Chapter 2

One week later.

“Morning is good only when you wake up and it’s your birthday.” The sleepy girl muttered, opening her eyes.

Stretching out, she got out of bed and walked slowly, like a zombie, to the bathroom to brush her teeth and apply makeup. While at that, the birthday girl sang to herself “Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me…” She decided to dress unusually for herself: a short skirt, shirt, stockings and high heels. Anyway, she’s sixteen today, and she wants to feel a little grown up.

The girl went down to the living room, where her father and mother were already waiting for her.

“May, darling, happy birthday! Today you have become a year older, wiser, and even more beautiful.” The mother congratulated her daughter on behalf of both parents. “Come on, today we have a festive breakfast, the chef cooked your favorite pancakes with salmon and truffles. And your gift is already waiting for you in front of the garage.” The woman finished with a hint.

“Thank you, Mom, thank you, Dad. It’s very nice.” Smiling, the girl hugged her parents. “Let’s all have breakfast!”

“How’s the chemistry test, daughter?” The father asked, leafing through the newspaper.

“I’m almost top of the class, I had that all-nighter for a reason.” May replied, finishing with her pancakes.

“Almost?” Dad asked, turning the page of the newspaper. “Then, who is better than you?”

“Alistair…”

“You skipped the first grade and went to the second one because of your exceptional intelligence!” The man remarked indignantly. “Who is this Alistair who is smarter than you?”

“Alistair Smith, Dad, he recently began to study chemistry intensively, as I recall.” May tried to come up with an excuse.

“Smith, you say?” Her father looked at her, lowering the newspaper a little.

“Yes, Smith,” she said softly.

“I knew Smith once… He did not last long in our business.”

She did not pay much attention to her father’s story and went outside, where a personal driver was waiting to take her to school.

All night, little Smith has been reading a book about mythical creatures that his mother had bought, and so he went to bed almost at dawn.

“Ring… Ring!” The alarm kept ringing for about forty minutes after the boy fell asleep.

“Damn it.” The young man spoke in his sleep. “Why did I have to go to bed so late… Now I will be sleepy all day.”

Getting out of bed, the boy put on some clothes and went to the kitchen to eat. He took only about ten steps down the hallway that his own reflection in the mirror made him stop. For a split second it seemed to him that his eyes were red, as if someone had replaced all the eye sclera with thick blood.

“God…! Because of the lack of sleep, all sorts of weird things started to happen.” Flashed in his head.

“Darling!” A voice came from the kitchen. “You’re late, the school bus is waiting for you. And don’t forget your lunch!”

Mary has always been very nurturing for her son yet she never crossed the line of overprotection. This is not surprising, because Alistair is the only son and the only person she spends all her free time with. Alistair was born on the night of April 30 to May 1, the night of the Sabbath. Although now this “holiday” was only an occasion to support a large hearth for all who consider themselves witches or sorcerers, i.e., charlatans that only want to collect more money from people by performing “mysterious magical rituals.”

The birth process was very difficult, almost none of those present were sure that both mother and child will survive, and if they do, that they are healthy.

However, contrary to all expectations, Alistair is now almost seventeen and well.

Near the bus, Al met Mike as they got on at the same stop.

“How is it going?” Mike asked, shaking his friend’s hand.

“Weird.” The boy frowned as he sat down by the window. “After yesterday, I feel as if I am not in my body… As if after a chemistry lesson something strange took control over it.”

“Are you still worried about that case?” MJ asked.

“Mmm… Yeah, of course I am worried, because my insides suggest that something is not clean here. And my mother was somehow avoiding my questions…” Alistair put his thoughts into words.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be so suspicious of everything?” Mike smiled again. “As the last resort, you may be a sorcerer and it’s all the

Mysterious magic of ancestors

. U-u-u-u…” Laughing with all his might, the young man joked.

“Phooey! If this were true, I would gladly move to a school for sorcerers, conquer the evil there, and be friends with a huge-bearded man.” Ali supported Mike’s joke.

“Wellington High School.” The driver spoke into a loudspeaker, asking students to get off the bus.

“Come on, Alistair, we have a history class.” Disgruntled, Mike got up and got off the bus.

“Is Miss Johnson teaching? She always bore a grudge on me, after that prank with the paint.” Alistair smiled wryly as he turned to his friend.

“What prank?” MJ asked.

“When I painted her leather armchair in the history classroom brown, she sat down on it in her new snow-white suit.” The guy’s face expressed complacency.

Mike started laughing at his prank, and the laughter was interrupted by a shout from behind.

“Guys, wait, can you tell me where our class is?”

