Perpetually Human

“Its possibly but unlikely.” Wen admitted, putting her phone back in her pocket “Though… more likely than time freezing so I suppose that’s our most reasonable explanation. Are there any witches who would be able to do this?”

Wen narrowed her eyes, giving May an evaluating look from behind her thick-rimmed glasses. May was a librarian and a Faerie, she had little power in Fairview and less motivation to kill or hide a human - as Fae had no real use for humans. She also appeared to be kind in nature, though that could be a trap - however the likelihood of a librarian being able to silence a town on a disappearance was small. Which meant she most likely wasn’t involved in the disappearance of Wen’s brother, so Wen could most likely trust her.

“Time seems to have stopped.” Wen informed her casually, showing May the time on her phone. “I made the first attempt to call my parents a few blocks back, my phone displayed this exact time. At least five minutes should have gone by, but apparently it hasn’t.”

May didn’t mind the way Wen looked at her; she understood where the other was coming from and could not blame her for having her concerns. Something was very clearly going on - something strange and perhaps even alarming - and the decidedly calm way May carried herself despite the feeling of uneasiness in the pit of her stomach could appear slightly out of place. 

“That’s weird, I don’t use Verizon.” Wen chewed on her lip, lost in thought, before giving a shrug.

“Oh well, I can try again later it’s only been…” She pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time, raising her eyebrows in shock. “Zero minutes….”

“That is weird,” she agreed, her voice even softer than usual. While genuinely confused, May was not about to start panicking or coming up with any sort of nightmare scenarios. No, that would have been plain foolish. 

Wen frowned. “Yeah maybe that’s it, but my internet isn’t working either…”

She handed back the phone. “What network are you with?”

May’s nose wrinkled up in annoyance, her lips now pursed together. “That is beyond bizarre,” she muttered, trying to figure out what could possibly be causing the problem. 

“Ah, thank you. You’re a lifesaver.” Wen exclaimed, taking the phone and quickly dialing. She gave a small laugh at May’s questions. “No, I’m fine. I’m just trying to call my parents but my phone isn’t working. Sorry, it’ll only take a second.”

“That’s weird.” She frowned, pulling the phone away and giving it an odd look. “It won’t call.”

May nodded, head tilted to the side as she waited for Wen to do whatever she needed to do. She had no reason to think her phone wouldn’t work - it was quite new and she’d had no trouble making a call  just hours ago - and the confused look on her face reflected that. 

Halloween was one of the rare occasions Wen allowed for herself to take a break from work, and so she found herself making her way to the Den. She had many reasons to want to visit the bar: the gossip, the costume contest, and because god knows she could use a drink after the hopeless search that was still carrying on from the past two decades.

Still, even if she was technically taking a moment for herself in all the investigating, she found a new mystery on hand.

“That’s weird.” She frowned at her phone. She’d been trying to call her parents all day but for some reason her calls wouldn’t go through.

“Hey!” She called to the nearest passer-by “Can I use your phone?”

It was clear May hadn’t expected to be addressed on her walk home from the library. Still, her steps came to a halt as she reached for her phone. There was really no reason to deny the request. The battery was nearly full and she wasn’t in any real hurry. 

It was highly unlikely she would be receiving any calls, either. 

“No, just a silly rich boy who thinks he’s the emperor.” Wen teased. “But if you ever want to start working for a living we’ve got a position open in housekeeping.”

Wen placed a hand on her chest in comically feigned shock. “Does this mean you won’t be staying at my fine establishment?”

