Recovery And Magic

4

I woke up from a knock from the door. No nightmares this time. No random street animal brushing against me. No cops asking what am I doing asleep here. Just a knock.

I lifted my groggy self off the bed and sat up. Guess I found it in the middle of the night when I was sleeping. Or I actually decided to sleep on it. On the carpet was the dirty plate from last night. My stomach lightly growled in relief, glad that something useful had found my stomach instead of stale dirty leftovers.

I got up from the bed and opened the door. Wiping away strands of greasy hair off my forehead. Ian stood on the other end. Wearing an old cardigan that had holes and stains at the sides.

He greeted me with a smile. "Mornin'."

Doesn't his cheeks get tired keeping that thing on?

I grunted out something as I gave out a wave.

"Sleep well?"

"Um...I think so?" How do you sleep well again? That's a thing right?

"Sall good," Ian nodded. "We're gonna have some breakfast and we'll get started with some magic training."

Oh yeah. Magic. My flames are magic.I'm a witch or whatever. I'm a magical freak.

I nodded and closed the door on Ian and his smile. I glanced over at the closet of new clothes then at myself. Dirt and singes covered the six months of jeans I stole from a thrift store. Sweat stains and holes poked out of my sweatshirt I found out the park one day. I could change into something new, it would feel pretty good to wear some fresh clothes. But I haven't showered in a pretty long time. So the stains on my skill will just move over to them. They'll become dirty just like me.

I could shower. But is that gonna wash it all away? How long will it take? I'll probably be in there all day trying to clean myself and the smell of fire would still be on me. It would pretty much a waste trying to do either of those at this point. Just go downstairs. Get it over with.

I glanced over at the empty plate and picked it up. Taking a second before opening the door. I poked my head into the hallway, no one was there. Kinda thought that Blane would be by those doors to the library. Guess not.

I walked downstairs to the living room. It wasn't as lively as was yesterday. There were a few people on the couch talking to each other. At the main table, was Ian and Andy. The girl from last night, Mary-Beth, was at the table with them. She had headphones on, head down at her plate. Finishing off what looked like pancakes.

The smell of fresh breakfast stirred my stomach. Ripping off the plug and making a new hole. Maybe there's some magic that can cure hunger. So I wouldn't feel a ping of pain every time my stomach growls around food.

Immediately, Ian noticed me and waved at me. I gave a small wave back while Andy gave a soft nod. Mary-Beth was still absorbed in her food, soft muffled noises coming out of her headphones as she stayed in her own universe.

"Morning," Andy mumbled.

"There's a variety of breakfast stuff already cooked up in the kitchen if you wanna pick something out," Ian added.

"Okay," I nodded, "thanks."

Ian's eyes landed on the empty plate and his smile grew bigger. He turned to Andy who nodded as he started whispering something.

I shuffled myself into the kitchen to see it busy. There were a couple of people at the sink washing dishes while one guy was focused on stove. A soft purple glow was behind his eyes, watching spatulas and food move onto pans to be cooked. Little beads of sweat forming on his brow.