The package on my doorstep had my name, but I definitely didn't order it. It was a cardboard box with the Witchcraft Speed Delivery sticker on it, and my name scribbled in hasty, bold letters.
I peeked outside my dorm room only to find the halls deserted, which wasn't surprising considering that it was the middle of the night.
However, what startled me was the fact that the box appeared out of nowhere within the last couple of hours.
It wasn't the package or its contents that frightened me, but the idea that someone could be lurking nearby, and might witness what I was about to do tonight.
"What's that?" My roommate and best friend, Robin asked from behind.
"A delivery package," I replied.
"Your Mom sent you new clothes or something?" He raised his brows.
"Nah," I shook my head, "she'd never spend money on a speed delivery."
"Let's open it up then." Robin suggested innocently, but I could see that he was trying to stall me. Just so I'd change my mind.
"Are you chikening out on me?" I shot him a glare, and shoved the cardboard box inside the door with my foot before dragging Robin out with me. "We don't have time."
"Um... I– I get why you want the Headmaster's Magic Stamp, but don't you think it's a bit much to break into his office?" He asked, as he tried to keep up with my pace.
I narrowed my eyes. We were both suited up and ready to embark on the most daring quest of our senior year, something no one in the history of the Sorcerer's Academy had ever done, but here Robin was, getting cold feet.
"You know what will happen if I don't have the Magic Stamp tomorrow!" I whisper-shouted at him. "Everyone thinks I already have it. They'll call me a liar."
"But you never claimed to have it!" Robin pointed out. "They just assumed it on their own, and you didn't correct them. That's totally different."
Under normal circumstances, I would have agreed with Robin. In fact, when the rumor first began that I had stolen the Magic Stamp, I just rolled with it because I didn't really care of what people might say.
However, as the rumor circulated, I began to notice a change in everyone at school. I wasn't a dorky senior anymore, I was one of the cool kids.
My popularity skyrocketed, but what really pulled me deep was when the girl I had been crushing on for the past four years asked me out on her own.
The only problem was that I was supposed to bring the Magic Stamp to our date when I didn't actually have it. So I made up my mind to take the only logical route, and steal it from the Headmaster's office.
The clock was ticking. I had sixteen hours before my date with Eliza to get my hands on the Stamp, which meant that tonight was all I had.
"Robin, please." I sighed. "You know this is my only chance to get a girlfriend before college. I need your Luck spell to do this." I could've easily used the Luck Spell myself. In fact, everyone at school was taught how to cast it. However, for it to work, one needed to have luck in the first place. Robin was one of the rare few students in school, whose Luck Spell had a success rate of a hundred percent.
"I'm not saying I won't help you!" Robin exclaimed. "I'm just asking you to wait. I've learned this new spell from the Wizards Dark Web that allows me to move objects through dimensions. If you let me practice, I can summon the Stamp for you."
"We've already tried that last night," I reminded him. "It didn't work. Now let's just go." I shoved him ahead.
"Fine," he said, but he still raised a glowing finger to write the incantation activating his new spell, whatever it was. He waved his palm up, but nothing happened, no Magic Stamp conjured.
I sighed, increasing my pace. The dorm was right next to the school building, but we still jogged the rest of the way. The guard at the school gate was sitting still on his bench.
"Activate the Luck Spell," I told Robin.
"Already did," he replied, still busy waving his hand in hopes of making the Stamp appear.
"Stop that. You know it didn't work before," I tried to reason with him. "Why would it work now?"
"It did work!" Robin insisted. "The incantation I wrote glowed for a bit last night, but nothing happened. I'm trying to figure out what went wrong and fix it."
Once Robin was set on something, there was no stopping him, so I didn't bother.
Instead I approached the guard, not letting go of Robin's hand to get access to his luck. Fortunately, the guard turned out to be fast asleep.
I showed a thumbs-up to Robin.
We tiptoed ahead, until we reached the mahogany double doors to the Headmaster's office. I pushed them open, but they remained shut. Instead, an incantation appeared in the air in glowing, golden letters.
"It requires a password," I frowned. "We have to be really careful guessing it."
"Abracadabra," Robin snorted in a sarcastic tone.
Shockingly, the doors clicked open.
I stared at Robin with a look that said, "Dude, seriously?"
He flashed me a grin before following me inside.
The room was dark, so I wrote a basic incantation to illuminate it. The place lit up to reveal a large messy desk, and rows of bookshelves surrounding the walls.
"Let's start looking," I cracked my knuckles.
We spent the new few minutes rummaging through drawers, shelves and cupboards. Most were locked, but with Robin's luck, it was a breeze going through them.
At long last, my fingers brushed against a small engraved trunk in the last drawer of the Headmaster's desk. This drawer had quite a tricky spell lock, so my hopes were high.
I pulled out the trunk. It had a three layered spell protecting it. Even Robin's luck might not be enough to break it open, but I wasn't about to give up.
