“Come on Mal, you can do it! Just three more!”
Mal could not do it. Not even one more. Sweat poured down his face and soaked right through his shirt as he tried to lift his shaking arms over his head. The soft, heavy ball in his hands slipped from his slick grip before he could get it fully over his head, hitting him in the neck and shoulder and falling to the ground with a whump. It sat in the grass of the field, protruding from it like a small mountain of soft leather. Or that’s how it seemed to Mal.
They were in Drake Stadium, the track and field stadium for UCLA. It had a real grass field and a well maintained track, with high rows of stands that had been built higher over the last few years. But Mal didn’t care about any of that. He only cared that the place had turned his world into one of sweat and pain.
“That one doesn’t count,” came Tian’s shout, “You still have to do three more!”
Mal bent over to pick up the medicine ball. Or doubled over. It was the same thing at this point. And why were they called medicine balls? This one was hurting him. Probably a defect. He hated it.
“No slacking now!”
Mal turned his head to look at Tian, blinking stinging sweat out of his eyes. He could feel his hair clinging to his face, patches of it occasionally separating from his skin to fling sweat across the field. Disgusting. The people on the websites looked so good covered in sweat, but he looked like a starving child trapped in a sauna. He would never look like that; he knew it better than he knew his own name. Tian would look like that, probably, if she ever sweat.
Mal stared at the pretty Eten girl as he ignored her orders. He needed to catch his breath. She was in tight workout clothes - short shorts and a tank top - and looked better in them than any person wearing any clothes he had ever seen. She was exercising beside him as she ran him through the ‘baseline exercises’ for an aug athlete, talking the entire time. She wasn’t even breathing hard.
Mal let himself fall from his hunched position until his hands reached the slippery medicine ball, lifting it at arm length at his chest. He squatted, held the position for a second, and burst into motion, this time successfully bringing the ball above his head as he rose. He didn’t know what this exercise was called, he just knew that he hated it.
Mal’s burst of motion was more like a shaking geriatric getting out of a chair than it was the triumphant explosion of athleticism that Tian so happily displayed, but at this point, he would take what he could get. He pushed himself through the excruciating motions of the final two repetitions, “reps” as Tian put it, of the exercise and collapsed to the grass, rolling over and heaving for air on his back.
“That was awesome!” Tian cried, jubilant at Mal’s completion of the final exercise. “I didn’t expect you to get through even half of the exercises today, but you did nearly all of them! Good job!”
That wasn’t even all of them? Mal would have flushed in shame if his blood wasn’t currently occupied flowing literally everywhere else. And she didn’t even expect him to get half? Why? The obvious answer came to Mal as he tried to sit up and only succeeded in raising his head to look down at his sweat soaked, thin, and gangly body. Right. That was why.
A pair of beautifully toned legs came into view. They placed a full water bottle on the ground beside him. Mal let his head fall back to the ground. Tain was standing over him with a radiant smile on her face.
“Make sure you drink some when you’re ready,” she said, “Keeping hydrated is just as important as the workout.”
“Thanks,” Mal groaned, trying and failing to sit up, again.
Tian giggled, “You’re so funny. It wasn’t that bad.”
This time Mal flushed, he was sure of it. It was that bad. But Tian didn’t think it would be, so he couldn’t let it be. With a herculean effort he managed to force himself into a sitting position and reach for his water bottle.
“No, it’s not that bad,” Mal lied through a lopsided grin. His grin wasn’t normally lopsided, he was just that tired. “Just don’t ask me to stand up any time soon.” Tian laughed at his non-joke, which felt good and bad at the same time.
“Hey Kottianny! What’s up?” Someone with a light Latin accent said.
Mal turned his gaze to the new speaker. If Rudy was handsome, this man was beautiful. He was taller than Mal and Rudy by a few inches, around 6’4’’ and had long, dark hair tied loosely in a bun behind his head. He wore a UCLA Aug Athlete track suit and had the body to match. He had deep, dark eyes, and an easygoing smile that made Mal want to like him. He was jogging across the field at a comfortable gait, muscles practically tearing through his tight shirt.
“Oh! Alejandro, hi.” Tian gave the man a little wave and a sweet smile. “What are you doing here today? I thought you had training with the team this morning.”
Alejandro? Even the man’s name was sexy. Mal had, well, Mal. His name sounded like the sound a cat made when it was trying to cough up a hairball.
Alejandro laughed and came to a stop a foot from Tian, looking down at her with a big grin and giving her a friendly tap on the shoulder. Tian had to look way up to meet his eyes. “So did I. Coach let us go early to put the new guy through the wringer. That kid is something else, he’s going to make us all look like chumps in a couple years.”
Mal couldn’t help himself, “New guy? Do you mean Rudy?”
“Rudy! That’s his name.” Alejandro turned to look down at Mal. “Do you know him? Don’t tell me you are another prodigy coming to make us all look bad.”
Tian giggled, “Mal? No! He’s going to the Institute. I’m just helping him out for the admittance test.”
“A magic man, huh? I guess that makes sense, you’re looking a little sweaty down there.” Alejandro gave him a dazzling grin to let him know he was teasing.
“I thought he did really well,” Tian said, “It’s his first time really working out and we got through most of the baseline exercises before we stopped.”
“Not bad,” Alejandro said, “Impressive even. The first time I did the baseline I only made it halfway.” He wasn’t lying. Great. That meant he was nice, too. Alejandro turned back to Tian. “Since practice ended early, I am heading to the gym, want to join?”
