by E A Foley
“That is so awesome! We have the best section ever!” Thorin announced to the empty hallway.
Iris glanced at him and looked away. Her eyes tingled once more. An odd sensation filled Iris’s chest as her neck and cheeks heated up. It was followed by something she’d only experienced amongst her friends—acceptance. Iris didn’t know how to react to it but it made her smile.
She followed Laila and the other mellos to a shady spot below a tree and sat down to talk. Iris wondered why they had to come out into the heat of the day rather than stay in the air-conditioned dorm room. She only had to wait a few minutes for a response as a small band high stepped into a gap between two of the buildings, stopped, and began what sounded like Pacific’s fight song.
Iris had to give it to them, they were full of energy and absolutely nothing like Pacific had been. The tone wasn’t awesome, but what they lacked in it, they more than made up for in enthusiasm and horn movements. After a few songs, Laila switched spots with Jasmine, the other female mello, and Iris introduced herself.
“Nice to meet you,” Jasmine had to shout over the next song. It sounded like it could be Metallica.
The mini-band played about a dozen songs before pausing. A man dressed as Axel Rose joined the Billy Idol look-alike at the front.
“Hello and welcome to band retreat. I’m Justin the current manager. This is Braden, our current Student Director, and this is Stacie, our Drum Major,” he pointed to a flute Iris hadn’t realized stepped forward. “I’m sure you’ve seen the other officers walking around and our ITs or in-training officers. We have a lot of fun stuff planned and a lot of stuff to teach you. Some of you have never played an instrument before and I doubt any of you have ever high stepped.
“First and foremost, band is supposed to be fun, so if it isn’t, something is wrong and we want to know about it immediately so we can fix it. I trust everyone picked up a schedule. Please pay close attention to it and the locations listed. We have a saying here in the band that goes like this: ‘If you’re early you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re late. If you’re late, you’re fucking up.’ And you really don’t want to be late to marching practices because Stacie will eat you alive.”
He half laughed but Iris got the impression he was serious about that one.
“Well, that’s about it—” he looked to his fellow officers. When they nodded in approval, Justin clapped his hands, added, “enjoy the rest of the performance,” and fell back into place with the tenor saxes.
Braden yelled out what could only be a song title. Everyone searched through a small folder of music before beginning the next round of songs. Iris sat on the grass and enjoyed the performance. She would have to thank Zarina later for talking her into joining the band.
The mellos sitting on the grass with her rotated in and out of playing with the others. It distracted Iris so much she didn’t realize what the tingling sensation creeping up the back of her spine meant until the band exited and it faded away.
It took Laila tapping Iris’s shoulder for her to come out of her stunned contemplation of the exiting band. How she was going to figure out which band member caused her to feel like she’d discovered a new magic user was beyond her. She’d have to take it slow and start with her section and the other band members on her floor. Iris could only hope the tickling sensation would come back rather than turn dormant like Aerianna’s had.
Though she’d promised Zarina no magic, Iris couldn’t help but dart to the Gallery of Doors in excitement. Sure enough, there was a single beam of light shining in indication there was a new magic user discovering their abilities.
Iris was more than a little distracted across the next few days. She almost paid more attention to the tickling sensation than the music and marching style she should be learning. She tried to push thoughts of magic away, but they kept creeping into her subconscious. At least she hadn’t tried to draw power into her being.
It wasn’t until the third night when the mellos, tenor and bari saxophones went to an off-campus hot tub to relax that Iris managed to eliminate a single person from the band. She’d become comfortable with the twenty or so people around her—which allowed her personality to come out more. Iris rubbed distractedly at the back of her neck as they relaxed in the hot water, making jokes and getting to know each other even better.
“Need a neck massage?” Thorin asked. His hands gripped her shoulders while his thumbs dug into the base of her neck before Iris realized what she’d been doing.
