Burn the Witch

The Confrontation

It's been a week since the incident that I've now dubbed as Exploding Potions. It had been hard to move around my apartment and live normally, but I managed. My body finally felt strong enough, and I decided that this was the day to go back to the real world. I'm still worried about how I left things with Alex, his questions still lingering at the back of my mind. Hopefully, he already forgot about it so we could just move on.

I went to work at 6:00 AM, and like always, no one was at the shop yet. I opened the light switch in the workstation and sat at the usual table that I stay on every time I wait for Alex. The only thing that changed was that there was a boxed meal placed on my table.

The meal box was wrapped in a mauve-green silky fabric. It smelled like it was lightly scented with citrus-based perfume. On top of it, a card with an elegantly written note says Avery S.

Huh, this was definitely for me, no doubt about that now.

I carefully peeled the fabric and opened the porcelain container. Inside, there's eggplant parmesan, garlic bread, carbonara, and a few other bite-sized foods that I didn't recognize but look very appetizing.

Who would give this to me?

I internally rolled my eyes at the question. Who else could it be if not Alex? He's the only person I've met here. Why would he give this to me, though? Were my cup noodles that horrendous?

Whatever. I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Besides, the food smelled so tantalizing; I had to wonder if Alex cooked this himself or if it was store-bought. If he did just order this, I wanna know where, although it was extremely doubtful that I could afford this given how delicious it was.

I ate the food with gusto and made sure that I did not waste a single crumb.

Later, at 10:00 AM, Alex finally arrived with another set of wicker baskets. He immediately approached me and dumped them on my table. He glanced at the empty porcelain container where my meal was, but he didn't comment anything on it. Instead, he faced me and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I want you to sort out these ingredients as well as everything that is clattered around. The workstation is a mess," he said, then he left and went back to the shop again.

I looked around the workstation. It didn't look like any messier than before. Nothing changed at all from what I could remember. But who am I to question my boss? If he said it was messy, then it was messy. I just shrugged, then proceeded to work on my task.

My days at Lucent White went by like that. I would arrive at 6:00 AM with a prepared meal. Then Alex would arrive at around ten and give me a task. However, I soon noticed how those tasks kept getting ridiculous one after another.

Last time, Alex asked me to mop the floor of the whole workstation, then the following day he ordered me to remove the cobwebs from the ceiling. Mind you, there weren't any cobwebs since there were hanging magical plants that deter any insects. The final straw was when he pointed me at the spare room where I woke up last week to change the bed sheets.

I'm embarrassed to admit that it took me almost a week to notice that Alex kept giving me nonsensical jobs.

I didn't know why he kept doing so. I didn't do anything wrong, except for that time I accidentally made a potion explode. But I no longer made mistakes every time he tested my mastery of the mixes and plants. I could sort out hundreds of ingredients with my eyes closed. The workstation couldn't get any cleaner.

My point was, why did Alex stop offering to let me actually make potions and put all my knowledge into practice? Why all these meaningless tasks?

I decided that this was the day I would confront him about that.

I patiently waited at the door of the shop from the workstation. I already cleaned the areas I'm permitted to enter, changed the bed sheets, removed the imaginary cobwebs, and sorted, labeled, and categorized virtually all the plants and herbs at the shop. There was nothing left to do except to make potions.

Alex entered at quarter to ten. He didn't bring any wicker basket with him. Good. That meant he was planning to put me on cleaning duty today.

"Avery, mop the floors-"

"Done."

I cut off Alex's sentence, and he raised an eyebrow at me.

"The cobwebs, kindly clean-"

"Also done."

His lips pressed into a thin line, and he frowned at me this time.

"Go to the room-"

"I've changed the bed sheets. I've sorted out the plants and herbs. Everything is done," I said to him, then crossed my arms over my chest, mimicking his signature pose.

Alex huffed at me.

"Why are you being so difficult today?"

"Why aren't you letting me make potions?"

Alex glared at me, then he aggressively began tinkering with the bottles I have arranged on the table. I didn't know if he was planning to make potions that time, or if he was only doing that to let out some steam.

"You are not yet ready," he simply said.

I raised my arms in exasperation.

"Then when am I going to be ready?" I asked Alex.

"In case you have forgotten already, you just caused an explosion last week because of-"

"Because of a mistake."

Alex gripped an empty bottle, and he almost smashed it on the table, but he stopped himself from doing so seconds before it hit the surface.

"Stop cutting me mid-sentence!"

"Well, stop coddling me first!"

We stared at each other, both of us unwilling to back down. I vaguely remember the first time we had a stare-off when I was convincing him to hire me as his apprentice.

I just had to convince him about this matter as well.

"Look, we all make mistakes. No one is perfect. I bet you made mistakes as well when you were still an apprentice," I said to Alex, my eyes imploring.

He shook his head and looked away. "I was never an apprentice, and making mistakes was not an option for me."

Okay, mister perfect.

Despite my initial reaction to his statement, I could sense an underlying issue with how he delivered it. It almost seemed... sad. Come to think of it, I didn't know anything about Alex. Hell, I didn't even know his full name. Aside from being my boss and a potion maker, what makes Alex, Alex?

I put a pin in that question for now and filed it for later. I still had an argument to win.

I smiled at Alex and, with the most resolute voice I could manage, I said, "Good for me, I can afford mistakes."

Alex looked at me incredulously.

"Can you also not remember the aftermath of that explosion? You were covered with wounds all over your body! I was just right on time to heal you. If it was any other potion maker, you would be dead."

I put a hand on my hips and pointed my index finger at him.

"You said it yourself. You're a really good potion maker. That's why I can afford mistakes. Don't get me wrong. I'm still mad that you drugged me, but at least I'm feeling well now and still breathing. I wanted to move on with that. And also, I trust-"

This time, I cut off my sentence myself. Trust seemed like a heavy word. I didn't trust anyone. I didn't even trust myself sometimes. But I think I got my point across clearly.

I wanted to trust you.

Alex stared at me, wide-eyed, like he also couldn't believe that I wanted to trust him. He just looked at me, searching my face for something. I didn't know what. But he eventually looked away and sighed.

"I am not going to go easy on you," he said.

"I don't expect anything less."

"The five hits for every mistake rule will be resumed again."

"Did you even put a pause in it?"

He smirked at that question.

He temporarily left me and went towards the library. He returned with another set of books. He handed them to me, then gave me a challenging look.

"Study those books down to their last details. I want you prepared. Tomorrow, we will make potions."

I gave Alex a wide smile. I could feel the same thrill when I was accepted as his apprentice coursing through my body. This was another step toward being a full-pledged potion maker.

I didn't realize when the meaning of this job changed. At first, I only wanted this as a source of income, and since I had no choice but to convince Alex to accept me to avoid the mind-altering potion, besides the supposed death warrant. Over time, this profession grew on me, and I honestly didn't want to disappoint Alex or myself.

Out of the multiple job rejections and applications, I ended up here, and I had no intention but to do my best and show that I had what it takes to be a potion-maker myself.