Alex nodded and finished her meal in silence, unconsciously sliding her uneaten chips onto Kaiden’s plate. She listened to the conversations around her, feeling surreal as she watched her closest friends interact with her Combat classmates. They’d all gone to the academy together for a few years so it made sense that they knew each other. But it was still… weird.
“I’m beat,” Alex said, standing up. For the first time all day she noticed that people weren’t staring at her. Apparently the academy gossip queens had called it quits and Alex knew she had the Combat boys to thank for that.
“Me too,” D.C. said, rising beside her. “It’s been a long day.”
You have no idea, Alex thought.
Jordan and Bear jumped up from their seats as well, offering to walk the girls back to the dorm.
“Thanks again for tonight,” Alex said somewhat awkwardly to her Combat classmates.
“Any time, Queenie,” Sebastian said, speaking for all of them.
As soon as they were outside, Jordan said, “‘Queenie’?”
“Don’t ask,” Alex muttered. “Was that as strange for anyone else as it was for me?”
“Definitely,” D.C. said. “I’m still trying to get used to sitting with you guys for meals, let alone other students. Not to mention, people who know who I really am.”
She said the last part in a whisper, and they all understood she was referring to Kaiden and Declan. The two boys may have grown up in the same social spheres as her at the palace, but Alex knew D.C. still wasn’t used to hanging around people who were aware of her true identity.
“It was good of them to do what they did,” Bear said. “I think it helped your case, Alex.”
“Yeah,” she agreed, surprised anew by her classmates’ kindness. “I think so, too.”
d her in.
Six
After the frustrations of her first day, Alex expected the week to drag on, but it turned out to be the opposite. Her classes whirled by, in some cases too quickly.
Being back at the academy and seeing the familiar faces of her instructors again was unexpectedly nice. Varin, the odd-looking Viking-like Species Distinction professor, greeted them all boisterously at the start of their first class. The History teacher, Doc, babbled on about places he’d visited over the holidays and things he’d discovered. And Caspar Lennox, the Shadow Walker SOSAC professor, also seemed eager to be back teaching again—even if his mottled-grey skin and blank expression didn’t accurately express his joy.
Then there were the other classes and teachers who Alex would have been happy to avoid. Professor Luranda, the Medical Science teacher, was ‘kind’ enough to greet them with a pop quiz to see how much they’d retained from the previous year. And their Chemistry teacher, Fitzy—or Professor Fitzwilliam Grey—welcomed the class back by experimenting with two unstable chemicals, which resulted in an evacuation of the entire General Sector—or ‘Gen-Sec’—building. He had a good heart, Fitzy, but his head wasn’t always screwed on right.
Astrid Marmaduke, their Core Skills professor, opened her first class with a long lecture reminding them about the importance of controlling their gifts. She then proceeded to go around the room asking students to demonstrate how far they had come after having presumably—to her reasoning— practised over the summer holidays. When Mel showed off her elemental ability and accidentally set fire to her desk, Connor used his affinity with the weather to try and put it out by making it rain inside the classroom. But then he panicked when he couldn’t make it stop, so Savannah jumped in to help, freezing the water. This might have worked if the icy result hadn’t fallen towards the students’ heads like daggers of hail. It was only because Sean raised an invisible shield as a protective canopy above them that no one ended up speared by the frozen shards of water.
Suffice it to say, after that display, Professor Marmaduke had given them theory exercises for the rest of the lesson.
As for PE, Finn was determined to kill them all with his die-hard boot camp to ‘whip them all back into shape.’ But after Alex’s summer of intense Combat training, she found it refreshing to test her increased stamina, most of which had originated from Finn’s gruelling classes the previous year. Despite his zapping stick and his harsh demands, Alex had begun to appreciate the value of his class, although she staunchly believed his teaching practices were in strong violation of ethical laws.
In Archery, Alex must have zoned out on her first day, having been too distracted by the circulating gossip. In her second class she learned from Maggie that they would be stepping up their technique over the next few months, which included a course in survival archery with moving targets, rather than simply shooting at the more and more challenging but still stationary boards.
That was sure to be interesting.
By far, Alex was most pleased to be back in her Equestrian Skills class. She hadn’t been able to enjoy her first day back because of the rumours and her dreaded meeting with Karter, but her next two classes under Tayla’s instruction were much more gratifying. And when Tayla mentioned some of the exercises they would be working towards, Alex felt a thrill of anticipation.
Combat was… well, it was Combat. Karter’s mood was much better when Alex entered the Arena for her second session, which was a relief for her entire class. They continued to practise unarmed combat, with Karter correcting their techniques while pointing out their strengths and weaknesses. Alex apparently had very few strengths and a long list of weaknesses. But she was determined to improve, and the only way she could do that was to continue participating. On Wednesday she was partnered with Sebastian, and on Friday she was against Nick. Both of them crushed her, but she felt a sense of pride at the end of each session when she was able to walk out of the Arena in one piece.
And as for the rumours about her and Karter, it turned out the Combat boys had been right. The whole thing had mostly blown over by the second day of classes, and Alex only heard the rare snide comment as the week continued. Everything had settled back to normal, just as it should have been to begin with.
“Alex?”
“Huh?” she said, pulling herself from her memories of the past week.
“I asked what you’ll be doing today while we’re at the SAS trial?” Jordan said.
It was lunchtime on Saturday and there was a definite feeling of anticipation in the air. At least for the fourth years, anyway, as they were soon to experience their first taste of Hunter’s Stealth and Subterfuge class.
“I think I’m going to visit my parents,” Alex said. “They’re probably waiting for an update and I don’t want them getting antsy about not hearing from me.”
Bear nodded. “Sounds like a good idea.”
“Say ‘hi’ from us,” D.C. put in kindly.
“Will do,” Alex agreed with a smile. “Where are you guys meeting Hunter?”
“Right here,” Jordan said. “He’ll arrive after everyone else has cleared out.”
Alex looked around the quickly emptying food court. “That’s my cue to leave.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to try out with us?” D.C. asked. “It might be fun.”