It was one of those unique character traits I had, one of many, though more obvious in nature. My blue eyes were still vivid but didn't hide my exhaustion. My light white skin was a little paler than usual, but it also could have been due to the previous magic confrontation.
Gathering my hair into a messy bun, I climbed into bed and clapped my hands to turn the lights off. Tucking myself in, I looked over to the picture on the nightstand to my left, grabbing it to view the picture of Dad and me.
He was no longer with us, dying when I was eighteen from a rare disease that slowly ate the brain away. It was magic-related but had no cure.
Even though four years had passed, I still continued my research on it, hoping to one day find the cure for the extremely rare genetic disease.
Both Scarlet and I had been ruled out, but with magic diseases, you really couldn't know for sure. Looking at his wide smile and similar silver locks, I grinned.
"I'll make it into S.S.S. school, Dad. I promised to make you proud. I certainly will. Just you wait and see."
Kissing the cool glass gently, I looked back at it once more, wishing for one more chance to see him.
To tell him how much he was loved, and that Scarlet and I would live in his footsteps with Mom's loving guidance.
Placing the picture back in its rightful place, I lay back down and stared at my ceiling vision board, looking at the multiple mapped out spells and ways to get into S.S.S.
A few minutes passed and my eyes began to grow heavy, leaving me no choice but to accept my exhaustion and go to sleep.
I let my mind wander, dreaming about the day I'd walk onto S.S.S. soil.
Not as a mere stranger, but to fulfill the fairy tale dream of being a student at the one-of-a-kind spy school.
2
Hidden Dreams Of Hope
"I'm gonna be a spy! I'm gonna be a spy!" Jumping up and down, I giggled and sang with all my might.
Mommy sighed, looking to Daddy, who had a wide grin on his face.
"You shouldn't be encouraging her. She's a witch, remember?" Mother noted.
"It's fine. The future has no limits. She shouldn't put a box around her dreams because the world wants her in one category."
Running to Daddy, I hugged his legs, grabbing his attention. "Daddy. I'm going to be a spy and go to the SSS place."
The smile on his face made me even happier, watching him kneel down to speak to me. "That sounds wonderful, Silver. I know you can do anything you set your mind to."
"Even be stronger than Mommy and Daddy?" I asked. The thought of being anything I wanted made me excited.
Daddy nodded. "Yup. As long as you work hard and do good in the world."
"I'm a good girl!" I bounced up and down. "I'll work hard. As long as I get to drink orange juice."
Mommy giggled then, moving to stand behind me. She knelt down and gently stroked my head.
"I'll make sure you have plenty to eat and lots of orange juice. Now, can you go get your sister? Dinner is almost ready."
"Yeah! Scarlet!" I cheered, beginning my quest to find my older sister. I left the living room but caught onto Daddy's words.
"She'll surpass everyone's expectations and more. She's what S.S.S. needs, and I'm sure that school will grant her the best years of her existence."
* * *
The buzzing of my phone jolted me awake, and a low moan escaped me as I lowered my head back into my soft pillow. It took me a full two minutes before I had the strength to reach for the vibrating phone.
Opening one of my eyes, I peeked at the dimly lit screen and noticed Nikko's caller I.D., leaving me to wonder whether her phone call was work-related, or if she was about to bombard me with a story about her boy troubles.
If it was anyone else, I could have ignored the phone call, but there was always a special place in my heart when it came to my BFF.
Sitting up, I let out a yawn and glided my finger along the screen, answering the call.
"What do you need from my soul, Nikko? It's so early," I whined.
"It's not early, sleepyhead. I figured you'd still be asleep."
"It's my day off, and what time is it?"
"Four in the afternoon, and I know it's your day off, but your loving best friend needs your help. The café is super busy today," she disclosed.
"Hmm," I hummed, trying to decide if I wanted to work or not. I didn't want them feeling understaffed, but I had to take a few seconds to figure out if I had anything to do today.
Well...in the evening.
It was totally normal for me to spend my days off sleeping all the sleep possible. My parents always said it had to do with having a lot of mana and the body's way of taking advantage of such luxury.
Interesting how I always had that extra dose of energy when I needed it the most but would be able to really rest up on my days off with nothing else to do.
"Is it that bad?" I asked. My voice was still thick with sleep and my body was still debating whether going in would be a good idea.
"It will be. There's some event going on and a lot of the new applicants from across the world are attending while they wait for their quest entry for S.S.S. We really would love the extra pair of hands," Nikko explained.
She wasn't the type to ask for help unless she really believed she needed it. If she was humbling herself like this, I could predict the evening being extra chaotic.
"Give me few more minutes of snooze and I'll make my way," I mumbled, lowering myself back into the sheets.
"You're the best! I'll make you your favorite strawberry cheesecake shake when you get here." Her sweet voice made me smile.
"Tempter," I mumbled, trying not to fall asleep on the phone. "Go enjoy your break before I get there."
"All right, boss. Love you," she sang in joy.
