The Magi (The Magi Series) by Kevin M. Turner

simple desks sat snug against the wall closest to the door. Across from the desks were two closets. His uniforms were already neatly hung in one.
    Elijah walked over to the desk. Sure enough, there was a piece of paper with a to-do list on it. He had four classes this term: literature, history, arithmetic, and biology. His chore for the remainder of term was to clean the hall bathrooms. The paper informed him that his work would be randomly inspected three times a week.
    “When am I supposed to do the chores?” he asked, turning toward Samuel. “It doesn’t say.”
    “Whenever you can,” answered Samuel, looking up from his book. “Probably right after classes in case you get inspected.”
    “What’s your chore?” asked Elijah.
    “I work in the kitchen for breakfast. I have to be up at five to get the breakfast ready at seven.” Samuel made a face showing his displeasure with the early wake-up time.
    “That doesn’t sound like fun,” Elijah said.
    “I suppose cleaning toilets is much better?” Samuel smiled up at Elijah and then looked back down at his book. “That’s right. I looked at your chore list. You’ll get used to it, though. I’ve only been here a few weeks, but I own that kitchen. In fact, you could call me the master of breakfast.” Samuel made a sarcastic salute from his bed.
    Elijah tried to soak in all the information that he had just learned. He hoped he could get used to everything, but no matter how well he cleaned those bathrooms, he never wanted to be known as the toilet master.
     
    Samuel had already left for the morning when Elijah woke up, so he was on his own to eat and find his classes. He rushed out of the hall and asked the first person he came across where his literature class was. The boy told him the way and Elijah ran as fast as he could, lugging his pack filled with books.
    Surprisingly, he was the first student to arrive. The teacher was very tall with long, shaggy brown hair that didn’t quite get to his shoulders. He had the look of an energetic youth, but the wisdom of an older man. Elijah guessed he was a little younger than his parents. He didn’t look at all like a literature teacher. In fact, he looked exactly the opposite of most of the other adults he had seen on campus.
    “Hello, young man. Elijah I presume?” said the teacher.
    “Yes, sir—I mean Master—er—sir.”
    The teacher laughed and turned to write on the board.
    “Sounds like Hawthorne got to you. I’ll let him know his scare tactics are working. I’m surprised he didn’t make you call him ‘His Lordship’–or did he?” Elijah liked this teacher immediately. “My name’s Glen Roddick. You have your books?”
    “I think so,” said Elijah. He pulled out a large textbook and two Shakespeare plays.
    “You won’t need the plays for a couple of weeks,” said Roddick, looking over Elijah’s materials, “but you’ll need that textbook today.” He looked up at Elijah. “So, I hear you’ve been through quite a lot lately. How are you handling all of this change?”
    “Not good,” Elijah admitted. “I’m not sure I fit in with all of this.” Roddick frowned at Elijah’s answer and paused.
    “I’m very sorry to hear that. I’ll tell you what,” Roddick said more cheerfully. “When your day is over, come find me. I think I can help. We do a good job here at Saint Phillip’s keeping kids in the dark. I may be able to ease your mind a bit.” Roddick smiled at Elijah and then turned back to the board. “Only if you want.” Elijah thought that it might be nice to talk to someone who seemed to sympathize with him. He thought maybe Master Roddick could help him adjust to this new life, even if it was just a pep talk, so he agreed.
    The rest of class was uneventful as were the next two classes. History was spent learning about medieval chivalry and the beginnings of the crusades. Elijah found himself drawing swords and shields during the discussion. Math was the same. He did