By the time the chimes signaled the end of class forty-five minutes later, I was ready for our next term break. I loved reading as much as the next person, but poetry? What was the point?
We walked out the door, and Gray slung his bag over his shoulder, almost taking off the head of a Grade Five girl behind him. “Whoa sorry. Didn’t see you there.” He patted her head and walked on.
Her mouth fell open, and she gazed after him with a starstruck expression.
“This class and the dueling club will definitely be the most exciting part of this term,” he continued.
“I can’t wait to see what Mr. Mizuno teaches when it’s his turn for the dueling club.” Ivy adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder on our way to Math class. “He’s always so chill in class. I have a hard time imagining him attacking anything.”
Gray bobbed his head. “I wonder if Headmistress Elsie will teach a class. She can do so many cool things with her Light Magic.”
My steps slowed. Was there a spot for me in the dueling club? Somehow, I didn’t think it’d be like dueling with Henry in our classes. And despite what my friends said, I didn’t fit in as much as they thought.
Gray turned around. “Emmie, you coming?” He held out his hand and pulled me through the door and into a headlock.
“Gray, stop it! You’ll mess up my hair!” I shoved him off.
“Mess it up? You didn’t do anything to it,” Ivy pointed out at the same time Gray said, “You can be such a girl sometimes.”
“Hey, genius. I am a girl.” I linked arms with Ivy.
Gray shook his head and settled into his customary seat behind us in Arithmetic. I collapsed in my chair. Finally, a class that made sense. It was the complete opposite of Literature: there was only one correct answer, and we could double-check our work.
“I wish relationships were straightforward like Arithmetic problems.” If only I could double-check if someone was interested in me. That’d make things easier. Not that I’d ever had the need, but still.
“But then you wouldn’t be able to have such scintillating conversations with Mr. Allen.” Ivy innocently fluttered her lashes at me.
I stuck out my tongue but turned to the front as the teacher started the class. It flew by faster than a pegasus.
Next, I had Anatomy, but Ivy and Gray were in the other section. I sat quietly in the back, looking over the syllabus, and doodling on the paper.
When I met Ivy and Gray again for History, my shoulders automatically relaxed.
The teacher started class with some half-baked theory about learning ‘soft skills’ and how knowing how to work with others was good for us. I scooted my chair closer to Ivy—we always worked together—but the dreaded words “alphabetical order” made my stomach do an uneasy flip.
Despite having been in the same class with the same people for the last seven years, I was so uncomfortable around most of them that stuttering was unavoidable. As long as I didn't have to be paired with Lukas, though, I could manage. Probably.
Lukas was a fellow Grade Eight who’d made it his personal mission ever since I failed the Inquiry, to get me to drop out of Ackley. According to him, there were more deserving Magicals who wanted a spot at Ackley, like his cousin.
“Lyland, you’re with…” Mrs. Mallin scanned the class list, her voice as casual as if she were informing us of the weather instead of a partnership that could potentially lead to cycles of awkward conversations and encounters. “Naverly.”
I exhaled loudly and glanced across the room at Celia. She was definitely better than Lukas.
“Good luck.”
Ivy gathered her things and moved to sit beside her new partner. Celia Naverly, a girl who I’d never spoken more than ten words to during our entire school experience, took her desk.
Ivy was the social one, but despite our constant proximity, her popularity never rubbed off on me.
I organized my notebook and pencils on my desk until they were perfect, then straightened them a little more to give me something to do.
“Hi.” Her voice was quiet.
“Hey.” I glanced at her and back to my desk.
A moment passed. Great. We were both already out of things to say.
From the other side of the room, Lukas’ voice reached me. “I pity anyone who got stuck with the Mediocre for a partner.”
My hand jerked slightly, and the pencils I had so carefully lined up clattered to the ground.
Before I could bend over, Celia waved her hand and they floated gracefully back to my desk.
