Moments later, he felt a hand tap on his shoulder.

  “Are you okay?” he heard Amy say gently and kindly.

  Simon shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “You haven’t done anything to be sorry about,” assured Amy’s gentle voice. “How long have you known?”

  “Known what?” asked Simon, moving his hands from his face just to crouch down on the ground the way he had crouched on the bench earlier.

  “How long have you felt that way?” asked Amy.

  “As long as I remember,” mumbled Simon, “but it’s stupid.”

  “Who told you that?” asked Amy.

  “It’s obvious,” answered Simon. “We are who we are.”

  Amy walked around and crouched down in front of Simon, facing him. Simon just looked down at the floor.

  “Your feelings are a part of who you are,” said Amy. “They’re nothing to be ashamed of.”

  “You serious?” responded Simon, inquisitively looking up and seeing Amy’s kind smile. “I’ve heard how people talk about men who decide that they’re women.”

  “I know some people can be jerks,” said Amy, putting a comforting hand on Simon’s shoulder, “but your feelings aren’t going to just go away.”

  “So what?” asked Simon. “Am I going to just let myself get beat up?”

  “Well,” suggested Amy, “it doesn’t always happen that way. And let’s not forget - you’ve got magic. You have options others don’t.”

  “Like what?” asked Simon.

  “Well, for starters,” said Amy, “somamorphy.”

  “But that won’t work,” protested Simon. “People will wonder where boy-me went - and where girl-me came from. And if anyone figures out that we’re the same person, I’m in trouble.” He hung his head and looked down at the floor in front of him. “And I’m in trouble for a different reason if they don’t figure that out.”

  “Not necessarily, Simon,” said Amy. “There are ways to deal with this in the magical world.”

  “And what about the summer when I have to go back home?” asked Simon.

  “I don’t know,” admitted Amy. “Do your parents know about your feelings?”

  “No,” answered Simon, burying his head into his knees yet again. “You’re the only one I’ve ever told,” he murmured.

  “Well,” said Amy, “I’m honored that I’m the first one you came out to.”

  “So,” asked Simon, lifting his head, “can you find the right starter book for me?”

  “I can,” answered Amy, “but for the kind of transformation you need to do, you’ll still need help.

  “Great,” said Simon, sarcastically, burying his head again.

  “Why the despair?” asked Amy.

  “Because that means I’ll have to tell more people,” said Simon.

  “Well,” said Amy, “if you decide to go full-time as a girl, you’ll have to clear it up with some people. But when you’re just transforming for a little bit at a time, we can keep it on the down-low.”

  “But didn’t you say I’d need help?” asked Simon.

  “You will,” affirmed Amy. “I’ll help you. You shouldn’t have a hard time finding me when we get to school. Just ask around for me. It’s Amy Kaya.”

  “You can help me?” he asked.

  “I sure can,” said Amy getting up and helping Simon to his feet. “But first, let’s find the right book for you.”

  Simon nodded, enthusiastically as he finished getting up.

  Amy then turned back to the shelf and began looking through the books. Simon could hear her muttering to herself as she did so. Occasionally, a few words she muttered would be intelligible, such as “No, that won’t do,” or, “not for beginners”. But within a few minutes, she turned to Simon, a proud smile on her face, clutching with both hands a book with a picture of a wand tapping a mortar-and-pestle titled “The Body Transformed” with the bi-line, “An Introduction to the Art of Somamorphy”. Below the image were the words, “by Morgana Duffy”.

  “Thank you!” said Simon, enthusiastically.

  “Want me to check you out?” asked Amy.

  “I’ll have to ask my mom first,” said Simon, “because it isn’t listed among my required school supplies.”

  “Is she here?” asked Amy.

  “Yes,” answered Simon. “She’s in the coffee-shop drinking decaffeinated coffee.”

  “So let’s go ask her,” said Amy, gesturing Simon to head toward the escalator with her.

  “I am worried about what will happen if my parents find out what I want this book for,” said Simon, once the two were on their way.

  “Then just tell them it’s a subject you find interesting,” suggested Amy. “You don’t have to tell them why.”