I clutched Robin's right hand, the one with the glowing incantation on his palm, and pried open the trunk. Inside laid a tiny wooden stamp attached to a golden chain. It appeared quite ordinary, but that wasn't the case.
The Headmaster's Magic Stamp was a tier 5 artifact heirloom that had been passed down from generations to the leading authorities of the Sorcerer's Academy. It had the ability to alter reality within the school's premises.
The only downside was that its effects lasted for a limited time, so it required logical reasoning and precision to be used.
Even with access to the Stamp, not everyone could handle it. However, I believed I was perfect for the job. I smiled, triumphantly holding the tiny object in my hand.
"Uh oh," Robin said.
I whipped my head, afraid of being caught when I was so close to my goal. There was no one around. "What?"
Robin raised his right hand towards me. The glowing incantation flickering out. "Looks like my luck ran out."
"We have to hurry!" I sealed the Stamp back into the trunk. I wanted to leave immediately, but the shiny surface of the trunk was too obvious, and might attract attention. Without Robin's Luck, we could be caught.
My eyes scanned the Headmaster's office, until they found a stack of boxes. I randomly picked an empty one, placed the trunk inside and turned to leave.
"Wait," Robin asked. He took the box from me and using a roll of duct tape from the Headmaster's desk, he sealed it shut. At last, he scribbled something on the top.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Just making sure that it looks like it belongs to you," he replied. "If the guard catches us, we can tell him you forgot this in class and we came to fetch it." Robin handed the box back to me.
Just as we were about to leave, we heard footsteps. Reflexively, I erased the incantation that illuminated the room, just in time for the doors to swing open.
It was the guard. He seemed startled. He must have woken up the moment Robin's luck ran out, and realized something was wrong.
I crouched behind the desk to hide from him, and saw Robin doing the same.
"Who's there?" His voice boomed.
The room bathed in light once more, and my heart jumped wildly. I gulped and exchanged a frantic glance with Robin.
If we got caught now, it would be over. With newfound determination, I channeled my magic into my fingertips and began to write an incantation for a sleeping spell.
Sweat beaded down my temples, my heart ready to jump out of my throat. Even such a basic spell seemed too tedious.
I was finishing it up when I someone tapped me on the back.
Cold sweat broke out on my body. I didn't turn. If my face would be seen, there would be no going back. Instead, I drew the final symbol of the incantation and whipped my hand behind me.
The guard collapsed on the ground, out like a log. I finally let out the breath I had been holding all this time.
"You did it!" Robin cheered. "Let's go now, before he wakes up!"
The reality sank in that we've managed to pull it off. I nodded enthusiastically.
We made our way outside as quietly as possible. By the time we reached the dormitory building, Robin was panting. He had never been much of a runner.
"Wait... for me...!" He huffed, raising his hand to indicate me to stop.
I slowed my pace and flashed him a smile, when suddenly, something blinding flashed across my vision. I squeezed my eyes shut. "What was that?"
I slowly looked up and saw an incantation flickering out on Robin's left palm. To my shock and horror, the box in my hands had vanished and it was nowhere to be seen.
"What was that spell?" I asked Robin, barely able to speak.
"The new one! I haven't practiced it much, but I was trying to summon the Stamp for you earlier. When it didn't work, I forgot to erase the incantation." He looked down. "It triggered on its own."
I looked at my empty hands and kicked the pavement. My knees suddenly went weak. All that effort and for nothing.
I could already picture myself being disgraced when the rest of the school would find out about me. Eliza would probably never go out with me now. I might be ostracized worse than Billy Sawyer, when he failed Professor Riti's Magic Law class.
I sank to my knees. It was over.
"Hey," Robin sat next to me. "I'm sorry, Bro. You know I didn't mean to do it."
"I know you didn't." I ran my fingers through my hair. "You have no idea where the Stamp might have gone?"
Robin shook his head. "It was supposed to be a summoning spell. I don't know why it would take something instead."
"Maybe you messed up the incantation?" I asked, hope resurfacing within me. "Let me have a look."
"Sure, but I wouldn't get my hopes up." Robin raised his left palm to me.
I carefully studied the remnants of the incantation and my eyebrows shot up. It was so obvious that a laugh bubbled out of my system.
Robin frowned at the sudden change in my mood. "What?"
"You didn't do it wrong the first time," I giggled. "This spell."
"What are you talking about?"
"Just come with me." I ran up the stairs and made my way to our dorm room where the recently arrived package still waited for me.
I grabbed the parcel and examined the tape wrapped around it, the penmanship in which my name was written, and the familiar Witchcraft Speed Delivery sticker on it. "Last night, you did succeed in summoning the Stamp." I laughed. "Only you summoned it from the future after we stole it."
Robin furrowed his brows. "You mean this package" A grin broke out on his face with the sudden realization. "You're telling me we had this all along?"
I ripped open the box. Inside, the tiny golden trunk with the Magic Stamp awaited me.
"See," Robin laughed. "Told you my spell would work."