The Taxi

Zoey was surprised that I agreed to take on the extra responsibility. She knew me too well. She knew I didn't like extra work and was very careful not to exceed the extra work time. At least I tried. But something really moved me about this boy. Although my friend didn't always understand me, at least I had her by my side at the beginning of my path as a psychic. Did I feel sorry for the kid? That's possible. I should help him out a bit since we happened to live not far from each other.

I asked Tristan not to accompany me this time, I wanted to meet my apprentice and ward and spend some time alone with him. Hell knows what I should call him, I thought about it for a moment. I decided to go to meet him by train, and only during the journey I seriously began to wonder if I would be able to gain his trust at all. I had never looked after children before, at least not alive. I went through the documents and the collected information that the coordinator had sent me. He's not a child, he's a teenager, I sighed heavily. That is a double challenge.

Looking at his photo, I saw that there was something disturbing about him, he already had a large scar on his forehead. I figured it was probably because of the fight, but then I thought if he smiled, he'd definitely look friendly. I couldn't back down anymore. I called a taxi at the station. The driver was extremely talkative and inquisitive, which is why I didn't trust him. This belief was confirmed by the spirit that was sitting next to me.

"The old bastard tricks everyone," muttered the apparition of the old man. "I'm trying to warn everyone, but I am no use to anyone. No one can hear me, and he's only ruining our reputation as taxi drivers. He's fiddling with the meter right now," he said with a sigh.
I rolled my eyes even when I'm not at work and that's how it finds me. I stood up a bit and cleared my throat, wanting my voice to sound as dark as possible.

"I know you're just trying to rip me off," I said slowly and confidently. "So what we're going to do is either you drive me to the spot and I pay you a fair rate, or we stop and I get off and pay nothing for the journey so far."

"But sweetie, I'm not up to anything." The taxi driver laughed nervously. "It only seems like this to you."

"I don't think so," I murmured. "So what's the decision?"

"I wouldn't be a real taxi driver if I didn't do the course, right?" I saw in the mirror how he smiled ominously despite everything, not giving up on his plans to deceive me.

We got there, and the ghost clenched his fist and told me how much I should honestly pay for the course. The price that the living taxi driver called me was almost three times higher. I paid him only as much as I was supposed to, threatening him that if he did not stop the practice, I would soon report it to the appropriate services. He gritted his teeth, took the money, and hurried away.

"I'm glad you didn't give up," the ghost said happily. "It's a coincidence, did you hear me?"

"You've not been a ghost for a while, haven't you?" I asked, taking a sip of water. He nodded slightly. "Thanks for warning me."

"Is there any way I can fix this? The taxi was my whole life, I loved this job. Especially after the death of my wife, I was always glad to have someone to talk to on the road. And when I was waiting behind the course, I was doing crossword puzzles," he said with a sad smile.

"Look, I think 957 has the most experience with these things, so go see him. Tell him how this guy is cheating people, and how to get the evidence and he'll do the rest." When I said that, I looked at the application our Association was using. We set up shifts there, arranged replacements, and did other organizational things. "He's available this afternoon. Can you move quickly?"

"I guess so," replied the old man, excited that even after death he could do something good for the honor of all taxi drivers.

So I gave him the address and said goodbye. I felt someone's eyes on me for a long time, so I turned around and saw the teenager I was looking for. He looked at me neither curious nor angrily.

"Nice of you to pick me up Sebastian," I said, smiling at him. “But I hope I can use my medium ID card anyway. I haven't had a chance before."