Story: Middle Part 36
[[Continuity Note: Alf just had an interview with some magic people. He's feeling rather tired afterwards.]]
Alf slept the rest of the day, only waking at dinner time because his parents felt that him missing two meals in a row was not a good idea. They put it down to him simply not getting enough sleep the night before, but Alf knew it was because of that magic sample. The idea worried him. He'd never felt anything like it before. He'd never realised that using magic could make you feel tired. He'd have to ask Aliana about that later. He'd have to ask her a lot of things, actually.
When Alf awoke the next morning, he was feeling much better about himself, and life. So much better that he remembered that he didn't have to ask Aliana, and could in fact ask his orb oracle about time magic and the tiredness he'd felt. It told him that tiredness was normal, but with exercise of his magical abilities he should be able to last longer before getting tired. Time magic was something fairly advanced and not taught until later because of the greater number of ethical issues involved with its usage. They had to be absolutely certain that young magic users weren't tempted to use time magic to solve all their problems as too much could severely distort life as they knew it.
Apparently experiments by magi-scientists had shown exactly what happened when objects went through time too many times. They began to mutate as though evolving, even though many of them were inanimate objects. They even discovered that these objects would disappear randomly with no way to track them, only to discover that they'd traveled through time when they discovered records of them appearing in their laboratory.
As Alf ravenously ate his breakfast, he remembered two things from the day before that he'd almost forgotten. The first was that Damien was ridiculously depressed and he had to find out why. The second was that the magi-scientists had also wanted to interview Rock. After Alf was finished with them, Alf's parents had gone in to speak with them as they arranged the room back the way they'd found it. With a short talk, Mr Wiley and Ms Aldus decided that there was no need to interview Mr and Mrs Struthers since they didn't know much about Alf's magical usage at all.
After breakfast, Alf's worried parents allowed their son to visit Damien at his place.
Alf knocked on the door as he'd done many times before. This time Mr Reid answered the door. "Damien's not in at the moment," he said. "He said something about going out. I thought he was with you, but since he's not with you, I don't know where he is." Mr Reid said this all nonchalantly, as though he wasn't afraid for his son's safety at all. He probably wasn't, Alf decided. It was too early to worry about things like where your teenage son went when he didn't tell you. The problem was, Alf thought as he walked away from the Struthers house, he didn't have any idea where Damien was. Stopping at the nearest payphone, he decided to to ring Damien's mobile. He didn't pick up, and Alf didn't bother leaving a message.
With no other clue about where to go, Alf headed toward the Aldus house. Jessica greeted him at the door, calmly inviting him inside.
"Have you seen Damien?" Alf asked her.
She shook her head. "But I think he might be out in the woods."
"What makes you say that?" Alf asked.
"Just look," she said, dragging Alf towards one of the windows at the back of the house. A small dark cloud had collected over a single tree in the middle of the forest.
"Well how do you know that's Damien?" Alf asked.
"Rock's asleep and who else do you know that would be that idiotic?"
"Good point," Alf nodded. "I'm going to go out and talk to him."
"I'll go with you," Jessica volunteered.
Alf stopped her. "I don't think that would be the best idea at the moment."
Jessica frowned, but acknowledged that Alf had been Damien's friend for longer. "Fine. But don't take too long. I'm getting bored. And if I end up eavesdropping on you, that's not my fault."
Alf frowned at her, wondering where the very ethical Jessica had gone. Apparently having people around to entertain her more than ever before had stifled her creative ability to entertain herself.
He left the house soon after leaving his coin with her to ensure that she didn't eavesdrop on them and went towards the tree with the angry cloud hovering above it. He hovered up to the tree before seeing Damien on the highest branch as he'd expected. "Hi," Alf greeted Damien.
Damien looked away from his friend, not wanting Alf to acknowledge his presence.
"Aren't you going to tell me what's wrong?" Alf asked.
Damien gave no response.
"Aren't you at least going to tell me to go away?" Alf tried.
