OF THE NIGHT ∘ Seth Gecko

21 | Crash, Crash, Crash

CHAPTER TWENTY
CRASH, CRASH, CRASH

MY FEET ARE moving quickly, taking me through the streets of the unfamiliar town. Annoyance is boiling in my veins as my gaze keeps wandering around. I keep thinking about Seth, which is what keeps me irritated — he's in a bad mood today and it took me an hour and a half of being in the same room with him to get infected by it. So, while wandering around isn't what I want to be doing right now, it's for everybody's best that I do. I wish Kate would be with me though, so I could vent to someone, but she's keeping an eye on Seth, which is more important.

At some point, I see yesterday's magic show in front of me again, only with fewer people around this time. It takes me a few moments to realize that José and Dani only seem to be fooling around today instead of putting on a real show like they did last time I saw them. On top of that, the people around them seem to be people they know rather than people who simply stopped on their way somewhere, because the two performers are chatting around with them. Either way, I'm not in the mood to pay them any special attention. I push my hands into the pockets of my jacket as I pass them and a heavy sigh escapes my lips. I wish I could use this time to practice my magic, but thanks to Seth it has to wait.

Suddenly, I hear a crash. Curious and surprised, I turn around to see where the noise came from and notice that a few items that were set on Dani and José's table are now on the floor. The worst part is that the items have fallen in such a way that they created what looks like a trail that leads to me. I'm about to let the thought go and wonder what happened, when I see that at least three sets of eyes are staring at me with surprise, two of them are Dani and José's.

My lips part in surprise and I freeze, unsure of what to say or do. I've had strange things happen to me before because of my magic, but never in front of other magic users. Now, it feels like Dani and José can see right through me, even though we never even talked.

"No pasó nada," José assures a few people who are looking at the clutter on the ground.

He gives them an assuring smile, whispers something to Dani, and starts picking up what had fallen. My instinct is to get away from there, yet I've been standing still for far too long and leaving now will feel rude, especially when the two magic users know that I caused this. Trying to push away any uncomfortable feeling inside of me, I crouch and pick up the items closest to me. José picks up the rest quickly enough and when I stand up, I see that he's holding the pieces of what probably used to be a glass ball. My guilt becomes stronger.

"Gracias," José says as I hand him what's in my hands.

At first, I only give him an awkward smile. Then, since he doesn't walk away nor stop looking at me, I say, "Perdón por el... ball."

Maybe sort of admitting that it's my fault isn't the wisest decision, but I'm almost sure he knows it is. To my surprise, the man in front of doesn't seem angry nor worried — he smiles at me.

"Wait," he says with a Spanish accent. I nod, unsure, and he walks back to the table to put everything back in its place. Dani glances at him but then looks at me again. She doesn't look angry either, yet I can tell she doesn't like something about me and I don't think it has to do with how Jose is hurrying back towards me. I try to ignore her.

"American?" José asks in a friendly way. He'd older than me, though still attractive and his smile is reassuring. I say yes. "Don't worry about... la pelota. No es una problema arreglarlo."

"No, I'm sorry. Let me at least buy you a new one or something," I insist, only to remind myself a moment later that buying them a new ball is the last thing I should be spending money on. "Es mi culpa."