Do you Believe in Magic?

[Harri-chan]

The frown remained on Amanda's face as she watched the man wander off before returning with the picture frame. "Hmph. This is some kind of con, right? You have your friend send people over here with promises of magic, when really you're just trying to attract customers to your JUNK store!". How rude! Still, she snatched the frame from him and inspected it for a moment before wrinkling her nose. "Don't expect me to be coming back!", she snorted and turned on her toes, her heels clicking as she walked back out, setting the dog back down once outside, and headed to the apartment she shared with her boyfriend.

[Mystic Mina]

There were many artifacts throughout the store that interested Steve, but there was one in particular that stood out from the rest.

It was a about 7-inch tall stone statue of a woman modestly dressed in a cloth robes... Well, that wouldn't be true. The statue itself was quite ordinary and unsurprising. It was what she held in front of her at arm's length that caught Steve's attention. There sat a glass vial, containing what could only be described as an orb of pure red light. It shook within its confinements, as if it were fighting to escape, and its movements became even more erratic the closer Steve came. The only shred of information Steve could find about the thing trapped in the vial was found etched into the bottom of the statue.

“Take this gift, and be wanted forever.”

---

The angry thoughts within Amanda’s mind vanished in an instant when she saw her hunk of a boyfriend, Brian Hayes, step out from their apartment to greet her. His perfectly combed black hair, his toned muscular body, his dreamy deep blue eyes… Just the sight of him would be enough to brighten Amanda’s day no matter what. He was a bit thick-headed at times though, but she still loved him nevertheless.

“Amanda, you’re back! Did you have a nice walk with Baby?” He asked her, flashing her his usual pearly white smile. “What’s that you got there?... You didn’t go shopping again, did you? We just went on a shopping spree last week!”

[Harri-chan]

"I didn't buy it... some old guy gave it to me for trying to trick me into going into his store", she said, handing over the photo frame before pushing up onto her toes to press a kiss to his lips. "It's junk... but... there's something about it... I think I'll find a photo to put in there. Want to help me find one?", she asked.

[Mystic Mina]

"So an old man lured you into his store, then gave you a photo frame as an apology? That's... Weird. But if you want to use it, I think I've got the perfect one for it." Before Amanda could inquire any further, Brian ran off into the apartment, only to return a short while later with a photo in his hand, one that Amanda definitely didn't want to see again.

It was her from back when she was a young freshman in high school. She was quite unhappy with her appearance back then... Sure, she looked kind of cute, but the glasses, the braces on her teeth, and her lack of figure meant that she was always getting teased by the older, much more attractive girls in her classes. It was, needless to say, a difficult time for her.

"An old friend of yours from high school sent me an album full of these old pictures of you. Maybe we can frame this one, huh?" He joked while he waved the photo around in the air.

[Harri-chan]

Amanda followed him inside, letting Baby off her leash and then pulls off her little white cardigan before groaning when she saw the photo that her boyfriend had returned with. "Brian, you gotta be kidding! There's SO much wrong with that photo! I looked like a total dork back then and would rather pretend that school never happened", she muttered, staring at the photo, and the frame, before looking into his eyes. "You really like this one? Well... ", she sighed and slipped the photo into the frame and handed it over to him. "It stays out of sight in the bedroom, okay? Where you and you ALONE can enjoy it".

[Mystic Mina]

A severe case of vertigo overcomes Amanda at the exact second she slipped the photo into the magical frame, and the apartment around her faded away from view as her five senses were overcome by a flood of nausea and confusion. The barrage of sensations were too much for the woman to bear, and she suddenly found herself falling backwards... But not hitting any solid ground. She could feel herself flying down into the endless abyss, flying, falling, spiraling...

Until, finally, she found herself back on her own two feet, free of the pain that coursed through her just moments ago! But the surroundings were unfamiliar to her... Actually no, they were far too familiar to her. She was back in front of her old high school, and standing in front of her was her best friend from way back when, Christine Clair, looking just the way she did all those years ago. There was no mistaking those two wild red ponytails sticking out from the sides of her head, the countless freckles sprinkled on her cheeks, and the goofy smile on her face. A camera was held in front of her face, as if she had just taken a picture.

"Annnnnnnnnnd done! This one's good! I'm definitely putting this one in my photo book!" Christine cheers as she eagerly waits for her instant camera to finish printing. "Amanda! Check it out! Am I an awesome photographer or what?"

Chrtistine ripped the freshly developed photo out of her camera and shoved it into Amanda's face, causing her to slowly realize in horror that it was exactly the same as the one she just slid into the photo frame. Somehow, she was thrown back in time and forced into the young body she despised so much!

[Harri-chan]

Amanda stared at the red-haired girl with ponytails for a moment, before lifting her hands to rub at her eyes... finding glasses in the way, while the taste of metal filled her mouth. Her heart nearly stopped as she glanced down to find herself wearing her old school uniform, and clearly didn't have her adult curves beneath it. Her short brown hair flicked around as she turned from side to side in a daze, looking around at the other students and then up at the school building. "Brian... ?", she called in a voice full of panic, before focusing on Christine, her short skirt flicking about her skinny thighs as she reached out to shake her by the shoulders. "Are you real?".

