“You’ll see, said Chance. “It’s a part of orientation, and also your Enchantments class, I believe.”
“Okay,” I sat back.
The forest was getting darker, and I could see fireflies through the trees.
The wagon wheels suddenly changed their tone, and I saw the dirt ruts had given way to a road paved with cobblestones, with lampposts on either side.
It was enchanting.
“Look there.” Chance pointed through the trees. I leaned and looked, and just through the trunks I could see a doe with her two fawns was drinking from a pond in a glade illuminated amidst the dark forest.
“Ohhh,” I smiled.
“We’ll be coming ’round a bend in the road and then up to the grounds of the school, and you’ll see it from far away at first,” Chance said, nodding to the front.
I watched the road expectantly.
The trees slowly gave way as the road we were on emerged onto the Academy grounds, which were expansive.
Green grass grew everywhere, and the road was now lined with small trees that grew about twenty feet high.
As the lane curved, the school came into view.
The great dark stone structure rose at least five or six stories into the sky. I saw many lit windows, and I could make out the shadows of people moving back and forth in some of them.
There were about two dozen other kids on the front lawn of the school, all in uniform.
They were playing with balls on the grass, running back and forth, and kicking the balls to each other.
“Football, which Americans call soccer,” said Chance. “It’s a big sport at the school.”
The kids stopped what they doing to watch as the wagon approached the front of the school.
I whispered to Chance, “Is it a rare thing, the wagon bringing students to the school?”
Chance nodded. “Somewhat rare, yes.”
I felt instantly self-conscious.
“Don’t worry, you’ll do fine,” said Chance. “Everyone starts at year one. You’ll be what’s called a ‘freshman’ and they’ll tell you everything at orientation.”
I suddenly thought of something.
“Chance? Are you going to be there?”
“At what? Orientation?”
I nodded.
“I’ll be there, but behind the scenes,” he said. “You probably won’t see much of me today after I check you in.”
“Check me in?”
Chance nodded as the wagon pulled up to the front steps of the school and came to a stop. “That’s where we’re going now.”
I gulped, worried.
I had followed Chance all the way from the city I knew and the underground and the cubby, to this far-away land. We’d flown overnight on an airplane, and come all the way out here, and I felt comfortable with him. But I hadn’t given any thought to what would happen when he had to leave.
A sinking feeling began to grow in the pit of my stomach.
“Don’t worry. My sister’s best friend’s little sister is in your class,” he said. “She knows the school, from tagging along with me, and she got here a week ago. Her name is Liesl, you’ll like her.”
“A week ago?” I asked. “When does the school year start?”
“It starts in three days. Today is Thursday, and it’ll be dark in a few hours,” said Chance. “Then there’s the weekend. Then your first class starts Monday morning, bright and early.” He winked at me.
“Bright and early?” I asked in a small voice.
“First class for freshmen is at eight a.m. Breakfast is at seven. Your dorm supervisor will help you get used to the routine.”
I fell silent, a thousand worries in my head. A million more crowded in the lump in my throat.
Buck up, Holly. You didn’t expect him to stick around with you the whole time you were in school, did you?
“My dorm is on the other side of the castle, and my classes are in a different area than yours as well,” said Chance. “But don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll see each other around.”
I had never been able to figure out how to stop worrying. I wondered if this was a skill they would teach me at the school.
Chance had hopped to the ground and was holding his hand out to help me down.
I stood and took his hand.
Then I heard them.
There was a group of about ten schoolgirls off to the side, pointing and laughing at me. I stood on the top wagon step and stared at them.
Chance swung around and addressed them.
“HEY, CUT IT OUT, YOU LOT!” his voice rang out across the grass.
I blushed furiously and jumped down. Thank goodness I didn’t trip; they would have had even more to laugh at then.
I stood next to Chance as he pulled our bags from the wagon. I glanced all around me, but the other girls had run to another part of the lawn.
Chance patted my shoulder. “I have the authority to alert their dorm supervisors and to assign punishment,” he said. “They ran off probably because they didn’t want any trouble.”
This sounded even worse. I worried the girls would tease me whenever Chance wasn’t around, and he’d just explained that he wasn’t going to see me much anymore.
The sinking feeling in my gut deepened.
“Chance,” I swung around and took his arm. “You said anyone is free to go, right? That we’re allowed to quit the school?”
He nodded, a serious look on his face.
“What happens if I decide I don’t want to stay?”
He glanced in the direction the other girls had run, then back to me.
“Holly, give it a week. If you’re still thinking of leaving the school after a week, come see me, and we’ll talk.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but he held up his hand to stop me. “And,” he said. “if it does come to it, I give you my word I will return you to the exact spot where we first met.”
I stared at him. There were a million feelings in my heart and mind, and I felt so ... so FULL of indecision I could barely breathe.
“Come on. I’ll show you where you need to go, and get you checked in.”
