[d_a] a phonecall
After discovering Jane's note, Dave immediately whipped out his phone and dialed the number for his old apartment. With any luck, Bennet would still be there, paying rent and taking care of Tank like Dave asked him to.
Luckily, he was.
A few continents away, Bennet Zurrow groggily rolled over in bed and stared at the caller ID in disbelief. "Dave? It's 2 in the morn-"
"Did Becky tell you why she left?"
Bennet sat up and said, through an impressively long yawn, "No, man. Becky hasn't spoken to me since she left with you for your X-Man academy or whatever."
"Oh."
Dave looked down at the half-crumpled note in his hand and sighed quietly.
"Is that seriously all you called for? You don't want to know about your drooly-ass mutt, or your weird uncle-mentor guy?"
"I actually called-" Dave trailed off, tossed the note onto his desk, and flopped back in bed. "Yeah. What's up with them?"
"Well, your dog's been chewing up almost every shoe left on the floor in this apartment, including Balthazar's, and he was not happy about that. And I had to take him to the vet a few weeks ago because he was acting weird, but don't worry, he was fine. Also, you owe me $200 bucks."
One thing caught Dave's attention and made him squint at his ceiling. "Why... were Balthazar's shoes in the apartment?"
"Oh, yeah, hahahaha. You might want to get a new mattress, dude. He's been living in your room and he's had that Veronica woman over a few times. She's kinda hot."
The scream that echoed through the halls of Joe West's fifth floor was one of vague disgust and agony.
"Yeah," Bennet said, sounding a little farther away. (Probably because he had to move the phone away from his ear.) "Thanks for that. I see you're still your normal self."
"Yeah... actually. I kind of... had a girlfriend for a little while." Dave immediately facepalmed. That was not something he wanted to talk about, but it was too late. He knew Bennet wouldn't let it go until he got all the details, so Dave folded and explained everything that happened with Jane, from start to finish. Or, rather, from beginning to end.
On the other end of the line, Bennet listened, rapt. Once Dave finished, all he could do was laugh the kind of laugh friends do when they're simultaneously impressed by both your accomplishment and your subsequent failing. It was loud. Possibly loud enough to wake someone up. "Damn, bro. I hope she doesn't find some jungle man out th-" He trailed off, laughing.
"Shut up! That's not funny, man!"
"Bennet, is that Dave?"
The young apprentice shot up in his bed at the sudden sound of Balthazar's gruff voice, eyes wide. Bennet snorted once more, then said, "Yeah. You can talk to him; I'm going back to sleep. Good luck over there, Romeo." And then the line fell silent.
"So," Balthazar finally said, "It's nice to know you haven't killed yourself."
Dave looked down at his sheets, swallowing back the anger growing in his throat. "Yeah, isn't it great?"
"I didn't think you would, you know. This is part of your training."
"Yeah," Dave mumbled. "I knew you'd say that. Great excuse. Do you have any idea what you put me through when you left like that, without a word? I thought the Mist took you, or that you were dead... and did you know that Drake's here?"
"Drake? Huh. No, I didn't know that."
"Well, he is. And you're not. And that's just friggin' awesome."
Balthazar, nestled in the comfort of Dave's bed, glanced over at his apprentice's old Buzz Lightyear alarm clock (the one he'd found stuffed in the closet) and sighed to himself. Children. Really. "Dave, you're going to have to learn that your training will not only come from me. What you're getting right now is real world training. You're out there. You're in danger. And you're surviving. I'm proud of you."
They spoke for the better part of an hour, Dave updating Balthazar on magical techniques he'd learned on his own and ways to improve the ones he still sucked at. Dave talked about the friends he'd made, and the classes he'd taken so far, and all the times he'd embarrassed himself in front of the whole school. For some reason, Balthazar wasn't surprised.
The phone call left Dave feeling only slightly better. It was comforting to know that everything was mostly fine back home (even though his room would have to be set on fire at some point in the future), but Jane's letter had left a lead ball sitting in the pit of his stomach that he knew would be there for a while.
