Oh no. I'm turning into one of those annoying girls in movies who swoons over the hot guy all the time. Well, that sucks.
Heath pushes on the door to the restaurant, holding it open for me again. The scent of fried food and delicious sauces to go with it.
A smile flits across my face. I can get used to this. The having a guy around, not the smells of Chinese food, I imagine that gets old after a while.
The place is busy, but I expect that, it's a Friday night after all. Heath holds up his fingers to the waitress at the door, and she ushers us over to a table in the corner. To say it's at an all you can eat buffet, it's kind of romantic.
"Would you like anything to drink?" she asks us.
The two of us exchange glances. I don't like being put on the spot like that, and clearly, he isn't either.
"Just water for me," I say.
"Same, please," he adds.
The waitress purses her lips, clearly annoyed. I've heard that drinks are how these places make money, but I don't want to fill myself up on soda when there's so much food still to eat.
"So, how do you want to do this?" I ask. "Do we load up a plate each or do you trust me to go pick for both of us?" I feel very forward going straight for this, but a buffet almost feels relationship-like rather than first date like, and for some reason, instead of hating it, I'm finding myself acting like we're already established. And I don't even mind.
"I feel like it's a risk to trust you to make up a plate, but let's go with it."
My heart skips a beat at the sight of his smile. Squashing that down before I became a cliche, I rose to my feet.
"Your challenge is accepted," I joke as I head over to the buffet, anxious to pick up some tasty starters for us to share.
This place has everything. I hope he's not going to judge me for all the food I'm about to eat. But then if he does, he's not one for me.
I walk back to the table with a plate piled high. His eyes widen at it.
"You weren't joking when you said it was a challenge."
"Isn't a buffet already a challenge? Everything you can eat before you explode?" I set it down between us, starting to wonder if I should at least have brought a second plate.
"I like the way you think. What should we try first?"
"The pork steamed buns," I respond instantly. I've been eyeing them up since I caught sight of them.
"Sounds good to me." He picks one up and peels the paper off it, taking a deep bite. "Mmm, good choice."
"I'm glad." I pick the other one up and bite into it. He's right, that's a great choice. I hope the rest of it is as good as this one.
We settle into eating and talking. I'm surprised by how easy it is to get on with him. But then, things have been easy between us since the moment he showed up at my door. No, even earlier than that. In class even.
The meal long behind us, we wandered back to campus from the car park. My stomach is threatening to explode, but that's just a sign of good food.
"I had a great time tonight," I say, playing with my hair.
"I did too," he admits.
The two of us linger, neither of us wanting to end the moment between us even though we're back at my flat. Sometimes, it sucks to only be on the first date. Otherwise, I could invite him in and get to know him even better.
"So...do you want to do this again?" he asks.
"I'd definitely like to," I reply.
"Good." His gaze slips to my lips like he's thinking exactly what I am.
Will we kiss? Is it too soon for that? I don't know the etiquette, and I doubt Mona can tell me either. Besides, she's the other side of the door, which isn't much help now.
I wait for another moment, before realising this isn't all on him. If I want a kiss, then I'm just as able to start it.
Reaching out, I grab hold of the front of his shirt and pull him down so his lips meet mine. He's kissing me back within moments, letting me know I made the right decision.
Heath's hand rested on the small of my back, pulling me closer and deepening the kiss more. Butterflies flutter in my stomach, but not the nervous kind. These are the one I only experience when really good things happen. Like having a handsome vampire push his body against mine, apparently. I almost wish I could be a little braver and invite him into the flat with me, but maybe that would give the wrong impression.
We break apart and look into each other's eyes. Screw it all, I'm becoming a cliche and loving every moment of it.
"I've wanted to do that all night," he murmurs.
"Even when you saw me gnawing on a spare rib?" I ask innocently, fluttering my eyelashes in the process.
Heath chuckles, the sound vibrating through his chest and into me. "Even then."
"Good." I lean up and kiss him again swiftly. "Keep going, and maybe I'll give you permission to cross the threshold," I tease.
"You know I don't need it because I'm a vampire, right?"
"But you do because you're a gentleman," I supply. I've worked out that much about him. It's a refreshing change from some of the jerks I've known over the years.
"Exactly. I wouldn't want you to think I'm using you for that." he leans down and kisses me again.
I relax into his touch, enjoying just how natural this feels. It's like I'm meant to be in his arms.
"Ahem, am I interrupting?" A voice draws our attention away from our kiss, and towards the female vampire I recognise from class.
I narrow my eyes. Miss Perkins was my enemy on sight, and that isn't changing now. Maybe in another version of the timeline, we could be friends. Or at the very least study buddies.
"Emma," Heath says, a lot of exasperation in his voice.
"You're wanted," she replies.
Distaste flutters across Heath's face, and I have to wonder what that's about. Is it to do with their supposed engagement? Or is it something more than that? I'll have to remember to ask him when we get a chance to be alone again. I hope it's soon.
"I'm sorry, Daphne, I need to go," he tells me.
