“Hey Rini, go grab us some popcorn.” I said, propping my feet up on the glass end table, butt squished comfortably on our padded leather sofa.

Rini, my purple haired and exceedingly annoying little sister, rolled her eyes at me and kicked my feet off the end table. She sat next to me wearing her prissy blouse and designer jeans, holding the TV remote hostage… somewhere. She’d hid it from me again. 

“For the last time, stop putting your stinky feet on the table!” she said, narrowing her eyes. “And no, I’m not getting you popcorn. I know that’s one of the few things you know how to cook.”

I sighed and leaned over her, resting my arm on her short head. Her little middle schooler body was even shorter than the average. Pretty much everyone dwarfed her small frame. Of course, that never seemed to bother her—or stop her fierce little attitude. Rini was the typical goodie-two-shoes with perfect grades, fantastic athletic ability, and popular in school.

Ha. If only they knew what she was like at home. I thought, smiling.

Rini groaned and pushed me away from her, scooting to the other side of the couch. I side eyed her as she covertly used her opposite arm to pull the TV remote out from the flaps of a couch pillow.

Bingo. I’ll know where to look next time.

“We’re watching my show for once,” Rini said, turning on the TV and flipping through the channels.

I slumped back onto the couch and groaned. Please, not another rom-com. Anything but another—

Rini stopped on the channel. The worst channel on television. The same channel that produced horrible nightmares and unspeakable dialogue sequences. 

The Hallmuck Channel.

“Please rip my eyes out,” I groaned. 

“Oh hush up, Nyx.” Rini said, annoyed. “You promised yesterday that I could pick.”

“Yes, but I said that knowing that you know what I hate. Don’t you love your older sister?”

Rini narrowed her eyes at me. Paused. And then said…

“No.”

I sighed and stood up, the sound of cheesy rom-com music playing in the background.

“I’ll go make some popcorn. Might as well be somewhat happy while the torture ensues.”

“You’re so dramatic,” Rini said.

I went to the kitchen, grabbed a popcorn bag, and put it in the microwave, pressing the “popcorn” button as Rini had taught me. Popcorn was assuredly the best food in the world, since it had its own button on a microwave.

“Oh my gosh,” I heard Rini squeal in delight from the living room, “it’s Valentina!” 

Not this again.

“I thought you were watching that awful movie?” I said, grabbing my newly popped corns from the microwave.

“I was,” Rini said, excitement oozing from her voice, “but a breaking news headline came up and I switched channels.”

I came back to the couch and plopped down, scooping a handful of popcorn into my mouth.

The large flatscreen TV hanging above the fireplace cast a glowing light around the dimly lit room. It was November and the cool chill of autumn was kept away by the heat of the fireplace. 

Anyone who saw their house would say they were “well off” or “lucky”.

But to me it felt empty.

…not that I cared. More room for snacks.

“We’re here with you live on ATK TV,” a newscaster said, her booming voice assaulting their ears. 

“Ahhhhh I’m so happy she’s on tonight. It’s so awesome to see her live!” Rini squealed and sprinted to her room, coming back with an arm full of stuffed…animals. Sort of. She had a stuffed Riko (Valentina’s familiar), a stuffed bow and arrow (Valentina’s weapon), and a jeweled hairpiece clip (Valentina’s hairpiece) that looked like a pink heart surrounded by intricate twine and white feathers. 

I was disgusted with myself for knowing so much about this Magical Girl. Rini never stopped talking about her.

Rini clipped the piece into her hair, sitting back on the couch with her stuffed animals hugged tightly to her chest, her sparkling eyes glues to the television in anticipation. 

Yes. This was the popular kid. My little sister… 

obsessed with a “frou-frou” fricken Magical Girl.

…Along with the rest of the world.

Valentina stood on the roof of a building, the shadowy nighttime sky lit only by a few towering advertising billboards. Several newscasting drones hovered in the sky near her, their fans whirling overhead and red “recording” lights blinking.

Her long curly blonde hair was practically sparkling, even under the dim night sky, fluttering in the wind like something out of a movie. She was dressed in her action-figure-worthy pink and white dress that was donned with an abysmal number of sparkles, ruffles, and heart insignias. Lacey pink heels (the devil’s creation, no doubt) weaved up to her knees in a cross pattern. 

As someone who had never even worn a dress, just looking at it made me grimace. 

In one hand Valentina wielded her oversized pink bow—completely adorned with oversized hairbows, and somehow, even more sparkles. It glowed faintly in the dark as if surrounded by a pink aura of some kind.

