I didn't miss a single strand on the sides, then stood to style her bangs into the trendy see-through look. No rollers for the perfect curl, but hey, beggars can't be choosers—I stacked a few pencils and rolled her hair tight.
To avoid getting caught by the teacher, I used a tiny magic circle for just the right warmth to set it.
“All done. Wanna check the mirror?”
I led her to the full-length one at the back of the room. Yuna's eyes went saucer-wide.
“Waaah! So pretty! Like a princess!”
Of course she'd be amazed. This was technique even the fussy princesses of the empire raved about.
Yuna just stared, too scared to touch and mess up the bangs I'd worked on.
“Want me to do it every morning?”
“For real? No no, won't that bug you, Nami?”
“Nah, I wanna. Combing your hair feels nice.”
This was the honest truth. A good combing session's 50 to 100 strokes, about five minutes. Add styling time, that's ten total. Daily ten minutes of solid relaxation for my mind and body.
Already had a nightmare last night and was in a funk, but Yuna's goofy grin melted all my stress away.
“Then lemme do yours? I'll comb Nami's hair!”
“...I'm good.”
“Whyyy...?”
“My hair's too long. Better if I handle it solo with magic.”
Sorry to disappoint her pouty face, but letting anyone touch my hair was a tall order.
The big moment: performance evaluation time.
The teacher handed out ten sets of model magic circles, one per pair of twenty kids.
They looked like plain magic boxes on the outside. But each had a different color, and the kids went nuts trying to snag their favorite.
Contents were identical anyway—what's the big deal?
Kids' logic can be a mystery.
“All sets are different types, so remember your color—no mix-ups. Everyone got it?”
“Yes!”
“Forgetful ones, jot it on your desk or notebook. Now, one by one—open up and experiment.”
The teacher wandered between desks, doling them out by preference.
“Nami, what color you picking?”
“Any's fine by me.”
“Pick one, one!”
“Red then?”
“Red's okay?”
I'd said whatever, but Yuna looked worried hearing it.
“Why not red?”
“Everyone hates bright red. It's not even pretty...”
“Your hair's red? I like this color.”
Hair color doesn't define character. But my words tugged her lips into a smile.
“My hair really not weird? For real for real? Last year, my class hated it—kept asking why I dyed it red every time... It's natural, but no one believed me.”
“I was blonde once, so I get it—fair skin pairs better with lighter shades.”
“Blonde? You dyed it back then too?”
“Kinda, yeah.”
“Kids, hurry and pick? Gotta give to the others!”
Jackie Teacher cut into our chat, so we rushed to grab one from the last four boxes.
Red was sadly snagged by Si-hu's group first. Settled for the black one—matched my hair.
“Ugh, hope it's an easy circle. Nami, you know how to use model magic circles?”
“Teacher just explained.”
“Nah, tried a few last year—way harder than it looks. Even held straight, some wouldn't read numbers right.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yup. Activates fine but spits out zeros sometimes. Lemme demo!”
Like a kid hyped to show off school stuff to parents, Yuna popped the box open with glee.
She'd been all shaky before the eval, but seeing her dive in like this? Magic was totally her thing.
“Hmm... where to start. All look so complicated. Smallest one first?”
Up close, the model magic circle was a dull turquoise disk.
Evoked the Nebra Sky Disk—dotted with twinkling crystals everywhere.
All five ranged 20 to 40 cm across, and right in the center, a red button begging to be pressed, just like the teacher said.
Yuna took a quick deep breath and hit the button. Gears clicked and clacked; the turquoise face cover got sucked into the sides and vanished.
Now it really felt like a model magic circle.
Inner circle inside the big one—2nd Circle magic.
Runes etched one each at north, south, east, west, fueling the circuit nicely.
“Whoa... zero clue. How? Inject mana anywhere to start?”
“Yeah, give it a shot.”
“Got it...! North first, 10kE each.”
“That do it?”
“Need more?”
2nd Circle, so proper input around 100kE. Kept wanting to spoil her, mouth twitching.
Like dragging my nephew to the movies and fighting the urge to blurt the ending, I suggested instead.
“Bump the output a tad.”
“Okay! Trusting you—50kE to start?”
Yuna shut her eyes, reading the mana flow. To gauge her control, I closed mine too.
Mana waves rippled through the world.
Yuna dipped her hand in.
Humans can't buck ocean waves crashing on the beach—but we can ride them.
Surfboard on the swell, body surrendered to the flow.
All we do is graze the wave with our hands on the board, but that's plenty for each person.
And those who conquer every wave? Folks call 'em archmages out of respect.
[0.3]
“Haa, what'd it say?”
Meanwhile, Yuna was still a beginner surfer with a long way to go.