An Unexpected Brew

by J E Mueller

  “No…” But it gave me an idea. “I do have the loft upstairs. At least there’s a somewhat living room. Really, it’s all one giant room. Slightly less weird, but still weird. Couldn’t you have come in the fall when it’s nice out?”

  He laughed. “I was around the other half of the country then. It’s been a busy year of travel.”

  “Do you miss home?” I asked curiously.

  “Here and there. It’s been fun meeting a lot of people. A couple of locations were rather flat on that end, but whatever.” He shrugged.

  “That sucks.” I noticed Diamond pull in. “Hey, my sister’s here. So, either you can sneak out the back or come upstairs.”

  “Do you want to practice? I’m leaving this choice to you,” he asked.

  I really did. It actually felt like I was getting somewhere. “Fine, let’s go.” I quickly lead him around the back and up the stairs.

  My little flat didn’t have much to offer, but it would work fine for practice. “Ignore the mess,” I stated as I glanced around. My laundry basket was full to the brim, the bed unmade, and I had a few assignments spread across the coffee table and half the floor. At least I knew the bathroom was clean, though there were probably far too many lotions out. There were worse problems in life.

  “This is hardly a mess.” He laughed.

  Shrugging, I motioned for him to sit while I gathered up the assignments into one pile. “Better than normal.” I turned to face him. “So, what’s today’s lesson?”

  “How about a fun game? I’ll change several things around here and you change them back. I won’t say what or how many. I just need a moment.” He glanced around from his seat. “Though it may not be too hard with the minimalist vibe you’ve got going.”

  “There were a few fun posters before I moved here. Diamond destroyed those. Rose smashed up some things too.” I considered the several things I had lost over the years to them. “Eh, whatever.” I tried to shrug it off.

  “Your family is too abusive,” he stated the obvious softly.

  “Too late to change things now. Anyway, aren’t we going to work on magic things? Who needs a weekend sob story?” I sat on the floor across from him. He seemed to get the hint and changed topics back to magic.

  “Sure. Close your eyes.” He waited for me to follow along with the directions before I felt his magic actively working. After several different mutterings that he made too hard to hear, he was ready. “All right, have at it.”

  The minimalist part made seeing the differences for some things easy. I knew my table wasn’t that long, and I knew my curtains were a darker gray. It looked like my cup was out of place, but I ignored the obvious facts and instead concentrated on feeling the magic out. The easiest one that came to me was actually my bag slumped over on the floor. Visually, I had hardly noticed a difference in it.

  Untangling the threads and dispelling the effects on it took seconds. That made me proud, but I tried not to get caught up on it. Instead I moved onto the next thing and slowly untangled everything I could.

  “I think I got them all…” I stated after awhile. I could already feel a slight strain on my magic. Still, I couldn’t help but smile that it had taken me less than twenty minutes.

  “That you did,” Vincent agreed with a smile of his own.

  That only encouraged me to smirk. “Guess that wasn’t too bad at all.”

  “See? I know you could totally take down Carissa’s illusion now if you wanted to.”

  I couldn’t argue with him. I could feel it, the illusion that had hung around for so long wasn’t beyond me right now. Rebuilding it would be a different story. “But I couldn’t cast one like it.”

  “I think you could cast a better one, though I understand your reluctance. It is hard. You need to know exactly how you want things to look for the observers. There can be zero hesitating when casting the spell and zero doubt in your mind to make it work better than hers.” He let the facts hang in the air for a moment before continuing. “I’ve no reason to waste my time with lies though. I think you’re better than her. You’ve just had less time and tools to build your skills and confidence.”

  There was no reason to doubt him. He really had nothing to gain by helping out. It was a means to pass time maybe, but that didn’t give him a reason to lie.

  “Maybe,” I relented a little.

  “I’d like you to try casting a strong illusion charm. Let’s see how strong you can make one.” He gave me an encouraging smile.

  I closed my eyes. I hated trying to remember all the various sayings and incantations that went with illusions. I prefered to cut them down however I could. The less to remember saying the better.

