The next morning, Jasper was dancing in the kitchen making pancakes with Liz, one of his roommates. The last high school Jasper was at, he’d managed to make her as a friend. And she hated her parents just enough to apply to college on the other side of the country with him. Once she was accepted, Jasper was ecstatic. He’d never had a friend stick with him, since he was always moving around.

He was sad he couldn’t tell her about the paranormal things in life, but they still enjoyed living together.

A ding from Jasper’s phone interrupted the music as a sizzle of batter steamed into his nostrils. He pulled out his phone:

—————

Instructor Jorgien and 12 others:

Jorgien: Emergency program meeting at the arboretum classroom at 2pm. If you are working, find a way to call in and listen. -Instructor Jorgien

—————

So much for Jasper’s resting day.

Jasper scrunched his face. He was glad he only worked on Fridays. Otherwise he’d have to swing a wireless headphone while serving tables. Yikes.

“What’s up?” Liz asked, laying down the bacon next to him. A sacred act.

“Oh.” Jasper put his phone away. “I forgot about a… program bonding thing we had at 2 today. That was a reminder.” He hated lying to her, even if he was bad at it.

Liz tossed a few of her red loose curls behind her head. “They have you at school all the time.” She didn’t lift her gaze from the bacon, placing them side-by-side. “Such a weird major for all that instruction.”

“Yeah, we’re a small group though. Lots of discussion happens when you’re comfortable and close.” Jasper said, pressing a pancake and looking off to the side.

“I’m still waiting to meet one of your fellow ancient history nerds.” Liz said.

“I’m sure you will eventually.” Jasper said. “We’re just all… self-absorbed, but not in a pretentious way. Like, we hang out a lot in school so when it’s time to go home, we become…”

“Shut-ins?”

“Kind of. Yeah.” It was exhausting using magic all the time.

“With how many hours you’re in class I understand.” Liz said. “What are they teaching you, hieroglyphics and shit?”

“There’s stuff like that, yeah. Artifacts, ancient technologies and systems, speculations and speculated stories… viewing and interpreting can be near artistic at times.” Jasper was trained to give fake rundowns in these situations. It wasn’t entirely unrealistic, he just had to leave out key terms like ‘magic’ and ‘beings of energy that can kill people.’

“Sounds awful. But then again, I’m hating pre-med. Wish I could drop that major and just be in the dance program. But nooo, mother and father dearest say I have to do something ‘important.’”

“You could get a job and not rely on them.” Jasper said.

“That sounds worse.”

“You’re right. I threw up a little at the word ‘job.’ Eck.”

“I’m starting the eggs! Liz switch tracked.

“Egg away! Actually, egg in pan!” Jasper said.

“Egg sizzle!”

“Egg memoirs!”

“The life I was never hatched into.”

“That’s a beautiful title.” Jasper said.

“Thanks, I am just an egg without parents who care.” Liz said.

“Deep.” Jasper said. “You were clucked then fucked.”

“Into the great scheme of life. And now, I scramble.” Liz said, stirring the yellow goo in the pan as her other hand did a fluttering motion in the air.

“Your next dance composition project?” Jasper asked.

“Totally.” Liz agreed. “Likening my struggles in life to these eggs, raised in the cages of society, which we, without fertilization, cannot break out of. I’m already inspired.”

“You’re so poetic.”

“Thank you. I really try to find beauty in the pain.” Liz said flatly. Jasper loved this woman. Something about her was different than most people. Even when their conversations conventionally made no sense, Jasper knew exactly what was going on and so did she.

After breakfast and cleanup it was already close to 1pm. Jasper and Liz got distracted by everything, whether it be jumpy conversations or a bird flying by outside the window.

He got ready and checked the bus app. He avoided using Liz’s car unless it was quick or he absolutely needed to. Nothing on her— it was just the kind of person he was.

Thankfully there was one bus that would get him to campus on time. It was just a route that would leave him with a longer walk. He couldn’t help it, the weekends were different.

He left the apartment and walked to the stop, and when it came time he flashed his school ID and boarded. Sat down. Dissociated against the aggressive sounds of the AC/heater machine thing. Pretended the other people near him didn’t exist. Panicked because he forgot his backpack. Remembered he didn’t need his backpack. Accidentally brushed momentary eye contact with a stranger. Got a headache from the perfume someone else was wearing.

When it was over, Jasper practically spread wings and flew out of his seat.

It wasn’t his first time at the weekend-drop-off-point. This side of campus was a bit more… industrial. More buildings and parking garages, less nature. A few trees on the sides of walkways for show.

