"Luke!" I called out as I banged on the door to my brother’s bedroom, "Get up!"

“Go away Gen!” he groaned through the door, and most likely his pillow.  Still at least it was good that he acknowledged me.  It told me he was up.

I turned away from the door and went back to the kitchen, knowing that my younger brother would be getting up.  No one could ever sleep through my shouting. Dad had called it one of my many gifts.  I was proved right a few minutes later.  Luke came into the kitchen still looking bedraggled with sleep, hair still sticking up at all angles and sleep crusted on his eyes.  He cast a glare at me before grabbing a bowl and cereal from a cupboard. I couldn’t muster up a lot of sympathy for him or regret waking him up.  Luke stayed out way too late and way too often for me to feel bad.  Sheesh, sometimes I wondered what he was doing so late at night.  Then again, it was probably better that I didn’t ask.  I really didn’t want to know what particular teen boy thing my teen brother was doing.

We had always been really close.  That kind of happened when you were born only eighteen months apart from one another.  A lot of people had mistaken us for twins while growing up because of our close age.  Well, that and the fact that we looked nearly identical to one another.  There was no way that Luke could ever deny being my brother.  We shared the same mousy brown hair that hung in our face, crystal blue eyes, and slender frame.  Luke had been teased unmercifully when he was younger.  His classmates had called him gangly.  Thankfully, I’d escaped the teasing. In fact, I’d found many admirers in high school and now in college.

I hadn’t found a lot of time for dating though.  Not since Dad had died last year.  Other than waking Luke up for his morning classes, I didn’t have to take care of him but the trust fund Dad had left us only went so far.

All our lives, Dad had been a fairly successful businessman. He’d apparently lost a big part of it a long time ago that had made him super wary. He’d poured a large amount of money into a trust fund. Then when he’d died, Luke and I decided to sell his business. Neither one of us held any interest in running it so it just seemed like the better option. After taxes and expenses, the money from the sale and trust had been enough to keep the condo and cover school tuition for both of us. It didn’t take care of all the miscellaneous expenses like food and utilities. I refused to let Luke work during his freshman year of college. I wanted at least one of us to have a normal college experience.

“Don’t forget I have a night class tonight. I won’t be home to cook dinner.” I reminded him.  “You’ll have to pull something out of the freezer for yourself.”

“Yep, burnt frozen lasagna is on the menu tonight,” Luke mumbled as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. I shot him a dark look.

“Don’t you dare burn down my kitchen.” I raised the spoon I’d been using to scoop taco meat into plastic containers to threaten him. It didn’t do much good.  

He only shrugged.  “It’s a joke Gen. I’ve got it.”

I recognized his tone. I grit my teeth and lowered my spoon. “You’re going out again tonight aren’t you?”

“Gen relax.” Luke didn’t even give me the courtesy of looking up at me.

“Luke I mean it.” I told him emphatically as I started to gather my things for my management class.  “Just because it’s Friday doesn’t mean you can stay out all night...again.”

I swear, if he flunked out of college because he was out partying I would kill him.  Not when it was Dad’s money footing the bill for him.  

“Fine,” growled Luke.  I rolled my eyes at his tone.  He was more tired than anything.

I shook my head, stuffed my lunch into my backpack, and slung it over my shoulder.  "I need to get going.  I'll see you after class tonight.  Go to class Luke."

Luke gave me another noncommittal grunt and I turned towards the door.  It was the best I was going to get out of him.  I rode the elevator down to the lobby of the complex that housed our condo.  There were three men hanging out by the security desk that housed the building’s cameras.

“Come on buddy. Just a little smile,” Joel, the older security guard, prodded the younger and newer guard sitting next to him. Joel had been working in the building for as long as I could remember. He’d been really good friends with my dad. Luke and I had practically grown up with Joel’s kids. His son was the same age as me and had been my closest companion until he’d moved out of state to go to law school.

“You’re never gonna get a girl with those sour looks,” the doorman, Roger, pointed out. Roger was another long standing staple in the building. He took great pleasure in showing pictures of his grandchildren to anyone who would stand still enough to look at them. At least he’d recently graduated from the overstuffed wallet to a smartphone. Twelve year old Abby on the fourth floor I believe was to thank for that.

“I’ve been told that I look even more sour when I smile,” the new guy told them through grit teeth. Obviously he was annoyed with the pair of them. He’d only been working in the building for the last six months. Guilt rushed through me. I could never remember his name. Not that he wasn’t memorable with. His thick brown hair that was a little on the shaggy side and his eyes were a deep but cold green. Then again maybe it was the fact that he worked with two older guys that made him stand out so much. The new security guard’s brown hair and green eyes were much more vibrant than Joel’s and Roger’s graying hair and receding hairlines. 

"Oh come on, I'd settle for a twitch at the very least." Joel pushed.

