None of this was about sneaking out or being better than the other person. I could see it from the anger in her eyes when I mentioned Jack.
This was all about him. And looking back, every time we saw each other Mallory was always near, either clutched to his side or lingering from behind, eyeing any girl that approached him with menace. I always thought it was some stupid thing. You know, the popular girls marking their territory, and I guess there was some unspoken rule to never go out with a girl’s ex-boyfriend, no matter how much he didn’t pay her any attention. Jack never said anything about it and I knew it wasn’t really my business to mention it. It’s not like she’s tried to hurt me before.
But I had a sick feeling that today was going to change that.
She moved so fast that I didn’t see her hand coming. I let out a cry when a sharp stinging pain exploded on my left cheek.
“Not only do you go around, acting like a slut, but you’re also a bitch! A crazy, insane, jealous bitch!” she snapped, gesturing to broken window that was letting the cool morning air of October breeze through. “You need to be locked up! No—you need to pack your things and go back to that crack school back home where you belong! I keep telling everyone here that St. Mary’s isn’t a school for poor nobodies like you, and I guess you just proved my point.”
Before I could say, or do, anything, Mallory shoved me. Hard. My feet slipped on the tile floor as I struggled to gain balance, but it was too late. For someone the size of a twig, she was pretty powerful. I fell to the floor—bits of glass and all—and landed with a sickening, horrible thud. The back of my skull banged against the tile with such force I felt as if my eyes were going to pop out of there sockets, and all of the air whooshed out of me.
I felt sharp pains stab through the back of my arms and legs, and I could feel the small drops of blood leak out of the small cuts.
But I couldn’t hear a thing. My heart felt hot, like a jackhammer inside my chest, wanting to break through. But I couldn’t breathe, or calm myself down, or even move. I just lay there, feeling my heart beat faster, and faster, and faster, until—
It stopped mid-beat.
If only I could go back. Just a few seconds and stop this. Or even try fighting back. Heavy, wet tears slipped from the corners of my eyes and slid down into my tangled hair. If I could just go back and say how sorry I am to Dove…and tell Jack how I felt…and most of all tell Daddy how much I love him again.
This was it. I was dying…and all because of some stupid little bitch fight. No heroic battles, no brave sacrifice to find the Elixir. I was about to die from a stupid push and a stupid fall by a stupid, jealous spoiled rich girl.
But there was a small glint of satisfaction as I saw Mallory’s perfect face freeze in horror. Her eyes wide and frightened and her mouth a gaping hole as if she were about to scream.
It took me a second to realize it wasn’t just an illusion that her face was frozen from just shock.
Everything was frozen in place.
I know this because in the midst of her shove, Mallory’s cheerleading uniform had fallen from the crook of her arm—it was still falling, but stuck right in air, not even two feet from the ground. In the distance I saw that the strawberry blonde haired girl was frozen in misstep as if she was trying to run towards us. The Tyra Banks-look-a-like was paused mid-blink. If I wasn’t in such excruciating pain, I would have laughed. But then…slowly, like ice melting on a warm spring day…what was happening began to make sense.
Time had just…stopped.
No.
I was stopping time right this very moment.
I almost laughed. Was this my own alchemy? Time? That was cool. It was really cool.
I wasn’t a failure after all. I did it! I finally did it! If my body didn’t hurt all over I would have patted myself on the back. But as my eyelids got heavier I started crying harder.
If I could stop time, I wish I had the power to turn it back so I could show it to Dove. At least she would have had one good thing to be proud of when I died. At least she wouldn’t have been wracked with guilt over my death. She could have gone and found the Elixir, knowing she tried her best.
I closed my eyes and let the darkness consume me. For the second time in the past two months, I was dying.
And it was the second time that Dove had saved my life, once again.
◊◊◊◊◊
Something wet and cold was pressed against my face. My eyelids felt like they weighed a hundred pounds as I struggled to lift them.
