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Jess and Blinx: The Wizard- Part 5
🕑 Added 2022-10-02 18:45:02 +0000 UTCI was sitting in a blank hallway in school, the walls as white and featureless as I’m sure my fur must have looked as I nervously waited. Today was the last day of school, assuming I passed my tests. Six years have passed since I got accepted into Hollowood Magical University and started working on my Master’s Degree in Archeology. After my first trip to the museum that day, something just clicked inside of me, and I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I wanted to be a mage, that much I have always known really, but it wasn’t until that day that I had any kind of goal for that in mind. Aside from my degree, I had to choose a focus for my magical studies as well. I ended up selecting Pyromancy. I know, it doesn’t have anything to do with Archeology, but it will be a great fallback. Plus, it could be a big help to my dad’s job as a blacksmith if I could teach him a few things to help him out.
I heard the tapping of metal toe plates hitting the tile floor as the testing monitor turned the corner. “Miss Jess?” He asked.
“Yes?”
“Congratulations, you passed.” He said, smiling.
“Thank you very much,” I said, as calmly as I could manage. He turned and walked away with a nod of his head. As soon as he was out of sight, I bolted upright and started punching the air in celebration. Years of study and hard work, years of lab work and internships, all of it finally paid off; I was ecstatic! With a deep sigh, I collapsed from relief back onto the hard bench I had been sitting on. It felt as if thirty pounds had been dropped from each of my limbs, like I was as light as air. “Finally.” I said, quietly. I still needed to get my PHD if I wanted to get a high paying job, but I could get that while working.
I lowered myself down from cloud nine long enough to leave the school and go to the train station. On the way, I pulled out my phone to call my dad.
“Hello?” He answered. He sounded out of breath, he was probably working.
“Dad, it’s me. I just left the school.” I said.
“Did you pass the exams?” He asked, he sounded as nervous as I felt earlier.
“With flying colors!” When I said that, I heard him start to whoop and holler from the other end of the phone. Ever since he got clean, he has been much more excitable.
“I’m so proud of you, Jessie!” He nearly shouted.
“Thank you.” I said, happily.
“We need to celebrate. Where do you want to go eat tonight? My treat. No price limit.” He offered.
“Oh, I’d love to go to Pat’s Peer.” It was my favorite seafood place.
“Sounds good. Call a few of your study group friends too. I’ll reserve a table for ten, and if it turns out to be more, then we can just get a bigger one.” Dad said excitedly. He didn’t mind spending money these days. His blacksmithing had been doing quite well this year, so he ended up with some supplemental income. Plus, I moved out when I started working about three or four years ago, so he saved a bit from that. I had gotten a job as a lab assistant at the museum actually.
“Okay, I’ll call them right now. What time do we want to meet up?” I asked.
“About six?”
“Okay, see you in a few hours. Love you.”
“Love you too.” With that, I hung up and started calling friends to invite them to eat. I spent about twenty or so minutes doing that, and ended up calling seven people who all agreed to go celebrate. It was kind of a tradition we had whenever one of us got our degree. It started a few years ago, when my friend Jeramy got his Bachelors in Reptilian Morphological Biology. It continued when Megan got her Masters in Accounting.
I caught the train home to my apartment, and spent a few hours resting. I was completely worn out after the tests and studying I had been doing all week. I napped for about an hour and a half, then started getting ready for dinner. Pat’s wasn’t a fancy place, so I just threw on some leggings, a skirt, and a tee.
When I arrived, I saw my friends and my dad sitting in a back corner booth. There were congratulation balloons and a cake already at the table too. “Congratulations!” They all shouted when they saw me. I hugged my dad, and my friends, and we all sat down to order and eat.
“So, any plans on what to do with your degree?” My friends, Samantha, asked.
“I don’t know really. I’d like to get a job searching for dig sites if possible, but I’ll most likely spend the first few months doing lab work at the museum until I can find something more permanent.” I answered.
“Need any help touching up your resume?” Dad asked. He was good with stuff like that.
“Probably. I’ll come by tomorrow and you can look it over.”
“How long until you get your degree, Sam?” Megan asked. She was talking to Samantha.
“I should be done next semester.” Samantha said. She was the last one of us to not have her degree yet. At least, not the one she was aiming for. Technically, she already had an Associates in Applied Sciences, but she was going for a Bachelors.
We spent the next two hours talking about future plans, and what they thought I should try to do to prepare for getting a new job, then one by one, we all started to head home. It was a fun night, and I wasn’t quite ready to let it be over yet, so I decided to take a plate of food to John and tell him about everything. It was a brisk night, the wind blew my fur into my eyes on several occasions during the walk. It took about half an hour, but I made it to John’s normal corner without getting hypothermia.
“John?” I called out, turning into his normal alley. There was no answer, so I walked a bit down the road to his next spot. Once again I called out, but he didn’t answer. Instead, I heard a rustling, followed by a haggard old voice call out.
“Hello? Who’s there?” It wasn’t John’s voice, but I did recognise it. It was a friend of his, a local restaurant owner who donated food to the needy in the area. He was holding two bags in his hands. He was probably taking out the garbage when I bumped into him.
“Oh, hello Mr. Walter. ” I said.
“Oh, little Jess. I haven’t seen you in a couple days. How have you been?” He asked.
“I’ve been good. Have you seen John?” I asked. “I wanted to bring him some food, and talk with him a bit.”
“Oh, Jess…” Mr. Walter got a pained look on his face, and his tone made my heart skip a beat in fear. “I’m so sorry. John… he had a heart attack a few days ago. He didn’t make it.”
