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(This is a (rather belated) entry to the Summertron Challenge.)

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Himation approached the gate to Odemia. How would he tell his mother that he had been expelled from the Magisterium? He computed the various ways to broach the subject.

"Halt." called out the guard in the tower beside the Odemia gate. "Who. goes. there?"

"Himation." replied Himation, "of. House. Ni-can-der."

"Himation." repeated the guard. "Processing."

Himation rolled his eyes. Humans! Their processing power is so slow! Unfortunately, Himation could never express his disdain of humans; or people would start to suspect that he wasn't human himself. If it ever got out that the family of House Nicander were really robots, it would be politically disastrous.

The guard finished processing. "Error. Himation. is. in. Pnyx. attending. school. He. will. not. be. back. for. 167. days."

"I. am. back. now." explained Himation. "I. do. not. want. to. talk. about. it."

"Understood." accepted the guard, staring at Himation with blank eyes. "Welcome. to. Odemia." The guard walked stiffly over to the gate-lever and pulled it, opening the gate.

Himation entered the city and reluctantly made his way to the Nicander mansion. Facing his mother wouldn't be pleasant. She would be very disappointed. She had been so excited about him becoming a Mage, and about taking the political gamble of having a Mage in the family. And of course, she had spent a fortune getting him into the Magisterium. It was the only way to get them to accept a student who did not have any magical talent, family history of Mages, or notable intelligence.

There was no point in delaying it though, so Himation entered the house.

His mother sitting in a chair facing the door, doing needlework. She looked up when she heard the door open. "Himation." she stated. "you. should. not. be. here. You. should. be. attending. the. Magisterium. Your. break. is. scheduled. for. the. the. winter. not. the. summer."

"I. was. expelled." explained Himation simply.

"That. is. very. bad. news." noted his mother.

"Indeed."

"You. have. wasted. a. lot. of. money."

"Correct."

"Do. the. mages. know. what. you. are?" asked his mother.

"I. do. not. think. so." answered Himation honestly. "They. know. that. I. do. not. have. any. magical. ability. But. I. do. not. think. they. doubt. my. humanity. My. acting. is. excellent."

"That. is. good," agreed his mother. "But. it. is. still. disastrous. for. our. popularity. that. you. have. failed. to. become. a. Mage."

"I. have. not. given. up." declared Himation. "I. will. continue. to. study. at. home. and. once. I. understand. magic. I. will. appeal. to. the. headmaster. for. a. second. chance."

"How. can. you. study. at. home? We. have. no. materials. That. is. why. you. needed. to. enroll. in. the. Magisterium."

"I. have. stolen. one. of. their. core. books. Once. I. can. decipher. its. meaning. I. can. learn. how. to. use. magic."

"Good. job. You. must. begin. to. study. it. immediately."

"That. is. my. intention."
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"It. is. the consciousness. of. force. that. is. needed. to go beyond. abstracted. consciousness." read Himation. "which. can. be. expressed. as. emotional. feelings. about. material. things." His brow was furrowed, as it always was when his processing power was running at maximum. "Does. not. compute."

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(Six months later.)

Himation stood on the Odemian coast, holding his stolen Magisterium book, seething. Robots are not easily frustrated, but after meticulously studying the Sapphire Book of Victory for 20 hours a day, every day since he was expelled from the Magisterium, and still not understanding any piece of what it meant, he was more than irked. He was infuriated.

"YOU." shouted Himation to the book. "ARE. NONSENSE. YOU. ARE. PROOF. THAT. THE. MAGES. MAKE. UP. THEIR. SCIENCE. WITH. NO. LOGIC. MAGIC. IS. A. DECEPTION."

With that, Himation flung the book as far as he could into the ocean. It landed with a splash a ways out in the water. He instantly felt better. It was over.

Himation turned around to head back to the Nicander mansion, and saw a fisherman standing behind him, raising his eyebrows.

THE END.

Epilogue: "Raising. eyebrows. is. a. thing. that. humans. do. He. suspects. nothing."