Now, I fly even higher into the sky, straight upward, in the hope that the higher vantage point will aid me, and it does. Over in the fields where fairies can play flutterball are a bunch of bleachers, and under those bleachers are several fairies, including one with long, white hair.
Even though I want to race over to her side and drag her out of there, I fly over slowly. Mom won’t be happy that we’re taking so long to return home, but maybe she’ll understand that Bay just wanted to spend time with her friends.
Everyone but Bay looks at me as I approach, and I do my best to not feel unnerved. The more attention she's given, the more Bay thrives, but that's just not how I operate at all. It's not that I want to blend into the background. I don't. Despite being homeschooled for years, I had as many friends as Bay did. I just don't crave everyone's attention twenty-four-seven, and unfortunately, none of those friends are attending Light Fae Academy. None of Bay's friends were either, so I thought maybe, just maybe, we could fly around together some, but clearly, that's not going to be the case.
“Hi, Bay,” I say.
My sister eyes me and gives me a smile but makes no move to stand, let alone fly. "Rosemary, hi," she returns.
I wait a moment for her to introduce me to everyone, but she doesn't, so I give a tiny wave. "Hi, everyone. I'm—"
“Rosemary. We heard.” The only other female smirks.
“Watch it, Holly,” Bay snaps.
Holly lowers her head immediately as if she’s been struck. Her face is pale to the point of making her look like a ghost, and her eyes are a light blue color that would look unusual on a human. Her dress is similar to what Bay’s had been before Bay took scissors to it, but I do notice that it looks like she might’ve tried to rip the bottom of it. Is she that desperate to try to look like Bay?
“I’m Bracken,” a fairy with jet-black hair says. His eyes are just as dark, and something about him makes me a little unsettled. “And this is Thistle.”
Thistle nods to me. His hair is the same color as an avocado, and he’s as skinny as a beanpole.
“Cosmo,” the last male says. He’s not wearing a shirt. Although he’s lean, he has a six-pack, and I’m a little too distracted by that to notice his hair color.
“Nice to meet you all,” I say. “Uh, Bay…”
She eyes me.
“How was your day?” I ask lamely, not wanting to seem like a babysitter by insisting we head home now.
“It wasn’t bad. Classes will be boring, I’m sure, but I can find some ways to have fun.” She smirks as she eyes her new friends, who all burst out laughing.
I giggle too. “Yeah, I don’t think my classes will be that thrilling.”
“No? I thought you were looking forward to all of them?” she asks.
My cheeks grow hot. She’s not wrong, but I don’t like that she’s making me seem like a liar in front of everyone.
“That was before I had any of the classes,” I explain.
“I heard you get to play the harp,” she remarks.
Cosmo bursts out laughing.
I bristle. “What’s so funny about that?”
“Only the most innocent and non-mischievous fairies can elicit the magic of a harp,” he explains.
“Maybe she’s part angel,” Bracken says with a laugh.
I glare at Bay. She put Holly in place. She’ll do the same for the guys, right?
But she just shrugs. “Even humans know angels play the harp a lot.”
I throw up my hands. “I’m not that innocent.”
“You’re a virgin, I bet,” Thistle says.
I open my mouth and so badly try to think of a way to claim that I’m not, but I’ve never been as good as Bay when it comes to twisting words around.
“I bet she’s never tried fae nectar,” Holly says lazily.
I gulp. I haven’t tried that either, and I don’t want to. It’s the only kind of alcohol that will render a fairy so drunk that they can’t even use magic. It’s debatable which is worse—fae nectar or fairy dust.
“Rosemary doesn’t like anything sickeningly sweet,” Bay says. “It upsets her stomach.”
“That’s because she’s so sweet and good and innocent that her body can’t handle more,” Cosmo says.
“Sweetness overload.” Bracken laughs.
"I would rather be sweet than sour," I say, ironically enough, sourly.
"Guys, guys." Holly holds up her hands. "We go to the Light Fae Academy. It's only fitting that the lightest of all fairies attends, isn't it?"
