Capes and Magic Hats: Chapter 5

I idly tapped my eraser against the side of my desk as I did my best to tune out whatever Mr. Gladly was saying up front in favor of reading through the textbook. He was probably saying something at least marginally related to something important, but I could get all that information and more in half the time it took him to teach it to us.

Really, this was probably the most useful aspect of my powers. The body tune-up and magic were awesome, but it had nothing on the fact that I was probably a good bit of the way through this semester's lesson plan in all of my classes and it had only been a few days.

‘Really at this point, I barely even need school, do I?’ I mused idly as I turned the page, ‘I could probably go through the rest of high school and a full college curriculum by the end of next year. Maybe more.’

If my mom hadn't instilled the importance of school into me from a very young age, I probably would have dropped out by now. Really, that was probably the only thing keeping me at Winslow right now. Well that, and the fact that dropping out would make it harder to get revenge on Sophia and Emma for everything they've done to me.

‘It’s too bad that it's gonna take so long to actually put things into action, but I don't know what I expected honestly. It's not like it's ever been easy before.’

Turns out that getting a meeting with the head of the local Protectorate was a bit of a time-consuming process, even for the head of the Dockworker's Association. Dad hadn't gotten back a definitive answer, but it would likely be a week before our request even reached the woman and there was no telling how long it'd take after that.

That meant that for the time being, I would have to play the waiting game. Most importantly, I couldn't act like anything was going on while at school. I needed to pretend to be who I always was. A weak, bullied girl who just put up with the crap she was given without fighting back.

That was easier said than done, but at the same time, it wasn't quite as hard as I thought it would be. Sure, the fact that I had powers now made it harder to act like I was scared of the Trio’s threats, but that was a relatively easy fix. I had just decided to start avoiding them even more than I usually did. If they couldn't find me, there wouldn't be any need to act like their threats affected me. I'd just stay out of sight until we could get that meeting.

Or at least, that was the plan. Unfortunately, after only a day or two of managing to completely avoid being harassed by those three, Emma apparently decided she had enough and cornered me right outside of Mr. Gladly’s classroom before I could get away to my next class with five other girls.

My mind buzzed with annoyance as I backed away from the ring of jeering girls around me. Emma and her little entourage had apparently decided to take a card out of the books of the hundreds of Mean Girls knockoffs out there and had literally formed a circle around me in the middle of the hallway.

Like always, there were no teachers or other staff around to witness this and I was once again left alone to face them without any hope of immediate rescue. I should have known better than to try to come to my locker after sharing a class with Emma.

‘It would be really nice if we had working cameras in this school.’ I thought in annoyance as I backed away, ‘Or, you know, a school officer who actually did their job!’

As I mentally complained about Winslow's lacking security, I looked around at the girls around me. Other than Madison and Emma, I could see a few other girls I recognized. There was one brunette I shared Mrs. Knott's class with, Julia, I think her name was, and another blonde who I was pretty sure had a locker near mine. She didn't usually join Emma when the other girl tormented me so it was actually kind of surprising to see her here.

Notably absent from the group was Sophia, which was honestly probably a good thing. I wasn't sure I’d be able to convincingly fake fear of her with the anger about her true identity completely overwhelming it.

I turned towards the leader of the pack, “What do you want, Emma?”

Emma gave me a sweet smile, “What do you mean, Taylor? I just want to catch up a bit. We haven't talked in ages and I want to know how you've been.”

As Emma's hanger-ons giggled, I barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes, instead making myself seem as uncomfortable as possible, “Can we not do this today, Emma? Please?”

“Oh don't be like that, I'm just trying to be friendly.” Emma's eyes lit up with glee at my tired request, “If you act like that any time someone asks how you're doing, then you'll never make any friends!”

This time I actually did roll my eyes. What was with this nice girl routine? Guess she didn't feel as confident without Sophia here, “Good. I had a friend once. I'm sure you know how that ended.”

