《To be a Part Time Sorceress》


 Magic Shop

    ¡°Hey.¡±


    Ruby raised her hand in a lazy wave. The man behind the counter turned his eyes back to his laptop once he recognized her.


    ¡°Hey yourself,¡± he said. ¡°How was class?"


    ¡°It was good,¡± she replied.


    He seemed to prefer focusing on his laptop, rather than bothering to respond to what he knew had been an automatic reply.


    But her claims to a good day hadn¡¯t necessarily untrue. The bus hadn¡¯t been crowded on the way to or from school and she¡¯d managed get a good night of sleep the day before, which meant that she could nurse her thermos of coffee throughout the entire day, instead of having to chug it all down in the morning. Sometimes it was necessary, and she¡¯d have to endure the jitters for the next few hours or so, but not today.


    ¡°Scuse me,¡± she said to no one in particular, pressing herself against a tall cardboard box so she could squeeze herself behind the counter. After the fact, she realized that she could have taken off her bag to make the task easier. She brushed the thought aside before walking through an open door that led to the back.


    ¡°Oh Ruby,¡± Max called out. ¡°Don¡¯t open the storage, alright? Or if you do, be careful about it. It¡¯s getting pretty full, so stuff might just start spilling out if you open it too fast.¡±


    The news surprised her. Storage had never been full before. What was so special about today?


    ¡°All my shipments just happened to come in at the same time today, and I really couldn¡¯t be assed to play tetris with everything in there. I¡¯ll do it tomorrow.¡±


    Ruby felt a dull pulse of irritation run through her, but before she could yell out at him, Max continued.


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t read your mind, Ruby. I¡¯m just explaining myself. And no I didn¡¯t do it there either, I¡¯m just guessing.¡±


    Ruby let out a sigh of relief. It would¡¯ve been terrible if Max learned that she had been diagnosed with cancer in such a terrible way. She waited for a few seconds until she was satisfied that Max hadn¡¯t reacted to that thought in any way.


    Shaking her head, she took off her jacket and gloves, tossing them carelessly into her locker alongside her bag. She spared a brief glance to the locker beside hers, but she decided not to peek. Max would probably make her help out with cleaning the storage anyways. Her curiosity could be sated later If it really was as full as he said, she didn¡¯t want to risk disturbing anything.


    When she stepped out of the back, she saw Max looking at her from his laptop. For some reason he was wearing a small grin on his face.


    ¡°I found something that-¡°


    ¡°Max, I was diagnosed with cancer just this morning.¡±


    Max¡¯s face didn¡¯t change much in expression, at least if you didn¡¯t look too carefully. His mouth was still in a slight grin, caught halfway to forming a word, but the way that his eyes widened in terror and the colour instantly flushed from his face made her feel genuinely sorry for him.


    ¡°Just kidding,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s actually scurvy. The doctor says I just have to eat more oranges and to stop my life of piracy.¡± When Max didn¡¯t reply for a few more seconds, she added, with an impression of a very guilty pirate, ¡°Yar, matey.¡±


    After a few seconds, Max sighed. ¡°Ruby,¡± he said, letting himself trail off in that disappointed way that only a parent could.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Ruby offered sheepishly. ¡°You put the thought of you reading my mind in my head, and I just wanted to check somehow.¡±


    ¡°And you decided that the best way to do that would be to trick me into thinking you were dying,¡± he said, in less of a question and more of a statement.


    ¡°Well, it worked. If you had read my mind when you were thinking that, you wouldn¡¯t have been so surprised,¡± Ruby said, still not completely free from the guilt, even with what seemed like a perfectly sound explanation. She shrugged. ¡°It was the first thing I could think of. Sorry, I panicked. And you did scare me.¡±


    ¡°Dammit Ruby. You should trust me on shit like this,¡± his voice trailed off, though it only took him a second to continue. ¡°Plus, I wouldn¡¯t do something like peeking at your mind, couldn¡¯t do it, in fact. Not possible.¡±


    From the slight way that the corners of his lips twitched upwards, threatening to break into a grin, she let herself feel a slight sense of relief to see that Max hadn¡¯t been damaged too much by her little lie. But why was he suddenly smiling? ¡°Oh why is that?¡± she asked, somewhat cautiously.


