Spellcaster series #3: The Adept

Close Call

TRISTAN

Dr. Nicole stepped out of the ward after Wynona teleported to the Academy. Heidi sat in the chair next to my mother, angled slightly towards the window. Sun rays filtered through the perforated blinds and threw their golden shade onto her hair, giving her black locks thin, golden brown stripes as she stared into the distance. She was in deep thought, as I had rarely seen her in, so I decided to step outside for a while.

I owed her this.

I chased after Dr. Nicole who was halfway down the corridor. She walked fast and urgent, as a doctor in a hospital always would. As I caught up with her, her green eyes met mine, startled.

"Forgive my manners, doctor," I said, searching for the right words. "I just want to thank you for saving my mother."

She smiled, a genuine one, and nodded. "You couldn't take me seriously before when I was in a frock, but in my white coat I am a lifesaver?"

I stared at her. "I never saw you any less of a person, doctor. Do not mistake my silence for arrogance. It was my mother that I was angry at, and my mistake was to take it out on you. I do apologise for that."

She shook her head. "You're confusing me, sir. What has your mother got to do with us?"

"She set us up without informing me beforehand."

She raised her eyebrows. "Technically, she didn't set us up without both our knowledge. I asked about you and she jumped at the chance."

I read her olive eyes, calm and confident. "I already have a lady in my life, doctor. That is why I showed no interest."

Her lips parted, cheeks blushed a deep red. "Oh, I see. Well, I do hope you forgive me, sir, I didn't intend to embarrass you that way."

"Not your fault," I said. "Like I mentioned before, my mother did not inform me beforehand, otherwise I would have told her and spared all this...awkwardness."

The doctor nodded, trying to shake off the redness on her cheeks. "I am happy for you, sir, I truly am. May I ask, is it Heidi?"

She read my face as she waited for a response. I admitted, I was slightly relieved. "Yes."

Dr. Nicole bit her lips. "I saw the way you relaxed around her. A man like you builds walls only to lower them for the right woman. I wish the both of you well. I'll be seeing you around, sir."

I nodded with a smile and she walked away, disappearing round the corner. I returned to the ward after getting water in a paper cup from the dispenser beside the nurse's station. Instead of seeing Heidi in the chair, it was empty with her leather jacket neatly hanging on it. A nurse was attending to my mother.

"Where did she go?" I asked him, pointing to the empty chair.

"The restroom, I believe," he replied, scratching onto the clipboard with a pen.

I placed the cup on the table and sat in the chair. The sun was setting as the clouds parted. Puddles on the pavement below were getting smaller, people walking without umbrellas. A man wriggled out of his brown leather jacket and tossed it into his car before locking its doors with a button on his key. His partner walked beside him, pocketing her wand. They scanned the parking lot before making their way to the other side of the road. Their cautious movements and casual dressing told me that they were a couple of Spellcaster Scouts. Must be Virtuosos.

Something was telling me to check on the Academy.

I headed out the ward and walked towards the visitors' restroom at the end of the hallway. There was only one and it was occupied. I gave it a couple of knocks.