Chapter Nineteen
I was beginning to think that Public did everything well. The next day had flown by. Sip insisted we all get ready together, and given everything that had happened, it was a nice distraction to spend time picking out clothes and making sure I looked alright. I ended up slipping on a black miniskirt and a sequined top I borrowed from Sip. Checking myself out in the mirror, I saw that I didn’t look anything like my normal self. This was the first time all semester that I was stepping out in something other than jeans.
“Your legs look hot,” said Sip, who was wearing a green dress that highlighted her purple eyes.
“You look good yourself,” I said, and gave her a smile.
When Lisabelle, Sip, and I walked into the dining hall to get some dinner before the dance, Lough said, grinning, “Lisabelle you’re wearing black. Nice to see you in something new and different.”
Lisabelle’s glare would have frozen fire.
Sip tugged at her dress. “This is so uncomfortable,” she said. “Where’s Mike?”
Mike was Sip’s date. He was a junior Airlee and a werewolf, and their families had known each other forever. He was the one who had gotten into a fight with the vampires my first night at Public. Sip was the only one of us that had a date, although I’m sure Lough would have gone with Lisabelle if he had thought she would agree. Unfortunately for Lough, it had taken everything we had to get her to go at all. There was no way she would have gone with a date.
When Mike came in, he walked right over to Sip and extended his arm. “Want to join me tonight, or shall I join you?” he asked. He sat with a group of his friends further away from the professors. “Do you guys mind?” she asked, absently smoothing her hand over her dress.
“No, not at all,” I said. Lisabelle just glared until I elbowed her.
“No, that’s fine,” said Lisabelle. Once Sip was gone we got our food and sat down with Lough.
“So, Cale doesn’t have a date,” said Lough, looking pointedly toward the table where Cale was sitting with some other pixie guys. I could see Camilla a couple of tables away. Her lips were puckered like she was sucking on a lemon.
The food was extra delicious that night. There was pasta and pies, cakes and cookies, cheeses and casseroles; everything you could want was laid out on the long serving table. While we ate, Lough and I did everything we could to distract Lisabelle from the ordeal she had gone through over the past few days. She even laughed once. Granted, it was when Lough accidentally spilled apple pie on his lap, but he might have done it on purpose just to see her smile, because he looked ridiculously happy for an hour after that.
“So, are you going to save a dance for me tonight, Lisabelle?” Lough asked. He tried to act nonchalant about it, but I could tell that just asking the question made him nervous. Lisabelle raised her eyebrows at him over the rim of her glass.
“Sure, we can dance the day my hair becomes orange,” she said. I glared at her.
“You have to dance with someone,” I pointed out. It wasn’t much of an argument, but it was all I could think of.
“Do I?” she asked. “No one wants to dance with the darkness mage. I’m going to look after you and Sip, because you can’t even DO magic and Sip’s too damn nice, and then I’m going home.”
“Oh, poor you,” I said. I was sick of her pity party, and I was tired of being reminded that I was attending a school for mages and I couldn’t do actual magic. I leaned in until I was glaring right into her eyes. The girl needed a reality check.
“You will dance with Lough tonight. Or else.” It sounded a lot scarier in my head, but it was worth it to see the look of surprise on Lisabelle’s face.
She grinned. “Sure thing, boss.” She gave a salute and then got up and walked away.
I sat back in my chair. Lough was pushing his food around his plate.
“It’s not hockey,” I said. “You’re supposed to eat that.”
Lough looked up and gave a half-hearted smile. “She doesn’t even know I’m alive, does she?” he asked.
“Sure she does,” I said. “She knows you’re alive, because she just turned you down flat.”
The dance was held in a massive tent set up on the Dash field. It was made of some kind of see-through fabric, giving students a perfect view of the night sky, without the cold air. Floods of students were streaming toward it along a path illuminated by massive lights erected just for this occasion.
No one had really bothered to dress up, except, of course, the pixies. The vampires stood off to one side. The vampire princess, Lanca, whom I’d almost gotten into a fight with at Dash, was surrounded by admirers. Tale was on her right arm, fitting as the hero of Dash. Her eyes briefly flicked to me, then returned to the throng around her.
“Keller’s over there,” said Lough, pointing across the room. He was dancing with some fallen angel girl I’d seen him with a few times, a junior and one of the best Dashers at school. I hated the way her blond hair swung around her shoulders, and how she giggled whenever Keller said anything. I wanted to go up and tell her that we both knew Keller wasn’t that funny and to stop trying so hard, but something held me back.
Sip was already there, dancing with Mike. Her eyes were bright and she was laughing.
“Where’d Lisabelle get to?” I asked. She was nowhere to be seen. Looking around for her, I realized something else: she wasn’t the only one missing. I didn’t see any professors.
Surely, I thought, they must be somewhere; there’s no way they’d leave the entire school outside at night unsupervised. Just as I was thinking that something must be wrong, Professor Korba arrived. “Good evening, Airlee Starters,” he said.
