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Covering Lies
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Things have become a little irritating for J.R these last couple of days. Now that they knew he was a wizard, they have been keeping a close eye on him. Every time he does something he can feel their eyes watching his every move. He didn't mind much the kids because he knew they were just curious and the same can be said for Theresa. When Jerry watched him it was not that of curiosity, but of judgment. It made him feel like his own father didn't approve of him. He knew the risks when he came here. He knew his parents wouldn't be happy with the kind of person their son had turned out. Even though they didn't know he was their son it still felt that way.
That's what J.R was feeling at the moment as he cleaned the tables. Ever since they found out about him, Theresa, Jerry, and Justin haven't looked at him the same way they used to. He could tell they didn't trust him like before. This is why he didn't want them finding out about him in the first place. This made him think of what would happen if they found out who he was? Max and Alex on the other hand, still were the same. They thought he was the coolest person they had ever met.
Putting everything aside, THAT day was coming soon. He was going to have to think of something fast. He knew where it was going to happen and also what was going to happen, but he still didn't know how it was going to happen.
"J.R!" He heard Theresa calling him. He turned around and saw her running out of the kitchen and stopped behind the cash register, quickly signaling him to come over. She looked a little jumpy. Once he got there, she made sure no one could hear. "Something has happened and Jerry says he needs you inside the lair now!" She said urgently.
"Aren't they in a lesson right now?" He asked.
"Just go!"
He ran inside the kitchen and took off his apron. When he took one step inside the lair and closed the door, he immediately crouched down barely missing something. He looked around and saw something weird. Something could be heard hitting the walls bouncing in all directions, but it was so fast you couldn't tell what it was. Whatever it was, it sure was making a mess. Things were breaking and falling. J.R looked around the best he could for Jerry and the others while trying not to get hit by whatever that things was. He didn't see anyone until he got closer to the middle of the room. Alex, Max, Justin, and Jerry were lying on the ground facing down, covering their heads. J.R lay down on his stomach and began to crawl towards them.
"What's going on?" He asked. Hearing a familiar voice they all raised their heads.
"Oh, good you're here." Jerry said sounding relieved.
"Hey J.R, how's it going." Max greeted.
"Hey." Alex greeted like nothing was happening.
"A little help?" Justin asked.
J.R sighed. "What happened?"
Flashback
Max, Justin and Alex were in another wizard lesson listing to their dad. Justin sat next to Alex on the red couch paying attention to what his dad was teaching while Alex was filing her nails not caring much as usual and Max was sitting on the one person red chair with his hand on his chin looking very serious.
"Okay, last thing for today." Jerry said excitedly pointing at the chalkboard that had a circle drawn on it.
"I know what that is." Max said all serious.
"Yes Max?" Jerry said sounding happy that someone else knew the answer besides Justin.
"It's a ball!" Max said smiling. Jerry face immediately dropped. Alex rolled her eyes.
"No Max." Jerry said.
"Is it a magical ball?"
"No."
"Not even a little bit?"
"No." Jerry looked at Alex and Justin. "Anyone else wants to give it a try." Justin and Alex looked at each other and then back at Jerry.
"A circle?" Jerry sighed.
"It's called G.C.M. It stands for great concentrated magic." He explained.
Alex and Justin just blinked their eyes. "Yeah, I'm sticking with circle." Alex said getting back to her nails.
Max stared at the board. "Are you sure it's not a ball?"
"No Max." Justin answered. "But it does look like it." He said staring at the board.
"It's not a ball!"
Jerry walked over to a drawer that had a lock on it at the other side of the room. He took out a set of keys from his pocket and opened it. The kids saw as he took out what looked like to be a box, but they couldn't see much because it was covered in a black cloth. It was the size of a shoe box. Jerry put the box on the small table in the middle of the room so they could see.
"This is the G.C.M." Jerry said taking the cloth off.
The entire box was transparent. The only thing that wasn't transparent was the lock. The strangest thing was that…there was nothing inside.
They all stared at the box. "Um, dad…unless magic is made out of air, I don't think there's nothing in there." Alex said.
"So, where's the ball?" Max asked.
"It's not a ball!" Jerry said going back to the board. "Now then, the G.C.M is used only in emergencies. The uses for it can vary in the kind of situation you're in." As Jerry began to go into details, the kids stared at the clear box. "Let's opened it, maybe it's invisible." Alex said.
