by S C Thomas
She knew nothing on friendship. She didn’t know what they did together or how they treated one another, though she suspected it was obviously to stay friends (who would want to befriend somebody mean). She didn’t know any of the rules. But to admit any of that would just make herself look like a loser and in front of someone as nice as Kelyn, she didn’t think she needed a reason to look more of an outcast as she already did. Especially after yesterday’s altercation in the dining hall.
Kelyn nodded furiously and pulled Emma’s door closed for her, stepping up next to the girl. Kelyn was about a head shorter than Emma, bobbing next to her and having to take at least two wide steps to keep up with Emma. Which made it slightly more difficult as Emma had to keep slowing down, needing the other girl to lead the way because she had absolutely no idea where she was supposed to go, and if someone was willing to show her the way, she saw no reason to pull out her map. She didn’t want to look more like a dunce then she already did.
“So, how’re you liking the school so far? I know it takes some getting used to, but once you do, you get to feel like you’re finally at home.” Kelyn chirped, her breath hitching slightly as she struggled to keep in front of Emma.
Once more, Emma pulled back, trying hard to remember her need to keep as slow as possible but not too slow for Kelyn. Her eyes glanced around, taking in the marble of the walls, the limestones that jutted out in the corners. Every now and then, a portrait with gold trimming was passed, showcasing an unfamiliar face. Each one seemed uncannily familiar however, she just couldn’t place why though. Names were scrawled across the bottom, carved in to keep from being erased or taken off. They moved past the portraits far too quickly for Emma to get a proper look. Their footsteps echoed, sometimes bouncing around the walls as they walked, and torches flicked at their shadows making them dance wildly around them as they moved in and out of the lights. She wondered why there was no proper lighting here. Maybe a budget thing or just to cast more of that mystical look about the magic of the school? Whatever the reasoning, it gave her chills running up and down her spine.
“Oh, I’ll be tutoring you.” Kelyn piped as they turned yet another corner.
How many corners did this place have and why did it seem to Emma they were just going in a circle by this point?
Her eyes shot the smaller girl, eyebrow cocked. “What? How come?”
Kelyn shrugged, squinting her eyes as if in concentration to think about what she was going to say or possibly to see through the dim flickers of the torches on the sides of the wall. Emma couldn’t tell the difference which it was. “Well, Drake was supposed to. But the dunce can’t even tutor himself, let alone someone else. Why they chose him to tutor you, I’ll never guess.”
“Whose Drake?” She asked curiously, her mind instantly flickering to the mystery guy in chaotic mess of student bodies the day previously from when she’d arrived.
“The guy that tried to help you yesterday, in the dining hall.” Kelyn explained and giggled when Emma’s nose wrinkled in disgust at the realization of who the name belonged to. “He isn’t that bad, but you might’ve dodged a bullet. He hangs around Sherice a lot. Probably a good thing he let me, or you’d be doomed from the start.”
Emma nodded, eyeing the girl from the side. “You don’t exactly seem magical.” She said slowly and then bit her tongue, realizing how rude that possibly sounded.
Who was she to judge anyone on not seeming magical? Look at her for heaven’s sake! She didn’t know an ounce of magic. Just knowing one spell put Kelyn far ahead of her and she probably knew way more than just one at that!
“Oh, I know.” Kelyn shrugged, her arms having never left the book she held dearly to her chest., piquing Emma’s attention to it. “I’m merely a shifter, but I talked Drake into letting me having access to the mage curriculum to know your side better. Hopefully one day I’ll know so much.” She sighed dreamily.
Emma squinted her eyes, confused by the words the girl had just used, but didn’t poke questions at them. She didn’t want to seem like a dunce like this Drake fellow was. She had one friend, sort of, and didn’t want to look like an idiot in front of her. She had to pretend to know things. Maybe if she pretended long enough and skirted around information, she could learn along the way. Watching and waiting, it was what she was best at after all. She could soak in the information like a sea sponge and pretend she knew it all along. And with how capable of blending in she was, she would have to find the library and read up on things as much as possible. Learn from there, it was the only answer she could give herself. No one would have to know, as long as they didn’t see her of course. If they did, maybe she could wave it off as doing homework. Homework was still a thing even here, wasn’t it?