The new guy gave him a harsh glare.  I rolled my eyes at the antics.  I did kind of feel bad for the poor guy.  Then again, Joel and Roger had a point.  He did always look like he'd just swallowed a lemon.  "Good morning Roger.  Good morning Joel."

I smiled as I went passed the two of them.  I caught a glimpse of the new guy’s name badge. Caspian, that’s right!  “Good morning Caspian.” I added after only a slight pause.  The new guard gave a little bit of a surprised jolt.

"Good morning Genevieve." Roger greeted me pleasantly as he moved towards the door.  "How are you this morning?"

"I'm doing well.  Hold on a minute before you open the door,” I replied before turning to Joel, “Joel, will you do me a favor?"

"Anything for you Ms. Harper," Joel replied.

"If you don't see Luke come down by ten thirty, will you please go bang on the door.  He's missed his eleven am too many times this semester."

“Sure thing Gen,” nodded Joel. However, he was staring at me questioningly. “Don’t you think that maybe you ought to trust that boy just a little bit more?  He is eighteen after all.  Luke’s a good kid.”

I nodded in full agreement but a smirk covered my face. “I know he’s a good kid.  My dad didn’t leave us all that money for school so that he could just sleep through his classes though.”

Joel and Roger laughed.  I gave a little wave I headed for the door.  Roger took his cue and rushed to beat me there.  I threw smiles and waves behind me as Roger opened the door for me.  “Have a good day guys!” I called over my shoulder.  

Joel waved back from the security desk but the new guard was too busy staring at me with a slack jaw.  He was probably still in shock that I’d acknowledged him.  Roger cast a glance up at the sky and a scowl settled on to his face. “Do you want me to get you a cab Gen. Looks like it might rain.”

I looked up at the sky.  It was overcast with dark clouds forming over head.  It wasn’t enough to block out the pale lavender color of the sky though.  History books and scientist told us that the sky used to be blue once upon a time ago, before magic showed up all over the world. That had been a long time ago though. Shades of purple were the norm now. Just like magic and mythical creatures were.  

Some were pleasant like the unicorns that ran through the park at sunrise and sunset.  Some not so much.  The Trolls were especially dangerous.  They had a penchant for attacking people and carrying them off to pickle and eat.  Those were the creatures that police and the military required a little extra help with dealing with. The famed Queensmen.

They called themselves by fairy tale names.  Snow White, Huntsman, Anansi were a few of the ones I could think of off the top of my head.  However, there were a lot more than just those few.  No one really knew who they were but the general consensus though was that they were a good thing to have around.  When you had golems that nothing short of a nuclear bomb could destroy walking through a city, it was nice to know someone could take care of them without destroying the world.

Then again the Queensmen had their own brand of nuclear bomb that was a lot less detrimental to the world as a whole.  

Magic.  No one really questioned it anymore.  We just took it as a given.  Then again after a lifetime’s worth of seeing phoenixes burst into flames and watching hippocampi travel upriver to mate, you lost some of your skepticism.  

I looked back at Roger and shook my head.  “Nah, I should be able to make it to campus just fine.  Might need one for on the way back from the restaurant tonight though.”

“Be careful on your way home after dark tonight Gen.” Roger warned me seriously.  “This morning’s paper said that a herd of Trolls has been seen wandering close to the city.  They’ve been keeping an eye on them, but you know how those things usually play out.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful,” I promised him.

I left him standing on the sidewalk underneath the awning and headed down the street.  My condo’s building was only a few blocks from the college that Luke and I both attended.  It was the only college in the area that boasted a four year bachelors in the culinary arts.  Luke was still undecided on his major but the college was big enough that he could go into just about anything he wanted.  

I smelled the campus before I saw it. The crisp scent of autumn leaves and grass were familiar and comforting. Tomorrow, if Roger’s prediction of rain was correct, there would also be an earthy smell as well. Red, yellow, and orange leaves were the first thing I saw of the college. Trees lined the concrete walkways and towered over the historic red brick buildings. I loved this place. It was probably one of the oldest places that still stood in the middle of our bustling metropolis like city. Studying in the fall and spring under the trees was a favorite among many students, myself included. Life seemed slower here and farther removed from the magic of the world.

“Gen!” called one of the students from across the courtyard. On instinct, I turned to face the sound. There was a boy heading my way wearing a frumpy university sweater with pale blonde hair. A prickle of vague familiarity niggled at the back of my mind as I waved to him. I couldn’t quite place where I recognized him from. I might have had a class with him last semester. There wasn’t any harm in being polite though. I couldn’t stick around though.

I caught a look at my watch and winced.  Time to step it up or be late to my kitchen management class.  It wouldn’t set a good example for Luke if I showed up late to one of my classes after lecturing him on being on time for his