There was no response for a long while before Damien said, "Go away" rather half-heartedly.
"Say it like you mean it, would you?" Alf grinned, stepping onto a slightly lower branch so that they were eye level despite the fact that Damien was sitting. "I know something must have upset you at the council meeting. And I'm not going to go away until I find out what it is."
Damien only turned farther away from his friend, and it started to rain.
"Argh," Alf growled, frustrated. He started a fire to keep himself warm and wished that he had the ability to blow the cloud away, or at least make it stop raining. "Why are you better at that than I am?" he wondered.
Abruptly, as though only just realising what he was doing, Damien stopped the rain and made the cloud evaporate. "I didn't realise that was me."
Alf wondered how he could use such a large amount of magic subconsciously. "We're friends aren't we? And friends communicate, they don't leave each other hanging."
Damien shot Alf a piercing look. "Why?"
"Why what?" Alf asked, confused.
"Why are we friends? Why do you want to be friends with me?"
Alf was still confused and now slightly concerned. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Because I'm a horrible person who pretty much single-handedly ruined the Austrlian economy. Because I do things without thinking of the consequences. Because I don't care."
"What? You're not a horrible person. You can't be expected to know all the consequences of your actions. You're young. You're learning. You're a person and people make mistakes."
"I hate magic. I never want to use it ever again."
Alf looked around them, a little shocked. "Then why are you using it right now?"
Again, as though only suddenly becoming aware of his surroundings Damien let his magic go. It didn't take long before the branch he was sitting on broke without magical reinforcement, and he fell. Frightened beyond belief, it took a while before Alf reacted. Using his levitating ability, he made sure that Damien landed softly on the ground. He followed him, but Damien darted off before he could talk to him. And this time he didn't leave a magical trail for them to follow.
With a heavy heart, Alf headed back to the house to tell of his lack of success.
[[End scene.]]
Story: Middle Part 35
[[Continuity Note: Two magi-scientists are demanding an interview with Alf.]]
He let the two magi-scientists wait in the newly cleaned living room while he told his parents about the interview. They were understandable concerned when Alf told them about the interview. He didn't sound like he wanted to do it at all, and neither Mr nor Mrs Struthers was convinced that it was a necessary evil.
"Would you like us to sit in on you?" Mrs Struthers asked her son.
"No," Alf shook his head. Who knew what he would have to reveal? He certainly knew there were aspects of his magic use that he wouldn't be comfortable revealing to his parents. "It can't be so bad."
"If you're sure," Mr Struthers conceded, worriedly examining his son's face.
"I'm sure," Alf replied with a firm nod of his head as though convincing himself.
His parents let him go, so Alf joined the two older magic users in the living room. "Sorry that took so long," he apologised as he shut the door. Thank goodness there was a door. When Alf was younger, there hadn't been, but Alf's parents installed several into their open plan house for better insulation. Alf had never quite understood how that worked, but was now no problem as it allowed him and the two magi-scientists more privacy.
And Alf really was sorry when he saw what they had done. The two adults had made themselves comfortable while Alf was gone. Alf was not impressed by their alterations to the room. They'd left the walls, ceiling and floor alone, but pretty much none of the furniture was safe from their magic touch. In place of the couch and single armchair there were now three chairs that would not look out of place in an office. The coffee table had become a rather large desk, with two occupied chairs on one side, and one on the other obviously intended for Alf. On the desk were placed open folders and stationery in front of the two magi-scientists.
The television set had been removed from the room for reasons Alf didn't quite comprehend and nothing had been placed in its place. The bookshelves along the back wall were still intact, though. And the lighting remained the same, though they'd shut the blinds and turned on the lamps.
"Please have a seat," the man invited.
Alf sat nervously, an ominous feeling settling over him as he watched the two adults sit there calmly as though they did this every day. They probably did. They were eyeing him as though he were an experiment. Of course they were, they were scientists, even if they did apparently use magic. Or study magic. "What exactly do you do?" he asked curiously.