"Love you, too," I mumbled, removing the phone to hang up. Turning onto my side, I stared at the frame on my nightstand, focusing on my father's bright smile.
I wonder what you saw in me, Dad. I wish you were here to tell me.
After a few more minutes of aimless staring, I decided to get freshened up and ready for the busy evening at the cafe.
After picking out my outfit, a pair of grey tights and a teal blue shirt, I glanced at my reflection in the mirror. Taking a good glance down my 5'6” frame, I reached over to grab my favorite red lipstick, moving closer to the mirror to apply the vibrant liquid accurately onto my lips.
I just loved red lipstick. It made my lips pop against my pale complexion and with my silver and teal hair, it was the perfect dash of color I needed.
There wasn't any need for me to go over and beyond on the makeup for work, and even when I did do more than just lipstick, it was very simple.
A light dose of blush on my cheeks, nude eyeshadow with a hint of a darker shade to make it blend perfectly while achieving a shadow at the edge.
With some mascara and eyeliner, I was pretty set.
At least my brows were always on point.
Reaching for my hair tie and brush, I quickly combed out any tangles and put my hair up in a decent bun.
With a final nod, I did a few stretches and reached for my grey and teal varsity jacket I still had from magic school.
I was glad those years were done, but I did miss the activities that came along with school. Aside from the mandatory magic courses, I loved cross country and cheerleading.
They were the activities where I got a bit of solitude from running and a little more of social interactions with the cheer squad.
Being the MVP in both got me this awesome jacket that was still in peak condition. Sliding it on and grabbing my wallet, keys, phone, and charger, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
Let's teleport to work.
"I swear, this is one of the best investments your parents ever made."
Opening my tired eyes, I glanced at Nikko, who turned the OPEN sign off. She turned back to meet my gaze while I stifled a yawn.
"That was chaotic," I argued. "I ha
ve to determine if it outweighs the benefit."
"You're just saying that because you're tired. This is another level of success compared to four years ago," she reminded.
Snapping her right finger, she made the broom in her other hand sweep across the floor. The movement was like it was dancing, and making my eyes grow heavy at its soothing side-to-side movements.
"You have a point," I muttered, closing my eyes once more.
When my parents opened this location, it had always had consistent sales. That was until the area needed heavy remodeling, which cut us off to majority of our customers from the neighboring businesses and S.S.S. school.
How Aqua-Q worked was there were four sectors: S.S.S. was located solely in the north, Serenity, my town was in the south, Selestia was in the east, and Sorority was in the west.
No one understood why the state didn't start with 'S' seeing as everything else seemed to follow the pattern, but again, the Supernatural Council made the rules.
During the construction our sales tanked, making my sister's shop aid in financing both locations.
It was during those hard times when Dad also got sick, which made us lose a heap of income from his side, while my Mother had to balance managing both businesses and her own work in the witch community.
I couldn't help much until I was eighteen and could independently run the shop and bookkeep the flow of income, but by then, it was too late for my Dad. His passing was hard on our family, but we kept pursuing our spell coffee shop dream.
The moment the remodeling was complete, it all turned in our favor because of the new transportation system created between north and south.
Instead of students and people of the north sector having to take long commutes to reach our sector, they invented a fast magic pod system.
The pod system was the kind of thing you'd imagine being in an alien ship; the pods were oval spaces that could fit twenty people each. There were bigger versions — the fifty- and hundred-passenger pods that were only used during rush hour and holidays — but the twenty-passenger pods could take anyone from north to south in less than five minutes.
The station was two minutes from our shop and contributed to our vast growth over the last two years.
Now we were the number one recommended coffee shop, and with the added desserts, food, and other appetizers with hints of magic, we were hitting the market big time.
I encouraged a remodel, to give us a more modern appearance. Witches loved colors and wore styles that matched the type of magic they carried.
I’d opted for bright pastel colors like lavender and baby pink, with hints of neon oranges and greens, and the end result made the shop pop out on the street.
The moment you walked out from the station, you could see the neon sign from afar. Basically, the shop was at its best performance. The only thing I wished was for my dad to get to witness it, too.
Due to the mass of foreign students and school applicants waiting for their approval letters, the rush tonight was madness.
I normally tried to keep my magic to a minimum, a little spell here and there to keep up with our motto, but today really tested me and my skill at making multiple desserts and hot drinks due to all our machines being busy making orders.
Now I was magically drained, but I was glad I'd come in to help. With Nikko taking orders, five servers, Candice aiding me in the drink and food prep, and Nikko's dad on delivery, it still hadn't been enough for us to not feel the rush.
"Silver, did you fall asleep?"
It took me a few extra seconds to reply to Nikko's question. "Nope. I'm here."
"How are you going to teleport back? Want me to walk you home?" she offered.
"Nah. I'll be fine. The walk will be good for me. You know my magic gets happy in the great outdoors. I'm sure by the time I get home I'll have tons of energy to catch up on my Netflix episodes."
"Haven't you gotten your letter yet from S.S.S?" she asked.
