Ashley Price, Magic Made Easy

It's strange. Here you are, sitting at a table with your two best friends as you stare at a cup filled with what you have every reason to suspect is pure magic. You should be absolutely over the moon. You should be excited at least. But all you feel is a strange sort of apprehension as you gaze down into the milky, rainbow-sparkling mana. It's not so much that you are worried about what might happen. Okay, maybe now you are a little. Mostly though, you're just realizing that you have no idea where to start. Can you do anything now? Talk about the tyranny of choice.

Luckily, Jenny breaks you out of your existential arrest by taking the first step. She carefully picks up the cup of Sydney's bounty, clucking her tongue thoughtfully as she gives it a little swirl. "Huh. Well it definitely looks different from any of the milk we made before." She leans in, taking a careful sniff. "It doesn't feel as important. Is that weird? I'm not sure how milk is supposed to feel important, but there it is."

Isabelle nods in agreement. "No, I know exactly what you mean. The stuff in the crystal bottles really has a presence to it that this doesn't."

That seems to remind Jenny of something, your friend setting the cup down before pulling her vial of milk from her pocket. "Speaking of which. Could you hold onto this for me, Isabelle? After seeing what it can do, I'm not super comfortable having it at my house. I just know one of my sibling is gosing to stumble upon it somehow, and I don't want to wake up tomorrow to my brothers having turned themselves into twin bimbo sluts. Er, no offense Sydney."

"None taken~!" The barista calls from the other side of the room as she hurries through her closing. She's not doing a very good job of it either; she keeps knocking things over with her unwieldy breasts. Combined with how bad she already was at her job, it makes you a bit sorry for whoever has to come in and open tomorrow.

Still, she has a good point. Jessie seems like the sort of girl to snoop around in your things, and keeping the milk out of her hands seems like a good idea. You produce your bottle from your bag, still half-full from when you dosed your cousin, and slide it over to Isabelle. "Why don't you just hold on to all of them? They're probably safest with you."

Jenny cuts in, a mischievous smirk on her face. "Just don't let your parents find them. They're, like, New Age Druids or something right? Didn't they meet at some crazy pagan ritual orgy or whatever?"

Isabelle glowers at Jenny. "My parents are Unitarian. They met at Burning Man."

"Saaame thiiing."

"You're the worst. Ash, please tell Jenny she's the worst."

"Jenny, you're the worst."

The Asian girl gasps in mock indignation at your effrontery, Isabelle unable to hold back a giggle as she carefully slips the three bottles into her bag. "Okay fine; I'll be in charge of the bottles. Now can we please cast a spell or something? So far all of this witch stuff has just been a steady steam of anxiety and I could really stand to see something cool."

Well that's a call to action if you've ever heard one. Who's got time for indecision when there's a pretty girl to impress? "Okay. So, the book is pretty much no help, but I think that's okay. Most of what's in there is big ritual type stuff, which I think we've all had our fill of for now right?" You pause long enough for both of your friends to nod in agreement before moving on. "But maybe we don't need it for more day to day magic. The induction test either makes you produce this stuff, or lets you use this stuff. Sydney and Jessie gushed it out pretty much on instinct, so maybe we can just use it instinctively too?"

Jenny 'hrm's again, tapping a finger to her chin. "Well, do we need to drink it?"

"I...have no idea. Maybe?"

The head cheerleader considers that for a moment, then shrugs and lifts a little black case from her bag. "Well, only one way to find out." She snaps it open, pulling out a silicon drinking straw.

Isabelle raises her eyebrows. "You can't be serious."

Jenny shrugs again as she pops the draw down into the sparkling milk. "Sure I am. Why not? If this stuff is going to fuck us over this far into the game, I'd rather just find out now and get it over with."

Uh, that makes a sort of sense, you suppose. Either way there's no use in further argument because Jenny has already leaned down to take a small sip. You hold your breath as Jenny swallows, the girl's brow furrowed as her tongue darts out thoughtfully. Then she brightly hums and takes another longer drink. Well? "So, uh, what's the verdict?"