  “But if they see me as a girl,” said Simon, “won’t they figure it out?”

  “Relax,” said Amy. “You haven’t even transformed for a brief period of time yet - so we don’t even know if you’ll feel the need to go full-time. And even if you do, you’ll probably be doing so at school first before you even think of going home as a girl - and that means that if you have any issues, you’ll have friends on your side backing you up.”

  “But you said we can keep it on the down-low,” reminded Simon.

  “We can,” assured Amy, “when you’re just transforming for brief periods of time. But if you go full time, people are bound to notice something different about you. That or you’ll have a lot of unexcused absences to explain, and the appearance of a girl that nobody’s heard about. Remember?”

  “I see,” said Simon, recalling that minutes ago he had been concerned about that very thing. “But where I live,” he continued, “people hate those who want to change their sex.”

  “Don’t worry about them,” said Amy. “If that’s an issue, we have magic, and there’s ways of dealing with it. As long as your family loves and accepts you it will all be fine. And even if they don’t, we’ll figure something out.”

  “Even with all the people where I live who hate people who want to change - you know what?” asked Simon.

  “Even them,” affirmed Amy. “By the way, where is that?”

  “Oak Ridge, Tennessee,” answered Simon.

  “Oh, I’ve heard of that place,” said Amy. “Lots of wild stuff there.”

  They were at the edge of the coffeeshop. Simon could see that Dr. Fletcher had re-joined Miriam at the table - along with Naphtali and Serena. He ran up to the table, excitedly, his cane in his left hand and the book Amy had found for him in his right. “Hi Mammy and Daddy,” he said. “Hi, Serena. Hi, Dr. Fletcher.”

  “Hello, sweetheart,” said Miriam. “You ready to have lunch?”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Almost,” said Simon. “I got and paid for all my schoolbooks - but there is one more book that I really, really want that isn’t one of my schoolbooks. Can I please, please, PLEASE, get it too?”

  Simon handed Miriam the book, and she looked over it. “How did you find this book?’ she asked.

  “A lady who works here helped me find it,” said Simon.

  Seeing how excited Simon was over the book, Miriam glanced at Naphtali, who nodded approvingly. “Get it,” she said.

  “I want a book too!” demanded Serena.

  “And can you see if that lady can find a book for your sister?” asked Miriam.

  “I will,” answered Simon.

  And Serena,” said Miriam, “Bring me back the book so I can look at it before we buy it.”

  “Yes, mammy,” agreed Serena.

  Simon led Serena over to where Amy was waiting at the edge of the coffeeshop to tell Amy the good news - and to present Miriam’s request to her.

  * * *

  At Amy’s suggestion, Simon checked out his copy of ‘The Body Transformed’ at the coffeeshop service counter, where he also got a large cup of cocoa that he took back to the table to drink in the company of his parents and Dr. Fletcher. He was nearly finished drinking it by the time Amy and Serena returned with a book titled “Amazing Me” with the bi-line “Diverse Human Identity in the Magical World”.

  Miriam looked at the book. “Oh, the causes you get involved with, Serena,” she commented under her breath before glancing over at Naphtali and turning back to Serena. “Go ahead - get it,” she said with a smile, handing Serena some cash with instructions to come back with a receipt and the change.

  “Anyway,” said Amy, as soon as Serena left to make her purchase, “I’ve gotten to know Simon a bit - and I’d be happy to show him around as he gets used to his new environment at Misty Peaks.”

  “Is that so?” asked Dr. Fletcher, looking at Simon, who nodded with a smile.

  “What do you say?” he continued, facing Naphtali and Miriam.

  “Can you vouch for her?” asked Naphtali.

  “Well,” answered Dr. Fletcher, “she is only a student, not a professional. But if I do say so myself - she’s one of the most responsible and conscientious students I know.”

  “That’s great,” said Miriam. “Especially since we don’t really know enough about the magic world to be as helpful to our son as some of the other parents can.”

  Dr. Fletcher gave Amy a nodding smile before she headed off to get back to her work.

