by Lia London
“See you in chemistry,” I said. “And…we still need to talk.”
“Yes, we do,” she said, but this time, she didn’t look mad.
***
Ten minutes later, Amity and I met up again in the office, both busted for being tardy. Mr. Blakely was in talking to some parents, so we had to wait. We sat down and decided to read a chemistry chapter together. There were too many secretaries and teachers milling around for us to discuss anything private.
After a few minutes, Miss Flinckey shuffled by on her way to the copy machine. “Oh, hello, Amity,” said Miss Flinckey warmly. She’s one of those little old ladies who you know was probably really pretty in her prime. I watched her chat with Amity for a minute, not really hearing what they were saying. I was thinking about what Petercriss and Whittle had said about her losing her Jump. It occurred to me that I’d never really seen her use any kind of magic, except maybe some Healing Magic if a kid had a bloody nose or something. I wondered if she’d lost part of her powers because she’d loved a Nomer who didn’t love her back.
Apparently, I was staring because she winked at Amity and popped me on the head with her papers. “He’s not as useless as he looks, dear. That’s a good boy, that Kincaid. He gets things done.”
I closed my mouth and sat up straight. “Oh. Thanks, Miss Flinckey.”
When she left to punch buttons on the copier, Amity whispered, “Besides you, she’s the only one here who’s nice to me.”
“Yeah, she’s nice to everyone.” For a minute, I saw Magian High through Amity’s eyes, and I didn’t like it much. We might have magic here, but most teachers and students weren’t very open or nice. Hadley had always called me different that way, but it’s how Mom raised us.
But looking at Flinckey shuffle back out of the office, I wondered if it was worth getting close to others. I mean enough to really care because what if I ended up like Flinckey?
Amity nudged me. “Are you reading or not? It’s your turn.”
“Huh? Oh yeah.” I started reading the next section out loud while, in my mind, I tried to figure out whether or not I liked Amity. And what would happen if I did.
After a long time, Mr. Blakely came out of his office with somebody’s parents looking weary, and led them to the hall with several soothing words. I knew he had his hands full with people concerned about the changes, but he smiled at me and nodded at Amity. “What are you two doing here?”
“Tardy,” I said.
“Thanks to the Punkers,” added Amity.
Mr. Blakely rolled his eyes. “Oh, good grief, I’m sorry. I’ll take care of it. You missed all of first period?”
“Pretty much.”
He looked sympathetically at Amity. “I hope that doesn’t affect your grade, Miss Griffin.”
Amity looked surprised. “Oh. Nah, I’ll be able to pull it up.”
“Well then,” he said, ushering us out. “Get to class. You’ll be early for second period at least.”
“Thanks, Mr. Blakely,” I said.
We grabbed our books and headed out into the hall. “He’s all right,” said Amity. She stopped and looked me straight in the eye. She’s a little shorter than I am, and I was distracted by the warm color of her skin when she suddenly reached up and kissed me on the cheek. “Thanks, Kincaid, for saving me earlier.” I think my eyes bulged because she laughed at my reaction. She started walking down the hall as the bell rang to release first period. “C’mon, lab partner, don’t be late to class!”
I did not hear anything Mr. Petercriss or Amity said all period. I almost couldn’t see straight. Twice, Amity poked me to get my attention. She kept working and looking at me sideways. After class, I went to the bathroom to splash some water on my face and cool down. Miraculously, there was no one in there, so I could take a minute to regroup. She kissed me! I’m assuming that’s Girl for “I like you.” Unless she was just grateful for the pathetic way I defended her from the Punkers.
With the water still running, I looked at myself in the mirror. I guess I’m good-looking enough: tallish with thick, dark hair. Girls say I have a nice smile. It’s not totally impossible that she’d find me attractive. I rubbed my chin. Making sure no one had walked in, I checked out my physique in the mirror. I know not to use magic for everything, so I have actual muscles. But what will happen to me if I like someone with no magic at all? How did it work for Mom and Dad? They got married, but in high school, girlfriends come and go. There’s no guarantee…I turned the water off and stared down the drain for probably a whole minute. When I looked back up at myself, I said, “You may look like a man, Kincaid, but first, figure out what it means to be a man—with or without magic.”
