“Secondly,” Hunter pressed, his hard look warning her not to talk over him again, “you avoided all my traps on the forest floor by remaining high above the ground for the entirety of your journey. Again, that was a clever ploy. And thirdly, you moved through the trees like you were born to do so. I only noticed you right at the very end, but it was clear how comfortable you were running and jumping from branch to branch. You claim to lack stealth, but I disagree.”
That’s just what happens after a few hours of tree-hopping, Alex thought. But she didn’t try to interrupt him again.
“Your ingenuity and adaptation sparked my interest,” Hunter informed her. “But it was your curiosity that sealed the deal. From my viewpoint, I could clearly see you were injured. And yet, when you noticed the pendant shining in the tree, you didn’t turn away, you continued onward to collect it. You exhibited determination, a character trait that’s essential in my class. For most new students it’s the only requirement for their qualification since, as I mentioned before, no one else has ever found the object of their search.”
“Maybe if you made it clear that they actually had to look for something,” Alex muttered under her breath.
“It’s easy to show determination when there’s a focus point,” Hunter said. “But when the end result is less clear, that’s when a person’s true character is tested.”
Alex sighed, knowing she wasn’t going to win against him. He had his reasons—quite a few, apparently—for wanting her in his class, despite her lack of willingness.
“I officially don’t like you,” she said with exasperation. “And just in case you missed it before, I definitely don’t want to take part in your class.”
“Your opinion has been noted,” Hunter said. And with that, he spun around with a whirl of his cape, saying over his shoulder, “I’ll see you on Tuesday night, Alex.”
She blinked at the spot where he’d been standing and watched as the door closed automatically behind him.
“What just happened?” she wondered out loud, leaning forward to rest her head in her hands.
A moment later the door sprung open again, causing Alex to jump in fright.
“Hey!” D.C. greeted her, walking over to drop her books on her desk. “I just saw Hunter walking down the hall. He nodded at me but didn’t say anything, so I guess I didn’t make it in. It’s probably for the best, anyway. Like you said, things are pretty crazy without having to add an extra class to the workload. And I think—Are you all right?”
D.C. must have finally noticed Alex’s strained expression.
“Has something happened? It wasn’t Aven again, was it?”
“No, nothing like that,” Alex assured her friend. “It’s just…”
She had no idea what to say, or where to start. She decided to just blurt it out. “I—”
A loud, rhythmical knock at the door interrupted her words.
D.C. glanced at Alex and said what they both already knew. “That’ll be Jordan and Bear. Are you okay for me to let them in?”
“Yeah, sure,” Alex said, thankful that she could share her news with them all now to save having to repeat herself later.
“Hail the conquering hero!” Bear cried, barging into the room as soon as D.C. opened the door.
“Thank you, thank you. I love you all, my worthy subjects,” Jordan said, bowing pretentiously.
“You got in?” D.C. asked, and when he nodded, she squealed and launched herself at him.
Jordan seemed startled by her reaction, but then he laughed and spun her around. When he put her back on her feet, she turned to look at Bear.
“Not me, I’m afraid,” their dark-haired friend said. While he seemed disappointed, it was clear he was ecstatic for Jordan. “Next year, hopefully.”
Alex felt queasy. She knew how much the position meant to her friends, and they knew how much she didn’t want it. She had no idea how they would react. The only good news was, if they decided not to hate her, she would have the comfort of having Jordan in her class.
“I didn’t get in either,” D.C. told them. “But I’m so happy for you, Jordan. You’ll have to tell us all about it. And, oh, the stories you’ll have—I bet it’s going to be amazing!”
“Yeah, I’m pretty excited,” Jordan agreed. “But I wish you guys could’ve made it, too.”
“Next year, maybe,” D.C. said, echoing Bear’s words.
“Hey, Alex! No congrats for your favourite friend?” Jordan asked, seeing Alex sitting slumped on her bed.
“I’m her favourite,” D.C. corrected, elbowing him.
Jordan nudged her back. “You wish.”
“Since you guys are arguing about it, I think I should win by default,” Bear put in.
Despite her warring thoughts, Alex’s lips quirked with amusement. These were her closest friends. Her family, really. If they couldn’t accept what she was about to tell them, then no one would.
She stood and walked over to where they clustered near the door. “I’m so happy for you, Jordan. I know how much you wanted this.”
“Thanks, Alex,” he said, pulling her into a hug. When he let her go, he kept his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. She had difficulty holding his gaze.
“All right, what’s going on?” He guided her over to sit on her bed again. “Spill.”
She sighed, wishing her friends couldn’t read her so well.
Jordan sat next to her, while D.C. and Bear moved to sit on D.C.’s bed facing them.
“I don’t know how to say this…”
“It’s just us, Alex,” Bear said, his voice soft. “We won’t bite.”
Jordan gave her a roguish wink and added, “Much.”
Alex smiled half-heartedly at them, and then she opened her mouth and let the words tumble out. “I got into Hunter’s class.”
Three pairs of eyes blinked at her.
“What do you mean?” Bear asked, his expression confused.
“I got into Hunter’s class. Into SAS,” Alex repeated. “He came and told me just before you all arrived.”
“But—But how?” D.C. stammered. “You didn’t even try out.”
“I know!” Alex cried. “It doesn’t make any sense! Hunter said that because I was in the forest yesterday on my way back to the academy, to him that meant I was participating in the exercise.”
She ran her hands through her hair in agitation and then moved them down to touch the Myrox necklace. “It might’ve been okay if I hadn’t found this. Apparently it was what you were all meant to be searching for. I just happened to have the advantage of height since I was already up in the trees—and not falling out of them, like the others.”
Alex stopped talking. She had no idea what her friends were thinking. Did they hate her? Would they turn against her in jealousy? What if they never wanted to see her again?
She sat there fidgeting and waiting for someone to break the silence.
Then Jordan started chuckling.
Alex looked at him in surprise, and turned her disbelieving gaze to Bear and D.C. when they joined in. Soon all three of them were laughing uncontrollably.
“What part of this is funny?” Alex demanded.
“Only you, Alex,” Jordan said with clear affection. “This could only happen to you.”
“You’re not angry?” she asked tentatively.
“Me? I’m stoked,” Jordan said. “We’re going to have a great time together!”
“I wasn’t really asking you, Jordan,” Alex said quietly, turning to her other two friends. It was them who had missed out. But despite her fear, they were both smiling at her.