He tugged a little on her shoulders to indicate she should back up. One of his hands released her shoulder and guided her hip back until she sat on his knees. Iris was more than grateful for the darkness of the night as her eyes tingled in time to the wealth of emotions running through her being. Then she realized what was actually going on with her neck.
She wasn’t in pain. Hadn’t cricked her neck again. She’d narrowed her new magic user search down to one individual in the hot tub. Iris smiled and let the happiness of her lessened task sink in while the tension she’d been carrying leeched out of her and into the warm water and through Thorin’s deft hands.
“Hey you two, it’s hot enough in here without any of that,” Jasmine called to them.
Thorin’s hands pulled back from Iris’s neck as though she’d sprouted thorns. “If you’d rather get in here, that’s fine by me,” she told Jasmine.
Chuckles filled the hot tub. More people pulled their attention around to see what was so amusing.
“I don't know, Thorin might get jealous. I think I made him blush.”
“I can’t speak to that, but I can tell you made him stop. What, get shy suddenly?” Iris asked Thorin and leaned back into him.
“That depends on you.” He reached an arm over her shoulder and pulled her into his chest.
“I think you’re making them uncomfortable,” Iris said. The heat coursing through her body had nothing to do with the temperature of the water.
“Are you sure you’re not talking about yourself?” Jasmine’s smile was obvious in her words.
“Sure I’m sure,” Iris told her. “I planned on using him for a few more neck massages and ditching him anyway,” Iris tapped the side of Thorin’s cheek with her free hand. “At least he’s nice to look at, right?”
The hot tub howled with laughter.
“And what is that supposed to mean, woman?”
A visceral surge of heat welled through Iris’s body at the tone in Thorin’s voice. It flared into her eyes. “Excuse me? Woman?” she demanded. It wasn’t quite the same tone Brett used when he called her a freak, but it was close. Her reaction was a complete one-eighty.
In less than a second, Iris grabbed the arm across her shoulder, leaned forward and pulled. Thorin sputtered as he popped back up. Anger filled Iris’s being. Thorin opened his mouth to say something, got a look at her face and decided against it. Instead, he brushed his hair back and wiped the water off his face before sitting down. His hands returned to her shoulders. Turned her body slightly. Resumed their massaging of her neck. Iris didn’t know what to think, but the surrounding laughter helped cool her boiling blood.
“Sorry,” she whispered to Thorin on the pretense of leaning into his massaging hands. Her eyes tingled with the guilt filling her from her overreaction.
“No worries. I guess I deserved it. I take it green means you’re pissed?”
“Yes,” she said with a sigh.
“That’s a good one to know.”
“Sometimes. Sometimes not. You can ask Zarina for some stories before you decide if knowing is best or not.”
Chapter 3
By the time retreat ended, Iris hadn’t discovered who the new magic user was, but she didn’t care that much. The ‘no magic’ rule she’d set herself and had Zarina to help enforce brought normalcy to her life. Surprisingly, normal started to feel like the better option. Especially since the entire band treated her as normal rather than ‘the freak’.
Laila invited Iris
to spend the night between retreat ending and moving into her dorm on her couch rather than at the band-house she’d left her stuff at. It was great and accomplished three things. One, Iris and Laila became better acquainted. Two, Laila showed Iris all her favorite places on campus including both places to walk and sleep. And three, she eliminated Laila from her new magic user search. Iris hadn’t received a single inkling that Laila had any magical abilities. When they showed up to Saturday morning practice, the tingling was back.
Thoughts as to who the newest magic user was were once more shunted to the side as she needed her entire brain to focus on the marching show for the football game that evening. When practice ended two-and-a-half hours later, her section helped Iris pick up her stuff from the band house and take it to her dorm room.
Thirty minutes later Iris walked into her dorm room for the first time and was pleasantly surprised at its size. It was a long, narrow room with more than enough space for the three of them. Even if the room was still tiny. The lofted bed over two of the dressers and the bunk beds helped organize the sleeping space to the right of the door while the area to the left held two closets and a small sink area.
