"Okay...? The hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked bluntly. Apothe-cary? I'd never heard of anything like it before.

"It means," Mr. Dekoran started, his voice filled with an excited tone that he hadn't had before. "That your specialty is the art of potion making!" He held his arms out, like he was announcing some celebrity on a stage. "Witches haven't had someone with the ability to make potions for years... Why, with proper training from me... you could-"

"Yeah no, not interested." I shut him down. "Thanks for the info, but I'm not about to go around taking the eyes out of newts and toiling and troubling over some stupid black pot all day. No thanks." I went to grab my backpack and leave. I'm not going to lie, I had had high hopes when he was looking through the books, freaking out like I had some godly power. Maybe I watched too many shows, or maybe I was just tired of being powerless my whole life, but to have my strongest magik, my specialty, be fancy cooking with animal parts like a fairy tale villain? I had texted my dad that my teacher was having me stay after to help me figure out my specialty. What was I supposed to tell him now? I guess I'll just tell him the same as always. No luck.

The backpack was hooked over my one shoulder, when Mr. Dekoran called out, "Crow, wait! I don't think you understand."

"Understand what? I understand animal cruelty is wrong. I'm not doing any special training," I retorted. I was getting annoyed. Everyone wanted me to do stuff with magik. Why couldn't I just do what I wanted to study? Maybe if I actually was cool and powerful, I could try out a magik-based job, but this? This was the new thing everyone was going to try to push me into now?

"The only one who mentioned animal cruelty is you. You're really going to make a judgment based on stereotypes?" I halted, hand on the door. "The art of potion-making is the ability to mix substances that already have certain properties, like plants, not animal products, and your own magik to make potions with powerful effects. You might not be powerful yourself, but with the proper learning and training of the ancient arts, well you could make a potion to cure horrible sickness, or give a man super strength, or even grant them extra magik to work with temporarily."

That got my attention. I turned back around. "Hold on, let me get this straight. I'm a support character."

He looked confused, "A what?"

Oh right, he might be too old for this. I snapped my fingers, looking for the right words. Okay, how to explain it... "So, if you're playing a fighting video game, there are characters who are just naturally powerful, and do most of the attacking. Then there are these other characters that play support, and lob items or heal the fighting characters to help them."

"Yes!" His eyes light up, pointing a finger at me. "It's a strange analogy, but you would be able to make potions to give to other people and support them. That would be your role, so to speak."

I scowled. That wasn't much better. "Yeah, I hate to break it to you, but literally no one likes playing support. They're lame." I guessed since this wasn't working, I'd have to turn him down gently. He was going to be my teacher for the rest of the year, after all. "Maybe it would be cool if I could heal myself or make myself stronger, but since I can't, I don't want-"

"Hm, I suppose you could do that," Mr. Dekoran mused, tucking his glases away since he no longer needed them.

"What, how? Isn't that against the rules or something? They never let you do that in the games." That was half the reason I played as I did.

"Well life isn't a video game," he answered, "and I'm willing to let you do practically anything with it if it'll convince you to do extra work with me. I'm all about the ancient ways of witchcraft, and I have several books on apothecaries alone. The amount of research, and looking through legends to find what is possible and what is myth, well that would be thrilling! I know you don't sound too keen on the idea now, but please, give it a chance for me. I may never get this opportunity again!" He swept his arm out across the table, accidentally knocking the book on Akashas off the desk and into a trash bin lying off to the side. "Please Crow."

I looked him in the eyes. They were as ancient as the rest of him, but now they were full of an almost young, passionate sense of pleading. This was his dream, no doubt, to rediscover old legends, the backgrounds of magik. I couldn't say I was too far from that. All I'd ever wanted was to dig through ancient civilizations as an archaeologist, finding artifacts and discovering just how much Witch history had been lost to wars and missionaries. Saying no to him was like saying my dreams were more important than his, and I hated when people put down what I loved for some stupid reason or another.

A harsh sigh escaped my mouth. "All right, fine, I'll do it, but on one condition. All these after-school lessons and working with you counts as extra credit in class, okay? I can't be held back another year." It was my time after all, and he was practically begging me to do it. It would have been stupid to not bargain.

"It's a deal. Trust me, with this kind of power, you'll be acing the basics in no time at all. I'll catch you up so that you could be taking AP Magik by next year. I am very selective with my personal students, so you'll have plenty of bragging rights. How does that sound?" He glanced up from clearing his desk, focusing his gaze on me.

Do I want to take an AP class? The thought seemed ridiculous. Me, who was a year from being legally considered an Ord, at the same pace as Elliot who went to a specialized school. A memory floated into my mind, when I'd come home from middle school to complain to my mom on how Elliot was switching schools. How proud she was of him, how awkward it had been to call him up and tell him congratulations for her. That was something that looked good to people, to colleges. My goal this year was to find another non-magik-based career path, after all, not follow some stupid childish dream. "All right. That sounds like a plan to me. So, what's first?" I cocked my head at him. After all, I had no idea what I'd agreed to, or what being an apothecary entailed.

"For now, you should start heading home. It's already been a good while, and you don't want to miss the late bus. We'll discuss your after-school lessons another time." He waved his hand, encouraging me to leave. I nodded, attempting to get out of the chair once again.

I was just about to close the door, when I could hear him saying one last thing. "And you never know, Crow. Maybe you'll be such an amazing apothecary that more people will be willing to play these "support characters" as you called them."

I mulled that over a lot on the bus ride home. It's been an interesting first day at least, I thought, leaning my head back on the warm bus seat, my hair sticking to the static backing. The world rushed by me out the window. Cars drove next to brooms on the street, detours being taken around a group of Witches with matching shirts and signs.

"We want equal rights!"

"No taxation with representation!"

"Where's our congressman or senator?"

It was all so much, and the bus had to drive around it just to get on the right street. Would I have to start worrying about these things if I started being an apothecary? I hoped not. I didn't want to involve myself in something that I couldn't possibly expect to fix. That was the countries' job, not mine. No, I decided. I wasn't going to learn to be an apothecary and involve myself in a whole magik-based job where this would be my daily life. I was just taking this for the credit, to make my parents proud, and not feel so useless all the time. Nothing more.