  He wanted a strong illusion charm? Fine. I opened my eyes and smirked at him.

  “All right teach, close your eyes, I think I’ve got an idea.” This could be fun.

  “By all means.” He leaned back and closed his eyes.

  I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Happily, I closed my eyes once more and let my magic grip onto the sofa and the area rug below it. I wanted it to look exactly like a cloudy sky, and upon seeing it, give the feeling of falling. My brain searched for the right keywords that were needed and I mumbled the shortened spell as I put the visualization into magic.

  When I opened my eyes, it was done. A little too well. I felt the overwhelming fear of falling and had to look up. “Okay, all your problem now.” I laughed toward the ceiling.

  He saw me looking up and looked up too, confused. Seeing nothing he felt with his magic what was amiss and looked down. “Why a falling illusion?” He groaned and looked up again.

  “Because they’re annoying and fun all at once.” I laughed evilly. Maybe with a tad too much glee.

  “Very true, and annoying to break.” He closed his eyes in turn and after a few short moments it was gone. “You mumbled maybe six words. How did you even do all of that?”

  I shrugged. “I hate long spells.” It was the truth.

  “And you don’t believe you are good at this?” He laughed. “Most people can’t shorten spells, and here you did an illusion with full effects.”

  “It can’t be that uncommon. Sure, maybe here, but you’ve seen the schooling. It’s not exactly amazing.” No need to talk something up that wasn’t grand.

  “As someone who has actually been all over this year I can say that.” He shook his head. “You just need the right teachers.”

  It was weird hearing I was uncommonly good at something. Maybe I was wrong. Unlikely though.

  “At this point, it’s just practice and refining.” Vincent went on after a moment of silence. “I’ve no doubt you’ll be able to do exactly what I’ve already been doing without issue if you just keep this up.” He laughed. “Seriously, I’m going to get back and you might even be my equal.”

  “Why would you come back?” I asked, shaking my head. “This school probably doesn’t have much to offer you, whatever it is you’re doing.”

  “Because I decided to. I had a little freedom with the last bit of traveling.” He shrugged.

  I stared at him, confused. “Again, why? No one wants to come back here. Most people would rather leave.”

  “Because my new bestie is here, and I want to help her succeed.” He shrugged and offered me a smile.

  I had no idea what to say. “Come on, you’ll find somewhere better to revisit.”

  “There are more interesting places, yes. My statement still stands.”

  I couldn’t think of anything better to say. So, I just shrugged.

  “So, since that’s a victory for me, do you want to practice more or do you have another idea?” Vincent asked.

  “This town is no victory, but I appreciate the help. There is still plenty of time to change your mind.” I shook my head. “That last spell was actually a bit more tiring than I should have done. So, I can offer old video games from my ten-year-old console and some mini pizzas. Or we can have fun sneaking you out.”

  “How long are they
going to be here do you think?” He asked curiously.

  “More than several rounds of me kicking your butt in Smash Karts.” I smirked.

  “Well, that decides it. You’re on. I always win.”

  Laughing, I got up and turned it on. I turned to give him a sweet smile before clicking my tongue at him.“Used to always win.”

  For once, he was wrong.

  Sunday was my sleep-in day. Or it was supposed to be. We were closed, but from the constant chime of my phone, it seemed someone hadn’t gotten the memo. I glanced at the screen to see several missed texts from Vincent. Something about wanting to know if I wanted to do anything today since I was off.

  “Don’t you ever sleep?” I messaged back and buried my face in the pillow.

  My phone decided to not chime its text alert this time but ring instead. The normally hilarious sound of a voice saying ‘ring ring’ instead was annoying. Sighing, I gave in and answered.

  “Mhm?” I mumbled into the phone.

  “I thought it was normal to start with hello,” Vincent replied, his voice sounding too amused.

  “‘S early. Can’t I sleep in?” I grumbled back.