    ¡°Well, you signed the contract too, didn¡¯t you?¡± he asked. He seemed a bit too obvious in the fact that he was leading up to something, but Ruby sighed and decided she would play along, if only to make it up to him.


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± she asked, almost woodenly. Max didn¡¯t seem to notice.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    ¡°Well, the contract says that we cannot use any magic with the intent of harming or negatively affecting the other,¡± he said. With a lazy flick of his wrist, a small manila folder appeared in his hand. It looked almost like a common parlour trick, albeit an expertly executed one, but even though she knew it was genuine magic, she¡¯d become accustomed enough to the sight that she could spare her focus on something else.


    ¡°Wait, did I sign that part of the contract too?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s not the point, but- wait, you don¡¯t remember the clauses?¡±


    ¡°Well, I remember most of it,¡± she said, leaning back against the wall and listing on her fingers. ¡°Pay rate, Terms of employment, agreement to secrecy, yada yada. All that usual shit. Minus the secrecy thing, of course.¡±


    Max stared blankly at her for a few seconds before sheepishly opening the manila folder and sifting through the pages.


    ¡°Huh. Well, what do you know. Seems like you¡¯re right,¡± he grumbled, closing the folder and pushing it onto the counter in front of him. ¡°Well, that¡¯ll have to change soon.¡±


    ¡°Why would you even make me sign something like that anyways?¡± Ruby retorted.


    Max looked at her like it was the strangest thing that could have come from her mouth. ¡°So I can fire you if you ever assault me?¡± he asked incredulously.


    Ruby easily mirrored Max¡¯s expression. ¡°First, why would I ever do that? Second, I can¡¯t even use magic.¡±


    ¡°First, you¡¯re a hooligan. Of all the people I know, you¡¯re the only one who¡¯s ever so crassly attempted to blow me up so casually.¡±


    ¡°When are you going to shut up about that? It was an accident.¡±


    ¡°And second,¡± he continued, ignoring Ruby¡¯s protest. ¡°That might change soon.¡±


    Ruby¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Is this some sort of prank?¡± she asked.


    From the genuine look of confusion on Max¡¯s face, it seemed like he had no idea what she was referring to. ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re referring to.¡± Well, that was enough confirmation for her, but Ruby couldn¡¯t shake her suspicions.


    ¡°You seemed like you were trying to get back at me for lying to you about the cancer thing.¡±


    It took a few seconds for Max to react, letting out a sigh and hanging his head down. He smacked the table with his open palm a few times, making the laptop and the various baubles atop his counter rattle slightly, though he hadn''t struck down hard enough to actually put anything in danger of falling. That didn''t stop Ruby from eyeing the glass vials with suspicion. The bottoms were round to the point where it was surprising that they hadn''t fallen over yet, with or without any countertop violence shaking them around. They stayed still.


    "No," he said, glumly. "I was going to do something else, but you distracted me."


    "You know you can still get me back with this, right?" Ruby asked. "Don''t worry, I''m having a hard time believing that I''ll be learning magic anyways. It would be pretty simple to just say you were joking, crushing my hopes and dreams of becoming a fairy princess." She liked to believe that she delivered the line pretty casually, hiding the fact that she would be seriously disappointed if that turned out to be true, though being a fairy princess didn''t play any part in the equation.


    Max sighed and shrugged. "Nah, I''m too nice of a person to do something like that, unlike some people." He turned the screen of his laptop towards her, showing off something that she didn''t notice in her focused analysis of Max''s face for any hint of a lie. "I''ve managed to get you a starter wand."


    Ruby''s felt her heart pounding against the walls of her chest. "Really?" she managed to ask.


    Finally, the irritation on Max''s face melted away, as it always did so easily, and was quickly replaced by a smile. "Yay!" he said softly, awkwardly pumping a slow fist into the air.


    "Uhh," Ruby groaned, trying to hide the fact that she was more excited than she had ever been in her life. She thought she sold it pretty well, aside from the fact that she could feel that stupid grin on her face. "Why do you have to be lame about it."


    When Max laughed in that hearty way, the one that reminded her that, despite the way he acted and looked, he was much much older than her. From the way that her lighter laughter mixed with his, it reminded her of how young she was.


    When their laughter faded, Ruby smiled as sweetly as she could. "So, where is it?" She felt like a young girl trying to find the hidden location of her Christmas presents.


