Hark! It’s the Gamer Club!

The school was back to a somewhat normal state, meaning, for once, I actually had some idea where I was headed. No longer would I be a lost buffoon – it was time to evolve into a lazy one! Passing off my job to Asa was the best choice I had ever made. It made me question why in the world I did it alone in the first place.

That trustworthy enemy steamrolled through the News Club, the Tennis Team, the Book Club – literally everyone. It was scary how efficient she was. Each club interaction played out the same: march into a classroom or meeting area, talk to whoever was in charge, make sure they had everything, grab a souvenir for the pumpkin, and finally leave. A task that took over half an hour for me was done in at most five minutes. I almost felt like laughing from the amount of time I wasted. This was how it should’ve gone, not some random tornado or musical number.

By the way, these souvenirs were still rather questionable. A newspaper written with disappearing ink. A tennis racket that could shock and kill mosquitoes. A book with placeholder text. What was Niya supposed to do with any of this? The pumpkin looked like a garbage bin or garage sale for single bill items. I couldn’t even throw it away. Somehow, they always landed back in the pumpkin, as if there was a spell on it. There wasn’t, by the way. I checked multiple times.

“What in the world are you muttering about?” Asa asked with a glance.

“Nothing important,” I shrugged. Asa sighed in annoyance before speeding up.

After another minute of walking, we arrived at the next club on our list. I took one look at the sign on the door. Then, I nodded. Yep, looks good. Time to move onto–

“And where do you think you’re going?” Asa grabbed the collar of my shirt, causing me to let out a nasty ‘elck’.

“This club seems fine. No need to go in and check.” I tried to make my escape, but I was stuck in her clutches. “How are you so strong now?”

“Because unlike you, I actually bothered to learn different spells, like ones that enhance your physical strength.”

“Then… remove the–”

“Even if you managed to dispel it, I can recast it instantly.” Well, that’s inconvenient. “Now, come on and let’s get this over with.” With shirt in hand, she dragged me into the den of disgust.

“Well, well, well, well, well! If it isn’t the cheater and the noisy one. Are you here for one of your famous lover’s quarrels?” A man appeared from the darkness in a genuinely creepy manner. Not the appear from the darkness part, the guy himself. His tarring words along with that skintight jumpsuit and cringe-worthy mask – everything about him put me off. But that was to be expected. It’s simply how the maestro of the Gamer Club acted.

We scrunched our faces in disgust, both from his terribly-smelling breath and rather irritating and unnecessary comment.

“We’re here to make sure everything is in order for the festival tonight,” Asa smiled, evidently in displeasure. I could see her grabbing a rather pleasant looking potion out of her pouch – one of the bad ones, no doubt.

“Yeah!” I piled on. “Plus, Asa’s into girls anyway.”

“Heston.” Asa directed her expressively cold smile at me.

“What? You’re actually into guys?”

“Heston.” Her face inched ever so closer.

“Toasters then?”

BAAAMMMM! I looked to the side to see a massive hole punched through the clubroom wall. The resulting shockwave managed to destroy the lockers and wall on the far side too. It was easy to understand what happened: Asa punched or kicked the wall. I had no idea which though; I couldn’t see it. There was literally no time to react.

“Shut up now, okay?” Those words chilled me to the bone as the realization washed over. Physical enhancement magic is terrifying. I’ll have to learn it if I want to get away in the future.

“Could you not blow a hole in my clubroom?” the maestro asked, moving his arms in a gaudy yet perverted fashion.

“Please confirm that you have everything in order.” Asa completely ignored his shakedown.

“Trick or treat.” I reluctantly stuck out the pumpkin.

“Hmm, now that won’t do,” he said, redirecting the conversation. Well, this is going to be annoying. “I need to be properly compensated.” With a flourish, he brought a finger to his lips before a light bulb appeared over his head. “I know!” He stepped in close, looking all the while like a psychopath.

“How about we play a game?”

…

…

“No way.” “Absolutely not.”