by Lia London
“What ‘everything’?” asked Amity.
“Magian High,” I said. “And magic for every Mage under eighteen.”
Mom sat down on the other side of me. “I survived youth without magic,” she said.
“And I survived three years at Wiser,” added Amity.
“You don’t get it,” I said.
“Actually,” said Mom, patting my arm, “we really do.”
From the other room, Kelsey screamed, “Wahooo! I made it to level seven!”
We all cheered for her, and the smiles gave me strength. I guess it’s always about getting to the next level in life.
“Mrs. Riley, is it okay if Kincaid comes over to my house for a little while?” asked Amity.
“Yeah, just be back for dinner, honey.” Mom tried to sound casual about it, but I knew she worried about more Punker violence.
Amity slipped her hand into mine. “C’mon,” she whispered. “Tell me everything you remember from the interview with Detective Sheldon.”
We headed down the street, and I tried to concentrate on reciting what had been said, but my mind was elsewhere. I’m walking, not Flash Jumping or flying. Those cars going by… I might have to learn to drive… If I don’t use magic, will the power build up? Or will it fade away like unused muscles? Somehow, I must have kept talking sense because, by the time we got to Amity’s house, she sported an especially thoughtful expression.
“We should ask Dad what he knows about the NMI’s real estate dealings.”
My mind snapped back into the conversation. “Why?”
“I told you, he’s a real estate agent. Haven’t you been listening? He has access to information about big land deals and stuff.”
I blinked. “What good would that do for us?”
“Maybe find out who stands to gain from a lucrative sale to NMI.”
***
Amity’s dad gave me the same piercing look that every father of a beautiful girl should wield at the first meeting of boyfriend. It worked because I was suddenly afraid to touch her. He was tall and had her chiseled facial features. Fortunately, Mrs. Griffin came in and changed the mood by fawning all over me. I don’t know what part of the world she came from, but she had the dark hair, skin and eyes that made Amity so exotic. However, she was more the warm, chubby mama in personality. She even pinched my cheeks and called me “such a cutie”. I thought that kind of thing only happened in sitcoms.
Once the initial introductions were over, though, the bizarre stereotypes stopped. Her parents didn’t ask normal questions about “How was your day?” or “Did you get your assignment turned in?” They grilled her on what the teachers had taught as if trying to verify that their lesson plans were good enough. I got the impression that they could jump in and teach any subject at Magian High better than our current teachers without even picking up a book.
I couldn’t help sounding dubious. “You’re a real estate agent?”
“International business real estate,” said Mr. Griffin. “I can do it with my eyes shut, and it pays for world travel so I can study anything I feel like on location.”
“Really? That’s awesome.”
Mr. Griffin had moved to his laptop at the kitchen table and was punching keys faster than I could even process the sound. I approached him a little uncertainly. Amity nudged me, encouraging.
“Sir?” He looked up, not exactly annoyed, but like he was thinking about something else and I’d interrupted. “Amity said you… Um… Do you know anything about NMI land deals in the area? Like, for a school or something?”
His eyes returned to the screen, and he resumed typing. I wasn’t totally sure he’d heard me. He tapped the return key with a flourish and read for a few seconds. “Hmm,” he said, the corner of his mouth turning upwards. “Very interesting. You may be on to something.” He spun the laptop around so we could see the screen, and I silently thanked Amity for giving me credit for the question.
She and I leaned in to read, and before I’d gotten past the first line, Amity was bouncing on her heels and squeezing my wrist. “Kincaid, this is it!”
And then I saw it: a list of the three top sites being considered for a possible new NMI Academy. Beside each land parcel location and description box was the name of the seller. In number two, it simply read The Bagler-Farrell Foundation.
“Bagler! The Baglers?!” I asked.
“Interesting that theirs is the only site outside of city limits, which would normally make it harder to approve for a school property,” said Mr. Griffin.
“Unless they’re trying to get the Mages out of town,” I said.
