Drowning Studies (Artemis University Book 2)

by Erin R Flynn

Ass. Hole.

  I grabbed my pages and saw I got a perfect score. Good. I met his standoffish gaze with my own.

  “My tutor checks my homework before I turn it in as Headmaster Edelman told him to. He’s only had to make minor adjustments because he reviews what we learn here and makes sure I understand it.”

  His nostrils flared, hearing the slight against him. “I teach to the median of the class, Ms. Vale. If you have problems learning, then extra help is what you need and are getting.”

  “Don’t imply I’m cheating then because you’re an average teacher.” I shrugged when he opened his mouth to blast me. “I’m not sure how else to describe you when your tagline is teaching to the median. I think that’s what average means, yes?”

  If looks could kill I’d be very dead, but he seemed to remember others were around and he couldn’t tell me off.

  Fine, I didn’t want the fight either as he’d started it.

  “Have a nice weekend, Professor,” I said before leaving.

  Fuck him and his pathetic existence. I understood the concept of teaching at a middle of the road pace but then help was supposed to be offered. Or bothering to answer questions during class which he ignored us if we raised our hands. I shouldn’t have to have a tutor because my teacher sucked.

  The edgy feeling and dealing with Richardson put me in a shitty mood so I wasn’t really thrilled when I had a bunch of texts asking why I wasn’t at lunch. Faerie may have been enclosing darkness, but the people and this school were sucking all the oxygen from around me most days.

  I was very ready for the weekend, thinking maybe I should only work with Darcy on Sunday and spread it out over the week. I needed some air and I didn’t mean the expansive campus.

  2

  That edgy feeling stayed with me Friday too, and when I finished for the day I was thrilled to be free.

  Oh silly me.

  “Ms. Vale, come with me, please,” Edelman said as he caught me walking out of the building. “I have the next step in your power assessment.”

  I nodded and followed him, literally biting my tongue and hard enough it hurt. Next step my ass. We’d tried that first time to get my telepathy under control and he’d told me to practice having my friends talk to me in my head.

  Great, I did that all the time with Hudson and even Izzy when she wanted to say something snarky and not be overheard.

  But that was it. The pills were done last week and I was very sure telepathy wasn’t the only power I had. So where the fuck had he been?

  Being headmaster. Fine, I got it, the guy was busy. But he was gone most of last week and didn’t even tell me who to contact if I needed help.

  And it was Friday. So this week? Seriously, I was on my last thread of patience.

  I followed him to a table he had set up outside a bit from the cafeteria, not having a good feeling about what I was seeing.

  Was that a cotton candy machine?

  He poured in stuff from one of the colored cartons and turned on the machine before facing me with a smile. “Now, since you’re stuck on how to handle your telepathy—”

  “What do you mean stuck?” I asked, setting my bag on the chair there.

  He frowned. “You couldn’t handle the scarf exercise.”

  I ground my teeth. “Right, because of the pills.”

  “Or since.”

  “You told me not to do it until the pills were out of me and we would work together,” I reminded him, venom in my tone. “And you instructed me to have my friends speak to me in my head. They have been. I didn’t not handle anything.”

  “Ah, of course,” he agreed, waving it off like it was no big thing. “This exercise will help with the visual.” He glanced around and found Izzy jogging towards us. “Good, Ms. Kincaid, thank you for volunteering to help.” He smiled at me again. “She’s getting extra credit for assisting you for as long as this takes.”

  “What takes? You’re not explaining any of this and you went to my roommate first,” I bit out.

  He frowned as if not understanding my attitude.

  Think he’d get it if I bitch-slapped him? It seemed on the table to me.

  “You’re going to work on wrapping up your telepathy as we discussed as you wrap cotton candy around the cone. You’re giving it away for free to the people willing to help you practice.” He clapped me on the shoulder like it all made perfect sense and he was doing me a favor. “Best of luck to you. Email me how it went and we’ll do this every Friday until you get it.”

