Glad though she was that Mat was staying, the whole affair worried Miriam. Jo had warned her that Mat was about to do something drastic. How had she known when Miriam herself had not? Did it have something to do witht he strange chords that she kept hearing when Mat and Key spoke? The only person who might be able to answer the questions was the headmistress herself.
When Miriam had mentioned she had a class with Mrs. Wayteel, both Tilli and Ayan had shown surprise, insistng that the head of a school rarely taught classes. But it made sense to Miriam, since Mrs. Wayteel's specialty was truth magic. Fortunately, it was the class Miriam had right before lunch. She lingered after the other students had gone, and finally approached the teacher. "Mrs. Wayteel?"
Mrs. Wayteel looked up from writing something. She seemed to have completely forgotten there were students in the room. "Yes, Miriam?"
"I don't think I'm very good at this"
Mrs. Wayteel set down her pen. "At what?"
"Truth magic." Miriam glanced up for just a moment. She thought looking at the teacher might show the gravity of the situation, but every time she did so, she thought of her uncle telling her, looking someone in the eye is like telling them you don't want them in your life.
The glance was enough to catch Mrs. Wayteel's smile. "Nonsense. I've seen you in class. You're better than most."
Miriam shook her head. "No, I'm not. I keep hearing these strange chords when people talk, like they're not lying or telling the truth. It doesn't make any sense."
"Miriam, I'm sensing that this isn't the only reason you don't think you're good enough. Is that true?"
When her uncle was away, Miriam usually had the staff leave the mail on his desk, but that day, the only letter delivered to the house was addressed to her. From Faraday Academy of Magic.
Dear Miss Lumo,
the letter read,
We would like to thank you for your generous donation to our school, though we also must inform you that we cannot accept any students without a completed appliction. Our founders endeavored to create a school at which deserving students could receive an education, regardless of money or status, and your contribution will allow us to uphold this legacy. In case you would like to apply for admission to Faraday Academy of Magic, we have enclosed a blank application for you.
Sincerely,
Enilie Wayteel
Headmistress,
Faraday Academy of Magic
Miriam couldn't believe it. She knew she hadn't sent Faraday any monrey, not that she had any to send. But her uncle could have done it in her name... and he could have asked them to admit her without an application. He probably would have mentioned that he had attended the school himself, as did his daughter. And now her own name was sullied. Miriam pulled the application out of the envelope. There was one way she could preserve it, and that was to get into Faraday on her own merit.
"Yes, ma'am. There's something more, but I don't really want to tell you." Miriam knew there was no point in lying to Mrs. Wayteel.
"Well, I'm limited in my ability to help if I don't know everything, but let me tell you something. Miriam, I don't think you're difficulties with truth magic are because of your inability to use it. I think it's because you view the world in a way that's different from most people. At times, this is going to make identifying truths much easier. But other times, it will make it more difficult."
"I don't understand." She nudged her eyes upward again, watching Mrs. Wayteel from the edge of them.
"We often think of truth as being black and white," Mrs. Wayteel explained, "but it's not. Some people have a way to telling the truth without telling the truth. Or lying without lying."
Miriam shook her head. "That doesn't make sense."
"That's okay. The more you study your magic and yourself and the world around you, the more it will start to make sense. Do you remember what we talked about on the first day of class?"
"Everyone experiences magic differently. So the way I identify truth will be different from you."
"And do you remember what I told you about how I identify lies?"
Miriam couldn't have forgotten. "You said you get a bad taste in your mouth."
"Right. So I spent a year in culinary school to get in touch with my taste sensations, and it helped me understad my magic a lot better. You say you heard chords, so maybe you should take a music theory class. Mr. Igbi teaches one. You could take it next year. And in the meantime, don't give up. Many of the greatest wizards in Nideon had rough starts."
Miriam picked up her bag, which felt lighter, thugh she knew that was impossible. "Thank you, Mrs. Wayteel. I'll do that."