“Sorry, we’ve got other plans.” She looked sorry, too, “Thanks for inviting us though.”
“No worries. Maybe next time,” He gave Mal and Tian another broad grin, “See you next time, Kottianny, sweaty guy!” He turned and walked away, waving over his shoulder with his hand.
Tian and Mal watched him go. “Who was that? Another combat athlete?” Mal asked.
“Alejandro? Yeah.” Tian smiled. “He’s a senior and Coach Tamm thinks he might get drafted straight into the pros.”
“He’s that good?”
“Yeah he’s really amazing,” Tian turned to look in the direction he walked off, “He’s really laid back, too. A lot of the aug athletes here are so focused on the sports they come off as stiff, but Alejandro is easy to talk to.”
“Maybe you should train with him.” Mal said, “Isn’t that a good opportunity?”
“What are you talking about?” Tian turned back to face him. She looked slightly upset, but Mal didn’t know why she would be. “I’m with you. We still have to do the post workout cool down and I promised you a ride home.”
“It’s fine,” Mal said. “I mean we are almost done anyway and I can get a bus home.”
“You don’t like training with me?” Tian said.
“What? No, I thought-never mind.” Mal took a long drink from his water bottle, “Let’s do the post workout thing you were talking about.”
Tian nodded, “Okay,” she held out her hand to help Mal up, “Since it’s your first day, we can take things a bit easy.”
Mal reached a shaking hand out to grasp Tian’s, a jolt of adrenaline shooting through him as their hands touched. Her hand was soft and warm. His was hot and covered in sweat. With a jerk, Tian yanked him to his feet.
“Thanks,” Mal said, “I wasn’t really joking about the standing up thing.”
Tian giggled, “We’ll take it really easy then. Come on, follow me.”
Mal followed Tian off of the campus fields. She brought him back onto the road he initially arrived on from the bus. The afternoon was cool, which was pleasant for Mal as he was still trying to cool off from this earlier workout. Tian led him a few blocks away and into a store called Body Energy Club UCLA. It looked like a supplement store Mal sometimes saw in malls. It had sleek metal shelving lined with bottles of pills and powders and there was a refrigerated section filled with prepared meals and drinks with unpleasant sounding names. Mal didn’t know what kombucha was, but he was pretty sure any drink with stuff floating in it was not for him. The place was even packed with people who looked like they ate steroids instead of regular food. It was not the kind of place Mal usually visited.
The similarity to a supplement store ended there, though. At the back of the shop there was a small bar and kitchen area where employees were serving smoothies to a small line of customers.
“You want anything from the high protein smoothie section,” Tian said, pointing to a menu board hanging above the bar. “Those are what you need after a workout like that.”
Mal’s eyes darted over the section. Each smoothie was at least eighteen dollars. “I didn't bring my wallet.”
“Hmm?” Tian turned away from the board to face him, “What was that?”
Mal felt his face flush. “I didn’t bring cash. Or my wallet even. Just my keys and my bus pass.” He looked at the floor. It was one of those fake hardwood floors that felt like plastic.
“Oh, don’t worry about it. My treat.”
“Are you sure?” Mal looked up.
Tian nodded, “I’ve got all this scholarship money from this big Eten scholastic fund, so don’t even worry about it. I would need to take you here for every meal for a month to even make a dent in it.”
“Oh. Thanks.”
“No problem.” Tian turned back to the menu board. “What do you think you’re going to get? I think the Almond Butter Dream sounds great.”
“Uhh, what’s the Avo Beet Limonade Smoothie?”
“Who knows? You should try it, then we can find out.”
“Sure.” Mal said. He was not sure he liked the sound of that, but he was locked in now.
They ordered and Tian paid the ridiculous forty dollar price plus tip for the two smoothies. The man who handed them over called Mal ‘little bro’ and congratulated him on the start of his fitness journey. That was somehow more embarrassing than almost passing out in front of Tian, but at least he was able to run away to the street as Tian paid for the drinks.
She found him moments later after exiting the shop. “You don’t really like crowds do you, Mal?”
Mal shook his head. “I feel awkward around lots of people.”
Tian nodded and handed him a spoon. “For sharing,” she said. Sharing? With who? Did she have a slight flush?
“Are you excited then for the Institute or more nervous because it’s a big school with lots of people?”
“Definitely more excited,” Mal said, still staring at his spoon as he followed Tian. “I like magic more than enough to feel awkward around strangers.”
“Do you feel awkward around me?” Tian glanced at him and looked away quickly.
“A little,” Mal said, greatly exaggerating the truth, “But that’s just because I don’t really know you, I think.”
“We have to fix that then, obviously.” Tian said, “What do you want to know about me?” She stopped by a tall parking garage and brought Mal inside and to a cute, red, two door coupe. She unlocked it, gesturing for Mal to sit inside.
Mal did, sitting down in the passenger seat. It was a little cramped for his height but otherwise comfortable. Tian peeled the top off her smoothing and stuck a straw into it, taking a long sip.
“That’s pretty good.” She said with a relaxed smile, “Well? What do you want to know?”
“How did you get your scholarship?” Mal said.
“It was an affirmative action thing, a scholarship for extranormals only. I still needed good grades and to write an essay and to get teacher recommendations and all that, but there are only so many extranormals applying to UCLA.” Tian said. She looked at Mal’s untouched smoothie. “Are you going to eat that?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” Mal popped off the top of his smoothie as well. It had a hole for a straw but Tian also took the top off so he did the same. He took a sip from his straw and made a face. Avocado, beets, lime, and something pulpy all mixed with coconut juice.
