Azure Alley, Alexander Street—WhitehorseThe sun stood in the azure sky, shining radiantly as it dispelled its rays into the surrounding filling it with warmth and brightness. Birds flew here and there, perching in a paradigmatic manner on the rooftops of the terrace buildings which lined both sides of Azure Alley. Angry dogs could be heard barking from their cages at the meowing cats which teased them, their eyes bloodshot with rage. All these were the attributes of the smallest alley in Alexander Street, Whitehorse.Cassio shuffled along the concrete pavement, both hands in his pocket. His movement was so slow that it seemed as if the black leather backpack slung across his back was a heavy log of wet wood. As he walked, his eyes met the cold gazes of people who viewed him with contempt."Hush, here comes the demonic kid," a mother who was leaving the house with her 3-year old daughter immediately went back into the house, slamming it shut."What a pity the Humphreys adopted him.""
"Where the heck have you been?!" a voice thundered across the sitting room, shrouding the voices coming out of the TV within it.Cassio stood rooted to the spot, bearing the heavy gaze of his stepfather. As usual, he had met his stepfather at home—drunk and jobless.Mr. Humphrey was dressed in a black grubby T-shirt and shabby jeans, a baseball cap propped on top of his small head. He was a perfect example of a neanderthal man, huge and domineering. His eyes and teeth were yellow, depicting his fondness of cigarettes. Suspended within his right index and middle fingers was a large stick of cigarette, the ring glowing with faint ember colour. Grey smoke snaked its way from the ring, forming puffs of smoke around Mr. Humphrey."I'm coming from school," Cassio replied without the slightest bit of fear in him. It was in his former years that he had feared and dreaded Mr. Humphrey as if he was some god. Now he had been beating tough like coconut and couldn't bring himself to cower before h
Ring!Cassio was awoken by the shrill sound which pierced into his ears, arousing him from his sweet dreams. He cracked his eyes open, meeting the rays of sunlight which blinded him temporally. His eyelids quivered as his eyes adjusted to the light. He looked beside him and saw Chase wild awake, staring at him with a sad expression."It's a new day, Chase," Cassio said. "Don't allow yesterday's problems to enshroud you."He sighed as he made to stand up from the bed when he remained frozen where he was, a reality dawning on him. He was not in his room anymore!What the f*ck, he cussed inwardly as he quickly sprang out of bed. He stood in the middle of the bedroom in a daze, still confused how he got to a room totally different from his.This room was painted white and had beautiful furnitures unlike the ones which had been at his former room. The bedposts were made of smooth wood which glittered under the sunlight. There was a large metallic wardrobe standing near his bed and a large
The next day Cassio woke up earlier than usual, staring at the sleeping Chase. He then muttered silently, "We'll go back home soon."He hurriedly took his bath and dressed in a white T-shirt and blue jeans. Cladded around his feet were white sneakers which matched perfectly with his dressing. Surprisingly just like Cassio, the owner of this body had also loved white colour—Cassio could remember vividly. He made way to his wardrobe, took out his white backpack which sat propped against the wall and slung it across his back. As this was the first time the current Cassio was going to the School of Alchemy, he was filled with high expectations about this Magic School.He hurriedly made his way to the dining where he met Mrs. Damien readying the table for breakfast. For a baffling reason, he felt this woman was actually his real mother."Good morning, Mum," he said, forcing a smile across his face. The smile was so wide that he couldn't help but feel awkward. To become the former Cassio wh
Ring!The bell sounded, signifying that it was lunch time. All the students immediately trooped out of the classroom for the cafeteria. They were very hungry after the lectures by Mr. Garrick. Most of their hunger was caused by boredom and laziness.Cassio watched as all the students hurried past his seat which was at the left flank of the back. He saw Marlin and his gang of bullies glare at him as they walked to his seat. Marlin had always and would always be the dumbest 17-year old kid in Grade 10. He was huge like a grizzly bear and had this masculine animalistic smell around him which made people around him to frown in annoyance. At the age of 14 he had formed a notorious gang called The Marlian—a gang of seven notorious bullies exempting himself. No one knew what the name meant or how he got it but everyone could guess. He just had to put an 'a' to Marlin to get such an effect because he was so dumb to create anything! Dressed in baggy jeans and faded oversized brown polo, he loo
It was 3 O'clock when Cassio arrived at home. The hot sun had heated him up, sucking every form of coldness from him. He was very hot right now and engulfed in perspiration which made his white shirt cling to body. His white curly and long hair was matted with wetness which seemed like he had actually been in the rain and not in the sun! This was what perspiration truly was!Cassio was now standing in his room, staring at the mirror. The blood stain was still in his shirt, very visible for all to see at first glance. In order to avoid any skulking eyes of inquisitive people, he had taken shortcuts through alleys and orchards, arriving in the Hastle Manor on time. All these shortcuts were of course, retained in his recollected memories.He removed his shirt and took it to his bathroom for laundry. He was actually glad that he had been transmigrated to a modern era or else he would have had a bad time washing the blood stain off his white shirt. There was a washing machine in his bathro
Cassio wouldn't have realized he had spent so much time at the study if he hadn't checked the wall clock at the dining."Eight O'clock!" he couldn't help but exclaim. He had actually spent hours in the study. If Chase's barking had not interrupted him, he believed he would have spent more time.He met Mrs. Damien serving dinner, her face as calm as ever with a beaming smile. Dinner was actually some milky cheesecakes with strawberries. The air around the dining was filled with a fragrance of the sweet fruits and a mild aroma of the hot cheesecakes."Good evening, mum," Cassio greeted as he sat down. He wanted to ask Mrs. Damien if she just came or had returned since but kept his mouth shut. He didn't remember anything about when Mrs. Damien usually returned from work and chose to keep quiet about it in order not to garner any suspicion."Work was so stressing today, Cassio," Mrs. Damien complained. "I mean, I could only return home Eight-Fifty!"Pheeew...She said it herself, Cassio he
Two weeks have passed since Cassio joined the Arcane Safety Department and he had made groundbreaking records, shocking everyone with his achievements. He had solved several crime cases in a these two weeks. Although his groundbreaking records couldn't match with Walter's and the crime cases he solved were not supernatural, it was still something to talk about in the news. Many senior Arcane Guards envied him because of this.The most groundbreaking record was changing the name of magic practitioners which had been widely accepted in Duchy and probably in other two countries. Every orthodox magic practitioner now saw themselves as Magicians while the heterodox ones saw themselves as Sorcerers. Cassio sat in his room, busy with work. Lying on the table before him were a pack of cards, a mirror and a black block-like object. This object was very small—even smaller than a bar of soap. Both hands worked with vigor as they fiddled with the components of the object. There were screws and n