Chapter Twelve
Orientation
We entered the Academy through huge double doors that creaked as they swung open.
Chance led the way to the center hallway, then through a door on the left and into a smaller waiting room.
“Sit here. I’ll check you in,” he said, indicating the chairs against the wall.
I sat down, my bag at my feet, and started fiddling with the straps of the bag to release my worry. I watched Chance talk with the man at the desk. The man looked through a sheaf of papers, found what he was looking for, and made a checkmark on the page. Then he nodded at Chance, and indicated the door behind him.
Chance walked through and closed it behind him.
I waited. And waited.
“Would you like a drink of water while you wait, Miss Ó Cuilinn?”
I stared at him.
That’s my last name. I’d better get used to it.
“Uh ...”
“He may be a long time in conference with the headmistress,” the man said.
I took a deep breath. “Yes, thank you. Water will be fine.”
He nodded and left the room, and returned a few minutes later with a glass of cold water.
I sipped it and was surprised. It tasted delicious, and faintly of lemon and mint. I looked down into the water and saw a leaf at the bottom.
The water was cool and crisp and I drain the glass in less than a minute.
I set it down on the table off to the side and continued to wait. I put my hand to my neck to make sure my birthday necklace was still there, and felt reassured when I touched the chain and charm through my blouse.
It was another half hour until the door opened again and Chance came through.
“Okay, she’ll see you now,” he said.
I rose from the chair. “Are you coming, too?” I whispered.
“Miss Ó Cuilinn,” the older lady behind the desk rose and extended her hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
I took her hand in mine and move it slowly up and down. Her palm was cool and dry and pleasant.
She smelled of evergreen and plumeria. I knew what those smelled like. The park was full of evergreen, and I loved that smell.
Aunt Clare had one found a small, mostly empty bottle of perfume. She’d said the words on the bottle were “sample” and “plumeria” and she’d let me smell it once.
It had smelled like this lady.
Her white hair was streaked here and there with grey, and it was swept up in a hairdo that looked very elegant.
Her dress was a royal blue, and she wore white gloves.
She also wore a scarf with peacock feathers painted on it.
She reminded me of the people Aunt Clare and I had seen from across the street as we’d sat on a bench and watched people go into a building. They’d been all dressed up.
Aunt Clare had said they were going to something called “opera.”
I’d called such ladies “fancy ladies” when I was younger.
“Please, sit down. Make yourself comfortable,” she said. “I am Professor Ó Baoghill. I teach History here at Titania Academy. I’d like to formally welcome you to our school.” She smiled.
I felt cheered.
“Thank you. I’m happy to be here,” I said.
“Now, Mr. Mac Craith here tells me you have never attended a formal institution of learning, is that correct?” The headmistress asked.
I glanced at Chance.
Chance Mac Craith huh?
I smiled at him, and he nodded his head.
I cleared my throat. “Yes, that is correct.”
Professor Ó Baoghill began leafing through the papers on her desk. While still looking down at them, she asked, “And you have lived in America your entire life, is that correct?” She looked up at me.
“Yes, that is correct,” I answered.
She continued consulting the papers.
“Very good. Now, I see here the proof that you are indeed of fae heritage, and so you have the legal right to attend the Academy. In fact,” she glanced up at me, “In fact, we have a legal and moral obligation to accept you here. The facts of your heritage have guaranteed you a small inheritance, as well. I have the box right here.”
She bent and unlocked a drawer in her desk, brought forth a long metal box, and placed it on her desk.
“Now, make no mistake, Miss Ó Cuilinn, we are extremely pleased you are here.” The headmistress took a deep breath and looked very serious. “The mere fact of your presence brings certain ... ah ... effects to not only the school, but the land around it. Now, this box contains that part of your inheritance that was bestowed upon you so far. Would you like to examine the contents?”
I blinked.
An inheritance? I have an inheritance??
“I ... I guess so,” I said softly.
Without a word, she lifted the box and swung it around to face me, then handed me the key.
I stood up and took a step forward, taking the key from her.
I gulped.
“Uh,” I looked up at the headmistress. “Can you tell me ...”
She waited for me to finish.
“... who it was that left me this?”
She nodded. “Your father has bequeathed this to you, Miss Ó Cuilinn.”
I nodded and slowly fitted the key into the lock, then turned it.
The top was hinged in the back, and as I lifted it, it swung backwards.
Professor Ó Baoghill gently grabbed the lid, and swung it all the way back.
The box had a second metal top, with a half-moon cutout on the side. I put my finger in and lifted this second piece, and looked inside.
There were a number of objects I couldn’t identify, a leather pouch, a paper check, and a ring.
The headmistress and Chance both stayed silent as I took the time to go through the contents of the box.
It took a while.
