Magic is not everything

CHAPTER 11

" Eric, you're not going to say anything to your new colleagues." The headmistress encouraged.
Eric stared at me and said,
" It's just that I'm glad we're finally together and I'm sure we'll get along very well."
Why did I feel that when he said that he meant only me.  I look behind me at Zoey and see the wheels in her head spin and then she looks at me with a look that said: 'You're not serious, are you?' and I nod and see her shake her head at the desk exaspereted.
Eric sits next to the bench to my left, now I can analyze him better, he's obviously an athlete, he had black hair on his back and those gray eyes, they were so intense, he seemed kind of tough guy.
It's cute!
Seriously, Kasandra this is the only thing that comes to mind right no?
Sometimes speaking through thoughts wasn't as loud as it seemed, sometimes I had to hide my thoughts, especially if others could hear them besides Zoey.
And you're cute.
I turn my face to Eric and feel my cheeks burning, but his face is expressionless.
Hey, you !  Don't flirtation with my friend if you don't want to break your head, you understand?
Eric just smiles amused is the first smile I see on his face, I admit it was beautiful then I hear Zoey next to me whispering loud enough to hear I and Eric who seems not scared of Zoey, at least not  yet.
" Tell your grandfather to dig a pit for him."
I just roll my eyes.

At the canteen, I sit in line with Zoey, who I see as very skeptical and thoughtful since Eric appeared. She never behaved like that, I am worried. Then I grab her hand when we get out of line.
" May I know why you're doing this?"
Zoey looked at me as if awakened from dreaming.
" Like?"
" As if the new colleague could stab us in the back or something?"
My friend shrugs and goes to a free table, and I sit next to her.
" Well, maybe he could, which is how we know he's not some kind of servant of Dire Magnus who came here to gather information for his master about his enemies fifteen years after they sent him to the world of the dead, and  now he wants revenge and of course a chance to destroy the world and... "
" What are you talking about there," I interrupt, looking at her like she's crazy. " What enemies did the Dire Magnus have?  What revenge?  What are you talking about there?  Zoey be clearer than that..."
" I agree with her. "
I look surprised behind me to see who the voice belongs to and I notice that there is no one thanEric.
"Eric."
Zoey rolls her eyes.
" Now he listens to conversations that don't concern him, he's starting to get better and better. "
Eric doesn't seem affected by Zoey's words and says:
" I am just trying to follow the principal's advice and make friends, and you look like the most interesting people in your class, plus the three of us have something in common, we're just wizards, aren't we?"
I analyze his words better and realize that he is honest, but that did not relieve him of a few questions.
" And how come you're here?  I mean, do I mean this school?  And especially how it's done ... you know.  That ... well ... the two of us ... I mean. "
I realized that I didn't even know how to approach him, how could I ask him about my dream, or well, our dream, without making him feel bad.
" My father accepted a job here as a doctor, and my mother is a history teacher at the university, so I'm in a new city, at a new school, new colleagues, something quite typical. "
" I think it's really convenient, actually " Zoey said  "that you're here right now, that you're talking to us."
Eric raised an eyebrow and looked skeptically at my girlfriend, then sat down next to me.
" If you think that I'm a fool of Dire Magnus servant, you're wrong. My grandfather fought doctor Pym against him, and I have evidence to prove what I'm saying."
Hearing these words reminds me of Grandpa Pym's conversation with doctor Hugo at his home in Italy, then my mind goes to my dream and I look at Eric again, I could see the sincerity in his eyes.
" I believe you. "
I look at him and he looks surprised, and on the other hand Zoey is shocked, then says:
" You said you had evidence. What kind of evidence are you referring to? "
" Are you free on Friday night?"
Zoey almost choked on the orange juice.
" Now you let into us, what surprises can I expect from you? "
Eric was still speechless.
" You want evidence, don't you?  Well, in my grandfather's house you will find all the evidence you need to prove that I am telling the truth.  Come at eight in the evening, see you here in front of the school. "
Zoey and I exchanged glances, the truth was that I had only known him for a few hours, I still trusted him and he said that he had evidence, maybe his help would be good in the end.
" Okay. " We both say.
After all this discussion, Zoey and I went to enroll in extracurricular activities, and Eric came with us, but at one point he broke up with us because a few older boys on the football team had approached him to ask him about his activities sports from his old school.