  His phone rang and he pulled it out, actually taking the call as he walked off.

  “Tams, you look like you’re going to explode,” Izzy worried.

  “How much trouble will I get in for beating the headmaster?”

  “Lots. Please don’t make me a witness to that,” she muttered. “I’m missing several parts here.”

  I looked at her then and let her see how pissed I was. “So am I, which is funny since it’s my power assessment, right? How are yours going?”

  She shrugged. “Like any other class. She walked me through a range of what witches can do and saw where I was at. Then she gave me a specialized outline and we work on certain things from there.” She frowned. “Isn’t that what you get?”

  “No, not even fucking close,” I bit out.

  I had to let out some slow breaths when I realized there was a banner on the front of the table announcing free cotton candy for those willing to help a power assessment lesson.

  “The fucker didn’t even stay. Do you know how to do this shit?”

  “No, I thought you did,” she admitted. “I just agreed to assist so you weren’t in this spectacle alone and he offered extra credit.”

  “I can’t believe you knew before me.”

  Izzy was smart and pulled up a YouTube video on how to spin cotton candy.

  “Hey, how long do I have to wait?” a woman demanded.

  “It says it’s a lesson so chill,” Izzy said before I snapped at her. The problem was there were a dozen people already and they were about surrounding the table.

  “Line up in a straight line with a gap,” I ordered, practically snarling when no one listened. “Don’t be friggin’ savages and line up or I will move you all back.”

  “Fuck this,” two said and walked off.

  I couldn’t have agreed more. At least the others lined up, stepping back when I waved at them.

  The next problem was I was seriously agitated and upset so my power was ramping up. Everyone’s thoughts had been louder and clearer now that I was done with the pills. Which was part of my upset the past week so this was not the time to spring this crazy on me.

  I picked up a cone and saw we had cotton candy crazy in the machine. I did a few just learning how to do it, shrugging when they were lopsided or messed up. It would taste the same.

  Once it was clear of back cotton candy, I closed my eyes as I moved the cone around, focusing on the guy’s thoughts and trying to wrap them around me to block myself off from them.

  Someone laughed off to the side and I flinched, my concentration broken. I sighed and handed him the cotton candy, trying again with the next person.

  And got the same thing. Someone did or said something that distracted me and it all fizzled out.

  “Oh gods, do those jeans have ties?” someone asked loudly. “Oh, girl, the 2000s called and they want their jeans back.”

  I opened my eyes to lock gazes with Holly, one of the many she-bitches on campus that were taking over for Blake now that she was gone.

  “The 2000s also called you and said they want their bullying style back. The world as a whole agrees one Lindsey Lohan was enough. Now get the fuck out of my line.”

  “You’re just the hired help,” she jeered.

  “Bitch, it’s a power lesson and if you don’t want me to test my power clap on you, step the fuck off,” I warned, handing over the cotton candy to the person at the table.

  Holly let out a dramatic huff before walking off, telling
her friends she didn’t want the cotton candy but just to fuck with me as it was always so much fun. What a waste of space that she was amused by that.

  I tried again and again but with the same results. The line got ridiculous and there was no way I could tell people to shut it for that long. Plus, we were getting towards dinner and people were heading to the cafeteria for that.

  Fuck. My. Life.

  “No worries, we’ll just try this again next Friday,” Izzy said easily when we got to the last carton of sugar to put in the machine.

  I blinked at her. So the headmaster thought this was an acceptable answer to my power assessments? This was his grand plan to help me?

  Yeah, I was really going to bitch-slap him.

  My anger built and built until I thought an actual tornado would come out of me. I couldn’t put Izzy through this shit.

  No way. I couldn’t wrap her up in my drama and the lazy ass fucker who promised to “help” me.

  I felt like my ears popped and suddenly I couldn’t hear anyone’s thoughts. At all.

  I dropped the paper cone and grabbed Izzy’s arms. “Think something at me. Something specific.”

  Her eyes went wide and she nodded. “You get it?”