The woman seemed a little confused by this question that seemed to come out of nowhere, but she answered it anyway. "We study magic. Its various forms, where it goes. It's remarkably similar to non-magical physics."
"Okay," Alf nodded.
Unwilling to further humour his subject, Mr Wiley got started. "We'll be recording this conversation into this orb," he stated, indicating a sphere similar to Alf's own orb oracle sitting on the desk. It was larger and silver, and had an official looking black logo printed on it. The sort of thing you'd expect government operatives to carry.
Alf nodded his acquiescence, but knew that it probably wasn't even expected.
Mr Wiley began by stating the date and time, and stating that he and Mary-Ann Aldus were the interviewers. He then prompted Alf for his name.
"Alfonso Struthers," he stated, feeling a little bit like a moron, as anyone who is being recorded is wont to feel.
"And your date of birth?" Mr Wiley prompted.
Alf repeated his birthday, then the interview officially began.
"Tell us about how you first came to realise that you could use magic," Mr Wiley began.
It seemed as though he'd told the story a million times over at that point. To the Alduses, to the council, to his parents, and to Damien. Nonetheless, Alf heaved a sigh and retold the story about Rock in the parking lot again.
"So you felt threatened?" the woman asked him.
"Yes," Alf stated. "Though I find it difficult to understand now that Rock and I are friends."
"What exactly can you do with your powers?" Ms Aldus asked.
Alf shrugged. "Exactly what everyone else who uses magic can do, I think. I've been training with Aliana Aldus who's taught a number of magic users before me. She hasn't noticed anything different about the way I'm learning in terms. At least, she hasn't felt the need to share anything with me."
Alf noted that they wrote something down at that point and figured that it was probably Aliana's name. After all, if they were going to do this properly, they'd surely want to interview just about everyone he's come in contact with. He hoped they didn't want to interview his parents, it wouldn't be as though they had anything important to say anyway.
"Would you please describe the exact nature of your magical abilities?"
"Er," Alf stalled. "I can make things levitate, move them around. I'm quite good at getting plants to sprout. I haven't really done anything much else."
"What is your control over the elements like?" Mr Wiley asked.
"Sorry?" Alf was a little confused.
"You mentioned growing plants," Mary-Ann explained. "That would be the earth element. There's also air, water, fire and time."
"Well I'm okay with fire, a little shaky with water and air and haven't really dealt with time." That was a bit of an understatement. Alf had never known that the magically gifted had the ability to play with time. He supposed it wasn't something people did often.
"Could you start a fire right now?"
Alf looked a little worried.
"I assure you," Mr Wiley said. "We are more than capable of dealing with anything should it get out of your control."
Alf nodded, then started a fire within the palm of his hand.
"Can you make it a bit bigger?" the woman asked.
Alf complied.
"And extinguish it?" she asked.
That was easily done, and the pair seemed to make notes.
"Okay. Can you start a little wind in your hand?"
Alf didn't notice anything happening within his hand, but apparently he had a degree of success.
"So you can't make it stronger?" Mr Wiley asked.
Alf shook his head.
"And put it out?"
It was gone almost instantly.
"Now water." First a small pool appeared in Alf's hand, he was unable to produce more, but he did manage to keep in all in one place, then evaporate it off.
They provided Alf with a small amount of soil for him to showcase his plant growth ability which they were suitably impressed by. "Most magical children take years before they have that level of control even over their spiritual element." Seeing Alf's blank look to this comment, Mary-Ann further explained. "A magical person's spiritual element is the one they are naturally most in tune to. In your case it appears to be earth." Alf nodded in understanding.
"And time?" Mr Wiley asked.
Alf shook his head. "I'd have no idea where to begin."
"Okay," he nodded.
"So all that's left is a magic sample," Ms Aldus stated, holding out a crystal for Alf to take. Its two ends were rather pointy and Alf wondered what he was supposed to do with it. "You just concentrate pushing some of yourself into the crystal. The crystal is spelled to store it and we'll be able to analyse it."