***
I made it through the next two classes focusing as hard as I could, and then went outside with Hadley and Elizabeth for lunch. We were all joking about the new P.E. uniforms when suddenly a crowd of about ten Mages swooshed by us. I recognized them all, and was surprised to see them breaking the rules like that. They were flying a few inches off the ground and sort of going back and forth in front of the bleachers. I did a double take and saw that they all had sparking fingers.
“What’s up with them?” I asked. “Are they auditioning to be Punkers?”
“Didn’t you hear about the Protest?” asked Elizabeth.
“Yeah, man,” said Hadley. “The Mage snobs are doing this Protest thing.”
“What, by sparking?” I scoffed.
Elizabeth shrugged. “It sure freaks the Nomers out.” She indicated the bleachers and we moved to sit down. “So, is it true you skipped first period to be with a Wiser girl?”
“What? No!”
Hadley grinned. “Rumors, man. You were seen. You know how this place is. Is she hot?” Elizabeth elbowed him. “I mean, nice?” he amended.
“She’s really nice, once you get to know her,” said a voice from below. We all looked down to see Amity.
“Hi, Amity,” I said, feeling my face flush red.
Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “Oh, hey. Hi. Come join us.”
Amity looked genuinely happy. “Thanks. I’m Amity.” She came and sat above me, so we all formed a diamond on the benches with Hadley at the bottom. “You guys are in my study hall, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I’m Elizabeth, and this is Hadley.”
Hadley stared at me with a big smile on his face. He leaned up and whispered, “So is it true?”
“What’s this about a Protest?” I asked, trying to change the subject, and trying not to look at Amity too directly in case I started sweating.
“I think Jack got it going,” said Elizabeth. “Count on him to be an idiot.”
“How is it that he’s even here?” I asked. “He’s supposed to be at Wiser, isn’t he? He lives on the east side.”
“I’d pay money to see him survive a day at Wiser,” said Amity.
“Really?” said Hadley. “You got smart bullies over there?”
Amity laughed. “No, but if you’re not focused on your studies, you get booted out fast. That’s why our enrollment was so much lower. We don’t put up with an ounce of crap.”
“Impressive,” said Hadley, supposedly in response to her, but Elizabeth and I both saw him checking out her legs. We both slapped the side of his head at the same time.
The bleachers creaked, and we turned around to see the Protest group gliding along the lowest tier of benches. The noise came from all the Nomers backing up higher, but I knew we would hold our ground. Three of us were Mages, after all. Pretty soon, the Protest group reached us. For a second, I could see their confusion. Then one of them sort of jerked his head, and the group divided. Half went above, and half went below us, so that we were surrounded. I felt Amity’s ankle touch mine, and she cast me a worried look. The last one to pass behind her threw sparks at her and flew off fast.
Elizabeth screamed. “Your hair’s on fire!”
Amity started smacking her head with her hands to put the flame out, and a second later, Hadley had doused her with a
big Water Ball—well, a juice ball, actually, made from the apple juice in his lunch.
“Sorry about the stickiness, but it worked.”
Amity sagged in defeat and wiped the juice from her face. I could tell there were some tears mixed in there, too.
“Are you hurt?” I asked.
She held up her hand, and I could see some burns. Her hair was a mess, too, with a chunk missing in the back.
“Here,” I said, taking her hand. I touched my palm to the burns. We locked eyes for the first time since the kiss. Even after I knew I’d healed her, I didn’t let go until Elizabeth cleared her throat. I pulled away. “Is that better?”
Amity looked at her hand. “It’s perfect.” She had tears streaming down her face. “Thanks.”
“Rough day, huh?”
She laughed sadly. “I’ve definitely had better.”
Elizabeth reached over and gave her a hug. “Here, take my clip,” she said, releasing her own hair. “You can put your hair up until you get home. No one will know the difference.” She rummaged in her backpack for a brush, and they got to work cleaning Amity up. She looked beautiful even with sticky hair.
