Chapter 11
Jackson calls his mother and father, to update them on the roommate situation. He figured they’d hear from Wendy when his father went into the downtown office on Monday, but the news of his mana match should come from him.
“A mana match? Are you certain, Jackie?” Annabella’s voice is laced with uncertainty, a hint of surprise ringing through.
“Yes, mother. When my magic responded to his call, even changing color in his hand, it’s hard to deny the facts.
Plus, Hakeem has djinn magic. I simply wished to know what the hell it all meant and the answer rang true in both our heads.
Believe me, I never expected this to happen, but perhaps Brenda had one last trick up her custom silk sleeves. ”
Silence fills the air, Annabella doesn’t respond for what feels like ages. “Mother? Are you there? Father? Hello?”
Jackson’s father answers this time. “Jackie, hiya bud. Your mother’s fine, just got sidetracked. Sorry to keep ya waiting, it just gets so busy around here.”
A nervous chuckle sounds through the line. Jackson shrugs, deciding to pay it no mind. His parents are nothing if not odd at the best of times.
“That’s fine. Will I still be seeing you in the office after my classes come Monday afternoon? You’ve been in the winter realm for the better part of a month, I bet it’ll be good to feel the sun again.”
“Yes, Jackie, I’m all set to make my way back to Solomon City.”
Whilst Jackson’s mother keeps the balance of the winter realm, alongside the realms of spring, summer and autumn; his father handled the families more…
mundane duties. It’s hard to imagine anything in the realm of magic be mundane, but to the ancient realms of the fey stock options, business deals, law offices and real estate holdings don’t hold the same weight as keeping the balance between the realms.
“I’ll see you on Monday then, Father. Love you both, goodbye.”
“We love you too, Jackie.”
* * *
Joseph hangs up the phone and paces over to where Annabella has settled on a couch. The hand on her forehead shakes, she takes deep breaths to calm herself. Joseph places a hand on his wife’s knee, rubbing gently hoping to calm her.
“Annie? My love, please say something. Is this about the Al-Najim boy?”
Annabella shakes her head, then levels her gaze to her husband.
“No, Joey, not exactly. I’m shocked, just a little.
All my centuries and I thought I’d seen it all.
” She places a hand on top of Joseph’s, the other over her heart.
“I never thought…I don’t know what I thought.
What are the odds, Joey? After years of seclusion, of closing off his broken heart.
Who would have thought Jackson would find his match, someone who could see him for who he truly is. ”
* * *
Hakeem is looking forward to lessons with Jackson, he adores sharing knowledge. The chance to explore the bond of a mana match further stirred the academic within him into action.
One thing both boys forgot about, though, was the chaos of the first week back. Between classes, lab work and shifts at the cafe, Hakeem was swamped. He had taken a few extra shifts to help Charlie whilst other staff were still out of town.
Jackson was due at his family’s firm in downtown Solomon most of the week.
Between his paralegal work there and lectures at the university, Jackson assured Hakeem lessons could wait till Saturday when they both had a moment free.
At the end of the day they’d be too tired from their responsibilities, neither one in the mood to learn or teach.
* * *
Eddie finishes up another day of classes and heads out to his shift at ‘LaLune Gym’ on Sunrise boulevard.
He helps with paperwork, odd jobs and spars in the boxing ring with whomever needs it.
He figures he’ll continue as a personal trainer or take on physiotherapy clients after he gets his masters.
He hasn’t seen much of Hakeem or Jackson this week, all the boys have been busy. He noticed he got up earlier than either of them for his morning run, and got home earlier too.
They both worked hard and kept long hours to achieve their goals, oddly motivating Eddie to keep his head up and work hard too. He wasn’t going for a PhD or poised to take over the family business, but that didn’t mean he shouldn’t go through life giving his all.
As Eddie strolls into the gym he is greeted by the enthusiastic voice of one Seamus Hydrangea. “There ye are Eddie! I got a job for ye if you’ll be a pal.”
Seamus Hydrangea is a three foot tall, ginger haired, charismatic playboy gnome.
He’s a good manager but takes too many chances to show off to eager clientele.
At the moment he has about two hundred and fifty pounds of weight looming over his head in one hand, as he flexes his other arm in front of a growing crowd of admirers.
