Martelle kissed her cheek. “Don’t forget, life is still happening. Don’t give up everything. Try to make some of your own memories.”
The school didn’t look as drab as she remembered. Of course, the seniors had decorated everything with streamers and home-made signs to give it something of a festive look. Still, when she glanced down the cement block hallways, Stephanie could see some of the signs had fallen, the tape not strong enough to hold them up. Oddly enough, though, it all added to the charm.
Kids in graduation gowns and caps ran around and talked excitedly to everyone. Their parents had all gone inside to take a seat, but she wanted to check in with Todd and Becca to wish them luck.
She started looking for them but Becca ran up and flung her arms around her. “I missed your face so much. I am so excited that you’re here. And look, you brought the A-Team with you.”
Stephanie laughed loudly, surprised by her friend’s reference. “You’ve been taking Todd’s suggestions, haven’t you?”
“She has,” he confirmed and slid up beside her.
Lars glanced at him before he turned his scrutiny to the other people milling about. She hugged Todd tightly. “It’s good to see you’re wearing pants. I had thrown a pair in the car in case I had to threaten you into them.”
He shrugged. “The recruiter said no antics or I could be dropped, so sadly, I am on my semi-best behavior.”
The teacher who had suggested Stephanie test out walked past and gave her a small wave and kind smile. She waved in response as she took a deep breath and watched the kids act exactly like she remembered. To her, school seemed like a distant memory instead of something she’d lived only a few months before. Life had changed for her in a way that was both exciting and unnerving, and part of her missed the innocence of school days.
One of the teachers clapped their hands. “Time to line up.”
Todd gave her a peck on the cheek and Becca gave her one last squeeze. As he walked away, he turned and shook his fingers at her. “You know you could still walk. I could shove you in front of me and we could get my diploma together.”
She snickered. “Go. Get in line, you fool.”
“That’s actually not a terrible idea,” a voice said behind her.
Stephanie turned and smiled nervously. “Principal Atlas. It’s good to see you.”
He shook her hand and stared openly at the vast change in her appearance. “It’s good to see you too, Stephanie. We would love to have you walk with us today.”
When she instinctively shook her head, Todd stood on one of the chairs, raised his fist in the air, and chanted, “Do it! Do it! Do it!”
Lars and Avery looked over their shoulders at her and Avery shrugged. “I think it would be good for you. Be a little normal for a second.”
“You won’t have the chance again,” Lars pointed out with a wink.
She wrinkled her nose and shrugged. “Sure. Why not? But I want to be off to the side. I don’t want the security team to have to sit with the students.”
The principal lifted the bundle he’d carried and gave her a set of robes and a cap. “We hoped you would agree. Come on, let’s get you ready.”
The crowd was full of school alumni, as well as family and friends. Of course, as always, the former seniors still in the area had come to wreak a little havoc during the principal’s speech, but he was a good sport. Stephanie assumed after that many years of dealing with it, he’d given up fighting it.
She sat in a row of seats to the side, her back to the crowd, beside Lars and the team. An unexpected sense of pride stirred as the students were called to the stage, and she grinned when Todd accepted his diploma. He held it over his head and grinned.
The students all yelled in one harmonious bellow. “Todddsterrrrrr!”
When the noise had died down and the principal had called the last of the regular students, he raised his hand to keep the VP and the guests seated.
“We actually aren’t done yet. We have one special walk tonight from someone we didn’t think would be able to make it. This student has shown exemplary skill, knowledge, and intellect from the moment she stepped through our doors. She practically aced all her studies and then went on to do something none of us ever saw coming. She stood in honor and bravery, alongside her team, and helped to save the life of the Meligornian ambassador.”
A cheer erupted from the crowd. The principal grinned from ear to ear and put his hand out. “I’d like to call Stephanie Morgana, the earth’s first witch, to not only receive her diploma but to be honored for her official title as the school’s now unofficial ranking of Valedictorian.”
Stephanie stood and glanced at Todd who rolled his eyes and laughed. He’d told her over and over she would be number one in the class, but she’d completely forgotten about it. The ranking no longer mattered, but as a manner of preserving the traditions of the school, they’d named her anyway.
As she walked forward, the crowd behind her cheered loudly. She shook her head and blushed at the standing ovation. It was the first time anyone at that school besides Todd or Becca had really paid her any attention.
Once she’d taken her diploma—or the extra one they’d hurried to the front when she’d agreed to their invitation—she shook hands with everyone on the stage. The principal brought her to the podium. “Do you have any words of wisdom for your fellow classmates?”
Her lips twisted with a little nervousness, she stepped to the podium and waited as he adjusted the microphone for her. They still used an archaic sound system as they didn’t receive enough funding from the Federation to purchase anything high-tech. A slight whistle through the speakers was somewhat disconcerting.
