by E A Foley
She’d also used the summer to flip through dozens of fantasy books to see what magical systems her favorite authors had created. Some she put to good use. Others she wished she’d never tried. She put those on a ‘banned’ list posted in the Gallery of Doors along with the ones she refused to even attempt.
Necromancer magic was off limits. Period. As was compulsion. The jury was still out on mind reading, but Iris was leaning towards banning it. It seemed too large a personal violation to allow. Not to mention she didn’t know how to request it of the power flowing through the Earth. She had to add no extracurricular travels through doorways after Rowen took it upon himself to go sightseeing in Hong Kong and shared that he may or may not have been seen stepping out of his doorway.
One thing Iris was grateful for was her friends’ insistence she didn’t try anything new without at least one of them nearby. Iris had promised reluctantly in the beginning but discovered the need within days. As she pushed herself to try out new tasks, Iris lost control of the power flowing through the Earth on more than one occasion.
Aerianna and Zarina had become adept at healing a variety of wounds. Zarina could even shock a heart into restarting with magic that emulated a defibrillator. Iris never wanted to experience that sensation again. She also promised never to pull that much power into her being or attempt anything as stupid as trying to become invisible again. She meant to hold herself to all the promises she made.
“Ouch!” Iris yelled. “What was that for?” she demanded of Zarina.
“Because I know what that expression means. You’re thinking about some stupid thing you tried to do in the past and whether you can make it work. You promised, so knock it off.”
“All right, all right. I did promise. I’m sorry. Can you distract my mind, then? Because it won’t stop brooding.”
“Easy enough!” Zarina beamed at her. “Where should I start? Hey Braden!” she said cheerfully to the guy dressed as Billy Idol at the door.
“Welcome to the best Rock Concert of your life!” the man responded and held the door open for them.
“How about you start with that?” Iris pointed over her shoulder to Braden.
“The student officers dress up and theme every retreat. Fun, huh?”
“Yeah, it is kind of cool,” Iris agreed as her eyes scanned the interior decorations on the first floor. There were posters, cardboard cut-outs of guitars, an actual drum set, glitter stars, and shiny streamers. “This looks way more fun than Pacific’s band.”
“I told you it would be. Glad you joined?”
“I’ll hold off answering until the end of the week. What color are my eyes? They’ve been stinging on and off all morning.” Iris raised her sunglasses so Zarina could peer into them.
“Blue. Little on the pale side, but blue. That means you’re happy! Yay!”
Iris shook her head at Zarina’s joy and joined Jaden in the line of people waiting to check in before passing through a set of streamers. If she stuck by Zarina this morning, her eyes were more likely to stay blue. Feeling it was rude to keep them on, she slid her sunglasses to the top of her head and let them hold back her long, blonde hair.
“Hey Jaden, Zarina,” a man dressed as Michael Jackson said from behind a desk. He scanned a tablet for their names. “Jaden, you’re rooming with Delano. Zarina, your upper band’s man is Anwyn.”
“Yay!” Zarina said. Her smile increased and she bounced on her toes a few times in her usual, joyful way.
“Anwyn from Pacific?” Iris asked.
“Yup!”
“Another Pacific grad, huh? Name?”
“Faye, Iris Faye.”
“Ok, your upper band’s man is Laila. Good luck with that,” he failed to add under his breath. “She’s the Instrument Manager and is dressed like Janice Joplin. Hard to miss. Will you need to borrow a horn from us?”
“Yes, please.”
“Okay, then you can meet her when you check out a mellophone. All three of you can head inside. Follow the line around the circle and check in at every table. Name?” he asked the person behind Iris before the three of them left the table.
Once inside the room, they received packets of information, room assignments and keys, picked up bedding, had the rules and regulations explained, dropped off the white t-shirts they were told to bring, and said hello to way too many people to remember them all. Iris was glad to be out of the cramped and stuffy room. So far, her eyes were behaving. She took a moment to close them and center her thoughts before asking if Zarina wouldn’t mind going to the instrument room with her.
