Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Wizards. :c

Posted: 08/08/12

Chapter 2: "Hey be careful; you're getting crumbs on the floor. I just vacuumed."

Alex POV:

It's been an hour since I've got here. And a lot has happened in just an hour. Finding out all this about Max has really worried me. It's worried me so much that I've actually decided to help Max out with the sub shop while I'm here. I really do hate work, but the poor kid obviously needs some help. I called Justin a few minutes ago and told him that it was an emergency. In fact he just flashed in.

"What's the emergency?" Justin asks in his usual panicked voice while putting his wand in his back pocket. I don't want Max to hear the words "emergency" or else it might freak him out. I run over to Justin.
"SHHHH! I don't want Max to hear," I whisper while looking Max's way. He sits at the counter and doodles on his order pad.

"Ah Max. I should have known," Justin says in a cocky voice. I give him a punch in the stomach and it shuts him right up. We both make our way to Max.

"Hey buddy, how's it goin'?" Justin smiles and playfully messes up his hair just like I had done. Max just shrugs and goes back to his doodling. I figure out that we're not going to get anything out of Max anymore so I explain to Justin.

"Max says that he's experiencing memory loss…" I say slowly, "forgetting exam dates, where his friends live, events from the previous day…"

"Hm weird…" Justin strays off and begins his train of thought.

"And a wizard cold…" I say even slower. Justin's bubble seems to pop.

"A wizard cold? No, impossible. Max isn't even a wizard anymore" Justin says convinced. I see Max flinch at the sentence.

"That's what I said. But he's told me that he has all the symptoms. Max, show Justin your tissue." Max pulls out the germ filled thing and opens it up. Surely enough, there's the glowing snot.

"Oh my gosh. We need to take you to a wizard doctor!" Justin yelps with his usual nerdy screech and pulls out his wandphone.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" I ask hoping that Justin finds the obvious.

"No, what?" Justin asks back as he puts his wandphone to his ear. I roll my eyes and grab his wandphone and bend the wand to end the call.

"Max isn't a wizard anymore. We can't take him to a wizard doctor," I should and wave my hands up in the air.
"Um maybe we should go somewhere more private where people can't hear us shout about wizardy," Max suggest in a quiet voice making us feel oblivious. Justin and I look at each other in agreement and we make our way upstairs to the loft after Max closes down the shop.

The loft looks the same, a little messier, but the same. Orange still lights the place up and gives it an edgy feel. I've always liked that about this place. Justin and I take a seat on the stools at the island in the kitchen while Max opens up the fridge and pours us glasses of orange juice. Justin takes a sip of his OJ and begins to think.

"Alright, so Max has a wizard cold…but he isn't a wizard. I don't get it," Justin states the obvious and takes another sip. Max and I exchange looks.

"None of us do, Justin," I say and roll my eyes again. Max takes a sip of his own orange juice. Right after, he clears his throat and a cough rolls up. When Max opens up his mouth to release the cough, bright sparks come out; another sign on a wizard cold. Justin stares at the sparks in amazement. Max puts out his hands and shrugs in that 'I-told-you' kind of a way.

"The Wiz-Web will be no help, given he isn't a wizard…" Max grabs a box of crackers from the cupboard behind him and sets them out in the middle of the island for us to share. We sit in thought while munching on crackers and sipping on juice.

"Hey, be careful; you're getting crumbs on the floor. I just vacuumed," Max scolds through a full mouth. Justin and I share a confused look to the obviously false statement. Ironically, tiny cracker pieces fall from his mouth and onto the floor. Justin almost spits his juice out by the time the light bulb goes off above his head.

"Crumbs! That's it!" Justin jumps up and throws some crackers up in the air.

"Yes, that is it," Max says annoyed and takes away the box of crackers.

"Sorry. And no, I mean Professor Crumbs. He'll have the answer," Justin announces. And with a snap of his finger, we flash into Professor Crumbs' lair.

The old man sits in a recliner in front of a television. He's fallen asleep. It reminds me of dad. Justin attempts to wake him carefully.

"Um, Professor Crumbs…" Justin whispers. "Wake up, buddy," he whispers again and gives the old body a shake. Max pushes Justin aside and gives Professor Crumbs' beard a gentle tug. Surely enough, he awakes. Justin and I once again share a confused look.

"Oh hello, children. What brings you here? How's my little headmaster?" Crumbs greets.

"Great," Justin says like a puppy dog, "However, I do have a few spells I want to run by you."

"Justin! Now is not the time!" I yell in frustration. "Professor Crumbs, Max her e is experiencing some memory loss…"

"Normal," Crumbs says while grabbing a comb out of his wizard robe. He begins to comb his beard.

"No, Professor. We're talking forgetting past events…" I say slowly.

"Not seeing where magic is involved," Crumbs says and pulls out a pocket mirror.

"He also has a wizard cold," I say even slower. Professor Crumbs pauses.

"Hold my comb, son," he orders Justin. Crumbs moves his hand around and a chair pops up in front of him. "Have a seat, Max." Max makes himself comfortable and props one leg up, over his knee. "Memory loss huh?" Max nods. "And a wizard cold…a mortal with a wizard cold." Max nods again.

"Max, have you ever done anything silly or dangerous that might have seriously injured you?" Professor Crumbs interrogates.

"Oh yeah, all the time," Max says with pride.

"Right. How about the irresponsible use of magic?" Crumbs asks.

"I learned from the best," Max compliments me and gives me a smile.

"Okay. Let me ask you 3 something," Crumbs leans in and looks at us all. "Has Max ever experienced any traumatic events as a wizard?" Professor Crumbs turn to look at me and Justin. I feel like we're Max's parents at a doctor appointment and Crumbs is the doctor. Me and Justin both look each other almost reading each others minds with the same answer: no. Our heads shake and we turn from looking at each other, over to Crumbs.

"The tornado," Max says quietly with deep thought.

A/N: Yay! Second chapter is done. I'm not sure if you can tell, but I've actually decided to bring more humor in this story despite what I said in my last chapter. It's just too hard to leave it out. (: Anyways, it's a great way to diffuse those moments that may be a little too serious. I hope that's alright with you guys. (: I know that I'm using a ton of dialogue, but it's hard for me to focus on the plot without it. This chapter was mostly just bringing Justin and him repeating what Alex said/did in the first chapter (except for the end), so I'm sorry if it was a little boring. Hopefully the end of this chapter was suspenseful enough! Do you guys know what Max is talking about? (; I hope you all enjoyed it. If you did, please review. (: Until next time!