“She’s so pretty. I would give anything to meet her.” Rini sighed happily, gazing at the screen as if it were a long-lost friend. “I wish I could be a Magical Girl.”

I snorted and threw  popcorn at her. “I’d rather be one of the demons.”

Rini narrowed her eyes. “That’s not funny, you know. Thousands of people die to demon attacks every year. I’ve read that—”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, cutting her off. “If Magical Girl’s were so great, then why do the demons keep coming back? It’s been what, like five years since the invasion? Shouldn’t they have ended it by now with their little magic wands?” I wiggled my fingers around as if casting a spell.

I could practically see the fumes coming off Rini’s little head. 

“Like you would know anything!” She said angrily, “Magical Girl’s risk their lives every day to keep us safe. Only the smartest, prettiest, and most pure hearted girls can become Magical Girl’s. There are not enough girls like that around, so they are short staffed!” 

Rini paused and hugged her plushies tight to her chest. She mumbled, her voice quieting, “Except me, of course. I’m going to become a Magical Girl when I get older.”

What a ridiculous goal, I thought. I didn’t understand how anyone could want to fight monsters daily. It sounded like a lot of work.

“—and she’s done it again!” the newscaster’s voice cut through the tension, drawing their attention back to the screen. “Valentina has defeated the demon and rescued the hostages—”

Rini produced an awful, grating screech and threw a couch pillow at me. I caught it with my face, utilizing my ever-so-amazing reflexes. The zipper stung slightly.

“You made me miss the fight!” she said, standing up to face me and stomping her foot. “You always do this! Why can’t you just let me watch without making any stupid comments.”

My fault? How? She’s the one that went on a tirade.

“I guess it couldn’t have been that hard of a fight, if it was over that fast.”

“Uhg! You’re the worst!”

I shrugged, pointing at the TV. “You’re going to miss the rest if you keep complaining.”

Rini whipped around.

Valentina stood with a red-haired newscaster lady who had a microphone held up expectantly. In the background a news helicopter touched down in the streets behind them while a few civilians were escorted away from the scene by police. Windows, broken walls, destroyed signs, and cracked pavement littered the street. A nearby shop was completely crumpled inward as if an elephant had been shoved into it. 

Other than the demolished street, there was no sign of a demon. 

“I’m here with our very own Magical Girl, Valentina,” the newscaster said, smiling. Valentina stood beside her, smiling sweetly. Up close you could see the tiny freckles that dotted her nose and cheeks, giving her a sickeningly sweet appearance. Even the newscaster looked awestruck. 

“I believe I can speak for everyone when I say we feel very fortunate to have witnessed your amazing victory on film!” The newscaster said. “Would you say it was a difficult battle?”

“It wasn’t necessarily difficult,” Valentina said warmly. “I was just happy I made it in time to save everyone.” Her voice was peppy, but there was an undertone of something else that I couldn’t quite pinpoint.

A puff of pink sparkles suddenly appeared next to Valentina’s shoulder. The newscaster jumped and almost dropped her mic in surprise. The smoke quickly disappeared to reveal an oversized white and pink bird that looked somewhat like a dove with three long tail feathers. 

“It’s Riko!” Rini said excitedly. “Oh my gosh he is so cute. He hardly ever shows himself.”

Valentina glanced at the bird. “I’m so sorry,” she laughed as Riko landed on her shoulder. “It looks like I’m being called elsewhere. Thank you for having me! And remember, I’ll always be here to protect you.”

And with that, she dashed with inhuman speed out of camera view… and was gone.

“Alright,” I said, stretching my arms and placing the popcorn bag on the table. “I’m ready to watch Smashum Brawlers Five now. We watched your thing.”

Rini glared at me. 

“My ‘thing’ was 10 minutes.” She said and she started walking toward the hallway that led to her room. “Whatever! You watch your neanderthal show. Good luck finding the remote, though,” she sneered, her naturally innocent face twisting into something scary.

I grinned and pulled a shiny new remote out from my hoodie pocket.

“Jokes on you,” I said, “I bought this baby yesterday. No more ‘frou-frou’ girl nonsense tonight.”

Rini stopped and stuck her tongue out, looking even more childish while holding those stuffed animals.

“All I know is, thank god you're not the one saving the world.” She snarked, still salty about missing her show. “We’d all be doomed.”

I smiled as I flipped through the channels.  “Doomed indeed.”