After my fall in the theater, Beth ran off the stage to help me. It was a nice gesture, considering she wasn’t aware of how mangled and abused my body was used to being. After checking me out and looking me over for injuries, we sat in a pair of seats. She demanded I get off my feet. I don’t think she believed I was alright.

  “No one has ever freed themselves in less than a day,” she said.

  “So, this is something you do often?” I asked as she continued to look me over.

  Annoying or not, I didn’t mind her handsy approach to inspecting my injuries.

  “It’s a classic test given to every new magician,” she added.

  “So you had to do this?” I questioned.

  “Of course.”

  “And you took longer than a day,” I pressed somewhat

  Out of curiosity.

  “A day and a half,” she said proudly before continuing, “I had the best score in Daybreak’s history, second only to Matt, who freed himself in exactly 26 hours.”

  “What if it took more than a day? What if I needed a bathroom?” I argued.

  “The test ends after five days. You would have survived, but to come out after only 8 hours,” she said.

  She was speechless again, but I wasn’t feeling anything but hunger and a need for sleep. Waking up at 6 in the morning to be at the theater by 8, then being tested for hours, had me drained.

  “Was that all for today?” I asked as I stood up.

  She stayed seated, still in disbelief, if not shocked.

  “We have a rehearsal,” she said.

  “I broke some kind of record, right? Don’t I at least deserve a night off?” I debated.

  “Now is not the time to retire. You’ve undergone a tremendous feat.”

  “And now I’d like to eat and sleep,” I said with my hands in my pockets, ready to go.

  She didn’t want me to leave, but I spent an entire day locked in a box, so I might have left, regardless.

  “You can take the night, but tomorrow I’ll test you more vigorously. If today proves anything, it’s that you are far beyond your peers, and it’s time I treat you so.”

  “Sure thing,” I shrugged before taking my leave.

  BJ wasn’t outside waiting for me like usual. If she was going through the same test I did, there was a chance it would have been a while before I’d see her again. BJ wasn’t accustomed to bumps and bruises like me. Seeing how I had no clue where she was, I tried to reassure myself of her safety. I told myself they wouldn’t let anything bad happen to a bunch of high school kids, but I fell through a ceiling. I felt terrible when I finally started walking home, knowing I was leaving her behind.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  It was dark outside, but the summer wind held a warmth that kept me awake on my walk. By the time I made it home, Dad was already inside, sitting in his usual spot in the living room. I had broken curfew, but he knew I was at the internship. As I walked in, I saw him turn his head at the sound of my locking the front door behind me.

  “How was it?” he asked from his seat while I walked further into the house.

  “I broke some sort of record test thing today,” I said with little enthusiasm as I made my way into the kitchen.

  Mom was right; we didn’t know how to make anything new. Dad cooked the same burgers and fries as usual, but I didn’t mind.

  “That’s great. We should celebrate,” he said, getting up from his seat to meet me in the kitchen just in time to see me standing over the counter, stuffing my face.

  “It’s not that big a deal,” I said between mouth fulls until he made me sit at the table and eat like a human with a plate and less ketchup.

  “It’s not every day that records are broken, especially in this town, in this house,” he said with a more enthusiastic tone than I could muster as he took a seat beside me.

  He was wearing his orange overalls from the garage with his drive-through uniform under it. He must have had a long day. Usually, Dad’s schedule allowed him to do one job or the other rather than both every day. At least, that’s what I believed for a while. Considering the spell Mom had given me, it was possible that my father used magic to get through his busy work days.

  It didn’t feel likely, and yet, the thought kept coming up. Would I have cared had it been true? After all the lessons I learned about living without magic from my dad, would I have cared if he used a spell to provide for us? Either way, he worked two jobs and made sure I had what I needed. He made sure I was as happy as I could be, all things considered.

  There was a time when being a mechanic was enough to get by. Spells and magicians hadn’t become common until the time I was born. In some ways, spells had evolved the same way technology did. Computers weren’t always around, and it took even longer for everyone to start carrying cell phones. Spells were the same way. Magic, human magic, used to be nothing but potions and long drawn-out rituals.

  Before spells grew in popularity, cars had been everywhere, but then people learned to fly. Who needed a car when they could teleport? The need for mechanics went down, year after year, until my dad needed a second job to keep from losing the house. I'm sure my bad luck didn't help. Constantly having to make repairs or pay for property damage was costly.

  “Thanks, dad, but I think I’m alright,” I said.

  I didn’t see anything special in the day that I had, but even if I did, I didn’t want to work my dad any harder.

  By the time I made it to my bedroom, it was nearing 1 in the morning. I kicked off my pants, tossed my t-shirt across the room, and flopped into bed. I was tired, and I could feel my need for sleep.

  But I couldn’t keep my eyes shut long enough to drift off.

  I had an odd sensation.

  Laying with a cheek to my pillow, a grin; maybe even a smile, crept onto my face. I might have been proud of myself. Wasn’t it stupid to feel pride in something I swore I hated so much? Regardless, the feeling I had from outperforming my supposed teachers was powerful. I began to grasp the significance of what I had done. That feeling was unfamiliar to me.

  My bedroom was annoyingly quiet while I struggled to control my escalating emotions. I couldn’t sleep. In the night’s silence, my heartbeat, thoughts, and body were too loud to ignore. There was no use in playing tough or stolid.

  I was used to ending my days on off notes. I was amazed to discover something worth staying awake for. I got up from my bed to poke my head out of my bedroom door.

  “Ok, maybe a little celebration,” I yelled across the house at my dad.

  Unfortunately, he had already fallen asleep watching TV in the living room. I didn’t hold it against him. After shutting my door, I celebrated by myself until I became exhausted enough to conceal my pride again. Only Mr. Nickels got to see the spark ignited in me that night. Even if he wouldn't show himself, he must have watched as I jumped around, patting myself on the back like an idiot. And then, when I finally returned to bed, I felt him rest on my chest, his cheek to mine.

  I guess we were both good at escaping cages, weren't we?