Magic Beginnings, page 4
part #1 of Magical Girl Academy Series
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Magic Beginnings: Magical Girl Academy #1, by Kayla Bashe
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This is the cutest weapon you have ever seen. And if you’re going to save people from evil, you want to look cute doing it!
Manifesting weapons turns out to be a lot more complicated than you thought. You need to be able to picture what you’re manifesting perfectly: not only its appearance, but also its parts and how they interact. On your first attempt, you mix up two parts of the mechanism; when you pull the trigger, the entire weapon poofs in your hands, covering you in glitter.
Kione presses her lips together. “Hmm.” From her, that’s practically the equivalent of a full-out belly laugh. Nevertheless, she’s a lot more patient than you expected, helping you understand your mistakes and what you have to do to avoid repeating them. Sometimes her sentences are full of technological terms that you don’t understand—it’s like she’s forgetting the difference between what she knows and what you know. You don’t think she’s doing it on purpouse, though.
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(1/1) With Kione's help, you finally manage to manifest a weapon.
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Magic Beginnings: Magical Girl Academy #1, by Kayla Bashe
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Bigger is better, right? “I want this one.”
The corners of Kione’s lips quirk upwards almost imperceptibly. “Good choice.”
Manifesting weapons turns out to be a lot more complicated than you thought. You need to be able to picture what you’re manifesting perfectly: not only its appearance, but also its parts and how they interact. On your first attempt, you mix up two parts of the mechanism; when you pull the trigger, the entire weapon poofs in your hands, covering you in glitter.
Kione presses her lips together. “Hmm.” From her, that’s practically the equivalent of a full-out belly laugh. Nevertheless, she’s a lot more patient than you expected, helping you understand your mistakes and what you have to do to avoid repeating them. Sometimes her sentences are full of technological terms that you don’t understand—it’s like she’s forgetting the difference between what she knows and what you know. You don’t think she’s doing it on purpouse, though.
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(1/1) With Kione's help, you finally manage to manifest a weapon.
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Magic Beginnings: Magical Girl Academy #1, by Kayla Bashe
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“Hello!” She seems so happy to see you.
“I am playing solitaire! I quite enjoy card games. At home, we would play card games during long winter evenings. Would you like to play a card game with me? It is said—no, called—Spit.”
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(1/3) >>I don't know how
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(2/3) >>I'd love to
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(3/3) >>I bet I'll win!
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Magic Beginnings: Magical Girl Academy #1, by Kayla Bashe
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“I am playing solitaire! I quite enjoy card games. At home, we would play card games during long winter evenings. Would you like to play a card game with me? It is said—no, called—Spit.”
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(1/3) >>I don't know how
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(2/3) >>I'd love to
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(3/3) >>I bet I'll win!
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Magic Beginnings: Magical Girl Academy #1, by Kayla Bashe
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Kione summons up her own weapon, a sleek black pistol, and points it in your direction. For a second, you flinch—but when she pulls the trigger, only a shimmery cloud of pink perfume comes out. “Like I said—perfectly harmless for us, perfectly lethal to a monster.” She very nearly smiles. “How about a game?”
And so you end up sprinting around the room and down the corridor, hiding behind furniture for cover, throwing Kione’s own blanket onto her as a distraction, climbing on chairs like you’re a kid again as you shoot sparkly magical bubbles at each other in what’s got to be the most exciting game of tag you’ve ever played. You turn a corner, weapon at the ready—and then, strangely enough, you’ve lost sight of her.
Where could Kione possibly be? She’s probably...
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(1/2) Up ahead
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(2/2) Somewhere behind you
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Magic Beginnings: Magical Girl Academy #1, by Kayla Bashe
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“I shall teach you.”
As soon as you start playing, it’s as if the normally ladylike Sophia has transformed into something terrible.
She gets this unnervingly intense look in her eyes, and her hands seems to move faster than those of a normal human. When she win a round, she lets out bellows of victory. Sometimes, during a lull in the game, she giggles under her breath, and you know she’s gotten the advantage. You’ve never, ever seen someone so intense about a card game!
“You see? I told you there was no way you could win against me. This card game is common in my homeland… I have been playing it from the cradle! …Anyway, good game. Perhaps we’ll play again sometime.”
And, just like that, she’s back to her normal, ladylike self.
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(1/1) >>
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Magic Beginnings: Magical Girl Academy #1, by Kayla Bashe
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“Splendid.”
As soon as you start playing, it’s as if the normally ladylike Sophia has transformed into something terrible.
She gets this unnervingly intense look in her eyes, and her hands seems to move faster than those of a normal human. When she win a round, she lets out bellows of victory. Sometimes, during a lull in the game, she giggles under her breath, and you know she’s gotten the advantage. You’ve never, ever seen someone so intense about a card game!
“You see? I told you there was no way you could win against me. This card game is common in my homeland… I have been playing it from the cradle! …Anyway, good game. Perhaps we’ll play again sometime.”
