The following day, the school nurse, a no-nonsense woman in her fifties, brought me breakfast. Her graying hair was tied into a ponytail and her uniform was spotless. She watched me devour a bowl of oats and cinnamon, her face inscrutable. As soon as I was finished, she took the empty dish from me. When our fingers touched, she flinched and pulled her hand back so quickly, she nearly dropped the bowl.
“Get dressed.” That’s all she said as she left the room. No please, no smile, no nothing. I swallowed hard at the realization that she was scared of me, just like the deputy. At least Ms. Farkas hadn’t been afraid. Or this teacher Strickland.
I had no other clothes than the ones I’d arrived in the previous day. My cell phone and wallet had disappeared somewhere between the sheriff’s station and the academy. The nurse was waiting for me when I left the room. I asked her about my things, but all I got was a shrug and a terse, “There’s a telephone in the head witch’s office. Once you’ve earned enough credits, you’ll be allowed one phone call a week.”
As we approached the end of a long hallway, a door opened, and a man entered. His stern face remained immobile as the nurse handed me over. He didn’t introduce himself but gestured for me to follow him.
Outside, the air was cooler than at home. I shivered but forgot about my discomfort the moment I saw the size of my new home. The academy was much bigger than I’d assumed. How many kids like me lived here?
I had stepped out of the wing of a huge, U-shaped building that dominated the campus. In front of me were several container cabins. They were a more recent addition because their style didn’t match the main building. Where they looked like modern shipping containers with windows cut into them, the large wings and the building connecting them were three stories tall, with a facade clad partly with stone, partly with wood. Everything had an air of neglect. Paint was peeling off, and some of the window frames had a line of black mold on the bottom. And yet, despite the decay, it was imposing in its size.
“This used to be a hotel, back when I was a kid. Mind you, it would have fallen down if the government hadn’t taken it over.”
My guide had finally found his voice. And he seemed reasonably friendly. Maybe he’d give me more answers.
“What are these cabins?”
“They’re Practical Magic classrooms. After a couple of kids blew up the Mag-Chem lab, we thought it’d be a good idea to contain any fallout away from the main building. Course now there are so many students, the cabins are used as overflow as well.”
Noticing my alarm at the mention of explosions, he chuckled.
“Don’t worry. Magical Chemistry won’t be on your curriculum until year two.”
I nodded. Taking a deep breath, I marveled at the clean, pine-scented air. Beyond the buildings, tall trees dominated the vista. Apparently, we were surrounded by a forest.
Just then the man turned away and moved towards the other side of the large square between the academy wings. I hurried to keep up with him, nearly tripping over a rock that lined a wide swath of solid dirt leading away from the main building.
“Where does this road lead to?”
The guard turned and opened his mouth as if to say something. As I waited, his brows drew together and his gaze hardened.
“Listen, kid. Let me give you some advice. This is your one and only chance to make up for what you’ve done. Don’t even think about running. There’s a high security fence all around the facility. Plus we’re able to tag you magically. If you try to escape, that’s it for you. You’ll be taken down by people who are just waiting for fools like you. Not everybody is as tolerant of magical aberrations as we are.”
Aberrations? My heart dropped. I hadn’t expected to hear my parents’ vile words thrown at me here. Maybe I’d been naive, but I’d thought in a place of learning, there’d be more acceptance for what I’d become. Apparently not.
The guy’s words confirmed what I’d been told at the sheriff’s office. I was a prisoner, held against my will. I pushed my fists against my eyeballs, willing myself not to cry. You’re tough. You’ll get through this. I repeated the mantra over and over in my head until I felt back in control. Then I dropped my hands and smiled brightly.
The man nodded. “Good girl,” he said gruffly before setting off towards the building a hundred yards away. As we passed the last of the square huts, the door of the classroom opened and several students spilled out. They were as noisy and boisterous as the kids at my high school.
