Chapter 9

Ms Melo dropped me off at my trailer around nine pm and after saying goodbye to the boys (and of course thanking James for inviting me along), I watched the red SUV go before I quietly slipped through the glass sliding door, into my trailer.

To my surprise, my foster dad was still up, sitting at the small round table typing away on his computer.

"How was your adventure, Vanessa?" he asked, moving his gaze off his computer screen to me.

"Oh, it was good. We didn't do too much" I said, slipping off my boots and walked over to the couch I slept on.

"We just stopped at No Frills and Costco".

"Was there anything interesting happening downtown?"

"Nah, just the usual business" I lied, tucking my satchel under the couch and carried my pj's to the small bathroom to change.

Once I was in my cozy pajamas, I curled up inside my sleeping bag and went out like a light.

*Flash back to Chapter 14 in Miss Marvelous*

"I found this in my daughter's bedroom".

Joe pulled out a medium sized mason jar out from his inside coat pocket and set it with care on the table, filled right to the brim with a white scaly body.

"Is that-".

"Yes it is," interrupted Joe in a hushed voice, trying not to draw attention to their table.

The mysterious man leaned closer to Joe and lowered his tenor voice to a whisper.

"How did the girl get that thing in there?!?".

Joe shrugged his broad shoulders.

"I don't know, I only went into her room to get her laundry basket when I saw the jar".

The man let out a soft sigh.

"Well, did you find any other proof that she's this 'Miss Marvelous' girl?".

Joe shook his head.

"No, not a single piece of evidence. What about you?".

"Oh I found some new information, but you may not like it".

What kind of new information? Thought the foster parent as the mysterious man passed a medium sized black notebook over to him.

Joe flipped the book open and was shocked by how the man's writing was.

This man still uses notebooks? I just thought he would pass me a typed up word document or a google doc.

"So, I researched on the kid's mom and found out that she's the daughter of Master Fletcher".

Joe's eyes grew wide at the mention of the name.

"You mean the Master Fletcher???".

The man nodded his head.

"Yeah, one of the world's most powerful sorcerers".

"What are the chances that my adopted daughter is a sorcerer?".

The man frowned at him.

"Pretty high, I'm afraid".

My daughter. A sorcerer?

"I know this is all big news for you, since you've known her since she was five. So please try to act normal around her until she starts to show signs that she's destined to be one".

Joe closed the notebook shut.

"What kind of signs do I need to watch for?" he questioned, leaning closer to the brown bearded man.

"Any flow of magic, whether it's a floating object in the air by her or magic suddenly coming out of her by accidently That will tell you that she is a magic wielder" replied the man.

"Do you have any more questions?".

"Yes, is there anything else I should know about her?".

The man gently scratched his beard.

"Not that I know of. But before you go, I want to invite you to work at our center for a bit in a new position; We're running low on staff there since we have so many artifact recoverees" explained the man, handing Joe his business card as he stood up from his cushioned seat.

"Thank you. I'm pretty sure I can make arrangements in the summer to be working down there" replied Joe, as he too stood up from his seat.

"That sounds great. I will continue to do more research on the girl and I'll get my lab team to look at this right away" he said, taking the jar off the table.

Joe walked the man outside the diner, with the black notebook in his hand.

"Thanks for coming out here to meet me; It's about time I meet you in person".

"Oh you're welcome. Have a safe ride home and I'll see you in a few months" replied the man, before he turned his back to Joe and started to walk down the cracked sidewalk, leaving Joe lonely once again.

*End of Flashback*