Anomalies (working title)

Chapter 9

Jesus, this is like the filler chapter of all filler chapters. ENJOY XD!

Cameron (Cam)

Everyone's heads whipped around to find the pet store. Like most things in the magical world, the pets were certainly not normal. They were all combinations of other animals. Some were ever-changing from one to the other, some combinations of two or more animals. It was quite a sight to see, but since they had all grown up around those types of animals during holidays, it was a bit easier to process. They all walked into the store, chattering excitedly about what they were going to get.

"Aww, look, Jo! A literal cat fish!" Blue yelled from the aquatic section. Indeed, there was a fat calico cat that suddenly transformed into a giant carp. Jo ran over to investigate, the two girls talking in excited whispers.

GET TOGETHER ALREADY, Cam screamed in her head. It was then that she realized both Jo and Lex could read minds.

"Yo, Cam! Lookit, these!" Reya was standing by what looked like a hamster cage, but rather then hamsters, the cage contained a bunch of miniature wolves.

"Aww, they're so sweet," Cam remarked, placing a finger through the cage. One ran up to her and nuzzled her finger.

"Yeah, I meant these-" Reya said, gesturing to the cage next to it, which contained guinea pigs that had little bird wings on their backs.

"Lookit 'em, they're so fat!" Reya was smiling harder then she had in a long time, her yellow-ish eyes sparkling. Cam couldn't blame her. Getting the chance to even attend this shopping trip had taken more work then they had ever done in 8 years of schooling. It had taken a lot out of both of them.

Cam hadn't really thought about Venificus. The way she saw it, she either got in or she didn't. But when Reya started studying as much as she did, sacrificing extracurriculars and sleep, Cam just had to climb that mountain with her. She didn't want Reya to feel alone all the time, and Reya needed someone to tell her when she was becoming unhealthy in her habits. Cam was secretly relieved when their names were called. Not being accepted to Venificus would've broken Reya.

"Cam? You there?"

"What? Yeah," Cam said, shaking her head slightly.

"Lex says we gotta check out soon, and if we don't pick up the pace we'll not be able to go to Clever Name Joke and Dessert Shoppe," Skye said, holding a little lizard with little goat horns that crackled with electricity. It scampered up his arm and nestled into his dark hair.

"Seriously? Clever Name?" Cam asked.

"The owner has a dry sense of humor," Skye replied, walking up to the counter. Cam reached into the cage where the mini wolves were kept and grabbed the one that had nudged her finger earlier.

The great thing about magical pets is that they didn't need a special enclosure. They just needed love, food, and water. And since Anomalies had a lot of emptiness in their heart, the animals fit in perfectly.

Outside of the shop, Cam smiled at the looks on everyone's face. The genuine joy that all these animals brought them was something that she didn't see often. Jo ended up purchasing a (literal) cat fish, which she had in a little ball of water she had conjured (the cat was in fish form), Skye and Hayley both had little lizards, Reya a flying guinea pig, and Blue what appeared to be a regular little snake that was slithering up her forearm.

"What's with the snake, Blue?" Reya asked. As if in response, the snake opened its little mouth and breathed a tongue of fire that was at least the size of a boa constrictor. Blue smiled a maniacal smile as the flames reflected in her eyes. Everyone exploded into laughter at the sight. Jo's fish took that chance to turn back into a cat, poking its head out of the little orb of water.

After a trip to the joke shop, the stationery shop, and a little shop that mostly sold useless little baubles and assorted things, the group of magicians was ready to head home. The sun was beginning to set, and for once, everyone felt comfortable in their own magic.