Alf wasn't entirely certain what 'pushing some of yourself' meant, but tried it anyway. A greenish liquid seemed to drip from his fingers and into the crystal. He watched fascinated. He didn't think magic's physical form would be so disgusting looking. He began to feel a little light-headed. Apparently secreting pure magic took a lot out of you.
"That's enough," Mary-Ann stated.
But somehow it wouldn't stop coming. Mr Wiley seemed prepared for this, though. He muttered some words under his breath and it stopped. Alf slumped back in his chair, gulping in much needed oxygen. "I've placed a mild temporary binding spell on you," he explained. "You won't be able to do magic for a couple of hours."
Alf nodded in response. "Can I go now?" He wasn't sure why that's how he'd phrased his sentence, since it was his house and really they were the ones who should be leaving, but they responded anyway.
"Yes, we're done. Thanks for your time."
Alf breathed a sigh of relief as he staggered from the room, meeting his parents who were worriedly waiting for him to get out of the room. "Alf?" they asked as he stumbled past them.
"I'm really tired," he muttered, heading for the stairs. "I'm going to go sleep some more." And with that he wandered up the stairs, leaving his parents to deal with the two adult witches.
The interview hadn't gone so badly as he'd thought. But, Alf thought as he collapsed onto his bed. That magic sample was definitely worse than he'd thought.
[[End scene.]]
Story: Middle Part 34
[[Continuity Note: After the sleepover Damien leaves, and Alf goes back to sleep.]]
The second time Alf awakes that morning, it's to the smell of bacon wafting through the living room. He finds that Jessica has left her sleeping bag, though she hasn't yet packed it away. Rock is still snoring on the floor, so Alf lets him rest a little more as he sneaks into the kitchen for some breakfast.
Jessica is seated at the table; Mrs Struthers is positioned to begin placing food on the plate in front of the girl.
"Rock's not up yet?" Mrs Struthers asks, as she uses the tongs to place some bacon on Jessica's plate.
"No," Alf replied as he stifled a yawn. "Not yet." He grabs a plate from a cupboard, and places it on the table, before grabbing a couple of glasses for himself, Jessica and his mother then placing them on the table. "Orange juice?" he asks her.
She looked up from her plate, and Alf noticed the bags under her eyes. "Just water, thanks Alf," she stated politely. He poured her a glass of water from the jug in the fridge, poured himself and his mother some juice, and sat down. Just as they were getting settled, Rock came in, abruptly sitting in a chair next to Alf before dramatically leaning on the table as though the trudge to breakfast was only a pause in his sleeping pattern.
Alf poked him. "Did you want to eat something?"
Rock made an unintelligible sound from under his arms.
"I'll take that as a no," Alf decided, then turned back to his breakfast. When he'd finished his first piece of bacon, Rock finally stirred, walking to the kitchen sink and washing his face and hands before turning to ask where the plates were. Mrs Struthers told him to sit down, and she organised his breakfast for him.
The rest of breakfast passed smoothly. Afterwards, the three teens were cleaning up the living room. Jessica and Rock were organising their things, and Alf was sorting out the pizza boxes and popcorn bowls he hadn't gotten around to removing last night. They'd made quite a mess, predictably, and once Jessica was finished with her things, manners dictated that she help Alf clean up. So while she was vacuuming, and Rock attempted to watch TV over the noise, it was difficult for Alf to hear the doorbell.
When he did eventually, there were a couple of disgruntled strangers on his front porch. One was a man with a thick dark brown moustache, the other was a woman with reddish hair that rather reminded Alf of Aliana.
"Alfonso Struthers?" the man asked imperiously.
Alf didn't dare deny it or suggest that he'd rather be referred to as Alf. "Yes?"
"I'm Dexter Wiley, and this is Mary-Ann Aldus. We're magi-scientists employed by the magical council. We've received permission to interview you and take a magic sample so that we may study your sudden magical abilities," the man introduced himself, rather overloading Alf with information.
