Chronicles Of A Boy Witch [Book 1: Andrew's Journey]

Chapter 1 : Where It Started

The events of that stormy night had occurred when Andrew was the tender age of six. He found himself pondering on them again ten years later, perched lazily on the edge of his desk. He swirled his wrist and tiny stars danced about to the circling movements. A pair of eyes followed the stars with great interest before abruptly jumping to try and catch one. The stars disappeared and he pouted at the offender.

"Bad cat," he chided. The cat simply cocked its head to one side and gave him an innocent look. He tried to hold his ground but eventually gave in and offered her a hand. As she came closer, he picked her up onto his lap and petted her soft gray and white fur. "Scar, you're the only one I'd forgive for doing something like that."

Scarlet purred in satisfaction. His other cat, Madelaine with her black fur and yellow eyes, crept up and rubbed herself against his leg, seemingly upset at the blatant favoritism. Andrew patted her on the head and she bit his index finger. "Hmph! And she wonders why she isn't the favorite!" he muttered under his breath. She looked up at him with a victorious glint in her crisp yellow eyes.

A dull sound reverberated around the room as Andrew's phone vibrated on his bed. He lifted his hand in its direction, palms facing bed-wards. The phone wobbled a bit as it lifted in the air and floated slowly towards him. "Hello...?" he said cautiously.

"HOW COULD YOU MISS SCHOOL TODAY-"

Andrew groaned loudly into the receiver. "I don't feel like talking right now."

"Well, that sucks. And here I was, waiting patiently by your front door. Your one and only friend-"

Caroline Harley was the closest thing Andrew had to a 'childhood friend', or rather even a 'friend'. He sighed and sprung off the desk and ambled over to the front door. He peeked through the peephole and assured that it was indeed her. Then he unlocked the door without bothering to open it and trudged over to the kitchen. She pushed open the door and stalked after him, chattering away without missing a beat.

"Why are you here?" Andrew sighed, exasperated. "Why didn't you just ring the doorbell?"

"Why didn't you come to school today?" she asked, more annoyed than worried.

"Didn't feel like it," he answered simply, as he covered a slice of bread with peanut butter. He had to do things manually when she was around.

"Don't you even want to know what you missed?" she asked after a short silence. "No need," Andrew yawned. She cocked her head to the side. "You know, you're being awfully dismissive... your grades aren't even that good..."

"Don't really care," he mumbled.

"UGH!" I don't know why I even bother with you!" Caroline fumed.

Andrew continued to butter the toast in silence. Why did she bother with him, Andrew wondered. He most certainly didn't want her to. Andrew had never gone out of his way to seek out her friendship. He was somewhat appreciative of the fact that she went out of her way to show concern for him and play the part of the 'childhood friend'. Perhaps as an ode to his now deceased parents who were friends with hers. But he felt that at one point, she started pushing herself onto him of her own free will.

Andrew didn't quite understand what people saw in Caroline. She was considered attractive by most people but nothing about her sparked any sort of emotion in him. Caroline was one of the more popular girls at the high school they both attended. Because she was so close to Andrew, people tried to befriend him to get closer to her. Because he rejected such advances, people considered him stuck up. There were many who were just plain jealous of their friendship. Andrew's social skills were mediocre at best and that only served to hinder his attempts to get people to cease their unreasonable dislike for him. All in all, Andrew decided to give up all hope of finding even one good friend, and to instead use that energy to concentrate on practicing magic. Caroline, of course, knew nothing about it. He grimaced at the very thought of telling her.