“Well, here you are.” Kelyn said happily, stopping front of a classroom already boisterous with noise. “I know you’re going to have a good day. I’ll meet you at the dining hall for lunch, okay?”
Emma bit her lip nervously but nodded. Her stomach didn’t feel as queasy as it had done that morning when first waking up. Kelyn had helped with that tremendously, but that didn’t mean she still wasn’t a bundle of nerves. She waved halfheartedly as Kelyn skipped off to her own class, her arms still tightly wrapped around that book Emma all of a sudden wanted to know. Taking in a deep breath, she turned an entered the class, eyeing the packed room. She was surprised she hadn’t seen any of them in the halls on the way. Then again, she had been so deeply involved with her own thoughts, she probably had missed them. They might’ve appeared in front of her, running to catch up with friends or beat the bell and she just wouldn’t have noticed. Even at the odd pace she and Kelyn had been though, it seemed as if they’d made it just in time. Or ahead of time, she couldn’t tell the difference. Was there even a bell to signal the start of class?
Pairs of eyes snapped up to her at her entrance, making her want to shrink back and disappear back out the door. So much for staying out of the radar of these people. Smiles and waves surprised her, there were even a few who clapped and a couple (she guessed boys) who cat called her. Her cheeks flamed up with heat and Emma had to duck her head, scurrying to the nearest empty desk to plop down in it.
“Hey,” someone greeted from next to her, male by the sound of the voice, the tip of a pencil prodding her shoulder. Her eyes rose to him, eyeing him curiously. “That was awesome yesterday. No one usually has the guts to stand up to Sherice.”
A few nods around the boy had her blushing all over again. “Th-thanks.” She stammered and dropped her head again, trying to busy herself in the contents of her bag, or at least pretend she was busying herself. She had no idea what she was even supposed to bring here, let alone even be doing.
“Good morning,” a low voice greeted, drawing her eyes back up as the teacher stood in front of his desk, face wiped of all emotions.
She didn’t miss how his eyes flickered to her. Or maybe they didn’t, and she was just imagining it, but even so she shifted uncomfortably in her seat and slightly shrank down, trying to make sure he could look at her and point her out.
So much for her luck. “Looks like the rumors are true. The Charmwood has arrived.”
Heads turned in her direction and she put up a hand, trying to cover her face from at least most of the on slaughter of eyes looking at her. Whispers swept through the room, slight coughs, and murmurs of exclamation hit her ears. It was no surprise she was here; they already knew she existed from the day before. But maybe they hadn’t known who she was, unless Drake had spilled the beans loud enough of course. What was so special about her name? Heat caressed her cheeks once more, but it could’ve been either embarrassment or anger at not understanding anything. Or maybe it was a mixture of both, she couldn’t tell.
“Miss Charmwood,” she looked up instantly at her name. “Why don’t you help us start the day off.”
She shook her head, her heart thundering in her throat, her palms suddenly going clammy. If he was meaning what she thought he was getting to, then
she knew she was doomed.
“It wasn’t a question.” He said flatly, but the corners of his lips twitched. “Come up here.”
She hesitated, but then pulled herself from her seat and dragged her feet towards him, clenching her fingers into her skirt to keep her hands from visibly shaking and giving her whirl of emotions away. She made her way to the front of the class, where she was grabbed by her shoulders and pushed in front of the class, positioning her to face them. She caught her breath in her throat, clenching her teeth to keep herself from vomiting. Was he allowed to do this?
“Why don’t you do something simple for us, hm?” the teacher smirked, sitting a rather large textbook on the desk in front of her, which to no surprise was empty of student body. “Make this levitate. Even just a few inches.”
Emma stared at the book, then flicked her gaze to him and shook her head. She couldn’t find her voice; it was lost in the roaring of her heart that had now entered her ears. She wanted to go sit back down, her stomach felt so twisted it probably wanted to hurl everything. Though she barely had anything to hurl.