    Playing the part of the parents who would never deny their little girl so directly, Max said, "All in good time, Ruby." All that was missing was the tousling of hair that would have completed the image perfectly. "But for now, you''ll need to help me clean up the storage. It''s a real mess in there."


    "Wow you really are trying to get back at me aren''t you? Bringing up something so exciting and then immediately sending me off to do some other boring shit."


    "Well, it''s more like it came up naturally in conversation, but I like that. Now go. What do I even pay you for?"


    "I''m the new face of the shop," Ruby said, as she retreated back to the lockers. "Now that your customers have seen me, there''s no way they''ll be happy to see your boring face anymore."


    "I''m often told I''m quite handsome. Plus you haven''t met all of the regulars yet."


    "Then I''m here for security. Don''t worry Max. I''ll fight off any unsavoury customers for you, just as long as I get danger pay." Ruby reached into the regular storage closet, rummaging around for a set of thick rubber gloves and an apron.


    "What do you do about the unsavoury employees?" Max yelled.


    "Well, I''d kick them out, but I don''t think I have the authority to fire you." Now fully equipped to take on the world, with her pink rubber gloves and a flowery apron Ruby had brought from her own house, she walked over to the storage, unlocked the locker door, and pressed her entire weight against it, bracing against the weight of several magical items that had apparently been stuffed in. Surprisingly, she barely felt anything. She gingerly opened the locker door to see that it wasn''t nearly as bad as she''d expected, though admittedly the large storage room within the locker did seem to be more full than usual. "Hey Max. This isn''t nearly as much of a mess as I expected. Good job."


    "Why does it feel like you''re-" At the light tinkling of the door chime, Max cut himself off immediately. "Welcome to Magic Shop. How can I help you?"


    "You can start by making a better name for your stupid store, Max. Every single time I see that stupid sign it gives me a headache."


    Ruby noted the voice. She recognized who it was, though she couldn''t recall a name and she couldn''t remember the voice itself, just the fact that she had heard those exact same words said in the exact same way from a customer before, though admittedly, she wouldn''t be surprised to find out if multiple customers voiced the exact same complaint. It was a stupid name.


    Not wanting to interrupt business and with a job to do, she stepped into storage, closing the locker door gently behind her.

 Buying and Selling

    Ruby let her gaze wander as she spun her pen around her thumb, catching it, readjusting it, and spinning it around her thumb again. It was something that she always found herself doing when she was bored, often realizing that she was doing it unconsciously only after she messed up and dropped whatever she was spinning. Thankfully, she managed to catch herself before that happened. It would¡¯ve been stupid to drop her wand and break it a few hours after she got it.


    But with no customers, no chores, no school work, and the utter disappointment that she probably wouldn¡¯t be using magic today, what else was there to do but sit around, doing absolutely nothing? She set her pen wand down on the desk in front of her, and slumped over, setting her head down to join it. She considered toying with it, rolling it over to analyze it, but it wasn¡¯t she hadn¡¯t already memorized every single detail of it.


    She rolled the pen over anyways. It was a beautiful thing, a fountain pen that looked like it was made of some type of sky blue wood that didn¡¯t seem to ever have been touched by paint, or molested by human tools, like it was a tree on its own, grown and bred for the purpose of being some girl¡¯s pen.


    But it actually wasn¡¯t, which was why Max had gotten it for free. Though the courier fees hadn¡¯t been, they were rather cheap and her gracious boss has covered for that anyways.


    ¡°Hello there, Antonio,¡± Ruby muttered under her breath.


    That wasn¡¯t its name. Nor was it hers, which would¡¯ve been the case if she had ordered one to be made for herself. The only reason she had ¡°Antonio¡¯s¡± pen was because Max¡¯s wand-maker friend had mistakenly misread an order, thinking that Thelonius Antonio was actually Antonio Thelonius. Poor Thelonius had expected his name embossed into the pen, but had instead received a pen with his a name that he associated more with his family, one that had apparently tried to kill him on multiple occasions. The fact that it was embossed with a shining gold that almost looked like it was liquid, didn¡¯t help. It was really just a beautiful middle finger to him.


    The wand-maker redid the order, of course, but that left him with a fully functional, albeit mislabelled, wand that eventually ended up in Ruby¡¯s hands.