"I don't know, Alex." Justin said with uncertainty. Alex looked at him. "I know you are just as curious as I am." Somehow, Alex always knew how to read him. "Still, we don't have the key." Justin said looking at the lock. Alex thought about it and turned her head to her dad, who was still talking. "Dad, where's the key for the lock?"
Jerry stopped talking and looked at her. "It's in a safe place where no one can get it," He patted his pocket. "and in no circumstances should that box be-"
"I have it!" Max said showing the keys in his hand and unlocking it. "Don't open it!" Jerry yelled after seeing he didn't have the key. But it was no use, Max had already opened it.
All of a sudden thudding sounds could be heard coming from all over the place. It was like something was bouncing off the walls at a very fast rate. It was so fast you couldn't see what it was. Things started to break and fall down.
"Everyone hit the deck!" Jerry yelled as he jumped to the ground. The kids soon followed.
"What is that!?" Justin asked. Jerry raised his head and had a look of discontent. "That would be the G.C.M."
"How do we put it back in the box?" Alex asked him.
"Someone has to get a hold of it and put back." He answered. They looked at him like he was crazy.
"I don't think that's gonna happen." Alex said. Jerry shook his head. "Only a high level wizard can do it." Jerry said. They all sighed and covered their heads. They thought they were going to be stuck like this for a while. I mean, how were they going to contact a wizard when they didn't know who to call.
"Then let's get J.R in here!" Max said like it was the most obvious answer. Alex, Justin and Jerry quickly raised their heads, realizing he was right.
"Yeah, let's get J.R." Alex said smiling. Justin looked his dad and he could tell he was thinking about it. Jerry tried to think if J.R could pull it off. He had to trust in his abilities or else they were going to be stuck there for who knows how long.
"Alright, Alex text your mother and tell her to send J.R in here." Alex nodded and took out her cell phone.
Theresa was peacefully making sandwiches when she received the message. Her eyes widened after reading it and immediatly ran out to find J.R.
Flashback
"That's pretty much it." Alex said.
After hearing that, J.R turned his head to look at Jerry. "What do you want me to do?"
"Do you know what a wizard's sensor is?" He asked. J.R looked a little surprised because he had never heard about it. He shook his head. Seeing as J.R didn't know what it was, he would have to explain it before he could use it.
"Okay, J.R the wizard's sensor is an ability every wizard has, but the only way to use it is when you have become highly synchronized with your magic and you have complete control of it." Jerry explained.
Alex was little confused. "Doesn't every wizard have control over their magic?" Jerry shifted his head to look at her. "Yes, but to a certain degree. The more control you have, the more powerful your magic becomes and the faster you can use it." After finishing Jerry looked back at J.R. "How much practice have you had on this?" He asked.
"Not much, I mostly concentrated in other things besides control." He honestly said. Jerry raised his head and saw how messy it was becoming and then returned his gaze to J.R. "Alright, before you're able to use the wizard's sensor you have to have some control and after seeing your magic I know you can do it." Jerry said with a smile.
J.R smiled a little and not just because of what Jerry said. It felt like old times when he was younger and his dad taught them magic. Even now he was still teaching him.
"Teach me how to do it." He said with faint eagerness. They all notice how his demeanor had changed a bit. He seemed a little more lighter.
"Um … okay first clear your mind of all thoughts and focus only on the magic around you." J.R closed his eyes and did what he was told. He was familiar with this kind of training, but he never used it like this. "Now, sense and feel the magic around you." The only time he did this was when he was focusing on his magic, but the difference now was that he was focusing on magic other than his.
It took some effort and time to focus on the magic in the room besides his, but he managed it. Very faintly he could feel four sources of magic besides his own. He could feel three of them near him, but the fourth was moving all over the place. That wasn't the only reason it stood out. He opened his eyes and looked up. He could not only feel it, he could also see it now. He could see a white light going all over the place.
"Can you see it now?" Jerry asked. J.R nodded, but he still didn't understand how. Justin quickly covered Alex and Max's mouths, seeing as they were about to break J.R's concentration. "The reason why you can see it now is because you're not only seeing it, but you're also feeling it. That's what a wizard's sensor is." He said as he watched J.R looking around the room.
Alex uncovered her mouth and gave Justin small glare. "Great now that he can see it, how is he supposed to catch it?" She said as she looked up and tried to see the moving light which was impossible.
