by S C Thomas
“Felt like it.” Sherice snickered, throwing her head back and letting her hair fly out around her.
The girls around her laughed and Emma looked up at them, staring dully at the group. “Your little followers laugh at everything you do then?” She snorted, forcing herself to not cross her arms over her chest as she had to keep holding her towel to her body. If she released it, she would be in the full nude and seeing as she no longer had clothes on, that wasn’t something she wanted anyone to see around her. “Why do you think they do that, because they’re scared of you? I doubt they really like you, Sherice. They just want you to think they do so you don’t make fun of them to. You’d be nothing without them though. Absolutely nothing.”
Sherice’s face fell and her mouth opened to say something, but when she was unable to think of whatever it was she did want to say, she closed her mouth again and took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders to give herself a moment to gather herself up. “At least I have friends, unlike you. Oh, wait, you think that pet of yours is a friend. Of course, she is. She’s just as crappy at magic as you are. You two make the perfect pair by the way. When’s the wedding? I would love to attend.”
Emma’s face heated up despite the water dripping down it. “What is your issue? I come here and you’ve done nothing but be shitty to me.”
Sherice snorted, rolling her eyes heavily. “Me? Nothing. I just find it highly hilarious that you are an embarrassment to your name. There were stories, about how you were the next great Charmwood. That you would return and claim your name. Apparently, those were just fairytales.” She cackled, followed in suit by her followers. “You can’t even do a levitation spell for crying out loud! You are the worst Charmwood in history and your family has had quite a few mess ups, including your mother.”
Emma gritted her teeth, glaring at her. “Shut up about my mother. You know nothing about her.” She hissed between clenched teeth, breathing roughly out her nostrils.
“You wanna know what I think?” Sherice drawled, her grin widening at the obviousness of discontent she was putting Emma in.
“Not really, but I have a feeling you’re going to tell me.”
“I think you’re being infected by fleas from that stray cat you hang around so much.” She laughed, shaking her head. “They’ve been biting you and making you completely clueless to anything real around you.” She stepped forward, her smile dropping from her face, head slightly tilted. “You know, I can give you another chance. I’m not above giving second chances. I would like to be your friend, Emma. But I can’t do that unless you say so.”
Emma’s gaze flickered over Sherice’s shoulder, looking at the mindless girls who stood there in their small group. They all stared ahead, waiting for instructions on what to do or something to laugh at. They were clueless with Sherice’s instructions and there was no way in hell she was going to have that happen to her. She tilted her head back, looking Sherice in the eye and stepped forward, closing the gap just a couple inches more between them.
“Here’s the thing, Sherice. I don’t follow orders very well, so I would be no good in your little group. Also, she has a name. The cat? She has a name. Learn it. Maybe you’d be a better person if you didn’t act so high and mighty all the time.”
Sherice snorted, shaking her head as she crossed her arms. “You really don’t want to do this, Emma. You don’t want to make an enemy of me. I can promise you that.”
Emma cocked an eyebrow, staring at her coolly. “I thought we already were enemies. Oh, I’m sorry, did you think we were friends?”
Sherice’s nostrils flared in anger. “Go play with your kitty, flea bag.”
It was Emma’s turn to show loss of control and her fingers clenched, gripping tightly to her towel. She shook her head, clenching her teeth harder than before. She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to concentrate with everything she had but all she got were burning lungs and a face so heated up, she had to gasp in a breath before she would pass out.
Sherice laughed. “What were you trying to do, blow me away again?” She roared in laughter when the obvious look of disappointment briefly crossed Emma’s face but didn’t go missed. “Oh boy, that’s too funny! Can’t even repeat a same action.” She laughed, joined in by her friends.
