The curious case of Latte Gail

SpellBound

"...You're lying."

Azul shook his head. "Does it look like I'm lying?"

Latte scrambled around and leaned closer to him. His hands fisting the grass under them and his hair frizzed up at the sudden revelation.

"Wait...but if he made it." Latte paused, his hand reaching his chin as he thought. "How could Lilia..."

"Can you please not mumble? We're having a serious discussion right now."

"Oh, sorry haha..."

Azul cleared his throat. "As I was saying, he made the spell. I don't know how but he said that he 'saw it through the mirror.'"

He said while quoting Mocha. Latte's eye twitched and he was only more confused.

"Saw it through the mirror? The one my mom picked up?"

"Yes."

The mirror. Its gold rim and decorations that framed the beholder. The way it was sculpted to be held by hand so that it could fit the person looking through it and how the nightshade carvings should have been a sign that something was brewing. But how the hell was he supposed to know that?

"That mirror...wasn't passed down by his grandma and it wasn't the main source for the switch." He changed his position slightly, his hands falling to his lap as he lifted his glasses. "The mirror was just the medium. The twins found it one day and brought it to us–"

Azul took a deep breath, taking a break from his ranting. Latte didn't really know what to do but patted his shoulder as a way to comfort him.

"I...don't know how exactly he did it. I don't know how long it took for him to think up such a complicated spell. Latte was good, great even but he was no prodigy. I'm sure of it."

"Well that's kinda rude."

"Maybe but it's the truth. I know what his skill level in magic was." Azul lifted his hand. "Show me your pen."

Latte blinked but complied, shuffling his pen out of the pocket of his pants. Azul immediately snatched it up with his gloved hand and observed it, pointing at the violet gem. It was crystal clear of course and Latte's eyes glanced between the pen and Azul.

"Um..."

Azul groaned. "It's clear."

"I can see that?"

"No you–! Are you purposefully being dense, right now?"

Latte opened his mouth to rebuke Azul's claim but the other teen just continued his explanation.

"You haven't accumulated any blot."

"That's a good thing, though? Also, how did you even know about that?"

He let out a small 'hmph' sound in an almost smug and condescending tone. "I predicted it."

"Bullshit."

"Being vulgar doesn't suit you Latte."

Azul stuffed the pen into the top pocket of his uniform.

"I'm saying that because it makes sense. Imagine working on a fish in your house, spending years to make sure it was well taken care of but then, you left and someone took your place."

The analogy was going too fast and Latte could barely keep up. But he could picture it. A goldfish swimming around a large tank filled with plastic algae and sandy ground.

"They most likely have no idea how to take care of the fish, you see even though fishes are an easy pet to take care of. Just feed and watch them. Over time, they grow accustomed to it and learn how to care for it."