Seamus is a shameless flirt. It is, surprisingly, an effective marketing strategy.
He would charm gym goers and they’d feel an odd motivation to work out harder, which boosted sales of pre-workout drinks.
He would often leave with one or two very happy clients by his side, the man is nothing if not good at what he does.
Eddie puts his stuff away, quickly slips into sweats and a black workout tee and heads back over to Seamus, who has just shelved the weight he was lifting.
“Well good afternoon to you too, boss. I see your day is going very well, what can I do for ya?” Eddie gestures to the crowd of people who go back to their own workouts, not without a few winks and waves back to Seamus.
Seamus smiles and waves back, white teeth and flushed cheeks earning a few light swoons.
“I got a client coming for personal training but I need a pick me up. Would you hate me if I troubled ya to run down to ‘Shape of Brew’ for some coffee? Pre-workout doesn’t do any good at waking me up.
Gnomish problems. All the other staff are with clients, can’t complain about having no one to do runs when we’re doing so well I suppose. ”
Eddie nods his head, “Yeah, sure Seamus, am I grabbing everyone’s usual?”
“When ye say it like that it makes it sound like that’s all we make ya do.” Seamus laughs dryly, rubbing his neck nervously. He felt awkward sending the CEO’s son on coffee runs.
Eddie didn’t mind, he was mostly here to get experience in the field. If he couldn’t take on clients and the busy work was done he didn’t mind helping any way the team needed. “You know I don’t mind, Seamus. Plus it’s nice for January, I’ll take the walk.”
Seamus smiles at Eddie and chuckles. “Yer a good lad, Eddie. The card’s in my office, ya know where?”
Eddie walks off, waving back at Seamus. “Yeah I got it. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
* * *
Hakeem strolls into the ‘Shape of Brew’ cafe for his early afternoon shift.
He has work at the labs after this, a few hours here then there.
He was grateful he had no classes Friday so he could sleep in before his shift tomorrow.
Behind the front counter is a tall, curvaceous woman.
Blonde and blue hair framed a heart shaped face, skin golden caramel.
The hair is a dead give away, it was one thing they never changed.
“Hi, Charlie. I thought you saved this one for summer?”
Charlie turns towards Hakeem, a half made latte in hand, and shrugs. “I felt summery today. I don’t dictate the vibe, I simply match it.”
Charlie is a doppelganger, a race of fae that could freely alter their body to any human form they saw fit, with one limitation that differs with each of them.
Charlie’s limitation was their hair, always blond and blue no matter the length or shape of it.
Doppelgangers can also be identified by their arcane signature, it was how they received I.D.
from the bureau and could own business, drive vehicles etc…
Charlie would often mention the hassle they would go through getting paperwork done for the bureau.
They had to pick one form for all pieces of identification, even though their arcane signature was how they were I.D ed anyway.
They complained it hindered their creativity.
Hakeem once suggested using their base form for identification, which earned an onslaught of decorative throw pillows.
“Well you look nice, as always.” Hakeem nods his head towards their boss/friend as he puts his bag down.
Charlie finishes the latte and hands it to the customer at the counter before swiveling on their heel to face Hakeem, hands planted firmly on their hips.
“Nice?! This skin, these curves, this face, this sweet symphonic voice! Hakeem, this is one of my best looks! I don’t think you appreciate the fine tuning that goes into my appearance.
Maybe I gave you too many shifts, your exhaustion has clearly affected your vision. ”
Hakeem rolls his eyes whilst tying an apron around his waist over his black button down and jeans, tucking fluffy curls under a hat. “You need me here and I need the hours. I’m sorry I said nice. Charlie, you look gorgeous.”
Charlie preens, satisfied with the correction. “I still say you work too much but I’ll take the improved compliment.”
“Good. Now has it been busy? What do you need me to do?”
Charlies walks over to Hakeem who has joined them behind the counter. “We need more espresso beans and cups. I’ll grab them, be a doll and watch the front.”
Hakeem salutes jokingly as Charlie moves past him. “Aye aye, Captain.”
* * *
Eddie walks into ‘Shape of Brew’, he hasn’t gotten the coffee in a while. As he heads towards the counter a familiar face looks up from cleaning a small spill.
“Welcome. Oh, Edmund, Hi!” Hakeem waves Eddie over.