Chapter 3, The Federal Owl Postal Service:
Jacob groggily woke up to the sound of his alarm on his bedside table blaring in his ears, just as he did yesterday. He stood up, took a shower, got dressed, and walked downstairs to the Living Room. It was still a mess, just like he had left it the night before. As he ate some breakfast, sat down on the couch, and turned on the TV, he stared off and into the distance. His strange dream he had the night before crept back to him in waves. The voices, the chasm, the forest, mountains, all of it. He could remember it. What he didn't remember was the strange things that had happened to him before the dream. As the news just kept idly talking on and on, he stood from where he sat on the couch and walked back into the kitchen to put his dishes away.
Jacob turned towards the calendar that hung in his family's kitchen. On it was listed every shift that he worked at the local supermarket. His shift today started at two o'clock, PM. It was 9:00 o'clock AM at that time. Given that he had plenty of time before he had to leave for work, he opened up his phone and checked to see if anyone had sent him a message.
There were no new messages, just like yesterday. Jacob set his phone down with a sigh and left to go use the bathroom. When he returned, he saw that his Manager at work had texted him, asking Jacob to give him a call.
Jacob's manager, Mr. Mason, was a rough individual. He was the one who hired Jacob at the supermarket as a cashier a couple of years ago, but he usually treated his employees with a no-nonsense attitude. As a result, Jacob never really got close to Mr. Mason. Jacob was the type of person that did his work and did it well, but his parents were the type to urge him on and do his best at all times. As they'd always tell him, "You'll never know when you might need him as a reference for a future job!" That, along with Mr. Mason's no-nonsense attitude, often made Jacob feel like he was being tested every time he went into work. Sure, he's spent the past two years there, so it's not like he couldn't handle it, but still. Jacob hoped that he'd be able to someday find a job that unlike the one that he had now.
After some thought, he picked up his phone, dialed his manager's number, and started to walk into the kitchen. After the phone rang a couple of times, his manager picked up the phone.
"Johnson!" a gruff voice greeted him on the opposite end.
"Good morning Mr. Mason" he replied. Mr. Mason coughed before continuing.
"I need you to come into work early today. Will just called in sick, and as you know, he's the one cashier that works the morning shift"
"Oh, yeah!" Jacob replied. "I think that I'd be able to do that. When did you want me to come in?"
"Now, if you could"
Jacob suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Um…" he muttered, thrown off by Mr. Mason's sudden request. "Yeah…sure" he said. Jacob is usually thrown off by sudden changes to his schedule.
"Great!" Mason answered. "See you soon!" he then hung up the phone, leaving Jacob to his thoughts and slight frustration. He glanced at his phone one more time, hoping to see a text from one of his friends that would cheer him up, but still, no one had replied back to him.
After getting dressed in his work uniform, sliding his padlock into his pocket, and sticking his name-tag to his shirt, Jacob left the house and sat down in his car. Turning the key in the ignition and opening the garage door behind him, he slowly backed his car out of the garage and onto the street. After that, he turned and drove off down Dragsbury Lane towards Winnetka Avenue. Once he reached the Winnetka, Jacob rolled down his window and let his arm hang out the side of his car.
Jacob took a deep breath in and out. Winnetka Avenue was surrounded on both sides by trees and thick undergrowth, blocking a corn-field on one side and a group of houses on the other. The air was still humid outside from the rain the night before and the smell of fresh dirt wafted around him. What Jacob really liked was how no one else was out on the roads. He didn't expect there to be any other cars, given that it was about nine-thirty AM on a Sunday morning. Regardless, Jacob was an introvert, and enjoyed time to himself. The problem was, he was starting to get desperate for the company of his friends and family, given the strange things that happened to him yesterday and the lack of communication between him and his friends.
Just then, a large bird flew across the road. Jacob tried to get a good look at it, but it had flown into the trees before he could see what it was. He didn't even try to get a better look before continuing to drive down the road. As he did, he turned on the radio. As the static cleared, the familiar voice of Maxwell Davis, a newscaster, could be heard over the radio.
"Hello everyone! This is Max Davis, and I hope you all are having a spectacular morning! Let's get started with the morning news of the day"
Jacob turned off of Winnetka Avenue and onto the highway.