Jenny waits to swallow her mouthful of milk before answering, eyes shimmering as she grins. "It's really fucking good. You're goddamn delicious, Sydney."

The barista gives a grateful gasp at that as Jenny extends the straw to Isabelle who leans in for a cautious sip. "Oh wow, it is good. God, I feel so refreshed; it's like the day's been washed away!"

"Well, can you guys do spells now?" Jenny and Isabelle consider your question for a moment, the former curling fingers experimentally as the latter thoughtfully twirls a lock of her hair. Ugh this is agony; will these two jerks just hurry up and cast some freakin' magic already?!

It's Jenny who breaks the silence, an odd look in her eye as they come to linger upon Sydney. "Hey Sydney, could you come over here?" The top-heavy girl calls back a peppy affirmative, dumping her apron behind the counter as she bounces over towards your table. "You change your hair color a lot, right? What color would you want to try next?"

"Hmm!" Sydney considers that, popping a finger to her plump lower lip. "I've always wanted to try silver, but it's so much work and usually comes out kinda crappy."

"Okay. Um...huh. I guess, then...like this? Presto?" Jenny points a finger at Sydney and gives an abrupt snap, actual visible waves radiating out from her hand as the sound resonates throughout the building. Jenny can't help a mad giggle of delight as Sydney's crimson hair begins to lighten before your very eyes, the bright red draining away from her stylish do.

Isabelle lets out a noise of amazement, eyes wide. "How, though?"

"I don't know!" Jenny's eyes are afire with victory as she watches Sydney's hair magically bleach. "I just sort of felt like I could change her. Like she's made up of all these different values that I can shift." She shifts an eye to give you a quick once over. "I can feel it with you guys too, but less than with Sydney. Way less with you, Ash. I think it's because she's a source for the power."

You nod slowly. "Like calls to like."

"Yeah, exactly!" Jenny suddenly frowns, her expression turning critical as she inspects Sydney's supernatural dye job. "Ugh, this actually isn't looking that great." She's right; now that you've gotten over the initial shock of Jenny being able to give someone a magical salon treatment, you have to admit that it's still a pretty shitty salon treatment. She's not winding up silver so much as a muddled looking nag color. Jenny shrugs, snapping her finger again send the crimson seeping back into Sydney's hair. "Well you were right, Sydney. Silver does come out kinda crappy."

"Told you!"

It looks like there are some serious limits to your powers at this point. Isabelle certainly seems quiet about all this. "You drank the stuff too, Isabelle; can you do that too?"

Isabelle quickly shakes her head no, then apparently reconsiders. "Well, maybe a little? If I concentrate really hard, I can sort of get a feel for what Jenny was talking about. Like, if I look really hard at Sydney, I get a vague sense that I could maybe shift something small a very little bit. And I can barely feel that at all about either of you. I think that maybe we have different areas of strength."

"Really?"

She nods, eyes a bit distant. "Yeah. I feel like I can...hrm. Um, Ash? God this is going to sound weird...you're sore, right?"

You tilt your head to one side. "Well, yeah? I worked out while you guys were at practice, so I'm a little sore. I guess I hadn't really thought about it in all the excitement."

Isabelle stares at you for a long moment, so long that you have to **** yourself not to squirm in your seat. Then she sucks in a quick resolving breath, scoots her chair closer to yours, and leans in to brush your cheek with a little peck. She's boiling red as she quickly pulls away, coughing to hide her embarrassment, but you don't notice. And not just because you've been paralyzed by shock at being kissed by your crush, even if it was well within the aunt and grandma levels of tameness. No, you're not thinking about that right now, because all you can focus on is that you suddenly feel so good. Strain and discomfort you'd been either ignoring or unaware of drains from your body in a soothing cascade of comfort, leaving you with the indelible feeling of slipping into freshly cleaned sheets.

Your yawn catches you by surprise, the sudden urge to curl up and sink into a very deep sleep enveloping you as you try to focus on what the still deeply blushing Isabelle is saying. "I could just sort of feel that she'd strained her body, you know? It was like looking at something and just knowing it was hot. If someone had a cut or bruise I could probably fix that, too, but I think that might be the limits?"

