An Average Thursday

My alarm goes off. It is mine. I think about what happened last night. I was working all night on a more advanced disguise measure for my dorm’s cloak. Not that it should matter. I’m fairly certain it’s just Ter spying on me, and she’s just a hoarder where information is concerned. Likes holding it and holding it over people’s heads, but doesn’t really do the whole sharing thing. Like with my other situation. I think I finished the disguise and put the cloak back up, but I should check. Nicking my pinkie finger, I let a drop fall down onto a string. It splashes out, sprinkling and then arcing, spreading it’s way around the complex lattice of mystical energies surging constantly around my room. Good, I muse, one less thing I need to do today.

A text comes in from Ali. She and the League are meeting for something tonight. I should probably show up, say hi. I head to my closet and start pulling on clothing for the day. Meet with them, then I’ve got a class, then I need to finish that project. Should have time to hang out with everyone some tonight, assuming everyone else’s free. Been a hot minute, what with Nat tutoring various people and me planning stuff and Jase and Ali making doe eyes constantly. As I’m putting on my shirt, my phone bings again. What’s Jase bothering us about this time, I muse as I head over.

My happiness fades as I see the notification. It’s not a text, it’s one of my news alerts. I have several set up, looking for any news about specific people and places in the target regions. As well as my fun news alerts. This isn’t one of my fun ones, though. A warehouse on Goose Island was engulfed in a fire this morning. That is very not good. That warehouse was a parts-storage for one of the four remaining important and powerful covens left in the whole Great Lakes region. I need to increase my efforts of looking in around there. If there is war, it’ll last a few years, but more importantly, it could draw unwanted eyes. Seeing as I plan to expand that way, and have put some effort into feelers and long-term groundwork that way, I need to shut this shit down fast. Or at least keep the bad-eyes elsewhere. Another series of things to add to the list. I pull out my whiteboard and take note. Need to find out who started it and whether or not it can be halted or quieted. That means contacting a couple of people in the area. Can’t send an email from campus, it’ll be changed. I’ll head into town for lunch, send something from there. Then, hopefully I’ll have responses by tonight and I can start formulating my next steps. My eyes pass by the clock. Crap. I need to get to class fast.

Rushing down the stairs and through the quad, I make it into On the Fall of Civilizations just before class starts. Taking a breath and heading over to where Jase is, I make sure to stop by Ter. She’s leaning back in her chair, not talking to Irene. Who is talking quite a bit. “Ter,” I interrupt. She looks up at me with murderous intent. “I might need some help coming up.”

She shakes her head at me. “So everyone says these days,” she mutters her face emotionless to all but those who know her. She’s happy so many people are asking her for favors. Because, like any devil you ask for favors, the bill will come due someday. Not that I mind, I know full well that’s what I’m signing up for.

“Just giving you a heads up,” I say. I give her little friend a nod before I head over to my normal seat, beside Jase.

My former suitemate looks up at me and I can see in his eyes he didn’t wake up early this morning. He’s stone cold sober. He probably spent the night with Ali and didn’t feel the need to move early. “What was that about?” he asks.

I was talking to Ter, he knows damned well that I can’t answer. “Things, possibilities. What’s up with you?”

He chuckles. “Nothing much. You coming to our meeting tonight?” he asks.

“Probably, but I don’t know,” I lie through my teeth.

He catches me. “Liar.”

“Fine,” I admit, “it’s about 60/40 I won’t be there, but I hope I can so I’m lying.”

He shakes his head at me. “See, was that so hard?”

“Yes.” I stare him down before I, too, shake my head. “Why don’t you go hang with Ter and Irene? I’m sure they’ll appreciate your comedy much more than me.”

He smiles and shrugs. “Because torturing you is so much more fun. Besides, Therese never laughs at my jokes.”

“Have you ever considered that’s ‘cause they’re not funny?” I muse as class begins. He gives me a soft shove as I pull out my notebook for this class. I make sure not to look at Sierra while she’s teaching. That would be bad for focus. I stare right down at my notes and write everything important down. Just keep my eyes on my writing and I might actually remember the details.

I make it through class without my focus being drawn away by that gorgeous tone, and as soon as class is done I rush out. I have another class in the afternoon and would like time to go somewhere, send the email, eat a good lunch, and prep at least a little for the quiz in HAMSoc. Also, the less time spent around Sierra, the better right now. Too much going on, not enough time in the day to deal with… well, to deal with anything. I head out into town, to a small diner on Big Al’s Pit Stop. A family place, but it has its own Wi-Fi. Heading in, I smile to the gentleman behind the counter and seat myself at a booth. The one waiter for the place who doesn’t help run it walks over to me. “Hey,” he begins.