“What just happened?” Aerianna asked.
Iris pulled her attention away from examining where she’d be living for the next nine months and realized she hadn’t given Aerianna or Violet a warning about her section helping her move in. “Sorry,” she said and bit her lower lip. “That was the mellophone section. They agreed to help me move in, but I had to lock up my bike and get my reg card activated with the building code and DC meals and such. I completely forgot to give you guys a heads up.”
“It’s fine. They were really nice,” Violet waved off her apology.
“Good. Well, I can’t stay long because I have to go get ready for the football game tonight, but what are your thoughts about beds and such?”
“I’ll take the lofted one,” Aerianna said. “I mean, you guys won’t be able to get into bed if I don’t.”
“Very funny, Aeri. Vi, top or bottom bunk?”
“Doesn’t matter to me.”
Iris knew Violet’s response before she gave it, but she’d asked to be polite. “Okay, how about I take the top bunk and that desk,” Iris pointed to the desk at the foot of the bed. “So I can use it to get in and out of bed.”
“Works for me!”
“Perfect. Then I’ll see you guys after the game. You should come. It’s free with your reg card,” Iris added on her way out the door.
“Maybe,” Aerianna said in a way Iris knew meant no.
Iris waved and jogged to Thorin’s small pickup.
“Laila had to take off to grab snacks for the game,” he told her with the easy smile she’d come to realize was reserved for a few people. She was glad to be one of them.
“What?” Iris asked. She hadn’t registered a word he’d said.
“Laila had to go get snacks. Hope you don’t mind me taking you to the band room.”
“Not at all. Thanks. And thank you for helping me move in.” She grinned and tried to slow her fluttering heart.
“No problem. Ready?” he asked and looked over at her. “Whoa!”
“What?” Iris asked a little startled.
“Your eyes are purple again. Besides your roommate, who said her eye color is permanent, I asked, I’ve never seen purple eyes before. You still haven’t told me what it means,” he reminded her as he pulled out of the parking lot.
“Actually, I’m not sure. They’ve never been purple before.”
Iris pulled the visor down and examined her eyes in the vanity mirror. They had a distinct violet tinge to them. Not as bold of a purple Violet’s eyes could become, but it was there all the same. She had a theory as to the why but there was no way in hell she was going to tell Thorin.
She pulled her sunglasses on and examined Thorin out of the corner of her eye. He was gorgeous. A hair over six feet tall with a medium build and broad shoulders. He wore his chestnut-brown hair attractively gelled into place and dressed well. But it was his eyes that Iris couldn’t help but notice. They were perfect blue globes that lit up when he smiled. All of this caused her heart to beat faster and more than likely contributed her change in eye color.
His good looks only had half to do with her fluttering heart at the moment though. Iris had found her new magic user. She was positive. Perhaps being around her for a week followed by being in the small space of her dorm room with two other magic users had solidified his powers. A quick split of her mind would give her an answer.
Iris skidded to a halt after slamming open the double doors that led from her mind into the Gallery of Doors. There was no longer a pinprick of light but rather an entire door. It appeared her presence in Thorin’s life had spurred on his awakening. Iris walked around the door. It was still blank, but it was there. She reached out a hand to touch it when Thorin asked her a question. Iris pulled the two halves of her mind together.
“You okay?” He glanced over at her with that same soft smile.
“Yeah, sorry,” Iris smiled and tried to school her eyes and features. “Just thinking.”
“About what?”
“School. Classes. Stuff like that,” she invented.
“Ah,” he said in understanding. “Oh, hey, your roommates said you’re all from Pacific. I forgot to tell you on day one, I’m from Temescal. My parents always talked about moving further south, but we never did. Small world, huh?”
“No kidding,” Iris agreed. You have no idea, she thought as they pulled into the parking lot near the band room. She’d have to think of a way to bring up magic and the powers flowing through the Earth with him, but those were thoughts for another time. Instead, she walked with him to the band room and got ready for the game.