Jenny's eyes have taken a distinctly devilish cast since witnessing that bit of magic between you and Isabelle. "Okay, so let's test it. I'll punch her in the arm, and you kiss her other cheek."

You're too distracted shaking away your sleepiness to pay much notice as Isabelle swats at the snickering Jenny. Bed can wait; interesting things are happening. Isabelle gives Jenny a parting swipe before clearing her throat again. "Well, um, that's me and Jenny then. What can you do, Ash?"

Well there's the million dollar question. Honestly, you have no idea what you can do, but you've been thinking about what it is you want to do. And for some reason, that feels like the right way forward for you. "Sydney, who runs this Starbucks? I mean, are these places like franchises or...?"

The barista shakes her head as she slips into a little faux fur coat that could never in a million years button up over her tits. "Nah, they're all owned by corporate. There's the district manager? Her name is, um, Carol something? Oh!" She wobbles over to the condiment station and picks up a business card, giving it a once over before proudly extending it to you. "Carol Jones, District Manager! Ta~da!"

You pluck the card from her hand just as a car barrels into the parking lot, screeching to a halt across two parking spots a split second before a tall man with a Danzig haircut bursts from the driver's side door. He's pretty good-looking, you suppose, but you're more interested in the fact that is his haste he's buttoned his shirt up completely wrong and somehow put his jacket on inside out. There's no question who he is, though. Based on the squeal of pure delight that rips out of Sydney, it could only be Jason of Braingasm fame (?). The girl babbles out a quick goodbye to the three of you before scurrying out the door, the man eagerly steadying himself just in time for her to leap into his arms, wrapping her limbs around his waist and neck as the two of them set about needily devouring each other's faces.

Well, good for her you guess! You aren't about to interfere with Sydney's deeply desired fun. Though what you've got planned does involve her. Jenny and Isabelle scoot their chairs around to give the intense and entirely public make-out session whatever privacy it can have as you take hold of the cup of milk. "Okay, so, have either of you ever heard of Apotropaic magic?"

Isabelle shakes her head 'no', and you have to imagine Jenny's cocked eyebrow is meant to mean the same thing. "It's about turning away bad luck or hostile intent. Like hanging up a horseshoe, or carrying a lucky rabbit's foot. Basically, you're making an offering to some sort of spirit or power that then agrees to grant safety and ward off evil."

Jenny shrugs. "Okay, so what about it?"

"Well, I think that she,"--you jerk a thumb toward where Sydney is still trying to suffocate the deliriously game Jason with kisses--"could use a bit of extra help. Especially since she's some sort of font of magical power now. There have to be other people out there who've gone through the same things we have, right?"

Isabelle makes a noise of concern. "Oh, I hadn't thought of that. So Sydney might be a target."

"Yeah. So, I'm going to put this place under our protection." You take hold of the straw and begin sucking down milk, steadily draining the cup. And fuck, they weren't kidding when they said it was good. It's not the inexplicable nectar that the bottle cream was, but this is far and away the best milk you've ever tasted. Next cheat day you are absolutely getting a big glass of this and some cookies, but that's a matter for another time. You keep drinking until the cup is nearly empty, leaving behind a little bit of milk which you promptly dump on the table. Most warding sigils you've seen have been eyes, but as a curious rush of potential energy builds in your core you immediately know that isn't quite right. In fact, you know precisely what to do.

Jenny squints as you dip your fingers into the shallow puddle of milk and begin tracing lines across the table, your touch leaving behind faintly glowing streaks of alabaster. "What is that supposed to be? It sort of looks like..."

Isabelle nods, looking both faintly bemused and a touch embarrassed. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure that's a boob."

"Hey, work with what you know, right?" You etch a fat nipple at the center of your drawing, the entire mammary sigil now flickering in a soft glow as you extend your arms to your two friends. "Okay, everyone join hands." Isabelle and Jenny slip their hands into yours, then link up themselves as you close your eyes. Fuck, again you find yourself wishing you'd planned out something to say in a situation like this. So far the biggest difference between real witchcraft and the stuff you've read in books is that it's really tough to come up with important and enigmatic-sounding speeches on the spot. "So, um, we Three declare that the Bad Starbucks is under our protection. So, if you want to mess with it, don't? Because we won't let you. So there."