  After Serena had bought her book, Miriam asked Simon if he would carry it in his cart until the family got home, a request to which he gladly agreed.

  “So,” said Naphtali, “let’s grab lunch!”

  “And then can we see the kitties?” asked Serena.

  Miriam and Naphtali looked at Dr. Fletcher. “Will we have time?” asked Miriam.

  “Actually,” said Dr. Fletcher, “having a familiar seems to provide an advantage to a young witch or wizard. And if you’re concerned about allergies, there’s magical collars you can put on an animal to deal with that. If there isn’t already a creature in Simon’s life for that purpose, a stop by The Witch’s Paw might be a good idea.”

  “Okay then,” said Miriam. “After lunch, we can go see the cats.”

  The party headed across the ground to the other end of the mall where the food court was. Unlike the food courts in the mundie world, however, each restaurant was not limited to a service counter, relegating everyone to eat in the common area. There were, of course, seats in the common area for anyone who wished to eat there, but each restaurant had its own seating for those who preferred a full dine-in experience.

  It was in that spirit that the party decided to dine in an Italian restaurant that Dr. Fletcher recommended. At this point, Simon was no longer surprised that the interior of La Italia was larger than the space allotted for it - but he still appreciated the cozy environment this feature offered that wouldn’t be possible in such a tiny food court otherwise. The restaurant’s greeter took the party to a small, private dining room with a long table large enough to seat up to six people - which was convenient, as there were only five in the party.

  As Simon sat down, he could feel his stomach tighten with hunger. He savored the smell of garlic and other spices in the air as he held the menu in his hands. And the three-dimensional images of all the wonderful dishes that the restaurant offered made his mouth water all the more.

  Naphtali and Miriam offered to pay for Dr. Fletcher’s meal along with that of the family, but Dr. Fletcher wouldn’t have it. “I appreciate the gesture,” he explained, “but the school board fits the bill when I have to eat out while traveling on the job.” The adults all ordered more exotic Italian dishes, but Simon and Serena both ordered the most predictable one - Spaghetti Bolognese.

  When Simon received his meal, he noticed that on the plate, on either side of the bowl of spaghetti, lay a small twig that looked like a clipping from an unfamiliar kind of pine tree. He picked up one of those twigs, put it to his nose, and savored the lemony sweet smell from its needles.

  “What is this?” he asked, twirling the twig in his fingers.

  “Rosemary,” said Miriam. “It’s a very good spice.”

  “So I can eat it?” asked Simon.

  “Yes,” said Miriam, confusedly. “Usually, people cook it in their food, and that little bit they probably just put there to make the plate look nicer - but it can be eaten.”

  Simon tasted a few of the needles, taking in its lovely bittersweet taste, before he picked up his fork and spoon, twirled some spaghetti onto the fork, and began eating the entree that the rosemary leaves had come with.

  All of a sudden, a distant sound of a slow whining siren could be heard. Simon looked up and saw a strange green glow coming from a ring on Dr. Fletcher’s finger. And within a moment, an etherial, disembodied voice could be heard saying, “The chamber of John Hendrix has been breached.” A moment after saying it, it said so again, and Dr. Fletcher retrieved his wand from inside his blazer.

  Mid-way through the third repetition, Dr. Fletcher put his wand to his ring and chanted: “Horologium suspendere”. Immediately, the green light faded, and the siren and etherial voice both fell silent.

  “What was that?” asked Serena.

  “Nothing you need to worry about,” said Dr. Fletcher.

  “Do I need to worry about it?” asked Simon.

  “Nobody here except me needs to be concerned about this,” assured Dr. Fletcher.

  Simon and Serena exchanged a half-confused half-knowing look with each other. The name “John Hendrix” definitely rang a bell for him - and from the look on her face, it seemed that it did for Serena as well. A few times before, a teacher at Dogwood Elementary had mentioned the name while talking about the history of Oak Ridge. Apparently it was the name of a man who had somehow seen visions of Oak Ridge being built many years before it finally did get built as part of the Manhattan Project in World War II.

