Fox

Walking up to the laundromat, it always amazed me that the shoddy exterior and even worse interior managed to attract so many customers. The glass windows were opaque due to years of watermarks. I opened the door and held it as one of the dry-clean runners exited with five garment bags slung over his shoulder.

He must be new, I thought as the cute Asian guy, probably only a few years older, made eye contact with a quick nod. I didn't need a quick scan of our future interactions. It was obvious this was the most our exchanges would ever take us. Still, I tipped my head to the side and admired his assets as he walked away. Oh, yeah. Walking does a body good.

Stepping into the heavily air-conditioned room of washers and dryers, I was overwhelmed with the usual smell of differing fabric softener scents. The first time was kind of nice and refreshing, but by the hundredth time, the mixture of smells made me want to hold my breath. Coupled with the ancient machines and fluorescent lights, it was an attack on the senses.

I moved to the side opening of the laundromat towards the dry-cleaning counter. Mr. Huynh, the middle-aged man standing behind the register going over receipts, looked up with a calculated expression before smiling. “Fifteen minutes early, as always. If some of my employees were as punctual as you, I wouldn’t go through so many.”

Leaning up against the countertop, my eyes moved from side to side checking for anyone around. “Speaking of employees, who is the new cutie you got running around the city?”

Mr. Huynh let out a small laugh before placing the receipts in the register and shutting it. “That is my nephew. He moved here a few days ago in advance of grad school.”

I wiggled my eyes at him. “Sounds like he needs a tour guide.”

The laundromat owner threw a small towel at me and raised a finger. “I’m not sure his fiancé would like that. She’d probably prefer him less corrupted than you’re used to leaving your conquests.”

My hands shot up in confusion. “Whatever do you mean? I am as chaste and pure as the virgin snow. I only wish to spread light and love.”

The distinct and familiar clicking of heels against the linoleum floor caught my attention before turning to see Sabine. The withering expression on her face told me she had been eavesdropping. “The only things you spread are lies and your legs.”

Normally I wouldn’t engage with her before a meeting, but restraint wasn’t my strong suit. “Speaking of legs, looks like someone’s been eating their feelings again.”

My. Huynh vigorously rang the bell on the counter at us. “You two fight like cats and dogs. Are you sure you are cousins and not siblings?”

Dorian made Sabine and I both yelp as he spoke from behind us. “We’ve been triplets so many times, there’s no sense in trying to keep track.”

I nodded in agreement. “It doesn’t make it any better, and it’s definitely not great when Sabine is the oldest.”

She rolled her eyes at me. “Because you are such an amazing role model when you’re the oldest?”

Mr. Huynh’s eyes moved between the three of us. “So, I know you three were born on the same day, but who’s the oldest this time?”

With a sullen facial expression, Dorian raised his hand. “But by like three minutes. These two, however,” he said pointing back and forth between me and Sabine, “were born literally one second apart. One came out just a hair faster than the other.”

Sabine slammed her hand down on the counter and turned to a stoic Dorian. “Just tell us which one of us it was already. We know you know.”

Dorian’s eyes stayed cool as he slowly nodded his head. “I do, but neither of you would ever let the other live it down and you both already annoy the shit out--.”

I put a hand up to cut him off. “We should head up. She’s going to be annoyed with us in about five minutes.”

The three of us looked at Mr. Huynh before he gave us a wink. After a quick look around the laundromat, the proprietor’s eyes glowed sky blue before the racks of dry-cleaned clothes behind him shimmered away, revealing an elevator. I gave him a smile as we walked past before entering the bleak space and hitting the button for the top floor.

To me and Sabine’s surprise, Dorian cut through the solemn silence once the doors closed. “So, Fox?”

I heaved a heavy sigh while staring at the floor numbers changing. “I, honestly, have no idea. We could be in store for anything. Something has been off with me ever since last night. What about you two?” I asked turning to face them.

Sabine wouldn’t meet mine or Dorian’s gaze. “I mean, I wasn’t going to say anything, but, yeah. It’s like black-out spots.”

