Tiny Vengeance

Mayor Lewis - and he was still mayor no matter what those hooligans said, thank you very much - peered out through the decorative glass of his front door to ensure no one was waiting in ambush. As he braced himself to head outside for the first time that day, the man heard a soft clicking behind him that sent a chill down his spine. Lewis whipped around, frantically searching for the source of the sound, and immediately noticed the door of his refrigerator door swinging open.

From the corner of his dark eyes, the senior spied a shadow slinking toward his bedroom. Lewis froze with indecision. Should he follow the intruder in his home or check to see what the creature wanted? Perhaps if he could intercept the messenger, he could feign ignorance when the monster's master came calling. The old man rushed around the corner to capture the beast, but when Lewis burst into the bedroom, he only saw the tip of a tapered black tail disappear up the chimney. So that's how the damned things keep getting in… Lewis thought with both horror and relief. The beasts usually left their notes in the dead of night while he was fast asleep but catching a glimpse of one was just as unnerving. I need to get Robin to seal that chimney as soon as possible, Lewis reminded himself grimly.

But the bureaucrat could not undo the damage now that it had been done. Gritting his teeth, Lewis returned to the kitchen to see what had been left in his refrigerator this time. On the top shelf of the pristine white interior lay a plain envelope with only his name written in neat black ink to indicate its intended recipient. The back bore the iridium purple seal of his tormentor in iridium purple wax.

Lewis' muscles tensed as he retrieved the letter opener from the drawer beneath the town ledger and slid the thin metal between the seal and the parchment, cleanly breaking the seal along the edges of the flap. Carefully, Mayor Lewis extracted the enclosed note.

Lewis,

My sources tell me that you recently lost the mayoral election. What a shame, we had such a good thing going all these years.

I hope you briefed the new face of Pelican Town regarding our little arrangement. Otherwise, I'll be forced to rely on those "unpleasant provisions" outlined in our original contact.

Consider your options carefully.

Lewis broke out into a cold sweat at the unsigned note, but he knew after over a decade of correspondence that this was no joke. The suspender-wearing man had never met his benefactor in person, but Lewis recalled the last time he tested the validity of his pact with the ominous stranger. Luckily, his benefactor gave him another chance without further consequences, but now things were more complicated. Lewis gnawed on the inside of his cheek, assessing his options.

The local businesses would not submit their taxes to him after yesterday's election. While Lewis himself did not recognize the will of the riff raff, as most of the villagers did, he would have to figure out a way to sway the older generations back to his side. Or better yet, convince Shane that the mayoral position was not worth it. But how?

Lewis heard the jangling of metal scraps hitting one another and then the sound of a key entering the lock on his front door. Slamming the refrigerator shut, the sweaty senior spun around to face his would-be attacker. "You can't avoid me forever, you old prune!" Marnie barked, her hands planted firmly on her hips.

"Oh, hello Marnie…" Lewis adjusted the golden tie around his neck, making sure it was well out of his guest's reach. "I was just thinking about visiting the ranch." It was partially true. He had hoped to either extract an early tax payment or intel on Shane's motives for running for mayor from Marnie. Either would be useful to him.

Marnie's dark eyes regarded him doubtfully. "Cow patties!" she spat, avoiding the more traditional curse words. "You've been holed up in your ivory tower and haven't given a proper concession speech. You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Lew!"

The shortening of his name gave Lewis hope that Marnie may still hold some affection for him and want to rekindle their relationship. But now was not the time for that, despite his nice stockpile of truffle oil. He shook his head to redirect his focus. "Don't you know what being mayor means to me?" Lewis cried ruefully. "I've given up so much to dedicate myself to Pelican Town!"

Marnie huffed, crossing her arms over her ample bosom. "No one asked you to place all these arbitrary rules on yourself, you darn fool. You did this to yourself," she contended, her thick braid coming loose slightly from her hair tie. "If you had spent more time on the problems people wanted you to fix around town - or even more on the villagers themselves - you wouldn't have been so easily replaced."

