Chapter Two:

The week didn’t seem to pass quickly at all. He felt like he was being constantly edged at every minute, like time was being counted down a microwave timer. Though his plans seemed have sped up uncomfortably quickly.

He was only meant to attend Boxtens in his final two year of years of school, so he could write the standardized wizarding examinations and go on for training or study afterward.His dad had kept him home schooled for all of his wizarding curriculum. And seeing as how busy a job his father had as an inquisitor he wasn’t around for most of it. So long as Jess could master some new spells every now and had a grasp of some wizard lore his dad didn’t seem too bothered with his progress. Jess wondered uncomfortably if his dad just sought of trusted in his Jess enough that he didn’t feel the need to really test him. Damn it. Well his father wasn’t likely to test him now anyway. He seemed terrified of Jess now that he realized he was incompetent. And beside his dad had work in Peru this month, so he wouldn’t be around to quiz him anyway.

Although someone who was here was Chowder- eating the last of the pizza.

“I can’t believe you’re actually transferring schools. Dude, are you lying? Did they expel you?” Chowder asked.

“I’m not lying, my dad wants me to go to this school.”

“Dude, you always lie. You’re normally better at it though. Listen man, there’s no shame in being expelled. All of this, all of this is for the plot.”

“For the plot of what?”

“The plot of life. So we can have a banging biography. It's all for the biography!” Chowder said, not noticing a slice of pepperoni falling as he saluted life with his pizza like Rafiki from lion king. “When we’re famous you and me we’ll need a cool story. A struggle story, no one wants to hear ‘oh my dad was a famous actor and my mom was a billionaire but I totally made it by myself’. People want people from the streets. Up and comers, the relatable man. Troublemakers.”

“Your dad is an accountant.” Jess volleyed to Chowder.

“At a dairy, not wall street.” Chowder hit back. “So where’s this school anyway? Bagtins?”

“Yeah, Bagtins.” Jess grinned.

“It’s not called Bagtins.”

Jess laughed. “Boxtens. It’s a really old school, my cousin goes there-”

“Gwen goes there!” Chowder exclaimed, realising pizza can wait. “Will they take anyone at this school- like. Can I? Can I go? Like can I go with you?”

“You can try.” Jess laughed.

“You think she remembers me?” Chowder asked.

“She doesn’t like you.”

“So she remembers me.”

“That’s not a good thing with this one.” Jess warned. “To be fair. She doesn’t like me either.”

“I know.” Chowder said with his Gwen face- well he had the same drooly simpy face whenever he was in love. It was just the girl that changed every week or so. March was Jaqueline, last week was Wendy- to be fair Jess also had a Wendy face.

“She’s got it you know?” Chowder said, his Gwen face was somehow more annoying than his Wendy face. “That whole vibe she, like she’d step on you-”

“Eat your pizza.”

“Man you don’t even look worried, aren’t you gonna miss me at all?” Chowder laughed.

“I- yeah… No of course.”

“Dude, I was joking you’re kind of creeping me out, you got like tears in your eyes and everything.”

“Whatever,” Jess said snatching the pizza box back.

“You think the Bagginses is going to be chill?” Chowder asked.

“Dunno, I’m joining in like the middle of a semester I might be behind.”

“Ah, you’ll catch up.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“Yeah, I know.” Jess sighed.

“Dude, take this seriously.” Chowder complained.

“What?” Jess laughed. “I am.”

“Dude, you just got expelled now’s not the time to be all languid.”

“Languid?”

“Dude, don’t just smile all the time, act like you’re trying at least.”

“I’m not languid. Just kind of stunned. Languid’s a big word for you.” Jess grinned.

“It’s got six letters it’s not a big word. Dude, I’m telling you I’m reading a dictionary.”

“You’re looking at he dirty words again?”

“I got them bookmarked on urban dicitonary, I don’t need to keep checking them. I’m talking about an actual dictionary. See if you listen when I’m talking… I’m trying to tell you that I’m gonna be a screen writer so I’m building up my vocab. Word power.”

“Screenwriter.” Jess said, unwrapping a milky bar. “You got a story yet?”

“Well’ I’ve got something I want cousin to star in you know. YOU KNOW! You-”

“Get out.”

There wasn’t much else to do after Chowder’s visit. Jess mostly hung around the house watching reruns of old sitcoms. They didn’t really make a lot of new sitcoms now did they? They made a lot of movies stretched into 8 episodes though.