He cocked an eyebrow, crossing his arms. “Make it levitate, Miss Charmwood.”
She flinched at the harshness of his voice surrounding her name and shook her head again, truly not knowing she was supposed to do to conquer such a task. He had called it simple, she called it not knowing how to do it. It was only simple if she could do it without much of a thought. What she’d done the previous day had been out of luck, a self-defense mechanism. She’d had no control whatsoever. And as her uncle had said, she needed to learn control. Until then, she couldn’t do anything on her own.
He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, eyes flickering in agitation. “Make it float. Stop pretending and make it float.” He said icily, making her grimace again.
Once more, she shook her head, staring at the book intently. She actually did try to envision it floating, hoping it would just do that – as if she could be that lucky. But the book didn’t move, not even a smudge.
He sighed heavily, rolling his eyes. “Stop pretending and do as you’re told and then you can go sit back down. You will be the reason this class stays an extra fifteen minutes after class if you don’t do it.” He warned, emitting a series of groans from her classmates.
She shook her head violently this time. “I can’t.” She finally spoke, her cheeks blotching in heat. “I can’t do it.”
“You’re wasting mine and your classmates time.” The teacher warned, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth again. “And causing quite the distraction, aren’t you?” he snorted. “Do the spell, Miss Charmwood.”
She stared at him, half glaring and forced herself to look back at the book, halfheartedly attempting to do as she was told. She knew she couldn’t do it, but she had to try. People found it thrilling what she had done to Sherice, they actually applauded for her. If she got them stuck behind after class, they would hate her. One day in and she would already be casting a name for herself. That would be her luck wouldn’t it?
Furrowing her eyebrows, she bit the inside of her cheek, trying hard with all her might to get the book to levitate. Nothing happened. His tongue clicked again, exasperated by her lack of ability. She clenched her fists into her skirt tighter, thinking harder than ever before. If she was a cartoon, smoke would be billowing from her ears at this point. Maybe they were smoking. She sniffed the air just then, her head turning and squeaked, jumping back in surprise as flames erupted over the desk.
Laughter echoed in her ears. “Pathetic.” Her teacher chortled and mumbled beneath his breath. The flames whisked out, leaving clean air and nothing burnt. “I was wrong about you. You need far more instruction then I originally anticipated.” He laughed.
Emma looked down at her shoes, not wanting him to see the embarrassment written across her face.
“For a Charmwood, you sure don’t seem like one. Why you’re here, I’ll never be able to guess. Fell through the cracks I suppose, they didn’t realize what a disgrace to your name you are. You aren’t a mage, you’re nothing but a shifter in magic training. Barely able to control a thing you do.” He laughed and her classmates followed suit.
So much for being popular, it was good while it lasted the good ten minutes. Emma lifted her head, staring her teacher square in the eye, Kelyn’s words echoing in her mind. “There’s nothing wrong with being a Shifter, even with magic training. I’d be happy to be there instead of being in a room with a snot filled jerk.”
The room silenced at her explanation; defiance written in her eyes as she put her hands on her hips. But her insides were screaming at her, yelling at her to back off. Did she really want enemies this soon after her arrival, especially from a teacher? He quirked an eyebrow again, pursing his lips in thoughts.
“Take your seat, Miss Charmwood. We have a quiz to do today. No exceptions for anybody.”
She turned on her heel and returned to her seat, hiding her face behind a curtain of hair, feeling the eyes looking at her, boring into her back. It wasn’t in awe for the way she’d stood up to Sherice now. Instead, she highly suspected it was for what had just happened and the ridicule she had just made of herself. She couldn’t do a simple levitation spell. She was going to be the laughingstock of the school for sure. Even worse since she now had to do some quiz which obviously, she knew nothing on. She was doomed from the start, with no way to recover unless she magically (oh the pun) figured out a way to have it all crammed into her brain overnight. Until that happened, she had to pretend she wasn’t going to cry over any of this.
