Buying Berliners

“I’m going out to play with my friends!”

“What about BREAKFAST!”

“I WILL EAT WITH MY FRIENDS!!!”

Staying at home is so boring. Let’s see what the others are doing—first stop, Irene and Akakios. I walked two squares down the road. Irene and Akakios live close by.

“Ireeeeeeene! Akaaaaaakios!” I yell from the top of my lungs in front of their house.

“Paulus, come in. The kids are still sleeping. Go wake them up.”

“Good morning, Mr. Cornelius,” I said while entering the house.

Mr. Cornelius and his wife have a restaurant in the shopping district. His family has owned the restaurant for generations. As usual, it is the responsibility of the younger sibling to take care of the family business. I’m glad that’s not me. I don’t want to be a blacksmith. I will become a soldier and serve the kingdom.

“I-r-eeee-n-e” I whisper and gently blow her ear.

“I-r-eeeeeeeeeee-n-e. It’s time to wake up. shhhhhh”

“No, ss stop… it.” She mumbled while smiling, but was still asleep.

“Irene?” I put my finger in one of her nostrils.

“Aah!” She slapped my hands really hard while screaming. She was blushing red.

“Get out of my room, you idiot!” I run to Akakios’ room.

I don’t even bother trying to wake up Akakios. I straight-up dip my finger with my saliva and put it in his ear. Eww, I immediately regret it.

“What? Why? What?” said, squeezing his eyes.

“Hello,” I said, waving my hand in his face.

“Oh no, why so early?”

“I was bored… let’s go play!”

“Move, Paulus. You can be so annoying sometimes. Why is my ear wet?”

“I dnt knw,” I said, scratching my neck and looking in the opposite direction.

…

“Thank you for the breakfast, Mr. Cornelio.”

“No problem, say hi to your family for me.”

“Let’s go, guys. An adventure is waiting for us!”

“Are we going to Sappho’s house?” Akakios asked

“Nah, not today.”

“Mnn… Okay”

“Let’s go to the meadow. I want to get some flowers for mom.” Said Irene.

We walked to the meadows, kicking stones and talking nonsense. We live a little away from the city, so there are plenty of green spaces to play in. Everywhere is well-secured because of the patrols of soldiers walking through every few hours. My chest is bothering me, I don’t know why.

“You didn’t practice magic with your mom today?”

“We take a break at the end of the week.”

“How is the magic training going?”

“It’s hard. All my energy is gone after I'm done.”

“In two years, we will start learning magic, but you and Sappho will be at the academy by then.”

“How are Cato and Camillus?” asked Irene.

“Who knows, we barely talk.”

“When you got here, you used to talk about her all the time.”

“Well, now I know how the world is. And I don’t want to break it up to her.” Irene holds onto my arm.

“In Eleutheria, things are different. People without the magic ability can make a living. Even slaves with no magic have hope.”

“That doesn’t make Dad any stronger. He was just lucky to be born into a good family and married someone strong.”

“Well, he is your father, so you have to figure it out.”

“As soon as I leave for the academy, I’m not talking to him ever again.”

“You think your Mom will allow that?”

“Before leaving, I will challenge her and gain the liberty to do whatever I want. That’s why I’m training hard.”

“I heard Antonina was a strong adventurer. Do you think you can beat her in a duel?” said Akakios, trying to make me see some sense.

“Never mind, I’m going back.”

“What now?”

“You woke us up this morning!”

“Sorry, I’m going to Sappho’s house. I need to train.”

…

“Sappho!”

“Hello, Paulus, the young master is training in the back,” said the guard.

When I got in, Sappho was taking a break.

“Where is Skolets?”

“Hey Paul, the trash has a day off. I told my dad that he is giving him too much freedom. You can’t trust rats without magic, but I guess rules in Eleutheria are different.”

“Come on, less talking and more training.”

“Oh, someone is energized this morning.”

We train the basics the whole morning. My magic is increasing. I’m able to spend hours doing magical breathing. I still can’t guard the entire body at once, but I can easily protect my weakest points.

“Let’s go buy something to eat. I’m craving something sweet. It’s my treat.” 

"Thanks, Sappho."

We walk a couple of streets north. There is a small store where we bought berliners and milk. Berliners are like a fried donut without the hole in the middle, filled with a sweet jam, and covered with powdered sugar.

“After training, these are perfect.”

“Look what we have here. Sappho and the Paulus the piggy.” Three guys were walking our way. 

“What? Did you get expelled from the academy? Why are you guys back?”

“It’s the weekend, bozo. Watch your mouth, we are sophomores now.”

These idiots are the ones who would bully me when we moved to the city of Dale. All because my father can’t use magic. The weak get ridiculed by the strong.

“What do you want?” Said Sappho.

“We want some berliners. Strong people like us need to eat. I’m sure you would be happy to give us some money. I might help you once you get to the academy.”

One of them steps forward, grabs Sappho by the collar, and pushes him to the ground.

“On guard,” I said seriously.

“What? The piggy wants to be beaten like old times? Know your place, you filthy trash.” He spat on my face and laughed.

I was gathering magic in my fist. I quickly punched him right in the face. The punch connected with his magic. He was guarding, but it wasn’t enough. My punch was so hard that he immediately fell to the floor. The guy next to him threw a kick in my left ribs. I guard my ribs, and the kick pushed me a yard to the left, but I felt no pain. I quickly moved forward and uppercut him with everything I got. Again, I felt the contact with magic, but he fell unconscious to the ground.

“Don’t get cocky, bastard!” The third guy came up to me. I was starting to feel tired. Using magic in a fight is entirely different from practicing in the yard with Mom. In that moment, Sappho was already on his feet and kicked him right in the stomach, leaving the guy desperate for oxygen.

“You guys are trash. You only beat us before because we did not know magic. We will be at the academy in a year. Get ready to get humiliated.” Said Sappho, spitting in his face.

“My berliner got ruined.” My stomach was growling.

“They will pay for this at the academy.”

“Let’s go home.”

…

“You know, Mom told me Dad can use magic, but only a little at a time.”

“Uh? I suppose he is not entirely worthless. There is some hope for Cato.”