Dove’s blurry face met my gaze and I almost jumped out in joy to tell her the good news. But my body was so heavy right now. And hot. And sticky. Dove smiled, but her eyes were flooded with tears. “You are a true idiot, Emery Miller.”
I cracked a smile, but I couldn’t even speak. She must have known what I was thinking, because her eyes (leaking with tears) swelled with pride.
“You found your own alchemy, Emery,” she said, patting my face down with the damp washcloth. “You finally found it.”
CHAPTER 14
After my little…encounter with Mallory in the bathroom, she (and her friends, who I now knew was Tasha Lewinski, the girl with the smooth dark skin and dark eyes; and Samantha Penwell, the petit strawberry blonde with the doe eyes), avoided me at all costs. Whether it was from guilt or what, I didn’t care. All that mattered was that she was staying away from me. Far away from me.
If she was guilt-ridden, she should be. I found out that Mallory and her cheerleading friends had split the scene shortly before our House Mother and Nurse Alexandra came barreling through the door.
Nurse Alexandra immediately brought me back to her office. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was too thrilled to finally figure out what my alchemy was, or if I was so royally pissed off at Mallory’s behavior and comments that I wanted to get back at her my own way, but I lied about what happened. Sort of.
Well, it wasn’t all a lie. I did mention that I heard someone in the bathroom and heard the window being broken right after. I just left out the part of being confronted by Mallory and the part where I literally stopped time with my alchemy (which still made me giddy when I thought about it!) Instead, I said that after I heard the crash, I had simply slipped on said glass and knocked myself out.
Everyone had bought it, except the Headmistress, who firmly believed I was the one who had something to do with the destruction of the window. But even Nurse Alexandra put her foot down on that, and claimed there would be no such punishment handed out. Besides, there was evidence of blood on the jagged edges of the windows, and I didn’t have any large cuts or gashes from it. I watched a little CSI—a majority of the glass pieces (save for the few) were scattered around the outside of the window; apparently, when the perpetrator had fled, he must have skidded and pushed some pieces into the locker rooms (thus, the little cuts on my own body).
I spent the next few days tucked away in the nurse’s office. They were the most peaceful school days of my life to be perfectly honest. Dove visited me at night, and we just talked about family and traveling and hobbies. I got to know her a little bit more every day. For example, she would reminisce about traveling around Europe, or tell me how she never knew how to ride a bike, and how her father was a wonderful doctor who inspired Dove to be one too.
Whenever I tried to ask Dove about my training or the Elixir she would shush me. Not in those usual “Hush, you’re being too nitpicky” kind of way, but more along the lines of “Just don’t worry about it right now, okay?” So I didn’t.
I focused on all the of the school work that was delivered to me by my teachers and Karin, and enjoyed the surprising visits of Jack, often carrying new books for me to read and once he even brought a small bouquet of yellow and white daisies.
He didn’t even seem mad with me. Not like he should have been, but I had worried as to what Mallory might have said behind my back. I was still royally miffed at her thinking I was a slut. But to be honest, I didn’t need anymore of her drama.
If I tried to tell Nurse Alexander that it was all Mallory’s fault it happened, either A) no one would believe me, or B) Mallory would get in serious trouble—thus causing me even more trouble in the far future. But heck—I was an alchemist now; I didn’t really care!
Jack, like the rest of that peaceful, wondrous week, was perfect.
◊◊◊◊◊
“Easy…slowly…don’t exhaust yourself.” Dove’s words soothed me over like a warm spray of spring rain, “If you feel any sort of pressure, stop.”
I nodded, but kept my eyes firmly shut. I breathed in slowly and deeply, inhaling the cold, piney scent of the woods. The cold wind stung at my cheeks.
I concentrated on the sounds: Dove shuffling her feet just in front of me, the gentle rustling of the remaining leaves and the creaking of the bare branches. I envisioned the branches stopping in mid swing, the leaves that had broken off frozen in mid air. I felt a gentle, warm pulsing in my chest. I opened my eyes, locking on to one swaying branch as I felt this power start to swell up inside me.
