"Yes, thank you for shopping at the halfway please come again"
I said in an upbeat happy voice to the female customer who came in to buy snacks. She didn't say "your welcome" or anything which left a sour taste in my mouth. but whatever im just glad that Mercia and Ahmya left a few hours ago. I'm stuck working the cash register while David's on his break.
Only a few more minutes left, until this torment is over, and I can go back to learning more about qi, the main interest I have is in learning more about alchemy seeing as I've practically reached a bottleneck with qi molding.
I've been selfish these last few days. I hate to say it but I completely forgot about everything I wanted to do with alchemy, I remember saying that id heal my mother's bad knee and Andrews back. But I became so obsessed about learning more about qi that I completely forgot about my family. What the hell's wrong with me?" I thought while looking at the time.
"Finally its time to go. Any longer and id probably burn this fucking store down"
"How do you always wake up just when its time to leave huh David"
"it's a gift passed down to me by my ancestors. I can put you in touch with them if you want"
He put his hand to his ear and acted as though it were a phone
"ring ring ring hold on it's a bad connect give it a few minutes"
"haha let's get this place cleaned up"
I started by sweeping then mopping the floor, while David fixed up the shelves and made sure nothing was out of place. we acted like we didn't care or need this job but in all honesty, this job was our only means of actually making money.
I remember asking my mom for help in buying a computer and she gave thee most telling look ever, as though I wasn't her son but a stranger asking for a large loan with no credit history. I quickly told her to forget about it seeing as there was no way she'd give me a dime.
"Let's go David" I shouted while putting the mop away. When I walked out, I saw him standing outside pacing back and forth, nearly ripping his hair out.
"I can't do it anymore I just can't"
"Can't do what?"
"work here man look I work nearly every day then have to go home and listen to my mom talk about how summer is practically over and that she's sent all the ivy league colleges my transcript. I can't do it I thought id have time to enjoy my summer but it's over before I realized it"
He said all that without taking a single breath. I wanted to ask if he was ok but all he did was walk over to the car that was pulling into the driveway. I didn't need to look as I could hear even while it was a few minutes away.
"Bye dude its been fun,"
he said while waving to me, I guess summer is actually nearing its end huh. It all felt like a blur, all I remember was constantly being in pain.
"Yeah see you around" I shouted while he drove off. I got on my motorcycle and just drove off as quickly as I could. I thought endlessly about the cabin but ended up heading home instead. I've gotten homesick I thought. Until realizing that I had tutoring with Sherley today. When I got home, I noticed that Sherley's car was already here. When I walked through the door everyone was sitting around Sherley trying to teach my brother Samuel some advanced math, going on about how easy it was along as he got the hang of the different formulas.
No one noticed me walking in. it didn't bother me really, I just walked over to the fridge and grabbed something to drink. There was a pink lemonade which obviously wasn't mine but who cares right no one in my family really cared much about sharing so it was alright.
"aw, Alexander baby" my mother called. It was odd she was obviously startled by me.
"Are you alright mom?"
"Honey come here" she called out nearly yelling
My father rushed over, his giant feet stomping through the house. there one thing my calm cool collected father would run towards and that was the sound of his family in distress. But his excitement quickly died down when he saw me.
"What is it," he said while grabbing my mom, placing a hand on her face and checking her temperature doing the same to me.
"Look how big he's gotten. Look his pants don't even reach his ankles and he just bought those a few weeks ago"
She shouted out, damn really first David now my mom how much have I grown.
"ha-ha dont worry its just a growth spurt," he said while starring me up and down.
"No, we have to go to the hospital and make sure he's not infected by some strange disease or worse"
...
My mom and dad kept going back and forth about whether to take me to the hospital or not. It honestly wasn't something I was worried about, for one the book said you had to be a qi sensor to ever perceive qi so it's not like some doctor is going to take one look at me and figure out anything. I'll probably just be diagnosed with a sudden growth spurt if that's a proper diagnosis.
"Alexander. come here" my mom called out.
"Coming"
"Look A we've decided that well take you to the doctor's office tomorrow and well make sure that you're alright."
"Alright dad but I'm telling you I feel fine"
"I know A it's just to make your mother feel better. I keep telling her it's the blood that flows through our veins ha-ha"
Honestly, my dad could be a goofball sometimes, going on about how his father stood just under 9 feet tall and was a brick of muscles towering over everyone in the city he grew up in. "They called him Mr strong" he'd always go on about. "He'd lift up my brothers, sisters and my mother in one hand and the whole city in the other"
"But yeah I'm done with my tutoring with Sherley and I'm going to get some sleep. For my big day with the doctor alright"
I said while walking to my room after comforting my mom who was staring intently at me.
"Are you sure you don't feel any pain anywhere?"
"Yes, mom it's alright don't worry"
"I'm only concerned because I've heard stories of it happening people suddenly growing taller only to end up dead, from some weird disease"
"Mom you probably read it in one of those stories you always read"
"huh go to bed smart mouth. We have an appointment early in the morning"
"HAHA whatever... but make sure the growth monster doesn't get you"
It's all so strange I've missed this. just being with my family like this. it's like I nearly forgot that a group of people broke into my house and nearly killed me. "Are they still watching me?" I wondered while in and out of sleep. "No they've obviously already investigated me and know about my family right?" that was my final thought before falling asleep.
