June, 1995
"Don't forget your lunch."
Lily rolled here eyes at her aunt as she hurried back to grab the plastic Tupperware box on counter.
Aunt Tilly gave her ensemble the usual eyebrow. Her aunt liked bright, floral patterns. Usually in halter form, as she had to allow for her large, amber butterfly wings.
Lily, on the other hand, was wearing a black skirt, her Doc Martens, a Nirvana t-shirt and a leather jacket. Her aunt was constantly harping on at her to add more colour to her wardrobe.
"Got it," Lily assured her before hurrying out the front door.
"Love you!" her aunt called after her.
"Yep," Lily replied as the door shut behind her.
At the front garden, her best friend, Jason, was waiting for her.
"Your aunt not see you out?" he asked her, not even bothering to hide his disappointment.
"I have told you how creepy your crush on her is, yes?"
"She's not that much older than me," he claimed as he got on his skateboard.
"No, she just looks that way. She turned thirty last month."
"Damn. Really?"
"Yup."
"Freaking magic..."
Lily tried not to glower at that. She knew that her bad mood was mostly down to having to see Miss Smith during form, but she couldn't help it.
"Tab?" she asked, holding her hand out towards Jason.
He rolled his eyes. "These cost money, you know," he said, though he passed her one without hesitation before handing her a lighter.
"Aunt Tilly stopped my allowance after her last lecture."
"So get a job."
"Not allowed. Not while I'm in the stupid-kid classes."
Jason frowned. "You're the top of every class."
"Top of every Human class. Magically-speaking, I'm 'stunted'."
"Yeah, well, screw magic, then. Just be Human."
"Easy for you to say. You're not the daughter of the freaking-" She cut herself off, remembering why she never spoke about her mother. She didn't need the baggage. The magic kids all knew already, which only made Lily's inability with magic even more embarrassing. It was why she only hung around with Jason. He was Human, and too oblivious to notice the stares the magic kids gave her.
She shook her head. "It's not that simple," she settled for saying as they reached the school gates.
"Tab out!" Mrs Holt, the PE teacher, yelled at her from across the yard.
Lily rolled her eyes, but did as she was told.
"I'll catch up with you later," Lily said with a wave of her hand. "I've got to see Miss Smith."
"Good luck."
Lily ignored that sentiment as she hurried into school. Luck wouldn't change the fact that she couldn't manage even the most basic of spells. Most people broke through as soon as they hit puberty, and Lily was pretty sure that, at five foot nine with a full figure, she had stopped growing.
She arrived just in time to see Miss Smith heading towards her office, her arms filled with paper.
"What's all that?" Lily asked as she helped with the door. She may not like the fact that she had to see her, but her Elven-Witch mentor wasn't that bad.
"My new theory."
"New theory?"
Miss Smith sat behind her desk, and Lily took her usual spot on the other side.
"Have you ever heard of the Litcorde?"
"No."
"They're a kind of Witch. Most Witches have a fairly even spread of ability across all kinds of magic. Litcorde usually heavily specialise in one area, but struggle in others. They are also usually late bloomers, like you."
Lily sighed. "But I'm not a Witch. I think my bloodline might have a little of everything but Witch in it."
"Well, that's what the paper is about. There's a new theory that Litcorde aren't specific to Witches. There is a Human condition called autism, which we think may just be another name for Litcorde."
Lily frowned. "You mean like Rain Man?"
"Humans have a narrow definition of autism, but the Litcorde are a very diverse group. For a long while, they thought that they couldn't be the same thing, because autism was thought to almost exclusively occur in boys."
"And 99% of Witches are women."
"Exactly."
"But... Have there ever been Litcorde that aren't Witches? I mean, just being a late-bloomer doesn't seem substantial enough."
"Litcorde also struggle socially."
"I don't struggle..."
Miss Smith raised an eyebrow at that, but decided not to address it. "They also tend to focus on on specific subjects, gaining near-encyclopedic knowledge of them."
"I don't do that..."
Miss Smith raised an eyebrow. "Ah yes, because all teenage girls memorise statistics on suicide."
"I thought we all agreed that was a coping mechanism."
"And yesterday's half hour rant about how Jabba the Hutt was a seal-man in the comics?"
Lily didn't have an answer to that. She simply folded her arms with a sigh.
"So, I'm not magically stunted, I'm just messed up in a Human capacity?"
Miss Smith frowned a little. "I'll admit, the Humans do not look kindly on autism, but the Litcorde are well regarded among the Covens. It's generally considered a good thing to have a few. I've been talking with my mother and she has given me some texts that she uses for those in her Coven."
"So this... This will help me to use my magic?"
"No," Miss Smith admitted. "As I said, Litcorde are usually late-bloomers. There's nothing you can do to break through more quickly, but now you know that you will, and we can focus on finding your speciality when you do."
Lily nodded, surprised that she felt a little better to have a word for what had been going on with her.
"So, what else can you tell me about Litcorde?"
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AN: So, the plan here will be to update this story on a weekly basis, putting up a new part every Thursday. I don't know how long this schedule will last, but a girl can have aspirations.
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