“Not good?” Tian picked up a spoon and reached across the car to take a big scoop of his thick smoothie. Oh. Sharing. Tian was Eten, of course she was going to share her food with him. And he with her. Unfortunately. She made the same face Mal made when she tasted his smoothie. “Oh.”
“Yeah,” Mal said. He took another long sip from his straw. “It’s not the best thing I’ve ever had.”
“Why are you asking about my scholarship?” Tian said, reaching across the car to take another scoop of his smoothie, despite her apparent dislike for it.
“We don’t know if we can afford the Institute’s tuition,” Mal said, embarrassed. He took another sip of the smoothie with a small wince. The poor taste did not help with his embarrassment. “I’m going to have to find a job for sure, and we are applying for scholarships, and I’m applying for Canadian citizenship through my mom, but that might take a while.” Mal shrugged, “I guess I am just hoping the process is easy.”
“There are probably a lot more people applying for an extranormal-only scholarship to the Institute, huh?” Tian saw his bitter expression and offered him a spoonful of her own smoothie. Mal stared at it for a moment before making a cautious motion with his own spoon. Tian laughed, “No, take it.”
Mal reached for the spoon and their hands touched as Tian passed the spoon to him. Another shot of adrenaline made his chest pound as he realized he was alone in a car sharing food with a pretty girl. And he was about to eat from her spoon. A spoon that had been in her mouth. He couldn’t do it. He froze up.
“Mal, are you okay?” Tian’s face fell into a look of concern. He couldn’t have that. He put the spoon in his mouth. The entire thing.
“This is way better than mine,” Mal said, trying to keep his mind from panicking.
Tian either didn’t notice his state or decided to ignore it, her face brightening with a cute smile as he handed the spoon back. “I know, isn’t it good? It has vanilla, almond butter - obviously, banana, and coconut milk. Maybe something else too, I can’t remember.”
“Either way it’s much better than mine,” Mal said, taking another long sip from his own smoothie. Tian didn’t ask why he continued to drink his. They were both Eten, the value of food had been worked into their very cores.
“You should tutor.”
“What?” Mal looked up from his smoothie.
“You can do magic right? Not just the household stuff, but real magic?” Tian liked her lips, distracting Mal from the conversation for half a beat.
“Yeah. Yes. I’m pretty good at complicated stuff.” Mal said.
“You should tutor then. There are a ton of rich parents who want their kids to know magic in LA. Tutors who can’t even do magic can get paid up to a hundred dollars an hour. I know because my parents are looking for a tutor for Wern. That’s my brother. There are so many who are all studied in the theory of magic, but most of them can barely weave a household spell. My parents always test them to make sure. They don’t want someone who doesn’t know actual magic teaching Wern, they think it’s weird. They are progressive, but they're not that progressive. They still have trouble seeing people do magic stuff without the Eten tendencies, you know? But you can do magic! You’re even going to the Institute for admissions testing! Since you know actual magic you can probably charge twice that. And you’re Eten, so you can probably charge even more. I’m going to tell my parents about you and see if they want to hire you. But you should definitely tutor someone. Also, was that thing true about Professor Pewter calling you to personally ask you to test for the institute, by the way? I didn’t know what Rudolf was talking about at first, but I looked him up later. He’s a really big deal. Plus he’s so hot. Do you think you’ll get to meet him?”
Mal stared at her, unblinking. Tian noticed.
“What? Is there something on my face?” She wiped around her mouth, “Did I say something weird? Was it the thing about the professor? He is hot. That’s a fact. You can’t blame me for noticing.”
“I was just thinking you talk a lot.” Mal said, “The same way you text.”
Tian flushed. It was the first time Mal had seen a brown skinned Eten flush. Tian’s cheeks became slightly darker brown in contrast to how his or his sister’s became an even brighter red.
“Well you’re not saying anything.”
“I know. Sorry. It wasn’t a complaint. I like it, it makes me feel less awkward.”
“Oh! That’s good. My mom always teases me about it, but she talks just as much.” Tian favored him with a sweet smile, “I’m happy to help. Why does it make you feel less awkward?”
“Uhh.” Because it makes you look awkward, too.
Tian’s eyes widened, “It’s because I’m being awkward, isn't it?”
“No.” She’s a mind reader. Do not panic.
“It totally was!”
“Maybe a little.”
Tian laughed, her blue eyes sparkling. “Ungrateful! I train you all afternoon, buy you a smoothie and give you a ride home and this is how you repay me? I should kick you out!” Tian laughed again.
Mal felt himself smile a little. It was hard not to when Tian was so full of joy. “You tried to poison me with a smoothie, more like.”
“Oh, you did not just insult my solush.” Tian put her smoothie down, grabbed the smoothie from his hands and took a long sip from his straw. She made a face. “Maybe you described it accurately.”
Mal looked at Tian and his drink. She was trying to take another sip but was wincing as she did, her eyes closed and her face screwed up into a tight grimace. Her drink was sitting right there…. He took it, taking a sip from her straw. It really was much better than his.
“Bleck. I’m glad this isn’t mine.” Tian said. She opened her eyes and noticed Mal had stolen her drink. “Hey!”
Mal allowed himself a small smile. “What? You took mine first. I thought we were sharing.”
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Tian dropped him off outside his home in Pasadena. He thanked her for the ride and exited the car. He could see his sister watching them from the living room window of their craftsman style home. As he walked up to the door he saw his sister waving and looked over his shoulder to see Tian waving back. Mal gave a quick wave too, but shortly after entered the house. His sister met him at the door.