The elevator dinged as the doors slowly opened to a dimly lit hallway. Bracing myself, I took the first step out. “Well, hopefully, we’ll get an explanation for what the hell is happening.”

We walked down the corridor and came up to the double doors before pushing them open. My eyes widened at how the office had been expanded, sporting a much taller ceiling, silky black drapes at the windows that oversaw the city below, and a roaring fire-pit in the center of the dark room.

Standing at the northeast corner of the office was the new chief, a woman with wavy blonde hair, staring at the skyline. My smile stretched from ear to ear as she turned to us. I ran forward and threw my arms around her thin frame. “Aunt Felicity!”

She lightly patted me on the back before straining to speak. “Fox, honey. We talked about this. I can’t breathe.”

I quickly released her. “Oops. Nothing cracked, so that’s progress. And this office is insane. Mr. Huynh really worked his magic up here. Pun intended.”

Dorian squeezed in front of me, also going for a hug, though much gentler. “Hey, Auntie Fee. How are you doing?” Dorian’s eyes stayed locked on Aunt Felicity, with my own just as glued.

Like the unwavering rock that she was, Aunt Felicity didn’t show a modicum of sadness or a hint of sorrow. “Sorry, boys. It’ll take a lot more than divorce to crack this iron lady.”

Our pleasant moment was interrupted by Sabine incessantly tapping the tip of her heel on the black marble floor. “Love to break up this touchy-feely moment, but if you two are done fawning over my mother, I’m pretty sure we have more important things to talk about.”

Dorian closed his eyes and rubbed the center of his forehead. “Whatever, Sabine,” he said sitting down at the middle of the three armchairs facing Aunt Felicity’s glass desk.

I, on the other hand, stared daggers at Sabine while slowly sitting down on the chair to Dorian’s right before Sabine took the one on the left.

Aunt Felicity walked towards the front of her desk and leaned against it. “So, as I’m sure the three of you felt last night, something happened to the 13th Hour.” She took a moment to contemplate her next words. “As far as our readings could tell, it seemed like the entire thing collapsed for a second, but then reconstituted itself.”

I looked around the room and saw the shock I felt was clearly mirrored on Dorian and Sabine’s faces. “Are you serious? I mean, that’s never happened before, right?”

Dorian sat up straight for a moment before his eyes glowed a bright silver. After a few seconds, he blinked his eyes back to their normal grey. “No. There has never been an instance where the 13th Hour has collapsed, not even for a brief moment.”

Aunt Felicity crossed her arms and breathed out a heavy sigh. “Our records said as much, but I trust your abilities more than the capability of the archive department.”

Everyone was obviously nervous, but no one was freaking out more than me. I didn’t like not knowing what could happen next. “Holy shit. Did anything get out? I mean, more than usual?”

With a quick snap of her fingers, Aunt Felicity manifested her patented red “Dome of Secrecy” around the four of us. No outside parties would be able to listen in, not even with magic. “As far as everything is concerned, the four of us are the only ones who know anything about this. Not even the council will be informed of this event. We can’t take the risk that someone had a hand in bringing it down. Everything has been scrubbed from the system and I personally saw to the memory alterations of everyone who knew about this. Until we have a better understanding of what caused it and what happened during the event, this information does not leave this room. Is that understood?”

The three of us nodded in unison before Sabine spoke up. “I think it goes beyond the 13th hour. All three of us have been having issues with our powers since last night.”

Aunt Felicity uncrossed her arms and walked around her desk to sit down. “What do you mean? Have they not been working?”

Dorian leaned forward in his chair. “There were moments today when I felt drained of my abilities. Not my magic. That stayed consistent, but my retrocognition has been going in and out all day.”

I quickly nodded my head. “Same thing with my foresight.”

Sabine stood up from her chair to pace back and forth behind me and Dorian. “Same with my remote viewing. There was a disruption in the timeline right before I had Bio. Oh!” She said turning directly to her mom. “Thanks a lot, by the way. I talked to Mrs. Bordeaux and she told me about the little talk you two had. It’s bad enough you and daddy are--.”