.....
"Alex get up you have a few hours to get ready."
"Get ready for what? Don't wake me up so early mom"
"The doctors appointment Alex come on now"
Being woken up like this was honestly the worst feeling ever, I had a strange dream it was strange because I hadn't ever found those books and never awaken qi. I remember spending my days with my family and it was blissful. But there it is again.
It's like an itch in my mind that demands I pay attention to it, as though I was an addict who couldn't stay away from the high. Qi started to fill my mind again, I wanted to practice more, learn more.
While in the shower the habit I thought I broke came back again, I started making qi molds. This time it was even easier than ever to make shatter. "It's stronger," I thought while staring at the bigger, stronger shatter in my hand. The water bounced off of it, then as though I was simply following an instinctual urge, I managed to fully manifest shatter.
It no longer required I feed it qi and now could operate like any other object. I wasn't happy or even excited, it was as though all of this was expected on a subconscious level. When I was done with my shower, I got dressed in brown khakis and a black shirt.
"I'm ready mom"
"Alright let's go, the drive is going to be long were going into the city"
"mom why the city? this isn't serious"
She didn't respond and simply walked to the car, my god I couldn't tell you how long and boring the ride to the hospital was. When we got to the city, I started feeling all kinds of energies, it was honestly overwhelming the sheer amount of what I assumed were qi users here. Though it was feinting the room we were waiting in had a qi user. A doctor, I think.
"Alexander?"
"Yes here," I said as I walked over to him. I don't think he noticed that I was a qi user.
He looked to be an old man with medium-sized grey hair, his beard was a similar color. Though you could see he was old because of his grey hair, he actually appeared quite young. The freckles on his face helped in his youthful appearance. He had blue eyes with a vibrant tint of green to them, he wasn't tall but also wasn't short just slightly below average. His skin was an olive color, and he had an aura of "happiness" is what id describe it as.
........
"Fuck I wish he'd noticed I was a qi user" the anticipation was killing me. Either this guy has the best poker face in the world, or he really doesn't know or knows but doesn't care that I'm a qi user. He continued asking me medical-related questions like he knew nothing of qi and its effects.
"it's strange I could feel qi inside his body, yet he said nothing," I thought while starring at him even harder. Fuck my minds going to explode I need to ask him things I need to figure out more about qi. my leg started shaking even more. Every cell in my body demanded I ask him more about qi.
"Do you have to use the bathroom young man?"
"no, but I was wondering um Ummm"
"Yes, what is its young man? Let me know if you have any pain anywhere alright?"
"Holy shit this guy has to be fucking with me come on, is meeting people with qi a normal thing in the city." I thought while eyeing him up and down.
"umm sir (cough) (cough) do you know anything about qi and its effects" I whispered to him. Geez I felt all my pride and honor slip away; I didn't want to that idiot who stated the obvious, but I had to.
"Yeah, I read some fantasy novels that have qi as the main theme of it. would you like some recommendations"
Shit was I wrong, no way I can clearly sense the qi flowing through his body fuck. What's this guy playing at, I gave him a cold stare actually angered by his insistence that he knew nothing. "It's simply not possible," I thought while staring at him.
"Judging from that look on your face you weren't talking about qi in the light novel sense, right?"
His sudden change in demeanor and speech tone was alarming, I started forming a small shatter behind my back.
"No, I wasn't talking about the light novel sense. More of the Murim sense"
"Why the fuck did I say that?" I barely remember reading that word in the book, shit. This is a dangerous game but holy shit every cell in my body Is about to explode. My mind was riddled with fight scenarios, escape options and killing this guy and getting away somehow. I could feel it my mind wouldn't stop racing with these dark thoughts of absolute survival.
I felt as though my back was against a cold ice wall, layered with spikes, there was no longer an option for retreat or surrender. all I could do was go forward with all my might and hope the outcome is good. but if it's bad ill use all my strength to protect my family and myself.
"so, you're a sensor then I assume?"
"a sensor, I thought that was simply a prerequisite of all martial artists?"
fuck why'd I say that, its as though a part of me knew the person before me though older was in every way weaker than me. "I could kill him without breaking a sweat," I thought while practically eyeing my potential prey. He gave me a strange stare as though waiting for something, so I stared back waiting for whatever he was waiting for he finally broke the silence after some time with a large sigh.
"… you're not here to kill me, are you?... hahaha youth these days scaring an old man like me. Wow alright, let me guess. You're not related to the Murim are you boy?"
The way he said boy carried a weight to it as though he saw through my bravado. Breaking down my false wall of courage. he became fierce and I could tell he put down his defenses, he gave me a smile then just waited for my reply.
"No, I just read a book sir"
"Good you still have a chance to run as far away as you can… take the word of this old man to heart. You have no idea the forces you are tempting by simple having qi. and to even have the audacity to enter this city without permission do you want to die, boy?"