“Who was that?” Ophi said as soon as he walked in the door. “She was really pretty.”
“That’s Tian,” Mal said. “She is in the same pre-college athletics program as Rudy is at UCLA.”
“And she gave you a ride home?” Ophi said, “Is she your girlfriend?”
“No! No.” Mal felt his face flush. “She’s helping me train for the physical portion of the assessment test. That’s it.”
Ophi grinned. “Mom! Did you see the girl that dropped Mal off from his training? She was really pretty.”
His mother materialized in the hallway that led to the kitchen, a cheery smile on her face that was at odds with the carefully controlled tone of her voice. “What’s this, Malenthiar? There’s a woman in your life and you haven’t introduced me?”
“Ophi, why?”
Ophi stuck out her tongue and scampered off to her room, leaving him in the hall with his mother.
“Well, Malenthiar? Who is this young woman?” Eeleei’s smile grew by a few molars. Dammit, Ophi. This conversation was probably coming either way, but Ophi had definitely made it worse.
“Tian is the person who is helping me get ready for the assessment test,” Mal said. He walked into the living room and flopped down on the couch, still exhausted from the workout. “She’s in the same program as Rudy.”
Eeleei lifted his legs from the couch and placed them down on the floor of the living room, sitting in the spot beside him. “Tian is an unusual name.” She commented.
“It’s short for Kottianny.”
His mother grinned, “I’ve never heard that name before. She’s Eten.”
It was not a question but Mal answered her anyway. “Yes, she’s Eten.”
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
“And she’s in the same program as Rudolf, that’s amazing.” She sounded genuine, which made Mal give her a look.
“Mom, you said aug athletics are for uncultured, ignorant barbarians and humans with no other options left to them when Ophi was thinking about joining a extracurricular aug athlete program.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about Malenthiar,” Eeleei said, not looking at her son, “I have always been respectful of those inspiring athletes.” A lie. An enormous lie.
“That’s not even close to true, Mom.” Mal said, “You call sports arenas ‘dedicated temples to bloodlust and violence’.”
“Well, I have changed my perspective,” his mother said. That was not a lie, which was so shocking it made Mal bolt upright in his seat.
“How did this happen?” Mal said.
“Well if my son is dating an augmented athlete, I can’t very well think poorly of her now can I? Speaking of which, we are inviting her to dinner after the next training session.”
“Don’t say it like that, Mom, it’s a training session! Also, we’re not dating! I’ve met her twice and one of those times I was covered in sweat and completely gross.”
“That’s how dates are supposed to end, Malenthiar.”
“MOM!”
Eeleei laughed, “I’m sorry, Malenthiar, I couldn’t resist. You were home awfully late though.”
Mal leaned back on the sofa, hiding his hands in his face. This was not happening. “Mom, please. We got smoothies after. It’s important for training.”
“She bought you food?” Oh no. She was honing in on the exactly wrong part of that sentence. “Did you share with each other?”
Mal peeked through his hands at his mother, confused. “Did we share? Of course we did. We walked to her car and had our smoothies there. We’re Eten. Sharing food is part of who we are.”
His mother’s smile was very wide now, “Malenthiar, I’m sorry, but I may have failed you in some of your Eten cultural education. We share food in our home because we are a family and in a group because it is solush. Sharing food with another, especially a potentially interested party, and especially in a private environment is a much more intimate affair.”
Mal felt his face flushing for what must have been the hundredth time that day. “Intimate?” He squeaked.
“On a first date? That is rather bold, and a significant compliment.”
Mal opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. He tried several more times. Nothing. His mother was smiling a very happy smile.
“You need to stop the fish impression and relax, Malenthiar.” She said, “I doubt your friend, Tian, holds the act in the same context as I do, or any of the Etens who grew up before the Merge. She probably heard about it from her mother or an older relative and did not quite grasp the significance of such an act. Now come to the kitchen, I’ve got dinner ready. And don’t forget to invite Kottianny in the next time she drops you off, okay?”
Mal nodded, still unable to speak.
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After dinner Mal went straight to his room, eager to escape the gentle ribbing of his family about his new ‘girlfriend’. As if anyone would be interested in him when there were people like Rudy or Alejandro around.
Even if his mother wasn’t lying about the significance of sharing food, which he knew she wasn’t, he had never heard of such a thing. He doubted Tian had either, given how the day went, even if she thought it was just casual flirting. Tian had given him a good idea though.
Mal sat down at his computer, opening it up and searching for magic tutors in the LA area. He clicked the first result he came across, number one of two point two million. It was a promoted advertisement, but linked to a website offering a wide variety of tutoring services, not just magic tutoring. They charged fifty dollars per hour for regular subjects and over two hundred per hour to teach magic. He clicked out of the site, going to the second result on the page.
It was another tutoring site, this time only offering magic tutoring. It charged one hundred and ninety-five dollars per hour and bragged that all their tutors could perform magic spells. Mal doubted that was the case, given what Tian had told him. She hadn’t been lying either. This website also was advertising that they were looking to hire. Mal clicked the link. They were offering fifty dollars per hour for tutors who could perform magic. Mal frowned at the number. Where was all that money going? Fifty dollars per hour would normally be a great rate of pay, but when the service cost two hundred? Mal doubted the company added that much value.