“You had a friend? You know the teachers have to pretend to like you, right? They don't actually want to be your friends.” Madison laughed, which cued in the rest of the girl's to begin laughing as well.

“It's okay, Taylor.” Emma's grin widened as laughter surrounded us, “I’ll be your friend if you want. I mean, you can't eat lunch with us and I'd honestly like to see as little of you as possible, but you can do my homework and stuff and I might thank you for it.”

“Wow, lucky me.” I couldn't help but remark dryly, “If this is how you treat your friends, I'd hate to see what you do to people you don't like.”

I glanced at Madison, “You should be careful, Madison. I mean, if Emma's willing to treat me so badly when we were basically family a few years ago, imagine what she'll do to you when she gets bored of you. You might actually end up on the news.”

Madison blinked, looking slightly perturbed either by my words or by the fact that I was actually talking back for once instead of cowering like normal. The girls around her seemed just as surprised, the fake laughter cutting off abruptly.

None were more surprised than Emma though. I wasn't sure I had seen her look so genuinely shocked since before we had fallen out. That shock wore off quickly though, she gave me a strange look. It was an intense, almost searching expression that actually made me a bit uncomfortable with how closely she was looking at me, as if trying to dissect me with her eyes.

I wasn't sure what it meant but I didn't like it. It was time to go before she tried something while there were no teachers around to see.

I clutched the strap of my backpack, stepping forward a bit into the circle of girls, “Do you guys mind moving out of the way now? I’ve got to get to class.”

They didn't offer up any resistance as I pushed through them, making my way down the hall. As I went, I momentarily looked back to find Emma still staring at me as her clique broke up and went their separate ways around her.

As our eyes remained locked, Madison said something to her from the side, and that finally got her to take her eyes off of me. I turned the corner and they were out of sight, but for some reason that look wouldn't leave my mind. When I had said what I said, I was expecting her to clap back with some sufficiently insulting comment, maybe even pull an old trick out of her hat and make fun of my weight or something not… that.

Whatever. I shook my head, not letting it get to me and instead focusing on my next class, and more importantly, what I was going to do once it was over and I was finally free to go home.

Before I was cornered in the hallway like a snitch in a prison yard, I had a great idea on how I could practice with my magic, while at the same time maybe earning a little cash on the side if I was smart about it.

My dad and I had a habit of storing old broken junk in the basement. Things that were either too valuable to throw away or maybe even repairable if dad ever found the time to try. He rarely did, but now I had a power that could not only clean things as good as new, but also fix them just as well. And if I was careful about it, I was sure I would be able to sell some of that stuff at the pawn shop or something, earn a little extra cash on the side.

Heh, maybe I’d even finally fix that broken step out front.

A small smile formed on my face, and I had a little pep in my step as I made my way to my next class, putting the encounter with Emma firmly in the back of my mind.