"Now that you can see it you have to connect with it."
"Connect with it? Are you kidding, if connects he'll be blown away!" Alex exclaimed.
Jerry shook his head. "No, not physically, I meant a connection between it and his magic. The G.C.M is pure magic without will, that's why it's so out of control. Once his magic connects with it, he'll be able control it."
While they talked, J.R kept trying to keep a watch on the light. He studied the patterns of its movements, trying to see an opening so he could make his move. He highly doubted he was going to get this right in the first try. He quickly stood up reaching up into the air seeing an opportunity, but instead of going to his hand, the light hit him square on the chest sending him flying backwards.
"See, told ya." Alex said.
J.R stood back up, but instantly regretted it as he was hit from the side once again flying and ramming into the wall. They all cringed as he made contact with the wall hard.
"That had to hurt." Max commented.
J.R groaned and pushed himself back up. He regained his balance, but quickly was sent flying forward after getting hit from behind. He was getting nowhere fast.
Alex sighed and rested her chin on her hand. "This is going to take a while."
After getting hit like about thirty times, everyone looked like they were about to fall asleep. He had practecly been sent flying all over the room. Justin raised his head to see where J.R was, just in time to see him be sent to the ground again.
"Maybe, you should try a different approach." He suggested.
Even though to them it looked like he kept doing the same thing over and over, he actually was trying to get the hang of it. He knew from experience how much hard labor and work it took to achieve something. He was almost there, he could feel it. Justin watched as he landed near them after being hit again. This woke everyone from their drowsiness.
"So, any luck yet?" Max said in a playful tone.
J.R didn't pay him any attention.
"Maybe you should take a break or try something else." Alex said with a little worry. They could all tell he was getting very tired. J.R broke out of his concentration and looked at her. "You mean give up." He said.
Alex didn't say anything. She didn't want to put it that way, but that was what she really meant. She nodded. J.R looked deep into her eyes and no longer saw this Alex, but he was seeing his Alex. He saw her eyes looking at him, watching him.
No. She couldn't see him fail.
"J.R?" Justin's voice brought him back. J.R slowly stood up and stayed completely still.
"J.R what are you doing!? Get back down!" Max said.
J.R stopped following the light with his eyes and just kept looking straight. They watched with amazement as he wasn't being blow away. The light kept passing him, barely missing him. All of a sudden he shot his hands out forward and a tremendous force pushed against him. It was so strong it began to push him back until he was up against the wall. They all could finally see the G.C.M. It was a white light that was the size of a baseball.
"That's it J.R, you got it!" Jerry said. He saw J.R was having trouble controlling it. "Don't fight it or it'll just keep fighting you. Let your magic and it connect!" J.R stopped fighting it and let his magic flow through him, embracing it. Slowly it began to calm down and a blue barrier appeared around the light with J.R's hands holding it from the outside. The kids and Jerry finally being able to stand up walked towards him.
"You did it!" Jerry patted him on the back.
"I knew you could do it!" Alex said. J.R looked at her. "What?"
"So, that's the G.C.M." Justin said looking closely at it.
"It looks like a ball except is shiny." Max said.
J.R studied the bright light he was holding. He could feel the power that it held. If this thing ever got into the wrong hands, it could only mean disaster. He had never heard of such a thing like this, but then again there were a lot of things he didn't know. Over time he has learned that no matter how much knowledge and power you gain there will always be something new. No one can truly know everything.
Jerry walked over to the table and grabbed the transparent box, bringing it to them. Justin looked over at the box. "I still don't understand how that box can contain a thing like that." Justin wondered.
"It's a box that was specifically made for it, unbreakable and soundproof." Jerry said.
"Why do you have this?" J.R asked putting the G.C.M back in the box. Jerry locked the box and covered it once more with the black cloth.
"Professor Crumbs give it to me for safe keeping. He didn't want anyone suspicious getting their hands on it. No one would expect a powerful item like the G.C.M would be with an ordinary wizard family." He explained as he put the container inside the drawer and lock it.
"Speaking of Professor Crumbs, if you guys forget to send back your report cards signed, he'll come himself to pick them up and I suggest you don't do that. Did you guys get them yet?" Jerry asked.
Alex and J.R panicked at the mention of Crumbs, but it didn't last long for J.R. As for Alex it was a different story.
