The full moon hung in the night sky above me, surrounded by stars. Its light shone on my sleek black fur as I crouched in the tall grass next to the pond.

My eyes were wide as I looked upwards. My muscles tensed, then I suddenly leapt straight up, my paws swinging as I attempted to bat at the flickering lights dancing in the air above me.

I wasn't really hunting. I had no intention of harming the fireflies, much less eating them. I was merely playing. It was a fun sport, they flew about a half meter above my head and were quick enough to dart clear every time I jumped.

I felt relaxed, at ease. I was careful not to jump too close to the pond lest I accidentally fall in. I knew how to swim, I wasn't worried about that. I just didn't want to get my fur all wet.

Eventually the fireflies and I both tired of the game. They moved to the far side of the pond, and I wandered away from the water's edge. There was a pair of large white chairs partway up the hill and I made my way to them. I hopped up ontop of one and curled up there to rest.

My senses remained alert of course, but something told me I had nothing to fear there. Somehow I knew there'd be no wolves or dogs or any other predators to disturb my sleep.

I closed my eyes and drifted off in my dreamworld, only to open my eyes and awaken in the real one.

A sigh escaped my lips as I lay there in my basement bedroom. That was easily one of the best dreams I could remember in a long time. I enjoyed those kinds of dreams but they usually ended abruptly, in chase or worse. This was perhaps the first I could remember that ended peacefully.

According to the clock it was half past nine in the morning. Today was the third of July, and I was due at work for noon. I had two stops I wanted to make first, so it was time to get up and get moving.

My shower was brief as usual, but I took a little more time to brush my hair. It had taken me nearly two weeks to figure out that my hair required more maintenance now that it was longer. Once I realized it though, I made sure to look after it. I'd completely dropped the idea of getting it cut, and so far I'd successfully avoided any further 'conversations' on the matter with either of my parents.

I dressed in my typical outfit, including my black hoodie. Today would probably be the last day for that, it was already too hot out really. But I had nowhere else to carry my phone and wallet and keys and stuff. The pockets in my jeans weren't big enough and it was uncomfortable jamming that stuff in there anyways, so I normally stuffed it all into the pockets of my hoodie.

That would be my second stop today, to buy a bag I could use to carry my stuff in. I already had one picked out, it was a nice leather one that looked sturdy and would hopefully last forever. My first stop though would be the bank.

Selene said my pay would be directly deposited, so today I was going to withdraw some of it and do my shopping before work. I was excited at the idea of getting my first paycheque.

My parents were both out when I went upstairs. Dad would be at work by now, but I wasn't sure where mom went. I had some cereal for breakfast then I slipped out the side door and made my way downtown.

It was nearly eleven when I got to the bank. I waited patiently in line till I got to a teller, then gave her my bank card and showed her my ID. She frowned slightly as she looked at the picture on my health card then at me, and I felt another of those awkward moments coming on.

I was worried she was going to question me, or tell me that my ID didn't match because I looked like a girl or something. Fortunately she seemed satisfied after giving me a long look. There was a faint smile on her lips though, like she found something amusing and was trying not to show it.

She avoided looking me in the eyes as she asked, "What can I do for you this morning?"

I replied calmly but quietly, "I'd like to withdraw two hundred dollars please."

She tapped on her keyboard then shook her head. "Sorry, there's only seventy-eight dollars in the account."

That brought a frown to my face. Did Selene forget to pay me? Was there some sort of mistake?

After a few moments I asked, "May I see a statement or something? I thought there would be more."

"Sure, hang on."

She typed something, then I heard the whir of a laser printer. The teller leaned down and plucked a sheet of paper from somewhere beneath the counter. She glanced at it then handed it to me.

I stared at the still-warm page and immediately understood what happened to my money.

My account had an opening balance of three dollars at the start of the month. Then yesterday there was a deposit of five hundred and seventy-five, which was twenty-five more than I was expecting.

I quickly reviewed my mental calculations and realized where the discrepancy came in. Out of my first two weeks I'd only worked one Saturday, and although it was a seven-hour day, Selene and I had taken one hour for lunch so I only counted six. Obviously she'd paid me for all seven.

With that mystery solved my attention returned to the statement. After the deposit was made, an internet-transfer went through later in the day yesterday. Five hundred was taken from my account and deposited into my parents' account.

Now I had a good idea of where my mother was this morning. She was probably off shopping, or possibly at the liquor store.

With a quiet sigh I asked the teller, "I'd like to withdraw seventy dollars please."

"Sure thing," the young woman replied. She typed some more, then I had to sign a little receipt. Finally I was handed three crisp new twenty dollar bills followed by a ten.

The money and the bank statement both wound up in the pocket of my hoodie, and I quietly left the bank. I still needed a bag, but it wasn't going to be that fancy leather one after all.

I made my way to the luggage store and wound up picking out an inexpensive black canvas 'courier bag'. It wasn't as nice as the one I really wanted, but it looked tough and I was sure I'd get a year or two out of it at least.