It wasn't like she'd matter soon enough, anyway.

~~~

After getting home and putting all of my school stuff away, I made my way towards the basement pulling open the creaky door and wincing at the sound that it made.

“Gonna have to fix that too. Though I don't think Mending is gonna do anything for a squeaky hinge.” I said to myself as I carefully stepped onto the steps leading into the basement.

Descending downwards, I flicked on the light switch at the bottom of the stairs, illuminating the room via the single bulb hanging in the center of the ceiling. I squinted as I saw the sheer amount of dust floating through the air, disturbed by the simple motion of opening the door and walking down the stairs. We barely ever came down here unless we needed to put something away so it was extremely dusty. We really needed to clean it up sometime.

“Though, I guess that's what I'm doing, isn't it?” I said as I walked towards the back where we kept most of the junk, maneuvering around the various random stacks of boxes as I went, “Still might need to get a mask though. Inhaling this much dust can not be good for my lungs.”

Sitting near the far wall was a pile containing an assortment of random objects. Broken chairs, pots and pans, old toys from when I was a kid that we just never threw away, and even a couple TVs that quit on us over the years.

Dad thought that he might be able to fix them. He couldn't, of course. Not only did he never have time, but electronics were never his strong suit in the first place. Maybe I could manage where he failed.

With an eager grin, I cracked my mental fingers, looking over the pile of stuff for what was the most damaged. This was a stress test for my powers. I wanted to see just how far the limits of these spells went.

Eventually, I decided on an old wooden chair with a missing back. Said back was sitting against the wall nearby, standing up on the splinters of wood that had once connected the two of them, and I picked it up as I pulled the chair out of the pile to rejoin its other half.

I vividly remembered the day that this one broke. It was years ago, before things had fallen apart with Emma. Before mom died, even. Emma and I had been playing some stupid game, magic princesses or something, and had gotten a bit too rough with the furniture we were using to make our ‘castle’. I still remembered the way Mom yelled at us for breaking it.

She still didn't make Emma go home though. She couldn't resist puppy eyes coming from two sources at once and folded almost immediately. I was pretty sure she just wasn't as angry as she said she was.

I smiled at the memory. Even though my current image of Emma was twisted by her actions, I couldn't forget that we had actually been friends once upon a time. Practically sisters even.

Hard to think how things had changed so much so quickly.

I put it out of my mind as I placed the chair on its side and connected the two broken pieces together. Thinking about that would do nothing but bring my mood down and that was the last thing I wanted right now. Things had finally started looking up, no reason to bring them down again.

I spoke my incantation and the basement lit up with a soft glow as my magic came to the surface, ready to do my bidding. I placed my glowing palm on the two tentatively connected halves of the broken chair, willing them back together and good as new once more.

The broken pieces of furniture glowed brightly, and when I brought my hand away they were no longer in two separate pieces, but one, solid piece.

I grinned at my success, lifting the chair into its legs as I looked over my work. The two halves had been mended perfectly, not a seam to be found where the break once was.

“Awesome!” I said, feeling how sturdy the repair was, “I wasn't even sure that'd work because it was so splintered at the break. Looks like the spell just filled in the gaps or something.”

A quick hit of Prestidigitation and the dusty chair looked good as new. Satisfied with my work, I turned to the other stuff sitting around me, looking for the next item I'd attempt to fix.

I wasn't exactly at a loss for choice. There was a lot here to practice with.

~~~

A few hours later, I stood back and took in the results of all of my hard work.

“Magic is way more awesome than bug powers.” I said happily as I looked over all of the stuff that I had fixed and cleaned up. A small pile of furniture and other random objects sat in front of me. From toys to cookware, it all looked practically brand new thanks to Mending and Prestidigitation, and if I didn't know any better I'd say all of this stuff just came out of the box.

I could probably get some good money for a bunch of this stuff at the pawn shop or something. At least a few hundred for the furniture, I'd say.

“Way better than bug powers.” I said again, running my hand along the top of a small coffee table I had repaired, “Probably more lucrative too. Couldn't do this with insects.”

Actually, I remember reading somewhere that beekeeping actually paid pretty well. Not to mention pest control…

“Maybe there's a spell for it. I'll have to check the Archive.” I hummed as I began to make my way out of the basement and towards my room. I’d been down here for long enough and I was getting pretty itchy from all the dust. I needed a shower and maybe a change of clothes.

“Is there a spell for that? I really need to just go in all the rooms and catalogue what I have available right now.” I mused to myself as I entered my bedroom, “I’ve sort of skimmed over most of it so far. There might be a bunch of cool stuff there that I haven't seen yet.”

I should also probably see what else was in the directory. There was still quite a bit of that book that I hadn't really read because I was so excited to learn magic. There might be some important stuff in there that I completely missed.

“Lots of stuff to do… at least I won't be bored, I guess.” I said as I dug in my closet for something more comfortable and less itchy to wear, “I also need to finish those textbooks. Maybe I can squeeze in some reading before… bed…”

My voice trailed off as I caught sight of something sitting on the floor of my closet peeking out from behind an old sweater. Realizing what I was seeing, I moved the shirt out of the way, staring at the object that had caught my attention.