Now Zoey and I were queuing to sign up.
"Are you going to answer my questions now or are you ignoring me more and more?  What do you know about theDire Magnus? Tell me! "
I know I've been pretty bad now and maybe authoritarian, but I really need to told me, then I decide to be calmer and use the magic word.  "Please! "
Zoey looks at me and says:
" Will you take Gabriela and Rafe from school today?"
" What do they have to do... "
" They also need to know what I'm going to tell you, please just be patient, plus this isn't a good place to talk, someone can hear us. "
I raise an eyebrow.
" You mean Eric? "
" Who else could I mean but him? " She had asked nervously." Do you really trust him?"
" The only thing is, I've had weird dreams lately, which shows me what happened fifteen years ago, and right now Eric is the only one who can help me understand more about my dreams."
Zoey starts to relax when she hears me, I know I didn't trust Eric, but she trusted me and that's all that mattered.
" To be both understood, you don't just have Eric the Prince Charming, you have me to help you, ok we'll sort it out together. " And she took me in his arms, I was the luckiest being in the world, and then we broke up.
" See you after class. " Then she sign a list and go to another homeroom.
The idea with these extracurricular activities was to discover new talents and passions which I can say I liked, Zoey had signed up for photography saying that she has eyes for art, but I was not interested, I had chosen the theater, but honestly I do not know  where it comes to me, I just think I like to give life to feelings and characters, and when Zoey heard my argument she said that I was only interested in being the center of attention, and the spotlight would only help.
I enter the theater which has a round dome and the walls are painted black to highlight the red upholstered chairs, and in front was the wooden floor of the stage that shone in the lights, and behind the red curtains could be seen behind the scenes  all clothes and suits.  I was sitting in a middle chair, I usually liked this place, but today I really didn't have the mood, the questions in my mind were starting to take more and more shape, I thought that today I would get the answers I needed, but it seems that  I still had to wait if I wanted the answers I was looking for and Magnus hadn't appeared in my dream for days.
" Looks like you're pretty distracted these days, don't you think?"
I look at the one who had spoken, and when I look up I see a pair of gray eyes and realize that I am looking at Eric, in the confusion of my thoughts I had not paid attention to anything or anyone, not even to Eric who was now sitting next to me.
" What are you doing here? "
Eric raised his eyebrows in surprise and said nonchalantly.
" I participate in my extracurricular activities. "
" And how come you chose the theater? "
Eric looks me in the eyes and says:
" The answer is simple, I saw your name on the registration list. "
I was puzzled and wanted to slap him.  How arrogant he is!
" You mean you chose theater just because I'm here?"
" That's just the first reason, there are others. "  Then he leaned down so he could look me in the eyes. " I know I didn't make a good impression on you at first, but I promise I don't have bad intentions, I want the same thing as you, I want answers for my past, I actually want to understand my past, and it doesn't happen to me  often the beautiful girls in my dreams come true, but it seems that you are an exception to the rule.  You see, my grandfather died long before I was born, I never met him, only in that dream, everything I know about him is from my father, and he used to tell me that my grandfather was a  good wizard who wanted to help people, so when doctor Pym built his army against Dire Magnus grandfather was the first to join with him, you see they were both very good friends, in fact best friends. "
When I heard his confession, I began to understand how much the two of us were alike, not only that our grandfathers had been best friends, which was great, since we had both lost people we had never met, and that made us understand each other another so good, we had practically lived the same experience, we had both seen our grandfathers die.
" Doctor Pym is my grandfather. "
Now it was Eric's turn to be perplexed.
" What you said?  I didn't know doctor Pym had a granddaughter. "
Thank you for shrugging.
" Yes...that's what happened to Zoey when I told her, it seems that my grandfather's private life was very secret.  He and Henrietta Burke, my grandmother, I had a son and that boy is my father, so that makes me his granddaughter, and just like in your case, that dream was the first time I met my grandfather, that is, I have pictures with him  and grandma, but no memory with them or dad, you see my dad died before I was born, and the only living member of dad's family is just Derek Burke, grandma's twin brother, " then I stop for a second,  " just  that it's so weird to miss people you've never met.  And there's this awful dream, I was there, I could see everything, but I couldn't stop anything, I could just sit and watch, and that annoyed me the most, which is the idea of ​​having all these powers if you can't defend those you love, so I could only cry. "
I don't know why I had told Eric all this, but the truth was that I had taken a stone from my heart, I had told him things I had not told anyone else and I feel his hand embracing mine, I did not know whether to interpret it as a romantic or friendly gesture.