“Just envision yourself controlling the threads of time. It would be like an alchemist of water controlling the waves of the ocean, or an alchemist of fire controlling the flickering of a candle. Imagine yourself controlling the time for your own will.”
My eyes were glued to one brown leaf, swaying back and forth in the autumn night wind. Seconds passed. Minutes. Long enough to where my legs started to fall asleep. But I kept my eyes on it. Even Dove was still and silent, allowing me my moment.
Finally with a faint crinkle the leaf snapped off, fluttering in the breeze. This is it!
My body felt tingly and warm, like when you’re wrapped up in a fleece blanket that just went through the dryer. The warmth was like a gentle flame, spreading to the tips of my fingers. My heart started to hammer as I tried pulling my alchemy.
The leaf tumbled to the ground. I bit my lip, tasting copper as the heat inside of me seemed to grow. My heart was thumping extra fast now, but I just wouldn’t stop.
Stop. Stop. Stop.
That gentle pulse from earlier started to hurt; it felt like a hot knife was stabbing my heart over and over. Beads of sweat started to break on my forehead, and not even the wind could cool me down. My vision started to get hazy, and the dark colors of the forest started to blend together.
But that one leaf was perfectly clear, swirling like a caramel colored snowflake. But slowly—ever so slowly it began falling at a sluggish pace, and then—
◊◊◊◊◊
“I passed out again, didn’t I?”
“Of course you did,” Dove’s voice was barely above a whisper, but I saw her silhouette in front of the window. I tried getting up but the aching pain in my chest forced me to lie back down. My head flumped dejectedly against the pillow causing strands of my hair to fall over my green eyes that I’m sure had deep, dark half moon circles underneath them.
“So how long did I hold out this time?” I asked, hoping she didn’t hear the giddiness in my voice.
“…three seconds,” she said, a hint of a smile on her face, “That’s not bad for a week’s worth of practice.”
Three seconds?! That was it?! I groaned. This wasn’t getting me anywhere. “How come I have such a hard time with this? It was no problem last week in the bathrooms.” Then again, it was out of nowhere. I didn’t even realize what was happening.
“Who knows,” Dove replied, sliding the window open. A blast of cold air blew through the room and I realized how stuffy and hot it was under the sheets. I kicked them off, ignoring my protesting aches, and sat up. I was still dressed in my “training” outfit (just a frumpy sweater and jeans) that still had bits of grass stuck to them. “Just don’t overdo it.”
“Yes Mom,” I teased. She gave me a small, knowing smile before sliding out the window. I walked over, seeing her shadowy form disappear into the woods in the blink of an eye.
The cold bit at the tip of my nose and I shivered, quickly shutting the window and locking it. The room became nice and toasty again as I stripped off my dirty clothes and changed. But I couldn’t help but wonder how well off Dove was in the weather.
And then I wanted to slap myself. Why did this just occur to me now? The church didn’t seem to have any heaters (at least, not to my knowledge). In fact, I’ve never really seen the inside, because the only way in was a broken window a few feet off the ground. Too high for me to climb in, but a piece of cake for Dove to hop through (I swear, she should be in the Olympics with those skills).
As I crawled back into bed, stifling a yawn I couldn’t help but wonder about Dove’s living style. Was she warm enough? Did she have enough blankets?
I turned over and tapped on the light next to my bed. A warm orange glow shone in my eyes as I dug through my open backpack and pulled out my notepad. With neat handwriting, I wrote out my list. Before I knew it, half an hour had passed (a rarity: it was only past one in the morning), and I shut the binder with a snap before finally going to sleep.
I had big plans and a lot of questions prepared, and I’d need all the sleep I could get!
