16
1089 Words
Josiah
“How are things going with Amani?” Grayson questioned as he leaned back in his seat.
“Good,” I answered. I was extremely uncomfortable, but it had nothing to do with Amani. “Why did you call me here, Grayson?” I decided to get straight to the point. It was strange for him to ask me here, and I wanted to know why.
“I had an idea,”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, and when I spoke to Sierna about it…well, she insisted that I talk to you. Apparently, you would be perfect for the job,” he explained, but it wasn’t enough, and my curiosity was piqued.
“Job?”
“Ok, so…with everything that happened with Mato and Zack…I wanted to put an idea forth to Skaydal council about opening up a school,”
“Doesn’t Skaydal already have schools?” I asked curiously. I wasn’t entirely sure where he was going with this and, since he was being vague, I was going to push.
“Skaydal does have schools. But those schools don’t teach magic,” the minute he said the word ‘magic’ I knew what was coming and I quickly shook my head. “Don’t do that Josiah,” he snapped in irritation. “You haven’t even heard my proposal yet,”
“I’m not going to teach magic,” I said firmly.
“I wasn’t asking you to teach magic,”
“Then?” I asked, as I was now beyond confused.
“I am not a warlock, Josiah…so that means that I don’t really know the first thing about magic. What I do know is that parents are responsible for teaching their children,”
“Yeah? So?” I still wasn’t sure where he was going with this.
“Well…given your history…” his voice trailed off and I finally understood what he wanted from me.
“Ok,” I said as I finally relaxed. “I think having a safe environment to learn magic is a great idea. Not a school per se, but a safe place,”
“Ok,” he immediately agreed, and I smiled.
“I wished I had a safe place to go to while I was growing up,” I admitted. “I mean, Blaise…” this time it was my voice that trailed off, but I quickly shook my head to stop myself from heading down memory lane. “I had a good teacher, but I was taught how to use my magic for harm,”
“Right,” he said as he watched me closely.
“Parents teaching their kids magic is all good, Grayson. Its…personable, but if you want to make sure that they know how to use their magic safely or wisely…then yeah, having a safe place for them to talk about it would be great,”
“So not a school?”
“No, I wouldn’t call it a school or even treat it as such. Something more casual and relaxing would probably be better…like…hang out or something,”
“Hmm…magic hang out,” Grayson murmured thoughtfully, and I nodded in agreement.
“Exactly,”
“Well, thank you for clearing that up for me, Josiah,” he said as he stood up and I hurriedly stood up as well.
“Of course, anytime,”
“One more thing before you go,”
“Yeah?”
“Would you and Amani like to have dinner with us sometime?” he asked, and I frowned.
“I mean…sure,” Amani and I hadn’t spoken after the BBQ the other day, but I suppose it was time for me to make another move. Grayson nodded before he sat back down, and I took that opportunity to make a hasty exit. Since I had driven to the packhouse, I reluctantly got into my truck and headed home. I considered stopping at Amani’s house, but I didn’t want to just drop by without an invitation or something. However, as I pulled into my ridiculously long driveway, I spotted Amani sitting on the porch. My heart rate sped up as I greedily took in her appearance. She looked good but tired. I quickly parked the truck and climbed out. “Amani, I wasn’t expecting you…was I?” I tried to remember but she shook her head.
“No,” she said as I headed up the steps to join her. “I just thought I would stop by,”
“Would you like something to drink?” I asked as I got ready to snap my fingers, but Amani quickly shook her head.
“No,”
“Is everything all right?” I then questioned as I sat down on the other chair.
“I’m fine,”
“You don’t sound fine,” I couldn’t help but point out.
“No, I really am fine,” she said, but even then, I felt as though she wasn’t being truthful.
“Amani…”
“I missed you, ok? Is that what you wanted to hear?” I am honestly taken aback by the hostility in her voice, but what can I say to that?
“I mean, I am happy to hear you missed me because I’ve missed you too,”
“Oh,” she whispered as she finally looked at me. “I just…I didn’t want to admit that the only reason I came by was because I missed you,”
“I’m glad you had the courage to tell me though,” I informed her. “I have no idea what the protocol is for dating, Amani, but I have missed you too,” I smiled as I said it again and Amani visibly relaxed. I wanted her to know that she wasn’t alone in the way she felt. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”
“I would love to,” she replied with a shy smile. I truly wasn’t sure what the protocol was for dating, but did we have to follow it? I had no idea what it was, did she? I wasn’t about to ask her, so I simply leaned back and watched her.
“How was your day?”
“Good…tiring but good,” Amani said as she went on to explain how she had spent the day helping her mother bake some goodies for her niece’s upcoming birthday. It felt oddly domestic with the two of us sitting outside on the porch, discussing how our day had been and I loved it.
- Writer
