Chapter 2:

The Wand That Fell From The Moon

Help, This Magical Boy Outfit is Embarrassing Me


Summer vacation was finally over.
I broke up with Isas. We are no longer friends (technically, we never were) and we haven't spoken to each other for quite some time. We don't even go to the same high school.
Now I am in my second year of high school. I guess it's the same for him as well.
I say "I guess" because I'm not sure if he goes to school anymore. He has probably failed since I'm not there to help him cheat anymore.

I'm boosting my ego here, but isn't it true? I like to feel I'm important. I like to think that I am the one who helps other people and that without my help, they can't achieve what they want.
I know it sounds pretty narcissistic, huh?

The year I got into my high school, I was nervous. I was praying that I would have lots of friends and that I would not be bullied by anyone. I go to a not-so-famous high school. None of my older classmates are here. And that's exactly the reason why I chose this high school. Everything is quiet and monotone, the complete opposite of middle school.

I wanted to make a fresh start. I wanted to find new, real friends that would support and encourage me. I am glad to say that my wish has come true.

I have two friends, but they're all I need. They are very precious to me and I am thankful for being in the same classroom as them.
The first one is a guy called Aristel. He is a corpulent guy with brown eyes and frizzy hair. He likes anime too, but he watches shounen and horror only, so we don't have a lot of favorite anime in common to talk about. He has a giant octopus as his pet. He keeps it inside an aquarium but the octopus occasionally crawls out. That's probably the reason why I've never liked going to his room. He told me once he found his octopus on the toilet floor.

My second friend is a girl. She is called Meiko.
She has long hazelnut hair and she often keeps it in a hair bun. She likes magical girl anime too and it's a blessing to be in her presence.
I am the most talkative of the group. During breaks, I like recommending anime to both of my friends, even though they never watch them. Meiko listens carefully and rarely talks. I notice she likes nodding a lot.

Now, let's get to the present...
I am a magical boy. (I should have said that earlier, shouldn't I?) Since when you say? Let's say that it happened when I expected it the least.

I always wanted to be a magical boy. In the anime shows that I watched, possessing magical powers seemed cool and interesting. Sure, the protagonists would go through a lot of dangerous adventures, but they would always come out victorious.
When I was bullied by Isas, I would wish every day to become a magical boy. I was deep inside my head. I had this wish not because I cared about saving the planet and about that justice stuff. All I wanted was to teach my bully a lesson and make him suffer the way he had made me suffer.

Then, one night as I was studying and memorizing Math formulas, I looked outside the window. I liked gazing up at the moon. I had a wonderful view from my room. That night, there were no stars. It was absolutely silent and dark. There were no cars passing by and this made my tinnitus worsen.

Silence had always scared me. I closed the window in a hurry, giving a last glance at the moon. When I turned my back on the moon, I heard a noise that I had never heard before. Something falling.
Suddenly something broke the window. I turned my head in disbelief and see it was a wand. Not a shiny cool wand, just a brown old one like the ones in the fairytales.

I got even more scared. I wanted to get out of my room and tell my family members downstairs that the window got broken and I didn't know who did it. I tried running, but I couldn't.
There was something that wouldn't let me breathe freely. I gasped for air and felt weird. 

"Is this sensation asthma?" I asked myself.
I had never had that much difficulty breathing before.

I reached for the door, but something instantly caught my leg.
At the time my thoughts were full of panic. My heartbeat was rapid and very visible."What's going on? Is a demon doing this to me? I haven't done anything wrong to anyone. I don't deserve to suffer this way."
I turned to see the mysterious 'demon' that grabbed me by my leg. It was the wand. That brown old one.

Confused, I wanted to get out of the room even more. I reached for the door handle again. But the wand wouldn't let me even try.

As it was getting harder and harder to breathe, I asked the wand with my dry voice "W-What... do you... want from... me?"
The wand continued to pull my leg. I still don't know how the wand did it. It had no hands, but it could still drag me on the floor.

I wasn't sure I realized what it wanted but I felt like the wand was begging me to touch it. It wanted me to take it in my hands. Basically, I had no other choice, but to accept this strange wand that came from outside the window. And that's what I did.
I took it in my hands before passing out.

When I woke up, I was on the floor of my room. The magic wand was lying in my hand. My breathing and heartbeat were back to normal. I went to see my face in the mirror.

And then, I saw it.

I saw the answer to my wish. I was wearing a light white shirt with a V-neck and white shorts. My hair and my eyes were mint green. At that moment I wanted to scream but I stopped myself. I wasn't happy. Yes, it's true, I wanted to be a magical boy so bad, but not now. I didn't have any need to take revenge or punish someone. I simply had an exam I needed to study for.

"I don't need these powers anymore", I thought and threw the wand on the floor. 
I stared at it for some minutes, waiting for it to punish me or throw me around the room. But this time it just laid there.
Then I stared at myself in the mirror. I touched my hair. Mint green was such a cool color. But the outfit was horrendous.

And guess what, I was wearing shorts! I had wanted a magical boy costume, but this one was very exaggerated. The shorts were only a few centimeters away from being boxers.
"Whoever made this costume is a pervert!" I said to myself.

I never liked wearing shorts. As a naturally hairy guy, I was embarrassed by my leg hair. Even in the summer, I'd go out in jeans because I didn't want people to stare at me. Sure, I could shave but the hair would still grow back in a week or less.

But look at me... I was wearing tight shorts above the knee and that made me uncomfortable.

Suddenly, I heard my mom shouting behind the door: "Jun, it's time to eat dinner!"

I didn't answer her.
She opened the door, looked at me, and laughed a bit.
"What are you doing?"
"Uh... cosplay."
"I thought you were studying for your exam?"
"Oh, I swear I was. I'm done."

Mom saw the wand on the ground but luckily she didn't notice the broken window. I told her I'd come back right away and she closed the door. She left, but I could still hear her laughing from behind the door.

I quickly tried taking the costume off, but the fabric wouldn't leave my body. "What do I do?" I said out loud, trying desperately to find a way to return to my normal clothes.
The answer was rather easy: all I had to do is touch the wand. I could transform and return to normal only by clasping the magic wand.

I went downstairs to eat dinner, but I was lost in thoughts.
Needless to say, I failed my Math exam the next day.

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