“Hey, Professor Korba,” said Lough waving. “How’s it going?”
“Oh, fine,” said the Professor, smiling his watery smile. “None of the other professors are here yet, I see. Ah, well, some of us do enjoy giving all you young ones just enough rope to hang yourselves with.” He smiled at his own joke, then continued, “Don’t get too crazy, though,” he advised. “Tomorrow we have another dorm visit. Cruor, the vampires.” With that he wandered off.
“What’d he mean about hanging?” Lough asked me nervously, looking bewildered.
“He meant that students are going to get in trouble tonight,” I told him. “Come on.” I grabbed his arm and propelled him with me. If we were going to be at the dance we might as well enjoy the best part of it: the food.
“What do you think Cruor will be like?” I asked as we got in line for the Chocolate Fountain. All the paranormal types might be very different from each other, have different powers, and even different diet restrictions, but there was one thing we could all agree on: chocolate was wonderful.
“I think it will be dark and scary,” said Lough. “I’ve only ever heard stuff about it, though, I’ve never been in there, of course. This is the first time they’re trying the whole integration program. No other students have been in any of the dorms except their own.”
“So, no one knows what it looks like?” I asked.
“Nope,” said Lough, piling his plate high with strawberries for dipping. “Except the vampires.”
“What do you think they thought of Airlee?” I asked.
“We thought it was too bright,” said Lanca. She’d moved up silently, like she was the mist I knew she could turn into. I jumped. “Tale said everyone was too friendly.”
Lough and I just gaped at her.
“Aww, do I scare you?” she asked. “I don’t bite…things that would taste like cleaning solution.”
“Ouch,” said Lough. “That almost hurt our feelings.”
She glared at him. “Stay out of this, Dream Giver. At least until you can control those powers of yours.” She flipped her long black hair over one moonlit pale shoulder and smiled. Lough blushed.
One of the guys who always trailed after her, tired of her divided attention, said something just then, and Lanca was forced to turn away. I turned to Lough and rolled
my eyes.
“Hi,” said Lisabelle, coming up next to us in line.
“Where’d you go off to?” I asked, covering all my strawberries with chocolate.
“Nowhere,” said Lisabelle. Her cheeks were a little flushed.
“You should stay out in the open,” Lough cautioned. “Not in a corner making out with someone.”
“Why?” asked Lisabelle, refusing his offer of a chocolate-covered strawberry. “If I want to make out with someone it’s my own business.”
“Because otherwise they might think you’re summoning demons or something,” Lough growled. The three of us left the line and went to find an open spot along the wall with a good view of the dance floor. I was glad to get away from the vampires, and I still hadn’t seen any sign of Cale or Camilla. She was probably coming fashionably late, I thought sourly.
“Do you see any demons?” Lisabelle asked.
“No,” said Lough, “but we wouldn’t until they were actually here.” Lisabelle just ignored him.
“Hey, Charlotte,” said Cale, appearing at my elbow out of nowhere. He looked good. He usually looked good, but tonight he looked better than good. His red hair was its usual tousled self, and he wore jeans and a blue t-shirt I’d never seen him in before. Even better, Camilla was nowhere to be seen.
“You look great,” he said. I blushed and mumbled something about how he looked good too. Lisabelle smirked. I had wanted to be friends with Cale, but Camilla had made that hard. Now I didn’t know where to look.
“Want to dance?” he asked. I hadn’t been this close to him in a while; he smelled faintly of spices.
“What about Camilla?” I blurted out. Last I’d heard he had dumped her, but that was weeks ago.
Cale didn’t look fazed. “She doesn’t own me,” he said.
“Alright,” I said, eyeing the dance floor. Sip was still out there with Mike. Pixies, vampires, and fallen angels danced around them. Since they were all known for their coordination and grace, I’d easily be the worst dancer on the floor. Still, hesitating only for a second, I took Cale’s offered hand and let him lead me onto the floor.
It wasn’t the sort of perfect dance I’d always imagined in my daydreams of special nights. We were in a tent, not a grand room like the one in Astra Dorm. The music was loud and blasting, and I didn’t want to think about what some of the students were busy doing in the dark corners along the wall.
I didn’t care about any of that, though. Cale was there. An old friend, someone I knew from home and who had always been kind to me. It also didn’t hurt that he was really cute and, as long as Camilla wasn’t around, we’d have a great time.
After the first dance ended Cale asked me if I wanted to dance another, and then another. My good mood increased with each dance. It was only dampened at one point in the evening, when I looked up and saw Keller watching us. Tension radiated throughout his body. The blond girl who’d been hanging off his arm most of the night was talking to him, but he didn’t look like he was listening. Seconds later he led her out of the tent and I misstepped and crashed into Cale.
While I got my balance back I felt a pair of furious brown eyes locked on me. Camilla was standing a few feet away, surrounded by her friends.
At the first sign of my faltering, she swooped in.
“Cale,” she asked, her voice too high and too fast, “can I speak to you?”
Cale paused. “Can’t it wait, Camilla?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “Outside.”