Luckily, he was.
A few continents away, Bennet Zurrow groggily rolled over in bed and stared at the caller ID in disbelief. "Dave? It's 2 in the morn-"
"Did Becky tell you why she left?"
Bennet sat up and said, through an impressively long yawn, "No, man. Becky hasn't spoken to me since she left with you for your X-Man academy or whatever."
"Oh."
Dave looked down at the half-crumpled note in his hand and sighed quietly.
"Is that seriously all you called for? You don't want to know about your drooly-ass mutt, or your weird uncle-mentor guy?"
"I actually called-" Dave trailed off, tossed the note onto his desk, and flopped back in bed. "Yeah. What's up with them?"
"Well, your dog's been chewing up almost every shoe left on the floor in this apartment, including Balthazar's, and he was not happy about that. And I had to take him to the vet a few weeks ago because he was acting weird, but don't worry, he was fine. Also, you owe me $200 bucks."
One thing caught Dave's attention and made him squint at his ceiling. "Why... were Balthazar's shoes in the apartment?"
"Oh, yeah, hahahaha. You might want to get a new mattress, dude. He's been living in your room and he's had that Veronica woman over a few times. She's kinda hot."
The scream that echoed through the halls of Joe West's fifth floor was one of vague disgust and agony.
"Yeah," Bennet said, sounding a little farther away. (Probably because he had to move the phone away from his ear.) "Thanks for that. I see you're still your normal self."
"Yeah... actually. I kind of... had a girlfriend for a little while." Dave immediately facepalmed. That was not something he wanted to talk about, but it was too late. He knew Bennet wouldn't let it go until he got all the details, so Dave folded and explained everything that happened with Jane, from start to finish. Or, rather, from beginning to end.
On the other end of the line, Bennet listened, rapt. Once Dave finished, all he could do was laugh the kind of laugh friends do when they're simultaneously impressed by both your accomplishment and your subsequent failing. It was loud. Possibly loud enough to wake someone up. "Damn, bro. I hope she doesn't find some jungle man out th-" He trailed off, laughing.
"Shut up! That's not funny, man!"
"Bennet, is that Dave?"
The young apprentice shot up in his bed at the sudden sound of Balthazar's gruff voice, eyes wide. Bennet snorted once more, then said, "Yeah. You can talk to him; I'm going back to sleep. Good luck over there, Romeo." And then the line fell silent.
"So," Balthazar finally said, "It's nice to know you haven't killed yourself."
Dave looked down at his sheets, swallowing back the anger growing in his throat. "Yeah, isn't it great?"
"I didn't think you would, you know. This is part of your training."
"Yeah," Dave mumbled. "I knew you'd say that. Great excuse. Do you have any idea what you put me through when you left like that, without a word? I thought the Mist took you, or that you were dead... and did you know that Drake's here?"
"Drake? Huh. No, I didn't know that."
"Well, he is. And you're not. And that's just friggin' awesome."
Balthazar, nestled in the comfort of Dave's bed, glanced over at his apprentice's old Buzz Lightyear alarm clock (the one he'd found stuffed in the closet) and sighed to himself. Children. Really. "Dave, you're going to have to learn that your training will not only come from me. What you're getting right now is real world training. You're out there. You're in danger. And you're surviving. I'm proud of you."
They spoke for the better part of an hour, Dave updating Balthazar on magical techniques he'd learned on his own and ways to improve the ones he still sucked at. Dave talked about the friends he'd made, and the classes he'd taken so far, and all the times he'd embarrassed himself in front of the whole school. For some reason, Balthazar wasn't surprised.
The phone call left Dave feeling only slightly better. It was comforting to know that everything was mostly fine back home (even though his room would have to be set on fire at some point in the future), but Jane's letter had left a lead ball sitting in the pit of his stomach that he knew would be there for a while.