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I scanned the room and spotted various people who seemed to be loners. One in particular caught my eye, but he never looked up to meet mine.
Titania got up and was given a piece of what looked like parchment paper by a man with a long-sleeved shirt rolled up to the elbows. He had on a vest and his mohawk would win the gold if that was a competition.
“Who is that? Mohawk?” I asked even though the headmistress had shushed us.
“His name is Bain. Keeps to himself. He’s the headmistress’ assistant as a part-time job. He’s an orphan. Parents died a few years ago. His tuition is covered by his inheritance, but the rest of their money went to some charity. It was a big scandal, which is probably why he keeps to himself. But he’s really nice. He went to my elementary school.”
Something in me tugged at my chest upon hearing his story. He was alone in this place and judging from his downturned mouth and the way his eyes were trained on the floor, he was trying to be strong against all odds.
Maybe we could be alone together.
Jeez, two seconds in this place and I was already relationship planning.
Titania went on and on, but the truth was, I didn’t hear a word. I watched Bain and Bain only. Something about his stature, his posture, it froze me in place. I was trapped in the snare of him, happily.
“Now we go to the Testing. It’s just a formality, of course. No reason to be nervous.”
Alara was up and bouncing down the bleachers before I could even get up. I was still caught in the web that was Bain. As I stood, his eyes flicked to me. My mouth went dry and my skin broke out in a flood of goose bumps. He winked and I nearly fell down the bleachers to my death.
My new friend barely caught me, and when I looked to see if Bain had witnessed my folly, he was gone. Vanished. Like he was never there.
“Come on. The Testing is not a big deal, but it will be if we’re late. Move your ass, Endy.”
So much for my nap.
Chapter Eight
Something about the way they said “Testing” made it clear we were talking about a capital T. My folks had mentioned that I didn’t need to participate in the standardized testing my friends all did because this school had their own system. I’d pictured something a lot similar with number 2 pencils and bubbles to fill in.
Tests to place us in Spanish class or maybe determine whether we had to take a certain math level. The thing was, I’d forgotten to bring any number 2 pencils, so I was kind of worried about whether I’d be able to fill out the forms.
My high school teachers always said that in college, nobody would baby us like they did. We’d be expected to show up for classes prepared, and there would be no exceptions made. I’d taken that concept to heart and planned on being ready and then some. But that planning had been thrown off by the fact I hadn’t had any information about what I would need.
I trailed my suitemates down one flight of stairs after another to the library where we were to gather. It seemed we were getting a tour of all the grand locations in the school.
Alara paused outside the high double doors and let me catch up after the others all filed inside. “You doing okay?”
“Yeah.” A little out of breath, but I didn’t want to say so. “This place looks big outside, but once you’re in there, it’s huge. And it seems like nothing is anywhere near anything else.”
“It’s part of the magic,” she said. “A small part, to be sure.”
“So, I don’t get the impression everyone here is a newbie, but my parents said new students go to summer school to get oriented.”
“We do. This is my first term, as well, but there are some here who aren’t part of the orientation process. They are doing advanced study, special interests, things like that.”
Made sense. “Like grad students?”
“Hmmm? Upper levels usually.” The library was the most worthy of the term I’d ever seen. More of the beautiful wood paneling on all the walls and another soaring ceiling. And so many books. Students were seated at tables and in seating groups of chairs and sofas, apparently all there for the Testing since they weren’t doing anything else, except speaking to one another in low voices. I wondered when the proctor or whoever was going to come in and test us.
We found seats on what I thought was the original kind of love seat. At least the kind they had onTheAddams Familywhere the seats faced in different directions. The wood looked so old, I thought it might have been one of the original furnishings from when the building was built, but the delicate needlepoint seats couldn’t have lasted, could they? More of the magic?
I was starting to think it might be less of an “expression,” the word magic, and maybe I’d landed at some sort of Hogwarts for… Swallowing hard, I tipped my head back and looked up at the shelves of books towering toward the high ceilings. “Are there any books here newer than two hundred years old?” I asked my new friend. “All these are leather covers.”
She giggled. “I know. So many books, and most of our kind have no interest in any kind of books. Most of our classes are lecture or practical experience. But Titania is weird that way. She has always adored ancient tomes and collects them in her travels.”
“It must have taken a long time to get all these. Just her?” And the traveling. I was starting to imagine our headmistress was some kind of woman of mystery. And what did Alara mean byour kind?
“No, some have come from family collections, and I’ve heard she has people keeping an eye out for specific books she wants.”