Eight
With no way to really get hold of Kelyn, Emma just decided to let it go as she grabbed an apple and disappeared out into the courtyard. Kelyn would figure it out and, hopefully, show up later on. Somehow, she’d locate Emma and go over her crummy day and then Emma would whine about how she didn’t want to be here anymore. How she wanted to go home, but there was no home to go to. Okay, so maybe she wouldn’t spout off about wanting to go to a place that just didn’t exist. She’d keep it at not liking it here and griping about how her teacher had been so unfair with her. Because he had, expecting her to know how to perform spells and take a quiz when she knew even less on that piece of paper. That stupid quiz. The questions were jumbled in her mind, made no sense whatsoever, and she’d just ended up doodling a phoenix breathing fire on the bottom of it. Her art skills would probably be just as bad as her score for the test. She had never been good at drawing. She just hoped that the one question she knew the answer to on there, she hadn’t screwed up to; her name.
Tossing the red fruit up in the air, she watched it spin, and caught it quickly. She was in no mood to eat. She had no appetite whatsoever. Why she’d even grabbed the fruit, didn’t make even any remote sense to her. She just had. Maybe as a comfort sort of thing. To keep her mind on something else or at least try to get it on something else, it wasn’t working. All she could think about was the morning that had just passed and how she’d gone quickly from being praised for standing up to Sherice Camden to being ridiculed for being the stupidest – what was it called – mage in the school. Witch was what her uncle used, but Mage was what Kelyn used. Different names obviously meant the same.
Whatever, she was a laughingstock to her classmates and that had to be about the lowest she could possibly go.
A cawing entered her ears, drawing her head up. She blinked, squinting her eyes as she stared at the crow. A crow fluttered its wings and rose to the air, disgruntled by the crow that was taking up space in the branches and took off. She watched it fly off for a moment and turned back to the crow , stepping back in slight shock. Big eyes stared straight at her; the massive bird unmoving as it watched her. Was it really watching her? Birds didn’t watch people, did they? She shook her head, blinking furiously in the event that in doing so it would end up being a trick of the light or a trick of her head. But every time she looked at again, it was watching her, waiting for her. Waiting for her? Now she kn
ew she was being paranoid. She pulled her eyes away from the bird, a shiver trickling in an icy trail down her spine and landed her gaze on a lone building with a massive staircase tucked into a corner of the courtyard, hidden by the shadows of the main building. Digging in her pocket, Emma pulled out the rumpled map and unfolded it, running her finger over the buildings and stopped at the one she was looking for.
Library.
Her eyes rose up to the beautiful building, tilting her head back to see the top, but the roof grazed clouds and hid beneath them. Or fog, it could’ve been fog. The sun was gone, a chill swept through the air, raising goosebumps up and down her flesh. Whispers echoed in the trees surrounded the courtyard, scuffles of critters ran across the grounds, chitter-chattering with one another. Her feet moved forward, knowing this was probably her best to stay away from the student body when they spilled out from the castle doors after their hearty meal of lunch. Her stomach clenched, making her feel slightly nauseous and reminded her of not having ate very well the last couple days. With a sigh, she drew the apple up to her lips, chomping into it and felt the squirting of the apple’s juice flying into her mouth. She let out a groan and chewed happily, pushing through the doors.
“No food.” A voice croaked, beady eyes glaring at her over the counter, and a knobby finger pointed to a sign next to her.
Emma groaned again, but not in happiness as she tossed her apple into the bin beneath the sign, grimacing at the clanging it made. There was no way she was getting that back later. She’d have to find something else or hope that Kelyn would bring her something to eat. Swallowing the only bite, she had taken, Emma stepped further into the library, glancing around. A shuffle in the corner of her eyes turned her head and she spotted a pair of eyes ducking down to whatever book the owner was holding. She stared at him, swallowing nervously. Her eyes flickered to the woman who had scolded her, noting that she had returned to reading whatever kept her occupied and turned back to the male she had spotted the day before in the massive crowd of student body. Hesitating just a split longer, she finally moved towards him.