A bad place for tricks

Teacher Nali was excited because the baron's knight himself had assigned her tasks and given her a very short deadline. But in compensation, she had in her hands the symbol of nobility in the form of a metal plaque with the name "Baron Roderick - Order of the Silver Claws" in large letters. Next to it, in smaller bronze letters, it read "at the service of...".

That city stood tall through great effort; having someone at the service of Baron Roderick meant honor for the person and profit for the merchants, as well as benefits for the city, which for a long time had not attracted the interest of the four great nobles, as the barons were called. The best known of them, for being just and benevolent, was also the sponsor of the city's main school, Baron Roderick Von Shift. The most reclusive and belligerent baron was Baron Mordur Von Baldier, "The Badger," as the population called him. The third and mysterious one was Baron Grafith Von Crusher, "The Crusher." Lastly, the most powerful among them was Baron Dracal Von Linus, "The Savage".

However, there was teacher Nali, happy to be chosen to help in the transformation of her school. Even if she didn't want to admit it, she was sure that all this was only possible thanks to the courage of that boy she so despised and mistreated from the first day she met him. But at the moment, she felt grateful because that was in the past and her life was in a new phase. Lost in these thoughts, she headed to the bathroom. Since early morning, she had been preparing for the presentation that would take place in the courtyard; she needed to be impeccable in front of her colleagues, as they were all dying of envy of her. It was something she could easily notice, as it seemed to eat them up to see that she was ahead of a significant change in the school, perhaps even a change for the city.

The importance of that event could be noted by the number of parents, students, and visitors driven by curiosity that something extraordinary would happen there. After all, the rumors had spread faster than expected. But Nali didn't even want to think about it; all she wanted was to use the bathroom as quickly as possible because she hadn't counted on something unexpected: the broquitos that Little Joe talked about and ate so much. Feeling tempted by so much hype, she decided to try them. And, without knowing they would harm her, she ate a reasonable amount of those broquitos. Now she was already feeling their effects in her stomach.

"What was happening?" asked Little Joe restlessly.

"Be quiet, do you want us to be discovered? I'll show you something you've never seen in your life."

Dimmy was in agony and at the same time anxious to be hidden in that bathroom, looking like a thief about to do something wrong. Rummaging through his pockets, he took out a small gem, big enough to be perceived as a self-shining stone.

It shone so brightly that Dimmy's expressions seemed eerie as the light's angle hit his face. Frightened, Little Joe stepped back a little and, showing fear, said:

"I don't want anything, I just want to get out of here."

But Dimmy didn't give up and tried to convince Little Joe that it was really good.

"Little Joe, this is really special to me, but I can let you use it if you want."

When Little Joe was ready to strike his friend, he saw that the stone not only shone but also twinkled like a firefly. In this process, it shone with such intensity that it lit up the entire interior of that bathroom. So, Little Joe changed his mind and, excited, was sure that Dimmy wanted to share something really incredible with him. Dimmy placed the stone in one of his hands and brought it close to his face.

"Wow, that's cool! Let me take it."

Then Dimmy changed the position of his hand and relocated the shining gem so that it was in the middle of his two cupped hands. Then, he rubbed it slowly until it changed color and began to float. Little Joe could no longer contain his curiosity and advanced to take the shining gem from his friend's hands.

"No, first let me show you how to do it, then you can try, but I doubt you'll manage," said Dimmy in a mocking tone.

"Then hurry up!" urged Little Joe.

Changing the position of his hands, Dimmy took another stone of the same type from his pocket, but much smaller.

"Here, this is for you," he said, handing it to Little Joe, who made a face. "Whatever you want me to do with this, it's unfair. Look at the size of mine, I don't think it will float like yours."

"Let me explain how you have to do it. First, put it in one hand and think of it as a star and make it twinkle. Then put it exactly in the center of both hands, as I did, and think that it has to float, feel it vibrate. When that happens, open one hand and let it rise slowly."

"And then what do I do?" asked Little Joe.

"We'll start together, and when it starts to float, close your eyes for a moment. When I say 'now,' you open your eyes, squeeze hard, and look right into the center of my eyes. Then you'll see the transformation happen right before you."

Everything was going well, but Little Joe began to hear noises on the bathroom wall, as if a creature or something similar was trying to climb it. He preferred not to say anything to his friend; after all, he was believing that Dimmy, as important as he was, wouldn't play a trick. That was going to be awesome.