CAROM-EL

I know I shouldn't worry about Eduardo flying and hitting the crossbar on his side of the field. Okay, I shouldn't worry so much. He gets immediate care, Barbara and Tales catch him, unconscious, and take him to the league's health care rooms, disappearing behind two red doors already open. No obstacles for the new injured magician.

Maybe I should have used less force. But I had one chance and after two years I couldn't waste it.

“Marcelo, with me” Max pushes the crowd that squeezes me with hugs, wraps one of his arms around me and raises one of his hands, asking for silence and the crowd calms down gradually “Let's party, outside!”

My friends scream and start coming out the blue doors next to the stands. Outside we will have a barbecue, singing till night falls and even swimming in the river next from our league, for those who dare to run a hundred meters and get lost in the icy waters to get som refresh from the muffled weather.

“Congratulations, Marcelo.” Max's arm around my neck force me to walk with him. “You're the new vigilante. Let's go to integration right now.”

I can’t stop smiling. Two years of training paid off. I feel a pang of guilt that my brother helped me when I was at home, but I quickly shook my head to push those thoughts away. I didn't do anything wrong.

“... a magician with your skills.” I realize I missed a part of the conversation when I thought about Marlon. “When did you learn to travel?”

“What?” I blink, trying to understand that question.

“Travel between places, Elo” He smiles, we pass through the same doors as the healing Magicians with Eduardo, but instead of going straight to the white doors at the end, we make a right turn, going up two flights of stairs to reach the second floor. “You crossed space in four steps.” Max takes my shoulders with both hands. “And not everyone can do that.”

“For real?” I try to remember other magicians doing the same thing. I can't find anyone.

“Yeah.”

Max opens a wooden door and motions for me to enter first. I take a moment. I feel so electric that I need to take a deep breath before I stir and step into a room where Graciela, Edgar and three other magicians have their faces almost glued to the computer screens, searching in maps and watching some videos.

“Sit down, Elo.”

Max points and I sit in a chair. While I watch Graciela, with her curly hair thick, her skin dark in the whitish blue light of the room and the screens. She is the leader of the missions and will soon be ordering me to kick ass of who need to be put on the line. It makes me shake my legs and tap my fingers on them.

“You’re a Hope, right?” Max sits beside me.

“Esperança” I correct my last name.

“The same” he smiles and chuckles, probably because of my naivete or the fact that my legs still shaking “The Hope are one of the oldest families of magicians and they have the ability to travel between places counting a number of steps.”

“What I did.”

“Yeah. In addition to your control of air, you can travel. Tanks to your ancestors.”

The image of my father pops into my mind, followed by my grandfather and I clench my fists. The first one still avoids me when I'm at home. I still hear the second diminish myself for being a bad Esperança and him put me in a box labeled second-rate Esperança. And there I am, with an ability rare from my own family.

My mind clears and I smile as the warmth of comfort spreads across my face and chest to arms, making me relax in my chair. I'm adopted, I don't have to worry about my ability coming from an old man who hates me. No. My new power came from someone who dumped me and is either dead or out there living life without worrying about a child who grew up in an orphanage.

“They say it's love stuff.” Max smiles to me. “That skill was developed when some Hope wanted to make out with a Cardian, but they couldn't, cause they were from the same family.”

Cardian. This name is not strange to me.

“What do you mean from the same family?” I turn to Max “Aren't they different families?”

“Well, both Hope and Cardian descended from Prime, one of the earliest magician families. The guys didn't even need a channeling necklace or staffs, they used power directly from universe. Was a crazy time and...”

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“Max.” Graciela turns to us and I'm still stuck in what he said. “Focus. Marcelo, parents, watchmen. Focus, you're spreading a lot here.”

Max sighs and stares Graciela. He was really immersed in telling me about the first mage families and she cut his wave..

“You counted steps, right?” Max has his elbows on his legs and watches me expectantly.

“I counted.” I smile to give him what he expects. “Four steps.”

“Yeah, wow.” He brings his arms behind his neck. “Few steps. I only know two other guys with this ability and they count at least five.”

That's it. I'm awesome.

“This will help a lot with the league work.” Max turns to Graciela “Isn't it, Graciela?”

Graciela pauses a security camera video and swivels her chair toward us.

“For shure.” She gives us a broad smile. “Because one of the only magicians who had that ability here in the league left.”

“Why?” I try not to look so surprised.

It's a stupid thing get out of the league. They are a family. In the beginning they were my second family and now I consider them the main ones, as my adoptive parents distance themselves when my grandfather is around. I need a close, full-time family, with support at all times and hugs. And I got it in the League of Street Magicians.

“He went to study at some magic college out there.” Graciela observes Max with something that I can understand through her eyes.