HE  LOOKED  PLEASED  AT  the  abrupt  switches  that  they  were  having  between  the  two  languages.  in  chinese  again,  he  said,  “ ah,  auntie.  i  wish  i  was  an  emperor. ”  the  wistful  words  were  completed  with  a  dramatic  sigh  at  the  end  of  it,  hand  to  the  heart  as  if  he  didn’t  want  to  wake  up  from  the  dream.  but  the  illusion  quickly  fell  away,  replaced  with  a  shake  of  his  head.  “ that’s  a  nice  offer,  auntie,  but  is  housekeeping  a  job  fit  for  a  wannabe  emperor? ”

he  was  teasing,  really.  not  that  he  would  ever  want  to  work  in  the  motel,  but  wen  probably  knew  that  already.  the  offer  most  likely  wasn’t  made  in  a  serious  nature.  both  of  them  knew  that  the  entirety  of  the  motel  would  fall  apart  with  andrew  as  a  housekeeper.  “ but, ”  he  started  to  continue  on  instead,  ignoring  wen’s  question  on  staying  in  her  motel.  “ i  could  put  in  good  word  about  your  motel.  then  you  can  give  me  five  percent  of  your  profit.  fair  demand,  right? ”  the  proposal  was  also  made  in  a  joking  manner,  yet  he  voiced  it  anyways.

“Perhaps not,” Wen admitted in Chinese “but you’re putting the gray in my hair. The complimentary meal is bacon and eggs, with your choice of tea or coffee. Is that satisfactory or would you prefer I hire you a private chef?”

She knew it was foolish to be so snappy with someone so young, but the Zhao boy was old enough to know it was rude to bother a working woman. And something about an unemployed rich boy playing games with her while she worked one of her two jobs rubbed her the wrong way.

Mostly though, she just enjoyed teasing him as much as she was sure he enjoyed teasing her. There was something mischievous about him that reminded her of her brother when they were young.

“Why are you considering renting a room anyways? Did your parents finally decide your old enough to start paying rent?”

“ AH,  AN  ACCOMPLISHMENT, ”  andrew  jested.  he  knew  that  to  many,  his  ability  to  say  all  the  wrong  things  at  the  wrong  times  was  often  seen  as  his  defining  trait  —  if  not  his  only  one.  by  now,  he  let  them  think  that  way.  and  he  was  sure  that  wen  was  one  of  those  the  many  who  thought  of  him  like  that.  he  waved  a  hand,  as  if  he  was  dismissing  the  notion  that  she  was  proposing.  “ don’t  bother, ”  he  said.  “ you  know,  contrary  to  the  public’s  belief,  i’m  not  that  picky  with  my  breakfast.  besides,  eggs  and  bacon  is  always  a  solid  breakfast  choice.  i  don’t  even  have  a  private  chef  at  home.  who  do  you  take  me  as,  auntie?  the  emperor? ”

an  amused  grin  tugged  on  his  lips.  both  of  them  knew  that  he  could  fancy  himself  the  emperor  if  he  wanted  to.  hell,  perhaps  he  already  did.  but  he  made  no  comments  on  it,  and  instead  pushes  his  chair  back  to  stand  and  stretch.  his  lips  pursed  at  the  question  wen  posed.

Wen sighed, leveling a stern look towards the young journalist from behind her glasses. She reached up with her right hand and pushed her hair out of her face. “Their brains haven’t developed enough to comprehend the feelings of other people, or their affects on others. They mimic the behaviours they see in their parents. They most likely just thought your magic was cool, because what kid doesn’t dream of having magic? It was rude of them to stare, but hardly anything to write an article about. The actual problem is anti-supernatural sentiments being common enough among adults - who’s brains are developed enough to know better - that it is exposed to young children who then think of it as normal. If you want to write an article about it, write about where the children are learning it from.”

She returned to her proof reading, absently fiddling with a lock of hair which had gone gray somewhat prematurely.

Zaira spent so much time around xir fellow dark witches who just understood that xe often forgot to watch xir words around humans. Not being part of the supernatural, they didn’t usually get it the way Zaira’s dark witch friends did. This was one incident of children staring, giggling and pointing at xem to Wen, but to Zaira, these incidents were unfortunately common. While Wen spoke logically, – Zaira knew the issue was with the adults and not the children who weren’t being taught better, xir annoyance didn’t relent  “I don’t disagree that the problem is with the parents,” Zaira sighed, knowing Wen was right. “You’d still think children would have enough general manners to not treat us like zoo animals.” Zaira paused, twisting xir lips as xe contemplated Wen’s idea. It would be a more productive ( “mature” ) response than fake cursing children – though, the latter was infinitely more fun. “That’s a good story idea, though? ‘what we owe to each other: why human parents are poisoning their children.’”

