[2] Bless This Call
After phoning the same number for the 10th or 11th time in an hour through the landline (we couldn't afford mobile phones), Mr. Hamington finally answered. Grandma was going to ask him to send us more money, even though strictly speaking he didn't have any obligations to.
"...ow 'Loraine'..." I heard him say. 'Loraine' was my grandma's name.
I was in my room, which was only one step away from the living room, so I could hear some bits of the conversation.
"It's so nice to hear you again, Mr. Zachary. How's the family, uh?"
"..."
"Wow, I bet they are. Haven't seen any of you for a long while".
Luckily, there was a table in my room where I could do my homework. And I was doing just that, looking through an encyclopedia about cell division; one of the few things I inherited from my father. Most of his stuff, after his death, were kept by my greedy paternal grandparents and some unknown uncles and aunts that I don't care to know.
My grandma, I remember, told me that it didn't matter; that this was my house, and it'll be only mine to make with it whatever I wanted when I get older. Small, but safe and mine.
"Really! That would be awesome! I love to talk with you, I always receive good news from you"
"..."
"Okay, okay. We'll discuss more about it tomorrow"
"..."
"Yeah, I'll tell her".
Grandma sounded happy. That must mean she received money, and a lot of it. I kept working on my homework until I noticed grandma standing on my doorstep; I stopped and turned to look at her, getting surprised at her wide grin, like wow! How much money we were given?
"You look like you've won the lottery" I told her.
"Well... almost, yes. Mr. Hamington made me an interesting proposal, and you'll be interested too when I tell you".
Now I was really curious. Grandma sat on my bed and I turned my seat towards her, looking at her face-to-face and forgetting everything about my homework.
"You know that, as awesome as I am, physically I'm not that great, right?"
"Y...yeah?"
"Well, Zachary told me that it was inadequate that a lady like me has to support a young girl, and I reminded him that I wasn't going to abandon you in an orphanage".
I got angry. How dare he suggest that!? But more than that, I got scared; I didn't want to be alone with strangers, no, what am I going to do!?
"Beautiful Bianca, calm down! I'm not going to abandon you, ever".
I was starting to hyperventilate until grandma started caressing my arm. She assured me a couple of times that she'll always be here for me and that her conversation with Mr. Hamington didn't end there.
"Of course I got mad at him, but he corrected himself and said that he's been thinking about what's best for both of us. He said I should be at a retirement home being taken care of, and you should also go to a place with a better education offer and better medical treatments".
I had periodical appointments with a psychiatrist to treat my panic attacks and depressive episodes, but the treatment in general costed a fortune, and our health insurance didn't cover that. Also, my current school is not really good, so the possibilities of getting a scholarship are slim to none.
"His son is going to an exclusive boarding school and he suggested that you should also go. They're offering full scholarships including free meals, study supplies, a room, and a good medical insurance; he thinks you should be able to apply there".
Those kind of things still exist?
"Sounds too good to be true, what's the catch?"
"None, it seems. He already knows it's a good place, his son's already been there for more than a year and everything's fine. You also wouldn't be alone with him keeping you company".
"And where is that?"
Grandma suddenly got quiet and looked at the opposite side to me.
"Well..."
"Ah- hum?"
"It's in Switzerland".
Impossible. I'm not going to freaking Switzerland. I don't even know where that is, but it's in another continent, so no. I want to be close to grandma, I don't trust anyone else.
"No thanks, I'm happy here" I told her.
"Okay, okay, I get it. But still, Mr. Zachary wants to talk to you tomorrow"
"For what?"
He and I aren't close at all, despite him paying for our essential expenses.
"Maybe he'll try to convince you to go there, I don't know".
Grandma got up from the bed and walked out the room, but I noticed her slightly disappointed face. She was an adventurous and detached woman; she wouldn't understand my fear of leaving my comfort zone.
The following night, as promised, Mr. Hamington made the call and asked to talk to me in private after some greetings and pleasantries, so I told grandma to give me privacy. She reluctantly did, went to her room. I was confused on why he didn't want anyone else to hear but didn't oppose.
"So, Mr. Hamington, I don't mean to be rude but, why so much secrecy?" I asked him.
"She's a common human, she can't hear this".
Every bit of relaxing in me disappeared, leaving only seriousness and tension; I promptly made sure my grandma really wasn't spying in our conversation. I liked to pretend that I was also a common human, and that magic didn't exist, so hearing him talking like that was really unpleasant.
"I don't want to know anything related to magic, my father died so I don't have any connection to it anymore".
Mom, like all her family, was a common human. She made the mistake of marrying my crazy garbage of a father, who was also a warlock, and had me: a miraculous hybrid baby. Generally, a baby from a warlock/witch and human couple has almost 50/50 chance of being a warlock/witch or a human, but I got the genetic lottery and I was born a mix of both. A probability of less than 1% came true, hurrah! (not).
Father cheated on mom, and a couple of years after I was born they soon got divorced. I found out later when mom cursed at a pretty lady on a TV commercial, and grandma being her whispered to me (a child) she was the reason of my broken family. A homewrecker.
"You still have magic on your blood, you can't ignore that. It's irresponsible" He reminded me.
"With all due respect, that's my choice to make, Mr. Hamington"
"Not if Lorraine is also involved. You're an hybrid, and a clueless one, being with you is a risk for her".
There were these 'radical' witches and warlocks that believed they were superior to humans, and had certain resentment for being forced to hide their powers. Being related to a human, apart from economic gains and influence, was a shame to them and hybrids are the perfect scape goat to liberate that hate.
Father was in constant fear of finding these 'radicals', especially after one time at a park when a normal looking man suddenly screamed at us 'dirty hybrid'. All people emit scents that makes witches and warlocks identify if they're humans or not, and even if it's possible to mask it through magical potions and amulets, their effect wears off usually pretty quickly.
"So, what do you want to tell me?" I gave up.
"I suppose your grandma told you about what I think of your education".
Yeah. Not of your concern by the way, but yeah.
"Yes, she did. You talked about some boarding school in Switzerland".
"Correct. I'm interested in you going because my son is there, and I think you'd be a good influence to him. Also I care for you and your grandma, she'll be safer away from you, and you'll have the chance to learn how to protect yourself and others using magic. The education offered there is of high-quality, so future scholarships are very possible; it's a win-win wherever I look at it".
"Is it a magic school?" I dejectedly asked.
"Yes. Only magic users and human children with a witch or warlock parent can enter".
Mr. Hamington is a warlock who married a human and had a couple of twins: one human, and the other a warlock. I used to play a lot with the human one, and the other always ignored me or looked at me like dirt. Haven't seen them since they moved, but I remember they were bigger than most of the other kids so maybe now they're huge.
"Can I think more about it?"
"Of course, it's a big decision. You can look it up by the school's name, 'International DeckerFord School'".
I still don't want to go. Nope.