  I burst out laughing. “No, not at all!” I waved the next person up in the line, focusing on them as I made them cotton candy. There was nothing, only blissful silence. “Thank fuck.”

  “Guess this was a good plan?” Izzy tried, more like asked, sighing when I snorted.

  No it wasn’t and I was still furious.

  “Especially because the plan doesn’t say how to fucking undo it and my teacher didn’t bother sticking around,” I grumbled, my anger snowballing right back again.

  We finished the cotton candy, Izzy apologizing to the line as she took the last two for us. I shut off the machine and I felt like my ears popped again.

  And I could hear Izzy’s thoughts again.

  “Oh, for real?” I growled. I closed my eyes and thought about flipping a switch to shut off my telepathy… And that was all it took. Now that I knew the feeling, I could turn it on and off. “I’m going to explode.”

  “That bad?” she worried. “What can I do? I’ll clean up here.”

  I snorted. “Fuck that. He didn’t even bother to tell me where to take it and what to do. I’m not lugging this shit to his office—which probably isn’t the right place—because he did this without even fucking talking to me.”

  “Take a walk,” she suggested, more like hoped, as she glanced around at all the people. “You’re going to blow, Tams.”

  “Yeah, I am.” I pulled my phone and keys out of my bag, grabbing my riding glasses at the last minute and slipping them in my back pocket so she didn’t see. “I need to make a call and get this handled. “Can you bring my bag back to the room?”

  “Sure, I think I’ll have lots of help,” she chuckled, nodding to where Hudson, Juan, and their friends were heading for us.

  I saw Mel further back and just shook my head.

  No way. I couldn’t deal with more people right now.

  But there was one person I wanted to talk to. I found Mr. Geiger in my contacts and connected the call.

  “Hello, Ms. Vale, how are things?” my lawyer greeted.

  “Not good and I’m trying to be reasonable and not blow my lid but I’m seconds from slapping the headmaster. So I think I need a real adult to tap in for me and handle this,” I confessed.

  “Tell me everything,” he instructed, his voice taking a serious tone that had a frosty edge to it.

  So I did. I told him about all my power assessment stuff and what led up to my call as I headed towards the faculty parking lot and away from ears.

  “Oh dear,” he sighed. “Well, that’s disturbing.”

  I snorted. “I understand he’s the headmaster and a busy guy, but if he’s not going to do what I need, then pass me off to Craftsman. Why not? The guy is already my species advisor—though there’s not much he can really advise but he’s trying.

  “I know he’s doing extra research like I am to help. I’m trying to give the headmaster the benefit of the doubt, I really am. But if I was a less trusting woman, it seems like they expected me to be grateful for breadcrumbs while laying down rules for my safety to make sure they have their pet—you know—in their grasp.

  “Let’s be honest that everything they’ve done is not altruistic or for my tuition. One day the cat will be out of the bag as always happens and they’ll be able to brag I’m here.”

  “Yes, that is one of the reasons,” he sighed. “I know Edelman well enough that I believe it is oversight as well. But you’re right to doubt him and others there. They should be doing better by you.

  “Personally, if I had found you first, I would have insisted on a year of homeschooling to get you caught up on the world. And your high school education before attempting to put you at Artemis.

  “Fairies might have left twenty years ago, but there are many who knew them well or worked with them in education, training, and more. Edelman declared himself your champion, in a manner, but cannot as he has the whole school to run. That person needs to change or Claudia might need to handle a role of more aunt that knows these waters.”

  “Whatever you think is…” I trailed off as I reached the parking lot, cursing up a storm and not even trying to be professional anymore.

  “Dare I ask?” he chuckled.

  “They put a tire boot on my motorcycle,” I seethed.

  “Heavens why? I thought your first trip with it was a mistake since they didn’t fill you in.”

  “Exactly. I’ve not even come over here as I was riding with Mel. Un-fucking-real.” I stormed over there as I ranted. “I don’t deserve this and I’m not a prisoner here. Edelman broke the deal by not giving me what I need. I was just going to blow off some steam and drive down the road a bit but now I’m doing it just on principle alone.”