"First off, a owls have been sighted all over Minneapolis this morning. Sightings like this have not just been in Minneapolis, but all over the country! Almost all of the sightings have been reported that the owls are flying in broad daylight, which as we all know, is very unusual for owls"
Jacob turned up the radio after reaching a stoplight, keen to hear more about these owls.
"So, with us to talk about these sightings is ornithologist Brian Peterson!" Davis exclaimed. "How are you doing today Brian?"
"I'm doing great! How about yourself?" Brian replied.
"Doing good, doing good!" Davis answered. "So Brian, what do you make of all of this?"
"Well, from what I can gather, the owls that are being spotted are a mixture of diurnal and nocturnal owls. Diurnal owls, unlike Nocturnal Owls, sleep during the night and are awake during the day" he told Davis.
"Really!" Davis said. "I thought that all owls are nocturnal, just like they taught us back in elementary school" Brian laughed.
"Yes, that's what they'd like to believe. It's one of the things that makes owls such unique and interesting birds! But alas, not all owls sleep during the day. Should you spot one of these owls during the day, there should be nothing to worry about. Just keep your distance, as you would with any other predatory animal"
Jacob glanced around, wondering if he had witnessed a diurnal owl earlier.
"That's all well and good…" Davis began, "But what about the nocturnal owls? What's the deal with them?" Brian paused before replying.
"Honestly…nobody knows for sure. Some say that these owls have caught a widespread illness, but the chances are slim. So in the end, we just don't know"
"Well, that's interesting. Anything we all should do if we see an owl today?" Davis asked.
"It's as I'd say with any predatory animal. If you see an owl, keep your distance. You wouldn't want to provoke one"
With that, Jacob turned the dial on his radio to listen to some music instead before driving on to work.
After a short drive, Jacob pulled his car into a parking spot just outside of the supermarket, on the edge of a small forest. As he took his key out of the transmission, he slouched back in his chair and turned towards the supermarket. He could spend a couple of minutes in his car, right? It's not as if his manager would notice. He didn't tell him when he'd be there…so it wouldn't be a problem, right?
With these thoughts in mind, Jacob set an alarm on his watch for five minutes and reclined his chair back before beginning to relax. After a couple of minutes, he pulled out his phone. To his surprise, there was a message from his friend Carson. It read:
"Hey Jacob! No, me and Lisa don't have anything we're going to do today. You work today?"
Jacob, glad to hear from Carson, replied back with: "Yeah…sadly I do. My manager called me early this morning and asked me to come in. Don't know when I'll be off".
Carson quickly replied back to him with: "Dang…well, we both could stop by while you're working" Jacob smiled. Lisa. He was going to see Lisa!
Jacob, Lisa, and Carson all met back in Elementary School, along with Carlos, and Logan. All of them were good friends and spent lots of time together over the years, but when Jacob was younger, had a large crush on Lisa. That crush, along with his feelings for her, never paid off and resulted in anything. There was always a part of him that was scared of revealing his feelings. He felt as if he ever did tell her the truth, things would change, and not for the better.
As time went on, life brought him into a relationship with a girl named Andrea. Jacob couldn't regret being in that relationship more, even if he tried. Once that ended, Jacob was left broken, alone, and somewhat bitter at how she treated him. He felt as if he had wasted so much time with her. This led him to believe that he should tell Lisa how he feels, no matter the consequences. Constantly egged on by his feelings, he finally decided that someday soon, he'd finally do it.
"Sure!" he texted back. "That'd be great"
Suddenly, a loud THUNK struck his windshield. Jacob's body jolted back in surprise. He quickly slid his phone away into his pocket and gazed at his surroundings. At first, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but after getting up and out of his car, he noticed that a letter was sitting face-down on the hood of his car. He looked around, wondering where it came from. He was alone in the parking lot, with the closest cars being parked many rows away. He jumped again as a loud HOOT came from the tree above his car.
There was a small owl, sitting on the branch above him. If the owl hadn't made a sound, Jacob never would've seen it. Jacob stared at it for a couple of seconds in awe. He had never seen an owl up close before. It had bright yellow eyes, a small black beak, and it was covered in brown and white plumage. The way the feathers were arranged on its face made it appear very surprised. The owl hooted at him again, but this time it shook a small bag at him, one that was attached around its foot. The owl did this a couple more times, but eventually it gave up and flew away.
