ONC2023 entry: Portable Magic

Genre: Fantasy

Features the following prompts:

20. You finally build enough courage to talk to that cute someone you see on the bus. Their face turns dark as they respond, "You shouldn't be able to see me." (main prompt)

12. A sorcerer offers you an immense amount of power--but it comes with a price. (secondary prompt)

29. When you touch a mirror, it ripples like water. You dive in. (third prompt, very, very minor)

Darcy Teller rides the bus to school and home again. Her senior year, a new guy appears on the bus. Most days she sees a very handsome, athletic looking, young man always sitting alone or never talking with whoever sits next to him. He stares out the window as if he sees a new, different world. At Green Meadows High School, he gets out and she follows behind him till he disappears in a building. She can never find him in a class, the yard, library, cafe, but he's sitting alone on the bus in the afternoon.

Darcy admits to herself she's got a bit of crush on him. One day she gets her nerve up and sits in the empty seat next to him. He watches the raindrops running down the window and ignores her. The bus grinds down the streets through puddles and potholes and finally halts as cars are stuck by a flooded road. They will be late. The boy traces the path of one with a strong forefinger.

The rain slows, the sun peeks out, and a few minutes later the road is clear enough for cars and bus to move.

Darcy plucks up her nerve and says, "The sun is out. We'll get to school on time."

His head turned and he stared at her, face darkening in anger and a hint of true fear in his eyes. "You shouldn't be able to see me."