Yamasato leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “You’re already skating on thin ice, but let’s hear it. What do you want?”
“You’re the head of magikin relations,” I said, pointing to the plaque on his desk. “Does that mean you can negotiate on their behalf? Like, with the Fae courts or the human government?”
His eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he nodded. “I can, but I need a good reason. I don’t have the power to demand anything.”
“The merfolk in the bay want to keep their homes. Also, they’d like a little land to build a place for the winter, when it gets too cold for them in the water.”
Yamasato sat up in surprise, but it was Damian who gasped and clutched me.
“What are you doing?” my best friend asked, staring at me like I was crazy. “They tried to kill you, and now you want to help them?”
I shook my head. “Only one of them tried to kill me, and that was to protect her family.” I pointed to the scroll. “She stole the school charter because she was desperate. The Fae have severely limited where the merfolk can live and restricted their population. It’s not fair to throw them out when most of them aren’t hurting anyone.”
“I’ll need to know more of the details,” Yamasato said without emotion, but my magical empathy could sense that he was curious. “I can’t make any guarantees. Many people don’t trust the merfolk.”
Since he was open to listening, I launched into the full story. I didn’t know if all of Gabriella’s arguments for the sake of the merfolk were true, but Yamasato promised to investigate more. If I could bring the colony’s leader ashore for a peaceful discussion, he would consider their side.
It wasn’t likely that I could get Gabriella face-to-face again, but I could send another message in a bottle. If she’d been honest about her family’s needs for a new home, then she’d find a way to bring her leader.
In the end, the assistant dean was satisfied with my explanation. He promised to let me continue at the school in all of my classes, and he apologized for assuming my guilt because of my family’s history.
“But you need to keep this quiet,” he said with a stern look. “I don’t want anyone to know that the charter was stolen, or that we were at risk for losing the whole school.”
I nodded. “The Fae would prefer it if we didn’t let the truth get out, too. As for me…” I glanced around at my friends. “I don’t want anyone else to know what I was doing. The good stuff or the bad. Maybe you have to tell my parents, but if you could at least keep it a secret from the other students, that would help.”
Yamasato raised an eyebrow at me. “You don’t want to be celebrated as a hero?”
I shook my head. “I’m not a hero, just cleaning up my own mess. I just want to stay under the radar. No gossip.”
“That would be best for everyone.” He looked at Damian and Erin. “If you agree to keep this all a secret, as well, then I don’t need to tell anyone’s parents.”
Erin nodded eagerly. “My mom would kill me if she found out.”
Damian pursed his lips together. “I don’t know, I think I’d make a great school hero. You could throw me a parade around campus, maybe my picture on the front page of the paper…”
I punched him in the arm.
“Ow! Okay, I won’t say anything,” he said, grinning at me. “Just know that I’m making a great sacrifice.”
Yamasato laughed. It was the first time I’d ever seen the assistant dean smile, and it brought a little warmth to his face. “Well, then, I will begin the necessary paperwork in the morning.” He stood up and gestured to the door. “You’d better get some sleep, because I won’t excuse you from classes tomorrow.”
I thanked the professor and let Damian carry me again. After Erin parked by the dorms, we found my crutches stashed in the bushes. I was exhausted, but I could hobble into the building, so I sent Damian back to his own room.
Erin came as far as the hallway, then turned off to her own room. I stumped into my room as quietly as I could manage and climbed up the ladder to the upper bunk without waking Samantha.
Sleep at last.
24
Yamasato kept his word. The negotiation with the US government was the hard part. They insisted on putting the first land-based mer colony in Monterey where the nearby naval base could keep an eye on them. Once we’d found the land, Loki helped smooth things over with the local magikin and the Seelie Queen, who also had to approve the deal.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to get involved in any of that complicated political stuff. My hands were full with school. I was behind in all of my classes. My teachers let me do extra credit work over spring break, but that didn’t help me pass the magical classes. I was forced to repeat Crystals I and Nature Meditation and Coach Bloodgood kicked me out of Brooms altogether. She said that because of my reckless flying, I was grounded until senior year.
Erin became my study buddy. She helped me finally get the hang of Earth magic. I was lucky to have her as a friend and I owed her big time. Plus, she was kind of cute, even if blondes weren’t my type. Too bad she was straight.
I mostly got away with no real punishment. Besides losing flight privileges, I was also banned from the school garden because we told Ms. Murphy that I was the one who stole so many of her plants. I couldn’t let Erin get in trouble. But since I was banned from the garden, I had to switch my service project. This late in the school year, the only opening for me was the job no one really wanted—unicorn keeper.
It wasn’t so bad. I’d been around ranches and farms since I grew up in a rural area, and unicorns didn’t smell nearly as bad as cows or horses. As the weather grew warmer, they started to shed their winter coats, so I had to spend a lot of time brushing them out. When their white hairs rose, they sparkled in the sunlight, like I was in a cloud of rainbows. If it wasn’t for hanging out with the Crystal Unicorn Girls, it would actually be fun.