After standing there, thinking about this strange encounter. Jacob smiled.
"That was pretty cool" he muttered to himself.
With that, he turned back towards the letter and picked it up without hesitation. The letter was relatively heavy in his hand, and it was closed with a deep-blue seal. Above this wax seal was a strange emblem imprinted on the envelope. It depicted a snake, what looked like a goblin, a large cat, and a bird. Above it was the words: "Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry". At the bottom of the letter was also printed the words: "Courtesy of the Federal Owl Postal Service".
Jacob had no idea what any of it meant. As a matter of fact, he was more confused than anything. Was this some sort of joke? Magic doesn't exist. And a school? He didn't want any weirdos sending some sort a letter to him just so he could join a stupid cult. The urge to toss the letter off into the brush suddenly crossed his mind, but still, given his recent encounter with that strange dog in the forest, he didn't completely dismiss this letter. Did that owl bring him this letter?
He turned the letter over to the front side and saw the address. It was addressed in deep-pink, almost red, ink. It read: "Mr. Jacob Johnson, 3206 Dragsburg Lane, Upper Level, Second Bedroom on the Left-Hand Side, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
"That's weird…" Jacob whispered. "How do they know which bedroom is mine?"
All of a sudden, Mr. Mason startled him with his booming voice.
"JACOB!" he shouted as he stood just outside of the entrance to the supermarket.
Jacob quickly turned towards him. "Yes…sorry Mr. Mason!" he called. "I'll be there in a second!" He quickly fumbled around, grabbed his keys out of his car, locked the car, and started to run towards Mr. Mason with his letter in-hand.
Mr. Mason grumbled and walked back inside, but not before calling out to Jacob as he ran inside, saying "We need you on Register Six"
Jacob nodded and quickly walked back to the Break-Room. In the room sat a wall of lockers. He pulled out his padlock out of his pocket and unlocked it. He idly set his letter down on a nearby table and slid his phone into the locker. Turning back towards the letter, he stared at it for a brief moment, wondering what it all meant. He glanced at the trash-can on the opposite side of the room, and he debated with himself again if he wanted to keep the letter. Picking it up, Jacob walked towards the trash can and held the letter up over all of the junk and garbage inside.
For some strange reason, he couldn't let it go. His heart wouldn't let him. Jacob sighed and set the letter down on top of his phone inside of the locker. He looked it over one last time, before shutting the locker door.
Jacob stood behind the cash register and slid groceries past the scanner, one after the other. He had been doing this for the past hour, asking "Paper or Plastic?" to each and every customer that came through his lane. As time went on and on, he grew more and more complacent and bored. When he had first arrived, thoughts about the strange letter had faded from his mind. The thoughts were replaced by a desire to go, to leave, to just go somewhere else. Anywhere else. Jacob often wondered if that desire was a part of how childish he was. Even though he had only turned eighteen a couple of months ago, he felt as if he should act like an adult now. With that in mind, Jacob walked towards the end of his lane at the first chance he had. He then started to look around, wondering if there was anyone that he could help.
The store was filled with racks of clothes and groceries in all directions. Shelves were filled with so many different items of all different prices. Mannequins stood as still as stone near the clothing sections, and the smooth, white linoleum floor shone under the pale lights hanging from the ceiling.
After he reached the end of his lane, Jacob noticed an old woman that stood alone near the beauty section with a large basket of groceries hanging from her arm. She appeared to be confused, as if she was wondering where to go next. After overcoming the sudden desire to leave her alone, Jacob approached her.
"Hi there ma'am!" Jacob said with a smile and a small wave. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
The old woman looked at him and smiled. She wore a thin purple scarf around her neck over a blue cardigan. She wore blue square glasses and a black skirt that reached down to her feet. Her basket was filled with hair coloring, various tabloids, and a rubber duck.
"No…I don't think so" the old woman told him. "I think I'm done"
Jacob gestured over to his checkout lane. "Well, I could scan your groceries if you like"
"Would you?" she asked. "Oh thank you…you're such a dear!" she smiled again before following Jacob over to his lane.
Jacob walked towards the register and began scanning her hair products.
"Would you like Paper or Plastic?" he asked.
"Plastic" she replied.