    It bothered her a bit more than she expected it to, to know that it technically wasn¡¯t ¡°her wand,¡± but she found it easy file her complaints away when she learned how much it would have cost her if she had actually ordered her own.


    There was nothing that quelled her complaints about how she couldn¡¯t use it yet.


    To think that Max had forgotten that pen wands like this one needed magical ink.


    ¡°Aaaaaah.¡± Ruby finally let the pained groan slip out from between her lips, where it had been bubbling for the past few hours.


    ¡°This a bad time?¡±


    It took every shred of her willpower not to scream. Unfortunately, when she jerked her head up without warning, the man in front of her let out a low grunt of surprise and flinched backwards.


    They stared at each other for a few seconds before Ruby let out a deep sigh.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry about that, sir.¡±


    The man let out a sigh of his own. ¡°Near scared me half ta death there, Lady.¡±


    It was difficult not to stare at him. With sandy hair that peeked out from underneath a straw hat and almost poked at a pair of young boyish eyes, a set of worn down trousers that were noticeably much darker around his knees, and a long piece of straw sticking out from the corner of his mouth, it was like a young farmer had walked out of an old-time children¡¯s cartoon and into the shop. It was the most absurd thing she¡¯d seen since she started working for Magic Shop, and she¡¯d seen Max refer to a large goose as one of his best customers.


    But she was being paid not to be rude to people, so she held back her comments.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, sir. That was really rude of me. You caught me dozing, I guess.¡±


    The farmer smiled, though she did notice that it did seem noticeably guarded, like a polite smile that he hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to practice enough. If his choice of clothing wasn¡¯t some sort of contrarian fashion statement, there were probably more animals than people anyways, and whoever he interacted with received either his true smiles or frowns.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you mind, don¡¯t you mind,¡± he said. ¡°Can¡¯t say I haven¡¯t been caught doin¡¯ the same on occasion, ¡®cept I can¡¯t exactly sleep well if the sun¡¯s up.¡±


    Ruby laughed once, her polite smile obviously much more practiced than his. ¡°I can¡¯t say I have that problem, sir. If anything, I almost find it easier to sleep during the day.¡±


    Immediately, the young man¡¯s polite smile turned even more obviously polite. ¡°W-why¡¯s that?¡± he asked. Ruby noticed that curiously, his hands started to twitch, one hand reaching up to play with the edge of his hat and one hand fidgeting with something in his hand.


    ¡°Probably all the coffee I drink,¡± Ruby replied casually. ¡°Either that or I¡¯m secretly a vampire- no, I¡¯m not actually a vampire, sir,¡± she quickly added as soon as she saw the look of abject horror on his face.


    ¡°Huh?¡± he said dumbly, sweat starting to drip down his brow.


    ¡°Look, sir. I¡¯m really sorry. I just make bad jokes sometimes. Can we just, you know. Restart?¡±


    The farmer nodded, but it was easy to assume that he would have probably agreed to anything that Ruby said, bar from her asking to suck his blood.


    ¡°Welcome to Magic Shop. How may I help you today?¡± It was then that she noticed the rock in his hand. While she wouldn¡¯t have called herself an expert in magic by any means, she knew that a rock usually didn¡¯t pulse in different hues of blue and purple like that. ¡°Are you looking to sell? Enchant? Undo a curse?¡±


    The farmer nodded woodenly. ¡°Sell, please,¡± he said.


    Ruby nodded back. That was something she could actually do. If he had chosen either of the other two options, she would have had to take his name down for when Max came back again.


    ¡°Just a moment, sir,¡± she said, reaching down underneath the counter, groping around blindly until she felt a metal bar simply appear in her hands. Drawing it out, she pulled out a large brass scale that looked much too big to fit underneath such a narrow counter and much too heavy for her to carry in one hand. From the heavy sounding thud that it made when she placed it down, it sounded like it too.


    ¡°Could you please hand me what you wish to sell?¡±Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    From the way that the farmer hesitated, she wished she had told him to place the rock on the counter instead. It took a while for the farmer to actually work up the courage to step close enough to drop the stone into her hand from a respectable height where he wouldn¡¯t be able to grab her. When she caught the stone, she was surprised to find that it was warm to the touch. Though she knew that it would probably be better to just toss the stone onto the scales, curiosity got the better of her and she found herself turning it over in her hands.


