To Josh's relief, nothing happened for the rest of the night. He was finally able to focus on his own life again, while all the gears across the rest of the world kept turning without anything breaking quite yet. Josh didn't expect it to last… but one morning wouldn't kill 'em.

...God, I shouldn't think like that. Too many people I know have died…

He shook it off as he walked onto the chilly—for L.A., anyway—college campus. A spell could've warmed him up, but Josh was actually enjoying the cold for the moment. Armed with his course schedule plan and an appointment with his advisor, Josh wandered the quad for a bit, just taking in the sights, before finally heading in to find the guy's office. It took longer than he expected—shit, can't even navigate a fucking college campus anymore—but he still made it with a couple minutes to spare.

"Josh Miller?"

A face peered out of the door—Jose Alvarado, or so Josh assumed.

"Yeah." He got up and hurried inside, closing the door behind him. Josh took off his jacket, laying it on the back of his chair before sitting down. "Thanks for seeing me so fast."

"Happy to help any of the students under my umbrella," said Jose, smiling. He was a guy in his mid-thirties, for sure, with an easy-going demeanour that screamed 'hey I'm young and cool too!'. Josh wondered how much people on the campus actually liked the guy. Long as he gets me into my classes, I don't give a fuck. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I need some overrides to get into classes," said Josh. "Coming in late and everything."

"Mmhm. Do you have the forms?"

A few agonizing minutes passed while Jose looked over Josh's paperwork. He considered pulling out his phone to check on the news, or Tezofarl, or anything, but he didn't want to make a bad impression. Josh might have gotten accepted—and had his tuition paid up in full—but the advisor in front of him was still the difference between taking classes in either a week or half a year.

"Econ major, then?"

"Yes."

Jose nodded. "You've picked a perfect courseload, and all the full classes have a couple last-minute exception slots open. Clearly, you did your homework. However…" He frowned. "You're not the only one who wants to get into these classes, and honestly, I'm not totally convinced yet."

"Convinced of what?"

"That you're a good fit here." Jose set the paperwork down and leaned forward slightly. "You're joining halfway through the year with no academic history, your high school GPA barely met our minimum, and honestly, you just don't have any strong example that you can do the work required to succeed here."

"I can," said Josh firmly.

"I've got other students just as eager to take these classes with a much better track record," said Jose. "We don't want to waste their time on someone who—to be blunt—might just drop out in the middle of term."

...Okay, from the record they've got, that's not unfair. I was a horrible student. Even if they had my Rallsburg record, it wasn't exactly great. "So what are you looking for?"

"I don't know." He shrugged, leaning back in his chair slightly. "Impress me."

The fuck? "I'm not sure what you mean."

Jose smiled. "You seem like a smart guy, Josh. Tell me why you're special. What makes you the sort of person who deserves an exception?"

I dunno. Compensation for services rendered in the line of duty? Being a member of a tiny endangered minority of magic people? Hell, I could even play the goddamn black card if I want to… but fuck all that. That's not me, that's just stuff about me.

"I might not have been to college in a while," said Josh, "but for sure, I know what I'm doing. Those years off taught me a lot about being an adult and handling responsibilities."

"Tell me about them."

Well, fuck. Josh hesitated. "To be honest, it's sort of… private."

Jose frowned. "Give me an overview, then? Tell me about what you were doing and what you learned, whatever you think will impress me the most."

Fuck it. He wants to be impressed? I'll impress the shit out of him. "Actually, can I show you instead?" Should be just about time, actually… this meeting was at ten and the speech was scheduled for ten-thirty.

"...Sure," said Jose, obviously confused.

Josh grinned as he pulled out his phone and dialed.

Rachel answered almost right away. "Yes?"

"Hey, do me a favor?"

"...What?"

"I need him to mention something. It'll be simple, don't worry. Nothing you can't clear in ten seconds with policy and strategy."

She sighed. "Am I going to know what this is for?"

"If I called it showing off…"

"Josh," said Rachel, exasperated.

"It'll be a huge help to me, I promise. Just have him mention Whittier college. Doesn't matter where. I'm sure you're already namedropping a dozen anyway."

"Something like that." Rachel sighed. "What makes you think I have the power to influence his speeches unrelated to magic?"

"Because I know you," said Josh, grinning, while Jose looked suitably confused. "You guys are on in five minutes, right?"

"More or less." Rachel took a breath. "I'll get it in there."

"Thanks. See you later."

Josh hung up and leaned back in his chair just slightly, enough to seem casual without being ridiculous. It'd be a few awkward minutes while Jose wondered what the hell his phone call was about and the beginning of the speech. Just enough time to really build up suspense, or so Josh hoped.

"So…" said Jose finally, as Josh kept an eye on the clock.

"Pull up a browser on your laptop," said Josh, with one minute to spare. "Go to the official White House stream."

"What?"

"Just trust me," said Josh. "They're doing a speech on education today, and you're gonna want to see it."

Jose did as he was asked, still obviously confused to no end. To Josh's relief, the speech was on time. They waited while the President went through the usual spiel, talking about the need for higher teacher salaries, less students per classroom, better specialized education for special-needs kids—everything that would be fantastic to have but wouldn't ever actually get past the deadlocked political grid.

Finally, the moment landed, during a concession to successful private schools, and it was every bit as great as Josh hoped.

"We applaud the great private universities across the nation, from Harvard to Stanford, Wesleyan to Whittier—"

"Jesus Chirst," muttered Jose, while Stafford went on to compare the benefits of private and public education sources.

Huh, they managed some nice alliteration in just a couple minutes. Well done, speechwriters.

"I figure somebody in your faculty will be happy about that," said Josh, grinning. Jose turned off the stream as he returned to his chair. "So… impressed?"

Ten minutes later, Josh walked out of the office with every class he'd wanted—even one he thought he couldn't get. There's definitely something to be said here about privilege and getting exceptions for friends in high places, but fuck if I'm not gonna abuse it. I didn't have to reveal who I am, or that I'm awakened. All he knows is that I'm seriously connected, but who'd believe him?

Yes, things were definitely looking up for Josh. He'd have the schedule he wanted, with enough space between all his classes to handle anything that came up, and more than enough time at home with his parents and his family. Sure, they might get irritating after a while, but for now, Josh was just happy to be home, be alive, and be unknown again. He could go back to enjoying life, enjoying magic, and doing what he could to help his world thrive.

Speaking of… holy shit, what was that?

He stopped walking, standing near the edge of the quad. An essence had flared up with magical power nearby, the telltale sign of somebody casting a spell. It wasn't something where Josh could tell exactly where it was, or how far away—not without a few more spells, at least. He didn't recognize their essence, which wasn't too surprising, but he realized two very important, very terrifying things simultaneously.

Someone awakened was all the way out in Norwalk, and they were just as powerful—if not more—than the eight. And Josh knew all of the eight, including their essences… but he didn't know this one.

Fuck.