Enchanted Academy Box Set

by L. C. Mortimer

  Nobody cared that it had been by a boy.

  “Say that again.”

  “Bad directions,” I told her. “It’s my first day and I’m trying to find Room 111.”

  “So?”

  “So, I asked for help and this guy directed me to that,” I jerked my head toward the little path, toward the pink shed I’d so innocently – or ignorantly – fallen for.

  The girl pushed away from the wall and looked over my shoulder.

  “Let me guess,” she said. “Tall guy with long hair?”

  How had she known?

  Maybe it wasn’t his first day tricking new girls.

  “That’s the one.”

  “He’s a jerk.”

  “Thanks. I kind of gathered that. Do you know how to get inside?” I asked.

  “They lock the doors after the first class begins.”

  “So, I’m just stuck outside all day?” I asked with a sigh. Seriously? Missing my first day of class definitely wasn’t on my to-do list. It wasn’t going to do me any favors at all. It certainly wasn’t going to look good on my transcripts.

  And I wasn’t going back to Millbrook.

  Nope.

  Nuh-uh.

  No damn way.

  I wasn’t going back to Millbrook High. There was simply no way. It had taken me forever to escape from there. It had taken me an eternity: a lifetime. And I wasn’t about to sacrifice everything I’d worked for just to go back to that school.

  “Looks like it,” the girl said, but I wasn’t going to take that answer.

  “Please,” I said. “Help me.”

  I wasn’t above begging.

  I wasn’t above anything.

  I’d do anything I had to do to get inside because I needed this.

  She looked at me, considering. Then she walked over. She was taller than me, and older. Maybe she was even a senior. It might have been rude to ask, so I swallowed my questions and just looked at her.

  “You’re a new kid,” she said. She tossed the fireballs away and they vanished into thin air before they could hit the ground. “So, I’m going to give you a piece of advice.”

  “Um, okay.”

  “Don’t trust anyone.”

  “But-”

  “No buts. Don’t trust anyone. No one. Okay? People here are not your friend, little girl. They aren’t here to keep you safe. They aren’t here to protect you. We all have our own trauma and our own issues to deal with. Nobody wants to take you on as a burden.”

  Wow, dramatic much?

  My eyes narrowed. Glaring was better than crying, and I wasn’t going to let this girl see me cry. I didn’t know who she was or what she was going to do with her magic fire balls, but I did know that she had a mean streak.

  She looked around and stepped closer to the key panel. Obviously, there was some sort of charm that would unlock it. My charm didn’t work. As if understanding my silent question, the girl looked over at me.

  “Your charm is only good within the dormitory,” she said. “Everyone gets their own charm, and they’re enchanted to work for different locks. Teachers have charms that will open these doors. Students don’t get those.”

  She waved her hands in front of the panel and suddenly, a little tiny fire ball appeared in her hand. It was flaming blue, and it was no bigger than a large gumball. She held it in place for just a minute, and then I heard a click.

  The door swung open.

  She had done it.

  She had opened the door.

  She had saved me.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “You owe me.”

  “Um, okay?”

  “I mean it,” she said. “One favor.”

  I didn’t really expect that I’d be owing people favors on my first day of school, but if that’s what it took to get me to class on time, then so be it.

  “Sure,” I said. “One favor.”

  I stepped into the school and to my surprise, the girl followed me. She closed the door quietly behind us.

  “First things first,” she said. “Don’t tell anybody I let you inside.”

  “Why not?”

  “Don’t be stupid. Think about it for two seconds and then tell me.”

  “Um, because nobody knows you can open the locks with your magic?”

  “Ding! Ding!”

  “No need to be rude about it,” I muttered.

  “And there’s no need to dawdle any longer. You’re almost ten minutes late,” she said. “Go.”

  “Where?”

  The girl sighed, as though she couldn’t believe she was still helping me. Honestly, I kind of couldn’t believe it, either. She walked with me about halfway down the hallway where there was a large, door-sized book on the wall. The title of the book was “Eleven One.” Only it wasn’t a book at all. It actually was a door, and it was one I’d walked by several times in my haste to find it.

  “Remember,” she said. “Not a word.”

  Then the girl left, and it was up to me. I had to go into the room and introduce myself and explain why I’d been late. A wave of nausea washed over me as I took a deep breath.

  “Come on, Jessica,” I said out loud. “You can do this.”

  Chapter 4

  I pulled on the oversized book-shaped door only to find that I had to step through a series of actual, literal pages in order to get into the classroom. I managed to push my way past them and step into the room.

  Then all eyes were on me.

  “Can I help you?” I looked toward the voice. The teacher was very short and very unhappy to see me coming into her classroom so late. Guilt washed over me, coupled with anxiety and stress and annoyance. This time, it hadn’t been my fault I was late.

  “Get lost?” A familiar voice said from the back of the room. I looked over to see him: Beast. He was a monster. I knew that now. I wondered why he thought it was okay to do what he’d done. He had pushed me, and he’d been mean, and now I was definitely, absolutely, certainly going to be in trouble with this teacher who looked like she was about ready to bite my head off.