Jasper started his trip around the Huler Union— a giant building with shops and food places and student lounges and the bookstore. Half the building was covered in windows.

Then was the theatre building, journalism building, psychology, too many more subjects that Jasper didn’t have to over-concern himself with…

The sky was bright and the sun was a weird warm layering in over the cold air. Jasper loosened his scarf and unzipped his jacket.

What was this emergency meeting for anyway? A small sliver of angst was worming around Jasper’s insides, below the surface but burning all the same. He worried about many things, even if he pretended not to.

Bryan and Claire probably summoned another entity by accident. Jasper would’ve laughed if the thought weren’t so realistic. Last semester someone had replaced their memories, given them a cursed object, and they used it. Jasper meant to ask Instructor Jorgien about that case. There was still no culprit.

Jasper sighed. Fifteen more minutes of walking. As soon as he turned the corner around one of the parking garages, his phone started ringing. He pulled it out.

“Josephine?” he answered.

“Jasper! Are you ANYWHERE near the seismology building?” She sounded on edge. And loud.

“Uhh, not exactly?”

“Puta Madre, there’s so many of them!” He heard Maria shouting in the background of the call.

“Frie aó nol whiest!” Josephine shouted.

Jasper immediately turned to the right and started running. “You’re casting fire on campus?”

He heard a bunch of swear words on the other line.

“You called Jorgien, right?” Jasper shouted again into the phone.

“Uhh, no. SHIT!” Jasper heard more struggling sounds from Maria in the background as Josephine spoke. “I panicked and called you, oh, frie aó nol whiest!”

Jasper could barely keep up with his own feet while staying on the call. He was covering distance while dodging the occasional random person in his path.

“I’m calling them now!” Jasper shouted.

“No!” Josphine said. “I mean, I think we got the last one.”

Jasper wasn’t convinced. He didn’t stop running.

Josphine was panting on the line. “Yeah, I think, I think we’re… oh…. OH.”

“SHIT.” he heard Maria and Josephine shout in unison, and then Josephine screamed. After that all Jasper could hear was the sound of her phone falling to the ground. Then Jasper heard extremely loud buzzing noises.

“Shit. Shit. Shit.” Jasper started calling Jorgien’s number. They didn’t answer the first time. Jasper was running through the courtyard now.

Just as he started calling a second time, he noticed someone walking in from the sidewalk to the side, eating a bagel (there was a bagel shop nearby, so it was a good guess).

Jasper got closer to this person, and then Jorgien answered the phone. “Jasper, if this is—”

“SEISMOLOGY BUILDING, JOSEPHINE AND MARIA ARE IN TROUBLE.” Jasper yelled, running like a maniac.

And Clearly catching the attention of bagel man, who stopped and looked at Jasper. Then bagel man started running with Jasper. Jasper, in his scattered mental state, then realized bagel man was, in fact, Cody.

“I’m coming.” Jasper heard with a click on the other line.

Cody shouted as he ran next to Jasper. “I can cast speed and carry you if you can cast invisibility so no one sees us.”

“Sounds great.” Jasper didn’t have time to worry about anything other than getting to his friends. He and Cody were about to reach the end of the courtyard. “Duck under those stairs and let’s go!”

Once they were out of sight, Jasper tried settling his mind. Cody picking him up threw him off for a second. The man had already enchanted himself, and his arms held Jasper sturdy.

“Trelevis, luminis, alhea vri ou.” Jasper said three times, then added something to link the spell to Cody. “Vri ou, en tifluenzi bwhest.” This would probably use half of his magic. After passing his whole threshsold, spells would take calories, or his base energy. He didn’t want to pass out from that again, but he’d do what he needed in an emergency.

The second Cody also became translucent, he took off. Jasper gasped. Cody was sprinting three times as fast as a normal person. Jasper couldn’t feel wind like this on a bike.

What should’ve been an eight minute run was accomplished in two. They could hear yelling from the other side of the seismology building when they got close. It was a weird alley and a Sunday, so thankfully no one else was around. As soon as they cornered the building, Jasper let go of the spell. Adding Cody to it drained more than he thought.

When Cody put Jasper down, Jasper had a brief thought of disappointment that it was over. He threw those thoughts in the trash immediately. He could recover the memory in thirty days if he needed to, but he hoped he would forget.

Maria was slamming her mace against a giant armored beetle. It was silver, but not the cute reflective kind. Sturdy and impenetrable, and nearly five feet tall. Not the kind of entity they were cleared to fight.