A Spark of Magic

Ethan sat in class, his thoughts drifting to his classmates. Among them, two stood out in his mind, not exactly for reasons he was proud of. First, there was Alice, whom Ethan found to be proud and arrogant. "She acts as though she's above us all, as if we're unworthy of being her friends," he mused quietly to himself.

Then there was Albert, named after — you guessed it — Einstein. "His parents must be scientists, or physicists... or is that the same thing?" Ethan pondered, a bit unsure. Albert always had the answers, every question the teacher threw at him, every homework assignment — they were all effortlessly perfect. "Imagine having every homework done, every day, just like that," Ethan daydreamed, feeling a peculiar stir at the thought, almost as if magic had whispered back in response. He quickly dismissed the feeling, though.

Ethan had his own circle of friends, a group of popular kids: Angela, Jimmy, Kira, and Alex. They enjoyed each other's company, and Ethan felt at home with them.

On that particular day, Ethan needed to return a book to the school library. Leaving his friends behind, he ventured alone into the library hall, greeted by the familiar scent of books and the geometric patterns of sunlight streaming through the large windows. He moved lazily toward the librarian's desk.

However, on his way back, something sparkling caught his eye beneath one of the desks. Curious, Ethan bent down and reached out. It seemed like nothing was there, but the moment his fingers brushed the floor, the room burst into sparks, then returned to normal — except for Ethan's mind. Suddenly, he was filled with all the knowledge needed for that day's homework. The history test material for tomorrow, the math problems, everything assigned for today's learning was now clear in his head. "Wow," Ethan thought in awe, "That's real magic. How did this happen?"

The next day at school, Ethan found himself answering questions with the same ease as Albert, but without having studied a thing. It was magic, pure and simple. He knew all the homework, just like that.