Author's notes after the chapter

"So, you say you can use magic."

"Yup."

"But you say you're not a witch."

"Right. I'm a red mage, able to use both white and black magic. Like in Final Fantasy."

"Final Fantasy?"

She laughed. "Boy, are YOU out of it. FF is only the biggest RPG franchise in the history of video games! Sheesh."

The psychologist jotted a few notes down in her notepad. "I don't play video games that often, Paula."

The teenage girl crossed her legs and leaned forward in her seat "Then you are MAJORLY missing out, miss." Paula stood up. "If that's everything, I'll be going now. I've got to check up on my Neopets--"

"Please sit back down, Paula. You've only been here five minutes." Paula sighed and slumped back into the lumpy blue couch. "Thank you. As you know, your parents are very concerned about you..."

"They shouldn't be. I can cast Ultima! What parent wouldn't be proud of that?" Paula grinned and settled into the couch. "I can even bring creatures from other worlds here! I can call Hanabi here, if you like."

The psychologist blinked and took off her wire frame glasses. "Hanabi?" She leaned forward.

"My Typhlosion." At the woman's blank stare, Paula continued. "A Pokemon. You know, Pocket Monsters?" The psychologist shook her head. "Oh, come ON! It was the biggest craze a few years back. TV show, game, comic books, cards, plushies...you don't remember any of it?"

The woman coughed. "No, I'm afraid I don't, Paula." Paula went to speak again but was cut off by the woman. "If you can perform these...these spells, please, do show me." There was the faintest trace of an evil grin on the psychologists face.

Paula caught it. "I would, Miss Evil Psycho, but it just so happens I used up the last of my MP casting Waterga on a fire in the kitchen this morning." She stuck out her tongue at the woman. "Nyaa."

Again, the lady was confused. "MP?"

Paula's face began to redden. "Magic Points or Power, you idiot!"

The psychologist blinked and, regaining her composure, coughed. "Please, there is no need for name calling. And please call me Mary."

"Bakana Mary." Stupid Mary. She stuck out her tongue again.

The woman sighed before going on. "Isn't it just the slightest bit convenient that when asked to show this 'magic'" and she used those annoying finger quotes as well "you happen to be out of magic power?"

"Well, I'm sorry, MARY, but I didn't know that my parents thought that I needed psychiatric help today!" Paula rolled her deep brown eyes. "What a thanks for stopping the house from burning down."

Mary looked back at her notes. "They said you flooded the kitchen and they found the garden hose coming through the patio door."

"The hose was left there by my idiot brother," Paula explained, groaning. "He saw me cast Waterga and dropped the hose in amazement."

"Well, since you can't seem to show me these powers, would you care to explain how you came upon them?" Mary placed her glasses back on her nose and leaned far back in her chair.

Paula fumbled with a large, broken half of a stone in her pocket as she remained silent. Mary began tapping her pen on her yellow legal pad.

"Don't you want to tell me?"

Paula looked at the floor. "No."

"Then maybe you'd like to stay overnight for observation--"

"NO! I won't tell you!" She crossed her arms and pouted.

"Paula, you are not a three year old. Please act your age."

Paula laughed. "You sound like my parents. I am not going to tell." She grinned and nodded once.

Mary sighed, resting her head on her hands. "Paula, you can't leave here until you tell me how you believe you can cast spells.

She knew the woman was serious. What could she do?

Lie.

Paula closed her eyes. "I was zapped by a powerline. It gave me the ability to pull things from the games I play."

There was a moment's silence. "If you were struck by a powerline, you'd be dead, Paula. Please tell the truth--"

"You don't believe my magic, either, so of course you don't believe how I got them!" Paula threw her hands in the air. "So why should I tell you anything?!?"

There was a knock on the door, and both women jumped. Regaining her composure, Mary cleared her throat and said, "Come in."

A timid looking man in thick glasses peeked in the doorway. "Dr. Murphy, there's a problem. You'd better come quick." He gave a little cough as he looked at Paula.

Mary gritted her teeth. "Great." Throwing down her legal pad, she stood up and whipped open the door. Once she had exited, she shut the door in the same manner.

Paula let out a breath. "Finally." She looked into the mirror on her left, smiled, and waved. "Hiya, Mom."

----

On the other side of the camera behind the mirror, Paula's parents didn't see her wave and begin to make faces at them.

"Dr. Murphy--"

"Mary," she reminded curtly.

"Mary," Paula's mother continued, "I really don't think this is helping. She hasn't made any progress at all."

"Mrs. Dinoso," Mary began sweetly, "this is only her first session! Progress cannot be made unless we continue. I suggest we schedule another session for tomorrow, personally."

Paula's father put an arm around his wife, shaking his head. "I know, but I really don't think this is the way to go. I think we're just going to take her home and just cut off her video games for a while."

Paula's brother sat in the corner, staring at the video screen. Paula was still making faces into the camera. He watched, still amazed at what he had seen...

----

"Ugh, I hate cooking..." He left the pot on the stove and went to get the recipe from the back of the box. "Boil...what's boiling?" He flung it dangerously close to the burner the pot was on while he went to get a dictionary.

A gust of wind from the back porch's open door blew gently at the box, nudging it closer to the burner. Closer, closer...

It ignited into flames, and took a few nearby kitchen towels with it.

Paula's brother walked back in, a dictionary in hand. "'Boil: verb. To-- '" Staring up at the flames, he dropped the book. "FIRE! FIREFIREFIRE--" He ran out the back porch, screaming and looking for a hose. "FIREFIRENEEDWATERFIRE!!!"

Paula ran in, hearing the rather feminine screams. "What--?" She watched the flames dance on the oven top. Her eyes widening, she grabbed the stone in her pocket and lifted her arms up in the air. Her brother walked in, garden hose in hand, as she whipped her hands down and brought with that gesture a torrent of water. The flames died instantly, and Paula and her brother were soaked to the bone, as was the rest of the kitchen.

His jaw dropped as Paula grinned and stuffed the stone back in her pocket. Her smile disappeared as she noticed someone else was watching.

She watched him drop the hose and begin to run.

"Wait! You can't, you--!"

"MOM! DAD!"

----

"...so we're going to take her home, now. Would you bring her here, please?" Paula's father finished. Mary's face was flushed as she nodded and tromped out of the room.

The door to where Paula sat creaked open and she quickly sat back on the couch, her head in her hands. She looked blandly at Mary.

"Can I go yet?"

Mary grimaced and threw her legal pad onto the small desk in the room. "Go. Your parents are waiting."

Paula smiled and gave a small wave as she walked out, tall and quite happy.

The psychiatrist tossed her glasses next to the notepad and ruffled through her hair. She winced as the door shut behind Paula.

"This is not the last you'll see of me, Paula."

Okay. This idea will be interesting, and the plot develops more in the second chapter-as does the connection to FFX. Paula is inspired by a real person who is aka UA. This does have some semi-insertion (I-well, sort of me) comes in in a later chapter. I hope you don't mind it, but I write better when one of the characters is based on me personality wise. So pleeeease don't be angry. ;;

Lesse.I think that's it for now. E-mail me if ya like at ara- laiexcite.com if you get the urge and/or are bored! Ari out.