What else was there to do? He took an uber to the mall and bought a whole rotisserie chicken for some reason.

But other than that, the week was uneventful. Truth be told he could see no good reason to try to study to catch up to the standards at Boxtens. He was behind but he couldn’t make up for years of slacking off in a week and he’d only stress himself out if he tried. But the week ended sooner than he’d thought. Suspiciously quickly actually. There was a lot he planned to do. Where even did the time go?

On the night before he was due to start at Boxtens he found himself awake sitting on his windowsill with a cup of coffee. As much it was a new start tomorrow, he couldn’t help but feel that much of his human life was incomplete. There was the girl in English, the playoff games, his small group of friends, the walk to school in the morning, the car he was saving for, becoming screenwriters/doctors/stuntmen with Chowder. It felt half lived now.

When he did wake up the next day, that feeling had left him. He did have a new start didn’t he?

“So, first day of a new school…” His dad said taking a sip from his coffee. The first sip must have been too hot because his father blew onto it with his ice breath.

He must have been trying to ease the awkwardness of the past week by being here. Jess appreciated that gesture, and he was glad to see things had quickly settled between them. His dad wasn’t absent by any means, but when he had to work, he had to work and yet he somehow he was here now. That meant a lot. And it was nice to have breakfast together. Jess had woken up late and I was a couple minutes behind but he could tell he and his dad kind of needed some time together. He could risk being late for that.

There was still some frost on the rim off his dad’s mug.

“Worried? Nervous? Nothing?”

“Eh, I’m gonna miss some of my friends.” Jess shrugged.

“You could make new ones you know.”

“Hey, can you make this cold please?” Jess asked, holding out his bowl of cereal.

“You just took the milk out of the fridge.”

“I like when the milk is crunchy.” Jess answered.

His father had a habit of not answering or responding when he had no patience or was angry or just… slightly freaked out. But he still held the bowl in his hands and cooled it effortlessly.

Elemental magic sure was useful, a bit useless if you weren’t too powerful. If you were unskilled with your elemental magic you were only as good as a used microwave and you had to compete with people who could freeze lakes or shoot down small planes.

Jess had never really bothered learning elemental magic. He’d never really mastered much from any school of magic really. Not to say he was a jack of all trades by any means. He more or less just picked up a few skills that made things easier now and then.

“I didn’t send you there to make friends it was for you to understand normal human society and the problems there.”

“Yeah, well now I don’t understand my own world.” Jess said a bit annoyed. He wasn’t an outsider or anything he still tagged along to family events, visiting the magical villages. He just didn’t have as much contact as he should have.

“It’s better to not belong, then you can see things for what they are.” His dad said, without a hint of doubt in his words.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Don’t-” his dad clicked his tongue and sighed. “Take this seriously, please.”

“I am! You know you’re painting me out to be very angsty.” Jess joked.

“I would prefer angsty.” His dad snapped. “You’re too damn apathetic.”

Jess shrugged good naturedly. “I don’t know what to say.”

“I didn’t expect you to.” His dad answered. “Just don’t give up.”

“I wouldn’t.” Jess said, surprised.

“I don’t know that. You’ve never done anything.”

“That’s a bit much.” Jess laughed.

“Yeah.” His dad said rubbing his face. “We’re using a standard door way portal from the attic to your school.”

“Mm, I figured.”

“Course, you did.” Dad said swallowing more coffee. “You’ve never been to a magic school before so you don’t know how things work there. The portal door only opens once in the morning and afternoon so students don’t bunk. So don’t leave anything behind because you wont be able to go back and get it.”

“I don’t have anything to take.” Jess reminded him.

“There’s a school shop, ask your cousin to show you around. I called her mom a few days ago to tell her you’re starting there.”

Jess sniggered.

“I’m surprise she even picked up the phone.” Jess said. He shouldn’t be laughing, Aunt Vicky probably knows all about his screw up now. On their next compulsory visit he could expect a few choice comments. Honestly, it was hard to get offended when she was so good at it. It was like if you had to karaoke battle Michael Jackson. There was no point being bitter you were losing just put your hands up and enjoy it.

“Yeah, well she loves when I owe her a favour so she picked up.” His dad said. “I could hear her grinning through the phone. She knows you messed up somehow and that’s why you’re being transferred. Now I get to look like a failed parent, don’t I?”

Jess exhaled in agreement. Heavy. But then he nodded wisely as he grated through his frozen cereal.

“It’s all for the biography.”