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

tempting to ask every adult if they knew his dad, but his instincts told him that he should be careful. There may have been some truth to Detective Scott’s warning that he needed protection. After all, there was a killer out there.
    Elijah looked at the clock. He had a few minutes before Roddick said he would be finished with class, so he ran to the library. Maybe there was some kind of yearbook he could look through. When he asked, the librarian unloaded a massive book on Elijah that contained the names and pictures of all the students from the last few decades. He flipped through all the “H” names. There were no Hawks listed anywhere. He began going through the yearbook, page by page, looking at the pictures and reading the names written underneath.
    He found them! Right next to each other, he saw the unmistakable faces of his father and uncle, William and Stanley. However, the caption said their name was Benson, not Hawk. This really puzzled Elijah. Why did they change their name? He wished for Uncle Stan at that moment. Even if he was a criminal, Elijah had so many questions he needed to ask him. His uncle seemed to be the only person who could help.
    Elijah returned the book to the librarian and raced back to Roddick’s classroom hoping he wasn’t too late. Roddick would have been finished with his class for ten minutes already. He turned the corner as Roddick was closing up the classroom.
    “Hey, Elijah!”
    “Sorry I’m late, sir,” Elijah said panting.
    “Oh, you’re not late,” said Roddick. “I finished just now. I’m afraid if you get me talking about Charles Dickens, I lose track of time. I hope my students found it as fascinating as I did. My guess is no.” Roddick chuckled at his own joke. “So, where do you want to talk?”
    “I’m not quite sure I know of any places around here yet,” said Elijah.
    “Well then, do you want a tour? I’m a great tour guide,” Roddick said.
    “That sounds fine,” Elijah stated. “As long as we don’t see Chancellor Hawthorne.”
    “I don’t want to run into him either,” kidded Roddick. “Let’s just agree if we see him, we’ll go in a different direction.”
    Elijah smiled.
    Master Roddick walked him through the two long halls on the first floor and showed Elijah the different classrooms. The first floor contained the majority of the classrooms, the library, and the cafeteria. Roddick explained things to Elijah like how to check out books and when to turn them in. He also advised him when the best time was to eat meals, which food was good and which foods to steer clear of.
    “Try to stay away from the fish. We have good fishing in these parts, but for some reason, it tastes like rotten pork here. Go ahead and try it if you don’t believe me, but it’ll be the last time you do.”
    Master Roddick took Elijah through the halls of the second floor. Most of the rooms were science laboratories. There were a few other classrooms scattered about.
    “These classrooms are for the upper division students. If you’ve aced all your exams, and you’re still not old enough to move on to a university, you are allowed to work on a final project,” explained Roddick. “These classrooms are for those students.”
    “What’s a final project?” asked Elijah.
    “It’s where you get a year to basically do whatever interests you,” Roddick said. “You design your own work schedule and curriculum.”
    “Wow. That sounds like fun,” said Elijah.
    “It can be,” said Roddick. “But it’s also a lot of work, and not many students get to that point. But if they do, they’re advised by one of us, and we keep them on track.”
    “Do you have a student you’re advising?” asked Elijah.
    Roddick snickered. “No. Not officially anyway.”
    “What do you mean?” asked Elijah.
    Roddick paused a moment. “I’m afraid I have a little too much on my plate right now.” Elijah wondered if he would be able to work with Roddick if he ever got to do a