The Magician's Apprentice

Bonus Chapter: Skai Evans

"She's asleep, right?"

Silence.

"Yep, definitely asleep. Thank God, because I seriously can't keep my mouth shut sometimes."

I can't agree more, I thought angrily. I had requested for more pillows, which I sandwiched my head in between them in hopes of shutting out Skai's nervous muttering.

"I wonder if I should tell her that I believed everything that I heard...I mean, I know it's crazy, but the emotion in that goatee guy's voice was enough to bring tears to Dr. Phil's eyes. Doctor. Freaking. Phil. And he's the god of TV dramas."

I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed the pillows harder against my ears, growling softly under my breath.

"I guess everything they said could have been symbolism...or maybe that college lit class I'm taking is finally getting to me."

I growled louder, but either Skai didn't hear me or he ignored be, because he added thoughtfully, "Maybe I'm dying. I mean cystic fibrosis isn't a blessing or anything."

Caught off guard, I sat up, my pillows falling to the floor. "What?"

"Shit, she's awake," Skai muttered.

"You have cystic fibrosis?" I said, forgetting to be annoyed. It was impossible to stay irritated at someone once you find out that they have an incurable hereditary disorder.

"Yeah," Skai said, sounding slightly bummed by this. "I'm here for a reason, right?"

"Right, sorry," I said, forgetting that we were actually in a hospital.

While I wasn't fully educated on cystic fibrosis, I knew that it was a condition in which the lungs would fill with mucus and clog up bronchi, threatening to develop life-threatening infections. Now that I thought about it, Skai's voice was unusually hoarse.

"Yeah, I'm here in recovery from a nasty asthma attack," Skai said. "But I'm on the lung transplant list, so I'm not completely doomed."

"Right," I said uncertainly. "I'm—"

"Nah, don't apologize," Skai said quickly, and I imagined him waving a hand dismissively. "I'm not the one who lost the ability to use magic."

I stared in his direction, annoyed at the fact that I couldn't tell if his curtain was drawn. Not that it mattered, I guess.

"So you seriously believe all of that?" I asked, amazed.

"Yeah," he said. "I take it you heard my Dr. Phil comment?"

"It was hard to miss," I said, smirking.

"Well, I meant it," Skai said. "I'm taking literature in college right now, so capturing themes and emotions properly is my kind of writing aesthetic." He paused and added, "That sounded better in my head..."

"No, I think I get what you mean," I said.

"Which isn't common with other people," he muttered, and I couldn't hold back a smile.

"Hey, you smiled!"

My face faltered. "The curtain is drawn?"

"Well, obviously it—crap, I mean, yeah, it is."

"Well it's not like I could tell," I snapped.

"Well, it's not like it's impossible to tell that I belonged here or not, judging that we're in a hospital," he retorted.

"I would have figured it out anyway, as you sound like a seventy seven-year-old smoker," I flashed back.

There was a pause, and Skai said, "Damn, lady. That was looow."