“All right, Miss Ó Cuilinn, as you have instructed, we will keep this in the student section of the school vault,” said the headmistress. “Now, you have been assigned to a dormitory that you will share with six other girls. There are five dormitories in each wing, and each wing has a house mother who will look after you all and take care of the issues that arise in your dormitory wing while you are here at the school. I will show you to your dormitory at this time. Your belongings should already be there, we get deliveries every day.” She stood up and came around to stand in front of her desk. “Are you ready to come with me?”
I stood up and turned to Chance.
He stood and met my eyes, a look of resignation on his face.
“Well, this is where we part, at least for now, Holly.”
He stuck his hand out for a handshake. I looked at it, then rushed into his arms and hugged him.
He hugged me back, squeezing me tightly.
“You’re going to be okay, Holly,” said Chance. “You’re a good person.”
“I wish you didn’t have to leave,” I said.
“I’ll be nearby. We’ll bump into each other, I promise,” said Chance. “I’m just going to be in the blue wing, with the other second-years.”
I loosened my hug and looked up at him. “Thank you for all you did.” I whispered.
He grinned. “I would do it all again in a heartbeat.”
He handed me a bag. “Here’s the rainbow bagels.”
I laughed and took the bag.
“Thank you.”
He stayed where he was as I walked out with Professor Ó Baoghill, and waved when I looked back at him.
The headmistress led me on a winding path up some stairs and down a few corridors to the dorm room. I passed multiple other students in the hall. Some seemed friendly, most just stared, their jaws dropped open.
“Professor Ó Baoghill, why are they looking at me that way?” I asked, when we were alone again on a stairwell.
“What do you mean, Miss Ó Cuilinn?”
“I mean,” I jerked my head back down the stairs. “Those girls in the hallway, they were staring at me like this.” I dangled my jaw and opened my eyes wide.
“Oh, well, let me look into that.” She turned and continued up the stairs.
I put my head down and followed her. I didn’t want to make trouble at my new school, but really, I hadn’t done anything. I’d just been walking. The other girls were looking at me strangely. It wasn’t my imagination. I knew it.
At the top of this staircase, Professor Ó Baoghill led me down a short hallway and through an ancient wooden door.
“Here we are, dear, she said. “Oh, look, Miss Becker and Miss Penner are already here.
I looked over at the other beds. Two were occupied. One of the girls was pulling on the bag the other one was holding, and the first girl was breathing hard.
The second girl had tears in her eyes.
I glanced at the headmistress, who seemed to be studiously avoiding the obvious conflict between the two girls.
“Here, I think this is your bed,” the older woman indicated the bunk on the other side of the teary-eyed girl.
I slowly approached and sat on the bed, laying my bag next to me.
“And see? Your belongings have already been delivered, my dear. Well, I have a hundred other duties. Remember to come down for The Assigning, dear. All of you must attend. Until then, ta!”
And the headmistress left.
The second the door shut, the first girl started yanking the second girl’s bag.
“LET GO!” the first girl screamed.
The second girl, on the bed next to mine, held on tightly to her bag as tears spilled out and ran down her cheeks.
I didn’t know which girl was which, but I could recogniz
e a bully when I saw one. I was already feeling bullied by all the looks and snickering behind my back, and I felt an instant kinship with the unknown girl getting picked on.
“Leave her alone,” I said in a steely voice.
The girl with the bag glanced at me, a pleading look on her face.
The girl trying to take her bag ignored me.
Without a word, I walked over to the bully and gave her a hard shove.
She let go of the bag she was trying to take from its owner and fell back onto the next bed, rolled off, and landed on the floor.
“AHH!” she cried.
Her head bumped the bedpost, and her hand knocked against the floor.
She immediately grabbed her head, moaning.
“Ohhh, my head! You’re going to get in trouble for this,” she said.
I walked over to her.
“Oh, stop. You’re not hurt.” I stood over her, my hands on my hips.
“Shoving is against the rules,” she scowled.
“If shoving is against the rules, then stealing is, too,” I said in a quiet voice. “What do you think you were doing when we walked in? Reciting poetry?”
She stood up and faced me, her fists balled.
I took a step forward. I was now just a few inches from her.
“If you ever bully her, or anyone else again, I will hurt you. Understand?” I said.
Her face went red and her eyes scanned me.
“I should have known you were misborn,” said the bully. “Skinny little ruffian, you don’t scare me. I’ve seen your type before. How’d you even get into this school anyway? You’re probably poor ...”
CRACK!
She fell back down.
I flexed my fist. It hurt like anything, but I wasn’t about to show it.
Her hand went to her nose, and came away bloody.
“You broke my nose! YOU BROKE MY NOSE!” she shrieked.
“You nose isn’t broken,” I spat. “But I can break it for you if you’d like.”
“I’M GOING TO TELL THE HEADMISTRESS.” she cried.
“Go ahead. You tell your side, and I’ll tell mine,” I said quietly. “And I’ve got a witness.”
The girl got up and ran out of the dorm room, holding her nose as she hurried out.
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