Lewis studied her face, hoping Marnie's words did not have the double-meaning he feared. He tried to woo her with a quiet, low voice. "Have you replaced me, too, my little milkmaid?"

The rancher scowled at him. "That's none of your business!" Marnie snapped and it was then the severity of his situation hit Lewis. Holding out her hand expectantly, Marnie gave him an order. "Now give me the town ledger and any other town documents. If you refuse to face Shane directly, I'll deliver them myself."

Lewis refused. "Shane will have to come collect them himself. I will not concede to anyone hiding behind his auntie's skirts!" It was a low blow, but Marnie had done irreparable damage to his ego lately and the old man would not go down without a fight.

But instead of shouting back, she nodded sympathetically. "Very well, Lewis. I'll ask Mayor Shane to stop by later today." Brushing off dust off her kelly green dress, the woman turned on her heels and exited the Mayoral Manor. She did not bother to shut the door, forcing Lewis to approach any potential threats outside. Though the mustached man saw no one, he could not shake the feeling of being watched.

Jas did not know exactly what it meant to become mayor, but the little girl knew she was excited for Shane. Aunt Marnie explained that more people liked Shane than they did Mayor Lewis, so he got the job. That was great and all, but Jas liked that Shane would not be working for Joja Mart anymore. The place smelled like milk that got left out too long and Shane did not seem to like being there anyway. She only hoped this meant her godfather would still have time for tea parties.

Jas found a note that Aunt Marnie had business in town, but her guardian left a small stack of French toast on the table and laid out all Jas' books for school. After enjoying the meal, Jas grabbed her schoolbooks and went out the door to meet Miss Penny at the library.

Usually, Vincent beat Jas to the library because he lived closer, and he wanted some time with Miss Penny all to himself. While Vincent believed all girls had cooties, he said Miss Penny was the exception because she was so grown up. Jas wondered if cooties were something you grew out of or lost as you got older, like baby teeth. The pastel-clad girl supposed it would take a while to find out for herself. Unlike Vincent, she was in no hurry to grow up.

Today, however, Jas found Miss Penny sitting under a big tree with reddish-brown leaves on her way to the library. Miss Penny's big pretty eyes were red and puffy, so Jas knew her teacher had been crying. Vincent was already patting Miss Penny's shoulder. "There, there, Miss Penny..." the boy in the striped shirt comforting the brunette. Miss Penny smiled, but she still looked sad.

"What's the matter, Miss Penny?" Jas requested, her tiny brows wrinkled with concern. She did not like that her favorite adult - other than Shane and Marnie - was sad.

"I'll be okay, children," Miss Penny assured her students, wiping her eyes. "I had an argument with someone and got upset."

Jas frowned, unsure of what to do to help. Finally, she decided to wrap her arms around her beloved teacher's neck. "I'm sorry you're sad, Miss Penny."

Pulling both schoolchildren into a hug, Penny beamed. "You are both very sweet. Thank you."

Vincent was acting funny. He was too quiet when normally he would be asking all sorts of silly questions. But instead, he did not say anything, giving Jas the rare chance to ask some things about the day's lesson. She reveled in the attention Miss Penny gave her. Vincent got more of their teacher's attention because he interrupted all the time and needed extra help with their schoolwork. Jas wondered if Vincent really did not understand or if he just wanted Miss Penny to spend more time with him because he wanted to marry her someday.

But Jas did not think Miss Penny would want to marry Vincent since she had Prince Elliott. At least, that is what Jas called him. Ever since her birthday tea party, Jas officially called the princes in all her storybooks "Elliott" because he had long, shiny hair and spoke pretty words. It helped that the drawings kind of looked like Elliott, too. Why would Miss Penny want to marry a little kid when she had a prince? Vincent did not like it when she told him, though. He got mad and threw a bug at her and Miss Penny had to untangle it from her hair. Vincent got in trouble that day.