"I see," Alf said, though he wasn't entirely certain he truly did comprehend.
"Is now a good time to interview you?" the woman asked. "It will only take about an hour."
An hour seemed like a long time to Alf, and Jessica and Rock were still in his house. "I don't know if now's such a good time..." He trailed off as he heard the distinct lack of vacuum cleaner noise in the living room.
"Hey Sprout, we're done!" Rock called from said room.
"Hang on a sec!" Alf called back. "I have friends over at the moment," he said. Then suddenly realised that these two people were awfully suspicious. "Anyway, how do I know if you're who you say you are?"
Mr Wiley and Ms Aldus reached into their jackets and for a moment Alf thought they were going to draw guns and shoot him like in the movies. Or draw wands and curse him, like in a Harry Potter. Instead they drew medallions from their inner pockets. "We're medallion carriers," Mr Wiley explained, as though that meant something to Alf.
"Okay," he drew out the word, wondering how he could stall. He didn't want to give them an interview... or a magic sample, which sounded about as much fun as a blood sample. Alf did not have a good past record with blood samples. The last time he'd had to have one taken, he fainted. Not to mention the way the man said "interview" it sounded more like "interrogation" to Alf. He definitely wasn't prepared to deal with that on five hours of sleep. "I'm kind of tired at the moment so maybe you could-"
Alf was cut off by Jessica. "Auntie Mary? Uncle Dex? What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Apparently they want to interview me," Alf stated. At least they were most likely who they said they were if Jessica recognised them.
"Right now?" Jessica asked him.
"It would be preferable," Mr Wiley put in.
"Okay," Jessica nodded. "Rock and I will leave then."
"Thank you," the older Aldus woman thanked them.
"Rock, we're going!" Jessica called.
"What?" he asked, coming into the hallway making it feel especially crowded.
"Auntie Mary and Uncle Dex want to interview Alf so we have to go home," Jessica explained.
"Okay," Rock nodded. "Call us when you're done," he said to Alf. "Then we can hang out."
"If you don't mind," Mr Wiley interrupted. "We'd also like to interview you when we're finished with Alf," he stated.
"Me?" Rock asked, ego boosted. "An interview? Sure. Shall I wait here?"
"That won't be necessary," Mr Wiley stated. "We'll see you at your own home."
"Okay," Rock nodded. "I'll be waiting. Come on Jessica," he added, pulling his cousin into the living room. They left shortly afterwards, and Alf was alone with a couple of strangers that he did not want to be left alone with. Why did no one care if he wanted to do this interview or not?
[[Not quite end scene, but where I'm going to stop for now.]]
Story: Middle Part 33
[[Continuity Note: Damien came back from his meeting with the council a little depressed though he claims he's just tired.]]
The next morning when Alf wakes, Damien has packed away all of his things and is wearing new clothes, seemingly ready to leave the house despite the fact that it's not even nine o'clock in the morning. Alf himself wonders why he's awake while Jessica and Rock are still soundly sleeping beside his empty sleeping bag. Damien looks over from his seat on the couch, noticing Alf watching him.
"My parents are going to pick me up in a minute," he says, not looking at Alf.
Alf stands. "But it's so early..."
"I just, don't feel well," Damien stated, fiddling with the strap on his backpack.
There is a knock on the door and Damien stands, and walks toward it. Mrs Struthers emerges from the kitchen and lets Mrs Reid in before the two mothers look at Damien, concerned.
"You really don't look well," Mrs Reid stated, coming towards her son and feeling his forehead. "Well, I don't think you have a fever."
"I just want to go home," Damien voiced, and began heading towards the door.
"It's probably just lack of sleep," Mrs Struthers noted, though she looked at Alf as though demanding an explanation later.
Alf only shrugged. "Or too much popcorn," he added.
Mrs Reid only smiled. "Well I'd best be getting him home to bed, then," she said. "I'll catch up with you soon Miriam," she said to Alf's mother. "Good to see you again Alf," she added, before ruffling his hair, and taking one of Damien's bag's out to the car.