The young men turned and saw a dark-skinned girl with dyed blond hair. She was wearing a fancy outfit.

“Oh my God!” Alistair whispered in panic. “It’s May! What should I do?!”

“He’s in love,” Mike sighed.

The girl came closer and hurried up the stairs to the school entrance, where the boys were standing.

“Hi! Do you hear me?” The girl repeated her question.

“Yes, hello,” Mike said. “History is in room 233. You can walk with us. Do you mind, my friend?” The short, plump boy asked Al insidiously.

“N-no, of course, come with us…” Trembling either from fear or love, Al replied.

“That's great!” Kevlich finished the conversation by opening the school door. “Ladies first, and the sorcerers or witchers stay behind.” He jested again.

Alistair looked very nervous, perhaps out of anger at his friend’s decision, or maybe because May was walking right next to him — no one knows. But he was definitely very, very uncomfortable at that moment.

“Kevlich, you haven’t always studied with us, have you?” A new friend struck up a dialogue.

“Yes, I just moved here last year. My father was offered a new good job, and we left with the Alabs the same week. That’s when I met Alistair Smith.” Mike pointed at his friend.

“And what about you?” May looked at Al.

He was afraid that she would start asking questions, because it would make them communicate, so his heart dropped to heels at one point.

“M-me…?” Smith asked excitedly.

“Yes…” May’s answer was slightly superficial.

“I… M-my family and I have always lived in Wellington, it seems. My grandfather worked in a mine and as a farmer, my mother is a lawyer, and my father…” Al did not finish the story, because he never thought about it and did not know the answer. “Uhm...Where are you from?”

May thought for a few seconds.

“My family has lived for many generations in the Rouvelhouse estate, on the outskirts. We have a lot of fields, and these are probably our family business…” You could read the insecurity on a girl’s face.

“Probably?” Two young men asked in unison.

Immediately after the question, the bell rang, so the students forgot about the conversation and rushed to class.

“Can I sit with you?” May asked the boys.

“There’s not a seat left for us anymore.” Mike said, looking around the class.

The teacher came into the classroom, stood near her desk, and looked at all the students.

“So, since everyone is present today, we are writing a test on the

US Civil War. Biography of Abraham Lincoln.

All clear?” She finished the announcement and started handing out test sheets and pencils.

“May!” Less than a moment later, a piece of paper crumpled into a spitting ball appeared in Alistair’s two fingers.

“What the hack, dude, damn, you broke my plans.” A guy in a dirty white T-shirt and a black bandana on his head said indignantly. He was the one who fired a “bullet.”

“Alistair, what the hell was that?!” Mike shouted so loud that almost everyone heard that.

Alistair froze with the ball in his fingers and did not react to anything for about ten seconds. Mike stared straight into his eyes, burning with misunderstanding.

“Ali, you’re great…” Surprised, but not fully aware of the situation, the girl praised him.

MJ was upset hearing these words. Anger, misunderstanding, and perhaps envy could easily be read on his face…

“Liar.” Kevlich muttered softly and turned his body away from Alistair.

“Excuse me, my friend, did you say something?” Al asked.

“Yeah, I did. Talk to you after the test, buddy.” He emphasized the last word.

Throughout the test, May stared at Alistair. She must have seen him as her savior, although a paper ball soaked in saliva would not have caused her health terrible damage.

“But where does such agility come from?” The girl asked enthusiastically.

“It’s a coincidence.” Said the young man and immediately turned away from her towards Mike.

“Then you are lucky.” It was heard from behind, and Alistair did not react to it.

“Kevlich, something strange is happening.” Al whispered to his friend.

He did not hear anything in response. Mike just glanced at him and immediately went back to writing the test.

“Hey, buddy, are you all right?” He asked again, to which he also received no answer.

“Silence in the classroom!” The teacher requested. “Mr. Smith, I'll take your test ahead of time and give you the score you deserve.”

This phrase really silenced him, although he saw that something was wrong. On the one hand, this May behaves strangely in relation to Alistair and treats Mike superficially, and on the other hand, there’s Mike, who went into a mode of ignoring Alistair for some reason.

“Ding .. Ding…” The bell rang for a break.

“Students, please turn in your tests now.” An ugly voice, lowered by more than a decade of smoking said. Mike obeyed and left the class without waiting for Al.

Alistair was already picking up speed to catch up with MJ when he was met by a pale tall figure in the doorway.

“Oh, Mr. Smith, I was just expecting to find you here.” It was Mr. Orwell, Alistair’s chemistry teacher.

“Good morning, sir, did you want something? I'm in a hurry.” The young man brazenly told a teacher twice his size.