    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful,¡± she commented, admiring the way that the colour of the stone always seemed to be shifting. With each shift of colour, the stone pulsed against her hands in rhythm. ¡°Do you know what this is?¡± she asked, hoping for any clues. As an amateur, she could only guess that it was a heart, an egg, or something that she had never heard of. Usually it was the last.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know a thing, ma¡¯am. I¡¯m sorry, ma¡¯am. It¡¯s jus¡¯ a lil¡¯ thing, great-uncle Mitch left me when he died. I¡¯m sorry, ma¡¯am. I don¡¯t know nothin¡¯ else, truly.¡±


    Ruby sighed. ¡°I¡¯m really not a vampire. I promise I¡¯m just a normal girl.¡±


    ¡°Of course, ma¡¯am. Whatever you say, ma¡¯am.¡±


    Ruby sighed again and gently placed the rock onto one of the scales and pulled the sides of it upwards, extending a hidden set of bars that closed over the scale like a circular birdcage. After repeating the same thing to the other side, enclosing the empty space with another birdcage, she tapped the top of it twice and stepped back. The farmer stepped back twice.


    When the arms of the scale started to rotate, generating a low machine-like whir, Ruby closed her eyes. She always enjoyed using the scale, she liked the sound it always made when the coins started apparating into the empty scale, falling into place, trying to balance the monetary weight of the object on the other end. It had a very satisfying sound, like a combination of being inside a small shed during a hailstorm and an old popcorn machine.


    But after two little drops of metallic hail, or two popped kernels, the whirring slowed down and stopped.


    Ruby opened her eyes, meeting the farmer¡¯s for a brief moment before he turned away. He looked disappointed, no doubt realizing that the two coins probably meant his colourful rock hadn¡¯t been worth much.


    Ruby shrugged and stepped forward to retract the cage over the coins when she noticed it.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± she mused out loud. While the coins that sat there were usually made of a solid gold, she didn¡¯t recognize the coins that sat in the scale, neither in their material or design. She held one up to her eyes. It was made of some silvery white metal, with an embossment of a coiling dragon on one side. She flipped it over to see a design of an ornate sword, with tiny jewels imprinted in the coin itself to decorate the hilt.


    ¡°Two quarters?¡±


    Ruby looked back at the farmer, who immediately shied away from her gaze. He looked shocked at himself for having even spoken up.


    ¡°These aren¡¯t quarters, sir. They¡¯re probably worth quite a lot actually. Would you like me to convert the price to a different currency?¡±


    The farmer raised an eyebrow. ¡°You do that?¡±


    ¡°Of course, sir,¡± Ruby replied. ¡°Magic Shop prides itself in being able to cater to a multinational, multidimensional customer-base. Would you like to take advantage of our currency conversion services?¡±


    To his credit, even though he seemed more confused than ever, the farmer didn¡¯t hesitate to nod. ¡°Yes please. American dollars, please.¡±


    ¡°To clarify, do you mean the US Dollar, from Earth?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yes, I mean US Dollars. Why would I mean anything¡­¡± he trailed off. ¡°Ain¡¯t we in Manhattan right now?¡±


    Ruby raised an eyebrow, not at the nature of the question but at the location that he thought they were in. Out of all places she guessed such a stereotypical farmer was from, Manhattan would not have been on her list of top guesses.


    ¡°We¡¯re in Magic Shop,¡± Ruby said. Before the farmer could rush towards the door, she continued. ¡°I have no doubt that if you stepped outside that door again, you would find that you¡¯ve exited in the exact same place that you¡¯ve entered, sir. We appear anywhere and everywhere, sir. It¡¯s just the nature of Magic Shop.¡±


    The farmer stared at her for a few seconds. She waited for a few more seconds, but when he didn¡¯t say anything or try to run away again, she simply reached under the counter again ¨C she pretended like she hadn¡¯t noticed him flinch away - for what looked like a large mug made of clear crystal. Unlike the scale, it was just as heavy as it looked and Ruby couldn¡¯t help but grunt as she heaved it onto the counter in front of her. Also unlike the scale-


    ¡°Is that a fuckin¡¯ USB cord?¡±


    Ruby didn¡¯t bother to answer the question verbally and silently plugged in what looked like ¨C and what was, in fact ¨C a USB cord into Max¡¯s laptop.


