“Raven Blake?” Charlie questioned. “I thought you looked familiar…”
“She’s my twin,” I nodded. “We only met earlier this year, actually… Shit, that was eleven months ago…”
“So, how come you’re a first year, if you’re the same age as her?”
“I only found out magic even existed when I met Raven. I’m way behind most of the other people in our year as it is. It would have been hell going through starting from second-year… I don’t mind though. It’s not like there’s that much difference between all of us.”
“I guess not…”
We stood awkwardly in silence for a moment.
“Do you think we should find something else to help with?” they asked. “I don’t like standing around doing nothing…”
“Oh, thank you…” I breathed a sigh of relief. “I was thinking exactly the same thing…”
Charlie laughed a little.
“I think I saw Julius trying to carry chairs in from the storeroom,” they told me. I nodded, and we both went to find something to do other than stand around awkwardly and pretend we gave a shit about small-talk.
What I did notice as we went through setting everything up was that a certain psychotic maniac wasn’t there.
“You know, Gabriel turned up, and he’s not even a part of the organising group. But no, The Great Polly Evergreen can’t possibly show up be a part of the team…” I complained as me and Charlie placed down more chairs. “Stuck up, selfish, lazy bitch…”
“You’re really not a fan of the head girl, huh?”
“That’s an understatement…” I joked. “She… she gave me some trouble a few weeks ago…” I clutched my arm. It was still healing, despite how long it had been. In truth, Polly’s attack outside the school had really shaken me, more than I wanted to admit to any of the others.
“Trouble?”
“I… It’s nothing…” I shook my head. “But, yeah, not her biggest fan… She’s definitely not the graceful princess half the school thinks he is. Let’s leave it there…”
“Sure…” Charlie didn’t seem convinced, but they clearly knew not to push it. “So, how did you get roped into helping with the dance?”
“Mary asked if I wanted to help. I didn’t have anything better to do, so I figured why the hell not?” I shrugged. “What about you?”
“Just didn’t have anything better to do,” they admitted. “I got all my exam results back on Monday, so I’ve had loads of free time this week…”
“Yeah, I get that,” I lied. All my ‘free time’ was filled up with training. “So, what do you actually do?”
“Other than Beginner’s magic, Field Enchantments and Magical History.”
“Is that any good? I was thinking of switching to doing history next year…”
“It’s… it’s pretty hard work, but it’s really interesting. What do you do now?”
“Advanced Magical Physics…” I sighed. Charlie laughed. “Yeah, I know…”
“How’d you get stuck with that one?” they asked.
“I started late, so I never got the chance to pick…” I shrugged. “Do you think they’ll let me change?”
“I don’t see why not. I’m not sure who you’d talk to though…”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much where I’ve gotten stuck… I’ll get it sorted.” I sighed. “Eventually…”
*
We all stood back and looked out at the Grand Auditorium, now covered in chairs, tables, and, most importantly, food.
“Is the heating enchantment going to last?” I asked.
Mary shrugged.
“It should do,” Charlie replied. “But we can always strengthen it fades at all.”
“We’ve done it once, so we should be able to do it again if we need to,” Scott nodded.
“Still, it looks pretty good,” Jamie decided.
“You guys have done a really good job organising all of it,” Gabriel admitted. “It’s a shame I didn’t join in, really.”
“It’s fine, they had me to rely on…” A familiar voice boasted from the entrance.
Gabriel turned around.
“Yes, you’re clearly very reliable, Polly…” the head-boy sighed. “Where have you been, then?”
“I was attending to other business,” Polly Evergreen replied dismissively. She looked over at me and smiled. I clenched my fist. I clearly hadn’t scared her off as much as I’d hoped. “So, how has everything gone?”
“It’s gone very well, as you can see. They’ve done very good job organising all of this.”
Polly gasped melodramatically.
“Gabriel, I’m hurt! You know I’ve put lots of my time into this dance!”
“If it really mattered to you, you’d have been here,” Gabriel countered. “Now, feel free to help out with anything else that needs doing, and feel free to enjoy the work that’s already been done, but don’t take credit for someone else’s work. I know it’s kind of your thing, but it really does get old after a while…”
I did my best not to laugh, but I couldn’t help but let a whisper slip out. Polly’s head snapped around.
“And what do you think you’re laughing at?” she interrogated. I bit my lip and stepped forward.
“Oh, it’s nothing.” I smiled innocently. “It’s just funny watching someone who thinks they’re better than everyone else be walked over like that.”
Polly clenched her fist and walked over to me.
“Who do you think you are? Talking to me like that?”
“You know what I’m capable of, Polly. Or do you need a reminder?” I threatened.
Polly bit her lip. I tensed up a little. I knew my confidence was bullshit, but as long as she blinked first… Polly moved towards me. I could feel my heart in my chest.
“How about you? You know exactly what I’m capable of as well. Or do I need to take out another chunk of your arm?”
I tried to think of a way out, but thankfully, I didn’t need it. Polly seemed to change her mind. “I suppose there’s a time and a place…” I kept a blank face as Polly turned and started to walk away.
