Scene 14 - December 19th

Interior Crazy Coffee, Late Morning

Quinn Kaufman

“To being done with finals!” we chorused, clinking our mugs together cheerfully. “How’d you do, Holly?” I asked my friend.

She shrugged. “I’m sure I did fine. I didn’t struggle with anything, finished my essays a little early. Wowed the magic examiners, as usual. How about you?”

I waggled my hand in a so-so gesture. “I had a little more trouble than usual, probably because I was too busy to study as much as I usually do, but since I usually don’t have any trouble... I’m sure I still passed, just maybe in the top ten of the class instead of the top five.”

“Way to brag, Quinn,” Simone teased.

“Yeah, most people try to downplay their achievements,” Holly said.

“Oh really, miss ‘wowed the magic examiners as usual,’” I teased right back.

“Yeah, well... I don’t get why most people have so much trouble with magic. It’s easy.”

“Ignore the prodigy,” Simone said.

“Dr. Wagner is trying to get me to feel more confident and to accept less than perfection from myself,” I said, trying not to sound too defensive. “Part of that is bragging, at least a little bit!”

“...yeah, that sounds like him. How about you, Simone? First college finals?”

Our younger friend sagged a little. “I had a lot of trouble,” she admitted. “I don’t think I failed any classes or anything, but... well, I might end up switching majors. It’s only going to get harder from here, after all.”

“Don’t jump ship too soon,” I warned her. “You might have done better than you thought you did. I thought I flubbed my first finals and almost wanted to drop out until my Dad stopped me...”

Holly nudged me a little almost immediately, and I was able to continue with barely a pause. “And it turned out I had done fine. Wait until you get your grades back before making any decisions.”

“On the other hand, don’t be afraid to switch if you have to or want to,” Holly countered. “You’re chemical engineering, right?”

“Just chemistry,” she corrected. “And I don’t want to switch, I just... feel like I didn’t do well.”

“Dr. Wagner says that pessimism can be a self-reinforcing loop,” I told her. “Be optimistic, at least until you get your results back.”

She nodded, seeming a little cheered up. “Thanks, Quinn.” Then she brightened further as she looked over my and Holly’s shoulders out the window. “Hey look, its snowing again!”

We turned to look, and I found myself grinning at the light dusting that was coming down to join the inches already on the ground. “I love snow,” I confessed. “Rain I can take or leave, but snow is great. My dad and I had the best snowball fights when I was younger - sometimes my babysitter would join in too. Good memories.”

“Snow‘s always annoyed me,” Holly disagreed. “It’s really tough to get the drifting motion right in an illusion. Took me ages to finally get it right. Rain’s much easier.”

“You did get it eventually though?”

“Well, yes.”

“Then don’t be such a grouch,” Simone said teasingly, standing. “Snowball fights, you said?”

I grinned. “Yeah, come on out!” I stood as well and offered a hand to Holly.

“Noooo,” she complained, leaning over her hot tea. “It’ll be cold!”

“You have a coat, come on!”

“Fine, fine.” She took my hand and let me pull her to her feet, and I tried not to blush as she did. “Powers or no powers?”

Simone hummed thoughtfully as we stepped outside. “Well, I should at least take us to a better place than in the middle of the street. Maybe April Park?”

“That’s closed until April,” I joked. Holly elbowed me, but I could see her smirking. Or feel it, rather - we were close enough that the sense of my presence traced out an amused smile on her face, even though the illusory construct of her was glaring at me playfully. I had been able to read her a lot better since I realized that my ESP could do that, and when I had told her, she had assured me that she didn’t mind.

“April Park sounds good,” Holly told Simone.

The teleporter scooped us up, one in each arm, and the world bent around us.