They leered at her, finding her funny or thinking they did because Sherice did. When Emma really looked at them, she could’ve sworn a couple looked uncomfortable making fun of her, but they weren’t trying to do anything against it. Not one of them would speak against Sherice and by the backlash that Emma received for standing up against the girl, she guessed they didn’t want this kind of treatment against them. Then again, if she’d had to deal with Sherice for as long as they had, she might’ve been as compliant as they were. Or maybe even worse than Sherice was. Her family name was well-known and so seemed to be Sherice’s by the way she acted, far more important than anyone else. If she had grown up in this place, there was a slim chance she would’ve been far more horrible then Sherice or Drake or any of them, and Kelyn wouldn’t be her friend.
Maybe she should be thanking her mother at the same time of scolding her. It was a good thing she hadn’t grown up here, but at the same time it was a bad thing. She knew nothing to do with magic but was also better than what a namesake could’ve put her as. It was mind boggling and wrapped inside her mind, it almost made it difficult to think straight through. She wasn’t sure if she should be happy or upset still.
“You’re so pathetic, Charmwood. It’s sad, really. That you have so much potential and are wasting it. I could’ve taught you so much, especially how to harness your powers.”
Emma felt a tug inside of her, something that was telling her to take the offer that was half-handed to her, but she stood her ground. There was no way she could go with this girl, no way she could just let her have what she wanted; Emma’s submission to her group. She wasn’t going to let herself succumb to this girl who thought all she had to do was say something and get everything she wanted.
Her eyes fell to the ashes that had once been her clothes, her heart sinking at realizing she was going to have to walk all the way back to her dorm room in nothing but a towel. Wasn’t it bad enough she knew little to no magic? Now she had to be ridiculed for walking around nude.
“Let’s go. Flea girl’s pet should be showing up soon. I don’t want to catch what she has.” Sherice laughed, turning around and walked through her group who had parted to let her through as if she were a queen.
Red tinged at the edges of her vision and Emma stepped forward, calling out to the girl. “Sherice. I have something to tell you.” She said in a tight voice.
The girl paused, slightly hesitant but turned around, walking back to Emma. “Oh, and what’s that?”
Her curled fist flew back and forward, a satisfying crunch emitting beneath her knuckles. Sherice screamed, stumbling back and slipped on the pile of ashes. If it weren’t for the group of friends with her, her head would’ve been busted open as well. Instead she was caught and as she was righted to her feet, Emma saw the blood gushing from her nose, her own chest heaving with the adrenaline that pulsed through her.
“You bitch!” Sherice cried, turning on her heel and ran from the bathroom, drops of blood splattering in the water as she left.
Emma’s shoulders slumped, squeezing her eyes shut as she listened to the group follow behind her, splashing water everywhere as they ran out. She was so in for it now, there was no way anyone was going to let this one slide. It was one thing for when she’d had no control over her powers that day in the dining hall, but this was a completely different story. She had control and let herself do it. She had deliberately punched Sherice, but the girl had deserved it, that simple. Not a single teacher (probably not even her uncle at that) was going to hear it out how she deserved it. Sherice was a mean girl and didn’t deserve an ounce of kindness from her, especially when attacking her best friend. She wasn’t willing to let it slide. So, let her get in trouble, she would take whatever
punishment was to be thrown her way.
Stepping over the pile of the ashes, forcing herself to not look back at them, she left the bathroom, her head held high as she made her way back towards her bedroom – clad only in the towel. People stared at her, some snickering and she was pretty sure she heard a few catcalls but didn’t pay much attention to them. She had to keep moving forward, didn’t want to let herself give in to any of them. Even when some people actually clapped, thinking she was doing this deliberately, most likely for attention. Sherice would tell her side of the story and have her friends back her up. She’d probably claim how she was unprovoked and like a psycho-maniac, Emma had just hauled off and punched her. Five against one, they’d no doubt believe the bigger group. Of course, they would. Besides, Emma hadn’t exactly made a good name for herself in the two weeks she’d been attending the school so far. They’d point fingers and that was all that needed to be done.