The Crystal Unicorn Girls mostly stood around and talked instead of doing real work. They loved to gossip, but they didn’t want to include me. There were rumors swirling around about why I’d gotten in trouble, but Yamasato had kept a tight lid on all the info, so no one knew the truth. After a few weeks of speculation, people got bored and moved onto the next thing. But there was still a faint distrust surrounding me so most students kept their distance.
Which was also fine. The last thing I wanted was to be called a hero—or hear all the salacious stories about a girl hooking up with a mermaid.
In mid-May, I had to meet with my academic advisor, Mrs. Stiles, about senior year. She warned me that if I wanted to stay on track for graduation, I’d have to work extra hard. She recommended that I come back for summer school.
“Are you kidding me?” I said, staring at the schedule. Eight weeks of summer school would take up almost all my vacation time. I needed this break badly.
“It’s not a joke,” Mrs. Stiles said, stroking her cat familiar on her lap. “You had a lot of low grades this year. You might be able to squeeze by with a heavier course load next year, but I don’t think you could handle it. Better to catch up now when you have the time. You’ll be busy enough with college applications in the fall.”
Ugh. I wasn’t looking forward to applications again. But summer school would mean more fees for my parents, too. “Could I at least stay somewhere off campus during the summer to save on room and board?”
Mrs. Stiles shook her head. “Sorry, all magical students must live on campus until they have demonstrated responsibility. Permission to leave the dorms isn’t usually granted until your third year of university.” She smiled. “If you pass both the Earth classes, Professor Goldheart has extended an invitation for you to join Water classes in the second session.”
I sat up straighter. Someone must have told him that I was studying Water magic on the side. This could give me the chance to go official. “I have to talk to my parents,” I said slowly. “I’ll see if they can afford it.”
“Let me take a lo
ok at your financial aid,” she said brightly. “Maybe there are a few more grants we can get you.”
And with that, I was signed up for summer classes.
As the school year was winding down, I got a letter from Gabriella, asking me to meet her on the beach.
“I promise not to grab you this time,” she wrote. “But you can bring someone else if you don’t feel safe.”
I thought about asking Damian to go with me, but I decided to face her alone. I wanted to speak with her privately and it might look better if I didn’t bring protection.
She was standing barefoot on the sand when I got to our usual spot at New Brighton. A pale pink sundress showed off her dark skin, and her hair was pulled up in elaborate braids. Despite everything we’d been through, my heart still caught in my throat at the sight of her. She was so beautiful.
Gabriella looked down and kicked at a piece of driftwood. “I just wanted to say thanks for helping me.” She glanced up at me. “I didn’t deserve it, but you did it anyway.”
Since I couldn’t rely on magic to tell me what she was thinking, I studied her face hopefully. “You said it yourself that your people weren’t being treated fairly. You mean a lot to me, so I wanted to do the right thing.”
She bit her lip. “Hm. I guess that makes you the better person.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” I said quickly. “You were doing what you thought was the right thing for your people. I don’t hold it against you.”
She kept her eyes down, tracing in the sand with her toe, and didn’t say anything.
This wasn’t going how I wanted. Despite everything she’d done to betray me, I was hoping that we could still salvage something of our relationship. She was the first girl I ever loved, and I didn’t want to just let her walk away.
I cleared my throat and tried for a lighter tone. “Anyway, I heard you were going to Monterey. That’s not too far—only an hour by car.”
She nodded. “I’m thinking of volunteering at the aquarium. Could teach those human scientists a thing or two about life in the ocean.”
“That’s great. Maybe I could come see you there?”
Her eyes snapped up and met mine for the first time. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
Here came the bad news. “Why?”
“I’m not…” She turned away and stared at the sea. “It was just an act. I don’t even like girls, not in that way.”
It felt like if I moved, I would shatter into a million pieces. I looked at the water, too, but for once the waves didn’t give me any comfort. All I could say was, “Oh.”
“I have a boyfriend,” she went on in a strained tone. “In Mexico, but now that the colony doesn’t have to hide, he’s going to move up here. His name is Miguel.”
“I hope you two are happy together,” I choked out, but even I could hear that it sounded fake.
She gave me a small smile. “Thanks. I mean, it’s because of you that we can be together. When there were limits on the population, it was hard to choose a mate, let alone start a family…”
I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole. She was already thinking about having babies with this guy? “Um, aren’t you a little young for that?”
“I’m eighteen next month,” she said defensively. “And Miguel is older, twenty-three. He’s ready to provide for me.”
Shit. She was gonna pair off in hetero-normative bliss with lots of babies and a breadwinner husband. And he was older! Why was he dating a girl who wasn’t even eighteen yet? It made me sick to my stomach.
“Well, that’s great,” I said, annoyance growing in my voice. “I wish you many fat babies together.”
I turned away, heading back to the parking lot on the cliffs. My eyes blurred with tears. Looked like I didn’t know her after all.
“Wait!” she called after me. She ran up and grabbed my hand.
I spun around, trying to blink away the tears.
She reached up and wiped them off. “For what it’s worth, you’re an amazing girlfriend. Any girl would be lucky to have you.”
“I don’t want any girl,” I said in a hoarse tone, looking straight at her.
She nodded. “I know, but trust me. There’s someone special out there for you.” She took a step closer and brushed her lips against my cheek. “Someday, you’ll find them.”