Several hours later, Iris could barely talk from all the cheers, chants, and playing they did throughout the game. It was hot in the wool uniforms, but it was nothing Iris wasn’t used to already. Except for the fact that it had been a blast rather than a stiff competition or boring high school football game. Magic had been completely out of her mind until Thorin asked her and Ara if they wanted a ride home.
“You guys coming to the social tonight?” he asked after they’d all climbed into his pickup.
“Yeah, duh,” Ara answered right away.
“What social?” Iris asked.
“A friend of mine is holding a get together tonight. You should come. It’ll be a lot of fun and a great way to relax after the game. And the long week.”
“Can we bring friends?”
“Sure, but I only have room for four people and I already promised Ara here a ride.”
“Um, yeah, I guess. Can you text me before you head over to make sure I’m still game?”
“No problem. I’m heading home to eat and take a shower, so it’ll be at least an hour. That cool?”
“Works for me. See you then!” Ara said and jumped out of the car.
“Bye,” Iris called. She moved to the front seat and Thorin drove her the rest of the way to her dorm. “Where do you live?”
“South Davis. It’s the other side of campus, but the freeway on-ramp is right here so dropping you guys off is no sweat. I’ll be home in less than ten.”
“Cool. Well, thanks again for the ride. See you in a bit!”
“Bye!” Thorin called.
“You guys won’t believe this!” Iris almost yelled as she opened her dorm room door. To her surprise, there was no one there. She noticed a note on her computer desk and picked it up.
Went to dinner with my parents. Be back late. ~Vi
“I wonder what she means by ‘late’.” Iris mused as she grabbed clean clothes and her shower supplies. She exited the shower fifteen minutes later. Aeri and Vi still weren’t home. Soft brown eyes met her in the mirror as she combed out her wet hair. It was a little depressing being all alone after spending a week surrounded by so many people.
Iris scanned the small shelf her roommates had set up with food,
grabbed something at random, shoved it in the microwave, and looked around the cramped room. Both Aerianna and Violet had their spaces set up. Deciding it was better to start the school year off with her stuff unpacked, Iris opened the closest box and started pulling stuff out while the microwave kept her company. She checked closets and dressers to see which ones were available to her and shoved clothes on hangers or into drawers.
When the microwave dinged, she took a brief break to eat her meager meal while she set up her laptop and got on the school’s internet. She still felt down, so she grabbed her Bluetooth speaker and clicked on her “Fix Me” playlist. Iris’s toes tapped to the music in no time. It both brightened her mood and made unpacking a much less tedious task.
By the time Thorin texted, she’d unpacked most of her stuff. Since she hadn’t heard from Aeri or Vi, she told Thorin she’d love a ride and put a few more things away while she waited. When Ara texted to say they were outside, Iris was back in a good mood—until Thorin introduced her to his girlfriend a few minutes later.
Iris said hi and hopped in the back seat with Ara. Her eyes twinged as melancholy descended upon her. Once parked, Iris followed behind the three of them to keep her still tingling eyes averted. She turned the opposite direction after walking inside and wandered around until she heard Zarina’s voice.
“ . . . went to high school with her, so it’s great!” Zarina finished telling the group of clarinet freshmen surrounding her.
“Lucky!” Sienna said in jealousy. “Mine seems really weird. At least she’s quiet. Or seems to be quiet. What about you, Iris?”
“I’m in the same boat as Zarina, but there are three of us. All five of us went to high school together. It’s going to be awesome!” Her eyes flared once more. A smile from Zarina confirmed their blue status.
The small group of freshmen clarinets and Iris stayed in the garage a bit longer talking about roommates and discussing classes they were or were not looking forward to. Iris became quieter as the evening progressed. It took Zarina poking her in the arm for Iris to realize her thoughts were focused internally and she’d been chewing on her bottom lip.