A tall figure dressed in black was the last to leave. The guy was handsome in an emo kind of way. Dark glossy hair fell over one eye, and a silver earring, shaped like a cross, caught the light just right. His face was pale with an upturned nose and gorgeous lips even his black lipstick couldn’t hide.
One of his friends called back over his shoulder, and Emo Boy laughed. From one second to the next, his face transformed into an expression of pure joy. His dark eyes sparkled, and his grin split his face from ear to ear.
He turned his head, and for a second, he held my gaze as his smile turned from broad to something that was meant only for me. And that was it. My face heated up, and my stomach swooped. As he walked away, I stood rooted to the spot and gawked. What had just happened? Who was he? And why did I have such a crazy reaction to him?
My guide’s voice interrupted my mental freak-out. “Come on, then. I haven’t got all day.”
Behind his belligerence, he was trying to hide a grin. Making sure he couldn’t see it, I rolled my eyes before following him through the door into the building. He pointed towards the end of the corridor.
“You’re with the freshmen on the first floor. Your room is 105.”
He nodded his goodbye and left me standing there. I opened my mouth to ask more details, but he was already outside, walking away swiftly.
Damn, I had so many more questions. Was I sharing the room with someone else? What was my schedule like? Where would I get clothes from? Heaving a sigh, I made my way along the hallway. At least they’d tried to liven up the space. The walls were painted a fresh light-yellow. But the floor was covered in a gray linoleum that was cracked in places. It must have been down for decades.
When I got to my dorm room, I knocked. Nobody answered, so I tried the door handle and entered the room. The sun streamed through a large window, illuminating a stark rectangular space. There was nothing personal on the walls, no pictures, no decoration. Along the walls were three single beds, some cheap shelving, and just enough space for tiny desks next to each bed.
A narrow door was kitty-corner to where I stood. When I walked over and opened it, I found a small bathroom with a sink and a toilet. At least I wouldn’t have to walk down the hall in the middle of the night to relieve myself. I closed the door and faced the beds.
One of them was covered with several suitcases, the other one nearly burned my retinas with psychedelic pink and yellow stripes. The third bed was made up with cheap white bedcovers, a folder lying on the pillow. That one was mine, I guessed.
The mattress felt thin and lumpy when I sat on it. The sheets were synthetic and threadbare, nothing like my bed at home. I bounced experimentally and winced at the creaks and groans of the bed frame. This rickety thing would collapse if I turned around too quickly.
Sighing, I reached out and picked up the folder. There was a cheap legal pad with some pens, what appeared to be the school rules, a schedule, and some other information. As I read through my timetable, my eyes grew wide. For the first couple of months at least I had classes back to back from eight in the morning to four in the afternoon with an hour for lunch. I assumed we’d be given homework as well, so there would be no free time. Just awesome.
Then I read the descriptions of the classes, and my jaw dropped. Some of the classes were like in any other high school, but others had names like Elemental Magic 101 and History of Magic. On the back of the schedule was a note:
Please note that due to your special status at the academy, you will not be allowed to miss any classes. If you
do, you will be subject to penalties at the discretion of the class teacher. A second violation will result in the revoking of your student status and make you subject to Federal prosecution.
I stared at the text with wide eyes. There it was. The proof that no matter how normal the academy seemed, I was different from the other students. It took me a long while to pull myself together enough to check the rest of the pack.
There were in-depth instructions on how to use the washing machines and where to buy food tokens. I frowned. I had no money and no idea where to get new clothes from. I sniffed at my underarms. Yeah, that shirt wouldn’t last another day.
I got up and pulled off my shirt, my jeans, and my underwear. The sink in the tiny bathroom was too small to wash my clothes in it, but on my way in, I’d passed the shared bathrooms in the hallway.
What would I wear while my clothes were drying? My gaze fell on the sheet on my bed. It would have to do. So I stripped it off the mattress and made myself a provisional toga. Not the height of fashion, but good enough.