Punching Sherice in the face and probably breaking her face would say that she hadn’t been provoked no matter what evidence was provided. Her stomach twisted in nerves as she stepped in front of her room though. She could only hope that she wasn’t expelled. If she was expelled, she had nowhere to go. No one to go to. She didn’t want to go to a foster home again and she couldn’t live on the streets. She actually did want to stay here, but if she was expelled, she would have no choice but to leave. Maybe her uncle would let her stay at his house, if she got a job to provide for herself. Or maybe he’d be so disappointed in her, he would claim she was disowned for good and go back to pretending she didn’t exist yet again. If she was lucky enough, she could probably find a good enough homeless shelter to sleep in and go from there. Not that she really wanted that option, but if she was thrown out, she didn’t see much of another one to be had.
Shutting the door behind her, she sank on the bed. She didn’t feel so good about punching now, the high of it was gone – just poof. The aftermath was a crummy feeling, one that twisted her stomach. Getting up, she pulled out another uniform, eyeing the one empty hanger that she would probably never fill again and pulled her clothes on. As she straightened her outfit out, adjusting the tie that went with it, a knock on her door made her heart leap into her throat. She closed her eyes, listening to the knock again, more annoyed sounding then before. She turned slowly to face it, staring at it with almost fear sparking in her eyes, then squared her shoulders and crossed her room. Swallowing down nervously, she twisted the knob, and pulled it open.
Thirteen
Her feet dragged beneath her and she swore to herself she still had eye crusts in the corners of her eyes, but when rubbing them for about the fifth time, she found them clean – yet again. Still, it felt as if they were there, unwilling to be wiped out. Feeling the same as before. She was supposed to be asleep, not up as the sun was barely beginning to wake as well. She knew she deserved the punishment for what she had done, but did it really mean having to be up at the crack of dawn to do it? Why couldn’t it be normal detention after classes had taken place? Oh, that’s right, because this wasn’t a normal school! Grumbling, she pulled herself to the hedges, setting down the bag of gardening tools she’d been given and huffed, blowing her hair out of her eyes.
“Fancy seeing you here. Didn’t take you as a detention seeker.” A familiar voice, one that haunted her dreams, spoke from just feet away.
Emma looked up, the weariness of waking too early suddenly wiping out of her face. She grinned at him, unable to help herself at the sloppiness of the smile that tilted the edges of her lips upwards. “Guess I just have a knack for finding you.” She teased, grinning brighter when he chuckled.
“How long you in for?” He asked curiously.
“For an hour every morning for a week. Of course.” She rolled her eyes, shrugging. “Guess I somewhat deserved it.” She said bitterly, heaving out a large sigh. “I punched Sherice, word has it I broke her nose. Though I’m pretty sure I figured that out with all the blood coming out.”
“You punched her?” He asked in mild surprise, stepping closer to her, closing in the space between them by mere inches. “How come?”
Emma shrugged, shaking her head. “She was talking crap about Kelyn and my mom. I had to punch her. She deserved it.”
He chuckled again, shaking his head. “Sounds like she did.”
“I just don’t get it.” Emma blurted, unable to contain herself. “I don’t understand what is so wrong about shifters and mages hanging around each other.” She sighed heavily. “That’s what it was about with Kelyn. Sherice kept going on about me being a flea bag or whatever because I hang around her and I would do so much better off without her and I should join her instead. It just made me so mad.”
Josh shook his head, having gotten close enough for his hand to graze hers now, she blushed at the touch and tingling leftover from his touch. Swallowing nervously, Emma pulled her hand away, trying to focus on her task of trimming the hedge she had been assigned. She didn’t want to think about the tingling sensation she had just felt with him touching her.
“Mages and shifters just aren’t meant to get along for the most part. Really only when the familiar trials happen. When the bond is made.” He shrugged. “Even then, sometimes they don’t get along. Some mages hate the shifters bonded with them and treat them just as cruelly without the trials. I wish it didn’t always have to be that way myself, but there’s really nothing we can do. It’s just how it is.”