Everything she’d been through ran through her mind all at once. “The world seems so open and immeasurably large when you stand in the hallways of this school. You can feel the ghosts of past students whispering through the classrooms, but we were too bold, too bright, and too ready to listen to their negativity. We are too ready to make a change. And let me tell you, the world is ready for us to make a change. So, university or not, job or not, trade or not, Richies, Suburbanites, and Gov-Subs alike, go out there and make your mark. Claw your way up to make that mark. And don’t let anyone ever make you think you can’t have more if you strive for it.”
The students whistled and cheered as they applauded her words. Out in the crowd, a guy called out above everyone’s cheers. “Magic! Magic! Magic!”
Others cheered even louder, liking the sound of it, and joined in the cry. Stephanie’s first instinct was to ignore it as she felt this was not a time to take that particular spotlight. However, as she went to turn away, the principal leaned over and whispered into her ear. “Don’t burn anything down.”
She looked at him with surprise and quickly studied his structured, perfect stature, pressed suit, and hair perfectly combed over to hide the gleaming bald spot on top. Even he wanted to see something, and he knew the students were streaming the visit live. She glanced at her team and they all gave her the thumbs-up.
After a deep breath, she handed her diploma to the principal and stepped to the side. The crowd settled and waited with bated breath to see their first ever real-life view of witch magic. She paused and took another slow breath, in through her nose and out of her mouth. As she focused, a surge of energy pulled from all around her. It filled her chest, and her eyes began to glow a bright blue. Gasps and cheers issued from the crowd in front of her.
Stephanie straightened her arms at her sides, turned her palms out, and flattened them toward the large open gym. Above the students, the ceiling abruptly disappeared and everything went black.
It was almost confusing to look at, like staring past the Event Horizon into the boundless unknown of a black hole. After a few seconds, though, stars began to sparkle and planets raced across them to leave blue trails that released sparkling blankets of shimmering magic onto the students.
Words thundered out of her mouth and echoed around the gym. “Hum
anity is destined for greatness.”
Lars frowned instinctively when he saw a strange chain of events occur in the picture above. It was like she was telling a story, only she’d never mentioned this tale when she’d talked about the future.
Avery leaned over. “Why does she sound like her voice went down ten octaves?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
On the stage, she continued, and her words seemed to freeze everyone with awe. “But generations of challenge await you. Embolden your courage, dig deep for your strength, shy not from the troubles ahead, and accept every moment of your future. For only you and your generation are able to lay claim to your race’s destiny or forever lose it to others.”
No one else seemed to notice the strangeness of her words. They clung to their seats as the planets and stars disappeared and left them with the feeling they’d actually floated in space. There was a momentary silence as the audience looked at her and watched her eyes slowly return to normal. They looked like they were in shock and no one moved for several moments.
Finally, one of the guys at the back stood, punched his fist into the air, and yelled, “Yesssss!!!”
With that, the students erupted into cheers, not only because they were in awe of Stephanie and her magic but in anticipation of the future that in that moment, seemed bright regardless of their education, their social status, or their financial background. They all felt they could take on the world.
“Good job,” the principal whispered to her. “They needed you today.”
The graduation dinner was exactly as Stephanie had promised. She’d rented a room for her, Todd, and Becca and each of their parents. Her security team sat at the table too and took turns to run watch checks through the restaurant.
Todd’s father popped a bottle of champagne and poured everyone a glass. He made an awkward toast and his son made funny faces at Stephanie behind his back.
The room came alive with the excited conversation of the adults, the low murmuring banter of the team, and Becca, Todd, and Stephanie laughing hysterically as he played with his lobster and made it dance across the table. It was like old times, only with way better food.
When dinner was over and the champagne had run out, the three friends stood at the door. Becca gave Stephanie a big hug accompanied by her normal warm and loving smile. “Call me, okay? I’ll be at the university, and I’ll probably need to hear something from a normal person.”
Stephanie laughed. “I’ll give you the principal’s number then.”
All three of them burst out laughing and shook their heads before they walked Becca and her parents out to their car. Their families followed and together, they watched and waved as the girl followed her parents into the vehicle, pressed her face to the window, and blew her cheeks out. When she was out of sight, Todd and Stephanie turned to one another and stared into each other’s eyes for a moment too long.
He cleared his throat and broke the stare. “So, I guess I will see you next time. It might be a little harder considering I won’t only hang around the Gov-Subs.”
She punched him in the arm. “Dude, that is a good thing. But you better keep your wits about you in the Navy. Don’t get shot up by the Dreth. I really don’t want to go on a vengeful rampage and kill hundreds of aliens in your memory.”
Todd shrugged. “At least I have someone who’d do it and make it legendary.”
His father motioned that he was ready to leave but Todd held a finger up to ask him to wait. “Okay, one last question, and this one’s for all the points and eternal glory. It’s not show-related, it's history-related.”
Stephanie straightened her jacket. “All right, hit me with it.”
“Who was on trial during what was nicknamed, The Trial of the Century?”
Her brow furrowed in concentration. She was a whizz at history, but anything after the nineties was usually skipped in school unless it had to do with the Federation’s victories. The Trial of the Century sounded very familiar, but she couldn’t place it. “Oh, my God.”
His mouth fell open. “Oh, my God. You don’t know the answer.”
