28. Back
Unedited
I feel like a fucking Katie Perry song. I can't tell if it was the alcohol that made me like that kiss, but I just knew that I did. Maybe everyone is right; maybe I am gay. The only way to find out is through exploration.
"Benji... If you're ready, I think it's time to send you back to Riverside. With the instability of the prison, we need you to know offensive spells as well. I know you have some weird thing with being able to use spells without knowing them, but it's better for you and us if you actually know them." Dad had placed his hand on my shoulder while he spoke, and I recognized it as a comforting gesture. However, this time I knew I needed to get away from here, so I nodded slowly.
"I'll go back... And I won't run away this time. I've said my peace with this place."
"Good. Do I have to force you into the car again?" I turned my head, and I couldn't help but notice his slightly pink cheeks. That's not normal.
"No, I'm fine. Are you blushing?"
"Shhh! Don't talk about it!"
"Why are you blushing!? I need to know now!"
"Get in the car please."
"Oh Jack~ Allystar told me you and Kyle–"
"Shush it Dev."
"Wooooow. I am wounded."
"I wanna hear what he was going to say." I crossed my arms while I spoke, and I saw Devon's eyes light up like a Christmas tree.
"He kissed a boy!"
"Oh hey same."
"WHO DID YOU KISS BENJI!?"
"No one important!" I don't think it would go over well with them. I mean, they both have very open minds, but it was low-key incest. I mean, maybe if we lived in Alabama... Okay I'll stop making Alabama jokes now. I can't tell if it was or wasn't. On one hand, we didn't know we were related to each other, but on the other hand, we are. Send help please I'm clueless.
"You have to tell us now! Did you like it?"
"I was drunk, and I just now remembered it. I think I liked it, but it could have been the alcohol or the time."
"When was it?"
"About a year ago at a high school party."
"That is so cute!"
"Devon, tone it down. Benji, go get in the car, we're leaving soon."
"Okay!" I walked to the car and sat in it while they continued their conversation, and it took almost 10 minutes for my father to emerge.
"You ready to go?"
"Yep!"
"I'm serious. No running away this time. I do not want to get another call saying that my son, who may or may not be a danger to the world, has run away from the school attempting to keep him tame."
"I didn't blow anything up."
"But you could have. Magic gets progressively stronger every second of every day. Having too much of it can get you hurt."
"Dad, I'm fine."
The car motor was the only sound around us, and I began to fall into sleep again. Why am I so tired all of the time? My father looked kind of uncomfortable with something, but he hid it well despite his weird facial expression. "Benji, what in the hell are you doing?" he finally broke the silence, and I turned to look at him.
"I don't know, what am I doing?"
"You are sending slow, radiating waves of rancid magic scent."
"I don't know why."
"This is probably what happens when you don't awaken your warlock side until 17. I'd say that you had minor magic explosions before, but you never noticed them because you weren't realized. Did anything weird ever happen to you when you were a kid? Anything... Out of the ordinary?"
"This one time, when I was a kid, I started an electric fire with a fork and a pair of scissors."
"That's normal, Benjamin. Think outside the box here."
"When I was a young boy, I would sometimes move things with my eyes, but when I tried to prove I could to my parents, I couldn't. They had to get me a therapist to convince me I couldn't actually move shit with my eyes, but I totally still could. I could only do it when I was alone."
"That was probably your magic making an appearance. You couldn't show your parents or therapist because there's a spell placed on all unrealized warlocks, from the moment they're born, that makes it so that they're unable to show that magic to humans. It's to protect the supernatural secret."
"Man, they almost sent me to an asylum for that."
"Your parents tried to send you to an insane asylum?"
"Well what 14 year old boy is thoroughly convinced that they have telekinesis?"
"A warlock boy."
"How was I supposed to know that? It wasn't like I read Harry Potter excessively when I was a child."
"Whatever you do, don't bring that book series up at Riverside. The entire magic community hates it."
"Good to know."
"We're here."
"Great."
"Behave yourself, please. I'm not driving all the way out here to keep bringing you back and forth. This gravel road is bad for my Prius."
"Then why do you take it out here? Devon his a four wheel drive SUV at his disposal."
"If that man ever lets someone else near his car, it'll probably be in his will. That man cares way too much about it."
"But why a Prius?"
"I don't know. I thought it was cute when I bought it."
"That is the weirdest reason to buy a car I have ever heard."
"It was also cheap and easy to drive. Sasha had already finished her time at Riverside so I didn't think I'd be driving over these gravel roads again for a very long time. Then you came into my life and proved that assumption wrong."
"Oh."
"Now, get out of the car. It's currently lunch time, but I'm gonna bring you to the headmaster and profusely apologize for the stunt you pulled."
"I didn't think it was that big of a deal."
"The world of the supernatural is much more dangerous than that of a human, Benjamin. There are so many kidnappers, people looking to exploit power, and much, much more. They issued a huge search for you, and the school went into lockdown when no one found you. They assumed that someone was on the lose kidnapping powerful children to use them for their advantages, and there are a lot of powerful children at that school. Everyone slept in one main room where they were constantly watched by teachers. Some students couldn't even go to the restroom without a teacher right outside of the door. Lockdowns in that place are a huge mess, and everyone hates them. Especially the staff since they rarely get a break. Now come, we're going to go say sorry for what you did."