She thought for a second about Zaira's idea. She bit back the commentary that in order to be published xe would probably have to supply some sort of solution at the end of the article, and drop the word "poisoning" since with recent events anything pro-supernatural would be regarded with far more criticism than it deserved. She shouldn't pre-edit an article that hadn't even been written.

“The fun is it gives this poor old woman a break.” Wen muttered, lifting her left hand to her face to briefly rub her eyes.

She sighed, meeting Andrew’s teasing gaze. Wen wasn’t a fool, she knew the motel was trashy. She also knew that that was why it attracted the business that it did, which was exactly the kind of business she’d been investigating. There was no way to sell this to an upper class brat looking for fun, unless he wanted to mingle with The Poor for an Authentic Experience. She raised an eyebrow at him and indulged his game for a brief moment. “The appeal is we have beds, heating, hot water, and we ask minimal questions. It’s 45 for the night and we serve a complimentary breakfast for those who want it.”

WELL AWARE THAT wen hadn’t intended for him to hear that, andrew flashed her a winning smile anyways. “oh, auntie,” he cooed, switching into chinese once more. “you’re not that old. still young enough to have some fun and humor your favorite boy, right? i’m here to make sure you have some fun.” 

he wasn’t sure what drove him to push her even farther, but he was having too much fun to stop. it wasn’t that he was condescending her, nor was he commenting about how shitty and cheap the architecture of her motel was. yes, it was true, he would never rent a room out here unless his life depended on it, but that wasn’t the reason he was here today. it wasn’t to make fun of her. it was just … incredibly interesting to interact with an older chinese woman who had completely different ideals from him.

still, his eyes lit up at the mention of complimentary breakfast. playing coy, he added, “and what would the complimentary breakfast be? maybe i’ll consider renting out a room one night.” but both of them knew that there was no chance he would, and it would probably be better for wen — not andrew — if he left immediately.

She knew it was foolish to be so snappy with someone so young, but the Zhao boy was old enough to know it was rude to bother a working woman. And something about an unemployed rich boy playing games with her while she worked one of her two jobs rubbed her the wrong way.

Mostly though, she just enjoyed teasing him as much as she was sure he enjoyed teasing her. There was something mischievous about him that reminded her of her brother when they were young.

“They’ll learn,” Wen said absently of the children, “hopefully. In most cases bad behaviour is an example of bad parenting, they just need some positive role models.”

Vaguely Wen mulled over Zaira’s words, something about the way xie spoke of children struck a chord with her. Xie must be an only child, she decided.

“How’s the article coming along?” She asked conversationally, going back to her reading. She circled a word with a red pen, a curtain of hair tumbling to block her face.

“Positive role models,” Zaira repeated with more than a little hint of skeptical derision. Humans, xe thought, weren’t great when it came to positive parenting regarding non-humans. Children weren’t xirfavourite creatures in the world – Zaira had no siblings and no plans to be a parent – but Zaira did think these ones were being done a disservice in the behaviours and attitudes they were being taught. “Mhnm, okay. Though I feel like I should change my topic to ‘ why children are a pest’ .”

“Hm.” Wen hummed, looking up from the article she had been reading over. “I suppose, but maybe next time you should try something that won’t get you in trouble with their parents.”

Zaira snorted. “They should thank me, I’ve done everyone here a favour by scaring them out of here. I’m sure it wasn’t just me they were driving nuts – their parents should learn to discipline them, lest a less than friendly witch actually curse them.”

Vaguely Wen mulled over Zaira's words, something about the way xie spoke of children struck a chord with her. Xie must be an only child, she decided.

Wen sighed, pushing her glasses up into her hair. Three hours, she decided, was not enough sleep to put up with this boy and his weird games.

“You’ve said a lot of maybes.” She noted, now in English. “But you still haven’t actually told me what you’re doing on my property. If you are… getting ‘intel’, as you put it, I doubt you’ll find anything. If you’re looking for a place to stay, then say so.”

