"Great Struggle"

"JB, you're late..."

JB bowed slightly, before his boss, Mr. Ju. "I am so sorry Mr. Ju, I was, uh..."

Before JB could get his reasoning out, Mark came walking up behind him. JB was quick on his feet, "I uh, actually brought a friend," slightly looking from Mark to Mr. Ju.

"Oh?" Mr. Ju turned his attention from JB to Mark, expectantly.

Mark looked oblivious until JB gave him a slight nudge. "Hello... sir," Mark replied, feeling a bit intimidated with the harsh gaze of the restaurant owner.

"Mr. Ju, this is my friend, Mark. He goes to Gisa too, and he needs his interaction credit. Sooo... I was thinking, this would be a great job for him. You know, especially since we're hiring now and all." JB rubbed the back his head sheepishly, waiting for his boss to reply.

"I see," Mr. Ju began, "Well, Mark?"

Mark perked up, "Yes, sir?"

"Come on back here with me and we'll see what we can do," Mr. Ju said in the motion of turning, heading towards the back of the restaurant.

"Okay..." confused, Mark thought it was best that he followed behind. But, not before glancing back at JB. Mark furrowed his brows, not sure what to do - he wasn't really prepared for an interview, just filling out an application was all he thought he'd be doing. JB gave Mark a slight grin of assurance with a shrug before Mark turned the corner to head into Mr. Ju's office.

"Mark, have a seat, will you?"

Mark did as he was told and sat in the oversized chair across from Mr. Ju. "So, you're looking for a job now?"

"Um, yes sir..."

"I see... What's your class?"

Mark was hesitant to answer. 

In the world of Normal Average People, answering what class you are in is a simple task. You simply answer: Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior. Or, maybe even the year you're graduating, Class of 2016... But, in the world where there are super natural abilities, it wasn't so simple. What class you're in is in reference to what type of supernatural talent you possesed. It was a way to group the beings with like kinds in their world, Wizards with Wizards and Superhumans with Superhumans. So it was important to be careful with whom you answered the question with, you could expose yourself to a NAP.

"It's okay son... Myself? I actually have telepathy," Mark's eyes widen at the thought of Mr. Ju being able to read his mind. "No, I'm not reading your mind right now. I'm able to turn it off and on. Thanks to training and practice years ago at Gisa."

"You went to Gisa?" Mark asked surprised.

"I did. Years ago. And once I graduated, I knew I wanted to keep the school going for future kids with supernatural abilities. JB is actually one of my students, which is why I'm so hard on him."

Mark nodded his head, feeling a little more comfortable with Mr. Ju, he relaxed, "Um, I'm a wizard..."

"Really... That's an amazing talent to practice. How'd you inherit wizardry?"

"Um, my parents, I guess... I really don't know."

"I see..."

Mark tensed up  and his gaze wondered off, Mr. Ju noticed his demeanor and changed the subject.

"Well, hey, no worries. We get a lot of students that a lot of the time don't have all the answers. And sometimes, it's good not to know."

Mark nodded his head in understanding that Mr. Ju knew not to further question him about his personal life because he wouldn't get much out of him. At least not at the moment.

"Mark, how are your academics thus far?"

"They're uh, pretty good, I think... I mean, I do really well with my spells classes. But, I don't know... I just can't get the potions together... It's so frustrating, you know?"

"I do know. And I know that what we have, our gifts, our talents and what we can do with them is so unique to this world. Only a few of us have the abilities that some people can only dream of. We hold a lot of power within our tight community. And with that, great power does not come without great struggles and sacrifice. Eventually, you will become a full wizard. But, for now, you must work hard at it. And you will have to struggle before you can reach your full potential..."

Mark nodded again in understanding, "yes sir."

"Mark, I think you are a fine young man in the making. You seem to have your head on straight. You're thoughtful, which is a great characteristic to have in a wizard. You possess a great deal of power once you get control of it. So it's very important that you learn to harness your powers for the right reasons..."

Mark nodded, "yes sir."

Mr. Ju laughed a little at Mark's yes sir attitude, lightening the mood a bit. "Young man, do you know what you want to do when you're older?"

"Umm... I'm not really sure just yet..."

"And that's quite alright, you have time to figure it out... I am going to give you this application to fill out". Mr. Ju ruffled through a stack of papers on his desk to find an application for Mark. "What's today..." Mr. Ju looked over his shoulder at his calendar, "Hmm... It's Wednesday, I want you to start Friday. Can you do that?" 

"Really!?" Mark blurted out in surprise. "I can start whenever you need me too!"

Mr. Ju laughed at Mark's enthusiasm "Great. Come by tomorrow to fill out some paper work and then we'll get you started."

"Gosh, wow... Thanks," Mark said a little flustered as he took the application Mr. Ju was handing him, "this is amazing, thank you Mr. Ju."

"It was my pleasure Mark, I'll see you soon," Mr. Ju replied as he walked Mark to the office door to exit.

"Oh," Mr. Ju said as Mark began to leave, "I know why JB was running late today, so be prepared to tell me the truth when dealing with being punctual. You'll end up telling me, even if it doesn't come out of your mouth." Mr. Ju winked at Mark. Mark knew he wouldn't be able to lie about being late, Mr. Ju would just read his mind. Mark gave him a knowing grin as he left Mr. Ju.