  “Understandable,” he agreed, which made me like him better.

  I felt my magic ramp up and when I touched the metal wheel boot it shattered. I gasped and almost fell on my ass.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Well, apparently I can shatter metal so good thing no one’s helped me figure that out now that all my blockers are gone,” I complained. “The thing just shattered when I touched it like it offended my magic as well.

  “I need to know what I can do, Mr. Geiger. And I need someone who’s on board to handle that task or I don’t need to be here to get what I need.

  “They talked me into staying because they promised to teach me what I needed. I just shattered fucking metal and that could hurt someone, so enough with the crap. And I mean real help.

  “Sticking me in a crowded room naked and saying I need to figure out how to get dressed will teach me nothing as I’ll get dressed but no clue how. Same with the deep end of the pool.”

  “Agreed. For one thing at a time that can be one option to help someone stuck, but you have too much to learn and some volatile. I will handle this, Ms. Vale. You go reduce your stress and I will make sure Dr. Craftsman is now who helps you or insist they call in one of the many trusted trainers who I could contact.”

  “That might be a good plan for school breaks. If they think I’m just here like their pet, I will hurt someone.”

  “Yes, I will make that clear as well.”

  We finished up the call and I tucked my phone in my bra before carefully rolling my bike out of the shattered metal all over. That would definitely pop a tire.

  I slid on my riding glasses and started my baby up. I took off full speed for the guard station. The rules were to sign out so I wasn’t going to start trouble as I was valid in my upset.

  I turned a lot of heads as I followed the road that curved near the cafeteria and around the dorms so visitors could park or unload when needed. Honestly, it was a nice squiggle line I took way too fast and made me start to feel better.

  I hit the brakes when I reached the station and
jumped off so I could sign out at the window.

  “How the fuck did you get the boot off I put on that?” the head of security—and Alpha of the wolf shifters working security on campus—Glen demanded as he and several others came out of the station.

  I quickly signed the log and turned on him. The man just said the very wrong thing at the very wrong time. “Why the fuck did you put a boot on my ride?”

  “Because you take off,” he drawled.

  “I went to my house once without signing out because no one fucking told me I needed to,” I shouted. “I didn’t try to run, asshole, and I’ve not done it since. So don’t make me sound like I’m some mother fucking escapee as this isn’t prison and I’m not your fucking inmate. It’s a mother fucking college campus that I pay to be here, not a court-ordered stint of something.

  “So don’t act like you’re my mother fucking warden and you own my fucking ass. I’m not your fucking pet to keep locked up. And how dare you just decide to lock up my bike like I deserve that lack of trust when I’ve done nothing to warrant it.

  “I stopped to sign out and—I’m ‘taking off’ because I’m about to blow my fucking lid and the deal’s off because the school hasn’t kept their end and you mother fucking put a boot on my bike so that alone I would because I didn’t sign up to be put in a fucking cage or treated like an animal. I was going to take a fucking drive to clear my head while my lawyer handles some shit.

  “But now I might beat your ass, fucker. You put a fucking boot on my ride? Bitch, I shattered it with my magic and even if I couldn’t, you don’t think I could get it off? Asshole, you don’t know me. I’m not one of the prissy students here that can’t change a tire or doesn’t know how to handle a damn boot. Who the fuck gave you permission to touch my ride? Huh?

  “What about that? I was parked where I should be. I was in the mother fucking spot designated to me and I’ve broken no rules but you just fucking come up and stick your nose in my shit and decide you fucking gonna handle me? Fucker, you best have your whole crew at your back because you gonna need them to take me on.

  “I don’t know if you were trying to push my buttons or show me my place, but you wanted to pick a fight? You fucking got one and I can take all you mother fuckers on. I ain’t about to show you my belly because you think you mother fucking Alpha or the boss of me. I’m the boss of me and I’ve earned the right, so do not test me again!”