“I’ll just have the Al Family Special burger, but hold the mayo. No side, I’m trying to learn restraint,” I tell the waiter before the small talk can begin. Too much to do. Too little time to do it.

“Alrighty, I’ll be right back,” he says as he walks away. As soon as he’s turned his back, I pull out my non-school-related laptop. I really want the email done and sent before my food gets here.

I have two, let’s call them friends, I’ve made over the last year and change in the relevant mystic regional zone. Alex and Bernie. One of them should know which faction, or factions, are behind this. Should even know which ways the winds are blowing. Ideally. I send two different variations on the same message, personalized to their likings. At their hearts they both say: ‘Friend. I heard rumor of a fire that spread in Goose Island. I hope this isn’t affecting you too greatly. If it is, please do tell me all about it, so I might help best I can. Regards, Isaac’ Curt, but all the significant details are included. Anyone looking at it might be weirded out or confused a tad, but shouldn’t be too suspicious. Ideally.

I miss my mark, though only barely. My burger arrives as I’m finishing editing the second email, the one to Alex. As the waiter sets it on the table, I look up and give him a quick smile and nod, before finishing off my email. These messages are too important to wait until after eating. Any delay on my end might cause significant delays on their side of things, and I’d rather be able to blame them for any problems in their neck of the woods, rather than have them able to blame me for it.

Once it’s all sent out, I put away my shit and settle in for a delicious lunch. And, as always, it is delicious. Once I’m done with my burger, I head to the counter, thank the gentleman, pay, and head back out into town. Taking a deep breath, I enjoy the brisk air as I wander back to campus. Heading through my dorm to grab my HAMSoc stuff, I continue all the way to Dixon. Settling in for the next twenty minutes, before I have to hurry to class, I get to work.

My quiz prep goes well enough, I think. Can’t really say otherwise, not yet anyways. As my watch buzzes to tell me to get a move on, I put my books back in my bag and hurry to South Pembarton TC. Sitting in the second row, one seat to the left of middle that I use for HAMSoc to be able to pay attention without being distracted by Jase. He never sits this close to the front of any class. Cracking my neck, I wait for the Maestro to pass out the quiz. A few moments later, everyone finishes filing in and the quiz begins.

The quiz feels easier than I expected this morning. Not that that means anything. I won’t know if that’s actually the case for another week or so, when they’re all graded. Jase comes up to me and pats me on the back. “Well, that was easy, right?” he says to me as Irene is coming out. Irene simply rolls her eyes. Like me, she knows that Jase saying literally anything about anything academic means less than nothing.

“Sure,” I reply.

“So, you coming over to 307 with me?”

I take a pause, as though to think. We both know better, but it’s polite, you know? After a beat, I reply, “I need to head into town for dinner, but after that, maybe.”

“Sure you will,” he replies as he heads off, knowing damned well that I won’t. I sigh. I’m getting predictable to my friends. Even the ones that don’t know all, or any, of the details. I walk to Pem Mem to check my email. Ter hangs out there often. Kids, always loitering in libraries. And, if they haven’t sent me anything, I can head out to dinner and check afterwards. Walking over to the library in the middle of town, I breeze past the desk and up the stairs to the computer area. Sitting at one of the computers, I pull out and open up my own non-school laptop. Opening up my email, I check. My friends have yet to get back to me. That’s less than ideal. I know where Ter is between meals, but after dinner time, she either goes out drinking or disappears, oftentimes both. Shaking my head at how long my people over there are taking to get back to me, I put my laptop back in my bag and head out of Pembarton Memorial. There are a few places I could go, but I need a drink. Heading a couple blocks down, I enter Amber & Cedar.

Inside, I walk on over to my corner of the bar and nod to Fred. He knows what that means. It’s not like I have much variety in my drinks. Not when I’m in a grumpy mood, at least. And if I’m here for dinner, my mood is generally not the best. Once he comes over with my gimlet, I grab it, open a tab, and head back to a table to eat some food. I’m thinking nachos. Nachos sound good. Before I manage to order my nachos, however, the door swings open. Sierra walks in and heads for the bar. We make eye contact and she gives the slightest of smiles in acknowledgement. Well fuck. So much for getting this Chicago shit in order today. I suppose that can wait until tomorrow. It’s their faults for not getting back to me in a timely manner, after all. I can’t help but smile as she approaches my table.