Isabelle and Jenny laugh, answering in faintly teasing chorus. "So there."

You crack open your eyes, grinning sheepishly at your friends only to step back with a gasp as a pillar of light surges from the sigil you drew on the table. The three of you can only watch in wonder as the light of your authority steadily expands to fill the room, shimmering and sparkling with the promise of your protection. It's already sinking into the walls and ceiling as you punch the District Manager's number into your phone, the building's interior pulsing with a deeply reassuring power as you lift the ringing device to your ear.

After a few rings, the other end picks up. "Carol Jones speaking."

"Ah, hello! Hey, I'm Ash, and I'm at Starbucks with my friends Jenny and Isabelle?"

The clipped yet courteous sounding voice at the other end seems relatively certain this is going to be a prank, but is too professional to go there yet. "Which one? There are twelve in the district I manage."

"Oh! The bad one."

"Ah." The voice at the other end sighs. "Did that Munroe girl leave the place abandoned or something? Just tell me that it isn't on fire."

"Oh, no no! Everything is totally fine. More than fine, actually. I just wanted to call and let you know that you don't have to worry about it anymore."

There is a pregnant pause at the other end. "...What do you mean, exactly?"

"I mean that it's our Starbucks now, so you don't need to worry."

The pause is even longer this time, and when it finally returns Carol Jones sounds a bit faint of breath. "Oh. Okay."

Oh fuck it worked?! Awesome! "So yeah! Just, um, keep doing the normal day to day stuff, and the money stuff, and whatever corporate things you need to do, but if anything seems weird or wrong you can just leave it to us. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Yeah? Really okay?"

"Really okay."

"Who's Starbucks is the Bad Starbucks?"

"Bad Starbucks is Ash, Jenny and Isabelle's Starbucks."

"Great okay have a great night bye~!"

You end the call with a triumphant air as Isabelle looks at you incredulously. "Did we just take over a Starbucks?"

Jenny seems a bit put off too. "Yeah, seriously Ash? If I wanted to manage a coffee shop I'm a thousand percent certain I didn't need magic to do it."

You raise your hands disarmingly. "No no, it's not like that! It's more like...ugh, how to explain. It makes so much sense to me, but it's hard to put into words. Look, we're going to be doing a lot of stuff that any normal person would find insane, right? I just sort of...I don't know, declared that any and all magical nonsense going on here is strictly our business. This is, like, our sorcerous turf or something. So everyday people won't bother themselves with whatever witchiness we get up to, and outside witchiness will know what's up if they mess with us. Does that make sense?"

Isabelle seems to be processing all of that. "I guess...actually, I sort of feel stronger now?"

"Oh, me too!" Jenny quickly turns towards the outside. "I feel like I could definitely make Sydney's hair all the way silver eep-!"

Jenny cuts off with a surprised squeak as the three of you finally notice that Sydney has gotten Jason to pull down her ripped jeans and bend her over the hood of his car, the two of them humping away like dogs in the park. Sydney's head is lolled back in ecstasy as she revels in each thrust, her massive boobs jiggling heavily as they pool below her. She sees through the fog of pleasure enough to notice the three of you watching, favoring you with a big thumbs up as she bucks back against her eager paramour. Fuck, that ward of protection couldn't have come a moment sooner.

"......maybe we save it for later, Jenny. I don't think she's going to be done any time soon."

Isabelle nods in agreement, carefully shielding her eyes in a somewhat misguided deference for Sydney's privacy. "Maybe we should just work on this more after school tomorrow?"

Oh fuck school tomorrow? The fact that you still have to go to school and shit had honestly been buried deep below all the magical hijinks you'd been through the weekend. You still understand way less about these powers than you've figured out so far, but as the three of you sneak out the Bad Starbucks side exit you find that you aren't worried about that at all.

Your first day back at school as the new, improved Ashley Price, though? That shit is going to be a wild ride.