“Scared of the first year, are we?” Gabriel remarked as she walked past him.
“Fuck you…” I heard her whisper in response. Gabriel smiled mockingly as she disappeared out of the door. I exhaled as I relaxed, and everyone else stood around wondering what had happened.
“Everyone, I think we’re about done here. You can all go now, if you don’t want to stick around here,” Gabriel suggested, and everyone dissipated around the room.
“Are you alright?” Gabriel asked as he walked over to me. I nodded. He looked over at the door. “Poor girl…” he sighed. “You know, it isn’t altogether her fault that she’s like that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you know who Polly’s mother is?”
“Isn’t she one of the main investors in the school?”
“Yes, but that’s not quite what I mean. Elizabeth Evergreen is one of the most prominent businesswomen in the Magical world. And she runs one of the few Magical news publications around. But all that really meant for Polly growing up is that her mother was never around. Her father died when she was small, so she didn’t have him growing up either. She was pretty much raised by the maids in her house, who were always changing… So, she never learnt to get attached to anyone. Not properly. It’s not really a surprise she ended up like this…”
I looked down.
“Wow… that’s… I didn’t know…”
“You shouldn’t feel bad for standing up to her, Emilie. I’m not saying that it gives her a right to act like this… But I do think things could have turned out differently for her, if she was brought up right…” Gabriel sighed. “Anyway, we’ve done a good job here, haven’t we?”
I nodded excitedly.
“It looks great!” I agreed. “I can’t believe we’re going to have the whole school in here…”
“It’s impressive, isn’t it?
” Gabriel chuckled. “Anyway, I believe we should be going. I’m sure you’ve got lots to get ready for tonight.”
“Yeah, I probably should be meeting Raven…” I looked at the clock on my phone and went to pick up my bag.
“See you tonight, Miss George.” Gabriel smiled as I walked towards the door.
“Later.” I smiled as I walked out of the building.
44
Raven came home with me after school that day. It was actually mum’s idea for her to come and get ready at mine, and it was definitely a nice thing to be able to do. Given how much of a big deal the Architects’ Ball was, it was nice to be able to get ready for it with Raven, especially given she was the only reason I was at Foxway to experience it at all. It made it all a little bit more special.
I walked out of my bedroom in the dress mum had helped me pick out for the dance. She clapped as I span around. The dress was pretty standard as far as its actual design. Sleeveless, low-cut. It was a thin material, but it felt sturdy enough. And, somehow, we’d managed to find a dress that was almost exactly the same colour as my eyes. We hadn’t been looking for a dress that colour, but once we’d seen it, I knew it was the right one.
“So, what do you think?” I asked. Mum nodded proudly as she walked up and hugged me.
“When did you become a woman…” she wondered. She smiled. “You look beautiful, Em.”
I smiled back.
“Thanks, mum.”
“So, what about your sister, then?”
“Raven!” I called into my room, and Raven walked out nervously, in her dress. It was very, very her. It was black, of course, because I’m not convinced Raven would ever be able to buy anything else. It had thin lace sleeves that covered her whole arms, and you could make out a faint glittering from the skirt. Mum nodded approvingly.
“Does it look okay?” Raven asked. “This isn’t really the sort of thing I wear…”
“So, what did you wear last year?” I asked.
“Whatever I was wearing that day.”
“Seriously?”
“I didn’t have anything else to wear. It was a last-minute decision…”
“Well, regardless, you look amazing this year, Raven.” mum decided.
“That’s… Thank you, Lucy…”
“So, when do you girls leave?”
“About half an hour,” I replied. “I wanted to be there a bit earlier to help make sure everything’s set up.”
“Do you want a lift?”
“No, it’s fine. We’ll get there,” I assured her. “We’ll leave in a few minutes” I felt around my neck and stopped. “Shit, stone…” I darted off into the hallway, coming out a couple of moments later tying the Arch Stone around my neck. Mum took one look at the blue stone on its dirty string and shook her head.
“No, no, no. You can’t leave with that looking like that,” she decided as she disappeared into her bedroom.
“I mean, I can’t exactly leave it here…”
“Oh, goodness, I know that! But it doesn’t mean you can’t make it look a bit nicer…” She smiled as she pulled out a thin, shiny necklace chain.
“Where’d that come from?”
“It’s from an old necklace of mine. The actual thing broke, and I never bothered to get it fixed.”
I untied the stone and untied the knot keeping the actual stone on the string. Mum handed me the chain and I slipped it through the hole. The chain felt cold as I tied it around my neck, but once it was hanging there it felt right.
“Who says the Guardian can’t have a bit of style?” she joked.
“Thanks, mum. It’s really nice.” I smiled.
“Now, should you girls get going?” she asked. I exhaled, pulling myself together a little bit, and nodded.
*
I decided it was best to wear more practical shoes on the way back to the school and get changed into the heels I’d brought for the actual event when I got there, otherwise it was just going to be a disaster. I was wearing a cardigan over my dress, but it wasn’t doing much against the December weather. Raven was much better off. She’d decided to still wear her coat, because, well, Raven.