After swiping a couple of her items across, the old woman started talking to Jacob.
"Have you heard about the owl sightings everywhere?"
Jacob stopped in his tracks, bar-code halfway over the scanner. He thought for a second and remembered the small owl from earlier this morning. The strange letter, and where it sat in his locker, flashed through his mind. He shook his head before continuing to scan her groceries.
"Yeah I have. Weird stuff if you ask me"
The old woman laughed. "Of course someone like you would say that"
Jacob stopped and looked up at her. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked with a confused smile on his face.
"Well…you No-Majs aren't as comfortable with owls as we are" she said before smiling. "It's nothing personal. I think it's great! I'm so glad that everyone else gets to enjoy our feathery friends as we do"
Jacob shook his head before continuing on with the groceries. As he scanned the last item the woman had, he asked her, "Has this just been happening in Minnesota?"
"Oh, no" she answered. "It's been happening all over the country!"
"Really?" Jacob said.
"Yes…" she answered. "Surprisingly, we're the only country in the world that's experiencing this. Some say it's an American Awakening…"
The old woman trailed off and said no more. Jacob, now finding her very odd in every regard, printed out her receipt, and wished her a good day before she left. Her last statement left Jacob as confused as ever. His thoughts slowly trickled back to his letter, which still sat in his locker, but now it felt as if it was waiting, waiting for him to open it and see what's inside.
Just then, the smiling faces of his two friends, Carson and Lisa, popped into the checkout lane.
"Oh hey!" Jacob exclaimed, "It's great to see you guys!" Carson was tan, had dark brown hair, and green eyes. He was only a little bit shorter than Jacob. He wore a black shirt, tan shorts, and black sneakers. They both had spent a lot of time hanging-out together with Lisa and their other friends, Steven and Bethany. but standing close-by was Lisa.
Jacob's heart grew warm and soft at the sight of her. It was only because of the strange events happening to him recently that he had forgotten about her.
"Hey Jacob!" Carson said with a smile. Just then, Lisa walked back out of the lane and turned towards the aisles.
"Where are you going?" Carson asked with a smile and a wink. She turned back and smiled at him. Jacob stopped and stared at them. Were they…flirting?!
"Wouldn't you like to know" she smiled back and winked back at him. "I'm just going to get some more groceries for our lunch today. We forgot the bananas" She then walked off.
Jacob, now growing quite flustered, looked at Carson and saw his eyes follow Lisa as she walked off.
"Am I…missingsomething?" Jacob asked, struggling to keep his emotions in check.
Carson turned back towards him, at first confused, but then he laughed. "Oh, yeah that's right, we forgot to tell you!"
Jacob's face turned stone cold and his heart sank. He knew what Carson was about to tell him. "Tell me what" he said.
"I asked out Lisa on a date a couple of nights ago, a couple of days before your Grad-Party!"
"Did you really" he answered.
"Yep! We went on a date that same night. It went really well!"
"Oh, did it? That's great…" Jacob answered. He was struggling to hold himself together now. Tears were now forming on the edge of his eyes. After sliding a bottle of olive oil across the scanner, he nonchalantly wiped his eyes, hiding the tears from Carson. He kept the bottle of olive oil in his hands. It was as if his hands didn't want to let it go.
"Yep!" Carson continued. "It turns out that we've both had feelings for each other for a long time, but both of us were always too nervous to say anything!"
The bottle of olive oil slid out of his hands and landed on the scanner with a BANG. Jacob stared down at his hands, which were now shaking. One question filled his mind:
How could this have happened?
Carson stopped and looked at him, finally noticing Jacob's behavior. "Hey man…you alright?"
Jacob started to laugh. It was quiet at first, but soon grew louder and louder until he was laughing so hard that his side was starting to hurt.
"What's so funny, Jacob?" Carson asked, who was now starting to get angry with him. People were starting to stop and stare at them. "Dude, cut it out!" he whispered to Jacob.
"Oh!" Jacob exclaimed, gasping for air. "Sorry… ha-ha-ha! I just think it's pretty funny how this is the first time I'm hearing about all of this…" he continued to laugh. "Oh man…" he gasped. "Good stuff…ha-ha…good stuff indeed!"
Carson stared at him with a look of disgust on his face. "Dude…I thought that you'd be happy for us!"