    ¡°This will just take a few minutes, sir.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Ruby looked at him, locking eyes with him. For the first time, he didn¡¯t look away, his expression making it clear that his level of confusion and curiosity had finally overtaken his fear. ¡°Ye use a laptop?¡±


    She couldn¡¯t help but laugh a little, just at the absolute shock on the man¡¯s face. As if this had been the most surprising thing he¡¯d seen. ¡°Yeah we use laptops. Who doesn¡¯t these days?¡±


    ¡°B-but yer a magic shop!¡± he protested, apparently forgetting his fear of her supposed vampirism. ¡°Yer supposed to be all mystical and shit, not usin¡¯ a fuckin¡¯ laptop!¡±


    Ruby shrugged, unable to wipe the wide grin off her face and not caring enough to try. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you want me to say, man. It¡¯s the twenty-first century. Who doesn¡¯t use computers nowadays?¡±


    Though the slack-jawed expression on the farmer¡¯s face suggested that he couldn¡¯t form any other words, the laptop¡¯s beeping interrupted him before he could even try.


    Ruby looked down at the screen to see a large angry X. She frowned. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ve got some sort of error here,¡± she mumbled. She¡¯d never had an error when trying to sell anything before, and with Max still out of the shop, it would be annoying to try to troubleshoot this on her own. ¡°Amount of currency exceeds physical size of container,¡± she read out loud. ¡°Please choose a different currency, or method of payment.¡± Raising an eyebrow, she looked up at the bottom of the page, window, where the total conversion sum was. She whistled.


    ¡°Holy shit,¡± she heard herself say.


    ¡°Why, what¡¯s wrong?¡± She couldn¡¯t take her eyes off the screen, but she could hear the fear slowly retuning into the farmer¡¯s voice. Even without checking, she could guess that he probably had backed away closer to the door again.


    ¡°So apparently those coins are platinum drachs,¡± from some dimension that she didn¡¯t want to try to pronounce the name of. She double-checked the number at the bottom of the screen before she continued, making sure that she wasn¡¯t just imagining the amount of zeroes. ¡°According to this, two platinum drachs are worth about two hundred and thirty thousand US Dollars.¡±


    She looked up to see the farmer staring at her with bulging eyes that threatened to pop out of his head. She smiled at him, waiting for his reaction.


    It was only when his cheeks started to turn purple that she started to get concerned.


    ¡°Sir?¡±


    He drew back a gasping breath, and immediately started to cough. Ruby smiled for a few more seconds until she realized that he hadn¡¯t stopped coughing. He slowly sank to kneel on one knee.


    ¡°Sir?¡± Ruby stepped out from behind the counter. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    She patted him on the back, a bit lost on what to do in such a situation. She pretended not to see the tears dripping from the man¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he whispered. She wasn¡¯t sure whether he was thanking her, or thanking whatever God he believed in. Probably Jesus, if she were to trust her streotypes. ¡°Thank you, so much,¡± he sobbed out through another cough.


    Ruby sighed and patted him on the back once more. She didn¡¯t know what sort of money problems he¡¯d been going through to get such a strong reaction, but while she couldn¡¯t help but feel happy for the man, she didn¡¯t enjoy the awkwardness of watching a grown man cry so openly.


    ¡°Bad time?¡±


    Ruby looked up to see Max wiping wet mud from his boots onto the doormat. Behind him, just as he was closing the door, Ruby managed to catch a small glimpse of the world behind it, not the streets of Toronto where she¡¯d come from, and though she¡¯d never been to Manhattan before, she doubted that the rainforest-like jungle she saw came from the same place that the farmer had walked in through.


    ¡°Hi Max,¡± she said, still patting the farmer¡¯s back. ¡°Can you write up a cheque?¡±

 The New Apprentice

    As she exited the storage, stripping off her apron and gloves, she made sure to do it as silently as possible. She didn¡¯t think she had to be too careful ¨C Max had been wearing headphones as she went in to clean the storage, and she assumed he hadn¡¯t had any real reason to take them off ¨C but she moved slowly and deliberately anyways.


    Slowly drawing out her pen, she tapped the tip gently and turned to the wall, the nearest flat surface she could find. It felt strange, like she was vandalizing the wall with her graffiti, but she pushed her pen into the wood anyways.


    Max feels a warm breeze on his neck as the low rumble of a gentle fart floats through the air.