Grabbing my pile of grimy clothes, I walked to the door. I quickly scanned left and right to make sure the coast was clear, rushed to the bathroom, and began the tedious task of washing my clothes in the sink with hand-washing soap. Twenty minutes later, I’d gotten them as clean as I could.
Washing them was one thing, though. Drying them was quite another. Especially my jeans would take forever. Grabbing my dripping bundle of clothes, I hurried back to my room.
When I opened the door, I stopped abruptly. A girl my age, with short brown hair and beautiful light-brown eyes, sat on the psychedelic bed. She saw me and burst out laughing.
6
"You must be my new roommate. I’m Beth."
My face heated with embarrassment. I walked quickly to my bed and dumped the pile of wet clothes onto it before I turned towards the girl.
Smiling tightly, I said, "Hi, I'm Amber. Sorry about bursting in like this.” Why am I apologizing? It's my room now, too.
Beth laughed. "Not a problem. I just expected my roommate a little bit more put together, to be honest."
What was that supposed to mean? I'd been abducted, drugged, and was generally having a shitty day. I wasn't in the mood to take crap off anybody, not even my new roommate.
"Well, I'm sorry I don't meet your expectations."
Beth's eyes widened. She raised her hand and said, "No, no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I was just surprised."
I sagged. I'd overreacted. "No, you weren’t rude. I just had a horrible day. I arrived yesterday with literally nothing but the clothes on my back. Nobody told me what to do, and I have no money.”
My new roommate grinned. "That’s not a problem. I'm sure admin will sort something out for you. In the meantime, if you need to borrow some, I'd be happy to help. Like your clothes—you want them dried, right?"
I nodded. "I thought maybe in a magical academy, we wouldn’t need things like dryers and washers, but apparently, I was wrong."
Beth laughed. "No, you're right. There are people here who could dry clothes easily, just by snapping their fingers. But the academy is surrounded by magical dampeners. There are a lot of people here who aren’t in control of their powers. Particularly those who only just started.
“Ms. Farkas insists on making this place safe for everybody. Some of the students here come from old families who are used to using magic for everything. Ms. Farkas says it’s character building to learn how to survive among non-magic users."
That made sense. With all the prejudice in the world, it probably wasn’t a good idea to advertise their powers outside this place. Beth hopped off her bed. "Come on, I'll show you where the dryers are."
Pulling a plastic box from underneath her bed, she said, "Here, wear some of my stuff. You don't want to get a stupid nickname like toga girl on your first day here."
I smiled gratefully and pulled on the shirt and shorts she threw at me. They were a little tight, given that Beth was a few inches smaller than me and built like an elf, but it was definitely better than a bed sheet wrapped around me.
Beth was apparently very popular. Everybody we met, walking along the housing wing, called out a greeting or waved. She had a funny or kind word for everybody.
"Hey, Beth. Do you still need that book you borrowed?"
We both turned around. Emo Boy hurried to catch up with us. Close up, he was even cuter than when I'd seen him earlier in the square. Beth didn’t get a chance to introduce me because Emo Boy immediately drew her into a conversation about some teacher I hadn’t met yet.
As he chatted amiably with Beth, I swallowed at the sudden pang of…what? Being left out? I didn’t even know him, but man, did I want to get to know him better. A lot better.
I was so busy feeling sorry for myself, I didn’t even notice him smiling at me until he said, "Hey, I saw you earlier with Lawson. You're new, right?"
I nodded. "Yeah, just got here. Beth is showing me around."
"Is she?"
"She's my new roommate." I really didn't want to call him Emo Boy in my head any longer. "So what's your name?"
"Sorry, I should have introduced myself. I'm Julian. First year."
"Amber. First year also, I think."
He raised an eyebrow. "You think?"
I shrugged. "I only got here yesterday. I got a class schedule, but I’ve got no idea where anything is. I think I'll be depending on Beth quite a bit until I know where I'm going."