  But surely this had to be a different John Hendrix. It didn’t seem to be that uncommon a name after all - and the The John Hendrix whom the teachers had talked about had been dead many, many years by now. Still, the coincidental similarity between the name of this person that the strange voice had referenced and that of the person from Oak Ridge’s history was something that Simon found to be amusing - and judging from her face, so did Serena.

  * * *

  After everyone was done eating, Dr. Fletcher paid his tab and Naphtali paid everyone else’s. Then, they all boarded a lift cloud and went up to the Witch’s Paw - the store whose window the cats could be seen through. This time, instead of just looking through that window, Simon and Serena, escorted by their parents, actually went inside.

  “Welcome to the Witch’s Paw,” said a middle-aged man in overalls. “My name’s Richard, and I’m here to help you and your familiar find each other.”

  “My kids are dying to see some of the cats,” said Miriam, “and my older one is here to get his familiar.”

  “And not your younger one?” asked Richard.

  “We don’t know if she’s magic yet,” explained Miriam.

  “I see,” said Richard. “Either of you magic?”

  “No,” said Miriam. “Simon is the first one with magic in the family.”

  “Okay,” said Richard, “I’ll tell you how this works. This ain’t a pet store - it’s a Familiar Connection Agency. A familiar ain’t someone you just pet and cuddle up with. It’s someone you work with as you do magic - someone you eventually learn to communicate with so well it’s as though they could talk to you. And when you find your familiar, it’s not enough for you to pick one of the guys here. They got to pick you too, or it won’t work.”

  “Can we see the kitties?” asked Serena.

  “Which ones?” asked Richard.

  “The ones at the window,” she answered.

  “Oh, sure,” said Richard. “I’ll let you in.”

  He led Miriam and the two kids into the cat room, as Naphtali and Dr. Fletcher waited outside. Once inside, they saw that there were not just the two cats that had been seen from the outside, but a whole room where about twelve cats lived - a whole room of which only a small shelf could be seen from the window. What was more, the cats that the two had seen earlier that day weren’t there anymore. Instead, a large orange tabby lay curled there, fast asleep.

  Suddenly, Simon felt something soft rub against his ankle. He looked down and saw a black cat. The cat meowed, looking up at him with its copper eyes. He bent down and picked it up, holding it in his arms, stroking it as it purred. This was undoubtedly one of the two cats he and his sister had seen earlier - specifically, the one that had shown interest in him at that time.

  He looked around and could see that his sister, Serena, had found the other one - who was sitting in her lap receiving an ear-rub as she sat cross-legged on the floor.

  “Looks like both of your kids found their Familiars,” Richard said to Miriam as he accompanied her into the room a minute or two later.

  “But we don’t yet know if Serena has magic,” reminded Miriam.

  “I ain’t no expert on that either,” admitted Richard, “but matching familiars is something I’ve been doin’ for years. And it’s real clear - that girl and that cat have chosen each other.”

  * * *

  As Richard finished discussing with Miriam and Naphtali Corbin what supplies would be needed for the cats and where those supplies could be found, the kids chose the names for the twin cats. Simon decided to name his cat Luna. Serena, after asking some advice from Dr. Fletcher, decided to name her’s Stella. Richard explained that they could pick up the Familiars in a few hours - and they might want that to be the las thing they’d do before leaving for home.

  “What more do you have to get?” Miriam asked Simon as the party exited The Witch’s Paw.

  Simon took out his copy of the list and began reading from it: “A Transportational Broom - Instruction approved. All the things for the school uniform. A Seeker’s Compass. And everything from that other list.”

  “The living supplies?” verified Miriam.

  Simon nodded.

  “And we need a correspondence mirror, too,” reminded Naphtali.

  “Okay,” said Miriam to Naphtali. “I’ll go with Simon to finish his school shopping. You go with Serena and get the pet supplies.” She then turned to Dr. Fletcher. “Is there a way to reach you once I get a mirror for the house so you can prepare it for us?”

  “Best you get that first,” suggested Dr. Fletcher, “and I go with you when you get it - and I can also help you pick out a suitcase.”

  “That should work,” said Miriam. And after a few more minutes of planning the details, the party split back into two to complete the day’s errands.