“It’s freezing…” I pulled my cardigan tighter.
“I did say you should bring a coat…”
“Do you think there’s some kind of self-warming spell?” Raven thought for a moment. “I was joking…”
“Well, if you don’t want me to help then…”
“What, there actually is something?” Raven nodded. “So, what is it?”
Raven smiled.
“A coat.”
I punched her arm.
“You’re the worst…”
I stared out the window at the dark street.
“Do you think we should have found a more… showy way to get to the dance?” I asked as we walked down the road towards the Foxmart. Raven shrugged.
“There isn’t really another way in anyway, at least as far as I’m aware. We’d still have had to go in through the Foxmart, so there’s only so classy we could have gotten…”
“I guess… Still, it’s a shame we couldn’t do a bit more.”
“Yes, I suppose it is…” Raven agreed. “But, there’s always next year.”
“True…” I sighed as we walked through the door of the Foxmart. Of course, what was waiting on the other side of the door wasn’t the normal newsagents we were used to; much to our surprise, the whole place seemed had been redecorated for the dance. The shelves had somehow been cleared away and in their place, was a line of students, waiting to walk in. There were probably about twenty other students in the shop, all dressed in their own fancy dresses and suits.
“I didn’t realize there were this many Foxway kids around here…” I realised as me and Raven joined the back of the queue.
“London’s a big city, Emilie. Of course, there are a lot of students.” The nice woman who normally manned the till in the morning walked up to us.
“I guess…” I agreed as the line shortened, and we were pulled away from her.
“Is this ‘showy’ enough for you?” Raven joked.
“It’s definitely better than going in through a shop…” I looked around at the other students. “Everyone looks so… nice…” I looked down at my own dress.
“Don’t worry, you look amazing,” Raven assured me.
“Thanks…” I sighed. “I guess I’m just nervous. I mean, we had a prom back in year 11, but it was a total disaster, and barely anyone actually turned up… This is really the first proper dance I’ve actually been to…”
“It’s not something you should be nervous about. This is supposed to be enjoyable. Just try and relax.”
I laughed.
“Yeah, Raven Blake, queen of relaxation…”
“I suppose it is a little unlike me…” she agreed, before pushing me forward in the significantly shortened line, which I admit I hadn’t noticed.
When we got through the Foxmart and appeared at the gate of the school, the others were already waiting for us. Matt was wearing a proper tuxedo, which I would have assumed was hired if I didn’t know that his parents could afford it, August was wearing an elegant red dress.
And then there was Charlie, my supposed ‘date’ for the night, who was wearing a dark green waistcoat over a white shirt, with black trousers. I still wasn’t sure about Mary having set us up like that, but I figured that they seemed nice, and I was pretty confident that I’d at least able to find something to talk to them about over the night, so it didn’t really seem like there was much sense in arguing.
“Where’s Mary and Hannah?” I asked as we walked over to the group.
“They’re helping set stuff up inside. We decided to wait out here for you two,” Matt replied.
“Thanks.” I smiled. “So, I guess we should be going then.”
The walk from the entrance to the Grand Auditorium was about twenty minutes, which doesn’t actually sound that far, but given its all within the school grounds, it w
as a pretty long walk. Especially when you’re in heels. Still, we all managed to get to the auditorium without breaking anything, and we almost found ourselves in another queue, waiting with everyone until the doors officially opened, if I hadn’t got everyone to agree to going in to help set up. There wasn’t actually anything to do, thankfully, but it meant we didn’t have to spend any more time standing outside. Not that it was cold, of course. I still had no idea where in the world Foxway actually was, but wherever it was, it was never cold, or at least it seemed like that. However, regardless of the temperature, standing outside in the dark was not the most interesting way to spend our time.
Inside, however, there was a lot more to get excited about. There was a surprising amount of activity, given there was only about a hundred people in the building. It was like the dance had started already, but without two thousand people in the room.
Polly was around, but she didn’t seem to be talking to anyone, though after our confrontation earlier I wasn’t sure whether that was her ignoring everyone else or everyone else ignoring her. Still, it was better than listening to her pretending she had anything to do with setting the dance up. Gabriel was talking to a few of his third-year classmates next to the DJ table.
“Hey, Mary?” I tapped on her shoulder. “Who’s running the music?”
Mary laughed knowingly.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you…”
“Come on!” I laughed. “That’s not fair!”
“I promise, you’ll thank me for it,” she assured me as she skipped away to the other side of the room, leaving me to be confused on my own.
“What was that about?” Charlie asked me as they handed me a drink.
“Oh, you know, Mary screwing with me…”
“Sounds about right,” Charlie agreed. “I’m really glad the field enchantments held up alright. It took us ages to get it right…”
“Yeah, it looked tough,” I agreed. “What was the issue?”
“Getting it all to be the right temperature. We kept putting down enchantments with different temperatures to each other, and the crossover did some… weird stuff…”
“You guys did get that corner thawed out pretty quickly… But you guys got it working in the end, and that’s what’s important.”
The Arch Stone: Foxway Academy: Book 1 Page 32