The school day started once the three of them all got to the library and sat at their table. Miss Penny went through the math lesson and afterward she instructed Jas and Vincent to do a few practice problems. That was when Prince Elliott arrived, like he always did during their lessons. He would sit nearby and read a book quietly and look at Miss Penny every once and a while. Jas was convinced he loved Miss Penny, but the teacher did not appear to notice when he stared at her with sparkles in his eyes. Jas had a huge crush on Prince Elliott, but she decided early on to let Miss Penny have him. He made her teacher happy, and Jas assumed they would make cute babies since they were both so beautiful.

Jas wanted to tell Miss Penny that she could go talk to Prince Elliott while she and Vincent were doing their practice problems, but the girl noticed that her classmate was gone. She tapped Miss Penny's arm and the pretty lady realized the problem right away. With two pairs of eyes, they quickly found the missing boy standing in front of Prince Elliott near the end cap of an aisle. The strawberry-blond child looked mad and pointed at his love rival. "You made Miss Penny cry!" he shouted angrily, kicking the silky-haired gentleman right between the legs.

Jas was not so sure why it hurt boys so much to be kicked there, but Aunt Marnie always told her it was a weak spot if she ever had to get away from a bad man. Prince Elliott bent over, and Vincent ran away, smiling and looking proud of himself. He came back to the table. "I avenged you, Miss Penny!" he declared, but their teacher did not look at Vincent.

Instead, she rushed to Prince Elliott's side and told him she was super sorry that Vincent acted out and it was all a misunderstanding. Once Miss Penny was sure that the pretty man was okay, she came back and scolded Vincent.

"Elliott isn't the one who made me cry," she corrected Vincent quietly, frowning at Jas' classmate. Vincent did not look at Miss Penny while she scolded him. "You should never assume things like that and act on your own, Vincent. You hurt poor, innocent Elliott."

Vincent grumbled under his breath but went to apologize to Prince Elliott anyway. Jas did not think he really meant it, but Vincent did not want Miss Penny to be mad at him.

Miss Penny offered to get Prince Elliott some ice from Gus and told Jas and Vincent to work quietly until they finished their work. Jas did not have much left to do, so she was done much faster than Vincent. Instead of getting out a book to read, Jas hopped out of her seat to talk to Prince Elliott. He always answered her questions, even if she did not always understand what he meant.

"Prince Elliott, why does it hurt so bad when boys get kicked there?" she queried, pointing at the general area of his lap.

The man with the pretty hair did not speak right away, but he finally responded. "Well, Princess Jasmine," Jas liked it when he called her a princess. It made her feel special. "It is the part of male anatomy that allows us to father children. It is… delicate."

Jas blinked, thinking over the words, and trying to use "contextual clues" like Miss Penny taught them for when they did not get what adults were saying right away. "It's the part that helps boys make babies?"

Prince Elliott's face got all pink and it made him look cuter. "Yes, that is correct, Princess Jasmine. It is not polite to kick anyone in that general area." He stared at her from under his long eyelashes. "But if a wicked man ever tries to harm you, you have my full permission as a gentleman to kick him just so!"

Jas nodded. If both Aunt Marnie and Prince Elliott said so, it must be true. The little girl nodded politely. "Okay!" she chirped, skipping back to her seat now that she had the information she wanted.

When she returned to her chair Vincent was talking under his breath about kicking Prince Elliott there more often so he could not have babies with Miss Penny. He thought that she did not hear, but Jas could not stay silent. "That's fighting dirty, Vincent." Her classmate nearly fell out of his chair when he realized Jas overheard his plans. She continued.

"If you want to beat Prince Elliott for Miss Penny's heart, you have to win fair and square. Otherwise, Miss Penny won't like you anymore."

Vincent reddened. "Says who?!" he yelled, not caring about the rules in the library. But Mister Gunther did not hush him from the other side of the bookshelves anyway.

Jas tried her best to look down on her classmate. "Miss Penny got mad at you for kicking Prince Elliott today. If you do it again, she'll get mad again. And maybe next time she won't forgive you!"

The older boy could not disagree, so instead he complained. "He's not a prince. Quit calling him that!"

"I say he's a prince because he acts like one," the dark-haired child insisted. "Just like I call you a meanie when you act like one." Jas stuck out her tongue at Vincent before pulling out one of her storybooks to read while they waited for their teacher to return. Vincent would have bickered with Jas, but Miss Penny came back just as he opened his mouth. Instead, he swallowed his words and went back to his practice problems, trying desperately to pretend he had been working the whole time.