They all crack up. Bay doesn’t laugh, but she does smile.
“I don’t know if my sister is the lightest one here or not,” Bay says, “but I do know that no one can claim that about me.”
“Yeah, you’re about as dark as they come,” I grumble.
Bay blinks a few times, and a flicker of pain flashes in her eyes. She looks away, blinks, and then smirks at me.
My stomach twists. I hadn’t meant to hurt her feelings, but her friends are hurting mine. Still, it’s not right to lash out.
I turn to Holly. “Do you play anything?”
“No. I’m not light enough for that. I’ve been thinking about taking up the drums, though.”
“But if you aren’t…” I’m confused.
Holly sighs and rolls her eyes. “Play the drums like a human,” she explains with exaggerated, mocking patience. “Not with magic.”
“Oh.”
"Magic isn't everything," Cosmo says. He stretches out to almost lie down on the bleachers.
“Of course it isn’t.” I try to smile.
When I play an instrument, it’s with magic. I don’t actually touch it, plus the music I’m creating is magical in nature too. To play like a human should mean that the music itself won’t contain any magic either even though the player is a fairy. The thought of playing like that never occurred to me.
“You know what is?” Thistle asks eagerly.
“We know,” we know,” Bay cuts in smoothly. “Flying’s up there, and speaking of, I’m gonna race my sis home. Catch you all tomorrow.”
She stands and doesn't adjust the straps of her dress any. Basically, she's not wearing anything on her lower half at all. I swear Bracken pats her ass before she jumps up and flies off.
Swiftly, I zoom up to her side, but neither of us says anything until we leave the grounds of the academy behind.
“I can’t believe you didn’t say goodbye to my friends,” she fumes.
“What? Oh. I didn’t mean anything by that.” I shrug sheepishly.
All I thought about was getting away from them. I love Bay, and I know she loves me in her way, but I don’t like her friends, and I think she realizes that.
“And I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings either,” I say.
She sighs. “I know you didn’t, but, Rosemary?”
“Yeah?”
“Stop thinking so much.”
“What?” I’m so confused. That’s the last thing I would’ve expected her to say.
“You’re always thinking and worrying and fretting about this and that. Don’t stop. Just live. Go with the flow. Make friends. Make mistakes. Grow. Learn. Fall. Get back up again. You can do this. You can spread your wings and be free.”
I grin. “Thank you, Bay. I love you.”
“Love ya, too, sis, but the last one home has to set the table without magic.”
And she takes off like a rocket.
“Hey, wait for me!”
Chapter 6
Yes, Bay beat me home, and yes, I do set the table without magic. It’s so boring doing it that way, as if I’m human, but I don’t mind. Bay’s pep talk really hit home. I do think too much, which causes me to worry too much, and then I tend to make careless mistakes… or even make a fool of myself. No more. I’m going to get out of my head.
And even better, I’m going to spend time talking to Sage tomorrow.
The next morning, Bay can’t figure out what to wear again. I wait around as l
ong as I can, but I don’t want to risk being late, so I end up flying over to the academy by myself. A few weeks ago, Bay and I promised each other that we would start to hound our parents about letting us live on the academy grounds after the first semester. Honestly, I want to live there now. Only about half of the student population does. The rest commutes, but I will feel so much better and, more importantly, freer, if we live there. Maybe we can ask our parents tomorrow at dinner. There might not be any rooms available, but it would be worth looking into at the very least.
When I arrive and fly above the fairy gate, I brush a hand through my hair. Fire and brimstone! My hair is a mess!
Quickly, I gather my hair into a ponytail. Then, I take a third of it and braid it and wrap the braid around the ponytail and tuck the end inside. There. At least my hair has to look passable now. Regal even. I opted to wear a dress today, one of the shortest ones I own, but it’s still nowhere near as short as some of the clothes Bay wears.
No. Wait. I reach up and gently pull out two tiny strands to frame my face. There.