I smiled at her through the pain. She gave my hand a final squeeze and walked away. I stood there and watched as she stepped into the surf, transforming under the pink sundress. She flipped her purple tail at me once, then disappeared.
I pulled out my phone and texted Damian. “Do you have any good movies for broken hearts?”
“Oh, hon,” he wrote back immediately. “Lots. Pick up a gallon of ice cream and come over. Tyler says he can give us the room if we bribe him with snacks.” The last line was a string of food emojis.
I laughed to myself. Could always count on my best friend to take care of me, so at least I had him.
25
The academy celebrated the end of the school year with a dance on the last night, a Thursday. We’d just finished our final exams. Over the weekend, there would be a bustle of activity as students moved out of the dorms and graduation ceremonies brought families to visit campus. I was only going home for a week until I had to be back for the first summer session, the day after the Summer Solstice. But tonight was ours to have fun.
There was a separate dance for the university, so the high school kids had to be satisfied with decorations in the dining hall. All the tables and chairs were cleared away for a makeshift dance floor. No one wanted to dress up when we had to be awake early the next morning to beat the rush of graduation traffic, so most people were just wearing casual clothes. The kind of stuff that kids wore when they didn’t have to be in uniform.
Except for Damian. Somehow, he’d managed to find a ballgown at a thrift store and altered it to fit his broad shoulders. It was obvious, as soon as I saw it, why the ballgown was in a thrift store to begin with. The gown was handmade from a peach cotton fabric, totally wrong for a fancy dress, and it weighed twice as much as a nice satin. But Damian could handle the extra pounds. With the right accessories, he transformed himself into the style of a southern belle, complete with gloves, an elaborate curled hairstyle with extensions, and a fan.
There wasn’t much space for such a large dress to move around, so Damian was fetchingly draped against the wall. He fanned himself dramatically and spouted off catchphrases like, “I do declare!” and “When will my handsome colonel return from the war?”
Since he wasn’t dancing, and I wasn’t really in the mood to hang out with anyone else, I was more than happy to play wallflower with him. I wore jeans and a baggy t-shirt, slouching with my hands stuffed in my pockets. “I don’t know who even has energy to dance,” I said with a sigh. “Finals killed me this week. This year was rough.”
Damian snapped his fan shut and smacked me with it. “Yes, but we survived. Now we deserve to have some fun.”
I glanced down at his full skirts. There were metal hoops underneath to support the weight of the fabric. “I don’t think you can twerk in that thing.”
“Are you kidding?” Damian handed me the fan and stepped away from the wall. “This was made for twerking.”
Students scrambled to get away from the wide skirts as he swept into the middle of the dance floor. As if on cue, the DJ switched to a song with a steady beat. Damian struck a pose, then began to shake his booty. I don’t know how he managed to keep his balance because he was wearing three-inch heels. An audience gathered around him to watch the show. Some students laughed, but others applauded and cheered him on.
Not to be outdone, Samantha jumped into the middle of the circle and twerked aggressively back at him. One of her friends, Diana, came up behind her and started grinding against her ass, playfully grabbing and spanking her. Then Kelsey came out to face her, sliding up and down with her hands all over like Samantha was a stripper pole. That got
even more attention, mostly from the boys, who shouted lewd encouragement.
Ugh. It would have been hot, except it was so obvious they were pandering to the male gaze. Girls who acted like fake lesbians to turn guys on were the worst. Still, I couldn’t help but sneak a few looks at Samantha’s butt. Some students had turned to stress-eating and put on extra pounds over the past year, but Samantha kept it tight.
I had to stop crushing on straight girls. If Gabriella had taught me one thing, it was that I had to be more careful about who I trusted my heart to. The next time I liked a girl, I’d make sure she truly liked me back before I made any moves. Maybe a nice man-hating butch with short hair and a motorcycle. There wasn’t anyone like that at the school, but Santa Cruz was a bigger town than where I grew up.
Then gasps from the crowd drew my attention back to Damian. He was pulling out the drag queen moves now, stuff way more advanced than twerking. His skirt flew out to the sides as he smacked the ground in a death drop.
An orange cat ran onto the dance floor and yowled loudly. “Okay, break it up,” Ms. Murphy said, following her familiar. The music cut out abruptly. “Let’s keep the dancing safe and clean, shall we? Are you alright, Damian?”
He popped back up to his feet with a grin. “Oh, I’m totally fine. We learned how to fall from Coach Bloodgood.”
The coach, who was also chaperoning the dance, marched out with her arms folded. “I did not teach you how to do anything like that!”
I pushed my way into the circle and grabbed Damian. “Sorry, we were gonna go get some fresh air.” I pulled him toward the exit.
Damian adjusted one of his curls with a pout and flounced off the dance floor on my arm. When we got outside, though, he grinned at me. “That’ll give them something to remember me by until next year.” He patted me on the head. “I can’t believe you’re stuck here for the summer! We could be learning some new moves on the break. I have ideas for a choreographed routine that would make the Rich Bitch Witches look like amateurs.”
The Reluctant Witch: Year One (Santa Cruz Witch Academy Book 1) Page 21