Sierra's Final Start of Spring Semester Meetings as a Magister

Morning comes. My alarm goes off earlier than it normally does. Eyes, half closed, I slam down on the snooze as I look at the time. Way earlier. I pull out my phone. I’d forgotten, I have my Advisee meetings. I sigh. I really am not sure I want to deal with them, but that’s my job. I’d set the alarm early enough that I would be able to make myself human and get to campus before the first meeting. Thankfully, my first meeting is with the Seniors, so they know better than to expect me to be functional the first full day back after winter break. Besides, most of them are good. I get up and, after showering and getting dressed, realize the time and rush to campus.

I enter the library about fifteen minutes early. Fadila is waiting, coffee in one hand and a bagel in the other. “Fadila, you’re early.”

“No I’m not,” she states. Just like her predecessor. She hands me the coffee and bagel. “Do you know who they are considering replacing you?”

“No, but I could find out,” I answer her honestly. With her, honesty is always ideal.

“For what cost?” she counters.

Sierra smirks and pulls a card out of Therese’s playbook. “Just a favor,” she says.

“Do so. I would find out myself, but I have work on my hands.” She pauses for a moment, then glancing at the clock on the wall adds, “Logan has found Charlie in the stacks, best if you get to the study room now.” Then, without another word, she walks into the library. I am headed in the same direction to get to the study room but I know better than to try to spot her. By now, she could be just about anywhere on campus, and several places nearby. She had a nasty habit of vanishing from thin air.

Making my way into one of the library study rooms, I see Valeria sitting down, reading a book. “Good morning, Sierra. Charlie and Logan should be here any minute,” she says, giving a thin smile, “What’s this year’s check in about?”

“What do you think, Val?” I ask.

She pauses as Logan and Charlie walk in, laughing. Logan is fine. Charlie is clearly running on no sleep and infinite caffeine. She looks over at them, as do I. “What?” Logan asks, “We ain’t late.”

“You got any idea what this meeting’s about?” Val asks the pair. Charlie sits down.

Leaning on the doorframe, Logan shrugs. “Probably our Magister positioning or job. Don’t see either of you angling for a normal job, though. Too up your own butt about magic and shit.”

I smile a strained smile. “Said in the most helpful way,” I say, voice dripping in sarcasm, “Thank you.” I will not be upset no longer having to deal with him. And I know I won’t have to deal with him. He’s the only one who I know has it locked down, and it’s like all my problems are gathering to make Greece an ‘avoid at all costs’ zone. “But, yes, this is about the future. Logan, I assume you accepted the position in Greece?”

“Yeah, I stopped playing coy and using the Delhi offer once they threw in a housing stipend large enough that I could buy a house if I wanted. Not a nice house, but there were two different houses in the vague vicinity of the Villa that I could fully buy with my new yearly housing stipend.”

I nod. “Now you two have been less open with me about the process. So, any progress on acceptances and have you decided on anything yet?”

Charlie begins to speak. Well, if I’m honest, ramble is probably the more accurate term. “Well, the Basilica doesn’t have any room for external agents, evidently that’s what all the apprentices there our year want to do. I’m not sure why other than it being more interesting, but like that’s evidently real rare so I don’t know. In any case, they did offer me an internal slot with the option of becoming external in extreme circumstances. We all know that means if one of the Exties kicks the bucket, but evidently they’re actually pretty similar in terms of that rate, but for different reasons. They sent a whole packet about mental health and the like along with the offer. Speaking of, the offer is predicated on my grades not falling off, of course, but that’s fine. I can get A’s this year. No problem.”

I sigh. “Okay,” I say, “Good. Do read through that packet, and maybe try to sleep a bit more this semester than last, alright?” The fact that classes haven’t even started back up yet and this is Charlie’s state of mind is a bad sign, but stranger things have happened. Turning to the last of my seniors, I say to Val, “Your turn.”

“Well, you see,” she begins, and I know where it’s going.

“What is it?”

“I applied to plenty of openings in Villae, but only a couple wanted me and I don’t want to go to South Africa or Australia. They aren’t exactly Magisterial hot spots,” she explains. I know what that means, but I also know better than to say it to her. Because either she knows and my saying it only serves to air a private matter in public and salt the wound, or because she doesn’t know and telling her will only drive her to making terrible decisions.

“So, do you have a different plan? Because winging it won’t really work. This degree is not going to help you that much if you don’t find a way to make it help you.”

“No, I don’t,” she complains. “I should have been able to sneak into a European Villa, but no. I’m going to end up going to Australia, because Grand Maestro Cahaya Purnama is newer, and so she might be able to get that Rite some more influence, but I’m not holding my breath.”

“So, are you going to try something else, or just accept it? It’s less a concern for you than for Charlie, but they do sometimes overbook.”

“I’m going to accept it soon. I’m just talking over some details with their Provost about room and board,” Val replies, then shaking her head, she adds, “I can’t believe you’re getting a goddamned house in Greece.”