Sebastian sat in the middle row of the computer lab for class, furiously taking notes on the tricks of the trade their professor shared with the class. Sure, it would be a lot faster to type things out, but he always remembered things better if he wrote them down the first time at least. That way he could translate the source material to his own way of understanding.

While is was ranked as an undergraduate senior due to his credit hours after his testing, Sebastian still had a lot to learn about programming codes he did not use often as a freelancer. He was taking a class on programming languages overall to expand his knowledge base, which was a requirement for his degrees anyway. But until he had the same grasp on these other languages, Sebastian had to do his best to keep up. He wondered if petitioning to waive the prerequisite on the condition that he take the courses simultaneously, assuming they would keep approximate pace with one another, had been a huge mistake. It was overwhelming at times.

As Sebastian frantically scribbled notes, one of his classmates raised a hand. "Professor? Sorry to bother you, but is the air conditioner on the fritz? I'm freezing."

Another member of the class agreed. "Yeah, they must have accidentally turned the AC on when they should have switched to heat."

Sebastian did not think much of the complaint at first, though the professor decided to call the main office for the building to put in an official work order. However, after the lecture resumed Sebastian's obsidian eyes noticed a sparkle of refracted light and saw the ice crystals forming on his pencil. Oh, shit!

He quickly tried to remove the frozen bits from his writing instrument, flicking them off the desk discreetly onto the floor. Sebastian did his best not to panic and refocus on the lesson, but for safety's sake, he scanned himself for any ice chips every few minutes.

When the bell tower outside chimed to signal the top of the hour, Sebastian gathered up his things as quickly as possible and darted out of the classroom. Normally, he spent the next hour or two on his assignments while he had access to the campus network that had higher-quality computers, but Sebastian wondered if it was worth the risk if his magic was manifesting unconsciously. But if I don't get my work done on campus, it's not going to get done in time, Sebastian realized with a sigh. We have a concert in two days.

Reluctantly, Sebastian decided to reserve a small, private computer room near the professors' offices. That way, even if something did happen, he would have more time to dispose of the evidence and random people could not just walk in to find a glacier forming in the room. The secretary had him sign a sheet with his name and univeristy ID number before handing off the key.

When the programmer entered the room, he caught a whiff of old coffee. Someone had spilled some in here at some point and the scent still lingered. Still, the room was better than Sebastian had expected. It had a computer with dual monitors, with the option to plug in a third if you knew what you were doing. Setting up quickly, the hoodie-clad man logged into the necessary online portals and began his work. Now that he was not so concerned about keeping the appearances of normalcy, Sebastian was able to concentrate and get things done more quickly.

After a solid two hours, Sebastian submitted his last assignment and stood to stretch his body. His muscles protested from his prolonged stillness. Luckily, no icicles were closing in on him. The only indicator that his powers were in effect was that he could see his breath. I should do some trial and error to figure out why it triggers when it does, Sebastian considered regarding his ice-type magic. He did not want to draw any more attention to himself than necessary and he could not explain away an iceberg in the classroom with himself at the center.

As he grabbed his bag to leave, the door to the tiny computer lab swung open and Doctor Edge jumped back in surprise. "Oh, hey," the middle-aged man laughed nervously. "Sorry, the students don't usually use these labs, so I didn't expect anyone to be in here."

"I'm just wrapping up," Sebastian assured the educator, shouldering his bag.

Edge shrugged. "I left something important in here," the man explained, producing a shiny metal contained from behind one of the monitors on the desk. "I'm sure you know how essential caffeine is in your field."

Despite himself, Sebastian cracked a smile at the truth behind his words. The fellow motorcyclist rubbed his arms. "Damn, maintenance needs to switch the AC off, it's an ice box in here." He sniffed in amusement when he realized that Sebastian seemed unbothered by the chill. "You a ghost or a White Walker? How can you stand it?"

