The Last Apothecary

Chapter 7.

The alarm went off, and I opened my eyes, already feeling tired. Why did the next few days of school always feel like such an energy drop from the first? It was like the honeymoon phase was already over, and I had no need to try to look extra nice as I got ready for the day. Then it hit me.

It was Wednesday. I had work. I scowled slightly, knocking my head against my dresser mirror. Not that I hated the gaming cafe, but I had only been working since the Summer. Now I had school, Mr. Dekoran wanted me to stay after, and I had a three to seven shift too. Not to mention if I had homework once I got home...

Great. There goes my life.

Sticking a toothbrush in my mouth, I checked my phone really quick as it buzzed in my pocket. I was surprised to see that I'd gotten a text from Elliot.

'Hello. I know we haven't seen each other all Summer. I'm really sorry about that, what with work and my studies taking up most of my time. Do you want to hang out today, after your Apothecary training? I'd love to catch up.'

The one time he asked to hang out first, and my day was filled. What was my luck? I texted back a short: 'Sorry can't today. Got work' and hoped that'd be good enough. I didn't even have time to eat breakfast in the morning, much less type out the kinds of books Elliot had the tendency to reply with.

With a quick grab of my backpack and tie of my shoes, I was out the door and into the cold early morning air. There was a thick fog outside, but I still made my way down to the bus stop just fine. The song blaring in my earbuds was catchy, and I sang along as the chorus came up, until a yawn hit me.

"Hey man. That was some pretty nice singing."

"What the-" I jumped back, startled. Next to me was a guy wearing a bright purple sweatshirt, the hood up to cover a scruffy mop of blond hair, and the zipper down to reveal a pink shirt with cartoonish dead fish on it. "Where the hell did you come from?"

"...I've been here. Waiting for the bus," he replied absentmindedly, almost as if I hadn't freaked out a second ago. "Was also here yesterday... and the day before that. You sang pretty well then too." His voice came out slow, like it was thoughtful, but I had no idea where the thoughts came from, or where they were headed as he continued to stare up into the grey blue sky.

"Uh, thanks I guess."

"I like that band too, even though I'm not a Witch. I think it's interesting, listening to that side of life, imagining what it must be like."

I didn't know if he wanted a response from me on what life was like, or what he was looking for as a silence filled the air. After all, it wasn't like I was the best person to ask. Aside from a few required classes and a single T-shirt, being a Witch didn't exactly affect me. That was a whole debocale I didn't feel like getting into though. Instead I just clipped the small earbud over my piercings again, making sure not to sing this time, and waited for the bus to finally pull up.

After that, school blurred by as a boring average day. Science had a bunch of lab safety packets, Basics to Magik hadn't become any easier no matter how much Dekoran glared at me to get a rock to inch across the floor, and gym was a hot sweaty mess. It wasn't as if I actually put any effort into the last class, but even with me walking the mile instead of running it, I was more than glad to finally take a seat in Mr. Dekoran's cold drafty tower of a room by the end of the day.

"All righty," I announced, tilting my neck back on the chair to try and work out the kink that was now sitting there. "What am I doing today?"

"Hmm," I heard him muse. "You seem in a bit of a rush to get started. And here I thought you were going to be rather reluctant after how you were two days ago."