  “I’m Jessica?” I said, but my voice made it come out like a question.

  “Are you or aren’t you?”

  “I am.”

  “And what can I do for you, Jessica?”

  “It’s my first day. I’m in this class,” I said. I casually looked at the desks throughout the room, but I didn’t see a single empty one.

  “Jessica, are you aware that class started nearly fifteen minutes ago?”

  “Yes, and I’m very sorry for being late, I-”

  I looked back at Beast. I wanted to say that I had been given the wrong directions. I wanted to say that I’d been sabotaged, but I also knew that nobody liked a snitch. He leaned back in his desk chair quite comfortably, and he cocked his head and raised an eyebrow, as if to ask me, “Well? What’s it going to be, kid?”

  And I had to make a snap decision.

  Who was I going to be this year?

  Was I going to be the loser who blamed other people for her problems?

  Or was I going to be tough?

  “Sorry,” I said. “I got turned around. First day and all. You know how it goes.” I handed her a rolled-up scroll, which contained a note from the headmistress of the school allowing me to attend the class. The teacher sighed and unrolled it. She glanced quickly at the letter, and I suppose she must have been satisfied, because she simply motioned for me to go sit down.

  I looked again and started walking through the row of chairs and desks. I felt dozens of eyes on me. How many kids were in this classroom, anyway? Twenty? Thirty? I kept walking until I reached the back and finally found an empty chair.

  It was right next to Beast’s.

  Perfect.

  I slumped in my chair and stared at the textbook that sat on the desk in front of me. Apparently, I’d arrived on the first day they were starting a new story.

  Twisted Tales was going to be a good class, apparently, judging by the cover of the bo
ok we were going to read.

  It was going to be a bad class, judging by the way the other students were glaring at me for interrupting the lesson.

  “As I was saying,” the teacher continued. “The Lost Key is more than just a story of forbidden love.”

  A girl with blonde pigtails raised her hand, and the teacher pointed at her.

  “It’s also a story of forbidden truth,” the girl offered.

  “That’s right. Forbidden truth is a powerful tool, especially when it comes to writing a story, and especially when it comes to writing a story as bold and remarkable as this one.”

  “Hey,” a voice hissed at me.

  Beast.

  He was trying to get my attention.

  Now?

  In class?

  Forget that.

  I ignored him and stared at my copy of The Lost Key. Maybe if I ignored him long enough, he’d forget all about me and just move on with his life. I had no idea why he had chosen to bully me, out of everyone he knew, but I wasn’t really interested in it.

  I was here to learn, and that was enough.

  He tried to get my attention once more, but again, I ignored him. Eventually, he stopped trying, and the class continued without anything weird, strange, or unusual happening.

  “All right,” the teacher finally said. “Read the first three chapters and we’ll talk about them tomorrow.” The class started gathering their wands, bags, and other magical items, and I grabbed my book to shove it in my bag.

  “Hey,” Beast was suddenly standing next to my desk. I looked up at him and frowned, but didn’t say anything. He just stood there for a minute, and so did I. I shouldn’t have played such a stupid little game with him. A staring contest, really? I had another class to go to. I needed to get to Absolute Energy 1.

  All of my classes were level one classes. There would be a mixture of students in each of them. Level one courses weren’t necessarily only for freshman or sophomores. A lot of older kids, including Beast, I was guessing, would be in them, too. That was because some students got to choose electives and some had transferred here from other places.

  Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore.

  “What do you want?”

  “I just wanted to see how you liked class.”

  “Please,” I said, standing up. I pushed by him. “Leave me alone.”

  “It was just a prank,” he said, but I ignored him and kept walking. When I reached the front of the classroom, the teacher motioned for me to stop by her desk.

  “Jessica,” she said. “It was nice to meet you today.”

  “Thank you,” I said quietly, waiting for the “but.” There was always a “but” when it came to stuff like this. Always. You couldn’t make a mistake in life without people noticing. No, most people sat around and waited for you to screw up. They were more than happy when you made mistakes than when you succeeded. I’d learned that a long time ago.

  “I know that you’re jumping into your classes a little later than the other students,” she continued. “So if you need any assistance or you have any questions, please feel free to stop by my office.”

  Wait, what?

  “You aren’t going to punish me for being late?” I asked.

  She looked confused.

  “Why would I punish you?”

  “Because I was late,” I said again. This time, I spoke a little more slowly in case she hadn’t really heard me clearly.

  “Jessica, it’s your first day. I don’t think a single teacher here expects you to be on time.”

  “Wow.”

  She raised an eyebrow.

  “A bit different from your old school, is it?”

  “Just a smidge.”

  “Well, the offer stands,” she said. “If you need me, just go to the main office and ask for Miss May’s office. They’ll make sure you find me.”

  She turned and started messing with her books, effectively dismissing me. I ducked through the pages of the door-book and walked back to the hallway. Beast was a few feet away and he was looking at me. I wasn’t sure where Absolute Energy 1 was located, but I knew one thing: I wasn’t going to be asking anyone for directions this time.