[Mystic Mina]

"Uh, yeah. Of course I'm real! And why are you yelling for Brian? I mean, I know you have a crush on that jock and everything, but c'mon!" Christine pries Amanda's hands off her shoulders and stares at her friend, her eyes full of concern. "Are you ok, Mandy? You're acting kinda weird right now, and it's freaking me out a bit!"

Indeed, there are a few students who turned their heads to see what the commotion was all about. When they saw that it was just Amanda, though, they resumed with whatever they were doing. Crazy freshmen...

[Harri-chan]

Amanda's mouth fell open, as two reminders of her youth struck her like a sledge hammer. First it was being called Mandy, a name she'd not heard since... well, she was in high school, and the second was Christine's reminder that her future boyfriend was part of a very different social group back at school. Her hands slipped off the girl's shoulders and slumped to her sides as she stared down at herself again in horror. "The photo... ", she muttered, and suddenly grabbed it from Christine's hand. "We have to go find that guy from the junk store... he'll be able to fix this!".

[Victorious]

Taking box the both and the handshake, Paul makes his way back out onto the street.
...What was that about? Did he really just...?
Looking down at the box, Paul shakes his head, his feet starting up automatically on the route back to his bicycle.

"Samuel Winters, huh?"

Through the whole ride back to his place, the strange meeting never leaves his mind...but it does occur to him that, whatever the man had said, he didn't really have any manner of getting in touch. Maybe this had all been some weird sales pitch after all.

Well, unless the box had a pager inside of it.

Jerking his key a few times in the lock to his apartment to get it to cooperate, Paul walks slowly back into his apartment, putting his coat on a hook...and the box on his couch.

"...Suppose I should open this."

Wandering into the kitchen, he takes a moment to set up a pot of coffee before coming back to the box. Peering at it for a minute longer...he shrugs, and then pulls off the ribbon. Time to see what's inside.

[Mystic Mina]

"What, this photo? And what's this junk store you're talking about? We've never been to a junk store!" Christine snatched the photo away from Amanda's grasp and stuffed it inside her brown satchel with a huff. "Oh, forget it! We don't have time for that junk and photo now! We've got to get to class before we-"

The ringing of the period bell echoed through the air, causing Christine to hop upwards in fright and her ponytails to flop into the air.

"Oh no! We're late, we're late, we're late! We gotta go NOW! C'mon!" In a panic, the antsy girl grabbed hold of Amanda's hands and literally dragged her into the high school at lightning speeds! "You know what Mr. Bainsfield does to students who're late!"

---

With the ribbon unwrapped and the top removed, Paul peered into the box to find...

A black hairband. It wasn't even a fancy one either. A person could find one of these at any woman's clothing store and buy them for a dollar or less. Along with the very unimpressive hairband came a handwritten note, most likely from Mr. Winters himself.

"This will be your uniform while you work in my store. Please try it on to see if it fits. Don't worry about looking ridiculous. I'm sure you will grow to like it one way or the other."

[Evra]

Rein had been stood there listening to the man speak about seeing "real" magic quoting it's not the made up stuff this peaked his intrest because something inside him always hoped magic was real but usually any time he pursue trying to find real magic it's some fake trying to act magic. As the man leaves he stands there pondering looking towards the store he walks over figuring that it wouldnt hurt to at least see whats in the store so he walks to the store walking in and looking around

[Harri-chan]

Mandy whined as the photo was taken back and stuffed into Christine's satchel. "Ugh... I can't believe this is happening... ", she groaned as she was pulled along by the hands. Something had gone very wrong here, but instead of being able to try and fix it... she was going to have to sit through an actual school lesson! Her cheeks were bright red, her tongue poking at her braces as she stumbled through the halls, the sight sending a shiver down her spine.

[Mystic Mina]

"Good day to you, sir. Are you looking for a magical item in particular, or are you just browsing?" Samuel called out to the newcomer as he wiped his round glasses with a spare cloth. "I have all manners of magic within this shop. If you need my assistance, you need only ask."

---

Mandy and Christine rocketed through the halls and, with one last burst of super speed, shot into the classroom like a bullet out of a gun! Unfortunately, they were two minutes late, and Mr. Bainsfield never tolerated even a second's worth of tardiness to his literature class.

"And I see the troublesome two have arrived fashionably late once again." The tall, sharp-nosed teacher with slicked back snapped as he marked the two girls as tardy for the umpteenth time on his role sheet. "My my, the both of you should be given a reward for the amount of times you've been late to class. However, I'm afraid you two will have to do with the usual... I present to you the head-wears of shame. Wear them, and be mocked."

He placed upon their heads twin paper cones, both of which had the word "SHAME" printed on in bold lettering.

[Evra]

Rein looked through the shelves looking to see if there anything intresting he might be intrested in going to look before actually asking if any of this is actually magic.