I zoom down to the grass and carefully pick up a dew droplet to use as a mirror. Yes, my hair looks great. Good. Anything to help boost my confidence.
“Hello,” a deep voice says.
I glance up, still holding the droplet on my finger. My heart starts to pound, and I swallow hard.
Don’t overthink.
“Hi, Sage,” I blurt out.
He blinks and then grins. His smile is devastated, all lopsided and gorgeous. “You know my name.”
“I might’ve overheard someone call you that. I thought it safe to assume it was your name and not some kind of title.”
“I don’t know if I’m smart enough to be considered a sage,” he says with a laugh.
I grin and shrug one shoulder, a move Bay often uses with guys. “You’re sage enough to talk to me.”
He laughs some more, and I giggle.
His gaze falls on the water drop on my finger. “May I?” he asks.
I nod.
Sage lifts my finger and gently blows. The water droplet flies into the air, hovering between us at face-height, and then the drop explodes into a hundred tiny specks of water. The sunlight refracts through them, casting rainbows everywhere, even on my red dress.
“Beautiful,” I murmur.
“Yes,” Sage says. “My mom used to do that all the time when I was little, especially when it would storm. I used to hate storms.”
“You don’t hate storms anymore?”
“Candied nuts, no. I make storms now.” He winks at me.
“So you don’t need your mom to explode water into rainbows anymore.”
His lips quirk and then fall into a slight frown. “I wouldn’t mind if she did one more time,” he says sadly.
What would Bay do? Not overthink. Just react.
And reach out.
I lay a hand on his wrist that remains between us. “I’m so sorry,” I murmur.
“You don’t have to be sorry. Not all fairies are meant to live until they’re white-haired and old.” He smirks in a playful way.
I lift my eyebrows. “Don’t knock having white hair. It makes one look… distinguished.”
“You do not look distinguished.”
I pat my hair. “How do I look?” I ask boldly.
Wow. Channeling Bay is easier than I thought it would be!
“You look stunning,” he says. “I’ve never dated a girl with white hair before.”
“Maybe you should.”
My eyes widen. So do his, and he gives me that lopsided smile.
“Maybe I should,” he echoes. “What class do you have first?”
“Potions.”
“Ah. I have that last.”
“Oh, I pity you. I heard Professor Beansprout gets crankier as the day goes on.”
He grimaces. “I believe it,” he grumbles. “He was not in a good mood yesterday.”
I laugh. “So sorry.”
“You are not.”
“I have to be! Can’t lie.”
“Hmm.” He shakes his head, but his smile never leaves his face.
My heart swells. I can’t believe how well everything is going! Yes, I’m channeling Bay, but I’m also doing my best to put into practice what she told me in her pep talk. We might be very different, but Bay does have my best interests at heart. I’m just not sure she has her own interests at heart too.
As for Professor Beansprout, I actually hadn’t heard that about him, but that’s not a lie. It’s a story.
Fire and brimstone! I might be able to start getting away with things now! I've never thought about it that way, but that is perfectly mischievous, and being mischievous is the fairy way.
“Can I fly you to class?” he asks.
“No.”
“No?”
I grin. “You can walk me to class.”
“How human of you.”
“Sometimes, it’s the simple things in life. Besides.” I shrug my one shoulder again, realize I’m still holding onto his wrist, and almost panic. At first, I go to move my hand away, but then I squeeze him first, which draws another smile from him. “We do have two legs, and legs are meant for walking.”
“True enough. So long as you aren’t implying that I need to walk and exercise.”
“You don’t need to lose weight,” I assure him.
“Neither do you. You look perfect just the way you are.”
I beam. “You don’t look half-bad yourself.”
We land lightly. I wish we were still touching, and even though I seem to have a newfound sense of confidence, more so from channeling Bay than from her speech, but still. I’m flirting. Bay would be proud!
“I shared a little about me,” he says as we walk along.
“Are you trying to wing your way into my life?” I ask lightly.
“More like nose.” He wiggles his, and we laugh.