HE COULDN’T HELP the laugh that left his lips. the uncertainty that he felt when he first stepped into the motel had faded now — the same way wen’s smile did. contrary to what anyone else believed, andrew harbored no hard feelings towards her. he had no reason to. though, he couldn’t say for sure if that sentiment went both ways. after all, a twenty one year old boy probably proved to be nothing but a nuisance to the woman. yet, even knowing this, andrew still pushed, striding up to her desk and taking a seat opposite of her without waiting for her permission. surely that behavior was warranted for, considering that he was a guest at her motel.

the grin he wore was still trained on her as he sat down, hands folded across the table in front of him. “i’m a person who likes my maybes. what’s the fun in absolutes?” andrew quipped back. then, teasingly, he leaned in, as if he was going to share some big secret with the older woman. “well, auntie, why don’t you try to sell the appeal of this motel to me to get me to book a room for the night? maybe i will.”

A sort of nostalgia bloomed in Wen’s chest as she walked the halls of the college. It reminded her of when she had been a student, two decades ago in a separate state. She almost wanted to re-enroll, get herself backbone track and finish her master’s program. Unfortunately, working two jobs and secretly searching for the missing brother no one knows you have doesn’t allow much time for academia.

Which brought her to the reason she was here. She had gotten the go-ahead to see if the university would be willing to have an article in the Fairview Times. Encouraging students in and outside of Fariview was the official reason. The unofficial reason was to test out her theory that her brother might have enrolled by doing some classic snooping.

Unfortunately, she had never been in this building and had no idea where she was. Eventually she just gave up trying to orient herself and opened the closest door to her right. She wasn’t expecting it to be an office, and she wasn’t expecting the… professor? To scramble through his papers like a teenager hiding something from his parents.

“Maybe.” Wen said, giving a nervous laugh. “I have to admit, I’m a little lost. What department is this?”

Wen pursed her lips. The irony in his use of ‘Auntie’ while clearly meaning disrespect not going past her.

She gave him a tight smile, responding to him in Chinese in kind. “Yes I’m well aware of their hotel, I take in the costumers they snub. Are your aunt and uncle aware you’re here snooping on their behalf?”

WHERE HE GREW UP, and as it was in chinese customs, it was, andrew knew, incredibly out of line to be so blase with someone older. but he had carried out most of his life here in fairview, and he reasoned that there was no reason that wen would think him rude just yet. sure, the both of them knew that calling her auntie was done to get a rise out of her, but there wasn’t much she could do about that.

and while her customer service smile faded into a tighter, humorless one, andrew maintained his own bright grin when he shrugged his shoulders in response to her question. “do they,” he shot back, still speaking in chinese. “maybe i wanted to surprise them with some intel. though i suppose i wouldn’t be out here telling you that if i were.” lifting his gaze away from wen, his eyes scanned the lobby. it was, without a doubt, vastly different from the ambassador. and to be quite honest, andrew would never see the appeal of flo’s compared to his uncle’s inherited hotel. still, he knew it had its uses — especially amongst college students. he wandered if anything shady was going on around here right now. 

he directed his smile back at her. “besides, i’m not really snooping, am i? i’m trying to understand this place better, auntie. there’s nothing wrong with that, is there?” then, slipping back into english, he added, “maybe i’m sick of my uncle’s hotel and wanted to try stay here. what was it you said — taking in customers they snub? well, i’m here willingly.”

whipping around in xir chair, zaira’s dark gaze settled on the mischievous brats, pinning them to their seat as the beginnings of a smirk forms on xir lips. zaira started muttering impressive sounding words in latin, utterly incoherent and translating to such random things like blue, star, grass, animals, coffee. the grins slid off the children’s faces, eyes widening as awareness hit that they were being cursed – at least, they thought they were.  “ BOO,” zaira finished xir fake spell dramatically, flinging xir hands outwards as if throwing the spell towards the children. they scrambled, chairs falling to the floor with a satisfying thunk. 

“ don’t look at me like that, ” zaira muttered, ignoring the judgemental frown of the person sitting next to xem. “ they were annoying.”