After I paid for it, I found a bench to sit on while I transferred the contents of my hoodie pockets into my new bag. Then the hoodie came off and I tied the sleeves around my waist. It didn't really occur to me I was wearing the garment like a skirt now, it was just a convenient way to carry it. Meanwhile the bag went over my shoulder, and I set off on the short walk from there to the magic store.

"Good morning hon," Selene greeted me with a smile as usual. "You're early again."

I mumbled an apology as I made my way to the back. I left my hoodie and my bag in the stock-room then moved to join her behind the counter.

Her smile faded as she recognized my mood was down today.

"What's the matter hon? I thought you'd be a little happier about your first payday."

I shrugged, "I would have been, except my folks got their hands on it before I even knew it was there. They took five hundred and left me seventy-five."

Selene sighed and just for a moment there was a dark look in her eyes. Then it was gone as she gave me a sad look. "I'm sorry hon. I don't know what else to say though. They're your parents, it's not really my business what goes on between you and them."

"Yeah I know," I shrugged again. "It's ok. Maybe when I have some time, I'll go open a new bank account that they won't have access to. I'm pretty sure I can do that, now that I'm sixteen."

She nodded, "Well if you do, you just let me know and I'll make sure your next pay goes to the right place."

After that I just settled in to work with her.

The store was busier than usual today, busier than I'd ever seen it. We had at least two dozen people come through in the next couple hours, and there were probably a half dozen phone calls. The first one made me jump, I hadn't even realized there was a phone in the store till that moment.

Selene handled all the calls, and I was actually almost busy at one point when there were two customers in the store at once.

There was finally a bit of a break around mid-afternoon, and I asked "What happened? Is it because it's finally summer break?"

"Today's the full moon," Selene replied, as if that explained everything. "We were closed for the holiday Monday, and usually the place is quieter than normal after a long weekend. But with the full moon, everybody's scrambling to stock up for tonight."

After a moment she smiled at my confused expression. "Sorry hon. I've been training you on what we sell, but I just realized I never bothered to mention why we sell it, what people use our wares for."

The shop remained busy for the rest of the afternoon, but every time we had a break Selene told me a little more about how some systems of magic are tightly connected to the phases of the moon.

She explained that the full moon was usually seen as the best time to work magic, that for systems that were tied to the lunar month the full moon was the most powerful time. She also explained that the new moon was important too, but less popular because it tended to be associated with dark magic, being the dark time of the month.

It was all very fascinating, but I got the feeling she didn't actually believe most of it herself. She phrased everything in terms of "some people believe" or "certain magical systems teach" or "it's commonly thought". It was never "this is how it works" or "this is true because".

That all struck me as odd of course, since it was pretty clear to me she could do magic. I'd known that from the first day I met her. She could change her appearance between old and young, and she had her magic door that connected the shop to her house.

By the end of the day we'd had more sales than I'd seen in the previous two weeks combined. It took a little longer to close up the shop, all the extra traffic meant there was more to sweep and almost all the displays needed straightening out.

When the work was finally finished though, I retrieved my bag from the back room.

As I walked to the door Selene said "You have a good night hon. Stay safe."

"Thanks Selene," I replied. "You too, enjoy the full moon I guess."

She smiled and walked me out, then locked the door behind me.

It was just past six o'clock, and as usual I took my time walking home. I was about halfway there when I realized I'd forgot my hoodie in the stock room. Not that I needed it, the weather was nice and it was still warm out.

By the time I got to my street it was around eight and the sun was about ready to set for the night. I found myself staring at the full moon as it hung low in the sky to my left, and my mind wandered into thoughts of magic. I started wondering if I could learn some of that myself. I'd have to ask Selene if she could recommend which books to read. I figured she'd know which were the good ones and which weren't, since she knew real magic herself.

I was so lost in my thoughts again that I very nearly collided with my next-door neighbour as he came along on his bicycle. Fortunately he was paying attention to the world around him, and pulled to a stop as he greeted me.

"Hi Natalie. How are you tonight?"

I blinked at him as my thoughts were pulled away from the store and the magic within. "Oh uh, hi Alex. You can call me Nate, you know? I'm ok I guess. How are you?"

He replied "I'm alright. I was over at my friend's house playing a new game, but my folks wanted me home before it got too late. I guess you were at work again huh?"

I nodded, "Yeah. Now that school's out I'm working almost every day."

"Aw," he frowned. "Don't you get time to just hang out?"

I shrugged, "It's ok, I don't mind working."

He was still frowning, then finally he shrugged "Well, I better get home. Bye for now Natalie."

"Bye Alex," I sighed and watched as he went around me then turned and rode up his driveway. He left his bike on the front lawn and ran inside.

I did the same, I walked up the driveway past my dad's old pickup and slipped in the side-door.

As usual my folks were in the living-room and the TV was on. I quietly helped myself to a piece of chicken I found in the fridge, then disappeared into the basement to eat in peace.

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