The website said they had all the clientele that employees wanted and very flexible hours, but basic math told Mal he would need to work four times as much to make up for one hour worked, and the company would still be taking three quarters of that. Maybe it would be worth it if he was looking for full time employment, but he still had his own studying to worry about, as well as training for the physical exam.
No, Mal decided right then and there that he would be self employed as a tutor. He clicked off the website, returning to the search results. He scoured through them for a few minutes, clicking on every few links, trying to find a place where he could put up a listing for his services. He found two promising websites. One was a community page called Greater LA Moms and another was a Educational Services website for LA.
Mal liked the sound and look of the Educational services website better. It was clean and professional, while the Greater LA Moms site looked like it had been put together by a bunch of moms. Unfortunately, Mal found that after only a few clicks he needed a California business license to get his name listed.
LA Moms it was. Looking through the website was a little surreal. Mal was not a complete stranger to the internet, but it appeared that the people who used this website might be. It was a forum based site and Moms were posting pictures of their kids and gossiping about rumored crimes going on in their area. There were quite a few talking about how dangerous Pasadena was getting in certain areas, which left Mal a bit confused. He had never seen a crime in Pasadena in his life, unless you counted jaywalking or littering. Maybe he just wasn’t familiar with some areas of the city.
Mal clicked to a section of the site labeled “Tutoring and Tutors’. This was exactly what he was looking for, he even saw a few posts specifically asking if anyone knew of tutors that went for cheaper rates than the big tutoring companies. Mal certainly did, since he planned on offering his time for one hundred and fifty dollars per hour. It was very reasonable, in his opinion, given the going rates. Mal clicked to make a post and was informed that he needed to create an account. After doing so he returned to the page, scrolling through some of the posts that were from people advertising their services. Everyone listed a name, an email, their qualifications and their experience. Mal frowned. He didn’t have any experience, and he wasn’t sure if he had any qualifications either.
He typed out a post anyway, including a bit more detail about himself in case that made a difference. Tian said that being Eten probably helped. As well as being able to weave and having an invite to test at the Institute, so he included it all.
Hello. I am Malenthiar Thomas. I am a tutor specializing in magic and magic studies. I am half-Eten, on my mother’s side and I am able to weave spells. I have completed Professor Pewter’s Puzzle Pack and have been invited to partake in the admissions test for the Canadian Institute of Magic and Learning. The rate for my services is $150/hour. If you are interested in retaining my services, please contact me at [email protected]. Thank you.
Mal reread the message several times, thankful his father had insisted on making his email his first and last name only, instead of magicmaster as he wanted when he was ten. Satisfied that it was an excellent message, Mal clicked post.
He stared at the screen. He could see eight thousand moms were currently online from a counter on the right of the website, and that over a thousand were using the tutor section currently, but no one responded. That was fine. Probably. It was around dinner time. People were probably away from their computers, and not everyone would be looking for tutors. Some people would already have them.
His phone buzzed. It was Tian. The message was filled with emojis, as usual.
[Hey Mal! I talked to my parents and told them how amazing you are. They say if you want to come over after our next workout session you can. I think they are going to want to test you to make sure you can actually weave, but if you can they are offering three hundred dollars per hour since you’re Eten and you have been invited to test in Canada. Wern probably wants four hours a week, so that's pretty good! Anyway, let me know and we can do it.]
Mal gaped at the message. Three hundred dollars per hour? That was twelve hundred dollars per week! That was all he would need to pay for his education if he were working all year long.
[Yes. Please let your parents know I am very interested. But I am only charging one hundred and fifty dollars per hour, so you can tell them they get a discount if you want.]
[Awesome! It’s fine though we can definitely afford it. I won’t tell them if you won’t. That way you don’t have to work as much and it will leave you with a lot more time to train and study!]
[Thanks, but I am going to tell them if you don’t. I don’t want them to find out I am charging others less and have them thinking I am ripping them off.]
Mal hit send and his phone immediately buzzed again, but it was not Tian this time. It was his email. He got a response from his advertisement! Mal put his phone down, even as it buzzed again with another email and turned back to his computer. It would be easier to respond to the emails from there.
He opened up his email. There were already twenty-two new emails from Greater LA Moms. He opened the first email. It was a mom calling him a liar. Mal frowned. That was not the best start. Oh well, there were always some nasty people in the world. The second and third also called him a liar, but in more creative and insulting ways. Mal felt a dark pit forming in his stomach.
The fourth email was a mom asking for a discount on his services since “you must be young and have no real experience”. Mal responded to that one, telling Cindy that one hundred and fifty dollars an hour was a firm price.
Several more emails were asking for his availability, which he responded to right before he received a reply from Cindy.
[Fuck you you cheapass fucking elf. How dare you hold my child’s education over me for money do you have no shame? I was hoping since you are half human you might be half decent at least, but now I at least know that any elf blood spoils whatever good god gave all humans! But not ELVES! Hope you enjoy being REJECTED everywhere you go you half breed elf pig]
The dark pit deepened. Mal shut his laptop slowly. He ignored the buzzing of his phone and stood up from his chair, wandering slowly over to his bed. He slumped into his bed and curled into a tight ball, holding his pillow closely to his chest and buried his head in it. He did not cry. He would not cry. He wasn’t crying. He wasn’t that little kid anymore.
On his desk, his phone buzzed and buzzed. On his bed, Mal flinched with each one.
----------------------------------------
Mal stood outside a small home in the backyard of another, larger home. He wasn’t sure what to call the small building. It was only a single story tall and there were probably only three or four rooms inside. He thought he heard Rudy’s father call them accessory dwelling units once, so that was probably the correct name, but that was much too impersonal for someone’s home.