“Do not be so fast, we need to talk about your plans for the future, you are a promising young man, although quite uneducated.”

“Can this conversation wait? I'm really in a hurry.” Al tried to go through the doorway.

“Well, if you so wish, I will wait for you tomorrow after the last lesson in my classroom.” As always, Orwell replied in a calm but very unpleasant voice.

Alistair said goodbye, ran out of the classroom, and began running down the hall, looking for Mike.

And here, near one of the lockers, he saw that unique curly hair.

“Mike! Are you all right? You are scaring me.” Al said as soon as he ran up to him.

“You… damn… LIAR!” The boy pushed his friend with all his might so that he could not stand on his feet and fell onto the cold school floor.

Alistair didn’t even have time to come to his senses, as Mike added:

“I will not stand such an attitude to myself!”

“Mike…” Al started, upset and panicky.

“No, don't say anything… I’ve heard enough! Did you really think I wouldn’t notice your lie? That I would not notice the fact that you are always trying to be better than me!?” Kevlich shouted all over the school hall.

Other students had already begun to gather around them, forming a circle.

“What are you talking about, Mike?” Alistair asked in great pain.

“Don’t pretend to be a fool.” Mike’s trembling throat felt a lump approaching, and it was about to break into something very bad. “You have been wagging your tail in front of her all day long. Went all knight! You specifically agreed with Jordan that the bastard would start spitting his ugly saliva into May’s beautiful hair, and you, the holy savior, caught the unfortunate ball?!”

More and more people gathered around, someone even took out a phone and started shooting a newly created love drama-comedy. Suddenly, a stern voice came from the crowd, full of sharp coldness. It was the school principal.

“What’s going on here? Don’t you all have classes to go to? And you, Mr. Smith and Mr. Kevlich, go to my office…” The old woman said disgustingly.

Without looking at Alistair, Mike followed her. And so did Alistair. Entering the office, the school principal silently pointed at two chairs and sat down in her dark-green leather chair.

“I do not care what happened to you, but such loud nonsense has no place in the walls of our beautiful temple of knowledge. Even if you rip each other’s throats out, I couldn’t care less, but not here and not during school hours.” It seemed that this solemn and boring speech was about to end, but the school principal, after taking a deep breath, continued:

“And if it turned into a serious fight?! I barely managed to stop you! Other students may have suffered because of you, stupid ones, and then “parents and the police”…

“I’m sorry! This will not happen again.” Unable to stand so much text Mike interrupted her. For a second, it seemed that the old woman changed her gaze, but the sour, judgmental expression quickly returned to its place.

“Suspended from classes for two weeks. Both of you.” She announced ominously. “And now, get out of my office!”

Finally, looking at each other, the troublemakers obediently walked away. The conversation had to end somehow, so Alistair took the wheel:

“Mike… I do not want to be better than you. You are a great friend and I do not want to quarrel and even more so to compete with you. And I really don’t know how it happened that I caught that ball. Please believe me.”

Mike sank silently to the ground. He did not want to answer, all thoughts seemed to merge into one pile, but the truth was hidden somewhere between them. Without saying goodbye to Smith, Mike turned to face him and headed home. Alistair felt bitter, but he had his sense of dignity, and so he quietly went home as well. His heart was heavy, it was starting to rain outside. The future conversation with his mother made the sky of his heart overcast. How does he even explain a two-week stay at home? Quarantine? Vacation? He didn’t want to lie. However, he wanted to tell the truth even less.

“Oh, back already? Not too early?” Alistair heard his mom’s voice after trying to enter the house quietly.

“I was suspended from classes for two weeks.” The son said right from the doorway, having decided not to delay his imminent death.

“For what?” After a pause, his mother asked in a calm tone.

“This is a long story…” Trying to dodge the question, the boy quickly ran to his room, but the following words reached him faster than he managed to fence the door of his fortress:

“And you work hard if you don’t want me to worry about you.” Turning around, he saw his mother tearing up.

“Mike was angry at me for some little thing, and the school principal saw our quarrel. So I’m suspended from classes for a while… In a nutshell.”

“I don’t think it’s a little thing for Mike. If you love your friend, you should at least listen to MJ, and try to understand what hurt him so much.” Mary remarked instructively.

“Love…” For some reason, Alistair focused on this word. Somehow it did not fit into all today’s events. It seemed that even respect for Mike’s prickly words was erased, not that friendly love.

“Thank you, Mom, I know.” The guy nodded and went to his room. In fact, he really remembered the advice he needed. Well, I’ll have to go talk to my friend one of these days... He thought to himself and fell onto the bed from fatigue.