And, just like that, she’s back to her normal, ladylike self.
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(1/1) >>
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Magic Beginnings: Magical Girl Academy #1, by Kayla Bashe
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“Don’t be so sure about that...”
As soon as you start playing, it’s as if the normally ladylike Sophia has transformed into something terrible.
She gets this unnervingly intense look in her eyes, and her hands seems to move faster than those of a normal human. When she win a round, she lets out bellows of victory. Sometimes, during a lull in the game, she giggles under her breath, and you know she’s gotten the advantage. You’ve never, ever seen someone so intense about a card game!
“You see? I told you there was no way you could win against me. This card game is common in my homeland… I have been playing it from the cradle! …Anyway, good game. Perhaps we’ll play again sometime.”
And, just like that, she’s back to her normal, ladylike self.
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(1/1) >>
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Magic Beginnings: Magical Girl Academy #1, by Kayla Bashe
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You tiptoe forward cautiously. Okay, it’s a reading nook. Bookcases, comfy chairs... and not that many places to hide. Where’s Kione?
You don’t even hear the soft footsteps in the hallway, and you only become aware of Kione when she’s right behind you.
“I win,” she says, and pulls the trigger. You’re going to smell like a bouquet of wildflowers for days.
As she lowers the gun, you notice that the usual seriousness has returned to her bearing. The cheerful Kione of the past few minutes is clearly gone.
“You’ll have to improve if you want to survive, you know,” she says. “... I’m going to study alone now.”
Playtime is over, you observe, watching her walk away. Why is Kione so unpredictable?
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(1/1) At dinnertime, she reads intently, occasionally frowning and barely speaking.
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Magic Beginnings: Magical Girl Academy #1, by Kayla Bashe
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Moving as quietly as you can, you turn around and tiptoe back the way you came. And there’s Kione, crouched under a chair that someone placed in the hallway, still waiting for you to come down the corridor. She probably hid in a practice room and misjudged her timing. You sneak up towards her—and, miraculously, she doesn’t notice you until you press the manifested weapon to her neck. “I think I win.”
Most people would gasp or flinch or something like that, but Kione doesn’t even blink. Instead, her expression changes into an almost-smile. “... Good game, I suppose. Keep improving—you may even become skilled enough to survive.” Suddenly, she’s turned serious again. Playtime is clearly over, you observe, watching her walk away. Why is Kione so unpredictable?
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(1/1) She keeps to herself at dinnertime.
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Magic Beginnings: Magical Girl Academy #1, by Kayla Bashe
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After dinner, but before bed, the entire school has reading hour. “When people read together, even if they’re reading different books, it brings them closer together!” That seems to be the motto of Reading Hour. Some girls flip through huge stacks of fashion magazines, while others curl up with enormously thick science textbooks. Still others get together and read novels of tragic romance so they can cry over the sad endings as a group.
You think you’ll…
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(1/3) Go outside and read with Aya
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(2/3) Go to the library and read with Sophia
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(3/3) Go to the library and read with Kione
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Magic Beginnings: Magical Girl Academy #1, by Kayla Bashe
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After dinner, but before bed, the entire school has reading hour. “When people read together, even if they’re reading different books, it brings them closer together!” That seems to be the motto of Reading Hour. Some girls flip through huge stacks of fashion magazines, while others curl up with enormously thick science textbooks. Still others get together and read novels of tragic romance so they can cry over the sad endings as a group.
You think you’ll…
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(1/3) Go outside and read with Aya
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(2/3) Go to the library and read with Sophia
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(3/3) Go to the library and read with Kione
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Magic Beginnings: Magical Girl Academy #1, by Kayla Bashe
——Press UP to make a choice
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Activities: Soccer club, swimming club, tennis club, Ultimate Frisbee club, Capture The Flag club, touch football club
Favorite things: Pineapple juice, sunny weather, the anticipation I feel when I’m lacing up my sneakers
Least favorite things: Having to stay inside when it’s raining, green tea ice cream, movies in which nothing happens
An accomplishment I’m proud of: At my old school, I won the gold medal in the All-Galaxy Girls’ Soccer Club Meet! Congratulations, everybody! We worked really hard. Go, team!
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(1/1) Choose Aya as your guide
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Magic Beginnings: Magical Girl Academy #1, by Kayla Bashe
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You find Aya leaning against a tree, reading a joke book. When she sees you, she gives you a big, cheerful wave and returns to her book almost immediately. Sitting beneath the tree, you lean back, letting the bark cool your skin. The patterns of shadow and light on your book’s pages, the peaceful movement of the wind through the tree leaves... you can really see why Aya likes this spot.
The only book that’s truly mandatory for new students to read is “The Magical Girl’s Guide,” a book written by the school’s founders. Most students would read it even if it wasn’t mandatory, though—it’s so helpful!
You really like the first section, “The Magical Girl’s Code.”