There, sitting in a small nook between the wall of the closet and a shoe box, was a wooden case with golden lettering engraved into the top in a fancy scrawl. It immediately caught my eyes and held them there as I wondered how in the world I could have ever forgotten about it.

Completely forgetting about my search for comfy, I reached down and picked up the case with gentle hands, bringing it back towards my bed and sitting it on my sheets.

I just stared at it for a minute, before reaching down and running my fingers along the engravings, taking in the name inscribed on the case with quiet sorrow.

After a moment, brought a hand down to the latch, undoing it softly and slowly opening the case. My breath hitched as I opened it, afraid of what I would find despite knowing exactly what was inside.

A foul smell drifted from the case as I opened it, tickling my nose, but it was much less powerful than what I remembered. It had been so long that the scent had faded somewhat, but I still swallowed heavily as I took in the sight inside of the case.

My mother's flute looked just as damaged as it had been last time I saw it. The metal instrument was cracked and smeared in some disgusting substance that I didn't dare try to name, the detailed engravings completely lost underneath the filth no matter how hard I tried to clean it. Just like always, Emma had done a wonderful job defiling one of my most prized possessions.

But now, I had the ability to fix it, to make it right again.

I stared at the flute and what had become of it, before slowly bringing a hand forward. Muttering an incantation underneath my breath, my hand began to glow a soft, before that glow transferred to the defiled instrument as I cast Prestidigitation on what had once been my most precious keepsake.

I kept up the spell for longer than was probably necessary, but I didn't want to take any chances, and a small part of me worried that it might not even work in the first place. Mere moments later however, when the flow of magic ended and the glow faded, I was met with the most beautiful sight in the world.

Slowly, reverently, I lifted the cleaned flute, taking in its restored splendor with disbelieving eyes. The once-filthy instrument looked as pristine as it had when my mom was still alive to take care of it. The soft grooves and engravings in the body stood out from where they had been hidden under filth, shining resplendently even in the poor light of my bedroom.

My work wasn't done however, there was still the damage to the body to take care of and in fact, there was even more than I had initially thought, hidden underneath the grime and only now made apparent. That wouldn't do.

My brows furrowed and my hand glowed again as I intoned another spell. With gentle fingers, I began the arduous task of repairing each and every single one, using Mending to close the cracks and repair the chips. It took several minutes as I painstakingly went over every nook and cranny of the flute, making sure to fix whatever looked out of place from my memories until finally, I was holding a complete instrument once more.

After a moment of staring, I slowly brought it to my mouth, my shaking fingers automatically going to the keys as I placed my lips on the plate. I hesitated for a single moment, a part of me believing that something could still go wrong, before I breathed a steady stream of air into the instrument.

A single note echoed from the flute, sharp, clear, and absolutely beautiful as it filled the bedroom. My heart lifted at the noise, a great weight lifted from my shoulders and even my soul as the instrument rang clear and true.

Instinct took over, long suppressed memories surging to the forefront of my mind as I began to actually play the instrument. My fingers moved over the keys slowly but surely, pressing them down in time with the memories of myself.

It had been years since I had actually played a flute, if one could even call this playing. Mom had tried to teach me how to play but I had never actually been interested in learning beyond the basics. As such, the tune was extremely simple and could barely even be called that, more a melodic series of notes than anything resembling an actual musical composition.

But it was beautiful nonetheless. I could practically feel my mom's hands closing over my own, leading my fingers to press the right keys while her soft voice told me to blow harder or softer, always encouraging no matter how many mistakes I made.

‘Mom…’ I ran my fingers along the keys and engravings, feeling the cool metal slide underneath my digits in a soothing manner, and I actually began tearing up as my melody continued, feeling as if she were actually here with me right now

As I continued to play, an easy fact solidified itself in my mind. No matter how utterly agonizing it had been to get them, these powers were worth it.