Mal knocked on the door of the tiny home, steeling himself with a breath, causing a small twinge of pain to pass through his body. He was still extremely sore from the previous day’s workout and lying in a ball on his bed had not helped. He had eventually worked up the courage to check his phone again and apologize to Tian for taking so long to reply to her follow up texts. Luckily she was understanding. Even better, one of the moms who asked about his schedule responded to him, and even better, she was very kind in her reply. It would have been a long night for Mal otherwise. Or longer. Several other people accused him of being a liar, though thankfully none of them said anything more than that.
The door of the small home opened, revealing a short, dark skinned, teenage boy a few years younger than Mal. He was wearing a Brazilian soccer jersey and a loose pair of shorts. He had long, tangled, dark hair and curious, dark eyes. He was skinny, the way many boys his age were and was gazing up at Mal with a nervous expression on his face.
“Hello. I am Malenthiar Thomas.” Mal said, trying not to sound as nervous as the boy looked. “Are you João Costa?”
“Yes,” the boy, João, nodded. “My mom told me about you.”
Mal managed a smile. “She told me you were very interested in magic and you could even do some yourself.” It was the reason Mal responded to Luciana, João’s mother. If a thirteen year old human was already doing magic it probably meant he was talented. Hopefully that would mean teaching him would be slightly easier.
João nodded again and stepped away from the door, not speaking but leaving the door open. Mal followed him inside. The home was neat and tidy, but small. The kitchen barely qualified as one, with only a half sized stove and tiny oven, a kitchen table large enough for two and no more, and very little counter space. The largest thing in the kitchen was the fridge, which was at least full sized. It was covered with photos of João and two other kids that looked like possible siblings, children’s drawings of four smiling people, and magnets in a language Mal didn’t recognize. Spanish maybe? No, the soccer jersey. Portuguese.
João turned down the hall, though it wasn’t really large enough to be called that. It was more of a turn around a wall that led to three doors. João pointed to one, “Bathroom.”
“Thanks.”
João continued into a door on the left. It was a small bedroom with two single beds inside. One side of the room was covered in posters of young and pretty men and women all in various stages of singing or dancing. The posters were above a messy bed with a bright pink comforter. Between the two beds was a small desk. On the far side of the room a second bed lay beneath a mural of posters. They depicted the Brazilian aug athlete combat team in various states, from sanitized photoshoots to the midst of bloody combat. The team were the reigning world champions, and even in Mal’s biased household, some of these people were famous.
“That’s Luca Carvalho.” Mal said, pointing to one of the men. He was screaming at a silver trophy grasped tightly in his fists. It was a famous moment. Carvalho had been the last man standing for Brazil in the previous World Championship and fought his way through the remaining two Eten fighters from Canada. It was a stunning upset and left his mother annoyed at the country for months afterwards. Despite her dislike for combat sports.
“You know him?” João said, meeting Mal’s eyes for the first time.
“My mom hates him,” Mal smiled, “She was very upset when he beat two Etens to win the Championship. Especially Zala, since she was a Hunter. But he’s really talented. My friend Rudy wants to be an aug athlete too, and Luca Carvalho is one of his favorites.”
“He’s my favorite fighter, too,” João said. He gazed at the photo of Luca for a long moment, eyes shining. “He can do magic and direct expression really well.”
Mal’s mother had some opinions of how accurate that statement was with regards to magic, but Mal kept them to himself. It probably wouldn’t start his relationship with João on the right foot. “Do you want to be an aug athlete, too?” Mal said, sitting down on the pink bed.
João’s face screamed ‘yes’, but he hung his head, staring at his knees. “I can’t.”
“You can’t? Why not?”
João didn’t say anything but flushed slightly red for reason’s Mal couldn’t even begin to understand.
“Well, let’s not worry about that.” Mal said, “Why don’t you show me what you can do with magic. Luca can do that, so we’ll treat it as step one. Sound good?” That should work for motivation, right? Kids liked to have goals, probably. Mal tried to remember what he was like at thirteen and came up blank.
João didn’t look particularly motivated by his words, but he nodded. “What do you want to see?”
“Can you weave any spells?” Mal said, “If you can, let’s start with one to conjure a flame.”
“Okay.” João walked over to the small desk and opened a beginner’s spell book that was lying on top of it. It was faded and worn from years of use, but Mal saw that João handled it with care. He flipped to a page early in the text and studied the weave for a moment. He took a step into the middle of the room and moved his hands through the appropriate forms. Mal watched as he felt the weave take shape. A second later, a ball of flame sprang to life around João’s hand, brighter and more powerful than anything Mal could do.
“That’s great, thank you, João.” Mal said with a smile. He wasn’t jealous of a student. A boy. He wasn’t. “It’s really rare for humans to be able to touch magic before they turn sixteen. And you can weave? That’s fantastic.”
“Really?” João said. “It’s good?”
“I’m half-Eten and I couldn’t touch magic before I was sixteen,” Mal said.
João smiled slightly at that, kicking his legs from where they swung on his chair. “I like magic a lot,” he confided, “It feels like there's a fire inside of me.”
“For me it feels like life,” Mal said with a grin, “What else can you do?”
“Lots!” João grinned back. “I can cast some other spells and I can do direct expressions, plus sometimes when I’m really happy or excited sparks shoot everywhere.”