"Oh no…trust me, I'm beaming with pride!" Jacob exclaimed. Mr. Mason was starting to stare at him now, wondering what had gotten into him. It was then that Lisa came back.
"What's going on…?" she saw Jacob laughing. "Hey Jacob, what's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing! Nothing at all!" he said as he continued to laugh. With every moment that passed, with every laugh he uttered, his heart continued to crack, slowly breaking in two.
Lisa turned towards Carson. "What the hell did you say to him?!" she asked incredulously.
Carson turned towards her and raised up his hands in defense. "I just told him about how we're dating and then he just broke down!"
Lisa turned towards Jacob and watched in sadness as he continued to laugh, not knowing what was wrong with him. Jacob turned back towards her and saw her face filled with sadness and confusion. Under normal circumstances, seeing her like this would lead him to do anything that he could to make her feel better. But now…
He could've cared less.
"Jacob…please tell me what's wrong!" she said to him vehemently. Mr. Mason then walked up behind Jacob and asked, "Johnson, you alright?"
The sudden display of concern from this manager, a manager that Jacob had never really liked, shook him out of the hysteria. He looked over his shoulder towards Mr. Mason.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Carson just told me something that was really hilarious!"
Carson and Lisa stared at him in shock.
"Well, if that's the case, get their groceries checked out quickly. We need you on Lane 17". He then walked away. Carson and Lisa continued to stare at him.
"You know what…" Jacob began before falling silent. He then looked both of them in the eyes.
"Get the hell out of here. Leave me alone"
Their receipt printed, Jacob stuffed it in their bag, and held it out for them to grab. They just continued to look at him.
"Well?" he asked. "What are you waiting for? I told you to get the hell out of here and leave me alone, so why aren't you doing it? I'm due to help on Lane 17" He turned the light off on his lane.
Carson shook his head, grabbed the bag, and walked away. Lisa, however, just stood there and stared at him, tears forming in her eyes.
"Jacob…" she whispered.
"What?" he looked at her, the smile disappearing from his face. "What do you want from me?"
"Jacob…" she began, "I love him. Why is that so difficult for you to understand?"
He scoffed. "Oh, no I understand that loud and clear. Just get out of here. Don't start acting like you care about how I feel" he stopped and looked her dead in the eyes.
"Apparently…you never did"
With that, he shut his light off, and left for Lane 17 on the opposite side of the room, leaving Lisa to stand there alone, wondering what went wrong.
Jacob stood alone in the Employee Break Room five hours later. No one was in there, as the lunch rush had passed. His shift was over, but his hands still felt numb from treating Lisa and Carson the way he did. He knew it wasn't right and that it wasn't fair to them, but he didn't care. Instead, he hastily unlocked his locker, grabbed his phone and letter, and left without a second thought.
He quickly walked out to his car under the shadow of the trees. The sound of cars speeding past on the highway and the sound of birdsong filled his ears. As he pulled out his keys, just as he always did after work, he unlocked his car, opened the door, and sat down, tossing his phone and the letter into the passenger seat next to him.
After sticking his keys into the ignition, Jacob froze. Thoughts about the letter flowed over him. He turned towards the letter, grabbed it without a second thought, and ripped the top of the letter open, sliding out the piece parchment that was inside.
Magical Creature Profile, The Agropelter:
The Agropelter is chimp-like creature native to the forests of the Pacific Northwest, specifically those in southern Washington and Oregon. The Agropelter is covered in glossy, dark green hair all over its body and around its face, which always appears to be scrunched up in an angry glare. The most distinguishing feature of the Agropelter, however, are its long arms, which reach up to six feet in length. Anatomically, the arms of the Agropelter act like noodles and springs, growing and shrinking at will. It uses its long arms to break dead branches off of trees, hurling them downwards from it perch towards whoever may be passing through their territory, which it fiercely protects.
While the Agropelter isn't known to cause any fatal accidents (as it has dreadful aim), it's known to be quite mischievous and vengeful. The best way for any Magizoologist to deal with an Agropelter is to feign ignorance and then restrain the Agropelter while its arms are fully extended. (Many students then proceed to forget about the sudden piece of timber plummeting towards them at an alarming rate and suffer a fair bruise as a result).