Demons, Witches, and Toads (BoyxBoy) - Chapter 12: Chapter 12

"IMPOSTER! HE'S AN IMPOSTER!" Robin yelled again, pointing a large finger directly in Wheeler's direction.
All Wheeler could do was stare wide eyed, his face ashen.
Robin abruptly began marching towards him, the students cringing as he passed from the awful smell oozing off his skin. Robin looked awful, covered in thick reddish mud with sticks and leaves sticking up from his hair and clothes.
"Shit," Mulock muttered from beneath Wheeler's chair. "He's supposed to be dead."
"You tried to kill him?!" Wheeler hissed.
"Duh. I tied him to a tree in the middle of the Succulent Swamp. I figured trolls would come and eat him before he even woke up."
Wheeler buried his face in his hands, Robin still moving towards him.
This was a disaster.
"What is the meaning of this," the headmistress asked sharply.
At last Robin reached him, his arm shootings forward to grab Wheeler by the collar, yanking him to his feet.
"This piece of shit set me up," he snarled. "He lured me into the woods, knocked me out, and then left me floating in the middle of a swamp before taking my place."
Wheeler needed to think of an excuse; a perfect rebuttal that would stop this boy's argument in its tracks.
After several seconds of thinking Wheeler finally blurted his response.
"Uh...no I didn't."
"Yes you did!" Robin growled.
"He's lying. I don't know who this person is," Wheeler stammered.
"Like hell you do!"
"Enough," the headmistress said, her voice surprisingly calm. "There's an easy way to settle this." She removed a thin wooden wand, waving it above the two boys' heads. "Riˈtərn." As the words left her mouth, to his horror, Wheeler felt his body shifting again, his hands shrinking, short hair springing into thick brown curls.
A ripple of shock passed through the students.
Now standing before them was the real Wheeler Trevil.
Wheeler shrunk back, hating the way their eyes seared into him.
The angriest expression of all belonged to Milton Slengeborn.
"You," he growled, moving with frightening speed to stand beside the headmistress. "You're the boy we had to quite literally throw out of the academy."
"I'm so sorry," Wheeler stammered, bowing his head. "I didn't mean to cause all this trouble. And Robin, I know I shouldn't have tried to take your place. It was desperate and stupid of me. I just..." his throat felt tight and, despite himself, he couldn't fight back the unforgiving burn of tears. "I just couldn't give up. This place has been my dream my entire life and without it I..." He stopped for a moment to awkwardly wipe his eyes with one hand. "Please, just give me another chance." Frantically, his trembling hands fumbled for his wand. "I promise, if you let me try just one more time then I--"
"You had your opportunity and you failed," Milton interrupted. "Now get out--"
"Wait," Vera interrupted, holding out a hand. She was staring at Wheeler intently, watching him the way one might a puzzle with a single missing piece. Her gaze flickered to his eyes, then his curls, then across his freckles and down the line of his jaw.
"Where exactly did you come from, Mister Trevil?" Vera asked slowly, still taking him in.
Wheeler swallowed hard. "Um...the northern countryside, Miss."
The headmistress's expression had grown unreadable. "Funny, I knew someone raised there a long time ago." A small smile tugged at her lips and slowly she turned to Milton. "I say we let him retake the exam."
The professor's mouth nearly hit the floor. "You can't be serious. I've seen this boy's 'talent' first hand. He has absolutely no magical abilities whatsoever and should be removed at once."
"But he has drive and dedication," Vera murmured. "He found a way to switch places with Robin and managed to fool everyone, even us. If his real counterpart didn't show up he may have never been discovered. Clearly that takes some sort of talent."
"Are you forgetting that this jerk left me in a freaking SWAMP!" Robin angrily pointed out.
"He should stop complaining," Mulock muttered from beneath the chair, just loud enough for only Wheeler to hear. "He should have died in that swamp. God, I can't get away with a single convenient child murder today, can I?"
Wheeler grimaced. He didn't often have regrets...but maybe teaming up with a demon had been a really, REALLY, bad idea after all. Who knew it would take two attempted murders in one day for him to finally realize that?
"Uh...the swamp was just a prank," Wheeler stammered nervously. "I didn't mean any harm."
"Bull! That's freaking bull and you know it!" Robin snapped.
"Listen, prank or no prank," Milton said sharply, "we can't have someone like him among us. It's against our principals."
"Then how about this," Vera said. "We give him an extremely advanced exam, right here right now. If he passes he can remain, if not, he's removed immediately."
Milton crossed his arms, letting out a low huff. "He couldn't make it past the first spell on the regular exam. How the hell do you expect him to pass an advanced one?"
"Well," Vera mused, "if your expert opinion is that he'll fail and be kicked out regardless then there's no harm in just letting him try, right?"
Milton didn't say anything for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh, adjusting his spectacles. "Alright fine, we'll let him take the exam. But when he fails, which he will, I would like the honor of dragging him out the door with my own two hands."
"Deal," Vera said, offering him an easy smile before glancing back to Wheeler. "Are you ready?"
He wasn't.
God knew he wasn't.
Despite now having powers gifted from a demon, the boy still had yet to cast even a single spell.
But all Wheeler could do was offer the headmistress a stiff nod.
"Good," Vera said slowly. "Because this really is your last chance."