Today, the sun is exceptionally warm. He thought. Definitely a day where he could get things done. He slowly walked down the paved road, using this rare opportunity to meditate on some of the ideas he had in mind.

What about a magician in a Superhero world? I gotta look for stories that already did that…

He stopped walking for a moment and started whispering to himself.

“Unless I’m into something that was never done before.”

He kept going across the pavement. Lost in thought even more than before, Adrian Falkner quickly decided of the longest path he could to get to the cafeteria and it coincided with the academic part of the university.

“Hey, Adrian! How are you doin’?”

A distant silhouette drew itself in the horizon to the left of Adrian that recognized the voice almost instantly. He waved back while screaming even harder, almost as if it was some sort of competition.

“I’m good! What about you?”

While frantically screaming, Adrian already untangled his earphones and connected them to the phone. Blasting some original soundtrack from a plethora of video games and series he loved, He then turned away and started walking in the opposite direction.

Gosh, what an asshole.

Adrian immediately recognized the silhouette, after all, Josh was the grand parasite of the campus. Only appearing when he needed help from people and then completely vanishing when his was required. He was talentless, hobbyless, and essentially bad at anything he tries to do alone, Adrian even briefly questioned how in the world did he even manage to stay in the university that long.

He could make a good comic relief in a high school environment, if I write him in, that is.

The music was getting to his favorite part, urging Adrian not to think of Josh anymore.

As if acknowledging him in any way was the way to go…

The cafeteria was the usual choice for Breakfast on campus. Orders were processed as fast as possible, and an impressive amount of items were available. The real problem with the place was the lack of spoons and was a true issue to Adrian who eats cereals for breakfast. But as he was about to enter the cafeteria to eat, a sudden apparition made its entrance.

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Osborn, still panting from his rush from Auditorium 17, raised his hand in the same fashion that aliens present themselves in Hollywood blockbuster movies.

“Hi.”

Adrian raised his eyebrows, looking like a mix between a perplexed face and an amused one.

“You really look bad dude. Did you meet a devil?”

“More or less… But-”

Osborn stopped because he knew how his friend would react to what he was going to say. Not only did he know that Adrian would never, ever, leave his breakfast for anything ever in the world. He would probably be completely unfazed by a worldwide war unless his belly was filled. But that also meant Osborn knew what button to push.

“What about breakfast at the Ethereal? My treat.”

He stopped in front of the cafeteria’s door. And faced his friend.

“It’s free food, You know I can’t say no to that.”

Osborn started walking as fast as possible, to a rate that Adrian, who was noticeably shorter couldn’t follow through. Adrian did not complain and followed as fast as he could through the long horizontal path that led to the exit of the campus. He was already tired from his run from the auditorium and was soon forced to walk at a more bearable rate for Adrian, who slowed down.

“You wanted me to tag along.”

“What? No! I just wanted to treat-”

“Spare me that please. I know you enough to read your intentions.”

They both fell silent. It gave both of them a little time to appreciate the sight that the town they were strolling through had to offer to them. Trees were everywhere, revitalized by the coming of the spring season. There was however a slight downside to all of this, and it was the comeback of Adrian’s heavy allergies, which pushed him each time they came back closer to the brink of death. Between the store and the campus grew many allergic plants, and Adrian discovered it the hard way too.

“I wanted to tell you-”

“Atcha!”

“It’s about why we are-”

“Atchoo!”

“Rah… Nevermind.”

The Ethereal was not really a luxurious location, it was actually a very mundane place. But to eat well in the town they were in was a luxury of itself and the owner of the location clearly knew how to capitalize on the lack of real options for good food. Adrian, now sitting at one of the pompous yet cheap tables of the café, was outraged at what he was reading on the menu.

“Who the hell sells a croissant for 12 bucks?”

“Someone who knows that idiots like us would but them.”

Adrian consumed the food at an admirable rate, leaving him perplexed at the fact that he can even chew that amount of pastries without his jaw dislocating.

“Adrian, there’s a reason I brought you here today…”

He was not slowing down at all, still stuffing his mouth with everything edible at his reach.

“Which ish?”

Osborn’s felt a huge ball forming in his mouth, he was about to say something that could destroy one of the rare friendships he had on campus.

And I’ll look like I finally lost it.

He was hesitating and felt as if the temperature was rising. His skin slowly became more and more sweaty. Gathering all the little courage he had, he breathed in.

“Adrian, I-”

Adrian suddenly gulped all of the food he had in his mouth and violently stood up, dropping the chair he was sitting on in the process.

“That’s not a green shaved monkey I see in the square, isn’t it.”

Osborn turned around and saw it. Another goblin, wandering in the town. It was definitely happening faster than he thought.

“You’re right… That’s no monkey. That is a goblin.”