I nod. I don't know what it's about, but I can certainly understand if he needs to leave. I have to hope he hasn't text her to get out our date. But no, surely he'd have done that before our kiss and not after. Unless my breath smells. The urge to check it overwhelms me, but I know better. I don't want him to think I'm as insecure as I am about this.
"Text me?" I ask.
"I will."
I give him a weak smile, not all that sure what to do with myself now. Opening the door, I slip inside my flat, not even looking back. I'll admit I'm confused. Up until the last couple of minutes, our date went well. Now, I have no idea where I stand, and that's something I'm not a fan of.
5
"Please turn to the person next to you and say hello," the professor chirps. The middle-aged witch is far too upbeat for a class at nine in the morning, but I guess if that's what works for her, then she's one of life's lucky ones.
"Hey." A wide smile spreads over Bradley's face as he greets me.
"Hi." I squash the small flutter of recognition from my heart at his words. He might be my childhood sweetheart, but we don't mean anything to one another now. Besides, I'm dating Heath. I think.
"Today, you'll be practising reversing the spoilage in food. It's a useful trick that can be used in all kinds of other ways." She's lost it. How can someone be this happy about rotting food? I can smell it from here, and I'm not impressed. "But I'm giving you more of a challenge than that. You have an hour to work out how to do it. The pair with the best looking plate of food at the end of the hour will get a prize."
Murmurs go around the classroom. I've only ever heard about some of the lecturers giving out prizes, I've never actually seen it happen, which is going to make this interesting. The competitive part of me is raring to go. I don't even care if the prize is a pair of dirty socks with holes in the toes. I want to win because that's my nature.
"I see things haven't changed one bit," Bradley jokes.
"Whatever do you mean?
" I push a strand of hair behind my ear, feeling both kind of coy, and a little annoyed at the same time. Why do I want to flirt with him? That's not good at all. I have a boyfriend. Ish. I'm not convinced we're quite at that stage yet, but I'm not the kind of girl who would date more than one person at once without them at least knowing each other.
"You got that same look in your eye any time someone said there was a competition to win when we were small too."
Ah.
"You can't be the best unless you're pushed to be," I tell him. At least, that's the philosophy I try to live by. I don't think I'm naturally very good at much. Except for studying. Something I take advantage of. Anyone can become good at most things if they practice enough.
"I know. You used to make me repeat it while we ran laps of the school track."
"We needed to be the best," I point out.
"We were seven. Just taking part would have made people think we were the best."
I blink a couple of times, trying to think of a good come back to that. No doubt it would occur to me later while I'm in the shower, or some other awkward time.
"We need to focus on the assignment," I say instead, turning to the plate of mouldy food in front of us and wrinkling my nose. "What do you think it is?"
"My guess is that the bit at the back is bread." He takes out his wand and points towards the solid mass at the back.
I nod. Bread does seem likely. It isn't that which bothered me, though, it's the bright spots of fuzzy mould all over it.
"I don't think it matters what it is," I murmur. "Just that we turn it back into what it should be."
"And how are we going to do that without knowing what it should be?" Bradley asks.
"We could just try a reversal spell?" I suggest, getting out my wand and preparing myself to do magic. I tap the bread, willing it to go back to its old state in my mind. Okay, that requires me knowing what it used to be, I'll give Bradley that much.
"If it was that easy, I don't think we'd have been given an hour to do it," he replies drying.
"Hrumf." I stare at the bread, trying to demand it does what I want it to.
"Why don't you check one of the textbooks and I'll try and work out what the rest of the food is."
"Okay." I'm not exactly going to argue when it gets me out of getting too close to the awful things on the plate.
Next to us, Mona and her partner seem to be having a similar discussion. Though from the stress on my best friend's face, it's not going as well.
I pull my tablet towards me, bring up the app with our textbooks on it. I'm glad the academy brought this one out, the idea of lugging around several heavy books to go about my lessons didn’t sit well with me. There must be something in here that can help us. I scan the table of contents of the first one I get to, looking for any kind of subject that sounds like it could work. I don't get any luck. This book seems to be more about advanced magic, of which I doubt they want me to look at during my first year.
A cheer sounds from the back of the room, so I twist my head around to see who has managed to do what.
"I hope they don't have a class straight after this one," Bradley mutters as we take in the sight of two warlocks covered in the remains of their plate.
I wrinkle my nose. "I wouldn't like to be sitting next to them if they do." It looks like they're covered in something soft, almost like yoghurt or cheese.
Steeling my nerves, I pull the plate over to me and study it. A slight waft of rotting smell reaches my nose, but I push away the sickness it brings with it. This whole class is verging on the inhumane.
"I think this is a soft cheese," I tell Bradley, sliding the plate back to him.
His hand brushes against mine as he takes it. The simple touch sends tingles along my skin.
But no. I need to ignore them. Just the thought of Heath sent guilt spiralling through me. I shouldn't let Bradley have this much of an effect.
"I think you're right," he says, a slight hitch in his voice that suggests he felt the same thing I did, but I don't pry. Mostly because I don't want to deal with the answer. I'm sure that makes me some kind of coward, but so be it.