“Or if they’re planning on making it a private school and charging tuition,” said Amity.
“I bet it gets better,” said Mr. Griffin, grabbing the laptop back and typing again. When he turned it back to us, he had two windows open. “Take a look at the names on the Bagler-Farrell Foundation Board of Directors—and the roster for the local chapter of the NMI.”
Chapter Fourteen: Parallel Parking Guy
Amity and I were nervous and excited when we got to school Tuesday morning. We wanted to find Miss Flinckey, so we went to the main office where teachers milled around getting their memos and complaining about the faculty lounge coffee maker. Unfortunately, Miss Flinckey wasn’t in her office again.
Still jittery, we headed back out into the hall, bumping into Mr. Whittle in the process.
“Whoah, slow down,” he said pleasantly. “No one’s arresting you today, are they?” He shook his head sympathetically. “Wasn’t all of that crazy? I’m sorry you had to go through it, Kincaid.”
Amity’s nails were about to draw blood from my arm. “Oh, it was just a misunderstanding, sir,” I said. “See you in chemistry?”
“Yes, you’re stuck with me one more time before the new hire takes over,” he said. “We’ll try to have fun, huh?”
Out in the hall, Amity let go of my arm. “Weird.”
“What? Whittle’s always nice enough.”
“And he’s in the local chapter of NMI.”
“So is Flinckey. They obviously can’t all be bad. They’re supposed to be about education.”
“Whatever. Maybe we’ll catch Flinckey at lunch. See you in an hour.” Her finger traced my ear, not really flirty. More tender. It sent tingles down my spine, and I watched her walk away. I felt like I was flying. I was flying a couple of inches above the ground.
I decided to glide to first period that way, saving my physical energy for P.E. As I went, I watched everyone around me. In the locker room, I glanced down at the tiled floor, thinking about how I’d never slipped on the wet surface because I could fly low to the ground. I saw guys tossing Water Balls back and forth through the shower area. Playing catch with a Water Ball only works if both have Elemental Magic with Water, of course, and I realized a bunch of them did. The Nomers didn’t seem to mind the play. They laughed and ducked behind each other.
The bell rang, and everyone hustled faster. Mages Flash Jumped to their P.E. lockers and changed clothes. Nomers were mostly already in their shorts because they hadn’t been goofing around.
Warming up out on the track, I felt the pound of the contact under my feet. My muscles didn’t balk like they did for some Mages. A few of them would either Flash Jump or fly whenever Coach looked away. I don’t think they fooled him, but he didn’t punish them. I usually kept pace with a few other Nomers, jogging a little behind the leaders.
How bad would it be to lose my magic—or at least not be allowed to use it? I wondered. Could I get used to walking and running everywhere?
Panting a little as I ran, I glanced at the Nomer on my left. “You know how to drive?” I asked casually.
He grinned, but kept looking forward. “Not according to my old man.”
“Is it hard?”
For a few paces, he looked at me like I had just sprouted a green beard. “You never tried?”
“Oh. Well…We’ve only got the one car, and my mom…”
I didn’t get it, but I chuckled, and then said, “Let’s beat those guys back!”
We took off sprinting past the leaders, barely reaching Coach before they did. He raised an eyebrow at us and smirked in a friendly way. “You making Riley work?” he asked, slapping the parallel parking guy on the shoulder. “Good for you!”
The rest of class proved to be a lot of work. At first, I thought I’d turned into a klutz for the day, but then I saw a few other guys go down, too. I stopped in the middle of a play and scanned the grass. The tell-tale shadows of small Dirt Holes were all over the place.
“Coach!” I called out, waving my hands. “Hey, everybody, stop! Wait!”
The whistle blew, and Coach came over looking mad. “Riley, what do you think you’re—?”
“Coach, look.” I pointed out the Dirt Holes, including one right before a Nomer kid stepped into it. He toppled forward, earning some derisive laughter from the other guys, but when he stood up in obvious pain, everyone got quiet.