"Yeah, mine's upstairs." Justin said with big smile, but it soon died down and he sighed. "But it's not framing material."
"So is mine." Max said.
"How about you guys go get them so I can sign them." After Justin and Max left he looked over at Alex, who was trying to sneak out without being noticed.
"What about you Alex? Did you receive your report card?" Jerry asked.
"Uhhh … mine hasn't come yet." She said.
"Well, bring it to me when you get it." He said oblivious to her lie.
"Sure dad." Alex quickly said and left.
Jerry was about to leave when he noticed J.R was just standing there, spacing out.
"J.R, you okay?" He asked.
J.R seemed to snap out of it and looked at him. "I'm fine." He said as he also left. Jerry just watched him leave.
Hours later…
Alex was not having a good time to say the least. No, that would be an understatement. She did not only hide her report card from her parents, but she also transformed them into guinea pigs and to top it off, Professor Crumbs took her powers. Oh, yeah things weren't looking up. Things didn't seem any better when she saw her brothers near her guinea pigs in the living room.
"Do you think this will trick Alex?" Justin asked.
"What are you doing with my guinea pigs!?" Alex said grabbing the cage from the table.
"Yes I do." Max said.
It's a very strange feeling you get when you get to see with your own eyes past events. This nostalgic feeling is something J.R has come to get used too. At first it was somewhat overwhelming, but as time passed he has come to get accustomed to it. He watched, just as he remembered, as Alex explained to her brothers the mess she got herself into.
After convincing Justin to help, he transformed the guinea pigs they bought into people.
"You got to be kidding me!? We're human!" The woman cried with excitement. They watched how excited they were and then told them to help them find their guinea pig parents.
The guinea people began to sniff around.
"Oh oh! I smell peanut butter and jelly crusts!" The woman said running around. "And dirty socks and-" The man continued after the woman, but he suddenly stopped and sniffed again. He ran to the kids and sniffed Justin.
"Are there two of you!?" The man quickly asked Justin, still over excited about being human.
Max and Alex looked at Justin while he tried to make sense of what the man just said. But before he could even speak the man ran back where the woman was. "I also smell orange soda!" He said sniffing some more.
Justin and Alex suddenly realized where there parents were.
"Under Max's bed!" They both said to each other, and then ran up the stairs.
The guinea people stayed and ran around trying to sniff for food. "Hey…" the man said stopping. "Is that Justin kid still here?" He said sniffing. The woman stopped moving. "I smell him too." She said. She walked towards the sink when she found a new smell that she liked. "Hey! I smell sandwiches downstairs!" She said running for the stairs.
"Wait for me!" The man said going after her.
Max's Room…
After seeing how much Max had 'cleaned up' his room they began looking for their parents. For such a small room it sure was hard to find anything in there.
"This would go so much faster if J.R was here." Alex said looking through the clothes on the floor.
"Where is J.R?" Justin asked looking under the bed.
"I don't know. I haven't seen him since our magic lesson." Max said looking in his closet.
After finding and transforming their parents back to normal, they didn't look too happy. Oh, they were pretty much furious.
J.R didn't need to be in the room to know what was happening. This was one of the days he could remember clearly. It was the first time he ever used magic against someone like Professor Crumbs. He didn't even know what he was doing when he cast the spell. All he could think of was saving Alex's magic. He will also always remember those words Professor Crumbs said.
"You two bring out the best in each other." He didn't know how true does words were and how it worked both ways.
J.R was so deep in thought he didn't even notice Theresa had been back from Max's room a couple of minutes ago.
"I wonder what I should make for dinner." She said to herself while looking in the fridge.
Being invisible has its advantages. You could hide yourself from everyone's eyes without even hiding. If the spell was perfect everyone would use it. Too bad the spell had a major flaw.
After getting her powers back and he-their punishment. Alex thanked Justin. Jerry and the kids came back downstairs to see what was for dinner. Theresa saw them coming down and closed the fridge.
"I guess everything is back to normal." She said smiling.
"Yeah" Jerry replied.
They were about to get comfortable, when Professor Crumbs suddenly decided to reappear behind the large couch. They were all a little startled.
"Professor Crumbs, what brings you back?" Jerry asked.
"We won't forget the comb!" Alex said already a little grossed out.
