The Last Apothecary

Chapter 14.

"So," Elliot began, as we tucked away the last jug of lemonade we decided to make for the day. "How has your work been recently?"

I stopped for a second, the jar I was supposed to be taking out of Elliot's levitation spell being left to fly solo for the moment as my hands froze."Uh... nonexistent."

His eyes nearly popped out of his head as he whipped it around to face me. "What? What do you mean, nonexistent? Were you fired?"

"...Not sure yet. My boss said they would let me know, but it's been over a week now." I looked away, not wanting to meet his gaze.

"What did you do? Don't tell me you let your anger get the best of you again," he spoke softly, although it still struck a small nerve with me, my fist already clenching in defense.

"No! It's just that..." I sighed. There wasn't any point in lying about it. "I kinda wrote Human on my W4 for the demographic questions, and they found out I was a Witch... and my wand was at work. They apparently have a thing against wands, so they let me go home early and said they would contact me whenever I was allowed back."

At this point, Elliot gave up on the idea I was ever going to grab the floating jug, lifting it into the fridge with a sympathetic wince. "They might never get back to you then. That's how it is with Humans. They're so... judgemental and afraid. I can't tell you how many interviews I went through and was turned down on the fact I was a Witch. It's downright ridiculous that we don't have an equal rights act, yet even after twenty years now!" The sudden shift in tone surprised me, with how tame he normally was, but I supposed it was valid.

"Well hey, not everybody's like that," I mumbled, my brain thinking back to Dustin. "But yeah, I'm surprised there isn't one. I'm sorry it was so hard for you to get a job."

"That's the thing though. You and I shouldn't have to lie about ourselvs to get a job. In fact, that's not even a thought that should have to cross our minds. You should just be allowed to be yourself." He was sitting down now, seemingly exhausted as he rested his head in one hand.

"It wasn't directly a lie..." I felt the need to explain. "I just... don't think the term Witch by itself accurately describes who I am. I don't mind being one, and yeah, I like to wear what I do, but I also don't want to be only viewed as that. I'm my own person, and I don't get the chance to prove that when I'm just some statistic on a government form. It's not like I was trying to hide it to have a better shot at being hired. I was just..." Done.

"But you shouldn't have to feel like it's something to be outed for, and to write something else...  you know that's going to be considered illegal. Humans are only going to keep using little things like this against us until we can get some representation in the government. That's simply how it is."

"I guess..." I started, also sitting down for a moment as the room became quiet. It was weird how at times he seemed just like how I remembered him, but at others... well, it just seemed like something had gotten to him over the Summer. I wasn't one for politics, but I knew he wasn't going to agree with anything I thought about it, so I just decided to nod along. Besides, I didn't know why he thought that way. Who was to say he wasn't right?

With not much else to do, I pulled out my phone. Six thirty. That seemed like a late enough time to excuse myself.

"Hey, I think I'm gonna start heading home now. I'll see you around, all right?" I mentioned, patting his back to try to get him to perk up at least a little.

"Yeah..." he muttered, but his mind was somewhere else, eyes stuck on the floor, contemplative. Even so, he remained as polite as ever. "See you later. Have a good night."