“You’ll do fine,” Toby said.
The bus pulled up and they got on. Toby slid in beside him. “Lemme see your list.” Toby pulled out his, crumpled from being shoved in his pocket. Aiden took his from where he’d tucked it carefully in the front pouch of his backpack.
“Oh! We have homeroom together.” Toby smiled, then stuck out his tongue. “Yuck. Math first thing in the morning.”
“I like math. Numbers always make sense.” Not like magic. Not like the weird life he’d been sucked into.
Toby leaned his head back. “Math is borrrring.”
Aiden laughed and shook his head.
“Do you have any classes with Dylan?” Tina asked.
“Major Magical Control.” Which made his stomach jitter. He’d forgiven Dylan for burning him but he wasn’t eager to see his friend throwing flames around. “And Bio.” They’d compared classes the day the schedules arrived in the mail.
Tina smiled. “If you got moved to the intermediate class, of course he did. And Bio, that’s nice. You know who your lab partner will be.”
“Yeah.” If he made it that far through the day. Aiden worried he might panic when Dylan used his power.
At least he was starting out the semester along with everyone else, not late like at the beginning of the school year. If he worked hard this time, he was hoping to earn advance placement in one or two classes for next year. English, probably, and maybe math.
The first two hours were a blur of syllabi, books being passed out, grading systems and class expectations. Then Aiden walked across the frozen school yard to the annex building. Dylan was already waiting in the locker room, tying his shoes.
“Hey,” he said with a slight smile. Today’s t-shirt had a grinning skull with the words “Five Finger Death Punch” written across it. Considering all his other shirts had been music related, Aiden assumed that was a band name. How charming.
“Hi.” Aiden forced a smile.
“God, I can’t wait.” Dylan finished tying his shoes and rubbed his hands together. “Matches with the sophomores.”
Aiden went to his locker. “Oh, goody.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll do fine.” Dylan slapped him on the back and left.
When he was gone, Aiden leaned his head against the cool metal. He’d never been afraid of Dylan before. Well, Dylan had never hurt him before.
He took as long as he could, risking being late. Walking into the gym, he saw Dylan standing in the middle of the floor just like usual, and it made him feel a little better. Among the unfamiliar faces on the bench, he spotted the fox sisters and that made him feel better, too.
That all ended when Ms. Yang walked over with her clipboard and said, “Welcome to a new semester. We have a few ninth graders joining us who are exceptionally skilled. Dylan and Aiden, why don’t you start us off?”
Aiden’s stomach dropped. A match with Dylan? That was the last thing he wanted. “Um… I don’t …”
Dylan smiled. “C’mon. Let’s give ‘em a show.” Fire lit around his clenched fists.
Sweat broke out all over his body and Aiden got dizzy. “I don’t feel so good.” He swayed and stumbled toward the bench. His chest tingled where he’d been burned.
Ms. Yang hurried to help him sit. “Okay, just relax. Are you sick?” She looked closely at his face. “You do look really pale. Sit here for a few minutes and I’ll have someone take you down to the nurse.”
“I’ll do it.” Dylan appeared beside him, frowning with concern. The fire was gone.
Dylan was the reason he was so afraid. It would be better if he went away, but… his worry was real and was Aiden’s best friend. So Aiden protest when Ms. Yang said, “Okay. Thank you, Dylan.”
Dylan sat next to him on the bench. “What happened?”
“I just didn’t feel good all of a sudden.” The lie made him feel worse. But if he said anything it would just make Dylan feel guilty. It had been an accident.
“Let me know when you think you can walk. I’m not carrying your ass.” Dylan gave him a slight smile.
After a few minutes, Aiden took a deep breath. “I think I’m okay.” He felt a little weak, but not dizzy anymore.
“All right. Come on.” Dylan stood and offered a hand.
They stopped in the locker room for Aiden’s coat and then walked across to the main building. Dylan was missing out on his favorite class, the only class he cared about. Aiden’s chest squeezed with guilt and he shivered as the sweat cooled on his skin.
When they got to the nurse’s office, Dylan waited outside while the nurse checked Aiden over. The nurse found nothing wrong, just like Aiden knew she would, and let him go with instructions to come straight back if he had another dizzy spell.
By the time they got back, class was almost over so they changed out of their gym clothes and headed to lunch.
“Is something wrong?” Dylan asked. “I mean, do you know what happened with you?”
“No.” Aiden kept his eyes on the floor as they entered the lunch room.
“Okay. Just… you know, be careful.” Dylan grabbed a tray
He won’t hurt me. He never meant to, it was an accident. Things will be better tomorrow.
Get book 2 here now!
The 7 Bad Habits of Slightly Troubled Monsters (Shadow Valley #2)
Other books by Devin Harnois
Young Adult
Not My Apocalypse (Alex Holden book 1)
Saint of Sinners (Alex Holden book 2)
Lord of Hell (Alex Holden book 3)
How to Make Friends and Not Incinerate People (Shadow Valley #1)
The 7 Bad Habits of Slightly Troubled Monsters (Shadow Valley #2)
How to Survive High School Without Really Dying (Shadow Valley #3)
Zen and the Art of Major Magical Control (Shadow Valley #4)
Dragonkin Are from Mars, Changelings Are from Venus (Shadow Valley #5)
Rainbow Islands
Romance
Darkness at Dawn (Love and Monsters book 1)
Taming the Darkness (Love and Monsters book 2)
Through the Fire
Erik's Tale
Undaunted
Other
Emma and the Air Pirates
About The Author
Devin Harnois has eight published novels and he’d have more if he spent less time on Twitter and playing video games. He collects things with skulls on them and once put a ban on new skull t-shirts when he realized they made up half his wardrobe. Devin lives in Minneapolis with a lazy cat and a wild imagination. Find Devin at:
Twitter: devinharnois
Blog: devinharnois.com
Email: [email protected]
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Anne Victory for being a great editor, and to my beta readers Ekaterina, Robyn, and Keith. Thanks so much!
Copyright © 2014 Devin Harnois
All rights reserved.
Cover design by Devin Harnois
Edited by Anne Victory
How to Make Friends and Not Incinerate People Page 17