“Oh.” Max scratches his short beard. “There’s a village of magicians in a floating island hidden by clouds, near by Pico Paraná and they have advanced things there.”

“Exactly and they managed to take out one of our best vigilante. Thanks, Max.”

“Hey!” he slaps both hands on his legs, the sound of slapping makes me almost jump out of my chair. “It wasn't my fault that Sebastian saw that he had a future and made the proposal that took him Away.”

“You didn't even try to argue for him to stay with us, and now you drop the mage village location in front of another young man with potential.”

She points to me, Max turns around and raises an eyebrow.

“Oh” he points to her. “Got it. You don't want the young magicians to have a future beyond the league. Smart girl.”

“What?” Graciela pushes her feet and the chair hits the table. “That's why I prefer girls, they don't say that kind of thing.”

A lot of secrets being thrown into the air. I get them all.

“Besides.” Max stretches his Arms and ignores her. “ You can't argue with a high magician who says you're going to expand your abilities into a village of mighty magicians and magical college and stuff, girl.”

This is interesting and Graciela's fear makes sense. I will finish high school and go look for this village to improve my skills. Studying with high magicians who have mastered the four elements and have more skills should be really cool.

“I do my job.” Max yawns. “And has a limit”

“Coward” Graciela laughs and turns to the computer “Elo?”

“Hi?” I lean forward as Max huffs and drops his body into the chair.

“What does the league do, other than provide a roof for those who need it and train them magic?”

“They take care of the city's security.”

I smile as I remember Max integrating me through the parts of the shed and showing me where each part was. Bathrooms, bedrooms, health and healing rooms, kitchen and cafeteria, underground labs when I arrived there two years ago.

“That's right. But it’s normal security?”

“Not just her. It's extra-human or supernatural security. Against not so cool magicians who use power for uncool things.”

“Right, man.” She opens a drawer, pulls out a candy bar, and tosses it to me.

“I want one too.” Max holds out his hand like a begging dog and still pouts at her.

“You're fat, man” She stares at him and when she realizes he won't back down she takes another candy bar and throws it at his chest ‘That's because you let Gustavo go.”

Gustavo. Oh. I remember him. Tall and with strong arms that made my body beg for a hug. He was always well received when he returned from a mission and went straight to this room, with Max and Graciela and the bad magician he brought, caught in some crime around city.

Graciela is right, it's been a while since I've seen him in the corners of the league. Maybe more than a month.

“Jesus, girl.” Max holds the bar to his chest. “And I'm not fat.”

“It's not what Rosa tells me when we talk.”

“Ah.” Max turned his face away.

If I had a girlfriend, I would also be embarrassed if she called me fat behind my back and I found out about it with chocolate being thrown at me. But I'll never have a girlfriend, I'll have a boyfriend, as soon as Arthur stops bullshitting me and I have the guts to tell my adoptive parents that I'm into boys.

“Very well.” Graciela plays the security video “Look at this, Marcelo.”

I have to get up and get closer to see.

The video is from a bank security camera, directly at some ATMs. The time in one corner of the screen was 20:13:32. It takes half a minute for a dude to approach a teller machine. He turns to the camera and give his middle finger and goes back to looking at the machine he chosen.

The boy reaches out his hand, the cashier's screen crashes and the money starts to be spit at the young man who opens a backpack and waits for it to fill, before showing the middle finger once more to the camera and leaving while the box keeps spitting out notes for a few more seconds.

I can't say I don't feel a pitch of envy. That kind of power solves so many problems in life.

Is this how the new vigilante thinks? Like a thief?

It was bad. My bad.

Returning to the paths of truth, justice and stuff.

“That's the kind of thing you'll take care of.” Graciela pauses the video and turns to me as I sit next to a Max who sighs contentedly as he licks his chocolate-lusty fingers. The leader of the league who at that moment is a child satisfied by the devoured candy “Because soon we will call him on a mission. They happen often. The occult media obviously don't know how to handle this kind of thing, but we know and we do it.”

She goes back to her computer, closes the video, and faces her desktop screen full of files.

“Be prepared.” She sighs as she watches our leader. Max gets up and burps.

“Come on, dude.” He heads for the door. “Intensive training. With your handsome leader. Me.”

I grunt. I know him. He is the leader for one reason and I know what he is capable of. Nobody likes to train with him.

“I still haven't recovered from the last fight.”

He holds me by my back.

“No way you'll do that.”

I don't like his smile when he lifts his arm and pulls me by the shoulders.

“You just rolled over, got some scraps, and you're still fine.”

“I need time to heal myself, Max.”

“You are a vigilante, Elo. You need to learn to dodge obstacles if you're going to run around town. And there will be obstacles, I guarantee you. Come on.”