“Hi, I’m Iris. Your new freshman,” she said to the woman behind the counter when it was her turn.
“Nice to meet you. Laila,” the woman stuck her hand out and Iris shook it. “Let’s go outside for a minute and we can talk.”
“Sure.”
“I’m going to head to my room then?” Zarina phrased it as a question so Iris could ask her to stay.
“Sounds good. Say hey to Anwyn for me.”
Zarina waved and bounded off. Iris followed Laila outside. She pulled a flask from her back pocket and took a swig before saying, “I smoke a little, drink, and swear a lot. That going to be a problem?”
“No. Not really,” Iris shrugged. She hated smoking herself but figured it’d be rude to tell Laila that.
“Great! We’ll get along just fine.” Laila took another swig from her flask and put it back in her pocket. “Let’s get you an instrument and then I’ll help you take your stuff up to our room and introduce you to the rest of the mellos.”
“Thanks,” Iris said. She’d have to get used to being called a mello rather than a French horn.
“So, where are you from?” Laila asked as they entered the elevator.
“Pacific.”
“Ah. You’ll find us way different from Pacific. Hopefully, it’ll be a good thing.”
“It has been so far,” Iris smiled in earnest.
“Good to hear. Oh, and just as a warning, these elevators are old and slow. I recommend taking the stairs as much as possible.”
“Thanks for the heads up,” Iris said as they exited onto the fourth floor and went down the hall on the right to the end.
“This is us. Just drop your stuff on the bed for now. We only have a few minutes to introduce you to the rest of the section before we need to head downstairs.”
They exited the tiny, cramped room—which gave Iris trepidation since she, Aerianna, and Violet were going to be in a triple for the year—and went next door where there were half a dozen guys all over six feet tall.
“Hey everyone, this is Iris. Iris, that’s Ara, your fellow freshman, Anthony, Paul, Marc, Alex, and Thorin, Ara’s upper bandsman. You already met Jasmine—she’s dressed as Beyonce—and Cameron is wandering around somewhere dressed as Blake Shelton of all people.”
Iris shook hands with each member of the mello section as Laila introduced them to her. Her eyes kept darting back to Thorin. When they twinged, she turned away from the guys and tried to focus on what Laila was saying.
“They’re all cool. We’re small, but the most awesome section. I doubt the section is as large as you’re used to from Pacific, though.”
“You’re from Pacific? That’s so cool. I’m from . . . hey, weren’t your eyes blue?”
CHAPTER 2
“They are blue,” Iris muttered and looked at the ground. Her eyes seared. Who knew what color they’d be now. There were too many conflicting emotions. Fear at being shunned like she’d been her whole life felt the strongest.
Thorin bent down to look her full in the face. “No, they’re not. At least they aren’t right now. But they were blue. I’d say they’re more of an amber now.”
Iris looked at Thorin. Her eyes locked on his. They stilled her breath for a few moments. Heat flared in her chest. Her eyes seared.
“Wait! They’re changing. Now they seem purple,” he continued.
“That’s awesome, let me see.” Ara joined Thorin and
bent down to stare at Iris.
Iris tried to back away, but the wall stopped her movement.
“Hey! Back the fuck off, you two. Leave her alone.”
“It’s all right,” she said with a sigh. “I’m used to it. I’d hoped to keep my emotions in check today, but knew it was futile. My eyes change color with my emotions,” she explained to the group surrounding her.
“That is the coolest thing I’ve ever heard!” Thorin exclaimed.
“Really?” Iris looked up from where she stared at the ground. She tried to squash the flicker of hope that she’d be accepted as it flared in her chest. It bloomed when Ara spoke.
“Yeah, duh,” Ara agreed.
“Thanks. I didn’t get a positive response throughout school.” Iris allowed the joy sweeping through her body to blossom into a huge smile.