“W-wow, thanks.” That sort of control was impressive. Well, at least Neil always made comments like that.
Celia waved off my thanks. “I’m glad we’re partners,” she blurted out, her cheeks turning adorably rosy.
“You are? W-why?”
“We’re both from Beltan, so we already have something in common, and I think you’re pretty cool.”
I rested my chin in my palm and stared at her. No one had ever said that to me before.
“Josh told me you’re friends with Neil Mastiff, and—”
Yup. There it was. Another of Neil’s fangirls who was probably hoping I could set her up with him.
“—a good person.”
“You think I’m a good person?”
She nodded.
“Because Neil is friends w-with me?”
She nodded again. Apparently, I was stuck on repeat. “And some guy named Josh t-told you that?”
Her cheeks reddened as she nodded again.
Interesting. “So w-who is this Josh?”
She fidgeted with the strap of her bag. “He’s a Grade Ten like Neil, and they’re pretty good friends. At least, according to Josh.” She was silent a minute before continuing. “He and I have been friends for a while now,” she added. “Josh, I mean. Not Neil. I’m not friends with Neil. Not that I wouldn’t be friends with Neil if he wanted to be, but I meant I’m friends with Josh.” She stopped and took a deep breath.
In a world where I didn’t stutter when I was nervous, I would be a social babbler like Celia. “I’m glad we’re partners, too.” I smiled at her and the knot in my stomach unclenched. I could do this.
Her face brightened.
Mrs. Mallin straightened the edges of the papers against the desk with a quiet clack. “To celebrate your first day back, I’d like you and your partner to spend the rest of class working together to write a one-page report on Andar. On the papers coming around, you’ll find a list of possible topics. Please choose one and turn it in before the chime.”
The boy in front of me held a small stack of papers over his shoulder. I grabbed one and passed the pile on.
Celia leaned over and looked. “What do you want to write about?”
I scanned the options. “Let’s w-write about the growth of the regions in the last twenty years.”
“Josh told me that Dahning and Ra have really flourished these last few decades when it comes to producing the food supply for all of Andar.”
I scribbled notes. “Ivy’s made s-similar comments. Should we talk about the economic disparity between the regions as a result?”
Celia studied the paper with a small frown creasing her forehead. “Let’s see what else we come up with. This is only a page long, so we might not have room.”
“Ender and Beltan have been producing inventions like c-crazy recently.”
She patted a lump in her pocket. “I know. Even though the communication crystals have only been out five years, I can barely remember life without them.” She folded her arms. “And wasn’t it twenty years ago that King Donovan and Queen Ava changed the rules at Ackley to encourage Magicals from different regions to board together?”
Smart and nice. I nodded. “And that’s w-why they’re my favorite of the monarchs.” I wasn’t a Water Magical like Ivy, but after being roommates the last seven years, I couldn’t imagine not living with her. “It feels like there’s been this tension between the east and west for as long as
I can remember.”
Celia chewed on the tip of her pencil. “That reminds me. There’s another big event we haven’t mentioned that happened in the last twenty years.”
I lowered my voice. “The assassination?” Twelve years ago, after the monarchs were killed, the whole country was in an uproar for many cycles. Every region suspected the others and suspicion threatened to break the country.
She nodded once. “Without someone on the throne, things have gotten worse these last twelve years—especially with the missing princess.” She looked at me. “I mean, I guess you’d know better than me since your dad’s a delegate.”
I shrugged one shoulder. Dad and I rarely talked about things like that. Or anything else, for that matter. “I w-wish the regions worked together better.”
“But with the mystery surrounding the assassination of the monarchs, it drove a bigger wedge between the regions. Without the king and queen to keep the peace and hold the country together, the old prejudices and fights easily flared up.” She shook her head. “Anyway, I think we’ve got enough info now.”
I took notes for a few minutes to sketch out a rough outline. “W-we’ve got a lot of topics here, but I think something along this format should work well.” I pushed the paper her way.