“Let’s see…” I tap a finger against my cheek, a move I’ve seen Bay do a hundred times before. “This is my first time going to formal education.”
“You haven’t gone to school?” he asks, surprised.
“My parents homeschooled me.”
Wait. Me. I said me. Normally, I always say we. Oh, well. It's still the truth.
“How was that?” he asks.
“Not terrible all the time,” I joke.
He laughs, but it's a quieter, more serious kind of laugh than his more jovial one earlier. "My mom mentioned that she wanted to homeschool me for a year or two, but she never got the chance."
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” He eyes me and then shakes his head. “I don’t normally talk about her, especially with someone who I just met.”
“It’s okay. I’m a good listener.” Then I surprise myself by laughing and wrinkling my nose. “Or I’m just nosy.”
Sage laughs. “You’re easy to talk to and have a cute nose.”
“A good combination, right?”
“I would say so.”
Even though we’re walking, we’re already at the building for my class, and I’m desperate to think of something else to say.
“Do you want to maybe…” I swallow hard.
“I better get going. I don’t want to be late for class.”
“Have fun without me if you can,” I tease.
“I’m not sure that’s possible.”
“I understand.”
He grins and waves before taking flight. That fairy flies with grace, and I watch him until he’s out of sight.
Someone coughs behind me, and I glance over my shoulder to see Professor Beansprout.
“Do you think you can enter the class so we can get started? Or do you mean to stand out here and daydream about that fairy?”
“Is that an option?” I ask before I realize what I’m saying.
He narrows his eyes. Almost all fairies are handsome or beautiful, but his eyebrows are bushier than most, and they knit together to almost form a wiggling worm above hi
s eyes.
"No, that is not an option, not if you wish to pass my class!"
"I do want to pass your class," I say meekly. Head down, I rush to enter the classroom, but as soon as I sit down, I can't help grinning.
Sage and I really hit it off! Things are definitely looking up so far today!
Chapter 7
Professor Beansprout makes a point of calling on me early and often throughout the class. Thankfully, I know a fair amount about potions. I should. Considering almost every fairy has the ability to make magical potions and my mom is able to make a living selling hers, yeah, Bay and I know just about everything there is to know on the subject.
His face turns redder and redder with each correct answer I give. With his green hair and eyes, the red coloring makes him look like a human Christmas tree. I cover my mouth with my hand to hide a smirk. I’ll have to remember that to tell Sage and Bay later, hopefully not at the same time because I don’t want Sage to see us both. Most last crush seemed to like me back until he met Bay, and I do not want a repeat of that.
Finally, the class ends. I zoom out of there, not wanting to be bothered by Professor Beansprout anymore, but he coughs and calls out, "Rosemary."
I’m almost out the door. Can I pretend I didn’t hear him? But the congestion to leave is starting, and he calls my name again. Suppressing a sigh, I turn around. “Yes, Professor?”
“Don’t think I’m going to go easy on you because you knew a few answers to basic questions.”
I blink a few times and slowly nod. “Of course. I can’t wait until we get to the more advanced material,” I gush.
He scowls, and I smile and opt to fly out of the classroom through the upper door rather than the lower one I had been aiming for first.
Although I scan the sky for Sage or Bay, I don’t see either of them anywhere. Looking costs me a few more minutes, and I arrive just before Counterspells is about to begin.
The minutes tick by, and the professor doesn’t make an appearance. The whispers around me grow louder to outright talking and speculations. Apparently, Professor Drake had been the subject of controversy last year. There had been questions of inappropriate behavior between him and a student, but nothing had been proven, so he continued to work here. He was by far the youngest of my five professors, and he was exceedingly good-looking, but the class itself has been boring so far. Plus, I think Sage is much hotter. Not that I would ever consider flirting with a professor. It takes everything in me to flirt with Sage. It’s just not something that comes naturally to me, but maybe if I practice more, it’ll come more easily to me.
Light Fae Academy: Year One Page 3
