The extended lunch break was a godsend to Chris Shaw. Sure, it had come at the cost of having to deal with those creepy Inquisitors and some pretty (if thoroughly freaky) girls being arrested, but so long as those things stayed away from him, it was all good. He lazed back on the bonnet of his car and scowled at the storm clouds creeping their way towards him from the south, no doubt angered by the technological gods of Malkuth. He missed the bright lights of the city, but being able to stare up at the vast heavens and dream of flying among the clouds almost made up for the sacrifice, and he was getting the easiest education of his life into the bargain! They didn’t even have proper exams! He heard a shuffle and Lance popped his head out from inside the car, his neat blond braid dangling like an annoying rope. Chris imagined it connected to a diminutive bell hanging in the vast emptiness of Lance’s head, and wished he could give it a good yank.

“Man, it’s a good job they didn’t arrest Deneb or Elone, or else hot-blooded lads like us would be doomed!” said the lecherous air-head.

Chris glanced back at him from over the tops of his shades. “That’s ’cause the hot chicks don’t need magic to make ‘em hot. That Shelley and Kaori, they needed all the help they could get,”

“I dunno man, Shelley can be pretty cute sometimes,” said Lance, a familiar haze coming over his eyes as his imagination wandered to its usual habitat.

“Well she’s also a bit of a psychopath, remember,”

Lance snapped out of his daydream. “That’s true, man. Dude, you think we’ll ever see them again?”

Chris returned his attention to the skies. “Who knows? Who cares? Sooner those freaks are out, the less we have to deal with those Inquisition lot,”

“Dude, Astrid’s pretty hot,”

Chris rolled over again, and this time he removed his shades in the hopes Lance could see his horrific visions reflected in his eyes. “Lance, she’s psychotic. She heard you say that and you’d get arrested, and don’t you dare think of kinky shit with handcuffs and chains!”

Lance looked offended, but Chris knew his imagination all-too well. “Aw, man, it’s good to think about though, isn’t it?” he said, grinning like the sort of mutated monkey they kept in big city zoos to help educate kids on the dangers of environmental pollution, “I mean, imagine if you could see Astrid’s other side? I bet she’s a right minx with all that sexual repression going on,”

Chris sighed and thought about smacking him over the head with some form of heavy implement, but much to his disappointment there wasn’t anything within arms reach. Letting the image of Lance begging for mercy linger in his mind, he replaced his shades and watched the clouds march onwards.

“Are you boys busy?”

Chapter 16
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