Emma gritted her teeth, annoyed by how easily it was to explain that shifters were allowed to be treated so badly. “I don’t like it.” She said stubbornly.
“Yeah and I don’t like the leaf sticking out of your hair.” Josh teased lightly, reaching up and pretending to snip at her hair.
Emma squealed, ducking her head before he accidently did take a snip of her actual hair and laughed. “Don’t do that, you could’ve actually cut my hair!”
“Oh, you wouldn’t look bad with short hair.” He commented but snickered anyways as he stuck his tongue out at her.
She stuck hers back at him and turned to the hedge. “Are you ready for the trials?”
“I suppose. I have to be, I want to make my parents proud. I don’t want to fail. Failing will cast you out basically. While you can take them again, your name is pretty much damaged after the first time. Only few ever try to redeem themselves. The ones that don’t have much dignity left anyways. Most others go into seclusions once their names are tarnished.” He shook his head. “Or- kill themselves.” He added softly, grimacing at a memory she couldn’t see, sorrow filling his eyes but then he sparked up, reaching over to snip at a piece of the hedge she’d been working on.
“Hey!” She playfully swatted at him, unable to contain her laughter. “Stop that.”
“Gonna make me, little girl?” He drawled, drawing the teasing out.
She couldn’t stop laughing and had to tighten her grip around the hedge clippers tighter to keep from dropping them on her feet. “Shut up!” She snorted in her laughter and covered her mouth with her free hand, dissolving into another fit of laughter, trying to apologize for the snorting.
He threw his head back, roaring with laughter and a tingling sensation swept through her body all over again, but this time it wasn’t from him touching her. She felt a fire spark in her stomach at his laughter and her knees locked together. Emma had to force herself to turn and jab at the hedges, taking in large gulps of air to calm herself, to try and gather herself together to keep working. If she didn’t get any work done and it showed, she was going to get a longer time on her detention, which she really didn’t want. Even if it meant she got to spend time Josh. She just hoped he was in for the long haul like her, so she got to spend time with him. She wasn’t about to ask him that though.
“So, what did you do to get detention?”
“Hmm?” Josh questioned and gave her a side look, shaking his head. “Nothing major.” He said dismissively, obviously skirting around whatever had happened to make him get detent
ion.
Emma looked at him curiously but chose to shake it off. She wasn’t going to poke questions where they didn’t belong, and besides just getting to know the guy meant she shouldn’t be asking majorly personal questions like she just had. They barely knew each other for crying out loud! What business was it of hers to know every little detail of his life? Not that it wouldn’t be wrong, she did kind of want to know all about him but wasn’t going to press him. The only reason he knew about her incident was because she had blabbed to him right away, unable to stop herself. That, and it would no doubt be going around school the instant everyone woke up anyways. He might as well hear it from her, so she had a chance to explain herself instead of rumors making her look bad. Because if she knew anything about teenagers and rumors, it was that they would twist everything around and make her the cruel and evil stepsister or whatever. Sherice would start about how she’d been a victim and it was all that would be needed. The rest would be covered by the student body.
“So, how’re your classes going?” He asked curiously, genuine interest leaking into his words.
A fire warmed in her chest at realizing he really did care about finding out and wasn’t just asking to make small talk. He would probably remember whatever she said later on then. Pretending would make him forget easily and if asked about it, he would end up sputtering, get uncomfortable, and make something up on the spot. With actually being interested, he could actually relay if she ever asked him later. Her heart skipped a beat.
“Tough.” She admitted sheepishly, snipping at some hedges. “I can’t really control my magic yet, so it’s tough. I’ve been taking lessons, being tutored, but I’ve only succeeded in using my magic once and that was by purse accident.”
“Oh, you mean what happened with Sherice?”
She burrowed her eyebrows, not having thought about that in quite some time. Or at least a day. “Oh, then I guess its twice.” She giggled nervously, her cheeks heating up at admitting her lack of ability. “In my lessons, I did one thing; I blew up the lights. I haven’t been able to do anything since.”