Coach spun around and stared us down—at least each of us Mages. “Knock it off, whoever it is!” he roared. “Mages, over here. Now!” He pointed his finger in front of him, and nine of us came forward. “Which one of you did this?” No one said anything, but all the Nomers stood there watching us. I could feel the weight of their anger. “You think this is part of the game?” yelled Coach. “This is not a joke! You know that we had to sit through a thirty-minute presentation on healing techniques at our last staff meeting because there’ve been so many ‘injuries’ this year?” He punched the air. “What’s the matter, boys? I thought you liked to brag about what Magic you had.” He stood back with his arms folded across his chest. “Which of you have Earth Magic?” Silence. “Which of you can make Dirt Holes?” he asked through clenched teeth.
Two guys raised their hands, and I could almost feel hostility flow from the Nomers in their direction.
“Well, then,” said Coach. “You two get out there and fill all those Dirt Holes back in.”
“But I didn’t—”
“Shut up and get to work!”
I started to relax until he turned back to the other seven of us. “And you can do push-ups until they’re done. Drop. Now!”
“But—”
“Maybe next time, you’ll keep your buddies in line.”
Push-ups are something you can’t cheat with magic. Coach snapped his fingers at the Nomers and pointed to us. “Get a fist down in front of each Mage and make sure his chin touches it every time. No breaks. Move it!” Parallel parking guy knelt in front of me and placed his fist on the ground. I have no idea how the other Mages did, but even with me being in pretty good shape, I was dying. By the time the Dirt Hole Mages had repaired the damage, I had dripped sweat on the guy’s knuckles.
Coach finally blew the whistle, and I collapsed onto my stomach, breathing hard. Parallel parking guy held out his hand to pull me to my feet, which I accepted gratefully. When he wiped his hand on his shirt, I hoped it was about the sweat and not some commentary on Mages.
No one spoke for the rest of class or goofed off in the locker room afterwards. As I left, I heard a scuffle and the sound of someone being slammed against the metal bank of lockers. A gruff voice said, “Next time you’ll be making those Dirt Holes with your face.” I couldn’t tell if it was a Mage or a Nomer.
I kept my head down and Flash Jumped to chemistry.
***
Before Mr. Whittle had even finished taking roll, a student aid from the office came in with a note. Whittle glanced at it and looked back at our lab station. “Miss Griffin, for you,” he said holding out the note.
Amity went forward and took it. “I’m supposed to go see Miss Flinckey right now.”
He looked annoyed. “Go then.”
“Should I take my stuff?”
“Are you going to be gone for the whole class?”
Amity looked back at me, her face hidden from Whittle’s view. She bit her lip. “Um, probably not. I had some scheduling questions.”
Whittle rolled his eyes humorously. “Still trying to get out of chemistry, Miss Griffin?”
Amity shrugged and played along. “Well, you know.” She pointed her thumb back at me. “I’m stuck with this guy as a lab partner—”
“I can change that,” said Whittle, winking.
“Don’t you dare!” I said. “I’ll flunk!”
The class cracked up, and Amity leaned over to me. “Bring me my stuff at lunch if I don’t get back.”
“Good luck,” I whispered.
Amity didn’t end up returning to class, so I gathered our backpacks to go. Mr. Whittle stopped me. “Hey, Kincaid, I really am sorry about all that mess yesterday.”
“Oh, it’s over,” I said, trying to find a comfortable way to carry two backpacks.
He saw my efforts and smiled. “Do you need me to get someone take that to Miss Griffin?”
“Nah, I’ll see her at lunch anyway.”
“Oh, about that.” He made an exaggerated wince. “Can I beg a favor? I’ve got a handful of kids that still haven’t taken all the placement exams. They weren’t able to come on Orientation Day. Any chance you could help me proctor again? We’ll be up in room 264, if you can.”
I really didn’t want to, but I thought about how I needed to keep the good-boy profile and give no one a reason to distrust me, so I shrugged. “Okay.”