“I…damn it,” she yelled and stamped her foot.
“Oh, man, it was OJ, my dear friend,” Todd said and shook his head in genuine disbelief. “Slice and dice them OJ. Then get acquitted of the crime, then write a book basically telling people how you performed the murder. Brilliant and maniacal. If I were a bad guy, I would applaud him. You can’t get tried twice for the same crime, so why not make some dough off it? Crazy bastard.”
Stephanie grimaced and glanced at Todd’s father, who called him again. She pulled her friend in and hugged him tightly for longer than usual. Her face fell at the realization that this might very well be the last time she held him. She knew the world was no longer shiny and beautiful—not that it ever had been—but now, she knew the dangers.
“I’m dead serious. Be careful,” she whispered to him. “It’s not easy out there, Toddster. You do whatever you need to do to survive.”
Chapter Thirteen
When the visit was over and they’d returned to the compound, training resumed.
Frog swiped at Stephanie, a smirk on his face. “Come on, witch. What’s with your prophetic graduation speeches?”
She kicked at him, but he dodged easily. “Wow, prophetic. Frog, have you searched for big words to use again? You got this one right, though. Good job.”
He curled his lip, lunged at her, and grasped her around the neck before he moved swiftly behind her. “I’ll have you know I was not the bottom of the class when I graduated. In fact, I was above the fifty percent marker.”
“You were home-schooled, weren’t you?” Avery yelled and made the other guys laugh.
Frog pulled tighter on her neck as she attempted to counter him. “No, asshole. I went to school in a very well-populated community, thank you very much. Granted, the richies weren’t included in that ranking, but the numbers were there, nonetheless.”
Lars clapped his hands. “Heads in the game, here. Heads in the game.”
Stephanie squeezed her small hands between his arms and smiled as she grabbed his arm and turned out of his grip to step around him and twist it behind his back. As he fought against her, she drove a foot into the top of his calf, yanked on his arm, and forced him to his knees.
He turned his head to look at her and she pulled on her magic and made her free hand glow as she brought it within inches of his face. “It’s okay, Froggy. We all have to either have one dumb friend or be one. You drew the short straw.”
Lars blew the whistle and stepped on the mat. “You’re supposed to be training for a fight—one that could mean life or death for any one of us or a civilian or soldier near us. I know we all want to have fun doing this, but neither of you was concentrating.”
Frog stood and shook his arm. “She’s beaten every one of us three times over. We might as well have some fun while she does it.”
The other man looked at him for a second and then at Stephanie. He handed his clipboard to Avery, removed his shirt, and threw it to one side. Assuming an offensive pose, he smiled. “Then let’s see what you got, Miss Witch.”
The guys all cheered and stepped back to watch the fight. The bodyguard attacked swiftly and dropped her almost instantly. He backed away as she stood. Her amused expression had turned to one of determination. “That’s right. Remember why we’re out here. It’s not all dancing lobsters and jokes.”
The other team members glanced at one another as if they’d caught a slight sense of jealousy in his tone, which was ridiculous. The boy had been her closest friend since childhood and there was no way the man could resent that.
Either he felt more strongly about his charge than he would admit to himself, or he was jealous of a lifelong friendship he couldn’t hope to equal. Whatever it was, the feeling seeped into his voice and every move he made on the mats.
“You think you’re so cute,” she snarled. “How cute will you be on your b
ack, looking up at the team after I put you down?”
Lars howled with laughter and pushed her even more. Stephanie watched him closely as he moved in, ready to counteract whatever he tried. His usual closing attack was familiar and one she could rarely avoid. With a swift shift, he would trip his opponent, flip them, and face-plant them in an instant. If it were an enemy, he would follow it up with a knife to the back.
This time, Stephanie was ready for it. She was no longer hesitant when she faced her protectors. As he lunged toward her, she leapt over his sweeping leg and made him stumble forward as he tried to regain his balance.
As he fumbled for his footing, she laughed, pounded her foot into his lower back, and shoved him to the ground. She pivoted and flipped to land on top of him, and her shimmering hand stopped under his chin.
His gaze shifted to hers and she grinned. “What were you saying again?”
From the moment living beings inhabited the universe, there was darkness. Shifty souls planned nefarious deeds deep within the recesses of dark, damp buildings, and all in the name of power and who got to hold it. Once space travel became not only a regular occurrence but something available to those who could afford it, those dark dealings spread across the ever-expanding reaches of space.
Hardened evildoers didn’t need to creep around, hoping to not be seen. The enormity of the heavens provided them with ample hiding places. Some chose to float comfortably thousands of miles above their home planet with no chance that their deeds would ever be discovered.
Maintaining their status and not getting caught was the name of the game. Far beyond the outer rings of Earth’s galaxy, a group of powerful people sat around a large table and stared at the intel they had received. For good or bad, they had seen the first signs of danger and decided to position themselves to survive it, but they were no friend to the Federation. This made them an enemy to humankind, at least in the eyes of Earth’s government.
Witch Of The Federation (Federal Histories Book 2) Page 14