The first step

"Finally, I got into this damn wizard school," muttered the young man of short stature to himself, clad in a black cloak, and his hazel eyes coldly stared into the spacious hall of the school, where life was buzzing: students engaged in lively conversations and laughter, merging into a hum, dispersed in different directions, while teachers walked briskly for their lunch break. Wrapping his scarf, he headed towards the registration desk. A girl in a gray cloak, with long light hair partially covering her blue eyes, greeted him warmly:

"Good evening, young man. What's your name?"

To which the scarf-clad young man promptly replied:

"Good evening, my name is Gurzhik, and I'm here for the first time. Could you tell me what's what around here?"

Smiling, the girl politely answered:

"Nice to meet you, Gurzhik. Welcome to Ezerion. Here, you will learn to control your magical abilities and discover many interesting things about magic. You need to go to room No. 101, where your further registration will take place with the other freshmen. Do you have any questions?"

Gurzhik nodded, smiling imperturbably, and replied:

"No. Thank you for the information."

Walking through the bustling student-filled corridors, he thought:

"Well, well... What a place... Crowds of savages, seeking their way in life... But for what?.."

Entering the classroom, he was greeted by Professor Merlindor, dressed in a dark-purple cloak with a red tie.

He called out to Gurzhik:

"Hello. Come in."

"Good evening," the young man waved off reluctantly.

The professor, absorbed in writing something on faded scrolls at the other end of the classroom, only occasionally glanced out of the round window, where crystal raindrops melodically tapped in unison with the wind's roar. Suddenly, he cast a glance at the scarf-clad young man and said:

"Go to the left, there you will find the last stage of enrollment."

Following Professor Merlindor's instructions, Gurzhik walked to the left and encountered a scene: a small line of about a dozen people standing near tall ancient doors adorned with runes leading to another room. Silence reigned around, occasionally interrupted by the whispers of students. Gurzhik, after surveying the scene, leisurely joined the line and thought to himself:

"So, I've fulfilled your dream, father. What will fate hold for me this time?.. Do I have enough strength to endure the storm looming over me?.."

Hearing a faint whisper from students discussing the upcoming moment of their destinies, Gurzhik, with lowered eyelids, thought:

"People, like shadows in the gray palette of life, wander among the shades of existence; their fates dim in the cold tapestry of time."

His gaze briefly brushed over a tall guy with glasses who incessantly chatted about how everything would turn out great for the newcomers, how a new chapter in their lives awaited them, brighter than all the others combined.

Suddenly, someone behind the door shouted, interrupting his grandiloquent speech:

"Artemon!"

"Here!" exclaimed the tall guy in a black cloak with brown hair, a barely noticeable gray streak showing amidst the strands, and his glasses, sparkling in the darkness, hiding his yellow eyes. Anticipating the sweetness of the upcoming moments, he exclaimed half-whispered:

"What a day!"

Gurzhik, noticing Artemon, mumbled to himself:

"What an intrusive simpleton... Hopefully, I won't encounter him again. I've never liked such people."

The line reached Gurzhik, and he entered the dimly lit room, causing a slight tingling sensation in his stomach, a companion that always accompanied him in anxious moments of his life. The young man approached the registration window, where he was asked to fill in his personal details. After completing the procedure, a voice from the other side of the wall sounded:

"Thank you for completing the registration; you are officially a student of Ezerion School of Wizards! You are enrolled in the Galaxar group. Here is your student ID and record book. Good luck in your studies!"

"Thank you. Goodbye," quietly uttered the young man with the scarf.

"Goodbye."

Exiting the corridor, he crossed eyes with Artemon, who, in the joy of the moment, asked Gurzhik:

"Isn't it awesome?! Now we are students of the wizard school. Have a successful study!"

And shouting something, Artemon headed further, congratulating other freshmen.

Gurzhik, bewildered, thought:

"What was that just now?... I don't even know him! Why is he behaving like this?.. God forbid I meet him again..."

Next, the young man with the scarf went towards the main hall, as there was the board with the schedule of classes. Examining the board and finding his group, Gurzhik whispered:

"I hope at least this time everything will be normal: no lunatic in my group who is eager to annoy me... Please..."

A week later, Gurzhik returned to Ezerion to acquire the magical knowledge he longed for. Hurrying through the corridors, he finally found the auditorium he needed, where "Fundamentals of Teleportation" had been in session for 5 minutes. Tapping lightly on the door and, apologetically entering the class, Gurzhik observed the filled rows of the auditorium. Spotting an empty seat, he quickly made his way there, but noticing Artemon, he grumbled quietly:

"Are you kidding me?... Well, it could be worse. I hope he won't bother me with his chatter."

Surprisingly, the class went quite smoothly for Gurzhik. Retrieving his notes, the young man was about to head for the exit, but Artemon suddenly blocked his way. Gurzhik, deliberately lifting his head slowly, asked:

"What do you want?"

"Listen, don't you want to go to the cafeteria?" Artemon asked politely.

"No," grumbled Gurzhik.

"Okay, sorry for the disturbance."

Without saying anything, Gurzhik went to find the next auditorium.

After a day of studying without incidents, the young man whispered quietly:

"So, the day has passed."

Having finished his classes, Gurzhik decided to spend the remaining time in the library, delving into the study of magic.