"Nope." Just the thought of not being accepted again this year made me a little sad.
You were allowed to apply to the school when you reached eighteen. I'd been lucky since my birthday was July 1st, and applications had closed July 2nd, but I didn't get in.
It was understandable: the waitlist alone was so long, I'm sure it could measure an entire country's length. It took people an average of five years to get the opportunity to get in. S.S.S. only accepted people in September, which was another reason why the volume of applications was much higher than a common school.
This would be my fifth time applying and I was in no way hyped up about it. At least if I didn't expect to get in, the pain of disappointment would be far less.
The application process wasn't too difficult: a common test, general information, goals you wanted to achieve while attending the school, and the skills and knowledge you’d be able to contribute.
No one would be able to cheat on the common test because the paper was magically infused. Every set of questions were different, making each test magically modified just for that specific applicant.
All my applications had been different, but I did feel more confident in this year's set. I’d overheard from students that magic was one of the main focuses this year, giving me an advantage with my high mana count and magic tolerance.
If I didn't get in this year, I'd simply keep on trying. I wouldn't let anything stop me from getting in.
Even the whole supernatural part of the deal.
"I'm sure you'll get it," Nikko emphasized.
She was always the positive one, always saying you had to say good things for the universe to receive and make it come true. She said the same thing in previous years, but I tried not to be a Debbie Downer around her.
I didn't need a lecture.
"I can only hope. Do you want me to assist with anything?" I asked, hoping to change the subject.
"Nope. Mom said she'll count the till and log our sales, and Dad is finishing his final delivery, so he'll be back to help finish anything that's left. We're going to go celebrate."
"Celebrate?" I asked, opening my eyes.
Nikko was silent, her focus centered on the broom that was now gathering the last specks of dust to the pile in the center of the dining area.
"Nikko?"
"Well. My parents heard a lot about S.S.S., seeing as we're getting multiple students and applicants coming by year after year. I decided to apply for the hell of it, and I got my letter of initiation this morning before work. I'm only telling you now because I thought you'd get yours, too," she admitted, lifting her hesitant gaze to meet my calm one.
I shrugged, hiding the hint of sadness that stabbed me in the heart. "Congrats! I'm not surprised. You're a powerful succubus and have strong magic, too."
She stared at me carefully, but I kept my cool persona as I rose up to stretch. "Aren't you upset?"
"Why?" I questioned as I lifted my arms in the air and began leaning over from my left side to my right. "My best friend got into the best spy school in the world. Why would I be upset? I'm proud of you and know you're going to do amazing. Let me know what your schedule is like once you finalize your enrollment. I was going to work on hiring some extra people anyways."
"Oh. All right. I'll let you know for sure," she said with a beaming smile. I nodded and yawned again. "I'm leaving first. Keep me posted how everything goes!" I announced.
"Sure..." Nikko replied, watching me walk over to grab my jacket and other stuff. Since she was about to mop the front, I decided the back would be better.
"I'll see you around, Nikko," I called out, waving her goodbye.
"All right," she replied. "Love you."
The tiny part of her goodbye made me stop and look over my shoulder to meet her worried gaze. I gave her a wide smile. "Love you too, bestie."
Taking my time to walk around the building from the back, I inhaled deeply, needing the fresh air to attempt to lift my spirits up.
Be positive, Silver.
Knowing Ni
kko would still be able to see from the glass windows, I slipped my hands into my pockets and began the walk home.
After a few blocks, I finally let my guard down.
Coming to a stop, I stared at my teal Converses that popped against the gray cement beneath my feet.
"Be happy for her, Silver. She fits in all areas. Obviously, she got in. I just have to try again next year."
The words sounded flat to me, my voice holding little conviction to change my depressed attitude.
I was happy for Nikko. At least, I wanted to be. Yet, a bitter part of me was sad, annoyed that I'd applied five times and still hadn't gotten a shot at even the preliminary testing.
Nikko applied once and got in, and I already knew she'd ace whatever quest they gave her. She was a succubus. She could seduce the likes of anyone to get what she needed, and if not, she'd kick ass to obtain it. Add in her magic and she was literally set.
I, on the other hand, wasn't a shifter, which was my main disadvantage. I didn't rank myself as any better than the next person, but I was confident in my skills and abilities.
With a groan, I moved my hand out of my pocket to pull the hair tie that held my hair up.
"Don't worry, Silver. This is just another bump in the road. Patience is key to becoming successful," I whispered to myself, putting more emphasis into my words.
Dad would tell me not to give up. He knows I'm not a quitter.
"Scram, dude. I'm not in the mood tonight."
Slowly, my head turned to my right. You got to be fucking kidding me. Again?
There was the same woman, in another scandalous outfit. Her body was pressed against the cool wall while a man had his body pressed against hers, his hand already slipping under her extremely short dress.
I debated, wondering whether to help her again. There were just so many times one could be saved. Not like I'd always waltz home to save the day for her, and yet I still couldn't move from my spot.
SSS: Year One (Supernatural Spy School Book 1) Page 3