"Yes, I'm glad you remembered, but that's not why I'm back." He said. He turned to look at Jerry. "I almost forgot. Wasn't there something you wanted to talk to me about?"
Jerry's eyes widen a little, remembering. He meant to talk to him earlier, but it kept slipping his mind.
"Ah, yes it was about-" Prof. Crumbs suddenly raised his hand signaling him to stop as he looked towards the island. He tilted his head a little staring at the spot between the island and sink.
"Is something wrong professor?" Justin asked from the couch. Prof. Crumbs didn't say anything and walked over right next to the spot were he was just looking at. They all wonder what he was doing as they watched him look at a spot on the ground and then up.
The bad thing about the invisibility spell was…
Crumbs pulled his hand back and smack J.R's back making him appear.
…it wears off from the slightest movement. They were all taking aback as J.R appeared out of thin air.
"Good spell, but you were sending out too much magic." Prof. Crumbs commented.
Jerry regained his composure and looked at him. "J.R what were you doing there?" He asked.
"You can turn invisible!?" Max said. "That's so awesome!"
"No wonder we didn't know where you were." Alex said.
Prof. Crumbs stared at J.R with curiosity. Something didn't feel right to him. His magic…their was something about it. It felt very familiar, it was just like…Prof. Crumb's eyes went wide and quickly turned around to look at Justin. Every wizard has different essence of magic. He looked back at J.R. And he has always remembered all his promising student's magic. There was no mistaking it.
J.R was becoming a little nervous as Prof. Crumbs kept staring at him.
"Professor, this was what I wanted to talk to you about." Jerry said. He walked over to J.R and put a hand on his shoulder. "This is-"
"J…R" Prof. Crumbs said before Jerry could finish.
"You know him." Jerry was a little surprised along with everyone else in the room. Prof. Crumbs stopped staring at J.R and looked at him with a smile.
"Yes, J.R was one of my model students." Now that shocked everyone.
"You got to be kidding me." Alex said in disbelief.
"Really?" Justin was having a little trouble believing this.
Prof. Crumbs looked at J.R. "He was a very responsible and smart student that I really liked." While he talked, J.R stared at the ground not being able to look at him.
Alex made a distasteful sound. "You make him sound like Justin."
Prof. Crumbs smiled. "Well, they do have a lot in common." For some reason that didn't set well with Justin. Not after seeing what J.R did. The same thing could be said for his parents.
"I don't think so." Alex said not believing him one bit.
"Um, professor?" Jerry said trying to get his attention. "The thing that I wanted to talk to you about was J.R" He explained.
"Oh?" He said raising his eyebrows slightly.
"You see the thing is J.R has extraordinary magic, but he has told us he hasn't been acknowledged by the Wizard Council." Jerry said.
Prof. Crumbs frowned and looked at J.R. He knew time traveling was a very serious crime if you didn't receive permission. It also was very dangerous. It was very rare if you're allowed. That's why almost nobody gets permission to do it and because of this, they never found a way to keep track of their records. Any wizard from the future has no record in the past and that was problematic. The only way to keep things in order was to make a new record for them, but that meant going through all the questioning and inspections from the Council. That wasn't the problem though.
He hoped J.R had a good reason for coming here and that he didn't do anything reckless to do so. Just by looking at him he could tell something had happened to the boy. Justin was a smart boy with a good heart, but he knew from experience how time and situations could change a person.
"I know how all the Council member's identities are kept secret for security measures so I was wondering if you could help us since J.R hasn't showed himself when he was supposed to and I know you have some connections with them." Jerry said.
"Yes, I see." Prof. Crumbs said stroking his beard as he thought about it. Everyone in the room waited for his response. "I'll see what I can do."
J.R watched as Prof. Crumbs said his goodbyes and left. This whole time he was hiding, he knew from the start it was useless. He knew Prof. Crumbs was going to show up the moment he heard the words report card and he knew, somehow, he was going to see right through him. Out of desperation he thought of this ridicules plan to avoid him. It would have been to suspicious if he left during the time Prof. Crumbs was here. Six months ago, he would've come up with something better. Either his time here has been affecting him or this whole time travel ordeal was more tricky than he had anticipated. Whatever, the case was, he hoped that by the time it came for him to go on trial or under questioning, he would already be long gone.
Isn't Crumbs such a nice guy, keeping J.R's secret like that. Anyways, I wonder what you guys think is going to happen next.