Celia shot me a warm smile. “Wow, you’re quick at this. I guess I’ll write it up since you did the rest.”
I leaned back in my chair. Maybe History wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Chapter 3
The rest of History class flew by, and I hurried to stuff my books in my bag. “S-see you tomorrow, Celia! I can’t wait to hear more about your friend, Josh.” I hurried to the door where Ivy and Gray waited, letting out a cheer when I reached them. “Lunch time!”
Gray stuck out his lower lip in an exaggerated, dejected expression. “Don’t rub it in.”
“It’s all right.” I patted his shoulder. “Soon you’ll be at your own lunch and surrounded by all your fangirls again. I know how much you love The Gray Mastiff Fanclub.”
Next to me, Ivy stared at Gray adoringly, fluttering her lashes and blowing kisses.
Just barely, I held back a laugh.
“Pfft,” he scoffed. “Without you two, there won’t be anyone around worth showing off for.”
I laughed at his outrageous flirting. “See you after school,” I called to Gray over my shoulder before speeding off down the other hall.
“I’ll see you in Elemental Basics,” Ivy said to him as she hurried to catch up with me.
My hands clenched. Their magic classes were a line in our friend group I could never cross, no matter how hard I tried. I walked faster, relaxing my hands. “Come on.”
“Settle down, girl. The food isn’t going anywhere. They make enough for everyone.”
“I’m really hungry.” Liar. My stomach was already full of butterflies.
The large hall was already full when we arrived. Despite the encouragement to socialize amongst the grades, most people continued to sit with friends in their own grades. Of course, there were occasional exceptions.
I grabbed some chicken and potato wedges while Ivy chose a salad, then I found myself staring at one such exception: a table crammed full of girls from Grades Seven through Ten all vied for Neil’s attention. His blue eyes held a hint of panic.
Typical Neil. Put him in front of a difficult test, and he handled it like a champ. Ask him to do a tough feat with magic, and he would breeze through it. But surround him with a bunch of flirty girls, and he stiffened up like a board.
While Gray was kind, he flirted with every girl, making it really difficult to tell who he actually liked. Neil was friendly to everyone, but flirted with no one. If he cared for a girl, she’d be the only one he treated as special. Neil was the type of guy who’d move the moon and wrestle the elements for his girl. He was earnest and serious and always thought about others.
Ivy shot me a wry grin and started toward his table.
She was joking, right? We couldn’t brave that table now. It was a battle zone over there. I grabbed her elbow with my free hand. “Let’s sit at a different table today. I really don’t want to deal with Neil’s fans right now. They’re always extra intense on the first day back.”
She turned toward an emptier section of the room. I followed and put my tray on a table.
“You know, if we were nicer, we’d rescue him from that.” She gestured toward the chaos of female hormones.
“He’s a tough guy. I’m pretty sure he can take care of himself.” I took a huge bite of chicken.
One girl stared down another who had dared sit too close to Neil.
“You know, he’s not as attractive as Gray. It doesn’t make sense.”
Ivy choked on her water and droplets sprayed across the table. After a few seconds of coughing, she wiped her eyes and laughed. She waved her hand at the spill, and the drops slid across the table and onto the corner of her tray. “That’s ironic, coming from you.”
I ignored her comment and stabbed a potato wedge into my mouth.
“Besides, you’re completely ruling out his status. He’s a delegate’s son.” She ticked off the first reason on her finger. “He’s been called one of the greatest Magical prodigies since the founding of Andar.” Another finger went up. “And just because he’s not as good-looking as Gray doesn’t mean he’s not attractive. Lots of girls really dig that whole serious vibe.” She wiggled her three fingers at me before taking another bite of her own lunch.
“He just likes to do his best with things,” I defended. “He’s not always serious. Sometimes, he smiles so big that an adorable dimple comes out.” I trailed off at Ivy’s know-it-all grin. “Oh, shut up,” I mumbled before stuffing another wedge in my mouth.