"Bye Mrs Reid, Damien," Alf farewells before closing the door and facing his upset looking mother.
"What is wrong with him?" she asks her son.
Alf shrugs with a frown. "I don't know. He wouldn't tell us."
Mrs Struthers examined her son, trying to determine whether he was lying or not. Seeing that he wasn't, she gathered him under her arm and led him toward the kitchen. "What do you three want for breakfast?"
"I-" Alf yawned. "Would rather go back to sleep."
"Okay," Mrs Struthers nodded. "You'll probably wake up when breakfast is ready anything. I'm thinking bacon and eggs."
Alf only nodded, and headed back to the room with his friends still in it. Remarkably, neither of them had moved the entire time he was gone. He curled up in his dark blue bag, swiftly heading back to the land of nod.
[[End scene.]]
Story: Middle Part 32
[[Continuity Note: Rock can do magic, and now everyone's friends. Huzzah!]]
That Friday, Damien and Jessica's parents headed to the magical council meeting for the month. Alf and Jessica were not allowed to go, and Aliana went as Rock's spokesperson about his new magical powers, too. As a result, the three left behind stayed at Alf's house having a sleepover. Since Damien had never told his parents about his magical powers, it was assumed that Damien was also sleeping over at the Struthers house. Though Mr and Mrs Struthers didn't approve of not telling the Reids, they also knew that it wasn't their place to tell anyone what to do. Damien would be perfectly safe with the Alduses, even if they didn't know.
Jessica and Rock had never been to sleepovers before. Unless you could count sleeping in someone else's bedroom because that was the best they could do since they all lived together in the same house. As a result, Alf was determined to show them a good non-magical time, even if this was his first sleepover where Damien wasn't present. The three of them had vowed to stay awake until Damien returned, anyway.
So they did the usual things, ordered pizza for lunch and watched b-grade horror movies that they rented from the local video store in their pyjamas while eating microwave popcorn. They were sprawled in front of the television in the Struthers' living room for the most part, over opened sleeping bags and surrounded by a mountain of pillows. Although the sleepover was supposed to be non-magical, Jessica and Rock had both conjured sleeping bags and pillows to bring with them to the party. They talked generally for hours, with Rock always managing to tease Alf, while Jessica frowned at him. Alf didn't mind, though. There was something so similar and familiar about this teasing that Alf realised that perhaps Rock had liked him all along, and neither of them had realised it.
It was past midnight, and to pass the time they were quizzing each other on magical things when Damien came in. He looked tired and extremely put out.
"What's wrong?" Alf asked his friend.
"Nothing," Damien shook his head. He rolled out his sleeping bag that had been sitting in the corner, didn't bother to do anything besides remove his shoes and slid in. "I'm kind of tired, so I'd appreciate it if you guys left me alone."
The three teens who'd been there all night looked at him worriedly, even Rock. That wasn't how you were supposed to look. Damien looked somewhat like what Alf imagined he'd looked like after he'd been reprimanded for trying to pull down the principal's pants. Jessica shuts off the movie they weren't really paying attention too, then the three of them huddled in the corner on the opposite side of the couch to Damien while Alf related what he thought he saw.
Rock laughed, and managed to turn the conversation away from what was bugging Damien. They went to sleep shortly after that, but it didn't stop any of them from casting worried glances at the boy across the room.
[[End scene... even if it is kind of short.]]
Story: Middle Part 31
[[Continuity Note: Rock can do magic too. How convenient.]]
The four teens and the Aldus patriarch and matriarch gather in their traditional meeting place for important discussions.
Mrs Aldus and her daughter are seated on the love seat to the the left, with the three boys left on the sofa, Alf in the middle. Mr Aldus cuts to the chase immediately as he lounges in his usual chair. "Let me guess. Since Rock's sitting here and it's the first time he's taken part in one of these important little discussions I guess he's the one who's come into his magic next?" he said with a smile.
