I got out of the shower and dressed for the day, my head spinning with all the thoughts running around inside. I’m not the greatest thinker, that’s for damn sure, but there had to be a connection with what happened last night and the time loop. What it was, I couldn’t remember, and when I did remember via Joshua’s spell, it did… well, I dunno what it did. Kill me, maybe? I don’t remember and I’m okay with that.

  I went downstairs to go off script again. I walked into the breakfast nook where once again Mom was reading the paper as she drank her coffee. “Israel,” she said warmly without looking up.

  “Hey, Mom, can Joshua come over for dinner tonight?”

  Of course she said yes. I already lived through this. Now it was time to go way off script.

  I texted Joshua to see if he’d like a ride to school. Told him I was running early and could easily swing on by.

  Sure. I’ll be ready in a few, came the reply.

  Score. We were about to skip ahead to the revelation of what I was, and what Joshua could do. I drove over to his house and let myself in. “Hey Joshua, I’m here.”

  Joshua came down, eyebrows raised in curiosity. “You could’ve waited in your Jeep.”

  “I know, but I gotta talk to you about something important.”

  Joshua’s eyebrows raised even higher. “What is it?”

  “I know you can do magic and I know you think I’m a werewolf.”

  I was getting used to how wide his eyes could get. “W-what makes you think I can do magic?”

  “Ah, so you’re denying you think I’m a werewolf, huh?”

  Joshua took a step back. “I -I don’t think that.”

  “Relax, Joshua. I’m not a werewolf, and I’m not going to hurt you. I need your help, and your magic might be exactly the tool to use.”

  Joshua steadied himself, gesturing for me to continue.

  So I did. I did the usual striptease, but this time Joshua held up a hand. “Izzy! I know you think you can seduce me, but we’re going to be late for school.”

  “School can wait,” I said as I slowly transformed into my feline self.

  Joshua stared at me slack-jawed. “You’re a--”

  ‘Werelion. Yup.” I then changed back to human and put my shirt back on. “You won’t believe me, but this isn’t the first time we’ve done this.” I then explained how I was reliving today with no clue how or why.

  Joshua gave me a funny look. “Izzy, are you sure you’re feeling well?”

  I sighed. I didn’t want to do this, but he forced my hand. “Fine. I have proof I’m reliving today. The last time we had this discussion I asked you to tell me a secret. So why didn’t you tell me the truth about your love of the Spiceworld movie?”

  Joshua staggered back as if I’d hit him. “How did you know that?”

  “Time loop. It’s how I also know you do magic. Because the first time almost killed me.” I then explained the circumstances of the botched spell he placed on Manny followed by the last spell which did something to me, probably fatally.

  Joshua listened quietly as I talked. When I finished he asked “And you have no idea what’s causing this… Groundhog’s Day effect?”

  I shook my head. “Not a clue, but I have a feeling you can maybe fix that. After I ask you for a favor.”

  Joshua tilted his head like a curious puppy. “What is it?”

  “Let’s play hooky today. I want to see what happens when we avoid going to school, avoid all the confrontations with Manny, and just do nothing. Worst thing that happens is everything resets and I have to do this all over again. Best thing that happens? I’m out of the Groundhog’s Day effect.”

  Joshua shrugged. “Sure, let’s do that. I need to go to Candleworks anyway.”

  “Let’s do it after lunch.”

  Joshua then frowned. “Do you think the school will call your parents if you’re not there?”

  I shook my head. “Nah, they never do. Not that I’d ever skip school.”

  Joshua smirked at me. “You do it all the time.”

  “Oh, come on, I only do it once a month.”

  Joshua gave me a look. “That’s still a lot.”

  I shrugged. “I’ll survive.”

  “Maybe that’s why you’re going through this. Because it’s a punishment for all the times you skip class.”

  “I skip school so you should say classes.”

  Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Joshua rolled his eyes and started going towards his room. “If we’re going to skip school, we might as well make the most of it by doing research.”

  Well, that was something I hadn’t considered. I thought I could just goof off and play games on my phone. Leave it to Joshua to make skipping school incredibly dull.

  I followed him to his room where he was already typing away on his computer. I took one look at where he was and chuckled. “Really? Maguspedia?”

  “If you hide it in plain sight no one will believe it. Besides, you have to have the aptitude for magic, otherwise it doesn’t work.”

  “Heaven help us if an unscrupulous type has the aptitude.”

  “Usually the magic handles that on its own.”

  I looked at him. “You make it sound like it’s intelligent.”

  Joshua shrugged as he kept his attention on the screen. “Who’s to say it isn’t? I was joking about you being punished, but what if you are? What if karmic justice is real?”

  “So it’s forcing me to relive a school day? That makes too much sense and I hate it.” I looked at the list of articles on the magic wikipedia. “Any luck?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing, but we just started. Maybe I’ll find something, and if you help me keep track of what we find we can skip all of this if there’s a next time.”

  “I still find it hard to believe you’re accepting all of this.”

  He shrugged. “You’re a werelion. Magic is real. A phenomenon where you’re reliving today doesn’t seem that far-fetched.”