◊◊◊◊◊
The library was packed, which was pretty unusual for a Saturday morning. But when I unbuttoned my fleece jacket I could see why—it was impeccably warm and toasty in here, the strong scents of cappuccinos and cinnamon buns smelled delicious. (I made a mental note to buy some after my detention. Did Dove like sweets? Where does she even eat? I mean, I offer her some of my snacks every once in a while but she never really takes them…)
“Emery! It’s so good to see you!” Mrs. Callaway called from her place at the front desk. There were stacks and stacks of library books that she was sorting through, but even through all of this mess and the clamoring of numerous (and really loud) students, not a single gray hair was out of place. She had the kindest eyes and the sweetest smile, like a grandmother that baked you fresh chocolate chip cookies everyday and hand knitted itchy sweaters that looked tacky, but were still made of love.
“Good morning,” I replied merrily, “It’s nice to see you again.”
She gave a quick laugh, “If only the circumstances were a little different! Here to do your volunteer work?” She gave me a wink.
“I thought I’d go ahead and get it over with,” I said with a sheepish grin. It was the truth—the sooner I finished, the sooner I could get on my own personal Dove Project.
She nodded before leading me towards the back. I’m sure a lot of people would think working two hours a week in a dark and damp basement sorting papers and books was torture, but it was just the opposite—it was pretty relaxing.
I gave her a quick wave before descending the steps, shutting the door behind me with a soft click.
The room was large, but it wasn’t dark. Far from it—there were basement windows up high (“up high” as in, you can’t even reach up to climb through it) that shone enough light to work with. But it was cold, so cold that I could see the puffs of air coming from my shivering lips and I wished I had grabbed a hot chocolate before I came.
I dropped my bag and struggled back into my jacket again, buttoning up to the collar. But the thin material wasn’t enough to protect me from the cold. The pile I had left last week was still sitting where I had left it so I trudged over, not so eager to get to work now. What if I froze to death organizing papers? I almost laughed at the thought. What could be worse: frozen to death in a library basement or end up killing myself from exerting a fake heart?
The first option made so much more sense, it was sad.
After half an hour of work (my fingers already felt numb!), that’s when I heard it. A faint muffling sound from the other side of the room. At first, I thought it was just my imagination (and I hate to admit I started daydreaming again—this work was simple but boring). The second time I thought it was just some loose papers ruffling from a draft. The third time I thought it was a rat scurrying around and almost bolted for the stairs.
And I should have—bolted for the stai
rs, I mean.
Especially when I heard somebody breathing on the opposite side of the room.
I got up slowly, scanning the other side. The lights from the windows were starting to dim, and I could see gray clouds overhead. Even the florescent light wasn’t giving me much, but it would do. The shuffling and breathing continued slowly, like whoever was hiding didn’t want to be caught.
Probably just a kid who snuck in for…a nap, or something, I tried reasoning, and he’s scared that he’s gonna get caught, so he’s trying not to say anything—
My heart was fluttering fast in my chest, like a hummingbird. Damn. I was so sick of scaring myself all the time. Still eyeing the other side of the room, I unzipped my bag, wincing at how loud it was, and pulled out a book (and I wanted to scream at being the only kid on campus to not have a cell phone. I needed to give my dad a good talking to about that.). I gripped the book in my sweaty hands, and backed slowly up the stairs until I was halfway up.
Some more shuffling and a loud crash that sent my heart flying out of my chest followed suit. I almost tripped backwards but caught myself just in time to see someone lying face down on the floor, boxes of old records and files piling on top of him.
Shoot, shoot….what should I do?
“Oh my God! Are you okay?” I called out, still holding the book like a weapon as I stepped towards whoever it was. There wasn’t enough light in the room to make out who he was, but he was panting and groaning in pain. So what if he almost gave me a heart attack? I couldn’t just leave him.
I stepped forward and shoved the boxes off of him. Papers scattered everywhere on the stone floor, leaving a huge mess that I was sure I’d have to clean up. “Hey, come on, are you okay? Don’t just lie there like—Eek!” I let out a startled shriek as one of his hands grabbed my ankle. His grip was hot and bone crushing hard as I lost my balance, flailing my arms like a windmill in an effort to stop the fall.
The Fake Heart (Time Alchemist Series) Page 10