Jessica and Rock smile and nod in response. The other boys merely acknowledge Mr Aldus' supreme deduction skills with a nod.
Mrs Aldus sits looking a little shocked. "That's wonderful, Rock. Your mother will be so proud of you."
Rock merely beams. With all his dreams coming true at once, you could hardly blame him.
"But I'm guess you kids haven't checked the book yet, have you?" Mrs Aldus added. "Since you didn't when Damien came into his power."
Rock shrugs. "My name's never been in the book. I don't know why it would be in there now. Are your names in the book?" he asked, turning to Alf and Damien.
"No," Alf replied, shaking his head. "It's all a bit strange."
Meanwhile, Mrs Aldus had summoned the book and was flipping through it. She frowned. Not here.
"It doesn't matter anyway," Mr Aldus dismissed. "The boy's an Aldus, I'm sure it's just been latently inside him all this time."
The two female Alduses exchanged a look, though, as the boys ignored what was presented to them. Alf thought there was something to worry about too.
"Anyway, that's all we wanted to tell you Aunt Karen," Rock said, standing and pulling Alf to his feet as well. "We'll be off now."
Rock tugged Alf from the room, and the pair were followed by Jessica and Damien. "Check this out," Rock said, as he twirled a finger and one of the painted portraits toward the ceiling of the room they were in floated down towards them.
"Put it back Rock," Jessica said, sternly, hands on hips and a mother hen. She would be a great Aldus matriarch when it came to be her day.
"Fine, fine," Rock stated, putting it back, but not before sending it zooming around the room. If this was in Harry Potter, Alf thought. The people in the portrait would definitely be complaining of air sickness.
The rest of the afternoon was spent reigning in Rock's inherent need to play with his magic. The fact that he'd been deprived of it for seventeen years of his life meant that he desperately wanted to use up that seventeen years of magic in one afternoon. It didn't take much to goad Damien to going along with it, either, leaving Jessica and Alf to try to curb their enthusiasm. Alf wasn't too much help either, as he found most of their antics hilarious. So Jessica had to play mother hen the rest of the afternoon.
At about six o'clock, Rock and Damien had tired a little, though they were hanging out in conjured cocoon hammocks dangling from the tallest trees at the back of the Aldus estate. It was all Jessica could do to stop them from magically enhancing the trees' heights. That would be easily spotted if they were much higher than the rest of the forest.
Alf and Jessica were sitting together on a branch watching the two as they swung when Alf commented that he was rather hungry. Within a second he knew that he shouldn't have mentioned anything because before he knew it, there was a picnic blanket and an assortment of rich foods laid out in front of him. Damien and Rock were already sitting on it, sampling a variety of the treats. "Oh come on," Damien coaxed, and Alf was already across, sitting on a corner of the floating fabric.
Jessica eyed it all suspiciously, casting an eye over their spread. And spotting the beverages in an ice bucket, she found what she was looking for. "Rock, please don't tell me you were intending to get drunk while levitating ten metres off the ground."
He laughed as the other boys' attention was drawn from their snack to the bottles of champagne in the ice. Jessica's frown deepened in response. "Oh don't scowl like that Jess," he admonished, waving a hand and making the alcohol disappear. "You'll be old and wrinkly before your time."
Carefully, she cast a hand over the enchantments, making sure that if nothing else, the four of them would still be sitting on a blanket alive, before nodding her approval and stepping from her tree branch onto the carpet.
"Finally," Alf grinned. "Live a little would you."
"And die a little sooner?" Jessica asked as she placed a slice of blueberry pie on a plate. "No thank you."
And so the four of them laughed and ate as though they'd been best friends since the dawn of time, unknowingly under the watchful eye of the Aldus parents.
[[End scene.]]
Story: Middle Part 30
[[Continuity Note: Picking up where we left off... over a week later.]]