Amity did one of those breathy laughs girls do. “It’s the new Amity! She skips classes, wears juicy pony tails, and hates school.”
The three of us Mages all kind of grimaced at that.
“It’ll get better,” said Elizabeth. “People are just getting used to the changes. Hey, can you introduce us to some of the Wiser kids?”
“There’s only about seventy of us here, and most of them are underclassmen. It just worked that way when they divided us geographically.”
“But there have to be some that you know, right? Let’s meet them!” said Elizabeth. “We sensible people have to stick together!”
If Amity and Hadley hadn’t been sitting right there, I might have hugged Elizabeth out of gratitude. Fortunately, Amity did it for me.
Chapter Five: What I Saw at Binney’s
While I ate my cereal, trying to ignore Kelsey singing the Munchios jingle next to me, Mom came in and gave me a huge hug. “Honey, I’m so proud of you.”
“Huh? What’d I do now?”
“The party you’re planning, of course.”
Kelsey started bouncing in her seat, waving her spoon around. “Party? Am I invited? Can I come? Can I?”
“What party?” I asked.
Mom acted like she didn’t hear me. “That Amity girl sounds nice.”
Kelsey bounced even higher. “She is nice, Mom! And she made it to level seven! Do you think she’ll like how my hair is growing? I’ve been watering it, so it’ll grow faster!”
“That’s plants, honey,” said Mom, patting Kelsey’s cheek.
“What party?” I asked groggily. “When did you talk to Amity, Mom?”
“She and Elizabeth called to tell me about the party.”
“What party?!” I yelled. Mom and Kelsey stared at me, and I kind of ducked behind the box of Munchios. “Sorry. But—”
“The ice-breaker thing next weekend here at the house. I think it’s a great idea for you to get some Wisers and Corporals to meet the Mages. Is it going to be seniors only?”
“I…have no idea.”
“Is Hadley coming, too?” asked Kelsey. “I like Hadley. He makes funny faces at me.”
“He’s not trying to,” I mumbled. “Which reminds me, he’ll be here soon. Are you okay with us going downtown today, Mom?”
“Be back by two for when the girls get here to plan the party.”
***
After a week of holding our magic under wraps at school, Hadley and I decided to fly down to Binney’s to play some Gel Ball and eat pizza. While I stood at the counter waiting to pay, he went to stake out an open court. The attendant took forever to get the gear, so my eyes wandered around the room. Lurking in one of the corner booths, Curry, one of Jack’s right-hand men, was in a lip lock with an underclassman girl I’d seen at Orientation. More specifically, she was the Nomer girl who hadn’t known about fairies and chicken coops.
The worker finally got the gear, and I gathered up the Gel Ball guns. When I turned around, there was the girl, right next to me. Now that I saw her body, I realized she was also that handspringing cheerleader. She had come up to the counter to grab some napkins or something, but she stopped when she recognized me.
“Oh, hey,” she said, kind of shy. “You’re the proctor from test day, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, hi,” I said, glancing back into the corner booth. “How do you like Magian High?”
“I’ve met some nice people, I guess. It’s way different from Corporal, though.”
“Corporal, huh?”
Just then Curry looked over. For a second, he looked mad, and then…dare I say, scared?
The girl gave me a little wave. “Well, see you around. I’m Rikki, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Rikki,” I said, still in a staring match with Curry, but she didn’t seem to notice. She went back over to him and sidled in close, wiping his chin with the napkin coyly. Curry glanced over at me, and suddenly I smiled. A Punker falling for a Nomer. If I were the type to blackmail…But even as I thought that, I saw the look on his face. It was almost pleading. With a nod, I headed towards the hall with the Gel-Ball courts. Before I left the room completely, I saw him give me a subtle gesture, almost like a friendly greeting.
