99 percent of Everything

I actually didn't know I could use magic until that one day when I somehow set fire to the high school chemistry lab. Of course most people assumed I had simply screwed up the experiment, but I knew I hadn't. There was this one girl who had always pissed me off, she always stepped on people's toes to get what she wanted. Yet everyone seemed to worship her. Most would call her an innocent angel of beauty, but I'd rather call her an evil mastermind. And I guess bitch works fine too. But now I'm getting off-subject. I'm not here to write about my intense hatred for Melinda Grady. This is written for a different purpose.

Anyhow, she was slightly more annoying than usual and something inside me was about to snap. Then suddenly, the entire room was enveloped in flames, originating from my desk. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I had a feeling I was the one responsible.

After a few tests I knew for sure I carried the gift of magic. Or curse, after all it has only caused problems so far. With my will I could shoot lightning from my hands, make the earth shake under my feet and heal my scraped knees after a biking accident. I must say I enjoyed it at first, feeling mighty is a major confidence boost, being mighty makes you feel invincible.

But there was still one thing that bothered me…

How could I possibly have gotten the magic? Everybody knows how expensive it is. Yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that, silly me. Magic isn't exactly a rarity these days. It can be bought, just like you buy cars or groceries. Just about a hundred times more expensive. And my family was broke.

No matter how much I thought about it, the answer wouldn't come to me. So I gathered some courage and decided to ask my mother about it. And yes, you do need courage to speak to my mother. Trust me, you do not want to see her angry. If you do you'll probably end up burning worse than that chemistry lab. And her mood is about as dependable as the local bus. You never know what will set her off.

"So, eh Mum…I just discovered I can set things on fire…with my mind", I said and nervously scratched myself behind the ear.

"So you finally used your powers! I knew it'd be worth it in the end!" she laughed, clapped her hands and hugged me.

"Worth what exactly?" I replied. "Don't tell me you wasted the family fortune on buying me magic!"

She looked at me very intensely and for a moment I could sense evil in her eyes.

"It wasn't a waste, sweetheart."

"But I've never wanted magic; I never even asked for it…if you wanted it so badly you should have bought it for yourself!"

"You'll understand in time."

I knew I wouldn't. People with magic were shunned from the normal society because everybody feared them. It was mostly practiced by the elite, who lived in their own communities, shut out from the rest of the world. And it took ages to learn how to control it; a few wizards had demolished entire cities just by accident. One guy made the Eiffel Tower fall simply because he was sneezing. I didn't want to end up like that.

"Sweetie, calm down," said Mum and smiled viciously. "The curtains are on fire."

And indeed they were. The smell of burnt fabric suddenly filled the kitchen. I mumbled a few words I really hope Mum didn't hear, and tried to remember how to conjure water. But I needn't think about it for more than a few seconds before the sprinklers came on.

All that happened four years ago in my second year of high school.

I studied biology and physics at a local university and at the same time tried to find a way to remove the magic inside me. Tried, but so far no success. The same goes for my studies, I guess. I'm trying to find out how supernatural things like magic, ghosts and shape shifters are connected to science. I mean, we all know such things exist, but nobody seems to know how they can exist. I'm the one person trying to find some sort of logic in it, yet not a single soul seems to take me seriously. And in a way I can't really blame them.

First of all, a scientist with magical powers? Wizards and witches usually never even try out anything involving logic, and if they do, academics fear they might screw up results, or even use their powers to cheat. I was doomed to be ridiculed from the start. Secondly, I act like a hamster on drugs when I talk about my research…

So when I finally found the truth, nobody seemed to believe me. They just assumed I was yet another crazy wizard.

You know how 99% of every atom is just vacuum, seemingly nothing at all? Well that's not true. I developed a special microscope that allowed me to study atoms at a very close view. I'm not going to go deep down in the subject; all the scientific terms are just going to confuse things. So I'll give you the simple version. As I said, I could see things very closely and then I noticed something strange. The space between the electrons, neutrons and protons wasn't just an empty void. Small, glowing dots were swirling around, constantly moving and changing color. I couldn't believe it myself at first, but after studying all kinds of chemical elements, everything was clear.  What we've always thought was vacuum, the complete absence of anything, is actually magic.

It's everywhere. In a way that makes everyone a witch or a wizard.

But I didn't stop there. I had to dig deeper, to find out how the magical powers I and many others could use, were released. So far only the big magic corporations had the answer, and I wasn't sure they had a full understanding of how it worked.  And maybe if I knew how I'd received my magic, I'd be able to erase it. I just wanted to be a normal person again. But things never work out as you want them to, do they?

My research was rejected, ridiculed and shunned by the entire academic world. My silly dreams of a Nobel Prize were instantly crushed. Nobody even took my articles seriously, or attempted to control the results. They simply assumed it was all bullshit, just like that. A few weeks afterwards, I was kicked out of my university.

As I was packing my stuff and getting ready to move out from the dorms, a familiar face appeared. It was Melinda Grady. And I had thought my day couldn't get any worse. Apparently, she was a new student and was checking out the university.

"Hi...eh...you! she said, obviously not remembering my name."So you're already finished studying, that's really cool!"

"Yeah...right. What are you planning to major in?" I asked, only to be polite of course. I really just wanted to set her hair on fire and walk away. I'm somewhat of a pyromaniac, I admit it.

"I'm not sure yet, maybe engineering, but I think I prefer biology. You studied biology, right? Maybe I could borrow some notes from you, it would really help me out!"

"Sorry, but I have to go now, I'm in a bit of a hurry actually," I said and dragged some more boxes out of the room that was no longer mine.

She saw a box filled with notebooks and batted her eyelashes at me.

"I could keep that box here, save you some time," she said.

"No worries, I can handle it."

I snapped my fingers and at once the boxes were floating above my head. She stared at me as if I was crazy and muttered something that sounded like "holy shit". Defying gravity is so much fun once in a while. I waved at her, smiled, and walked away.

So now I'm here, back at Mum's place, sitting in the same kitchen I almost destroyed four years ago. Mum still hasn't changed the curtains. I have a hard time admitting it, but I somehow suspected I would end up like this. I don't know what to do. Maybe go hide with the other wizards, but right now suicide seems more appealing. Or maybe I'll just stay here. Death won't do me any good in the long run.

Mum sneaks up behind me and puts a hand on my shoulder. I almost send her flying backwards with a telekinetic burst, but manage to control myself.

"Don't sneak up on me like that, Mum!"

She just laughs at me.

"It's not funny, Mum. I could've killed you…"

"You understand now, don't you sweetheart?" she says and sits down beside me. "Why I wanted you to experience magic?"

"It's 99% of everything."