Bubbles toward the ceiling

Calm dawn when the sun is barely out. Roxy was wiping the dust off a plant leaves. Her roommate's side of the room was filled with open books and heavily annotated notes on the ground.

"I want a pink track suit, whatcha thinking kids?" 

Books moving when Ryu turns in his sleep cut the plant-ish conversation. Between papers and the blanket a shiny ivory toes peek.

"Sleeping in his human form?"

She tilt her head, finding him sleeping on his back.

"shoot shoot shoot" 

 He started quivering with a pained expression, tendrils appears one then another, quite small. He opened his eyes to the sight of the ceiling, instantly jerking awake, with that his tendrils tripled in length, their pointy edges stabbing the air and the empty space in front of him. He covered his eyes with his hand, panting and sweating. 

Moments after his breath stabilizes, tendrils withdrawing back, the sound of water pouring makes him turn to the left where Roxy, her plants and his books and every other possession was cramped in the assumed safe spot. 

She hands him the glass of water awkwardly, observing as he drink. Eyes a little wide, as if searching through all the phrases humans exchange. He observed back in curiosity. 

- It's gonna be okay.  She said. Patting his shoulder stiffly, exactly twice.

He chuckles and puts the glass down, he lays on his back.

- It is actually okay now. Isn't that funny? He asks, tone is light but something in his eyes isn't.

She looks at him for a moment with her unreadable expression.

- Please don't lay on you back and look at the ceiling. She shoves stuff behind her back.

-Don't worry, I can control myself if I am awake. 

She takes off her Jelly sandals after a run. while many tendrils puts everything in place, he was chewing bread lazily, zoning out. He looks at the poker face looking for the right words again.

- Finals huh? poor thing, couldn't be me. She teases.

-How's your job? He jabs back. 

He gives her a light pat on the back. 

- I'm good, really. 

The sound of pens scribbling on paper. He looks emptily at the empty blackboard, glancing now then to the perfectly filled paper in his desk. The smooth silence of focused students engulf the classroom until the bell slice it. He takes his glasses off while getting out of the classroom, passing to the lockers through students reviewing their answers. 

-Excuse me... someone calls him, with papers in his hands. His two friends listening behind the lockers.

Ryu stares at him. 

"What was his name?"

- These are the notes you lend me, sorry for not returning them earlier, I got hospitalized, although the final is tomorrow...

Ryu continued staring, breeding fear in the other guy. 

"oh he is beating me up"

"I am almost sure it start with the letter B "

- The notes? you can keep them. I rewrote them anyway.

-Rewrote? 

-Yeah, helps with remembering. He clarifies while pulling papers out of his locker and gives it to him. 

-You didn't come to the Intellectual property rights, take this.

-Thanks, you rewrote those as well. he chuckled.

-Five times, I have to go, see you.

He says, taking a folder with him.

"That's a honor student for you"

- See, told you he is nice! The two guys stepped out.

-Then why you were hiding?

- Not our fault bro, you didn't see him beat three thugs first thing in the school year! He whispered. 

"I think its Brian.. no Bruno?"

Out in the sun he was pondering meeting teacher Yamada in the way, holding folders of paperwork almost running. 

- Hey kiddo, come to my office after lunch break. Gotta fill paper work for the pre-selection. 

He handed him the folder of paper. 

- Well, less work for me. Then tomorrow we'll go submit this and check the spot they assign to your piece. 

He looks at the drop of sweat sliding down his temple. Yamada has a confused look on his face.

- I can submit it myself this afternoon, if that's okay.

He consider it for a moment before handing him the folder back.

- Make sure they didn't place it in a corner. 

-Roger.

Ryu looks at the magnetic clock engraved in the main building of the art academy. A magnetic powder trapped inside a circular transparent tube. Filling the part of the circle which represent the current time.

It was half past ten, and the afternoon had a long way to come in the long hours of a hot day.  

Near the boarder which separates the green zone from the yellow zone. Where sky in dark gray and the grass is dark brown, a group of rocks and hazel nuts like creatures run away to another spot as a gray blob with plates for wings land on a knoll. 

Turning into a human, pack of matches in his hand. He opens it. One match with a sapphire blue tip and a writing on the inside of the pack.

' keep inflammables and points away before lighting ' 

-... points can't be moved right? 

His narrow pupils wondered into the cloud, thinking.

"Maybe it's a way of saying don't wish anything?"

Drawing near the match head to the strike strip. The match shakes and lights on itself, before getting ignited. 

- How can I help you?

A voice creeps into Ryu's ears, flat yet somehow whimsical.

- I want to burn a wish.

- Is it new?

-Yes.

- Do you know how made it? 

- Yes.

- Hmmmm, Gatcha Gotcha. 

Blue flames gets bigger and bigger. Ryu drops it in the last second before a giant blaze burst and flare, bright and blinding. The flames continued growing, he watched, carefully shielding his face with his arms. Then in a sudden moment it all turned into bubbles. Thin and colorful, rising to the sky, popping one after another, leaving the original pack of matches on the ground.

- Done?

-Hmmmmmm, only 90% of the wish is gone, stuff will continue to disappear, slower though; the wish wasn't new enough. Sorry lad.

One final bubble pop, the pack of matches fades.

Magnetic powder in clocks settling on five o'clock. Soft rays of sun hitting less spots as the day getting to its end. In the shabby apartment Ryu was greeted by a large Greek column left to the window, he blinked in confusion taking a second look as if he might be in the wrong place.

- Only for five moros, it was a bargain. Roxy said, doing some embroidery.

He looked at the wall on his roommate's side, the Ojamajo doremi embroidery was hanging there. Turning to the window his first glass work of a tiny crown was siting there between the flourishing plants. 

Exhausted, he sits down drinking some water. 

- Fun day huh?

- Yeah, flying not so much. Can you teach me riding a broom later?

- Broomy only fly with me. Sorry.

- I am paying transportation fees then. He says, laying on his side.

-Be careful, the papers will wrinkle. Roxy notes.

He looks at the folder he suppose to submit. Human eyes widen.

She watches him down from the window. Running for dear life.

"Dude just submit it tomorrow... Wait, how did he manage to forget about it while holding it. Wait is the paper okay after the match? Oh dinner time!"

In one of the auction center halls Ryu was checking the papers for burn marks, zipping up his jacket to cover a mark on him before knocking on the office door. 

- Yes, the papers are complete, just check on your piece in the storage hall before leaving. The officer tells him.

-Thank you. 

He dismisses himself, heading towards the hall. 

"Phew, corner placement avoided!" 

In the last minutes of the sunset, as darkness started swallowing the storage hall. Above the plinth that has his name, Ryu's art piece wasn't there.