Mirror, Mirror (Book 2)

Chapter 36: Christopher Harper

As Stevie Wonder had finished singing his song, the atmosphere immediately grew quiet. Sticking against the gray walls are three glass windows sitting in a straight, horizontal line. Through the glass is a piercing, white light forming shapes on the gray tile floor.

On cue, big flies appeared out of thin air, zipping over to the second glass window. The flies seemed eager to break the glass as they smacked their fat, black bodies against the surface, but much to their chagrin, the glass didn't make so much as a crack. 

Meanwhile, Mama Marie sat next to Oliver wetting her cracked lips with her dry tongue so she could speak.

However, as she tries to wet her mouth, the blistering wind from the broken AC dried her spit, causing Mama Marie to lick her lips again.

Ugh, thought the blind chef.

Her mouth is as dry as the Sahara Desert, however, Mama Marie doesn't know where she put her chapstick, and her lemon iced tea is somewhere hidden in her overcrowded refrigerator.

Sensing this, Oliver hands her his water bottle then watched as Mama Marie swallowed two sips, cleared her throat, and gave the boy back his beverage.

"Thank you, Oliver." Mama Marie says warmly. "I needed that."

Handing him back his water bottle, Mama Marie cleared her throat then began her story:

"Before you were born, your ancestors were practitioners of white magic," she says. "they were strong, caring, and devoted towards humans and supernatural creatures alike."

"For many years, they have protected this world from Satan's demons, but when your grandparents passed the responsibility to your father, Christopher Harper, they moved to Chicago where they enrolled him to an academy for people like him."

"Hogwarts?" Amelia guessed, half-joking.

Mama Marie shook her head. "Humans knew it as Esterville Academy for Gifted Children, but between you and me, the school was named that way for a reason."

"Like what?" asked Oliver.

Mama Marie leans her back against the rung of the table then says, "it's called Hellstone Academy: a preparatory school where kids ages 10 and older are taught how to hunt and kill demons."

"Wow," Amelia noted. "that's some school."

Nodding in agreement, Oliver asked, "what classes do they have?"

"The school curriculum mainly consists of traditional subjects: gun training, martial arts, demonology 101, ancient language, mythology and so forth."

"Whoa," Oliver murmured. "so was Dad like a genius or something?"

The old woman's smile never wavered. "He has surpassed his entire classes with high marks."

Whoa, thought Oliver in wonder. "My dad must be so smart."

Looking at him, Amelia chuckled: "Maybe that's why your mom fell in love with him."

Mama Marie frowns doubtfully. "I am not sure that's the case."

Oliver's grin quickly vanished as he asked her what she meant.

"Christopher never told her about his identity," Mama Marie explained.

"What? My mom doesn't know?"

"No, your grandparents made sure Caitlin stays away from him." the blind chef says firmly, pushing her glasses against the bridge of her nose.

Oliver wrinkled his eyebrows at her.