“After the dance,” he told her. She looked on the verge of tears as she went back to her friends.
We continued to dance, but the spell had been broken. I knew Camilla would never let us have another dance together, and Cale looked upset. I was so preoccupied with Camilla and keeping track of where my feet were that I didn’t see Kia swoop up next to us. She was dancing with a pixie and looked like she was totally engrossed in what he was saying.
As they passed us, she let out a shrill laugh, and I realized that she’d used the opportunity to stick her foot out, right where my feet were about to go. As if in slow motion, I tipped sideways. This wouldn’t have been so bad, except that Cale and I had been dancing very close to the Chocolate Fountain, and I landed right in it.
I had never wondered what it was like to take a bath in warm chocolate, and I never would again. Unfortunately, the fountain was unstable, and when I hit it, the whole thing toppled over with me. My elbow hit the ground with a bang, and I swallowed a mouthful of chocolate.
I struggled to sit up. Before I reached a ninety-degree angle Camilla was on top of me. Her hands were like icy white sparks alight with pixie dust. They dug painfully into my shoulders.
“Get off her,” I heard several voices yell, but I was too distracted by the crazy pixie trying to kill me to notice that anyone was speaking. I tried to use magic, but, familiarly, not even the most basic spells would come. I gasped for air. Black spots were forming in my field of vision. My hands were locked around her hands that were locked around my throat.
I felt her yank away from me, and then the small amount of weight disappeared from my stomach.
Cale had pulled her off me, but she continued to scream and wail, reaching for me. If I hadn’t been the one on the floor covered in hardening chocolate I would have thought it was funny. Camilla, in a gorgeous white dress now covered in chocolate, just kept yelling.
I found my balance and staggered to my feet. Before she knew what was coming, I had launched myself at her.
At the moment I slammed into her and the hapless Cale, a voice as cold as steel said, “What is this?”
The President walked into the light, her gray hair glinting. I saw other professors flanking her, but I was too dazed to take a good look at them. Camilla shoved me off, and I slipped and landed on the floor again.
Camilla instantly calmed down. Apparently her anger disappeared when confronted with the head of Public. Cale waited a second, then let her go.
“It was an accident,” said Camilla, brushing a strand of chocolaty blond hair out of her face. “She tripped and then I slipped on the chocolate. She was clumsy enough to knock it over and I fell.”
“Which led you to have a screaming fit?” asked the President curiously.
Camilla had the grace to blush. “I was just sad about my dress.” She fanned the white fabric out around her. The jewels stuck into the fabric winked in the light. If Camilla ever wanted to be an actress, she could have the starring role.
“Camilla Van Rothson, you are from one of the oldest and most powerful pixie families,” the President said, walking slowly toward Camilla, her eyes glued to Camilla’s and her hands clasped behind her back. “You have no right to embarrass your family, yourself, or this excellent institution by acting in such a disgraceful manner.”
“But what about her?” Camilla whined, pointing at me. I was trying to get some of the chocolate out of my hair. My legs were covered in brown smears.
“That’s what we expect from Airlee students,” Professor Zervos cut in, materializing out of the crowd. Apparently he was back from his vacation. For once I was happy he had spoken, because I had no idea what to say.
I realized that I had to get out of there, and fast, or my hatred of him might show. I tried to stand, but it was useless in the slippery muck. Without so much as a word, Keller came forward, reached down, and grabbed me under the arms. I heard the squelch of chocolate between his hands and my body as he pulled me to my feet. His blue eyes met my gray ones and for the briefest of seconds I forgot that my face was smeared with chocolate. Then I breathed again.
“I could do that too if I were a fallen angel,” I muttered.
“You’re welcome,” he said, still holding me. I told myself that it was for my own balance, which turned out to be true, because when he tried to lead me out of the ever-spreading puddle, I slipped again. He caught me easily and we kept going.
“Ms. Rollins,” the President called after me.
Keller and I stopped. “I expect you in my office tomorrow to discuss this,” she informed me. I only nodded. I should have expected as much.
“If there was an award for the student who visits the President most frequently, you would win it,” Keller said softly into my ear. “You should be more careful.”
I shivered, but the chocolate was warm on my body.
Sip, Lisabelle, and Lough surrounded us, leading me out of the tent. Just as we got to the door, someone blew past us heading in the opposite direction. I recognized him as one of the cooks. He was young and friendly, but he wasn’t a paranormal. He skidded around, his head snapping from left to right.
“Where’s the President?” he screamed. “Where is she?”
The President stepped forward. Everyone else in the tent was too shocked to react. The young man collapsed in a heap on the floor. His breath was coming fast and shallow as he stared up at the President.
“I saw . . .” he gasped, unable to go on. The President didn’t move. Professor Zervos was about to step forward, but the President stopped him with a shake of her head.
“Spit it out,” said the President. It was the first time I’d ever seen her lose her temper.
“Hellhound,” said the boy. “On the grounds.” He collapsed. And with that, chaos erupted.
Paranormal Public Page 20