“I bet not. These guys are fairly indicative of the response you’ll receive here, so don’t sweat it, all right?”
“Thanks. That’s good to know.” Her eyes twinged again, but she didn’t avert her gaze this time. “What color are they now?” she asked no one in particular.
“They’re back to blue, but it’s a darker blue than before. How did you know they’d changed?” Thorin asked.
“Apart from all your expressions?” she said with a half smile. “I can feel them. It’s not quite painful, but that’s the best thing I can liken it to. It’s really subtle. Sometimes I can control them, but it takes too much effort. It’s more like convincing myself I feel a certain way, so I don’t try often. I usually just wear sunglasses.”
“That’d probably be the best idea for a few days. Especially if you don’t want to be the center of attention. I wouldn’t put it past someone to try pissing you off or whatever to see what other colors your eyes will become. Anyway, it’s about that time. Let’s head downstairs, shall we?”
“Hey,” Iris said before everyone could take more than a step. “I’d appreciate you guys not telling anyone outside the section about my eyes yet. Anyone from Pacific already knows, but I’d like to keep this on the DL for now.”
“No problem!”
“Sure thing.”
“You got it!”
Iris grinned.
“Man, I was hoping they’d change colors again. They just got a prettier blue. Do they get all polka dotted or anything?” Ara asked as they exited his room.
“No,” Iris laughed. “Nothing that cool. If I’m really happy or sad or something, they sometimes get specks of silver or gold in them which kind of gives off a polka dot effect.”
“That is so awesome! We have the best section ever!” Thorin announced to the empty hallway.
Iris glanced at him and looked away. Her eyes tingled once more. An odd sensation filled Iris’s chest as her neck and cheeks heated up. It was followed by something she’d only experienced amongst her friends—acceptance. Iris didn’t know how to react to it but it made her smile.
She followed Laila and the other mellos to a shady spot below a tree and sat down to talk. Iris wondered why they had to come out into the heat of the day rather than stay in the air-conditioned dorm room. She only had to wait a few minutes for a response as a small band high stepped into a gap between two of the buildings, stopped, and began what sounded like Pacific’s fight song.
Iris had to give it to them, they were full of energy and absolutely nothing like Pacific had been. The tone wasn’t awesome, but what they lacked in it, they more than made up for in enthusiasm and horn movements. After a few songs, Laila switched spots with Jasmine, the other female mello, and Iris introduced herself.
“Nice to meet you,” Jasmine had to shout over the next song. It sounded like it could be Metallica.
The mini-band played about a dozen songs before pausing. A man dressed as Axel Rose joined the Billy Idol look-alike at the front.
“Hello and welcome to band retreat. I’m Justin the current manager. This is Braden, our current Student Director, and this is Stacie, our Drum Major,” he pointed to a flute Iris hadn’t realized stepped forward. “I’m sure you’ve seen the other officers walking around and our ITs or in-training officers. We have a lot of fun stuff planned and a lot of stuff to teach you. Some of you have never played an instrument before and I doubt any of you have ever high stepped.
“First and foremost, band is supposed to be fun, so if it isn’t, something is wrong and we want to know about it immediately so we can fix it. I trust everyone picked up a schedule. Please pay close attention to it and the locations listed. We have a saying here in the band that goes like this: ‘If you’re early you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re late. If you’re late, you’re fucking up.’ And you really don’t want to be late to marching practices because Stacie will eat you alive.”
He half laughed but Iris got the impression he was serious about that one.
“Well, that’s about it—” he looked to his fellow officers. When they nodded in approval, Justin clapped his hands, added, “enjoy the rest of the performance,” and fell back into place with the tenor saxes.
Braden yelled out what could only be a song title. Everyone searched through a small folder of music before beginning the next round of songs. Iris sat on the grass and enjoyed the performance. She would have to thank Zarina later for talking her into joining the band.
The mellos sitting on the grass with her rotated in and out of playing with the others. It distracted Iris so much she didn’t realize what the tingling sensation creeping up the back of her spine meant until the band exited and it faded away.