    Giggling, Ruby tapped the final period twice and watched as the ink dissolved away slowly. Innocently, she walked out of the back, just in time to see Max perk up and watch his face scrunch up in an awkward expression of disappointment.


    She realized her mistake as soon as she saw his expression. ¡°Aw dammit.¡±


    Max nodded. ¡°Do you want to say what you did wrong, or should I?¡±


    ¡°Aaaah,¡± Ruby sighed. ¡°I keep on forgetting.¡±


    ¡°And what exactly did you forget?¡± Max pushed.


    Ruby glared at him for a second before shaking her head. ¡°I tried to include you as a part of my spell.¡± He was only trying to help her. She knew she shouldn¡¯t be annoyed at him.


    ¡°And why exactly was that wrong?¡±


    She glared at him again. Okay, maybe she could be a bit annoyed at him. Regardless, she answered his question. ¡°Because living things are more robust than objects or elements when it comes to magic.¡±


    ¡°Well actually¡­¡±


    Ruby raised an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s what you told me,¡± she said accusingly.


    ¡°And I wasn¡¯t lying, well not exactly, It¡¯s just the specific wording you used,¡± Max said, shrugging. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say living things are more robust, per se. Just usually a lot harder to manipulate with magic.¡±


    ¡°Explain.¡±


    Max thought for a few seconds as Ruby stared at him, silently waiting, until he seemed to have found an idea.


    ¡°Do you remember the exact wording of the spell you used on me?¡±


    Ruby nodded and repeated her spell. ¡°Rather than Max feels a warm breeze,¡± she continued, ¡°I should have cast something along the lines of A warm breeze hits the back of Max¡¯s head. Or is that bad too? Should I be taking out ¡®Max¡¯s head¡¯ somehow?¡±


    ¡°No, no,¡± Max said, with a excited franticness that almost surprised her. ¡°That¡¯s actually a perfect fix. You¡¯re in school right? Remind me, what do you study?¡±


    Rather than take the time to be confused, Ruby decided to go along with the sudden switch in questioning without resistance. ¡°Accounting.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Max asked. ¡°I thought you were in medicine or something.¡±


    She rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll have you know that accounting fulfills the Asian stereotypes just as well, thank you very much,¡± she said, hiding the grin that would give away her lack of seriousness.


    Max rolled his eyes back at her. ¡°Please,¡± he said. ¡°If I were going to stereotype, it would be against how Earthen you are. I don¡¯t have the time to learn all the dimensional stereotypes. But seriously, you weren¡¯t in medicine?¡±


    Ruby shrugged. ¡°I had a biology class last year,¡± she said. ¡°But that was for a required credit.¡±


    Max nodded. ¡°That must be why I assumed, but unfortunately it doesn¡¯t really help my example. Can we just pretend you¡¯re studying medicine for a bit?¡±


    Ruby shrugged.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°Okay then,¡± Max continued. ¡°If I could continue-¡°


    Just then the door chimes tinkled.


    ¡°Welcome to Magic Shop!¡±


    ¡°God dammit¡­ Welcome to Magic Shop,¡± Ruby parroted after a stern look from Max.


    ¡°Hello, good friends!¡± a loud and boisterous voice shouted back. Ruby couldn¡¯t help but raise an eyebrow at the sight, before quickly reverting back to her professional smile.


    She¡¯d never seen a man in a full suit of armour before.


    ¡°How is the day treating you today, good sir and madam? Well, I hope?¡±


    Without a hint of confusion in his voice, Max chimed in. ¡°Absolutely, Sir Knight. Well enough to hope to share some of my joy with you. How could we be of service today?¡±


    The Knight laughed loudly, his booming voice echoing out of his closed helmet. Ruby couldn¡¯t help but think about how loud it must be inside. Maybe he simply liked the sound of his own laugh.


    ¡°What a pleasant man!¡± he remarked. ¡°If only I were the one to be doing business with you, just so I could talk with you for a few seconds more, but alas, it is my companion that requires my services, Sir Shopkeeper.¡±


    Pointing to the side, Ruby finally noticed a bespectacled man standing beside him. Though he was actually quite tall, which surprised Ruby in the fact that she hadn¡¯t noticed him until now, she excused herself by the existence of the Knight, whose gleaming silver armour contrasted quite starkly to the plain plaid and jeans combo that the bespectacled man wore.


