ONCE UPON A WARLOCK ✓

MY BOOBOO IS A HEAVENLY BODY

"See, something happened back in sophomore years between Bella and Raymond--gosh should I be telling you this?"

"Well, you either tell me or watch our friendship fall in shambles because I can't see what eggshells I should walk on and the ones I shouldn't." She raises a brow that only presses Julius further. "I'm your friend, her friend too so I think I deserve to know."

Discharging a sluggish exhale, she sinks into her seat. "So like I said, there was really tense drama between them. Like all of a sudden, they started dating. It was unexpected because they were kinda like rivals. They walked to classes together, they attended parties together in and out of the school's social circle, they spent almost every night in her house; everything normal couples do Raymond cut her off from us completely till...till..."

Julius eyes her fists strangling her own laps.

"See I don't remember the details but one fateful Tuesday morning--after she skipped Monday-- Annabella came to school with bandages caking up her face. She said she was fine and it was just a little accident but that was a motherfucking lie. We all knew that. Chemistry lab happened soon enough and Bella stabbed Raymond in the shoulder with a broken test tube."

Julius palms his mouth. No, not in horror but sheer shock that shook this superego strenuously.

"We were all terrified. She went berserk that more than two guys, jocks! were barely able to behold her. She thrashed and slashed at Raymond who just stood opposite her with a smug, satisfied face. All that could do was to kablooey her the more. Later that day, she and her school belongings were searched in the principal's office. Isn't it weird for her bag to contain loads of HIV and pregnancy tests? Can you imagine--"

"Yo Alhaja, salaam malaikum," jeers this guy from their English class seats away from them.

"Shut the fuck up!"

"Hey that's rude!"

Julius zones them out as he ventures into his own realm of consciousness. Was that really Raymond Ramirez? The Raymond Ramirez he knows. The Raymond Ramirez that worships and breastfeeds the ground his little sister walks on. The Raymond Ramirez who licks his feet despite him being the caster of the love spell. Or is Raymond so much desperate? What is happening?

Who's Raymond Ramirez?

Julius turns to the pitch, the basketballers running around the brown floor like ants. They were all just ants to his kind. All of them humans, Julius could crush with one finger. With just a word from his mouth, they would be wiped out of the picture. His kind are unpopular gods but still gods on Earth. And Raymond Ramirez is definitely not excluded from the equation.

What should Julius feel about this? Is it sympathy towards Annabella, too bad it's absent. Is it anger towards Raymond for breaking his friend, he feels empty. But what he feels is way more than shock when Raymond suddenly drops to his knees and purple rays start to leak out of his figure.

"Hey what is wrong with The Warlocks' captain?" yells the commentator. "Too much juice spent on training because this guy is one potential LeBron James!"

Raymond leans on his hands on the floor, breathing like he just spent an hour underwater. His eyes, which face the floor, flickers from purple to their normal black. Only [real] warlocks like them can see his mana of course. Julius stands to his feet, ignoring Aisha calling him, with his eyes glued to Raymond. Is he seeing this right?

Elijah also halts in his tracks, frozen into point X by staring too hard at Raymond oozing aura. His jaws are slack to the ground in surprise. Then his eyes meet Julius's. A sinister smile graces his lips.