Interlude 1 - Sophia's Story

Seth Blake was 29 years old and was living at home with his parents. Having zero ambition, he stayed in his basement bedroom playing computer games all day. Never making friends, never leaving the house. Never finding a job that lasted beyond a week.

That was until the day his mom and dad gave him an ultimatum. 

“Find a job or we’re kicking you out,” Mr. Blake told his only son.

There wasn’t much to do in Weatherford. Most graduates of Weatherford County High stayed in Weatherford or surrounding towns and farmed. Farming would mean Seth would have to get his hands dirty. There was also going away to college, for which his family neither had the financial means, nor did Seth have the academic means.

Most of the successful people to get out of Weatherford were the girls down the street at Puellae Aurora Academy. There was only one problem. That was an all-girls school. And very exclusive. They kept to themselves and enrollment was next to impossible.

So when Seth saw an online posting for IT help at Puellae Aurora, he jumped at it. He could brag on social media that he got a job at an exclusive academy to the few high school classmates he followed on Facebook. Those classmates were always the ones who had bragged that they left Weatherford and got jobs in bigger towns and cities. Getting this job would also prove to his parents he could hold a job.

Working at PAA was kinda nice for Seth. He spent most of his time alone, in computer labs and assisting teachers with getting their computers and projectors to work. Sometimes he’d even help the students with their dorm Wi-Fi.

During those times, Seth would have to interact with the students, but given a choice, would rather just be alone with the computers. In fact, there were times he felt jealous of the girls on campus. They had their whole lives ahead of them. At 29, he felt he was at the end of his.

One day, a teacher took interest in him. Mrs. Vansi. She was one of the older teachers and sported white hair, but few wrinkles. She would strike up a conversation with Seth while he was fixing her computer. This was despite him being cold and shy.

They started to see each other every day. Mrs. Vansi would call him to her classroom, pretending to have a problem with her computer or projector. After all, no one could be that bad with technology, right? Seth wondered if Mrs. Vansi was a cougar looking for a younger guy.

Slowly he opened up to her and told her about his life, his parents, and his dream for a different life - one that never materialized. He told her why he only wore long sleeves.

“I wish I could just be a different person,” Seth finally told Mrs. Vansi. He was kicking himself when he left that evening. He was damaged, and he told this woman his dark truths. How could she possibly like him anymore after that?

Mrs. Vansi understood everything. 

Then on Seth’s 30th birthday, Mrs. Vansi called Seth to her classroom, not even needing to pretend to have IT issues.

Seth Blake arrived at Mrs. Vansi’s classroom where she presented him with a cupcake sporting a single lit candle on top.

“Happy Birthday, Seth,” the teacher said.

“You shouldn’t have,” Seth replied. But that was a lie. Seth had gotten to know Mrs. Vansi, and cherished their daily interaction. In fact, despite the cougar vibes, Seth saw Mrs. Vansi more as a parental figure. More so than his real parents.

“Make a wish,” she smiled.

Seth didn’t believe in wishes, but silently wished anyway for a better life, then blew out the candle.

“To new beginnings,” Mrs. Vansi said with a warm smile.

“Thank you for the cupcake,” Seth said, removing the cupcake wrapper and biting into it. “Hmm, chocolate.”

“You know, Seth,” the teacher said, “I’ve enjoyed these past few months since I’ve gotten to know you.”

“Same,” Seth said through a full mouth. He wondered where she was going with this.

“In fact, I consider you like... a daughter to me.”

He looked at her curiously. Surely he misheard. ‘Daughter’ is a weird word for her to use, Seth thought. Sure, he started to think of her as a mentor. But ‘daughter’? 

“You know I’m a witch, right?” the teacher inquired.

The revelation snapped Seth out of his musing. “A what?”

“And you know this isn’t a normal school, right?”

“I uh…”

Seth suddenly felt sick to his stomach and his forehead was burning up. “I don’t feel so good. I… think I should go home.” He clutched his stomach and grabbed onto the teacher’s desk for support.

“I’ll call the nurse,” Mrs. Vansi said, picking up the classroom phone.

“No, no, I just want to go home,” Seth insisted, feeling a gurgle in his stomach. In addition to that, his chest started to hurt. "Am I having a heart attack?" Seth wondered. “I’m too young for that.”

He let go of the desk and fell to his knees as he grabbed his chest. As he grabbed his heart he felt something else. Something that didn’t belong on his chest. He looked down to see his shirt was tenting up and one of his hands grabbing… a breast? Then he felt a sharp pain in his groin. “What’s wrong with me? Am I going to die?”

“No, Sophia, you’re just going through some changes,” the teacher calmly replied.

‘Sophia?’ Seth thought. Maybe this illness was messing with his mind. He then fell to the floor.

Mrs. Vansi rushed to him. “Shh,” she cooed. “Just relax, Sophia, my sweet daughter. Close your eyes and let it all pass over you.”

He had no choice and closed his eyes and passed out from the pain.

When Seth woke up, he was in the nurse's office wearing a hospital gown. Mrs. Vansi was there holding a cold compress on his head.

“What happened?” Seth whispered groggily.

“What you wished for,” Mrs. Vansi replied. “What you always wanted.” She handed Seth a hand mirror.

In the mirror he saw a young girl and started to panic. “What happened!” He reached down and grabbed his breasts again. Then he reached down to his groin. “It’s gone!”

“It’s OK, Sophia. Remember I did this for you. You’re going to attend school here. You have your whole future ahead of you now.”

Seth quickly sat up to face Mrs. Vansi. “Undo this!” Seth pleaded. “I don’t want this. Turn me back!”

With a single knock the door opened and school security filed into the nurse’s office. Were they here for him, he wondered, and started to panic.

“I love you Sophia!” called Mrs. Vansi as the security guards left with her and escorted her off school property.

Seth sat there, surprised and confused, about what had just happened.

Later that day, Seth found himself sitting in the Headmistress’s office, wearing his now-baggy clothes. He was nervously tapping his foot. He felt wrong. Was it this body or these clothes? He wanted to go home so no one could see him.

“Mrs. Vansi was fired,” Ms. Hathaway explained. “Unsanctioned and improper use of magic. But, her last wish was for you to enroll here at Puellae Aurora Academy. And I’ve always respected her opinion even though her means were reckless. So. A second chance for a promising young woman - but that’s entirely up to you.”

A promising young woman? Seth thought. Visions of the students on campus came to his mind. He remembered how jealous he was of them. But that wasn’t his life. “Can I turn back?” Seth asked the Headmistress.

“Yes.” Mrs. Hathway turned around, and reached for something behind her. She brought out another cupcake. “She left this with me. For you to change back. Eat this, Seth, and return to being your former 30-year-old self. Or don’t - and accept the second chance Mrs. Vansi has given you, Sophia, and I’ll enroll you in school as a freshman with your whole life ahead of you.”

Seth wanted to go ahead and bite that cupcake and return to normal. But he couldn’t ignore the idea that was just planted in his head. A second chance? A whole new life? This was a lot for him to think about. “Can I sleep on it?” Seth asked, confusion showing plainly on his face.

“You may.”

Seth returned home. 

His parents were unable to comprehend that this teenage girl in front of them was their son. They called him all sorts of demeaning names. As he was crying in his basement bedroom, his phone lit up with a text from a number he had saved there. 

It was Mrs. Vansi. “My daughter, I’m sorry I put you in this predicament. Seth or Sophia? It’s your choice.”

As Seth listened to the arguing from upstairs, he overheard his so-called parents say they were set on kicking him out in the morning. The answer was clear. 

Sophia Blake typed back on her phone. “Hi Mom, I’ve made my decision.”