It took Laila tapping Iris’s shoulder for her to come out of her stunned contemplation of the exiting band. How she was going to figure out which band member was causing her to feel like she’d discovered a new magic user was beyond her. She’d have to take it slow and start with her section and the other band members on her floor. Iris could only hope the tickling sensation would come back rather than turn dormant like Aerianna’s had.
Though she’d promised Zarina no magic, she couldn’t help but dart to the Gallery of Doors in excitement. Sure enough, there was a single beam of light shining in indication there was a new magic user discovering their abilities.
Iris was more than a little distracted across the next few days. She almost paid more attention to the tickling sensation than the music and marching style she should be learning. She tried to push thoughts of magic away, but they kept creeping into her subconscious. At least she hadn’t tried to draw power into her being.
It wasn’t until the third night when the mellos, tenor and bari saxophones went to an off-campus hot tub to relax that Iris managed to eliminate a single person from the band. She’d become comfortable with the twenty or so people around her—which allowed her personality to come out more. As they relaxed in the hot water, making jokes and getting to know each other even better, Iris put her long, blonde hair in a bun and rubbed distractedly at the back of her neck.
“Need a neck massage?” Thorin asked. His hands gripped her shoulders while his thumbs dug into the base of her neck before Iris realized what she’d been doing.
He tugged a little on her shoulders to indicate she should back up. One of his hands released her shoulder and guided her hip back until she sat on his knees. Iris was more than grateful for the darkness of the night as her eyes tingled in time to the wealth of emotions running through her being. That was until she realized what was actually going on with her neck.
She wasn’t in pain. Hadn’t cricked her neck again. She’d narrowed her new magic user search down to one individual in the hot tub. Iris smiled and let the happiness of her lessened task sink in while the tension she’d been carrying leeched out of her and into the warm water and through Thorin’s deft hands.
“Hey you two, it’s hot enough in here without any of that,” Jasmine called to them.
Thorin’s hands pulled back from Iris’s neck as though she’d sprouted thorns. “If you’d rather get in here, that’s fine by me,” she told Jasmine.
Chuckles filled the hot tub. More people pulled their attention around to see what was so amusing.
“I don't know, Thorin might get jealous. I think I made him blush.”
“I can’t speak to that, but I can tell you made him stop. What, get shy suddenly?” Iris asked Thorin and leaned back into him.
“That depends on you.” He reached an arm over her shoulder and pulled her into his chest.
“I think you’re making them uncomfortable,” Iris said. The heat coursing through her body had nothing to do with the temperature of the water.
“Are you sure you’re not talking about yourself?” Jasmine’s smile was obvious in her words.
“Sure I’m sure,” Iris told her. “I planned on using him for a few more neck massages and ditching him anyway,” Iris tapped the side of Thorin’s cheek with her free hand. “At least he’s nice to look at, right?”
The hot tub howled with laughter.
“And what is that supposed to mean, woman?”
A visceral surge of heat welled through Iris’s body at the tone in Thorin’s voice. It flared into her eyes. “Excuse me? Woman?” she demanded. It wasn’t quite the same tone Brett used when he called her a freak, but it was close. Her reaction was a complete one-eighty.
In less than a second, Iris grabbed the arm across her shoulder, leaned forward and pulled. Thorin sputtered as he popped back up. Anger filled Iris’s being. Thorin opened his mouth to say something, got a look at her face and decided against it. Instead, he brushed his hair back and wiped the water off his face before sitting down. His hands went to her shoulders. Turned her body slightly. Resumed their massaging of her neck. Iris wasn’t sure what to think, but the surrounding laughter helped cool her boiling blood.
“Sorry,” she whispered to Thorin on the pretense of leaning into his massaging hands. Her eyes tingled with the guilt filling her from her overreaction.
“No worries. I guess I deserved it. I take it green means you’re pissed?”
“Yes,” she said with a sigh.