"Why would cold tolerance make me non-human?" Sebastian scoffed, shirking away from the man's prodding finger on his shoulder to confirm he had a physical body.

"You know what they say about mysterious chills in the air," Edge countered with a chuckle, tucking his thermos into a designated slot in his leather bag. "And certain populations are sensitive to those kinds of things," he argued in his defense, as if that were something a normal person would accept as an excuse.

Sebastian stepped out of the room and the professor followed him out. "Isn't that for like psychics or whatever?" He surrendered his key to the secretary who flashed a friendly grin before turning back to her coworker to chat. "I didn't think a mechanical engineer would be the superstitious type."

"Psychics, children, animals, the terminally ill..." the engineer answered dismissively. "Supposedly they are more in tune with the supernatural, if you believe in any of that stuff."

The black-clad student rolled his eyes. "You're claiming to be psychic, then?"

"Oh, I never said that," the leather-clad man shot back, holding his hands up defensively. "I enjoy my 'enginerd' view on life and I'm not about to change my ways now. Too set in old habits, you know."

Sebastian forgot how cringe older adult humor could be, even if they occasionally had some decent material. "I guess you're headed to the same motorcycle parking I am, huh?"

"It is the only spot on campus," the instructor nodded in confirmation. "So, you're stuck with me unless you wanna pretend you forgot something back in the lab," Edge teased. Sebastian cursed internally. He had considered just that to avoid any additional social interaction with this talkative guy, but if he followed-through now it would be too obvious. He decided to bring up a safe topic to kill time: motorcycles.

Edge was more than happy to talk - or rather, lecture - about his favorite models and modifications. He even offered to teach Sebastian a thing or two, but Sebastian declined the offer. "I can do my own maintenance," he firmly assured his friendly acquaintance. "Besides, I've got band practice taking up most of my free time. We've got a gig on Friday."

The professor's steel-grey eyes lit up with interest. "Nice! I used to play bass back in the day," Edge revealed, recalling a handful of fond memories, no doubt. "What do you play? Guitar, drums?"

Sebastian hesitated, unsure if he really wanted a random guy to know anything else about his personal life. Then again, Edge continually guessing incorrect instruments might just make things more awkward. "... Synth, actually."

"Very old-school," Edge commented approvingly as they exited the building. The instructor held the door open so Sebastian could leave first. The younger man was not used to that kind of social etiquette, but he decided it was not worth making a fuss over. "So, what kind of music does your band play?"

Sebastian raised his shoulder in a non-committal gesture. "Rock, mostly. But sometimes Sam draws inspiration from other genres when he writes the songs."

Edge bobbed his head contemplatively. "Is Sam a buddy of yours?"

"He's my best friend and the lead guitarist," Sebastian replied simply.

"Is it just you two in the band?"

At this point, Sebastian relaxed a bit. It was not as if these questions required much effort or soul-searching. "We've got Abigail on drums and Violet's our vocalist."

The professor's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Oh, so you've got a co-ed group. You don't see that as often as you'd like. Most mixed bands like that only have one girl to sing and that's it."

Sebastian had not reflected on it much. "It makes sense. Sam and Abigail are dating, and Violet only joined because she didn't want to disappoint me or our friends."

Edge smiled knowingly. "Ah, so Violet's the girl you were texting…"

Realizing his mistake, Sebastian groaned. He let too much slip and now this guy was going to meddle somehow. Sebastian just knew it.

Laughing at Sebastian's expense, Edge waved his hand dismissively. "I won't tell anybody, no worries, kid." He ran a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair before donning his helmet. "Well, see you around, Sebastian. Good luck with your gig!" He took off out of the sparsely populated parking lot and sped down the road out of sight.

Sebastian sighed with relief. If that had gone on much longer, he would be late for band practice. The last thing he needed was Abigail chewing him out for something that was not his fault. As he secured his bag on his back and pulled on his own helmet, he felt a tug on his arm that nearly threw him off-balance.

"What the hell?!" Sebastian caught his royal blue motorcycle before it fell over and spun his head around to face his attacker.