" And I was in the same situation as you, I wanted to save my grandfather just because I couldn't I was practically useless, but it's just a dream that didn't work, these events happened a long time ago,  we couldn't have done anything, but there's a reason we met and I know we'll find out the answers we need, so what do you say you get me on your team? "
"All right." I say without hesitation.
After our little moment of sincerity, Mrs. Summer had appeared in the theater, it seems that she was the coordinator of this activity, she had sat in the middle of the stage so that everyone could hear her.
" Good morning, everyone!  I'm glad to see that you are very interested in these extracurricular activities, so I thought that for our first lesson I shouldn't make you recite words from the paper, I want more than that, I want you to bring a personal note in  your performance, I really ask you to improvise as much as possible, I want something unique, something of yours.  So we chose teams of two and those plays , but first let's welcome our new colleague Eric Williams. " Said Mrs. Summer, pointing to Eric's place.  Colleagues had welcomed him in chorus, but he was content to say nothing, Mrs. Summer did not seem bothered.  Then she began to flip through the papers in his hand.  " Eric Williams and Kasandra Wibberly will play Romeo and Juliet. "
The first time I thought I couldn't hear well, and Eric raised his hand.
" Excuse me, professor, are you sure of your decision?"  Mrs. Summer puts her square glasses on her nose better and says:
" I'm sure you two are right for this play and honestly my instinct never fooled me. "
Oh, how great it would be, I think.  At the end of the class, Eric and I sit in front of the school waiting for Zoey.
" Your watchdog will act with me as if I were a threat to your life."
I turn in his direction.
" Zoey is just very protective, plus she barks more than she bites deep into her soul she's very sensitive."
" What happens here?  I hear Zoey's voice behind me and look at Eric again as if he wants to beat him.
" It seems somewhere deep in her soul," Eric tells me.  Then he addresses Zoey.
" I need answers so I'll come with you. " Says Eric simply.
" But you're very used to giving orders, aren't you?"
"  Please stop both of us and let's stop behaving like children. "
They both resigned themselves and didn't say anything to each other all the way, when they get to my cousins' school, they look at Eric like an alien.
" Who are you and what are you doing next to my cousin?"  Gabriela asked, sometimes I loved her wild nature-protective, but now it's not really the case.
" Gabriela please, he's a friend. "
" Since? "
" Well, since today... "
" I didn't ask you. Kasandra, I asked him.  So who are you, where are you from and when have you been my cousin's friend? "
Rafe next to her rolls his eyes and before Eric can say anything, Rafe approaches him and says:
" Please forgive Gabriela for her behavior sir, she is just very protective when it comes to family, it is quite typical in our family, but let me introduce myself my name is Rafe Stanislaus Wibberly and I am Kasandra's cousin, " says holding out his hand to Eric, " and to be both understood Gabriela and I are not twins, I am with an year  older than her, which I can say is quite obvious."
Now it was Gabriela's turn to roll her eyes, and she was going to say that Rafe had been open to ridicule , but Eric knelt down to be at Rafe's height and shook hands with him.
" It's a pleasure to meet you Rafe Stanislaus Wibberly, my name is Eric John Williams and as Kasandra said I am her classmate and today was my first day at a new school and we both became friends, but what about  we are not discussing all this here, "  then he gets up and turns his attention to both of you, " do you like ice cream? "
Rafe's eyes twinkled with happiness and he said:
" I like you!  Do you want to be best friends? "
Eric just smiled, I can't believe he was smiling and it was a real smile.
" Sure. "
Then Eric lifted Rafe on his shoulders and they took her on the street.
" I can't believe it, I hear Zoey behind me, je conquered him in less than two minutes, I didn't succeed that ." Then I see Gabriela holding Zoey's hand and saying:
" Don't worry Zoey I like you more than he , plus I don't really trust him, we should test him to see if we can trust him."  Gabriela seems to be on Zoey's side, which honestly wasn't surprising at all.