“That’s called intrinsic magic,” Mal said, “It’s really common in Eten families, we can use it to flavor a conversation. Sometimes we use it without meaning to.” Mal illustrated his point by shooting bright pink sparks from his ears. “We don’t do it in public or mixed company though. It’s considered rude.”
“Cool,” João’s eyes were wide and his tone was impressed. “Can I do that?”
“It’s hard to teach,” Mal said, “It’s kind of like using a muscle you didn’t know you had. The more you do it accidentally, the more you’ll be able to do it on purpose.”
Mal had João go through the basic forms and beginning exercises for weaving magic that his mother had put him through when he was younger. João seemed to be familiar with many of them, explaining he had looked much of it up online and used videos to practice.
The most impressive thing came later, however. Mal was showing João a cleaning weave, one of the many that he or his mother used on a daily basis. João was going through the form when he paused. “Why do we need the Together form?”
Mal looked at him, recognizing what the questions meant. He asked a very similar question to his mother once before. “What do you mean?”
“It doesn’t seem to do anything,” João said. He pursed his lips, crossing the room to join Mal on the pink bed. “Look.” João moved his hands through the forms but stopped when he got to the together form. “See, the magic doesn’t move at all! The form just links the ones that come before and after.”
“Do you think you can weave that spell without together?” Mal said, watching João closely. His dark eyes were squinted with concentration and his face was wrinkled with a frown.
“Maybe.”
“Why don’t you give it a try?”
João brought his small hands up and moved slowly through the forms. Mal watched him closely, waiting for the mistake to come. It did, as Mal knew it would, when João tried to skip the together form. The weave fell apart. Mal was not disappointed, however, as João recognized his mistake.
“Oh!” He said as soon as the weave fell apart, “I need to start with a different form now.”
“Do you?” Mal said.
“Yeah, I need to-hold on.” João moved his hands rapidly, bringing the weave together successfully this time. The spell flowed into the pink comforter below them and it brightened slightly. “That was a lot harder than the normal way,” he said.
“It takes more concentration to do more complex weaves,” Mal said, “Most people prefer simple weaves. They use more magic, but are easier to bring together. I’m the opposite though. I have a hard time moving a lot of magic around, so the more complex, the better it is for me. Unless it’s too hard to do it, of course.”
“There are spells that are too hard for you?” João asked, “But you’re an Eten!”
Mal laughed, “Do you think Etens are just born better at magic? We have to work hard, just like you.”
“Oh.” João looked slightly troubled by this. “I guess I thought that it was easier for you.”
“I have a couple of Etens friends that can barely weave at all,” Mal said, “Everyone has things they are good or bad at. These Etens are really good at direct expressions of magic, they are both at UCLA as aug athletes.” Describing Ita as a friend wasn’t lying was it? Maybe it was, but it probably wasn’t worth it to describe the real relationship to João.
“You know college rank fighters?” João’s eyes were the widest they’d been all afternoon.
“I do. Remember I mentioned my friend Rudy? He’s only sixteen, but he has a full scholarship for the next six years at UCLA.”
“A full scholarship. Wow.” João was practically drooling at the idea, “That’s one of your Eten friends?”
“Nope. Rudy is a human, just like you.”
João blinked. His wide eyes closed slightly, and the excitement slowly bled from his face. “Do you think I can do that?” His voice was small and quiet. In that moment, he looked scared and alone.
“I think so,” Mal said. “You’ve really impressed me today, João. I remember Rudy was doing amazing things before he turned sixteen, but I think you are, too. As long as you keep working hard, I think you can do whatever you want.”
“Really?” João’s voice was still quiet, but it now didn’t sound so small. The difference caused a flare of emotion to ball up in Mal’s chest. João wanted so badly for it to be true.
“Yes.” Mal choked out. “Yes.” He swallowed the frog in his throat, suddenly very thirsty. “Can I grab some water, João?”
“It’s in the fridge, I can-”
“It’s fine,” Mal interrupted, quickly standing and racing from the room, “I got it.”
Mal took a few steps into the kitchen and suppressed a sob, wiping the tears from his eyes. What was wrong with him? Why was he crying now? Mal took a deep breath, surprised to find that it was shaky. He opened a cupboard and found a few bowls and glasses. Taking one out he opened the refrigerator.
It was empty.
Mal closed the door, staring at the pictures on it. Three kids. A mother. No father. An empty fridge. It wasn’t right. Three children. Empty. A mother. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t right. Itwasntrightitwasntrightitwasntrightit-
“Malenthiar?”
Mal jumped. He had been staring at the refrigerator, glass in hand for how long? He opened the fridge again, taking out the lone pitcher of water that occupied the small space.
“What’s up, João?” He poured himself a glass and put the pitcher back. It wasn’t right.
“Are you okay? You were just staring at my sister’s drawing for a long time. I know my mom says it’s really good, but it’s not.”
Mal took a long drink of the water, emptying the glass in one go. “I was just lost in thought,” Mal said. “Hey, are you hungry? I forgot to eat lunch today, so I was thinking about ordering pizza.”
“I’m okay,” João lied. It wasn’t right. “My mom will be home soon with groceries.”
“Well I’m going to order pizza,” Mal said, “Did you know Etens view pizza as a very important dish? Sharing food holds a lot of significance for us, and pizza was made to be shared. I’ve heard of some Eten chefs who think pizza is almost sacred.”
“That’s dumb.” João said, “Pizza is just pizza.”
“Not to me. Sharing is part of solush.” Mal took out his phone, opening it to a pizza place. “What do your brothers and sister like? If I’m ordering for you and me I need to get something for everyone.”