  “Nine isn’t that early,” Vincent replied, no less amused.

  “Uh huh,” I mumbled back.

  “Aside from sleeping, did you have any plans today?” Vincent pressed on.

  “I don’t know. Maybe watch some old movies. Maybe tackle some laundry. I don’t know… why?” I yawned. There was no chance of going back to sleep now, though.

  “What about brunch? My treat,” he asked. I could hear the hesitation in his voice.

  I wasn’t sure how to take the offer. “I should probably get things done today,” I replied hesitantly.

  “I’m sure you’ve got to eat sometime.” Oooh, good counter.

  “I live off of the hopes and dreams of every person that comes to the door forgetting we are closed Sunday.” It was actually a very amusing sight.

  “So, does that mean you don’t like pancakes?”

  “Pancakes are great, but have you tried french toast casserole? Wait, you’re not from here. Ugh, fine, I’m up.” I finally sat up and rubbed the sand from my eyes.

  “I don’t think I’ve heard of such a thing,” Vincent admitted.

  “Inconceivable. Give me twenty to get ready. We’re going to have to show you probably the only good thing that’s come out of this small town.”

  Vincent chuckled. “It can’t be that good.”

  “Psh, you’ve no idea. I’d even recommend this to the prince. It’s that ungodly good.”

  “Oh, would you now?” He seemed extra amused by the idea.

  “Nah, probably not.” I laughed. “I was telling Steph with my luck I’d run into him and give a halfhearted apology before continuing on and not realise until several hours later it was him. Now that’s much more accurate.”

  “You’re the only person in town not obsessed with meeting him.”

  I shrugged, not that he could see it. “Meh, probably not. You don’t seem that excited, and Callie’s interest is more on what he could be doing out here than anything else. I think Steph isn’t that excited either.”

  “Well, of course I’m not. I’ve met him.”

  “Really?” That was an interesting statement. “Is he an interesting person or not worth the hype?”

  “Somewhere in between. Fairly interesting person. Mildly down to earth. Guess you can’t ask much more from someone who’s handed nearly everything in life.”

  “You’re probably right. Guess I can go back to being uninterested now that I know all there is to know.” I laughed.

  “You see, this is why I’m voting you the least interested. Anyone else would have wanted to known how I met him, when this was, where we talked, and a hundred other details.”

  “As exciting as those details would be, it’s not going to help me get french toast casserole and I’m never going to have any interactions with the guy, save for the likelihood of running into him head on while on my way to class.” I shook my head and forced myself to find some clean clothes. “Besides, I’m sure even the prince would like to have some privacy in his life. Everyone doesn’t need the details about everything.”

  “So, if you were given a chance to ask him anything you wouldn’t?” Vincent mused.

  “Not saying that,” I started to shuffle through the clothes that had fallen out of my hamper onto the floor. “He’s got a lot of magical talent. There’s plenty to ask that isn’t intrusive and that could be potentially enlightening for someone who is trying to better their abilities. Oh, I do have matching socks!” I found myself sidetracked by my hunt for clothes.

  Vincent just laughed. “I’ll pick you up in twenty then. Good luck with your socks.”

  “The luck has been had!” I laughed. “See ya then.” Quickly I ended the call and hopped in the shower. Twenty minutes? Who was I kidding? I didn’t normally move that fast.

  Still I tried, and failed.

  I glanced at my phone as I hopped out of the shower and saw that twenty-three minutes had passed. Of course they had. Showers were portals that stole your time in exchange for a brief moment of the perfect temperature of hot water.

  Frantically I sent a text. “I apologize in advance for who I am as a person.” And continued getting ready.

  It didn’t take long to chime back at me. “I’m not sure what that means.”

  I had to laugh. “Running late. I do not do this morning person thing well.”

  “Sure had me fooled,” he quickly replied.

  “You’ve only seen me after several cups of coffee. You’ve gotten off easy until now.”

  “Forgive me for not being scared. I’m sure no coffee mode isn’t that terrible.”