From the viewing window of his helmet, Sebastian recognized that weird girl with all the piercing from orientation. The one who offered him cigarettes. "What do you think you're doing?!" Sebastian growled, pulling his arm away from her.

Her auburn hair was pulled back out of her face and her neck was lined with a red scarf. "How did you get to be so buddy-buddy with Doctor Edge?" the young woman demanded. "Is it because you both ride?"

Sebastian shrugged, "I dunno, maybe it's the motorcycle thing. Maybe he's just friendly," he admitted, trying to mount his motorcycle so he could drive away. But the woman in the leather jacket was persistent and blocked his path.

"Just tell me and I'll leave you alone!" she vowed firmly, grabbing the handles of his bike.

Now Sebastian was getting angry. This girl was being difficult and keeping him there against his will. It was not as if he could just run her over. "What does it matter to you if some random professor likes to chat with me every once and a while, you freak?!"

The pale woman frowned, her auburn hair falling in her face as she lowered her head and muttered a retort. "I can't hear you," Sebastian informed her, revving his engine to force her to speak louder. It was a dick move, but he did not care now. She was in his way.

"HE'S A FUCKING DILF, OKAY?!" the woman shouted so loudly that even a few passers-by were taken aback. She gripped the handlebars of Sebastian's motorcycle tightly so he could not escape. "I'm into older men…" she confessed, more quietly this time.

Sebastian did not know how to process this information. This girl was probably like eighteen and Edge had to be at least forty. Maybe even fifty. Gross. "He's like… at least twice your age," the programmer finally said.

"Fuck you. I don't need you judging me like everyone else in my life," she snapped, shaking a cigarette out of a bent carton. She lit up and took a drag. "Are you going to help me or not?"

This was Sebastian's chance; she had let go of his motorcycle. He could escape if he acted quickly. But Sebastian felt kind of sorry for her for some reason he could not quite put his finger on. The hoodie-wearer did not think that Edge would be the kind of guy to take advantage of someone this young, so maybe it would be better if the teacher rejected her directly. Then again, Sebastian realized he really did not know either of them all that well. Regardless, they were all technically adults, no matter how much it squigged him out.

Sebastian sighed. "Try using the private computer labs by the faculty offices…" Sebastian decided it was enough information to let her figure out the rest on her own if she was really determined, but not enough to give away Edge directly. Hopefully, things would shake out in the end.

The girl smirked and winked at him. "Thanks, old man. I owe you one." She walked back toward the sidewalk leaving a trail of tobacco smoke in her wake. Sebastian hated how much he still enjoyed the scent. Hopefully the ride home would rid him of it, he thought as he kicked off and began his journey toward Pelican Town. Things were going well with Violet; Sebastian did not want her to misunderstand.

Abigail sat at her drums, impatiently waiting for Sebastian to arrive for practice. "He's late!" the amethyst-haired woman complained.

"I'm sure he just got held up with something…" Violet defended her boyfriend. "Or maybe he got stuck in traffic coming back from ZuZu."

The drummer rolled her cerulean eyes and huffed in annoyance. "Okay, but we still need to think of a band name," Abigail reminded the other two band members. "We can't debut with a band name like 'To Be Determined.' That's super lame!"

Sam grinned from his seat on the sofa. "I've actually been thinking about names, and I think I've stumbled on a good one." He pointed to Violet, "V, you're Spring with all your awesome planty healing powers." The blonde turned his thumbs toward himself. "I'm Summer, 'cause I'm so bright and lovable." Sam motioned toward his girlfriend, "Abi, you're Autumn because you're tsundere but totally cool, and our boy Sebastian…"

The final member of the band came bursting through the door, red-faced and breathless. "Sorry… I'm late…" Sebastian apologized through his panting.

"Sebastian's our Winter!" the lead guitarist proclaimed. Sam stood, looping an arm around his best friend's neck. "And together we're…"

"The Four Seasons?" Abigail sneered in disgust. "That's a fucking hotel chain."

The skater shook his head, "Nah, we're gonna be rock gods for all seasons," he clarified seriously. Sam then cracked a sunny smile. "We're the 'Part-Time Pantheon!'"