She nudged my elbow. “Are you sure you don’t want to go sit over there?”
I snorted. “No, thanks.”
We finished our food in silence.
From Neil’s table, the words ‘dueling club’ and ‘prodigy’ drifted to us over the noise of the cafeteria.
I winced. Poor Neil. Of course, his table was extra crowded. With that announcement about the dueling club that morning, he was in demand even more than usual.
At the chimes’ signal, Ivy and I threw away our trash. I caught Neil’s eye.
Traitor, his blue ones accused.
I shrugged. Eh, what can you do?
Ivy and I went back to our cubbies to exchange our stuff for our afternoon classes, and someone bumped into me from behind, almost knocking me over.
“Oh, I didn’t see you there, Mediocre.” Lukas crossed his arms across his broad chest and sneered. “Who knew you could be so invisible? Or maybe you’ve finally found your magic.”
“W-what do you want, Lukas?” I smothered a groan. Annoying him would drag the confrontation out longer than it already would be. Ivy stepped forward, but I shook my head at her.
He planted himself in the middle of the hall in front of me. I stepped to the side, but he shifted, blocking my progress.
I sighed and took a step back, not wanting to crane my neck to look him in the face. At six feet tall, he easily towered over me. His tousled blond hair looked darker than usual, and his green eyes were narrowed in a glare. He could be attractive if he never spoke.
“I w-w-want to know why you b-bothered to come back here,” he mimicked.
I kept my face expressionless. “You should really get s-some new material.” How could it still bother me after all that time? “You’ve been using the same s-s-stutter joke since Grade Three.”
“If you could take a hint, I wouldn't even bother. You bring down the standards of the whole school. Just because your parents have the money to buy your way in, doesn’t mean they should. Some Magicals actually deserve the chance to be here. All the money in the world can’t buy you magic.” He took a step closer and lowered his voice. “I know you shouldn’t be here. The teachers know you shouldn’t be here. Really, the entire school seems to realize you shouldn’t be here exc
ept for you.”
“Leave her alone! Don’t you have anything better to do with your time?” Ivy glared at him.
He tapped a finger to his chin. “Better than ridding Ackley of a pest? I don’t think so. This is a service to the school. Maybe I’ll even earn some extra credit.” His friends snickered behind him. He reached over and yanked on the end of my tie until it came undone in his hand.
Ivy grabbed for it, but he held it out of her reach, turning to his friends. “What Academy was the gray tie for again?” Over their mocking laughter, he continued, “Oh, wait. That’s right. This isn’t an Academy color because she failed the Inquiry.” He raised his voice, and more heads looked our way.
One of his friends scratched his head, pretending to be stumped. “How is that even possible?”
Lukas frowned. “I hear it’s pretty difficult, actually, so maybe she is something special. After all, she’s the only Magical to ever fail it.” Two other boys hooted and clapped.
My cheeks flushed, and I took a step back.
“Shut up, Loser.” Ivy glared at him.
“My name’s Losser,” he snarled in her face and turned back to his friends. “Maybe calling her a Magical was too kind. Mediocre is more like it. After all, you need to actually have magic to earn the title of Magical.”
Ivy stomped her foot and ice formed on the floor around her. “Emmie has magic or else she wouldn’t be here! And she belongs here as much as any of us. And definitely more than some.” She swept her icy glare across the crowd of onlookers before bringing it back to Lukas.
Lukas scrunched my tie in his hand and tossed it to the ground. “That’s not what the teachers think. Otherwise, she wouldn’t need babysitting while the rest of us attend our magic classes.”
“What’s going on over there?” Mr. Harper’s voice cut through the crowd, parting the sea of students.
Lukas walked off, taking care to step on my tie in the process. The other students hurried to follow, disappearing like low tide.
I scooped up my tie. “Nothing, Mr. Harper.”
Unleashed Magic (The Chronicles of Andar Book 1) Page 3