We go back to what we were doing before. The textbooks don't seem to be helping at all, which is only partly surprising. It wouldn't be a challenge if we could look up the answer in a book.
I drop the tablet with a disgusted grunt. "It's no good looking in there."
"I thought you knew everything?" Bradley asks, half distracted by what he was doing himself.
"Only if I can study it," I mutter.
"Ah, the great Daphne Chambers has a weakness."
"I have many," I respond coolly.
"That's not what I..."
"Let's just focus on what we should be doing." There's a sting in my heart that I'm trying to ignore, but it's hard.
I glance to the side just in time to see Mona burst into tears. Ah, crap, one of her spells must have failed again. I leave Bradley to our plate and head over to her, wrapping my arms around her tightly.
"It's okay," I whisper to her. "No one's hurt."
"That's not the point," she stammers through the tears.
I try and think about what to say to that, but I come up blank. Nothing I can say will make it better for her. We've tried everything the two of us can think of to fix the problem. But that doesn't mean I don't want to offer her the comfort she deserves.
"Miss Chambers, Miss Black, what is going on?" the lecturer asks.
"I'm sorry professor, Mona is just having a tough day," I answer, not wanting to mention magic and set her off more.
Giggles sound around us, no doubt the people who know about her issue and think it's something to laugh at. I'd turn them all into toads if I could, but I don't know how to do that yet. They're lucky in that regard.
"If Miss Black would be so kind as to pull herself together for the rest of the lesson, it would be appreciated by the rest of the class." The woman's chirpiness is completely gone, replaced by an expression even I wouldn't want to mess with.
Mona stills in my grasp, the insult taking hold more than it should.
"Message received," she murmured, sniffing back her sadness. I hate it when she does that. It's almost unnatural. Though the fact it's leaking out of her at all is a little alarming.
She shrugs me off, and I take a step back.
"Alright, all of you, back to work."
I scowl, but head back to my desk, only to find Cade standing in front of it. He and Ryan are sitting in front of me in this class. I'm not sure how that one worked out.
"Is she okay?" he asks.
I shake my head. Since when did he care? Mona seems convinced he has a crush on me, but now all he's asking about is her.
"Not really, but she'll be okay."
He smiles at me, a warmth to it that I haven't seen from him very often. "And you?"
"I'll be glad when I work out some of this." I gesture towards the plate of food in front of Bradley, which is just as spoiled as it had been before.
"We're not doing any better," Cade assures me.
"Miss Chambers? I'm starting to believe you don't want to be doing any work."
I purse my lips, trying to stop myself from making a retort that might get me into more trouble. "Sorry, professor."
Cade grimaces and turns back to his and Ryan's bench.
I watch the lecturer out of the corner of my eye, making sure she passes onto the next people and leaves me alone to what I'm trying to do.
"What do we try now?" Bradley asks. "The reversal didn't work. I've tried three different spells."
A frown crosses over my face. There's something obvious I'm missing, I'm sure of it. "Maybe we're looking at this all wrong."
"How do you mean?"
"Maybe this isn't about reversal? Maybe it's about making something new." I turn back to my tablet, eager to look up my new theory. It takes mere moments for me to find what I'm looking for, proof that we'd been heading in the wrong direction.
&nbs
p; I push the tablet towards Bradley. "This?"
He looks over it for a second, a knowing smile spreading over his face. "I think you might be onto something."
A beam spreads over my face. Being the best is what I strive for, and it doesn't seem like any of the others have come as close as this.
"Do you want to do the honours?"
"Together?" I suggest. It would be distasteful of me to take this away from Bradley when he's been doing the disgusting job of working out what the food is. "I'll take the cheese. You take the bread?"
"And then after, we'll deal with the cucumber?"
"Is that what the green thing is?" I curl my lip up. It's disgusting and slimy, that's for sure. I'm not entirely certain I want anything to do with it.
"That's my guess, but we'll only be able to tell once we get the plate approved."
Eurgh. The way my luck's going in this class, we'll never get the professor to sign off that we've done it right. Even so, I know we have to try.
I get my wand ready and count to three in my head, following the steps written in my textbook. This should be as straightforward as telling the mouldy food what it needs to become, but I'm conscious that still could be the wrong thing to do.
Tapping my wand next to the cheese, a small jolt of magic shoots out of the end. Before my eyes, the cheese transforms into what I think it should look like. This is the hard bit. We have no idea what the professor is expecting. Or if we'll be marked down if it's not exactly the same as it was before, but is the right kind of food.
I hate vague assignments. They're the worst.
Bradley's spell seems to have done just as much good on the bread, and now it looks like it's supposed to.
"Alright, the final one?" I ask, nerves fluttering in my stomach. I desperately want to get this right.
"Would you do the honours?" he asks.
I nod and ready my wand. I count again. I'm not sure I have to do that, but it helps me focus, and that's all that matters. When she gave me my first wand, Mum told me that I needed to make the magic work for me, and if that's in a different way to how it works for other people, that's okay.
Paranormal Academy Page 56
