Chapter Eighteen - Strained Relationship

“Okay, look. Mark is really, really, sorry he dumped you the way that he did. The thing is, Toby has had a crush on you since forever and Mark decided to step aside and let him take his shot.” Carla asks Gina.

“What?! Are you saying that Mark never loved me!” Gina demands.

“I don’t know if Mark ever loved you or not, but Toby does.” Carla answered.

“Did you know Mark was going to break up with me?” Gina continues.

“Of course I didn’t. If I would have known, I would have given you a heads up.” Carla insists. Gina studies Carla face for several minutes.

“You did know!” Gina decided, “So, the three of you are planning a way to get me to like Toby. Is that why he was your ‘date’ on Saturday.”

“It’s not like that. I only wanted what was best for you and Mark isn’t it.” Carla explained.

“Is that why you were worried about whether I was going to break up with him, because you wanted him to break up with me first!” Gina accused.

“That doesn’t even make sense.” Carla shot back.

“You are my best friend” Gina says as she starts crying. Gina felt a strong sense of betrayal. Like when you find out you thought you knew someone, but you really didn’t.

“I am your best friend.” Carla assures, “I would have never let this happen if I didn’t think it was for the best.”

“Get away from me, it’s like I don’t even know you.” Gina declared. Gina was hurt. Her boyfriend whom she loved had dumped her and her best friend was in on it and didn’t tell her. She had to take some time to process everything. Carla had always had her back. If she couldn’t trust Carla, who could she trust?

While Gina’s life was falling apart, Toby was trying to find someone capable of creating a potion to counteract a powerful spell. He tried entering some search terms into Google, but he didn’t get anything back worth mentioning. He knew it wasn’t going to be that easy though. Someone capable of that kind of power wouldn’t want to attract a lot of attention. Toby decided to take a different approach.

Mark decided to check out a meeting of the “Wizards and Warlocks” gaming club. Anyone who would be interested in that type of role-playing game might know something. Mark entered the classroom designated for the meeting and all the activity in the room stopped. You know when something just looks out of place, like it doesn’t belong? That is what Mark looked like. Mark was invading a space reserved for social outcasts and students who had tastes that were to say the least odd.

Everyone was eyeing Mark suspiciously. Mark wasn’t a social outcast. There was some unwritten but understood rule that people like Mark didn’t belong here. The truth was that Mark himself had served as a knight and knew more about wizards and warlocks than anyone else in the room.

The teacher who presided over the class was one of the school’s counselors. He kept his hand on the pulse of the student body and didn’t leave out those deemed invisible by others.

“Can I help you?” The counselor said to Mark as he made his way into the classroom.

“Yeah, I’m interested in learning how to role play.” Mark answered in as disarming a voice as he could muster.

“You’ve come to the right place.” The counselor responded, “The best way to learn is to observe. We’re in the middle of a campaign right now and you’ve come at an exciting point.”

“How does it all work?” Mark asked.

“Well, everyone creates a character that they use to interact with in the game. There is a narrator, which right now is me, who decides what happens based of character decisions.”

“That sounds great, is there magic in the game?” Mark asks.

“There are characters that wield magic.” The counselor admitted.

“It would be cool if magic existed in real life.” Mark offered.

“There is magic all around us.” The counselor responded, “The rays of the sun, the beauty of a flower. The cycle of rainfall and the miracle of birth”

“All those things can be explained by science” Mark answered.

“We understand the processes of nature through the lens of science, but that doesn’t make it any less magical.” The counselor corrected.

“But what about real magic?” Mark asked.

“What do you mean?” The counselor followed up.

“Well, I kind of screwed things up for a friend and this girl he likes now hates him. If Magic existed, I could make her fall back in love with him.” Mark explained.

“Relationships can be difficult,” The counselor agreed, “In fact, that’s the whole reason I have a job. Your friend doesn’t need a shortcut, if he really wants her to like him again, he’s going to have to put in the work.”

“You’re right, of course. I just feel horrible about it, that’s all” Mark replied.

“I get that.” The counselor responded, “You want to be a good friend. I wish I could help but there’s no magic when it comes to relationships that last, only hard work.”

“Thanks anyway.” Mark answered.

Mark stuck around and watched the game unfold. The adventurers had stumbled upon a nest of giant wasps and had to fight for their very lives. There were a lot of dice rolled and action dramatized. One character did die but the rest managed to survive.

After the session was over, Mark left to go home. He wasn’t exactly sorry he came but he didn’t get any information that helped him get Gina’s memories back. As he was leaving the school grounds, he heard someone calling to him. The voice was faint, and he turned to see where it was coming from. It was one of the students.

“You need a love potion?” The student asked.

“You got one?” Mark shot back.

“Maybe.” The student answered.

“Where did you get it?” Mark inquired.

“I know a guy” The student responded.

“I actually need a potion to restore someone’s memory.” Mark confided.

“That’s a little harder but I do know a guy that can do it.” The student said.

“Then let’s do it.” Mark continued.

“It’s gonna cost you.” The student explained.

“That’s not a problem.” Mark assured.