Jessica didn't answer the door, but Alf walked in anyway. They'd gotten to that point where they were able to intrude upon each other without feeling guilty although they'd only known each other two months. She was seated at her desk and hadn't even turned around when he entered. He was two steps away from her when she finally acknowledged his presence. He'd thought that she wasn't going to turn and so was ultimately startled when she did look at him.
"Yes?" she quirked an eyebrow at him, looking the picture of someone who did not want to be disturbed.
"I realise you're kind of busy with your homework or whatever it is you're doing," Alf rambled, not quite sure how to explain about Rock to her. "But there's something in the garden I think you'll want to see."
She stood immediately, and Alf wondered what he'd said that made her go along with him so quickly. "What did you do?" she asked.
Oh. Alf realised that she thought he and Damien had done something. "Nothing," he said. And it was the truth, but something about what he said must have made Jessica disbelieve him, because she then stalked out of the room, leaving Alf to follow.
"Did Damien do something, then?" she asks as they head down one of the many staircases in the mansion.
"No," Alf replies honestly again.
Jessica followed Alf downstairs, occasionally shooting Alf worried glances. He didn't appear panicked, or worried in the slightest. And if this was some sort of practical joke then he'd be over-acting. Alf was not good at that. When they got to the garden, nothing was out of place... except for the fact that her cousin seemed to be hugging Damien.
"What's going on?" Jessica asked.
Upon seeing Damien's expression, Alf couldn't help but make it worse. "Have we interrupted something?" he asked.
Finally realising what it might look like, Rock released his grasp on the younger teen. He frowned at Alf, then registered that Jessica was there and smiled. "Good," he said, rubbing his hands together like a man plotting something... or a praying mantis. "You're all here."
"So," Damien frowned at the male Aldus. "What's your big news?"
"Hang on," Jessica held up a hand in the stop motion. "What's going on?"
"Rock has big news and wouldn't spill until all of us were here. So I went to get you," Alf explained.
"That's your big problem?" Jessica looked at him incredulously.
"I never said it was a problem," Alf protested. "I just said you should come downstairs and see for yourself."
If Jessica was the swearing type, that is probably what she would have done at that moment. As she wasn't, she clenched her fists and counted to ten internally. "No," she said finally. "I think I'll just go upstairs." Her cousin was still a lot of a sore point with her. And she didn't appreciate being deceived. She hated that he thought he could just do things and that there were be no consequences. As though he owned people. Sometimes she just hated the sight of him. Jessica could never look at Rock without thinking of what an awful person he'd been.
"Jess wait," Rock implored. His entire demeanour pleading and serious.
And those words made her stop. Because he was family. And didn't family always deserve a second chance? So she turned and faced her cousin with a blank look on her face, keeping her hopeful and curious face to herself.
"Lady and gentlemen," Rock began. "Now that I have your attention, I have an announcement to make."
Three firm glares in his direction made Rock continue one with no further ado. "I'm a freak like you guys!" he exclaimed proudly.
Their reactions were varied. Jessica immediately lost her mask. She leaped forward, throwing her arms around her cousin's neck. She was so happy for him. Rock, for his part, caught her gladly, and hugged her back tightly.
Damien was indifferent. He didn't know Rock very well, and he didn't particularly care for him, even after this revelation. He didn't particularly care for magic either, so he guessed it was a proper fit. There were no feelings of magical brothership in Damien's eyes.
Alf was confused. He was torn between being hopeful that this was what Rock needed to become a decent human being again, but then, this was the third unexplained magical emergence within two months. What did that mean for the magical community? And why did he care? Why did these things concern him now? The only things he could tell you for sure about politics were that John Howard was the Prime Minister of Australia, and that East Hills Primary School had the best election day sausage sizzles in the electorate. The sausages were free, and good quality, too. You could tell they were made from one hundred percent meat.
Rock's enthusiasm was contagious, though, as he swept all three younger teens into a hug and coerced them all into joining him to look for all the adults and tell them the good news.
[[End what I've previously written, and the scene.]]