I jumped up from my chair overcome with bewilderment. “What you mean there was a disruption in the timeline, Sabine?”

Dorian’s face, while still keeping it mostly together, shared my confusion. “And how are you just now mentioning this?”

Sabine stepped around the armchairs to face me and Dorian. “First of all, I thought you two knew. It was really sloppy and not exactly subtle. Second of all.” She raised a finger and widened her eyes at us. “Was I supposed to bring it up in the hallways at school? Or how about in the cafeteria? Maybe in the middle class with a close audience would’ve been a nice choice.”

Aunt Felicity drummed her nails on the thick glass of her desk and Sabine immediately shut up. “Enough, Sabine. We should be acting as a unit and working to get to the bottom of this. For now, I will take this matter into my hands. You three keep acting like everything is normal. Catch the escapees and patch up the holes.” She let out a deep breath. “Now, get moving.” With a quick wave, the Dome of Secrecy faded away. “I have to plan for a council meeting.”

Dorian and I nodded and got up to exit. Sabine, however, didn’t move from where she was standing. Aunt Felicity waved the two of us to go ahead.

The look on Sabine’s face as she leered at her mother made me speak up. “Sabine,” I yelled before she turned to me. “Be. Nice.”

She flipped me off.

***

Sabine

There were a lot of different emotions trying to burst out of me all at once, and it was taking every ounce of self-control I had not to explode while staring at my mother. Instead, I took a deep breath and sat back down at one of the armchairs while keeping a cold stare on her.

Mother leaned forward onto her desk, raised her eyebrows, and gestured for me to start talking. I wasn’t ready. I may have been fuming, but I knew she wouldn’t take me seriously if I only spoke emotionally without any logic.

Mother understood what was happening and did what she did best. She got things rolling. “Alright, Sabine. What is it now? You want to talk about your teacher and your classroom situation?”

My anger was building and boiling.

Mother breathed out a frustrated sigh. “Your attitude in Mrs. Bordeaux’s class has been unacceptable. You have been insubordinate, abrasive, and, quite frankly, an embarrassment. Whatever you feel towards what is happening between your father and I is no excuse to--.”

I couldn’t take it anymore. “This wouldn’t even be happening if you cared about your family as much as you cared about your damn job!”

Mother rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair. “Here we go, again. Sabine, we have talked about this. The issues go far beyond him and me spending enough time together. And your father is just as much to blame as I am. I know it seems like a lot right now, but in time, you’ll see that in the end, your father and I just grew apart.”

She was completely oblivious, and while I knew it wasn’t my place to say anything, I wanted to hurt her. “Dad isn’t leaving you because you didn’t spend enough time together. He’s leaving you because you didn’t spend enough time being a mother!”

My mother just shook her head. “Sabine, lashing out with falsities are not going--.”

I jumped up from my chair. “It’s true! Daddy told me when he came to tell me about the divorce by himself because you were here, again. He kept apologizing and when I told him that it was okay and that I didn’t blame him for wanting a divorce, he told me the truth. That he was leaving you because you were a failure as a mother and that he should’ve left you years ago! He had long since given up on you being a wife, but he kept telling himself that eventually you would step up and act like a real mom. That after a little more time, one more promotion, or one more mystical step up your magical career, you’d stop and choose us. So, congratulations. You’re the head of the Department of Metaphysical Security and your prize is you’re going to die alone in this office with no one missing you.”

The look on my mother’s face said I had succeeded in doing what I had been trying. She still looked impassive, except for her eyes filling with moisture. Without saying a word, she slowly stood up from her chair, stared at me for a moment, and then quickly walked out of her office.

As the door closed behind me, I dropped to my knees and let it all out. The tears poured from my eyes and my chest was tight from how hard I was sobbing. What made it worse was being able to sense my mother in the hall, tears gently running down her cheeks as she walked away.