Logan grins greedily. “I am not. I just could. I’m probably just going to use the money to get myself a nice one bedroom apartment in the city, and then the rest will go to cost of living expenses like going to clubs, bribing politicians, going on expensive dates, that sort of shit.”

“You know, some days I dream about you dying a horrible horrible death,” Val tells her old fellow advisee.

Logan, still grinning, nods. “Yes I do.”

I sigh. “So, now that that’s figured out, get out of here. The juniors and I need to chat about their internships. And Val and Charlie, remember to actually accept the offers.”

“Yeah, I’m Awake,” Charlie spits out, jolting up in his seat. Not a great sign. Then, after a moment of processing, he adds, “And I will. Or well, did. Am? The basilica is real old fashioned and so the acceptance is in the mail but I just sent it yesterday so I don’t think it’s there yet.”

I gesture towards the door and he realizes why I said his name. “See you in class, Magister Leyten.”

“You, too, Charlie,” I say, as Logan and Val help him leave.

As the only door to the study room shuts behind them, Fadila says from behind me, “Well handled.” Fadila’s jump scares are another thing I won’t miss.

The others come in, first Alex and Pat, then Michel. “So,” the young French man begins, “Why is this meeting?”

“This meeting is probably the most important of my meetings today,” I admit, “We’ve got a couple of things to talk about. Normally, this is a meeting where we chat about what you guys are planning for internships this summer. If you’re planning one, though that ‘if’ is not a real ‘if’, it’s a judgemental ‘if’.”

Alex laughs at that one. Pat shakes her head, more at his reaction than the joke I made. “But this year is a little different. I’ve finished my paper and, assuming I make it through the defense, I have a Maestro position lined up. Not here. Which does mean, unfortunately for you, you will have a different advisor next year. So, I also want to talk some about where you want to get to after you graduate and what you plan on doing to get there.”

“Congratulations,” Alex says, then looks at the others. “Wait, am I the only one who didn’t know?”

“Yes,” Fadila states coldly.

“To be fair, she was practically done last year, so…” Michel adds.

I sigh loudly, “Yes, yes, the point being, just in case the replacement isn’t as well connected as we’d like, I want to help any way I can set you guys up. But first, internships?”

“The French Embassy has an opening that my family and some old friends have helped me get. So I will be in DC working with the politicians and reporting any key elements to one Greatest Maestro Jonkers,” Michel informs us, very proud of his new job.

I look at Pat. “Oh, right,” she says, “I’m going to be working with Great Maestro Devon, most likely according to my friends who did it before, doing a lot of paperwork for buying buildings.” She is, of course, leaving out the key aspect of the job being spying on Greatest Maestro Jonkers, but given Michel just said he was reporting to her, probably a good play.

“Alex?” I ask.

“Oh, I snagged our Great Maestro’s local internship. He wants to go to some big Party over the summer and he needed some extra hands willing to run things here while he was out. I get to be one of the two apprentices with that responsibility, working alongside a couple of Magisters and some Maestro.” Alex shrugs, adding, “It’s no biggie.” And it really wasn’t, but that’s not why he added that. He thinks it is, and I don’t want to dissuade him of that notion. After all, if he finds a talent for the day-to-day management of a Villa, that can set him up quite nicely going forward.

“And you, Fadila? Anything lined up?”

And, just like her mentor, she simply nods and says, “Yes.”

“Any more details than that you want to offer?”

Fadila shrugs. “No.”

I sigh once more, then shaking my head I move on. “And as far as next year, you should be looking towards and applying to spots in your ideal Villae starting next fall, then you can negotiate details without just having to accept whatever place wants to give you the bare minimum. Or, of course, looking for a job after your apprenticeship is over, we’ve got connections in many fields. So, any ideas on where you’ll want to go?”

Alex shrugs and looks at the others. Fadila nods. “I have a plan,” she says, to the surprise of exactly nobody.

“Okay,” I look to the others, “Anyone else?”

Pat bites her lip. “I think I’m going to try to get some European Villa. I’m talking with some Magisters who used to go here to work out details, but nothing concrete yet.” I nod. I don’t know whether she’s lying or she legitimately doesn’t realize it, but I do know that one of those Magisters is Irene, which means Therese is involved, which means the details have already been decided.

I turn to Michel. He, like Alex, shrugs, though he at least voices his thoughts. “I do want to stay in the United States, it is interesting here. But I don’t know the specifics. I hope maybe in communicating with the Greatest Magister over the summer maybe she can aid in finding a good spot for me under her leadership.”

I nod. She probably could. Assuming that he is not blacklisted like Val. “sounds like a plan,” I state. To Alex, I add, “And as you’re sitting here working over the summer, do think about it, okay? And feel free to reach out if you need my help.” I wait for him to nod in acknowledgement. Then I add, “Now, get out of here, I need to ask a bunch of kids about their majors and tell them they don’t have to deal with me anymore after this semester.

Alex and Pat both laugh at that one as the four students head out the door, back into the library.