222 A-Lis (1/2)
”Sorry for putting you in the spotlight, Dean,” the guy beside me chuckled.
Nope, I was definitely sure he wasn't sorry but I didn't mind. It has been a while since I'd done anything so mundane and normal. Plus, other than Ty and Arah, this guy was someone I could count as one of my few friends on Mudgard.
”It's fine, Rufus,” I said. ”I don't mind managing our class event for the school's cultural festival. ”But, damn, why did they all vote to do a wrestling match?”
”I know right?” Rufus, the only other male redhead in school combed a hand through his wavy locks. ”I'd love to help you set it up but my responsibilities with the student council... well, they're getting pretty heavy.”
”Goes with the title, Mr. VP,” I chuckled.
Rufus' put his hands together in an apologetic gesture.
”Although, I imagine our classroom won't have enough space for a wrestling ring,” I began.
”Alright, alright,” Rufus answered after getting my drift. ”I'll make sure you guys get a slot time to use the main gym in the sports complex.”
”Nice doing business with you, buddy,” I offered him my hand.
Rufus shook it. ”Sure, sure… Update me when you can.”
I watched Rufus' back as he walked away and sighed.
”If only all my problems could be resolved as quickly…” I said.
I pulled up my phone and sent a message to Ty asking for an update. He responded seconds later with a really long reply that roughly read,
”I'm getting nowhere here… how do you even recognize who could be a candidate among hundreds of students?” Ty wrote in his reply.
He sent a follow-up message right afterward.
”I mean, do they have horns or something? Glowing eyes? Anything?” he added.
I replied with, ”You're the chosen one… maybe use the force or something?”
”Um, dude, I was named for a Star Trek character…” he replied. ”And I can't use the force!”
”I know, dude!” I responded. ”But as the only human to have magical abilities on par with fairies maybe you can sense for some kind of fay potential in others…”
His final reply came much longer. ”Fine… I'll try…”
A few seconds later, Arah sent me a text too.
”No suspicious people entering the school… I'm worried they might be canvassing for potential candidates somewhere else,” her text read.
”The twins were specific about the location… Midtown High,” I replied. ”Keep watching the front gate for now.”
Ty's efforts eventually yielded zilch. He did not in fact have the ability to sense the possibility of the gift in anyone.
I, on the other hand, in between leading the class' planning committee for our wrestling event, had browsed through the list of top students in my school. Lo and behold, the top name on that list, at least academically, was me.
Arah was a close second but she couldn't be the candidate. Rufus was in the top ten but that kid was as straight and narrow as an arrow in flight. The others were a variety of athletes, social justice warriors, and intellectuals. No one really jumped out as a possible candidate to be a sense knight.
So, after spending an entire fruitless day staking out the school, I was now in for another long night repeating what I'd done earlier. What was it that Albert Einstein once said?
”Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result,” I whispered.
”What?” the girl sitting beside me asked.
Technically, she wasn't a girl considering she was now fifty-one years old, but Aura who was currently decked in a black hoodie and matching black jeans looked pretty much like a teenager on her way to a party.
”That's how we humans define insanity,” I answered.
We were sitting on one of the bus stop benches outside Midtown High's campus and waiting for Varda and Qwipps to finish unlocking the front gate for us.
”Are you sure we should have brought these two along?” I asked again.
”Before he joined the unit, Qwipps was an excellent burglar and you know how good Varda is with her hands,” Aura reminded me.
As she said this, Varda let out an excited giggle that I assumed meant they'd completed the current task.
”Wish Edo was here to keep those two in line though,” I sighed.