    ¡°Hey Max,¡± he said. His voice deep and slow, the man sounded extremely tired.


    Max looked surprised, as if he was just noticing him for the first time too. ¡°Hey yourself, Tim,¡± he said a bit absentmindedly as he looked between the him and the Knight. ¡°So¡­ who¡¯s this?¡±


    ¡°New apprentice- don¡¯t,¡± he quickly said, pointing a finger at Max¡¯s face, interrupting him before the question could come out of his open mouth. ¡°I really, really don¡¯t want to talk about it,¡± he said harshly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a discount.¡±


    ¡°Yeah he¡¯s my new apprentice,¡± Tim said, reverting back to his tired voice in an instant. ¡°What do you want to know?¡±


    Ruby couldn¡¯t help but laugh at the sudden switch in demeanour. Tim turned his eyes toward her, as if noticing her for the first time.


    ¡°Seems like you have a new apprentice as well,¡± he commented.


    Ruby felt like she should correct him, but Max beat her to it. ¡°Nah,¡± he said, waving his hand. ¡°Ruby¡¯s just a part-timer. Plus, you won¡¯t get off so easily. Don¡¯t try to change the subject so casually. She¡¯s not nearly as interesting as that fellow over there.¡±


    ¡°Hi Ruby.¡±


    ¡°Hi Tim,¡± Ruby replied distractedly. If it were any other scenario, Ruby might have been offended by Max¡¯s comment, but she couldn¡¯t hope to claim to be more interesting than the fully armoured man in from of her. Though she couldn¡¯t see his expression through his helm, he didn¡¯t seem to mind being talked about so openly, judging from the way that he posed and flexed his nonvisible muscles.


    Max and Ruby both stared at the awkward spectacle for a few seconds, letting the room fall into silence par for the soft clinking of metal plates as the Knight switched poses.


    ¡°His name is Darch. He¡¯s loud and boisterous, but overall a nice kid, even though he¡¯s incredibly annoying.¡± As if to accentuate this fact, Darch reached over and held up a finger to Tim¡¯s ear, bending it to make a strained sound that suggested that particular joint hadn¡¯t been well oiled in a while. Tim ignored him. ¡°Despite how he looks and acts, he¡¯s decent in the kitchen.¡±


    ¡°Kitchen?¡± Ruby asked.


    ¡°Tim¡¯s a professional cook,¡± Max quickly explained. ¡°Though he cooks things that requires a bit more of a magical touch.¡±


    Ruby gave him a small ¡°ah¡± of understanding.


    ¡°Which brings me to my business here. I heard you recently came across a good ingredient?¡±


    ¡°You mean the dragon egg?¡± Ruby asked, recalling the dragon¡¯s egg that she¡¯d recently bought from the young farmer. Though she didn¡¯t even know if such a thing was even edible, it seemed like a good guess.


    Thankfully, Tim nodded, saving her the embarrassment of being wrong. ¡°Yeah that¡¯s the one. It¡¯s a sapphire-gold, right?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, Ruby,¡± Max said, cutting her off before she could ask Tim to clarify. He turned to the cook. ¡°Tim still hasn¡¯t earned his discount yet,¡± he said, motioning his head towards Darch the Knight, who was still flexing in the middle of the room. ¡°So why¡¯s he wearing the armour? Did you manage to get an apprentice from Terria?¡±


    Though she could only guess what Terria was, Ruby couldn¡¯t help but remember that she was in fact more intrigued at finding out the answer than at selling the dragon egg.


    ¡°No actually,¡± Tim said. ¡°He¡¯s from Earth. UK to be exact. This is just a hobby of his.¡±


    ¡°Tis a lifestyle, my liege,¡± Darch spoke up from the middle of the room.


    ¡°His birth name is also David,¡± Tim continued.


    ¡°Ah, curses! My true name!¡± Darch, or David, shouted, bending backwards and clutching at his heart in mock pain. ¡°You slay me, you wicked fiend. Et tu Tim?¡±


    ¡°Wrong culture, David,¡± Tim said, his voice deadpan as he ignored the following groan of mock pain that followed. As David bent a bit too far back, causing him to lose balance and crash onto the ground, Tim ignored the clanging sound that resulted, tapping on the counter instead.


    ¡°So how much of a discount are you giving me?¡±