Some people believe they are their life's main character, writing their own story.
If you ask me, I would deny that wholeheartedly.
At most, I would describe myself as an actor following a script given to me.
I never cared that much about myself or my own desires.
The happiness of others was enough, and that was achieved by the lack of rough edges, a lack of anything that could displease someone.
Realizing that I was living for everyone, but myself was horrible.
Sometimes, I looked for someone to hold responsible for that life, but in the end, I always was the only one to blame, so I gave up trying to change anything.
Until someone decided to make me the main character of their life.
Chapter 1: Exposed
I started working in a pub some weeks ago. Before my first day, I was actually scared of that job, but mixing drinks was fairly easy, and after the first weekends, I started feeling more comfortable.
Most of the time, I really did nothing but listen to the customers talking about whatever stuff all night long. Definitely much more relaxed than at my last job in a daycare.
After I graduated from school three years ago, I earned my money from various small jobs, and thanks to the extra pay for night work, this new job is financially the best I’ve ever had.
For sure, I wasn’t earning as much as someone with a better education, but the whole experience of learning and working the same job until I retire as an old woman was so scary that I never considered that path. You could say I'm a born part-time worker. People like me are very important too!
Yeah, I know that I sound like a spoiled kid who does not want to become a real working adult, but come on, I am already twenty years old and very experienced in the ways of living.
Some time ago, I even started my own business with nothing but my magic hands.
One of my most faithful patrons sat right in front of me, and I saw the struggle on his face while he finished his sixth drink that night.
"Can I do something for you?" I asked in a kind-hearted tone.
He looked up and started mumbling, "Hmm? Well, yes, same spot as last time... in five minutes."
I was looking around the pub, and since we were near closing time anyway, I nodded with a huge grin. "Fine."
He started fiddling in his pockets until he got a hold of his leather wallet; this dude's whole appearance always screamed rich salesman, and the two green banknotes (2x 100€) he left me on the counter confirmed that again.
My favorite colleague, who also owned the store, watched me talking to the customer and knew that I would leave for a moment. It was not the first time that I disappeared with him for a few minutes in the back alley, and he did not care at all... since he was also a client of mine.
Putting away the generous tip, I headed to the staff room; because we were supposed to meet in five minutes, I decided to scroll through social media in the meantime and turned on the live stream of a famous magical girl.
Okay, back to the real world. The alley where I met up with Mr. Salesman was right behind a door in the staff room; it was full of trash cans, which are great to block the vision of people who wander around, so I thought at least.
He was already leaning back against a wall and seemed to be struggling to hold the contents of his stomach inside.
Dude, you are dead If you puke on me.
Unwillingly, I imagined the situation in my head and immediately had to gag a little.
As I approached him, he started unbuttoning his shirt. This looked not as erotic or exciting as you may be expected because he visibly struggled to get the job done. And despite his above-average looks, he wasn't my type at all.
Don't get the wrong idea. I promise my good-paying side hustle was nothing naughty.
After witnessing this sad act, I touched his chest and closed my eyes to concentrate for a moment. I opened them again and saw the green light I had imagined in my mind emitting from my hand before it disappeared into his torso.
"Your eyes are beautiful."
His unasked flirty compliment ruined my earlier statement, but I swear to you, I do not have any feelings here.
"The red suits you." he continued.
"Thanks." I'm honest; that was not the first time he told me that. But I'm sure he just forgot the last time.
By the way, my regular eye color is blue, but when I use magic, my irises turn red. I'm pretty sure that's the case with most magic users. And don't worry, my eyes don't hurt when I do this, but I do feel a slight tingling sensation when my mana flows through them.
The whole situation took about thirty seconds. Making someone sober is a bit easier for me than healing a wound. At the start, I struggled a lot with my so-called sobering spell because I had no idea what to do with my mana, but after getting experience in healing and drinking, I improved a lot.
"Thank you." He said with a low voice.
"No, no! I need to thank you." Please keep wasting your money on me, I thought shamelessly.
After the deed was done, he slowly stumbled away.
Before returning to the pub, I looked at the end of the alley. I simply wanted to check for my customer's safe departure, but instead of him, I found someone with shining red eyes slowly walking toward me.
I visibly gulped and couldn't move an inch. Depending on the other person's intentions, I could get into serious trouble. This had never happened before. I never got caught, so I felt stupidly safe doing this shit in an almost openly visible back alley.
But we stood behind the trash cans… Could that person actually see what we did? Maybe I should just go inside and act like I was throwing away the garbage. But my legs wouldn't move, even though I wanted them to.
Shaking in fear, I waited until the person stood right in front of me. To my surprise, it was a young woman, maybe around my age. That fact relaxed me a bit; sorry, but I imagined a mean-looking guy approaching me in this situation.
"Good evening." her voice was calm and friendly, but I did not manage to look her in the face for more than a second.
"Hi... H..h... How can I help you?" damn, my stuttering was not suspicious at all, good job Kayla.
"I wanted to ask for your services."
Okay, she got me. But since she wanted to work with me, she probably wasn't a cop, or was she trying to bait me? Oh, her red eyes... if she's also a witch, could it be that she's from some kind of magical police force that arrests mages without a license, such as me?
I stared at the ground and shrieked when she suddenly touched my shoulder.
"Are you okay? You look kinda pale."
What was I supposed to do? Like, who was she? And why did she randomly appear here?
Breathe, Kayla, breathe!
My brain was overstrained.
"Fine, I do what I can do." I wasn’t even aware which kind of service she was asking for, but I was so smart not to use the word magic. Maybe she thought I was selling something else!
She chuckled in delight. "Awesome, thank you."
"But as you surely know, this is not exactly legal, so we both could get in trouble if you tell anyone about this," I explained with a shaky voice.
"Now, after you said it like that, I got something great to blackmail you." she laughed.
"Haha, yes." My heart started to race, and I looked up to make sure she was not already calling the police, but all she did was smile at me.
I'm not sure if she was playing with me, but that smile of hers was a bit contagious, so I also started smiling, but more awkwardly… forgetting how serious this situation was.
"Okay, let me get to the point; I don't want to waste my, I mean your time... I need you to join the guild I'm working for, and please keep in mind what I could do if you decline."
Was the last part necessary? Her expression changed a bit, and a shiver ran down my spine. I appreciated the honesty in her words, and the request was pretty straightforward. But what did she say? Joining a guild?
"Guild? Do you mean one for mages? Clearing dungeons and stuff like that?" Deep down, I knew the answer, but I needed confirmation.
"Give me your phone, please." She put her hand out in a matter of course, ignoring my question… and without a second thought, I handed it to her unlocked.
I watched her saving a number in it, still deeply thinking about the whole guild thing. Then she took my hand and put my phone in it since I seemingly stopped to function independently.
"I'll send you a message tomorrow," she began, staring at my chest for a moment. "Kayla," she added softly before smiling again.
Ah, my nameplate; what other reason would be there to look at me like that... haha…ha?
"It was nice to meet you, and I am truly sorry that I assaulted you like that." She was laughing softly.
"Likewise." I wanted to ask her for her name and why she was approaching me in the middle of the night, but I developed the feeling that I was not in a position to ask questions now.
And as fast as she appeared, she was gone. That was a strange encounter. Nobody would believe that story, not like I got anyone to tell it in the first place.
In the end, everything was not as bad as I expected; she just wanted to force me to work with her. And looking back, I would say I managed the whole situation pretty well.
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