Tobias by Denis James

Author:Denis James
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Denis James
Published: 2024-04-24T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine:

Departure

Odion arrived at the cottage the next day, and Tobias answered the door. Odion was wearing his usual dress shirt and tie, dress slacks, and black dress shoes. Tobias was wearing a hoodie and sweatpants.

“G’Morning, Toby!” greeted Odion cheerfully. He walked into the cottage and closed the door behind him.

Tobias looked Odion up and down and asked, “Why are you dressed up so much?”

“It’s a beautiful day! I always feel my best when I’m dressed up!”

“It’s six o’clock in the morning.”

“Yes, but even so,” Odion turned to look at Tobias, “We have a big day ahead of us today, don’t we?!”

“I don’t know what you think we’ll be doing,” replied Tobias curtly. “Comfort is more important than style for our mission.”

“Yes, but even so, a little style never went amiss.”

Tobias avoided rolling his eyes with extreme difficulty but said nothing more about the subject and escorted Odion into the dining room. Aurora was sitting at the table in a nightgown, drinking a cup of coffee and eating a bowl of cereal.

“Ah, good morning, Odion! I see you’re...dressed up?”

“Yes, Aurora. It’s important to leave a good first impression!”

“We’ve met before,” Tobias reminded him. “Yes, but I like dressing up.”

Aurora chuckled as Tobias really did roll his eyes this time, albeit while Odion was looking at Aurora.

“So, how long do you need, Toby?” asked Odion. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, how long until you’re ready to go?” “I’m ready now.”

Odion stared at him. “I...see.” He looked up and down at Tobias’ clothing of choice. “And that’s...all you’re bringing?”

“I have a backpack. How about you?”

Odion went back outside and opened the door, carrying two large backpacks inside with him. Tobias blanched.

“Yeah...you’re gonna need to bring less stuff.”

“How long will we be gone?”

“Dunno. Days? Weeks? Months? I couldn’t even begin to guess.”

“And you want me to only bring one backpack?” “It’s not like there aren’t laundromats, Odion.”

“Yes, but...we’re spellcasters! Surely we don’t use normal things like laundromats?”

“Yes, we do,” Aurora chimed in. “It’s actually imperative to our survival. This isn’t a fairytale, Odion. We live alongside–and in harmony with–people who don’t practice magic. Why do you think we all have ‘real’ jobs?”

“Some would argue teaching isn’t a real job,” Tobias pointed out. Aurora ignored him.

“Speaking of teaching,” Odion began, but Aurora cut him off.

“I’ve worked it all out with Percival. We have a substitute lined up for you. I managed to turn your resignation into a temporary leave of absence.”

“Oh, sure, now there are plenty of substitutes, eh?”

“Yes, well, now that Agatha is back at work–”

“—which is silly, if you ask me–”

“Yes, I agree, Toby. But I can’t pretend it doesn’t help us out a bit.”

Tobias nodded but didn’t say anything. No matter what he said to the contrary, what had happened with his teaching career still really hurt him. Tobias had always enjoyed teaching, even if it wasn’t his idea of a good time all the time.

“Well, regardless. Odion, leave one of the backpacks here!”

Rather reluctantly, Odion brought one of his backpacks

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