  I glanced down at my worst pair of jeans, worst because they were covered in random paint stains, and the baggy hoodie I was wearing. No coffee mode meant no will to dress nicely. Though, for the sake of being out and about I willed my magic to make my pants look more normal. Illusion magic was the best gift I could ask for.

  Calling it good enough, I braided my wet hair as I went downstairs and headed out. Vincent glanced over as got in.

  “That’s not a terrible grumpy anti-morning person look,” Vincent commented. “Though it took me a moment to realize you had magic on your pants.” I had almost forgotten that with my magic being below his that he could easily see past the illusion without dispelling it.

  “They’re the comfiest pants ever, but sadly probably not the best for wearing out.” I shrugged.

  “How did you get so much paint on them?” he asked curiously.

  “Secrets.” I smirked. “Now onward to breakfast!”

  Vincent looked like he was going to argue but instead backed out of the parking spot. “Okay, where to?”

  I gave the directions and off we went. It wasn’t too far away. Nothing was really far away in a small town, though. Both convenient and problematic. It made it so much harder to feel like you could get away from life for a bit.

  As we got seated Vincent asked again, “Since we’re apparently getting french toast casserole, we’ve got plenty of time to hear the story about why your pants have so much paint on them.”

  I had to laugh. Instead of answering, I pulled out my phone and pulled up some photos before handing it to him. “You can swipe through that album.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know you painted,” he said with more interest than I was expecting.

  “I used to a lot.” I shrugged.

  “Why not anymore?” He glanced up from my phone.

  I just shrugged.

  Vincent frowned. “Most of these are really good. Why’d you give it up?”

  “All of those don’t exist anymore. Maybe I’ll pick it up again someday in the future. Not worth the cost of supplies just to have them destroyed.” I had said it so many times to Callie that I almost believed myself now.

  Vincent didn’t seem to know what to say. Instead, he went back to stari
ng at the pictures on my phone. I knew there weren’t too many in that album so he had to be flipping through the same ones while he thought.

  “Nothing to get hung up about anymore. It sucks, it’s over. Got plenty of bigger goals to conquer. Once I figure all this school stuff out I’m sure there’ll be time to pick up hobbies again.”

  “I’m glad you’re able to be positive about it. I bet you’d be able to do a lot of awesome art if you picked it up again.”

  I laughed. “And bins full of terrible art. Anyway, the secret of the pants has been revealed. Let’s move on to different topics. Surely you’ve got a hobby outside of losing to Smash Karts?”

  “Hey, I’m just rusty. I will beat you eventually.” He rolled his eyes.

  “You’ve got a week and no system of your own to practice on. Looks like victory is not in your favor.” I was too amused by his claim. “So, what else do you do in your spare time?”

  “I like archery and, if you can believe it, origami,” Vincent replied.

  The waitress came over and took our orders before I could comment. I was glad it was Hazel and not Carol, who I knew would have had at least a dozen questions for me. Honestly, Hazel probably did too. I normally came in here alone, maybe with Callie. Never with a guy. Even better, one they didn’t know. Hazel would be keeping a close eye on us for sure. What better thing to do in a small town than people watch?

  Vincent took note of how closely I was watching her. “Afraid she’ll say something to your sister?”

  “Oh, no, she wouldn’t. Half the other staff would, but Diamond would have to run into them. I’ve no idea how she’d react. I didn’t really think this idea through,” I admitted.

  “She’ll have to get over it eventually. You’re allowed to have friends.” Vincent crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat.

  “Ha, we’ll see. I think she holds grudges longer than anything. You’ll be safe in a little less than a week. No worries.” I shrugged.

  “I’m not afraid of her. Though I am almost curious as to what her new angle will be to try and get me to talk to her. She’s obviously getting desperate and I’m not sure how bad it’ll get.”

  “I don’t even want that answer.” I shook my head. “Tell you what. If you really want a coffee, I can bring you one on my way to class. That’s probably a better idea than suffering through Di’s nonsense.”