My name is Lily. I am currently an eighth grader in Luminaire city. I live with my parents in one of the suburbs, and there is nothing else strange about me. I have no source of angst, and I’m not very lonely at all. I’m also well-adjusted to school life, and have some of the best grades in my class.

There is also one other thing to take note of. There are no ‘loose ends’ in my life. No twists or turns, no long-forgotten backstory. No, I do not have a strange uncle in a shady line of work, or any outstanding skill or feature. I am too boring to really hold my own in a fantasy world, but I’m not overly attached to the idea of fantasy worlds to begin with. Yes, I may be an eighth grader, but no eighth grader syndrome for me.

No, sir. If I had to say I probably wouldn’t be the main character anyway. In a video game, I’d probably be an NPC, or a temporary party member that barely helps out and then gets straight back to living her life, but that’s a specific example.

I’m old enough to know what I want to do. I want to focus on my last year of middle school, and I suppose everything else I do right now should only occupy my free time. If you can understand all that, you get why I wasn’t very happy being chosen to be a magical girl. It happened one Friday afternoon. I was just getting home from school, and that September day was steamy and ugly, and when I put down my books in my room, it was then I heard the distinct sound of a lighter.

On the top of my pillow, was a small red puffy chick-like creature, that positively reeked of sugar. The round red mass extended its wing to its face and was trying to light a teeny tiny cigarette. Now, there were many ways for me to react, but I got a little flustered and was a tiny bit rude. “Hey. Don’t light that in my room.”

“Calm down kiddo, it’s magic so it won’t leave a trace.”

“I still don’t like it,” I said.

“Well, I’m okay with taking this outside. Isn’t there a park nearby where we can talk?”

I was putting on my shoes again when I realized something was wrong. But I decided whatever the matter with my eyesight was, I would take it outside. I found a nice bench there and the chick flew up to eye level. It floated with an unnatural ease and I blinked a few times to make sure it was really there.

“So, kiddo, I guess these cigs really were the kind to leave an odor. Go figure,” the chick said callously. I saw that this hallucination was really detailed.

“Anyway. I’m going to give it to you straight, honey. I can sense that you have an incredible talent as a magician. In fact, I’m just eyeballing it, but for earthlings like you, potency levels like yours are only one in a million.” “Excuse me, but I have no intention of listening to a figment of my imagination.”

“So you think I’m not real, sweetie,” it cawed and fired a beam out of its mouth, nearly giving me a haircut. The patch of weeds where it struck sizzled and was reduced to a hole in the ground.

“Now hear me out. I’m not angry, just disappointed. I came all this way, and all I want to do is talk. You have a very high potency, so I think you’ll make a good magician. In fact, since you’re from a non-magical world, we’ll keep it simple. You can become a temporary agent, and I’ll hand out one of my wands. It just works off your innate abilities, and I’ll teach you about magic a little bit every day. Now brat, you’ll be like one of those magical girls you see on TV, right. It’s the same concept.”

“Not interested,” I replied. I thought I saw one of my friends looking for me, so I wanted to get rid of it quickly.

“Hey now, isn’t this every little girl’s dream?”

“I’m a little too old for it,” I added, “I’d rather not.”

“I’ll, I’ll only get you when I really need to,” it stammered. It fluttered its wings so hard it gained about a meter in altitude.

“I need to study.”

“I don’t know the education system around here but you look smart enough to lose some time.”

“Look here. I need to work hard in middle school so I can do good in high school even if my focus waivers a little bit. Then I can get into a good college and be a viable employee in the work force,” I spit out.

“Fine, I see how it is. I don’t see how having an education will help if we’re all gone, but whatever. I’m telling you. I only need a bit of your time. It’s because we’re undermanned and we need help wherever an emergency can break out. Especially in the boonies. Honestly, if this wasn’t such a backwards place this would look great on a resumé. You must have another reason to turn down this offer, don’t you?”

“You say that becoming a magical is so fabulous, but I know that’s not how the real world works,” I was starting to get tired of this annoying bird, “I’m going to end up failing, and fall into despair. Or even, I’ll be so consumed in my work that I’ll get alienated from my daily life and family. Maybe I might even suffer from a serious injury. Leave this job to someone who doesn’t have anything to lose.”

“No, no. If that was possible we wouldn’t recruit girls as old as you. If the work gets too intense, we’ll call for backup in due time. I stand by my ability to help out in sticky situations.”

I wanted to call out this recruiter, but he looked like the real thing, “I just don’t want to do it. The prospect of being a magical girl just isn’t exciting enough for me to bother.”

The chick crossed his arms but he spoke in a gentler voice now, “Some of your concerns are legitimate. As a recruiter, I’m all for openness and freedom. It’s understandable. Have a nice day.”

He fluttered down onto the bench table, and surrounded himself in a white magical circle.

“I almost forgot. People such as you often fall into the world of magic anyway, so I’m going to put up a surveillance spell. Come to this bench and signal me somehow, and I’ll be there if you change your mind,” with that, he waived as disappeared in a glistening column of light.