  “I’m lucky you’re my best friend,” I said.

  Joshua grinned at me. “You definitely are. I’ll be lucky after lunch when we go to Candleworks.”

  “How are we going to explain why we’re not at school?” I asked. I hadn’t thought of that and I was already thinking of excuses to use.”

  “Just be yourself and Keith will be too flustered to ask us why we’re not there.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You know exactly what it means.”

  “I mean, yeah, I do but I like to hear you admit it.”

  Joshua let out a dramatic sigh. “He either wants you or wishes he had your muscles.” He then looked down at my body, focusing on the arms, then locked eyes with me. “How much of your size is because you’re a werelion?”

  I felt an embarrassed heat warm my cheeks. “Hey, I work hard at being this big.”

  “I’m not denying that, but because you’re a werelion is why you get accused of taking steroids at school isn’t it?”

  For once I broke eye contact with Joshua. With Joshua of all people. “Yeah, probably since I don’t juice. Don’t need to, either.”

  “Would it even work if you did?”

  I shrugged. “I know it’s hard to get drunk, and aspirin doesn’t seem to work unless I take way more than I should.”

  “Wait, you’ve tried getting drunk?”

  I smiled. “All part of the rebellious teen phase.”

  “What did your Dad say when you got caught?”

  My smile vanished in the blink of an eye. “Who said I got caught?”

  Joshua raised an eyebrow. “So did you get caught?”

  “The one and only time I tried, yeah. Dammit, Joshua, how are you so damned insightful? Is it the aura reading ability? Which, by the way, still needs work if you thought I was a werewolf.”

  “Your auras are the same. How was I supposed to know other types of weres existed?”

  I smirked. “It’s true that we werelions are way better of covering up our existence, unlike a werewolf.”

  Joshua shook his head. “Why do you dislike werewolves so much?”

  “Who says I dislike them?”

  “Any chance you get you’ve been proclaiming how superior werelions are to them.”

  I shrugged. “Prolly dogs versus cats things. You know how they don’t get along.”

  “But they can get along. Your comparison doesn’t make sense.”

  “Well, if they were werewolves and werecats they wouldn’t get along.”

  “Because they’re part human, and humans are notoriously mean and spiteful?”

  “Hey, I’m not mean.”

  “I didn’t say you were, but the werelion doth protest too much, methinks.” Now it was Joshua’s turn to smirk. I didn’t like this look. I preferred him to be shy and unassuming.

  “Shakespeare you ain’t.”

  Joshua’s smirk faded away to reveal a surprised look. “I’m impressed you recognized the quote.”

  “I butcher it all the time, but give me some credit.” I waved a hand before he could respond. “Anyway, we’re getting distracted and while I might currently have all the time in the world, I have to spend some of it showing you my real nature every time, and that’s time which could be better used.”

  Joshua turned back to his research on the computer. “Look at you, all focused and determined.”

  I hovered over him, watching him do his thing. “I know, it’s weird. Usually I’m the one who’s willing and ready to goof off.”

  We spent another half hour searching various websites and coming up empty. Heck, at one point we got desperate and looked at YouTube for help.

  “Nothing is coming up,” Joshua said.

  “I dunno, at least I learned about the SCP Foundation.”

  Joshua turned to look at me. “Do they really exist?”

  I shook my head. “No, but the Federal Bureau of Magic does. So you might wanna learn about them.”

  "So the government knows the supernatural exists?"

  I hesitated a bit. I wasn't too clued in on that stuff. Did all of the government know about us or was the FBM one of those secrets kept from humanity? After all, the secrecy not only protected them but it also protected us. Humans outnumbered the supernatural. I don't care how powerful you were because humans would find a way to end a threat. Humans are very good at this. History proves it.

  So I fessed up. "I dunno but I'm sure it's on a need to know basis."

  “I think I need to know,” Joshua said, his lips turned into a grimace.

  I didn’t like that. I think I upset him with this knowledge, but in my defense he should’ve known magic comes with a price. I don’t think he expected it to be red tape. Lots of it. “Don’t worry,” I said, hoping I came across as reassuring and not condescending. “You aren’t the type they’ll worry about. As long as you don’t plan on ritual sacrifice of human beings or plot to bring about Armageddon you should be okay.”

  “I dunno,” Joshua said, rubbing his chin in thought. “I did have plans to awaken Cthulhu next week.”

  Okay, good. Humor was good. It meant I wasn’t condescending to him. “Summoning Elder Gods or Great Old Ones is frowned upon by the community, just so you know.”

  “Darn, there goes my plans.” He stretched out and rubbed his eyes. “So the Internet’s no good. Unless you know a few websites for supernaturals I think it’s time for lunch then maybe a visit to Candleworks.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not the right werelion to ask about those places. I don’t even have Snapchat.”

  Joshua waved off my admission. “It’s okay, Snapchat is awful.”

  I felt a sense of validation with his remark. Not that I needed it, but since I loved him in a way he wouldn’t love me, it still felt really good. “Okay, so whatcha got to eat around this place?”