A Year At The Opera

Chapter 14: A Busy Week, Part 2

A/N: I know progress has been very slow but I've just been very burnt out with this chapter and all its revisions so it doesn't bloat too much but I seem to be getting back into the swings of things so hopefully this won't be too bad. Anyway, here's part two of four or maybe five depending on how things go. I hope you have fun :)

Oh, also, TW for the F slur in Ivana's pov. Just watch out for that.

Word Count: 4800 words

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Eleanor

"Okay, so, what you're saying is... I'm stuck in my worst nightmare?" Eleanor leaned forward.

Aaron nodded.

"Oh Jesus save me." She cursed under her breath and stuffed her last fry in her mouth. "What the fuck are we supposed to do then?"

"We're still figuring things out but the most obvious solution is playing it out."

"That has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard." She shook her head. "Are you telling me that in all your infinite wisdom on magic as a writer, you can't figure this out?"

"A) Ouch. That's unwarranted. B) I have experience with fake magic systems, not real ones. I don't know the ins and outs. Nathan and I are still talking it over. And C) that really hurts. Plus what the fuck are you complaining about? Don't you enjoy soap operas? Hell, I got the idea from your incessant rants about them!"

"Oh so we're victim blaming now?" She threw her hands up in frustration and glared at him.

"Victim bla— are you serious right now? How are you the victim in any of this?"

"I'm stuck in a soap opera! Against my wishes and without my consent!"

Aaron rolled his eyes. "Alright, fair enough." He finished his burger.

"And I enjoy watching them, not living in them! God, this is going to be a living nightmare..." Her thought trailed off, her eyes fixated on the ground, trying to distract herself from the situation. Suddenly they snap back to him, enraged. "Why did you have to tell me this? I could have spent however long in pure bliss, man. What the fuck, Aaron?"

"I'm sorry, we needed help! You're an expert! I'm sorry for trying to get out of this faster!"

"God, I hate you." She took a sip of her milkshake. "Fine, what do you need?"

"Well, what would someone do in a situation like this?"

"Alright, so, our situation is: dead body, high school— wait... I haven't seen any soaps about teens. I... don't know how this is supposed to go."

"Just try your best. What does soap logic say we should do next?"

Her phone buzzed and she unlocked it. "The dumbest most emotional th— oh you have got to be joking. I hate you so much, Aaron."

"What?" He asked, confused.

She held up the phone to him. "Guess who's going to be in town soon? Rafael."

"I— how am I responsible for this?"

"Well it has to be your stupid spell, no? Why else would he suddenly come back in the middle of the semester?" She put her phone down and rested her head on the table.

He shook his head. "No, as far as we can tell it only affects the people in town. This couldn't have anything to do with the spell."

"Goddamnit. I fucking hate my life." She looked up, grabbed her cup and took it under the table to take a sip. "Oh god, this is going to suck. Can I run away please? Summer was so peaceful. Can we go back to that?"