up his hair and sat down to drink her coffee,
“for your big day.”
“Great,” he said, sliding his last pancake
across the plate with his fork. “You can watch
me fail.”
“Liam!” his mother scolded.
He stared down at his plate and sighed.
“Whatever choice I make,” he said, “I’m
going to regret it.”
For once in her life, his sister defended
him.
“You know what?” she said. “He’s prob-
ably right.”
When the big day came, Liam put on a
black suit. His dad had to show him how to
put on his tie. It was dark blue.
The Grand Wizard’s Court was an hour’s
drive through the countryside. It was raining,
but only a little. The rolling hills glistened
with moisture and reflected beams from
the sun that fought their way to the ground
through a layer of clouds.
A man came out from the castle to meet
them at their car. He had a long, white beard
and wore simple gray robes. He chatted with
Liam’s parents about the weather for a while,
and he got them both laughing at some joke
that Liam didn’t quite hear. He was too busy
staring at the old castle ahead of him, as if the
stones might tell him which spell he ought to
pick from the book.
“Well now,” the old wizard said to him.
“Didn’t mean to keep you waiting.” Then he
led Liam down the dirt path to the castle.
Liam’s parents had to wait by the car.
Those were the rules, and Liam was grateful.
He didn’t want his parents there watching
him make his choice. If he got nervous or
made a bad decision, his mother would have
remembered that moment perfectly forever.
“This day isn’t for them,” the wizard said,
as if he could read Liam’s thoughts. “It’s for
you. Don’t be nervous.”
Don’t be nervous? That was it? That was
his whole pep talk? Liam tried to think of
something clever and ironic to say in reply,
but he was so caught up in the beauty of the
castle that he had trouble thinking about
anything else. He loved the way the green ivy41