  Chapter 5

  “How were your classes?” Wolf asked when I walked into the suite that night. She was sitting on one of the pillow cushions and was dumping the contents of a packet into a small cauldron.

  So far, Enchanted Academy was pretty damn weird.

  There was no real way to explain how it worked or why it was strange or what I thought. All I knew was that it was uncomfortable, and I wondered if it was because I was new or if it was because I couldn’t do magic. Neither answer felt right to me.

  “They were fine,” I said, sitting down beside her. “What are you doing?”

  “Magic.”

  “I can see that. What kind of magic?”

  “I’m in Cooking in Cauldrons,” she said. “It’s a class that helps us learn exactly what it takes to create things like witch’s brew.”

  “What does it take?”

  “Too much work,” Wolf shook her head. “You don’t even want to know.”

  I sat down beside her and watched her measuring in different ingredients. Some of them were things I was already familiar with. Things like baking soda and salt were ingredients I’d used plenty of times in normal cooking. Tossing in different herbs, though...Well, it was safe to say I had a lot to learn if I was going to succeed at this school.

  “What made you decide to take the class?”

  “My mother made me.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah,” she said.

  “What’s your mom like?”

  “Like any normal mom, I guess.”

  “Friendly? Bakes a lot of cookies?”

  “Actually, yeah,” Wolf shrugged. “She’s pretty cool.”

  What was that like? I couldn’t help but feel just the tiniest, smallest bit of jealousy at that. It seemed like a fairytale story. To be able to come home after a long day at school and just hang out and eat cookies with your family?

  That sounded more magical to me than the fire balls I’d seen my savior making earlier that day. That was the kind of magic I wanted. I had promised myself that if I ever had a family of my own – and that was a big if – that I’d make it special for my kids.

  I’d make sure to give them something wonderful they could remember for always.

  If I had a family, I’d always have cookies baking or pies on the table and I’d have lots and lots and lots of delicious food that anyone could just help themselves to. My kids would never be hungry, and they’d never be alone.

  I noticed Wolf looking at me.

  “What?”

  “Nothing,” she shook her head. “You just kind of spaced out there for a little bit. Everything okay?”

  “What? Yeah, totally,” I waved her off. “Everything is just fine.”

  “Okay, because you’re creeping me out a little bit.”

  “Sorry.”

  “So? What about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “What’s your mom like?”

  Ah, yes, the inevitable “What’s your mother like?”

  This was a question I’d grown to dread because it was something everyone always seemed to ask me. What was my mother like? Well, to be honest, I didn’t really know. I’d been orphaned as a kid. I’d been cast aside by the world. My mother and father had both died when I was really small and then I’d gone to live with an aunt for a few years. When she died, I’d gone into the foster care system and the rest was history.

  My foster parents were very normal and very polite and very happy when I was accepted to boarding school and left without a backwards glance.

  But was I ready to tell Wolf all of that?

  She was my suitemate. She wasn’t my therapist. She wasn’t even really my friend. I kind of hoped that we’d get there one day, but as of today? She knew nothing about me.

  And I kind of want
ed to keep it that way.

  I had two choices.

  I could be honest, or I could lie.

  I could tell her the truth and face the consequences, or I could lie, and things could continue on.

  If I was truthful, then I knew what would happen. It was the same thing that always happened. She would look at me and pretend to understand, but her eyes would be clouded with pity. That always happened. People looked at me, a normal girl, and they thought, “Man, I feel sorry for her.”

  And I didn’t want sorry.

  I didn’t want to feel that pressure to be a certain amount of sadness.

  I mean, I missed my parents. Who wouldn’t? But I didn’t like the fact that if I tried to tell anyone where I had come from – where I had really come from – that their reaction would be to feel remorseful.

  No, I didn’t want Wolf’s pity.

  Lying won out easily.

  “She’s not much of a cook,” I said with a little smile. I wondered what my real mom had been like. Maybe she had been a cook. Maybe she’d been an incredible cook. There was a chance, really, that she’d been fantastic. Maybe she’d loved hanging out around the kitchen counter, munching on snacks, and making delicious treats.

  I didn’t know.

  And I’d never know.

  Wolf just shrugged.

  “Well,” she said happily. “That’s okay. Not everyone has to like the same stuff, right?”

  “Right.”

  I watched her for a few more minutes as she silently worked on her project. After awhile, Stacy and Belle came back to the room. Stacy looked tired, and after a brief greeting, went straight to bed for the night. Belle just shrugged and sat down with us.

  “Long day, huh?” I asked.

  “Yeah, Stacy isn’t the biggest fan of our class load this year,” Belle said.

  “Is the second year harder than the first?” I asked. As far as I knew, we were all sophomores. We were in some of the same classes, but some of my schedule was definitely freshman-level stuff. I’d probably have to take summer classes or double up on classes at some point if I wanted to graduate on time.

  “Like you wouldn’t believe,” Belle said. “Last year was really fun and everything felt new.”

  “This year it’s all just kind of running together,” Wolf agreed. She reached for some peanuts and sprinkled them into the cauldron.