João looked unsure, but the promise of pizza was too great and he eventually folded, telling Mal what his family liked. Mal ordered two large pizzas, one with pepperonis, extra cheese, onions and green peppers and the other with pretty much every vegetable that was available. The entire thing cost almost seventy dollars, including the tip, but he charged it all to his mother’s emergency card. She would understand. It wasn’t right.
Mal spent the next half an hour or so going over some more advanced spell forms with João. The kid really was special. It only took a little to get him interested in something and when he grasped it, he got all of it and didn’t let go. When the pizza finally arrived the study session was more or less lost. He was only scheduled for two hours, once per week with João, from five to seven, and with the pizza arriving at six thirty, there wasn’t much to do after.
Seven rolled around and Mal began to get ready to leave. João had devoured half of the pepperoni pizza and was lying on his bed, groaning in overstuffed happiness. Mal wasn’t sure when João’s mother was supposed to get back, she had said before seven, but there was no sign of her. Mal decided to stay another fifteen minutes, just to be sure. He took out his phone and texted his mom, letting her know he would be a little late getting back. It wasn’t too bad. One of the reasons he had agreed to take João as a student initially was because they were close by in Pasadena. He had walked here in less than fifteen minutes.
After fifteen minutes, he let João know he was leaving. João only groaned in response. Mal opened the front door and walked around to the front of the house proper.
There was an unfamiliar car in the driveway. It was old, probably as old as Mal, and not well maintained. The hubcaps were rusty and one of the doors was dented. He could also hear an unsteady clunking sound when the engine turned off, which couldn’t be good. Three doors popped open and two familiar looking children rolled out, sprinting across the lawn and screaming at each other, heading for the small home in the backyard.
“Luis, Daniela! Quiet down please. You will disturb the neighbors!” A woman followed the children out of the car, sighing as she heard the door to her home slam. She was short and had the look of someone who worked long hours with her hands. She was not overweight, but sturdy, with strong arms and a steady gait. She approached Mal. “Are you Mr. Thomas?” She had a slight accent.
“I am Malenthiar Thomas. It is nice to meet you, Mrs. Costa.” Mal said, proffering his hand to shake. She had a strong grip, “Please call me Mal.”
“Luciana,” Luciana said, “It is nice to meet you, Mal.” She turned back to the car, “Hold on just a second, I have groceries.” She emerged from the car with an armful of groceries, but not nearly enough to fill the fridge. Not nearly enough for four mouths for a week. It wasn’t right.
“I can help with that,” Mal said, taking a few bags from Luciana.
She gave him a tired smile. “Thank you. Sorry I’m late. I couldn’t get off on time and I had to pick up the kids and groceries,” She smiled as they walked to the small house and opened the door, “You know how it is.” she laughed, “Always something. Oh! You got pizza. How much do I owe you for that?”
Mal put his groceries down on the small kitchen counter. Luis and Daniela were happily munching away on the pizza in the kitchen, both going straight for the vegetarian slices, just like João said they would.
“It’s fine, Luciana.” Mal said. It wasn’t right.
“Don’t be silly,” Luciana opened her purse. It was a mom purse, almost identical to his own mother’s, except significantly more worn. She took out a wallet and opened it up. Mal could see the cash as she shifted through the bills. There were not three hundred dollars in there to pay for the session. There wasn’t even one hundred. “I’m a bit short of the session,” she continued, not looking up at Mal, “With rent and car payments and groceries, you know how it is,” She laughed again, but to Mal it was hollow and forced. She proffered her hand, fingers clenched tight around the cash. It had every bill from her wallet in it, barely enough to cover the pizza. Luciana still wasn’t looking at him. It wasn’t right.
Mal reached his hand up and pushed her hand away, back to her wallet. It wasn’t right.
“What are you doing?” Luciana said, “It’s yours, take it.” Her voice didn’t waiver, but Mal could hear the strain.
“Mrs. Costa. Luciana.” Mal felt the frog climb back up his throat, “I can’t take your money.”
“You have to. It’s yours. Don’t worry, it’s fine.”
“You’re lying.” It was automatic. Mal almost never responded when he heard a lie anymore, but this time he couldn’t help it.
“You don’t understand,” Luciana said. Mal couldn’t see her face, but he could see tears dripping to the floor. “João needs this. He needs a tutor.”
“João is special.” Mal said. He wasn’t looking at Luciana anymore. His eyes were fixed on the wet spot of tears on the floor. “I can’t take money from you.”
“Is there something wrong with my son?” Luciana’s head righted instantly to look at Mal, but he didn't raise his head to meet her eye.
“No,” Mal said. “He’s special. He's a prodigy. A genius. I spent two hours teaching him, Luciana, and it was obvious. He needs tutoring. And I am going to do it. But I will not take money from you.”
“What? You have the Institute-”
“It’s not right. It’s not solush.” Mal raised his head and looked at Luciana. She was still crying but now she was clutching her bills to her chest. Her eyes were full of confusion. “João is going to be a magic phenom, or an aug athlete or whatever he wants to be. He can pay me back then, when he’s rich and famous. Because he’s going to be.” Mal felt his throat tighten further, “You should have him come to my home when he finishes school on Wednesdays, from now on. He goes to Pasadena High, right? We can stick with the same time, but I have a lot of stuff there that will help him learn. I’ll send you the address.” Mal looked away from Luciana and took out his phone to send her an email but was interrupted by Luciana’s massive hug.