***
Gel Ball is one of those games that everyone likes, magic or not, but I think Mages with Water Magic love it best because, even after the gel splatters all over them, they can peel it right off and re-form it into a ball. That’s why Hadley totally slaughtered me in points. My Flash Jumps were fast, but once I got hit, I stayed hit, and I ran out of ammo after only fifteen minutes of play.
He started peeling the gel off my clothes (Mages almost never wear the smocks). “You’re pathetic, man,” he said, like he did after every game. “You have got to get some Water Magic going. Can’t you even get a drop to do what you want it to?”
“No,” I said, brushing his fingers away from my sleeve. “But I’m getting better at healing.”
“Yeah, so I saw.” He winked. “Actually, that’s pretty awesome. That’s not so common. Hey, you can be a teacher at Magian when you grow up,” he laughed. “Help all the kids getting bugged by the Protests. I heard it’s happening over at Wiser, too.”
I hadn’t thought about bullying or Protests at the other schools. “How bad is it?”
“Nothing too dangerous according to my cousin, but without healers around…”
“Doesn’t their principal do anything about it?” I asked.
Hadley kind of burbled with a laugh. “Like that would do any good. This is way above him.”
“What do you mean?”
Hadley leaned in, mushing a multi-colored ball of gel in his hand like a wad of dough. “The Protest thing was the new Superintendent’s idea.”
“What?”
“My aunt is a secretary at the district office,” he said, pulling apart the different colors of gel and forming each into its own ball. “She says it’s crazy.” He started throwing each ball at the floor to watch it splatter. “Sometimes the people down there sound pro-segregation, and other times, they want us all together, but my aunt says the Super mostly just wants to see things stirred up.” He swirled the splash marks together with his foot.
“Why would he want that?”
“She,” corrected Hadley. “The new Super’s a she. And get this…She’s Jack Bagler’s mom! The guy skipped the whole first week at Wiser, but when he shows up, I bet he’ll act like he owns the place.”
***
Hadley and I rounded the corner, flying low, and saw Amity, Elizabeth and Kelsey on the porch steps. Kelsey was jumping from step to step and chattering excitedly, asking stupid questions like always. I came forward casually, hoping to catch them talking about me.
“Kelsey, are those the new shoes Mom specifically asked you not to wear outside yet?
She wanted them to last at least a day without getting dirty.”
She turned and pouted at me with her hands on her hips. “How long do I have to last them for?”
“Go inside, Kelsey. I need to talk to these guys.”
Kelsey scowled at me. “They’re not guys. They’re ladies.”
“And you’re a pest,” I barked. “Go inside and leave us alone!” Suddenly I felt a pang of guilt. “Hey, Kelsey, come here.”
She looked at me dubiously, but I reached for her. “Come on. I need a hug.”
With a leap, she threw herself off the third step and into my arms, all forgiven. I sure wish I could be more like her. We squeezed each other tight, and when I put her down, I whispered, “You can use my gaming board 3XL if you don’t bug Mom with the noise.”
“Thanks!” She gave me another hug and ran up the stairs. At the door, she paused. “Where do tornadoes sleep?”
“Go inside!” I roared.
Hadley, Amity and Elizabeth laughed. “That was so sweet. Your sister’s cute,” said Amity.
“Yeah, she works it, too. That’s her magic. So what’s this I hear about me hosting a party?” I asked, looking mock-sternly at Elizabeth. “You’re not pulling another Prom Party thing on me, are you?”
Elizabeth chewed her lip sheepishly and wrinkled her nose at me in the way that always melts Hadley. “Oh, come on, Kincaid, it’s just a little get-together. You’ve got the best house for it, and your mom is the most open to…”
“People like me coming over,” finished Amity with only a trace of bitterness.
“How big is this party? I don’t want a whole room full of girls!”
Hadley gave me a look. “Speak for yourself, man!”
“Twenty kids tops,” said Elizabeth, getting down to business. “Ten Mages, ten Nomers. We can play some Twerp, eat some snacks.”
I sat down next to them. “Are you sure Twerp is a good, neutral game? It kind of favors speed, and Flash Jumping—”
“Oh, right,” said Elizabeth, smacking her forehead.