Chapter Fifteen: Amity Acts Crazy
Proctoring only eleven kids, I wondered why Whittle even needed me, but I guess the rules say there have to be two people present in case someone has to leave for an emergency. Anyway, I was glad it was easy because it gave me freedom to think. I chewed through all the events of the last weeks and what they might mean, and I tried not to think too much about life without Magian High if everything went badly. By the time the bell rang, I gladly switched mental gears and focused on history and writing.
Last period, I arrived at the door to Study Hall and saw the parallel parking guy. It hadn’t even clicked in my brain that I had him for that, too. He gave me a nod in greeting, and then we both spun around when we heard Rikki squealing my name. She skidded to a halt in front of me, all breathless, and handed me an elaborately folded note covered in hearts. I stared at it.
“Rikki, how many boyfriends do you have?” asked parallel parking guy.
She punched him playfully. “It’s not from me, stupid. It’s from Amity Griffin.”
“Oh.”
I watched the exchange with confusion.
“Curry’s taking me home again, so you don’t have to give me a ride,” she said.
“If he’s flying you home, you’d better beat me there, or I’m telling Mom.”
“Brat!” she laughed, and faded into the flow of students down the hall.
“Wait. You’re Rikki’s brother?”
He grinned. “You didn’t know that?”
“How could I possibly know that?” I shook my head, following him into the classroom. “So, you got a name, Rikki’s brother?” I asked.
“Max.”
“Cool. And your sister’s cool, too. Amazing, in fact.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You don’t have a little sister, do you?”
“Actually, I do.”
“Well, then she must not be a teenager yet. It’s hard having an ‘amazing’ kid sister that all the guys drool over—especially the Curry kind. I have to keep an eye on her all the time.”
I liked Max. “I think Rikki has reformed Curry pretty well. And she seems like the kind that can hold her own.”
“I just don’t want him to use her,” he said, sitting at his usual desk. “Sorry. I guess he’s a friend of yours, huh?”
“Actually, he wasn’t until Rikki came along. He used to hang out with Jack Bagler. Not my crowd at all.”
I felt a twinge of guilt for making it sound like I didn’t like Curry. I didn’t know what I thought of Curry except that I was inclined to trust him a little more now. Of course, he wasn’t dating my sister.
“Yeah, well…” Max flicked the note in my hand. “You probably better get to that good stuff before Whittle starts class, or he’ll be reading it to everyone.”
“Right.” I slid into my seat across the aisle and opened it. The handwriting was hers:
Dearest Lover—I’ll deliver the sugar when we’re alone together. Hurry hurry hurry to my house after school. You won’t want to miss what I’ve got for you! XOXO Amity
“Dang!” came Max’s voice from behind me. “That girl is nuts for you! I never would’ve guessed it coming from her. Isn’t she some kind of brainiac?”
I pressed the note to my chest. “Hey! This is personal correspondence!” I said with mock-indignation. Then I grinned. “But yeah, she likes me okay, huh?”
Max let out a low whistle, but I knew it was a code. She had important, secret information for me, and needed to get it to me fast.
***
I didn’t even stop at my locker after school, but went straight to find Amity. She saw me coming and squeaked in a most un-Amity-like way. “Kincaid, I missed you at lunch!” Before I could say anything, she tugged me towards the exit. “C’mon, sweetie, let’s go!” At the base of the steps, Amity clasped her hands behind my neck and said loudly, “Flash Jump me home?”
I’d never actually tried to carry anyone while Flash Jumping before. I got in two Jumps—far enough to reach the first corner—before I had to stop. “Wait. This isn’t going to work. Can we fly instead?”
Her eyes were huge. “That… was…terrifying!” she gasped. “Yeah, flying will be just fine.” She made a big show of ruffling my hair before letting me lift her. As I flew her home, her face gradually lost its crazy glow. At the front door, she glanced around and then pulled me inside, shutting the door and locking it. Her forehead dropped forward and rested on my chest.