Beth piped in. "Oh, that's no problem. I’m happy to help."
Julian nodded in agreement. "If you need any help, let me know. It's confusing when you first get here."
His gaze held mine for a moment longer than necessary, and suddenly this whole situation felt a little less depressing than a few minutes ago. Then he turned around and waved over his shoulder as he sauntered off.
My roommate stayed quiet until we reached the laundry room. Several large washers and dryers stood in rows, waiting to be fed tokens and dirty clothes, in that order. I had the clothes, but no money to get tokens. Beth glanced at me before pulling several shiny metal rounds from her jeans.
“Here, my treat. Consider it a moving-in present.”
I smiled thankfully, although my stomach clenched at the reminder that I had nothing to call my own other than the pitifully small pile of laundry in my hands.
Beth got some washing powder from a box somebody had left behind. As she sprinkled it into the first top-loader, she sang a happy tune under her breath and hopped from foot to foot in an impromptu dance routine.
But with her, it wasn’t attention seeking. It was just part of her personality that brightened up the utility room like a Christmas sparkler. It made me smile just looking at her.
I wondered how she got here. She had to be one of the regular academy students. No way was she here as punishment. Not a girl like her.
Eventually, I had to ask. "So… what brought you here? Did your parents send you? Are you from a magical family?"
I wasn’t prepared for Beth's smile to slip and her eyes to turn sad. She stared at the machine in front of her while I waited. Then she said so quietly I could hardly hear her over the rumble of my laundry, "I don’t want to talk about it. Let's just say, I didn't come here voluntarily."
Damn. I hadn’t expected that. Her eyes reflected the same pain I'd felt when I'd found out what my burst of magic had done to people. I had no idea what to say to make it better.
"I don't think many of us are here voluntarily, Amber. That's why they call it Second Chance Academy."
"I thought it was the Farkas Academy for Magical Advancement?"
Beth’s smile was brittle as she put some distance between us. "That's the official name. The students and teachers call it Second Chance because that's what this is. If you screwed up, this is your second chance. It's also your last chance. Not everybody makes it through intact."
"What do you mean?"
Beth shook her head as if dispelling some bad memorie
s. "I'll tell you another time. Let's not ruin your first day with scary stories."
I nodded. I was on board with that for the moment.
7
When we got back to the room, the door was slightly ajar. A female voice tittered in the highest register. Beth stopped and sighed. "Oh, crap."
When I looked at her for an explanation, she rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Sharon’s back."
Without saying anything else, she pushed the door open and entered the room. Sharon sat on the third bed, talking on her cellphone. Some of the suitcases that had covered the bed were now empty on the ground, their lids flung open. Others sat on their sides, tossed aside carelessly.
My second roommate was heavily made-up with her hair pulled into a tidy updo. Her skin was perfect and her clothes expensive. She looked like she belonged at a private college for trust-fund kids. The moment she saw us, she ended her call. Her mouth pursed as her gaze traveled to my feet and back up again. Without acknowledging me, she turned towards Beth.
"You cannot be serious. Bad enough I have to share my room, but now I'm going to be stuck with this freak?"
Oh, hell no. I’d been through this shit once already at my high school. No way am I getting bullied by my roommate on day one. I crossed my arms, glaring at her. "It’s not your room, and who are you calling a freak?"
Her eyes shone with a hostility I couldn't explain. I’d never met her before, and honestly, I was baffled at Sharon's behavior. Beth had wisely stayed back. She looked as surprised as I was feeling at the ill-tempered exchange.
But before she could say anything, Sharon continued. “You’re a shunt. You were brought here with an armed guard. Look at you. Your parents didn’t want you and dumped you here with nothing. You don’t even have a change of clothes.”
Was this bitch serious? And what was a shunt? My cheeks were burning with anger. I didn’t like confrontation, but I wasn’t going to be pushed around, either. She was right, of course. Except for the parent bit.
Second Chance Fate Page 3
